There was no suspense. Early the next morning, the newspapers were full of headlines like 'Simon Westeros' new love affair exposed'.
In an apartment in Century Tower.
Simon woke up to the sound of the phone ringing and held the receiver almost all the way until breakfast.
Jonathan Friedman and Pat Kingsley immediately called to ask Simon and Sandra what was going on and how to deal with the media next. Simon gave them only vague answers. Sandra took the initiative to kiss herself last night. If he immediately declared that the two of them had nothing to do with each other the next day, it would definitely embarrass the girl.
Janet naturally also called, accusing Simon of being a playboy bastard in a bitter tone, but then digressed into profound issues such as kissing skills. Simon patiently chatted with the woman, and finally tried to see if they could start dating again after two weeks of 'breakup'. However, he was rejected again due to serious face issues.
Among the series of phone calls was Dennis O'Brien, the head of Craft Pictures.
Craft Pictures has agreed to participate in the production of When Harry Met Sally, and Denis O'Brien hopes to formally discuss the details of the contract with Simon. This kind of thing would have been more suitable for Amy to come forward. However, Amy still had to rush to New York, so Simon didn't have any important issues during the weekend, so he took care of it himself.
After two days of intensive negotiations, Daenerys Films and Craft Films officially signed a cooperation agreement on Monday. After Amy Pascal returned from New York, she began to discuss distribution cooperation with several major film companies.
Subsequently, the strong monopoly of major film companies on Hollywood film distribution channels and the disadvantage of Daenerys Films' shallow foundation were once again exposed.
Daenerys Film Headquarters.
Simon and Amy sat together on the sofa in the reception area of his office, discussing in a low voice the results of Amy's recent contacts with several major film companies, but the atmosphere was inevitably heavy.
Due to the continued success of "Lola Run" and "The Butterfly Effect", studios originally expressed interest in investing in "When Harry Met Sally".
However, when Daenerys Pictures decided to produce it independently and was only willing to cooperate with the Seven in local theater distribution, the attitudes of all parties immediately changed significantly.
Among the seven, Paramount and Universal directly rejected Daenerys Pictures’ cooperation invitation on the grounds that their film schedule was full.
Five remain.
Since Daenerys Pictures only wanted to exclusively authorize North American theatrical distribution, Columbia asked for a buyout, but the price offered was only US$3 million.
If it is a split distribution, Hollywood independent producers usually receive about 20% of the box office share from the distributor. Calculated based on this ratio, Columbia's offer of US$3 million is only equivalent to an estimate of US$15 million for the North American box office of "When Harry Met Sally."
The box office of 15 million US dollars is actually not too bad in this era. If a film with the same production cost of US$15 million achieves such a North American box office, it can basically recoup its costs through subsequent distribution channels.
However, this figure is far lower than the box office of "When Harry Met Sally" in Simon's memory, so he naturally cannot agree.
The remaining four companies are willing to carry out divided issuance.
However, the distribution commissions offered by MGM and Disney are as high as 15%, and the publicity and distribution expenses are naturally calculated separately. Moreover, not only did the two companies require Simon to sign a director and screenwriter film contract and other additional conditions, but the number of screens and film schedule they could provide were also unsatisfactory.
Fox and Warner next.
Fox is willing to give the Easter schedule at the end of March next year, guaranteeing a minimum of 1,000 opening screens and a distribution commission of 12%. However, Fox requested to take away the distribution rights of "When Harry Met Sally" to other North American channels.
The schedule given by Warner is the best among the seven. It will be released in November next year during the Thanksgiving holiday. It guarantees a minimum of 1,000 opening screens and a 10% distribution commission. An additional condition is the distribution rights for "When Harry Met Sally" in all channels other than North American theaters.
The biggest difference between agency issuance and buyout pre-sale is the payment date.
If Daenerys Pictures retains the distribution rights to other channels, after the release of "When Harry Met Sally", if the market responds well, it will soon be able to sell out other channels for distribution like "Run Lola Run" Right to withdraw funds quickly.
But if you choose agency distribution, you need to wait for the film company to complete distribution through various channels before you can settle the accounts one after another.
Take the video release, which is the closest thing to theatrical release. After a movie is released, there is a three-month window before the video tape can be released on the market. Then even if it is settled on a quarterly basis, it will take at least another three months.
Therefore, even if you choose an agent for distribution, even if you can eventually recover more profits, the payment cycle that lasts for several years is not something a small company like Daenerys Pictures can afford.
All in all, the conditions given by the five major companies that agreed to cooperate are basically not what Simon wants to see.
However, five of the seven major film companies are willing to cooperate with Daenerys Pictures. This is actually the result of Simon's accumulation of two consecutive hit movies. For an independent film, Simon wants to hold more distribution rights in his hands. It is obviously impossible for the Seventh Group to provide too good conditions, such as a popular summer release, which is even more unthinkable.
Speaking of which, the situation faced by "When Harry Met Sally" is actually a true portrayal of what independent Hollywood producers generally encounter.
Although Hollywood has never lacked second- and third-tier film companies that can independently distribute films, the monopoly of film distribution channels by the seven major studios is definitely not an empty talk. Only those who have been involved will understand how terrifying this strong monopoly is.
Take New Line Cinema, for example. Robert Shea, the founder of New Line Cinema, established the company in 1967. But until 1984, when New Line Cinema launched its first independently produced "A Nightmare on Elm Street", it could only secure 165 opening screens for the film, and it was still on an unpopular schedule like November 9.
Even the recent "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3", although the number of opening screens has finally expanded to more than 1,000, the schedule is even more unpopular, February 27th. For major studios, this schedule is basically a movie graveyard. Only very unpopular films will be left to fend for themselves in this unpopular schedule.
So, why doesn’t New Line Cinema choose popular schedules such as summer or Christmas
Because I can't get in.
Even after the 'Paramount Act' that forced the separation of terminal theaters and movie companies, the intricate interest relationship between major movie companies and North American theaters has not been broken.
What's more, in recent years, as the Li Heng government has continued to relax controls on the media industry, the Paramount Act has ceased to exist in name only.
At present, the number of movie screens in North America as a whole is about 22,000, of which 7,500 screens in core and prosperous areas contribute as much as 80% of the North American box office every year.
After the Paramount Act expired, Warner, Universal, Columbia and other companies have re-entered the theater screening business in recent years and now control nearly half of the core 7,500 screens.
With direct control over 40% of the total box office share in North America, coupled with close interest relationships with other theater chains, second- and third-tier film companies can make small fuss, but basically they cannot threaten the monopoly of the Big Seven.
Due to his attention to all aspects of Hollywood, Simon was actually very aware of these things, but he still felt a strong reluctance in his heart.
Glancing again at the memorandum that recorded the cooperation conditions of several major film companies, Simon looked up at Amy Pascal and asked: "Amy, what do you think is the possibility of us personally distributing this film?"
Amy Pascal shook her head and said: "Simon, it's too risky. This is 15 million US dollars, not the 1.8 million of "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Local box office data is the most important basis for subsequent distributors' quotations. We do the distribution ourselves, It’s not impossible, but the box office it gets may not even be half of what the big seven did, which will have a serious impact on subsequent revenue from all channels, and it’s completely outweighing the gain.”
Simon couldn't help but fell silent after hearing what Amy said. He naturally understood these truths.
Turning his eyes on the memo in front of him again, Simon quickly weighed several cooperation plans in front of him in his mind.
Colombia's $3 million buyout will definitely not be considered.
Fox and Warner, even if the North American box office of "When Harry Met Sally" can still reach US$90 million, Daenerys Pictures' share of the box office may be difficult to exceed US$20 million.
Just like "Run Lola Run", Simon is more concerned about the income from subsequent distribution channels.
These two are also excluded.
In the end, only MGM and Disney were left.
However, the schedules given by MGM and Disney are one at the beginning of October and the other at the end of February, both of which are cemetery-level schedules.
Moreover, Simon really doesn't want to sign another directorial contract.
Today is already Thursday.
Simon handed the "Lion King" story script to Jonathan on Monday. Although he hoped to cooperate with Disney, he had to go through Fox Pictures first. Because of the original contract, he still owed Fox a script after "The Butterfly Effect" and "Here Comes the Death".
Although Fox Pictures currently does not produce animated films, lawyers from both parties still struggled all day long to sign a formal understanding agreement so that Jonathan could pitch the project to Disney.
Thinking this, Simon sighed secretly, knowing that he still had to face reality.
At the moment, the only sign of Daenerys Pictures that can impress major film companies is himself. If he wants to reach a cooperation, he can only sign another option contract with MGM or Disney.
With a pen, Simon drew a circle on the names of MGM and Disney. Simon handed the memo to Amy and said: "Continue to contact these two companies. For the Easter schedule in March, 1,000 guaranteed screens are ours. The bottom line, everything else can be discussed.”
Amy nodded. She actually preferred these two companies.
As for Simon signing an option contract again, Amy doesn't think it's a big deal.
The fundamental reason why Spielberg can only direct movies from Universal, Warner and Paramount in recent years is also due to contract restrictions.
After the success of "Jaws" that year, Universal changed Spielberg's seven-year "sale contract" into a four-film contract. To this day, Spielberg still owes two. Therefore, even though he publicly expressed his dislike for Universal Pictures President Frank Price and angrily wrote a clause in his contract not to do business with him, Spielberg had to continue working for Universal Pictures.
After confirming this matter, the two chatted for a few more words, and then there was a knock on the office door.
After Simon agreed, Susan opened the door and said, "Mr. Westeros, Miss Kidman's hair has been dyed."
As Susan said, a tall girl with fair skin and dyed black hair walked in. It was Nicole Kidman who was just twenty years old at this time.
Dark-haired Nicole Kidman.