During this time, I always unknowingly pay attention to many things related to Simon. When Courteney Cox heard Meg Ryan claiming that she was not interested in Simon's movies, she quickly remembered her identity, " The established heroine of When Harry Met Sally.
So there was some contempt.
If you're not interested in his films, why would you want to participate in "When Harry Met Sally"? Although he did not direct or write the film himself, he will certainly hold the most powerful producer position.
Jonathan Friedman watched Meg Ryan leave, then turned to Courteney and asked, "Have you met Simon?"
Courteney nodded, with regret on her face, and said, "He's a little busy now."
Jonathan looked at the girl in front of him, paused, and said with his usual gentleness in his tone: "Then, look for more opportunities to chat with him later. You are the first to know each other."
After working in this industry for more than twenty years, Jonathan is used to seeing too many actors pass up opportunities. However, at this time, he still felt a little emotional about the ups and downs of his fortune.
If Courteney could have seized the opportunity, she would definitely be in a different situation now.
Now, among Jonathan's clients, Sandra Bullock became a blockbuster with "Run Lola Run", and Elizabeth Shue also rose to the front line with "The Butterfly Effect". The age and position of the two women are the same as Courteney Cocker. The two are almost the same, and with the addition of Nicole Kidman, whom Simon has just recommended, it is obviously impossible for him to spend too much time on Courteney.
The two chatted for a few more words, and twilight had unknowingly enveloped the surroundings, and the lights were turned on, truly reflecting the glitz and glamor of the world.
The crisp sound of ding-ding-ding came from the villa, and everyone at the scene quickly fell silent.
Jonathan and Courteney looked over together following the sound. Simon was standing under the eaves of the villa leading to the backyard, holding a glass of champagne. When everyone's attention was attracted, he knocked a metal spoon that had just hit the glass. Pass it to the waiter next to you, and then start to make a speech for tonight's party.
In addition to "Dead Man", which was filmed in New York, "Run Lola Run", "The Butterfly Effect", "Pulp Fiction" and "When Harry Met Sally", the protagonists and supporting actors of the four movies were on stage and behind the scenes, WMA, Invited personnel from Orion, Fox and other companies, plus the partners brought by the guests, the total number of people attending the party exceeded two hundred.
At this time, hundreds of pairs of eyes were looking at the young man under the eaves, and countless mixed emotions were floating in the air.
Although "Run Lola Run" and "The Butterfly Effect" have successively achieved unexpected box office success, strictly speaking, compared to his fame, Simon's influence in Hollywood at this time is still limited, and Daenerys Pictures is ambitiously producing The future of the three films also seems uncertain to many people.
Maybe just next year, young people in the spotlight will realize the reality that no one in Hollywood can succeed forever.
but.
No one can ignore one thing, Simon Westeros is only 19 years old this year.
It took the 19-year-old young man only one year to direct and write the film that earned a cumulative North American box office of more than 300 million U.S. dollars, which is unique in the entire history of Hollywood movies. Moreover, the film talent this young man has displayed through his two films has surpassed that of most directors in Hollywood. No one will doubt that in the long time to come, Simon will have many opportunities to create films similar to "Run Lola Run". ” box office miracle.
Also, the most important point.
With "Run Lola Run", Simon has already accumulated tens of millions of dollars in net worth when many of his peers have not considered the future at all. This is also enough to arouse the envy and amazement of too many people.
The trend of high pay in Hollywood has only increased significantly in recent years with the overall expansion of the industry and the promotion of talent agencies. Therefore, Simon's income of more than 40 million US dollars from "Run Lola Run", even after deducting high taxes and fees, is enough to surpass the entire wealth accumulated by most of Hollywood's top stars over the years.
In the vanity fair of Hollywood, everyone pursues nothing more than the words "fame" and "profit".
When a certain young man was 19 years old, he had already achieved two things that many people may spend their whole lives dreaming of.
After Simon's brief speech of thanks, the night's carnival officially began.
The open space on the other side of the swimming pool from the villa was opened up as a dance floor. The music in the air soon became more lively. People were shuttled back and forth in the villa and the yard, making it very lively.
Simon took Janet just to socialize in the crowd, and before he knew it, more than half an hour had passed.
Back in the villa, while sitting on the sofa chatting with Sandra, Nicole and others, taking a short break, Catherine came over again accompanied by the other two people, but it was Dino De, the boss of De Laurentiis Entertainment. ·Laurentis and President Martha Schumacher.
After saying hello, Dino De Laurentiis said: "Simon, can we talk alone?"
Simon looked at the other person's expression and probably guessed something, then nodded and said, "Okay, Dino, go to my study."
Janet saw that Simon was busy, so she stood up and said to the others: "Well, let's go to my studio and have a look. I have been very inspired recently and have completed several new paintings."
Seeing that Janet was taking the others away, Dino De Laurentiis said again: "Miss Johnston, maybe you can come too."
Janet blinked, but just smiled and said: "That's it for Simon, his decision is my decision."
With that said, Janet got up with Sandra and Nicole, and finally pulled Catherine with her and walked towards her studio in the villa.
Simon also brought Dino De Laurentiis and Martha Schumacher to the study where they usually entertain guests.
Dino De Laurentiis's purpose was indeed what Simon expected. The other party took a fancy to the huge profits Simon and Janet got from "Run Lola Run".
Since its release on June 19, the box office of "Night of the Dead" in its first week has finally reached US$11.56 million, far exceeding De Laurentiis Entertainment's original expectations.
However, due to Simon's participation, the film's shots and other technical details are excellent, but the story is ultimately too mediocre. According to the box office trends these days, the film's final box office is probably between 30 million and 40 million US dollars.
Relative to the production cost of US$5 million, this box office performance is obviously very good, but even including the pre-sale revenue from later distribution channels, the revenue of this film cannot be compared to Delau, who has been too blindly expanding in recent years. Lentis Entertainment has pulled back from the brink of bankruptcy.
Dino De Laurentiis, who is nearly 70 years old this year, has been a producer since the golden age of Hollywood and is relatively well-known in the industry.
In 1983, Dino De Laurentiis reorganized De Laurentiis Films, which he had run for many years, into De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, taking advantage of the overall good economic situation in North America and the government's restrictions on the media industry. Thanks to the support of Dongfeng, it has expanded rapidly.
Since its establishment, De Laurentiis Entertainment has merged with other small film companies and established its own filming base in North Carolina. In just a few years, it has continuously invested in the production of more than 20 films, including many by Arnold Schwarzenegger. High-budget productions such as Wasinger's "Fringe," Diane Keaton's "Crimes of the Heart," and famous directors such as David Lynch's "Blue Velvet."
However, the highest-grossing film among all these films is "Crimes of the Heart" starring Diane Keaton, with a North American box office of US$22 million, but the production cost of "Crimes of the Heart" was US$20 million. Other films generally only made a few million dollars at the box office.
Orion Pictures, which has produced and distributed popular films such as "The Terminator", "First Blood", and "Mozart" over the years, almost faced the fate of being taken over last year. It is conceivable that after investing in more than 20 films in a row, there was no one. What will happen with the box office hit De Laurentiis Entertainment.
Now, Dino De Laurentiis is obviously unwilling to fail, so he hopes Simon can inject a sum of money into De Laurentiis Entertainment to bring the company back from the brink of bankruptcy.
US$80 million, 25% stake.
This is the condition of Dino De Laurentiis, who also promised to help distribute the film produced by Daenerys Pictures.
Simon has indeed considered how to establish Daenerys Film's distribution channels. Directly acquiring a complete distribution team through merging other film companies is obviously the best option. However, Simon doesn't like any of the second- and third-tier film companies in Hollywood right now.
Since De Laurentiis Entertainment can push "Night of the Dead" into a crowded summer schedule, its distribution capabilities must be much stronger than those of companies such as New Line and Miramax, which have just emerged, but Simon It is impossible to spend $80 million to only buy 25% of the shares.
As for the Big Seven, even the dilapidated MGM can be sold for US$1.5 billion, and Simon can't afford to buy any of them.
Therefore, during this period, Simon thought more about self-reliance.
Although the North American cinema resources are monopolized by the seven major powers, as long as the films produced by Daenerys Pictures can frequently sell well, Simon will not have a big problem if he wants to open up local cinema channels in North America. As for overseas, we must do it step by step.
Therefore, Simon could only refuse Dino De Laurentiis's invitation to collaborate.
After chatting for about twenty minutes, seeing that they could not convince Simon, Dino De Laurentiis and Martha Schumacher could only leave disappointed.
Leaving the study together with Dino De Laurentiis, Simon came to the doorway of the corridor near the living room and stood still. After beckoning to take a glass of wine from the waiter's tray, Simon quietly leaned against the wall and took in the scene in front of him.
Most of the lights in the living room were turned off at this time, and an old-fashioned phonograph was playing soothing music. There were some guests standing or sitting around, and in the center of the living room were a pair of men and women embracing each other and dancing slowly.
I didn't like the hustle and bustle in the backyard, so I hid here, declined several attempts to strike up a conversation, and then became completely quiet.
A man is sitting on this sofa in the corner, holding a glass of red wine, and occasionally thinking about where he should be now.
Then I saw him appear.
Leaning against the entrance of the corridor, hiding himself in the shadows, holding a glass of champagne, looking thoughtful.
Apparently not paying attention to himself.
Yes, I am such an inconspicuous girl.
I thought a little lonely.
So I continued to look at him, worried and expecting to be discovered.
A few minutes passed.
But it still hasn't been discovered.
There was no loss, but some pity.
She didn't know why, but she could clearly feel that when he was quiet, there would be a sense of loneliness all over his body, as if he was isolated from everything around him, as if he was just a spectator and did not belong to this world at all.
She felt this aura from him from the first time they met in Venice Beach. However, they were just strangers at that time, and she couldn't walk up to him and ask him: Hi, are you okay
Now.
She stood up unknowingly, came to him with some restraint, and said softly: "Hi, you... want to dance?"
When Simon heard the figure, he turned around and saw Jennifer Raybould, who was wearing a light blue silk evening dress. The girl did not have a ponytail today, and her blond hair spread out covering her beautiful neck.
After graduating from Yale in May, Jennifer Raybould came to Los Angeles to work at the office of George Norman. During this period, Simon actually met the girl more than once, but most of the time it was just for work. Today was the first time he met the girl on a trial basis.
Hearing this, Simon smiled and nodded: "Okay."
Putting the wine glass aside casually, Simon reached out to Jennifer and pulled her to the dance floor. He followed the example of others and put his hands on the girl's slender waist. Jennifer also put her arms on his shoulders, but Lowering his eyes, he swayed slightly with the man's movements.
Seeing the shy look of the girl in front of him, Simon smiled and took the initiative to find a topic and said, "How are you preparing for the bar qualification exam?"
Although she has obtained a doctorate in law, Jennifer is not yet considered a lawyer and needs to pass the California Bar Examination in July to obtain a formal practicing certificate.
With his hands on her waist, she felt like a deer trying to escape but fell into a trap. When she heard his question, she raised her head, lowered it again, and said softly: "I don't know if I can Be a good lawyer."
"That's for sure," Simon said without hesitation: "You are a top student at Yale. If you can't do it, there won't be many people in the entire federation who are qualified to be lawyers."
"I mean," she thought for a while, and said, "I may not be able to treat lawyers as a profession like my parents and uncles."
Simon listened to the girl's still somewhat vague explanation, but he understood.
In the United States, lawyers are definitely one of the highest-paid people, and they can move into politics and business at any time. But at the same time, if you want to be a top lawyer, then too often you have to put aside your sense of justice and simply stand on the side of your client to fight for the interests of the other party, whether it is a pedophile or a pedophile. Still a murderer.
Thinking this, after thinking for a moment, Simon said: "Jenny, why don't you come and work for me?"
Jennifer paused, suddenly raised her head, then lowered her face with a slight blush, and said: "What kind of job do you and me do?"
Simon said with a smile: "My assistant."
Immediately I thought of the recent scandals about him, which seemed to involve an actress coming to his company to be his secretary. Her face turned even redder, but she couldn't help but said: "I don't know much about Hollywood. I don't know if I can do it well."
Simon still smiled and said again: "That's it. In fact, I have been looking for an assistant recently, but there is no suitable one."
Seeing his impatient look, she felt like the little white rabbit being held down by the big bad wolf, or the little red riding hood being tricked into opening the door by the wolf's grandmother.
In short, they all end badly.
Inexplicably, he didn't want to resist.
return.
A little bit looking forward to it.
So he asked again: "Simon, is it really okay?"
"Of course," Simon nodded and said, "Many senior executives in Hollywood are actually lawyers, just like Frank Wells, the president of Disney. Maybe you can also be the president of Daenerys Pictures in the future."
Only then did he feel relieved, but he smiled again, glanced up at him, and said, "What about Amy?"
"Amy must be promoted."
"how about you?"
"I'm the boss. Of course it's best if I don't have to work."
"So lazy."
"Oh, remember to remind me to add a clause in the employment contract to tease the boss about deducting wages."
"I won't remind you."