After a brief two-day break in Park City, Simon returned to Los Angeles and was once again surrounded by busy work.
Santa Monica.
In the conference room of Daenerys Film Headquarters, Simon, Amy and CAA President Michael Ovitz sat around the conference table. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss Daenerys Film's upcoming "Rain Man" ” and “Steel Magnolias”.
The main production plan of "Rain Man" has been finalized, leaving only some details, and both parties did not waste much time on this.
When it was "Steel Magnolias"'s turn, the atmosphere became tense.
Daenerys Pictures wants to invite CAA-owned director Herbert Ross and actress Sally Field, who are also the original creators of "Steel Magnolias," to star in the film. However, the conditions offered by Michael Ovitz were unacceptable to Simon.
"Michael, Herbert Ross and Sally Field were packaged for $10 million, which was too high a price. Steel Magnolias was an ensemble drama, and if I paid Ross and Field a lot, so would the rest of the cast. If you ask for more, it will be difficult for Daenerys Films to afford the project. So, we can offer Rose $5 million, and Ms. Field, only $1.5 million."
Herbert Ross is not only the director of the original "Steel Magnolias", he is also the director of last year's Michael Fox's "The Road to Prosperity" which grossed more than 60 million US dollars at the North American box office. Going back further, Herbert Ross in 1984 The musical film "Footloose" directed by him earned $80 million at the North American box office at a cost of $8 million, which also made the film company a lot of money.
The worth of a Hollywood director ultimately depends on the box office, so Herbert Ross is totally worth $5 million.
However, although Sally Field won two Oscars for Best Actress in 1979 and 1984, the actress basically had no box office appeal. Moreover, not many Hollywood actresses in the 1980s were worth more than $2 million. Considering that "Steel Magnolias" is an ensemble drama, Simon could only offer $1.5 million.
When Michael Ovitz heard this, he stared at Simon, which was his habitual gesture during the negotiation process, and said in a dissatisfied tone: "Sally is a two-time Oscar winner. Simon, do you think $1.5 million is possible? "
Simon was not affected by Ovitz's eyes at all, and said: "This was a few years ago, Michael, we all understand that no one in Hollywood can earn a lifetime first-line salary with just one or two statuettes. Compared to Ms. Field, The box office appeal is $1.5 million which is already very high.”
"That's impossible," Michael Ovitz shook his head, paused, and then he softened his tone slightly and said, "Okay, Simon, considering the specific circumstances of this film, I can make a slightly Some concessions, Herbert gets 6 million US dollars and Sally gets 3 million US dollars. However, you must agree to two other conditions. First, all other supporting actors in the film must be selected from CAA. Second, Robin is still interested in " "Dead Poets Society" is very interested, and I hope you can give her the leading role."
"If you insist on this request, Michael, my answer is the same as yours, it is impossible. First of all, I do not intend to make "Steel Magnolias" a package project for CAA. Secondly, Bob has agreed to star in "Death" "Poetry Club", there's no way I would ever give the role to Robin Williams again."
After three weeks of small-scale screenings, it has accumulated enough reputation. "Good Morning Vietnam" officially opened on a large scale last Friday, with a box office of 11.75 million US dollars in three days over the weekend. The media predicts that the film's box office in the fourth week will exceed 16 million U.S. dollars. As a popular film destined to be a long-term success, "Good Morning Vietnam" is expected to exceed 100 million US dollars at the North American box office.
As the leading actor, Robin Williams has also been successfully promoted from a second-tier actor to a first-tier superstar.
At the end of last year, CAA made a temporary change of heart on the day of the signing, and Daenerys Pictures failed to pick up the slack. Although Simon regrets this, he does not intend to be led by CAA. At present, the company has negotiated two film contracts with De Niro, "Dead Poets Society" and "The Sixth Sense". Although the contract has not been officially signed, Simon is unlikely to change his mind at the last minute like CAA.
After the words fell, neither of them spoke again. After a moment of stalemate, Ovitz relaxed his body and leaned back on the chair, saying, "Perhaps, our meeting today can only end here."
Simon stood up and reached out to Ovitz across the desk: "Well, Michael, I hope we have a chance to work together again next time."
Michael Ovitz was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Simon to be more decisive than him. What the young man said obviously meant that Daenerys Pictures would no longer contact CAA about "Steel Magnolias." There is no room for change in the matter of "Dead Poets Society".
After standing up and shaking hands with Simon, Michael Ovitz said: "Simon, you can't do business on your own initiative. You can reconsider and call me at any time."
"I think I've thought about it."
"Well, good luck to you."
After sending Ovitz away, Simon sat back at the conference table, raised his wrist to look at his watch, and said to Amy Pascal next to him: "Give up Herbert Ross and Sally Field, let's start with WMA and ICM selects people from several companies.”
Taking into account the starring roles of Herbert Ross and Sally Field, Daenerys Pictures' budget for "Steel Magnolias" is $15 million. But if Ovitz's quotation is followed, the film's budget will definitely expand to 20 million or even 25 million US dollars.
The North American box office of "Steel Magnolias" in the original time and space is 80 million U.S. dollars. Even with a production budget of 25 million U.S. dollars, Daenerys Pictures can still make a profit, but compared to the total investment of the company's planned independent distribution, Simon can only It is expected that subsequent issuance through other channels will bring profits, which will greatly extend the payment cycle.
Although Amy Pascal likes "Steel Magnolias", a story about the lives of women in a small southern town in the United States, her expectations for the film's box office are far lower than Simon. For commercial reasons, Amy actually wanted to make the film a low-cost film with a budget of less than $10 million.
Therefore, after hearing Simon's words, Amy did not refute, but said something else: "Simon, we have to talk about the company."
Simon regained his energy and said, "What's wrong?"
Amy handed over a folder and said, "Take a look first. Simply put, the company's funds are no longer sufficient."
Simon took the folder and opened it. Inside were budget sheets for a series of Daenerys Films film projects and various other expenditure reports.
Not counting "When Harry Met Sally" and "Pulp Fiction," which have basically completed post-production, Daenerys Pictures has officially approved films including "Basic Instinct," "Scream," and "Steel Magnolias." ", "Blue Angel", "Rain Man" and "Dead Poets Society" six.
Among them, except for "Basic Instinct" with a budget of 20 million, which was jointly produced by Daenerys Pictures and Fox Pictures, the other five films were all independently invested by Daenerys Pictures.
The budgets of the five films range from US$10 million to US$25 million, and the cumulative funding required is US$75 million. After setting aside this capital, Daenerys Films only has $25 million left in the $100 million loan it received from Wells Fargo.
However, of the US$25 million, US$7 million was spent just to buy out the copyright of "Charlie's Angels". In the deal with United Artists, US$2 million was spent on the two scripts of "The Hobbit" and "Rain Man". Recently, Millions of dollars have been spent on the purchase of copyrights such as "Spider-Man" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". Counting all aspects of the company's operating expenses, Daenerys Pictures currently has only the remaining working capital available. Just over $10 million.
Amy looked at Simon who was reading the document and added beside him: "'Death Comes' was released last week, with a cumulative box office of US$72.61 million in North America. According to the contract, we can get 10% of the box office share next month. This is 7.26 million US dollars. However, if we want to buy the rights to the "Lord of the Rings" series according to your offer to Saul Zaenz, or "The Silmarillion" from the Tolkien Heritage Foundation, we will definitely have the funds in hand. Not enough. Those few scripts you picked up in Park City, along with the planned TV show and future Scream movies, all require big investments. Simon, I can feel it You are so anxious about many things, but I think you should slow down. You are only twenty years old next month, and compared to most people in Hollywood, you have enough time."
Simon looked through the documents in his hand, and suddenly he understood more deeply why Canon Pictures, De Laurentiis Entertainment, and now New World Entertainment suddenly fell into trouble in the midst of a boom.
The entertainment industry is too money-burning, and the repayment cycle for film and television projects is so slow that once the revenue from the project cannot cover the expenses, and there is no additional funding from the outside world, a company will immediately collapse.
If he hadn't already owned a large amount of assets, and if he hadn't had the prophetic advantage in selected projects, Simon is sure that Daenerys Pictures would definitely follow in the footsteps of companies such as Canon Pictures in the next few years.
Simon actually understood the admonition in Amy's tone very well.
But, can I slow down
After finishing his work here, he was about to meet with Warner Bros. Pictures CEO Terry Semel to discuss "Batman."
If he slows down, if he abandons "Batman," according to the original timeline, the film will be directed by Tim Burton and will start shooting at the end of this year, be released in the summer of next year, and become the annual box office champion next year.
By then, "Batman", "Superman" and even DC as a whole will have nothing to do with Simon Westeros.
Due to the failure of last year's "Superman 4", Warner's confidence in the adaptation of "Batman" is at its lowest stage. This is also the last opportunity for Simon to seize the opportunity to intervene in this top superhero copyright. How could he slow down
same.
The films that Daenerys Pictures is developing and the rights that have been purchased are basically projects that are bound to be huge hits in the next few years.
Once these projects become successful, Simon's interest in other novel scripts will definitely trigger a rush, and it will be even more difficult for Daenerys Pictures to continue to hoard more copyrights. Simon must take advantage of the fact that many people still regard him as a 'fat sheep' and win as many IPs as possible at a lower cost.
Even in many things outside of Hollywood, he cannot slow down.
I can't slow down.
After flipping through the information in his hand, Simon had already made a decision and said: "Amy, the expenses for buying "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion" will go directly to the Westeros company account, and I will let George be responsible. This matter. The company continues to move forward according to the original plan. The three scripts I brought back from Park City, Michael Hoffman's "Sisters" and Whit Stillman's "Metropolitan" will be developed as soon as possible. , the cost of these two films is very low. Together, they may not cost 6 million US dollars, and they will not affect the overall situation. The script of "3000" is temporarily shelved, and I have other plans. Moreover, these are only budget expenditures, the money in the account We won’t spend it all immediately, so there is a lot of room for maneuver. “When Harry Met Sally” will be released at the end of March, and we will definitely make money in the future. If it doesn’t work, I will use the Westeros company Transfer some funds here, or you can continue to apply for a loan here.”
Amy sensed Simon's firm attitude and knew that persuasion was useless, so she had to say: "Add two more movies, that's eight movies, and I'm completely overwhelmed."
Simon thought for a while and said: "After completing "Pulp Fiction", I will focus on the company's projects for the rest of this year. It will definitely be enough to sign a few more producers."
For example, projects such as "Steel Magnolias" and "Dead Poets Society" have given up on using the original cast. In order to maintain the original style and level of the film, Simon himself must invest more energy in it.
Simon actually wants to try to see if these movies can be as successful as The Original Spacetime without using the original creators.
After all, there are many movies to come, and Simon may not be able to assemble the original team. He also doesn't like this invisible feeling of being constrained, and he doesn't want to be pinched by agencies such as CAA because of a certain actor issue.
After continuing to discuss with Amy for more than half an hour, worrying about being late due to traffic jams at noon, Simon set off from Santa Monica towards Burbank in the San Fernando Valley in the north of the city at eleven o'clock.
Simon and Terry Semel agreed to lunch at a restaurant near Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.
Arriving at the appointed restaurant, Terry Semel was already waiting for Simon.
The two sat down and ordered food. Terry Semel asked Simon with a smile: "I heard that you gave up the acquisition of New World Entertainment?"
Simon nodded with a helpless expression and said with a wry smile: "Yes, they are all going to be slaughtered. A group of people copied the stock price until I couldn't afford it at all, so I had to let it go."
Today is already January 20th, Wednesday.
Over in New York, Westeros Company had already liquidated New World Entertainment's stocks yesterday. However, perhaps those investors on Wall Street who had heard of the news still expected Simon to fight back. Therefore, at the close of trading yesterday, New World Entertainment's stock price remained at The high of 11.5 US dollars is far higher than the 7.5 US dollars before the news was made public.
After a short half-month operation and selling all the stocks, Westeros Company earned more than 11 million U.S. dollars, which was not in vain.
New World Entertainment's attempt to officially launch acquisition negotiations with Westeros Company failed. After learning that Simon had liquidated all his stocks, Larry Cupping threatened to sue Westeros Company for malicious intent in an interview with a newspaper yesterday afternoon. The matter of manipulating New World Entertainment stock has not yet been resolved.
In any case, Simon will definitely not give up New World Entertainment, at least Marvel in the hands of New World Entertainment.
However, Simon does not plan to take action again in the short term.
Compared with its tepid film division, New World Entertainment's main profitable business is television program production.
What quickly followed, however, was the longest general strike in Hollywood history. Hollywood studios often stockpile large quantities of scripts and will not be too seriously affected by a strike. Since TV dramas are usually produced while writing scripts, the situation in the television industry can be very bleak.
Once the strike continues, even if the funding problem can be solved and there is a lack of scriptwriters, New World Entertainment's TV production department will definitely come to a standstill, causing the company's operating conditions to further deteriorate.
therefore.
When the strike reaches a certain level in the second half of the year, it will be the best time for Simon to take action again.