Santa Monica.
At Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters, Simon is saying goodbye to Kevin Costner, Jessica Lange, Michael Blake and others. "Dances with Wolves" will start filming next month, and everyone has just finished one-shot production. film meeting.
With Simon's support, "Dances with Wolves" will still be directed and starred by Kevin Costner himself, who will also be credited as a producer. Jessica Lange, who worked with Daenerys Entertainment on "Steel Magnolias" last year, plays the heroine's stand-up fist dance.
Compared with the original version, this new film has been greatly improved in terms of cast.
Although Jessica Lange has multiple Oscar nominations and was the winner of Best Actress in 1983, her salary has never been high. She played the role of "Standing Fist Dance" and did not have many scenes, preferring to be a supporting actress. The asking price is only $1 million.
With the success of "The Bodyguard", Kevin Costner has firmly established himself as a Hollywood actor. However, the two parties had already signed a contract before "The Bodyguard", and he received a total of US$6 million in director and actor remuneration this time.
Considering that the film may involve some of the most difficult animal and child scenes to film in Hollywood, as well as many large scenes in the wild, Simon provided a budget of $25 million for this project, which is also higher than the original version.
Now that he has enough confidence in "Dances with Wolves", Simon will not skimp on the budget.
Of course, the budget was limited to $25 million.
Simon has always attached great importance to budget control in movies, and has set an example. "Batman" uses a lot of new technologies and special effects. The post-production period of the film is almost completed, and there is no sign of overspending so far.
In the lobby on the first floor of the headquarters, Simon saw off Kevin Costner and Michael Blake, shook hands with Jessica Lange who was carrying a satchel, and said, "Jesse, see you next time."
Jessica Lange shook hands with Simon and asked, "Aren't you going to attend the party at Jonathan's house tonight?"
Simon nodded and said: "I must go."
Today is July 14th, Friday.
On Wednesday, WMA announced another major personnel change for the veteran talent agency. Company president Norman Broca resigned, and vice president Jonathan Friedman took over as the new president of WMA and also joined the board of directors.
Although the schedules are one month apart, "The Bodyguard" and "The Sixth Sense" will both break through the local box office mark of 100 million yuan this weekend. Daenerys Entertainment has previously announced that it will hold a grand celebration party for the two films this Saturday. , in order to avoid Daenerys Entertainment’s event, Jonathan arranged the celebration party for his appointment as WMA president tonight.
Jessica Lange saw Simon nodding and said with a smile: "Then, we will meet again tonight."
Simon said in advance: "Nice to see you again."
Jessica Lange chuckled.
After continuing to chat for a few words and seeing off the creative team of "Dances with Wolves", Simon turned around and was about to return to the office, but Jennifer was already standing behind him, holding a folder in his hand and staring at him strangely. .
Considering that she was just joking with Jessica Lange and had no intention of flirting, Jennifer should have no reason to be jealous, so she confidently walked to the stairs and said to the female assistant who came up: "What's wrong?"
Jennifer handed over the folder in her hand and said, "Peter Butler from the Los Angeles Times just faxed a press release about you."
It turns out I'm not jealous.
Simon didn't pay much attention when he heard that it was a press release about himself.
With the rapid increase in wealth and fame, many mainstream newspapers in North America now want to publish news about Simon. In order to avoid getting into lawsuits or getting into trouble with Daenerys Entertainment, they will basically pass the news to Simon's public relations team or Daenerys first. Silk Entertainment is here.
Taking the folder and opening it, Simon glanced at the title: "He can see people."
Something looks familiar.
Then I thought about it, this should be related to the currently being released "The Sixth Sense", in which Cole said to Dr. Crow: "I can see people."
The translation of this sentence is not 'I can see people', but 'I can see ghosts'.
Understanding this, Simon scanned the text.
"After paying close attention to Simon Westeros for three years, I have always had a strong doubt as to where all the amazing talents shown by Westeros come from. He is just an unknown orphan in San Jose, maybe He is very hard-working and may be very smart, but as far as I can understand, no one seems to be as amazing as this young man who is only in his early 20s this year."
"I have made many assumptions. Maybe Westeros is an alien, maybe he has undergone some mysterious scientific experiment, maybe he is no longer himself, but a spy with a changed face. It is said that Westeros is proficient in many languages, which is exactly what a top spy must have."
"It's just that I haven't been able to find any substantial basis for all these assumptions."
"It wasn't until recently, after watching "The Sixth Sense," that I suddenly realized that this might very well be the ultimate answer I've been searching for."
"Simon Westeros is probably a psychic."
"Don't worry, I don't intend to spoil it."
"The title of this article comes from the TV trailer of "The Sixth Sense", where the little boy Cole says to the doctor: 'I can see ghosts'."
"Now, if we apply this sentence to Simon Westeros, 'He can see ghosts,' then many things that have puzzled us in the past have been explained. In theory, Simon who grew up in an orphanage It is impossible for Westeros to have the opportunity to learn skills such as music, painting, movies, foreign languages, etc. For a child from the bottom of society, no matter how hard he works, he lacks resources and it is obviously impossible to accomplish these things."
"But what if the person teaching him these things is not a human, but a ghost?"
“It all suddenly made sense.”
"I even think that Simon Westeros' sudden mental breakdown three years ago may have something to do with this incident."
"Then Westeros came to Los Angeles and immediately became a cinematic genius."
"For an 18-year-old boy who may not have seen a few movies since he was a child, this is completely unbelievable. However, what Los Angeles does not lack most is obviously filmmakers. By analogy, after more than half a century of accumulation in this city, , ghosts who are proficient in various movie skills should be enough to form a huge army. As long as Westeros can recruit the help of a group of elite ghosts, he can easily become a 'movie genius'."
“…”
“…”
The article was very long, and Simon read it with great interest. When he arrived at the door of his office, he forgot to push it open.
After leaning against the door and finishing reading the press release on the handle, Simon looked up and noticed that Jennifer still had the weird expression just now, so he turned his eyes sideways, looked at the air to the right of the female assistant, and whispered in a faint voice: "Nate , our secret was still discovered."
Because she had read this press release in advance, Jennifer was already somewhat immersed in it. When she heard Simon say this, she subconsciously looked to her left, feeling that half of her body was hairy and her skin was covered in goosebumps.
Seeing that the female assistant was really frightened by him, Simon smiled and stretched out an index finger and lightly scratched the white neck that was exposed when she turned her head.
When Simon scratched her neck, Jennifer reacted, and the left half of her body felt slightly warm again.
The combination of hot and cold makes your face turn red.
Staring at Simon with dissatisfaction, when she saw him pushing the door open and walking into the office, Jennifer chased him in again. When the man sat down behind the desk, she asked: "This, I need to call the Los Angeles Times to take it down. ?"
Simon leaned on the leather chair, did not answer the question, and asked with a smile: "Jenny, do you think I can be psychic?"
Jennifer was stunned for a moment and shook her head: "I, I don't know."
Simon suddenly asked again: "So, are you afraid of death?"
Jennifer was a little confused, but said honestly: "I'm afraid."
"I'm also afraid of death, to be precise, it's fear," Simon raised his hand and rubbed the folder in front of him and said, "So, I very, very much hope that what this article says is true. Because if ghosts really exist, This means that death will no longer be the end. If death is just the end of a journey, not an end, why should we fear it?"
Jennifer nodded, but perhaps because this article aroused some thoughts, the inquiry in the female assistant's expression still did not dissipate.
Simon smiled and said: "I can only say that I have indeed experienced some things. However, you can rest assured that I am not an alien, a robot, nor a spy, nor a psychic. I am just Simon. "Westeros, that's all."
Knowing that it was very rare for him to explain himself in such a vague manner, Jennifer slightly curved her lips, pointed to the article in front of Simon, and said, "What about this?"
"Let them publish it, it will just provide another publicity stunt for "The Sixth Sense". In addition, send a copy of this article to Burbank and Pat Kingsley respectively, so that they can pay attention to it. In the subsequent trend of public opinion, we will intervene when necessary to avoid any more messy arguments."
Jennifer nodded and looked at her watch. It was already five o'clock.
Just as he was about to go out, there was a knock on the door.
After Simon responded, Nancy Brill opened the door and walked in.
Getting off work on time is out of the question for Simon, and he and Nancy still have to discuss Blockbuster's IPO.
After continuing to burn money for expansion for more than half a year, Blockbuster's cash flow has once again dried up. As a major shareholder, it is Daenerys Entertainment's obligation to help Blockbuster solve its financial difficulties. Through this connection, Blockbuster has obtained a US$100 million five-year loan from Citibank at very favorable terms at the beginning of the month.
However, Blockbuster cannot continue to increase its debt like this.
After discussions between all parties, a group of shareholders passed the decision to promote the company's IPO.
This matter cannot be accomplished overnight. It will take about half a year. By then, the loan obtained by Blockbuster from Citibank should be spent. Once listed, Blockbuster can more easily expand through additional stock issuances, bond issuances, stock exchange mergers and acquisitions, etc., which can greatly alleviate financial pressure.
After saying hello, Jennifer left the office to go about her business. Simon also got up and sat with Nancy in the reception area so that he could look through some documents and compare them.
Simon didn't pay much attention to the article, but when the Los Angeles Times published the press release the next day, the response was beyond his expectations.
"He can see people."
"He can see ghosts."
I have to say that the article is very logically reasonable.
Indeed, if Simon Westeros is a psychic, everything he's been showing up to in recent years has a very reasonable explanation.
While major mainstream newspapers reprinted the Los Angeles Times article, North American media also set off a wave of efforts to prove that Simon Westeros is indeed a psychic.
Direct attempts to contact Simon Westeros for an interview failed, and Westeros' public relations spokesman Pat Kingsley did nothing more than publicly refute the absurdity of the article. As a result, the media once again shifted their targets to San Jose, where Simon grew up, and to some of the people who were once around Simon.
Perhaps due to some kind of psychological suggestion effect, those who knew Simon in the past "suddenly realized" and cited various unusual things about Simon when he was a child to prove the argument of the Los Angeles Times article.
Some reporters also turned their attention back to Watsonville Mental Hospital, where Simon once lived.
However, because Janet had signed confidentiality agreements with many people at that hospital, the reporters found nothing this time. However, this further aroused the curiosity of the media.
Things got to a point where Janet called from Melbourne and curiously asked Simon if he was a psychic. If so, the necklace that the woman's grandmother originally planned to leave to her as a dowry could not be found after the old man died, and she wanted Simon to help 'ask' where to put it.
Simon angrily suggested that the woman just demolish the Johnston family mansion, and she would definitely find it.
Things were raging for a few days, and sure enough, some other arguments about Simon began to emerge. Fortunately, it was not the Middle Ages, otherwise, Simon felt that he might have been burned at the stake. In order to prevent the discussion from getting out of control, Daenerys Entertainment's public relations department and Simon's personal public relations team began to work hard to put out the fire.
On the other hand, this incident once again stimulated the box office of "The Sixth Sense" as Simon expected.
Because of some arguments that Cole might be Simon Westeros' "self-portrait", many viewers who were still unmoved despite the heated discussions among the people around them began to buy tickets out of curiosity.
In the end, from the week of July 14th to July 20th, "The Sixth Sense" only suffered a negligible 2.7% box office drop. In the third week of its release, it once again earned US$38.25 million, and the cumulative box office reached US$118.86 million. This phenomenal horror film not only achieved a first-rate record of over 100 million dollars in three weeks, but also surpassed the box office figure of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" of 110.65 million US dollars in three weeks and two days in the same period.
In addition, in the 7th week of its release, "The Bodyguard" also successfully exceeded the 100 million yuan mark, with a cumulative box office of 104.25 million US dollars in 7 weeks.
After a "low period" in the first half of the year, Daenerys Entertainment has created two films with a box office of over 100 million in North America.
The number of moviegoers in North America has basically not changed much over the years. The films produced by Daenerys Entertainment have harvested the box office so strongly that they will inevitably suppress other studios, so some things will happen.