The two sat in the coffee shop until evening, and Simon explained all aspects of "Run Lola Run" to Sandra Bullock in great detail.
Sandra Bullock has a very straightforward personality and agreed to Simon's request to dye her hair without hesitation. She also said that she would start exercising during this period to adapt to the upcoming high-intensity filming.
Finally, Sandra did not express any objection to Simon's $5,000 salary.
The heroine's matter is finally settled.
In the blink of an eye, it’s a new week.
After the "Los Angeles Times" article last Thursday, in the following days, some media turned their attention to the story content of "The Butterfly Effect".
Now that it has taken over this project, Fox is aware of this situation and has begun to promote "The Butterfly Effect". The WMA is even more happy to see the media shift its focus from the company’s infighting to the packaging project itself.
Therefore, under the guidance of various parties, the slightly unfamiliar vocabulary "butterfly effect" began to be gradually noticed by more and more people.
However, although many media began to attach Simon's name to topics related to the "Butterfly Effect" script, Jonathan successfully blocked all invitations to interview Simon himself.
As a newcomer, the $200,000 script transaction price is indeed astonishing, but after all, he is just a film screenwriter who does not attract too many people's attention. Just like not many people still remember, last year a newcomer's original script called "Lethal Weapon" was also sold for a high price of $250,000.
In the final analysis, script trading is actually only paid more attention to by fellow screenwriters who also want to stand out. Even if most ordinary people notice it, they often marvel and envy it, and then they will never see it again.
As a result, Simon's life is still very peaceful.
Now that he has made an agreement with Roger, Simon still has not left Griffin Supermarket in the new week, and the fat boss is also happy that Simon, a young man like Simon who earns a low salary but is still conscientious, continues to work for him.
After days of intensive negotiations, the final signing date for the "Project Butterfly" package between the WMA and Fox was set for Tuesday.
Simon arrived at the WMA headquarters around 8:50 a.m., and Jonathan's black Mercedes-Benz sedan happened to turn into the parking lot.
After locking the bicycle, Simon walked up to Jonathan who was waiting for him not far away, shook hands with his agent, and said, "Good morning, Joe."
"Morning, Simon."
Jonathan smiled and shook Simon's hand, then looked at his bicycle.
Jonathan lent Simon $20,000 before he left for San Francisco last week, and Simon only spent $500 in the entire process.
However, after returning, Jonathan did not take back the money. He knew that Simon was still living in the motel, and just told Simon to choose a suitable residence as soon as possible. This money was regarded as his advance payment for "The Butterfly Effect".
Jonathan originally thought that Simon would suddenly have a lot of money in his hands and he would be eager to improve his life. Unexpectedly, Simon was still riding the second-hand bicycle today, and his clothes had not changed much.
Although he admired the young man's financial self-control, Jonathan still advised: "Simon, you'd better buy a car as soon as possible. You can't live without a car in Los Angeles. Even if Fox's remuneration will take a few days, the twenty thousand US dollars is almost the same." It’s enough.”
Simon smiled and nodded, saying: "I will consider it as soon as possible."
It’s not that Simon doesn’t want to improve his life. He has made an appointment with a real estate agent and plans to rent an apartment as soon as possible in the next few days. After all, there are so many inconveniences to staying in a motel.
But other than that, Simon has no plans to buy a car or purchase other items of clothing for the time being.
On the one hand, Simon is too busy. He arranges his time very fully and does not have much free time for shopping and consumption.
On the other hand, as the preparations for "Lola Run" deepened step by step, Simon became more and more aware that he might have misremembered a very important thing, which made him more and more reluctant to spend money. cautious.
After Simon and Jonathan arrived at the WMA headquarters, several other main creators of "The Butterfly Effect", including director Brian De Palma, actor Matt Dillon, and actress Elizabeth Shue, also arrived one after another.
After Lou Weiss and other high-level officials briefly intervened, Jonathan is now responsible for this project.
Everyone simply held a small meeting and rushed to Fox Studios, which is not far from the WMA headquarters.
On Fox's side, Fox President Ronald Goldberg also appeared at the signing ceremony, as well as Fox's producer David Giller, who was responsible for "The Butterfly Effect."
The signing ceremony begins at ten o'clock.
However, the whole process was quite low-key, which was actually the common wish of both parties.
In a conference room at the Fox headquarters, under the witness of lawyers from both sides, Simon, like several others, frequently signed his name on a thick contract in duplicate. After being busy for more than ten minutes, it was finally finalized. .
Then there was a simple lunch meeting, where everyone ate together at a restaurant in Fox Studios. The heads of the two companies introduced each other to the staff who would be responsible for the "Butterfly Effect" project.
During this period, Simon was also notified that the first production meeting of "The Butterfly Effect" will be held next Monday to discuss revisions to the script.
Although Simon was very confident, the script he provided was already quite polished.
However, this kind of thing is inevitable, and the studio has the right to modify the script according to the actual situation or even the personal wishes of the person in charge.
Of course, Simon can actually refuse.
But if this is the case, the studio may be happier. They can find a more obedient screenwriter to modify the script, and Simon will no longer be able to get the remaining $60,000 in the contract.
It can be said that the power to make subsequent revisions to the script is not only the power of the studio, but also the power of the screenwriter himself. No screenwriter would want his script to be modified beyond recognition and end up being a bad movie. Rather than letting others modify it, it is better to modify it yourself.
After lunch, Brian De Palma and others drove directly from Fox Studios, but Simon took a ride from his agent back to the WMA headquarters, and his bicycle was still there.
"Fox's fund settlement is still very timely. If everything goes well, you will be able to get the check in the next few days." In the agent's office, Jonathan looked at the boy opposite and said: "So, Simon, 200,000 US dollars, there is Don’t plan to do anything?”
Simon smiled and replied: "Making movies, you know."
Jonathan also laughed and said: "Speaking of this, except for "The Butterfly Effect", you have never shown me any other scripts of yours, especially "The God of Death", which was actually seen by the studio first. of."
Simon took out the script of "Death Is Coming" from his backpack, handed it to Jonathan, and said: "I have been so busy recently, I almost forgot to give it to you."
Jonathan took the script, but did not open it in a hurry, saying: "Fox has actually taken a fancy to this story, and I have also read the outline. It is a very special idea, not much worse than "The Butterfly Effect". Simon, the question now is "Yes, do you want to hand over the script to Fox now and get another sum of money, or do you want to wait until "The Butterfly Effect" is released?"
Simon did not hesitate at all and said: "Of course, after the release of "The Butterfly Effect", I still have this confidence."
"The Butterfly Effect" has become a green light project for Fox. Although the schedule has not yet been determined, the release date will not be later than next summer.
If Simon sells the script to Fox now, he won't get a very high offer due to the restriction of the option contract.
But if you wait patiently until "The Butterfly Effect" is released next year, the situation will be different.
Of course, things may not necessarily develop in a better direction.
Once "The Butterfly Effect" becomes a box office success, the price of Simon's second script will naturally rise. On the contrary, if "The Butterfly Effect" fails at the box office, Fox will not only further suppress the offer, but more seriously, may even abandon Simon's script completely.
Simon signed an option contract with Fox for five years.
Within five years, Fox will have first option rights to two more Simon scripts. The so-called right of first option simply means that for equal offers, Fox can get Simon's script first.
Moreover, over the years, film companies have actually formed a tacit understanding.
As long as a screenwriter signs an option contract, unless the company voluntarily gives up, other studios will basically no longer participate in the competition for each other's scripts. This also allows the relevant screenwriters to rely on the results of their previous works to compete with the production. Film producers negotiate remuneration.
Of course, Fox wouldn't be satisfied with any of Simon's scripts during the five-year contract. When the contract expires, the initial deposit of US$40,000 is non-refundable.
After discussing this matter, Simon took the initiative to mention Sandra's participation in "Lola Run".
When Jonathan heard that the two had agreed on a salary of US$5,000, he also expressed no objection. These days, I am busy with the "Butterfly Effect" packaging project, and my agent still doesn't know much about "Lola Run", and I even feel that Simon's asking price is a bit high.
However, as Sandra's agent, of course, such words cannot be said. Anyway, it was an agreement between the two of them, so Jonathan asked Simon to take the time to find Owen and ask him to help Sandra prepare a contract.
No matter what, the broker still has to take a commission.
Simon still had to rush to Roger's supermarket. In the last few days, he worked the middle shift. From 3 pm to 11 am, after talking to Jonathan about these things, Simon stood up and left.
After leaving Jonathan's office, Simon had just turned around a corridor when he heard the rapid footsteps of a group of people behind him, with a vague aura of arrogance that wanted to hit anyone who stood in front of him.
Somewhat puzzled as to why someone would be so showy at the WMA headquarters, Simon stepped aside to the corridor, turned his head, and saw Matthew Broderick with unwillingness and anger on his expression, regardless of the fact that this was an office that needed to be kept quiet. He walked over with his footsteps.
Moreover, Matthew was followed by a group of men and women who were also making noisy footsteps.
Matthew Broderick obviously did not expect to encounter Simon in the corridor of WMA headquarters at this very moment.
While walking, he suddenly found Simon appearing in front of him. Thinking of the events of the past few days, his originally unwilling and angry eyes suddenly became filled with a bit of hatred. He looked at Simon fiercely, but his pace did not slow down, and he hurriedly walked He passed Simon and walked out of the building.
Simon did not know that the WMA ultimately chose to sacrifice the interests of Norman Brocka and Matthew Broderick in order to settle the matter as quickly as possible.
However, feeling the hatred in the other person's eyes, Simon still felt a little more wary.
Six or seven men and women behind Matthew Broderick also passed by Simon one after another. The guy in the bar who was picked up by Simon with one hand provocatively tried to bump into Simon, but Simon easily dodged it.
This is no place for trouble.
Simon also saw Courteney's former roommate Christy Swanson in the crowd, but the other party obviously pretended not to see Simon at all, took a boy on his arm, and left among several other young people. .