Beverly Hills.
In a restaurant near Fox Studios, Simon was having lunch with Fox Film President Joe Ross.
The time is Friday, August 11th.
Daenerys Entertainment officially signed a settlement agreement with the WGA yesterday, and Simon met with Joe Ross today to discuss the first of the 10 foreign cooperation film plans.
Simon already has his eye on more than one project, and the reason why he started with Fox was because of Murdoch. These days, Rupert Murdoch personally called Simon more than once, talking about these 10 movies. Even when talking to Janet, the woman also mentioned that Murdoch told her old man about the project. matter.
Fox Pictures has collaborated with Simon on three films in the past two years: "The Butterfly Effect", "The Last Day" and "Basic Instinct", all of which were huge successes.
In addition, sequels to "The Butterfly Effect" and "The Coming of Death" were also developed last year. However, due to the success of the first part, there were external factors such as the public's curiosity about Simon. After the second parts of these two series were released last year, , the box office is far inferior to the first one.
"Butterfly Effect 2" only recovered more than 56 million U.S. dollars at the box office, and "Death 2" only took in a little over 38 million at the box office. Such results are actually very profitable. However, because the decline was too deep compared to the first film, Fox has also become cautious in developing the third film.
Without the release of sequels to these two ace horror films this year, Fox Pictures' performance immediately slumped.
This summer, Fox's "The Boss Goes on Vacation" released in July has only made a little over 22 million at the box office so far, without making any splash at all. James Cameron's new film "The Abyss," which was released last Friday, is even more of a pitfall. Cameron repeatedly overspent, and the budget of the film finally reached an astonishing $69.5 million.
Hollywood movies usually use an integer budget, such as 10 million or 20 million. Of course, the actual situation is not such a coincidence. Most of them are just an overall estimate.
Fox did not round up to the customary $70 million for "The Abyss," indeed because studio executives were afraid to do so again.
After all, although there are many Hollywood movies with budgets of 50 to 60 million US dollars in recent years, there is only one with a production cost of 70 million US dollars, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Even for this movie, Disney often concealed and lied to the outside world that the budget was not that high, but it was actually $45 million.
If the money spent can be exchanged for a blockbuster movie like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", the result is not bad. However, compared to the high production cost, "The Abyss" was really a box office dud.
According to statistics released this morning, the box office of "The Abyss" in its first seven days was only US$17.53 million. In comparison, "The Sixth Sense", which was released in its sixth week, still grossed US$20.37 million in a single week, firmly ranking first in the weekly box office list.
Based on media reviews and audience feedback, Fox's North American box office estimate for "The Abyss" is only US$50 million, and this project is almost destined to lose money. However, this is still the best box office performance among the seven movies Fox has released so far this year. Among other movies, the highest box office is last month's "The Boss Goes on Vacation" which has grossed US$22 million so far. None of the other six films has exceeded the 20 million box office threshold.
Murdoch has never been very enthusiastic about the film business. He prefers newspapers and television. However, now that Fox Pictures has been purchased, it cannot continue to be tepid, so it is eager to get a share of Daenerys Entertainment's 10 external cooperation film plans this time.
Now that he has decided to use Australian capital as his backing, Simon naturally has no reason to refuse Murdoch's request. Moreover, News Corporation's huge global media network is of great benefit to Simon's personal business expansion around the world.
Being a good friend of the Murdoch family has only advantages and no disadvantages.
"Sleeping with the Enemy? Hmm... I remembered it. It's the story of a wife who couldn't stand her husband's abuse and faked her death and ran away." In the restaurant, Joe Ross opened the folder of scripts selected by Simon and looked at it. He couldn't bear it anymore. The resident said: "Simon, this story seems to have no selling points and can only be made into a low-cost thriller. I think the film "Marked for Death" seems better. Have you seen it?"
"Sleeping with the Enemy" is actually a movie starring Julia Roberts in the original time and space. It tells the story of a wife who was trapped by her mentally disturbed husband and escaped from the family because she could not bear the torture and pretended to fall into the water and drowned.
The overall story seems to have no highlights, but it is a work that Simon remembers with a box office of over 100 million in North America.
Simon happened to have seen the movie.
The success of "Sleeping with the Enemy" is not just due to the participation of Julia Roberts. The key to its success is the tense plot that is interlocking and holds the audience's heart from beginning to end.
Therefore, compared to a script that really doesn't have many highlights, details such as rhythm control, suspense setting, atmosphere creation and even theme soundtrack during the film's production are all crucial.
There was not much free time at noon. Simon had no intention of arguing with Joe Ross. He put down the tableware and raised his head and said: "Joe, I'm not interested in "Marked for Death". If you like it, you can focus on this project in person. Let's talk about "With" Let's sleep together with our enemies."
Joe Ross smiled slightly awkwardly, stopped talking nonsense, and said, "So, Simon, what should we do next?"
Simon simply said: "I've had people conduct an evaluation based on my vision. The budget for this project is about 15 million US dollars. Preparations are now starting. If everything goes well, filming will start in October and will be released in the summer next year. You can start looking for suitable candidates this afternoon." Directors and producers, I will also let people contact the actors."
Joe Ross thought for a while and said, "This is a movie with a female protagonist. Simon, who are you going to let be the female protagonist?"
"I saw a preview review in The Hollywood Reporter. You are going to release a new movie in October called The Baker Brothers?"
Joe Roth, who naturally knows all about Fox’s films, blurted out: “Michelle Pfeiffer?”
"The Baker Brothers" is a musical musical film co-starring the two Bridges brothers and Michelle Pfeiffer. It has also been translated as "A Love Song That Ends". As you can tell from the name, it is a very literary film. is a movie, and the story is indeed very literary, warm, and evocative. It even has the feel of an old Hong Kong movie like "In the Mood for Love."
Simon nodded and said: "Michelle's acting skills have become more and more proficient in recent years, and she will definitely be able to support this movie. In addition, if you can, someone can send me a copy. I want to see it in advance." Her performance in this movie. Film critics said that Michelle's performance this time is enough to get an Oscar nomination. If this is the case, it will be more helpful to our movie."
"Pretty Woman" is currently being filmed. Although it can be completed before October, Simon has no plans to let Julia continue to star in "Sleeping with the Enemy". Cinderella in romantic love movies directly jumps to the one where her husband trapped her. Poor wife, the image contrast is a bit big, Simon is not sure whether the audience can accept it.
Michelle Pfeiffer has just turned 30 this year, and her acting skills have begun to reach its peak. If she can get an Oscar nomination for "The Baker Brothers" next year, her fame will be even higher, and she will star in "Sleeping with the Enemy" 》Just right.
If someone else asked for a copy, Joe Ross would at least handle it, if not refuse it. However, he readily agreed at this time: "I will have the copy sent to Daenerys Entertainment headquarters in the afternoon."
Simon nodded with satisfaction and added: "One more thing, about James Cameron, I heard that he has completed the script of "Terminator 2", and Fox can buy the copyright of "Terminator" to make this film. movie, which could serve as Daenerys Entertainment’s second project with Fox.”
When Joe Ross heard this, his expression suddenly turned bitter and he said: "Simon, because of the matter of "The Abyss", even if I am willing to continue to cooperate with James, the company's board of directors will not approve it."
"I just said, this can be regarded as the second project between Daenerys Entertainment and Fox," Simon said, and then added: "In addition, you only need to get the copyright of "Terminator" from Cameron. We don’t necessarily have to let him be the director of the script.”
Joe Ross understood immediately, but was a little confused.
If Simon is optimistic about this project, why doesn’t Daenerys Entertainment take it personally.
Simon noticed Joe Roth's doubts and explained with a smile: "I have contacted the copyright owner of "Terminator" before, but failed. If I come now, I will definitely get a heavy hit."
"Terminator 2" was the North American annual box office champion in 1991, with a global box office of more than 500 million US dollars. Simon naturally thought about monopolizing this project.
However, since a 10-movie plan has been proposed, if there is no blockbuster movie from beginning to end, other Hollywood studios will definitely not be so enthusiastic in the future.
After all, the main reason why Hollywood is excited about these 10 projects this time is to expect surprises like "The Sixth Sense" to appear. Otherwise, including the 10% distribution commission from each channel, other studios' interest in these projects is only about 60%.
Calculated in this way, a movie with a North American box office of US$100 million is actually only equivalent to US$60 million.
Of course, the North American box office of US$60 million is definitely not low in this era.
Not counting last year's box office explosion, a year or two ago, the North American box office of 60 million US dollars was enough to squeeze into the top ten of the annual list. Even in the next few years, there will only be about 20 Hollywood movies with a domestic box office of more than 60 million US dollars each year. Even if all of them fall to the seven major studios, the average is less than 3 movies each.
What's more, Simon doesn't plan to choose all 100-million-yuan projects this time, which requires a few blockbuster movies to support the performance of this plan.
The reason why "Terminator 2" was given up was mainly because the "cost-effectiveness" of this project was relatively low.
The original "Terminator 2" was the first Hollywood movie to cost more than $100 million to produce. Now, even if Cameron is kicked out and another director is replaced according to Simon's plan, the producer is no longer known in the circle for spending money. Carlock Pictures, the film's budget will definitely not be much lower, and it is just right.
After talking about things, lunch ended quickly.
As soon as Simon and Joe Ross walked out of the restaurant, some reporters who had heard about it surrounded them.
"Mr. Westeros, are you discussing a movie cooperation plan with Joe Roth?"
"Qiao, can you tell me what the subject is?"
"Simon, are you really psychic?"
“…”
“…”
The North American box office of "The Sixth Sense" is about to exceed the US$200 million mark, which is a huge trend.
Due to widespread attention from all walks of life, Daenerys Entertainment's 10 foreign cooperation film plans have become the focus of recent media pursuits. Daenerys Entertainment has made no concrete moves within two weeks of the plan being made public, which has aroused strong curiosity from the media and the public.
In the midst of all the chatter, Simon's bodyguard quickly came over to fend off the reporter and protected him into a car on the roadside.
Although Joe Ross enjoyed the feeling of being chased by reporters, he didn't rush to reveal anything. He just asked the surrounding reporters to pay attention to Fox's specific announcement, and then hurriedly got in the car and returned to Fox Studios.
Santa Monica.
Simon had just returned to Daenerys' office at Entertainment Headquarters when Jennifer followed him in.
"Forbes magazine will release the new annual Forbes 400 Richest Americans list next month. They contacted us this morning to see if we can proactively provide some materials. If so, they also hope that you can accept an exclusive interview."
Simon shook his head without hesitation and said: "We will not cooperate or stop this matter, let them figure it out on their own."
Jennifer hummed, opened the folder in her hand, pulled out a check and handed it over, saying, "This is not a good idea to just leave on the bedside table in the bedroom."
Simon took it and looked at it. It turned out to be the check he had signed to Linda Carter on Monday.
It seems that Jennifer discovered it when she was doing routine cleaning of the villa in the morning.
Simon hadn't been to Palisades since last Sunday, and he thought the woman would take the check away, but he didn't expect the woman to keep it.
Put it aside pretending not to care.
"Uncle Buck" was released today. John Hughes came to Los Angeles from Chicago in recent days to promote the film. Simon made an appointment to meet with him at one o'clock in the afternoon to discuss the second film in the contract. Of course, Simon's real purpose was to confirm "Home Alone" thing.
The time is coming soon.
Look across.
The female assistant was still standing there, her head lowered, and she seemed to be reading the document in her hand very seriously, with no intention of leaving.
After a short confrontation, Simon had to take the initiative to explain: "Well, I am a very suspicious boss. Of course, I have to test whether those cleaners will steal things. Now, the result is not bad."
Jennifer turned her head slightly and glanced over, with a faint smile on her lips, looking like a curious baby who wanted to continue 'listening to the story'.
Simon had no choice but to straighten up his face and say to the boss: "John will be here soon, go make a pot of coffee first, and just stand there waiting for me to deduct your salary!"
Jennifer gave Simon a very harmless look, and when she turned around, she did not forget to repeat a habitual little threat: "I will tell Jenny."