Arizona.
Coolidge, a small town south of Phoenix.
The time is February 3rd.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Kathryn Bigelow stood in front of the hotel where the crew was staying. She saw a black Chevrolet SUV driving dusty from the far side of the street. When the car stopped, she subconsciously took two steps forward.
Simon opened the door and got out of the car, looked at Catherine who was wearing a close-fitting black cardigan and jeans in front of her, then opened his arms and hugged the woman, and said: "You look more stylish in black."
Catherine glared at Simon with a slightly annoyed look, then said, "I heard the news in the Hollywood Reporter yesterday. Is it really okay for you to come here like this?"
"Of course not. Everything is basically done, and we're just waiting for the release. Besides, I think I should leave for a while. Some things are just too much."
Catherine nodded in understanding, gestured behind her, and said, "I have prepared your room for you. Also, have you had lunch?"
Simon shook his head and said with a smile: "Not yet, I thought I'd come over quickly and let you treat me."
Catherine rolled her eyes at him again, raised her finger and pointed diagonally across the road not far away: "Let's go over there, there is a restaurant there."
The two walked through the wide asphalt road in the small town. Simon looked at the streets with almost no people. He recalled the endless Gobi Desert on both sides of the interstate highway when he came all the way. He felt a little emotional and said: "There is a vacuum here."
"There are about 6,000 people in Coolidge City, which is already a lot," Catherine said as she walked beside Simon, and then said, "Didn't you originally plan to cooperate with Fox Films? Why did you become Orion again?"
"We can't reach an agreement," Simon said with a somewhat helpless tone, "Orion is easier to communicate with."
Catherine nodded in understanding and asked again: "What conditions did Orion give?"
When he came outside the restaurant, Simon opened the door for the woman and continued: "They will only take away the theatrical distribution rights in North America for the time being. Other channels will retain priority. Our share ratio is 15%."
Catherine walked into the restaurant and was a little surprised to hear Simon say this: "15%, very good."
Hollywood film companies with publicity and distribution channels are very powerful. After distributing a film as an agent, they usually take more than 30% of a film's box office share after spending on promotion, distribution and commissions.
On the other hand, due to low attendance rates, non-mainstream art films generally receive a low share of the box office from theaters. Some films can only get less than 30% of the box office from theaters.
Combining the two, Simon was able to obtain 15% of the box office share for a low-cost movie like "Run Lola Run", which still surprised Catherine.
The two sat down at the dining table. Simon ordered a lunch and asked the waiter to bring a pot of coffee before explaining: "It's not as good as you think. This is conditional. The cost of the copy must be borne by us." I produced it myself. Moreover, I also signed a package contract with Orion as a writer and director."
In order to get this 15% share, Simon and Mike Medova worked hard all day last Saturday and almost moved one place behind the decimal point.
Even if there are two additional conditions, it will be quite a struggle.
Mike Medowa believed that since Simon was willing to bear the cost of copying, it should pay for it first. Simon couldn't afford the money now, so he couldn't agree to it. In the end, Orion Pictures advanced the payment and deducted it from the box office share in the future.
As for the package contract, Mike Medova first took a fancy to "Death Comes" and wanted to sign it for $500,000.
Among them, US$300,000 is Simon's director's salary, and US$200,000 is the script fee for "Death Is Coming". Of course, although Simon is not a member of the two major unions of directors and screenwriters, according to industry practice, Simon can still enjoy sharing terms similar to those of union members.
"Death" has actually been picked up by Fox, but the other party is still waiting for the response of "The Butterfly Effect" and has not made an offer. Of course, according to the exception clause in Simon's contract with Fox, if he is willing to direct, there is indeed no problem in handing "Dead Man" to Orion.
However, Simon has no interest in directing this film himself. He only hopes to sign a blank contract that does not involve any details for the time being, and then discuss specific cooperation when he has a script that he is interested in.
Naturally, Mike Medowa would not agree.
In the end, both parties made some compromises. Simon signed a blank contract with a basic salary of US$500,000, but retained the power to renegotiate the sharing terms.
In the restaurant, Catherine held a cup of coffee and listened to Simon explain the details of his battle of wits with Mike Medowa. She smiled and said: "$500,000, what else are you dissatisfied with? I only have $150,000." Woolen cloth."
Simon retracted his arm on the table, asked the waiter to put down his lunch, picked up the tableware, took a bite of the pasta, and said: "When I have money, I will give you a blank contract. How much investment and how much salary do you want?" , fill it in yourself.”
Catherine dodged Simon's gaze and said, "I don't need your money."
"Then I will help you attract investment in the future."
"I can do it myself."
Simon nodded quickly: "Oh, yes."
Catherine watched Simon start to lower his head to eat, pursed his lips and said, "You, you don't think I can make a good movie?"
Simon immediately shook his head: "Of course not, I believe you will become the first female director to win the Oscar."
But Catherine still stared at Simon, not believing his words at all, and insisted: "You just think I can't make movies well."
Simon didn't expect women's intuition to be so keen, and he really wanted to swallow back the few words he just said.
Raising his head again, Simon looked at Catherine seriously and said: "No one can walk when they are born, so even if you can't take pictures now, you will definitely be able to take pictures well in the future."
Catherine made eye contact with Simon again, and suddenly felt like a little girl who had just lost her temper.
God, I'm so crazy.
She picked up the coffee cup, lowered her eyes and took a sip. She glanced over secretly with her peripheral vision. She felt relieved when Simon started eating again.
After a moment of silence, Catherine found another topic and whispered: "Well, how many opening screens can Orion give to "Run Lola Run"?"
Simon also seemed to have forgotten the conversation just now, and said nonchalantly: "It's about 200 yuan. You can only get so much in two weeks. This is because it is the off-season. Moreover, these screens are mainly concentrated on the West Coast and East Coast. For the time being, there will only be some screenings in New York."
The media industry in the 1980s was far less developed than it would later be. The current discussion about Simon and "Run Lola Run" is basically focused on a few West Coast states and counties where the "Los Angeles Times" can reach.
Therefore, Orion has temporarily chosen to focus its publicity resources on the West Coast.
The opening screen price of 200 yuan actually exceeded Simon's expectations.
In this era when "Star Wars" only has 1,000 opening screens, Simon naturally cannot ask for too much. Even if he cooperates with the Seven, they will only give them about 300 to 400 screens at most, but Simon will never get it. With a 15% share, it is impossible to temporarily retain distribution rights through other channels.
After a simple lunch, Simon and Catherine left the restaurant together, and then asked about "Night of the Blood Corpse": "How are you planning the filming here?"
"The next month will be night shooting, starting at six in the afternoon and going until two in the morning," Catherine said. The two crossed the asphalt road and returned to the other side. After a pause, the woman suddenly said: "You, Are you not allowed to say those words to me again?”
Simon pretended to be stupid: "What?"
Catherine didn't look at Simon and threatened slightly: "Otherwise, I will tell Jenny."
Simon immediately raised a hand: "Okay, I promise."
Listening to Simon's very insincere tone, Catherine just glared at him angrily.
Back at the hotel, Catherine helped Simon settle into the room and introduced him to some of the other main cast members of "Night of the Blood Corpse."
The male protagonist of "Night of the Blood Corpse" is named Adrian Pasdar, who happens to be a client of Jonathan Friedman. The heroine Jenny Wright is a baby-faced girl with short hair. She is very beautiful, but her temperament is more pure, lacking the coolness and enchantment that a vampire should have.
Simon then met the film's producer, Edward Feldman, a middle-aged man in his fifties. The other party had obviously heard about some recent events in Hollywood. When he saw Simon, he was very polite and did not show any dissatisfaction with him joining the group midway. He even signed an employment contract with him in person.
After getting to know each other, Simon quickly integrated into the work of the crew starting in the evening.
Simon's position is director's assistant, and since he is part of a regular crew, his salary is pretty good, $500 per week. Of course, Simon was here to help, so naturally he didn't care about the money.
While Simon was sleeping around the clock in Arizona, the announcement of "Run Lola Run" was also progressing rapidly in Los Angeles.
Although Orion had some objections to Simon's sudden departure at this point in time, they did not ask him to return.
Because it's not useful.
Simon had already finished the posters and trailers he might need before he left, and the film had no plans to hold a premiere.
What Orion did was basically to contact theaters, roll out posters, and release the trailer of "Run Lola Run" to local TV stations in some cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego a week before the release.
These may seem simple, but without experience and connections, a film company that is just starting out will definitely not be able to do it.
Moreover, in just two weeks of release, the entire publicity budget invested by Orion easily reached 500,000 US dollars. This is based on the fact that the copy cost of "Lola Run" is included on Simon's side.
You know, the total cost of a 200-yuan copy of "Lola Run" is also about 150,000 US dollars.
This shows how expensive film distribution was in the film era. This is why many low-cost films are basically unable to enter theaters and will only flow directly into video channels.
Due to the tight schedule of "Lola Run" and the appropriate publicity methods of Orion Pictures, from the rise of the topic of Simon in the media to the release of the film, the relevant media discussions have been maintained in a very active state.
This continues until Friday, February 13th.
"Run Lola Run" has finally been officially released in major cities on the West Coast and New York and other theaters on the East Coast with an opening of 207 screens.