Chapter 92: Cunning

April 13, Monday.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, the box office data for the past weekend just released.

Despite overwhelmingly negative media reviews, "The Butterfly Effect" still strongly harvested $14.31 million at the box office in its first weekend, effortlessly taking the top spot in North America's weekend box office.

With the popularity of "Run Lola Run" backing it, many had anticipated that the opening weekend box office of "The Butterfly Effect" wouldn't be too poor. However, despite the media's bombardment of negative reviews, the $14.31 million it earned over the weekend was still impressive.

By comparison, it's easy to see how extraordinary these figures are.

During the same period, Michael Fox's new movie "The Road to Riches," whether in terms of marketing efforts or screening scale, was significantly ahead of "The Butterfly Effect." Although the media reviews for "The Road to Riches" were not high, they were far better than those for "The Butterfly Effect."

However, the opening weekend box office for "The Road to Riches" was only $7.76 million, only half of that for "The Butterfly Effect."

Despite the impact of these two new films causing a further drop in ticket sales, the ninth-weekend box office of "Run Lola Run," still impressive at $7.19 million, brought its cumulative box office to over $150 million.

Seeing the unstoppable data of this phenomenal 'event movie', many quickly understood why the opening weekend box office for "The Butterfly Effect" was double that of the second place.

The success of "Run Lola Run," from plot to props, from dialogue to cinematography, tirelessly inculcated the concept of the 'butterfly effect' to the audience, even the director Simon Westeros admitted on NBC's "Late Night Show" that his purpose in making "Run Lola Run" was to annotate and pave the way for "The Butterfly Effect."

"Run Lola Run" achieved unexpected success, and tens of millions of viewers who saw the film naturally became more curious about "The Butterfly Effect." Therefore, the opening weekend box office was obviously a number affected by strong negative reviews.

Even so, based on the opening weekend box office trend, Fox only needed one week to recoup all production costs. Now, the question was how the box office curve for "The Butterfly Effect" would trend moving forward.

Knowing that a $14.31 million opening weekend box office in this era definitely qualifies a movie as a North American blockbuster seed.

If this target could be achieved, Fox, which had been struggling for years, could finally enjoy another blockbuster in North America. But under the current media reputation, if the subsequent box office trend sharply declined, breaking $100 million would naturally be out of reach.

Thus, Ronald Goldberg, the president of Fox, who had been worried that "The Butterfly Effect" would flop due to strong negative reviews, saw the weekend box office figures not only did not relax but became even more anxious.

On the other side.

A new week, news of Hollywood genius director Simon Westeros breaking up with Australian mining magnate's daughter Janet Johnston quickly made headlines across major media.

Although Simon's PR manager, Patti Kinsley, quickly issued a statement claiming the couple was just confused about their feelings and temporarily living apart, the media clearly disregarded such 'official rhetoric.'

Within just a few days, various speculations filled the newspapers.

According to insiders, the reason Simon Westeros and Janet Johnston broke up was due to unequal profit sharing from "Run Lola Run." Rough estimates show "Run Lola Run" is expected to bring in $110 million in net revenue, with Janet Johnston alone enjoying 61.5%, about $67 million, far surpassing Simon Westeros's share.

"Simon Westeros moved out of the Palisades mansion Monday morning."

"Rumors say Simon Westeros has transferred the earnings from 'Run Lola Run' to Westeros Company, or might start a legal battle with his ex-girlfriend."

"Janet Johnston, unaffected by the breakup, meets with a well-known Los Angeles art broker."

"Westeros's unnamed new film is officially in the works, Daenerys Pictures' president Amy Pascal refuses to comment on the breakup."

"Lover of 'May-December' relationships, Simon Westeros dates 'Blade Runner' actress Sean Young, who is nine years his junior."

"John Travolta confirms joining Westeros's new film."

"Janet Johnston and Catherine Bigelow have lunch together, dispelling rumors that Catherine was the cause of the breakup due to their close relationship."

Compared to other Hollywood couples who frequently make headlines, Simon and Janet had been remarkably low-key.

Thus, when their breakup rumors were confirmed, possibly involving disputes over hundreds of millions of dollars, the entire North American media instantly became excited. For a whole week, their every move was surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi, interpreting every action in various absurd ways.

Simon had anticipated this situation, leaving

 the relatively private cliffside mansion in Palisades to Janet, he himself moved to the Century Towers next to Fox Studios.

Located in Century City, the Century Towers are two adjacent 28-story luxury apartment buildings with gated management, including celebrities like Michael Douglas, which also helped shield from media harassment.

While Los Angeles paparazzi might not be as crazy as those in London, they are certainly the most numerous. Eager for a lawsuit showdown between Simon and Janet, the area around them remained unusually lively for the entire week.

Simon was utterly indifferent to the paparazzi, always confidently handing media relations and image maintenance to Patti Kinsley. Thus, regardless of the number of paparazzi around, none of this troubled him too much.

Compared to this, suddenly separating from Janet did disrupt Simon's life a bit.

For over half a year, perhaps from the first time he helped Simon rent the villa in Montana, Janet had unknowingly taken over managing Simon's daily life. From major items like household appliances to minor ones like Simon's towels and toothbrush, she had unknowingly taken care of everything.

Now, suddenly back to single life, Simon found that his ability to manage daily life had significantly deteriorated.

Cunning, indeed.

It must be intentional.

When Simon called Janet to inquire about the coffee brand he had gotten used to over the past half year, he also 'questioned' her, and then she very proudly admitted it, looking like a little witch who had succeeded in her plot.

Aside from these details, Simon's work was not affected in the slightest.

Located near the beach in downtown Santa Monica, the brand-new headquarters of Daenerys Pictures was set up here.

Compared to the initial three simple offices, the company now fully leased a two-story white building. Everyone's offices, screening rooms, audition rooms, and even the movie post-production studio were all available.

"The Reaper Comes" was scheduled for October 23, and the company was currently in full swing with the casting process.

As a teen horror movie, "The Reaper Comes" didn't have high demands for actors. To save on the budget, Simon wasn't planning to use well-known young actors. Also, with many roles in the film, the Daenerys Pictures headquarters was definitely a gathering place for handsome men and beautiful women these days.

It was now the penultimate round of auditions.

Although Simon preferred to make the final decision in the last round, to avoid Fox doubting whether the pay was worth it, he still tried to participate in the casting process as much as possible.

"Thank you for coming today, Miss Clark. We will notify you of the audition results as soon as possible."

Inside the audition room.

After another tall girl with short blonde hair performed, Linda Wags, the casting director Simon had worked with in "Run Lola Run," formally dismissed her and was about to call the next person when Susan Landis, the first employee the company had hired and now Simon's office secretary, came in and whispered something in his ear.

"I'll be right there."

After hearing her, Simon nodded, greeted Wes Craven and Ron McMillan, and then got up to leave the audition room.

Wes Craven and the others knew that Simon was more focused on his own "Pulp Fiction" lately, also casting for this movie these days, so they weren't surprised by his sudden departure.

Simon left the audition room, and the lounge that extended to the hallway was currently waiting with over a dozen absolutely stunning girls.

Seeing Simon appear, all the girls' eyes lit up instantly, they got up and enthusiastically greeted him with calls of 'Simon' and 'Mr. Westeros.' Some girls even boldly came over to secretly slip notes into Simon's pocket.

The girls clearly knew that Simon had just become single, and this audition was even blatantly aimed at him.

If they could land such a boyfriend, even without mentioning the help he could bring to their acting careers, Simon Westeros's current fortune was already the dream of many girls.

To know, Hollywood's hottest director Steven Spielberg had only accumulated a little over $200 million in fortune over the years. Simon Westeros, just from "Run Lola Run," had earned over $40 million.

A multimillionaire under 20 was indeed very rare worldwide.

Simon just smiled and silently walked through the crowd. If he said he didn't enjoy the feeling of being pursued and surrounded by a group of beautiful women, that would be a lie. However, deep down, Simon didn't feel he had broken up with Janet at all. Having lived two lifetimes, he wasn't lacking in the temperament to resist such simple temptations.

Casually tossing the few cards from his pocket into the trash can in the hallway, Simon arrived outside his office, where a man and a woman waiting in the secretary's office both stood up.

"Mr. Lieberman, Miss Ryan, hello," Simon smiled and shook hands with each of them, then said, "Come with me."

Saying this,

 he also instructed Susan to brew some coffee, and Simon then pushed open the door to his own office. Moving to the sitting area, they all sat down together, and Simon took a serious look at the lady across the sofa.

Meg Ryan.

One of America's sweethearts, the original lead actress in "When Harry Met Sally."

Currently, Meg Ryan was just an actress who had appeared in a few movies, her most famous role being just a pilot's wife in last year's "Top Gun."

Simon initially thought that Meg Ryan's appearance in "Top Gun" might have been the result of offending the makeup artist. But now, seeing her in person, he felt even more disappointed.