Chapter 153: Julia Roberts

Anthony Johnston only stayed in Los Angeles for a few hours before flying back to Australia that evening. The renovation of the Fifth Avenue apartment was ongoing and couldn't be left unattended for long. After Anthony left, Janet also rushed to New York the next day.

Having decided to purchase Point Dume Park, Simon had his personal lawyer, George Norman, start working on the acquisition. There have been cases of park privatization in the United States, and purchasing a state park isn't difficult if cost isn't a concern.

In the original timeline, the sleek silver mansion of Tony Stark from the "Iron Man" series, known as 'City of Liberty,' was located on the promontory of Point Dume Park. Compared to most other buildings in Malibu, 'City of Liberty' indeed stood out impressively. Having decided to recreate the 'Avengers Tower' in Manhattan, the 'City of Liberty,' which also matched Simon's aesthetic preferences, was naturally not to be missed.

The turmoil caused by the birthday party gradually subsided, and Simon's life returned to calm, focusing on a series of projects being operated by Daenerys Studios.

"Pulp Fiction" was completed a week after Simon's birthday. Although Orion Pictures had always been skeptical about the project, they started the film's promotion and prepared for its participation in the Cannes Film Festival in May, as planned.

Simon was looking forward to "Pulp Fiction," but after completing the film, he didn't continue to pay much attention to it. After all, Daenerys Studios only had a 10% share of the North American box office and a 5% share of North American videotape sales for "Pulp Fiction." Simon was more focused on projects directly invested in by Daenerys Studios.

"When Harry Met Sally," scheduled for release on March 25th, was also completed. After several internal screenings and considering the film's quality and theme, Disney decided to start a limited screening two weeks early, planning about 30 screening sessions in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago starting March 11th.

"Basic Instinct" started filming in mid-February, with a shooting schedule of two months and another two months for post-production. The film was scheduled for release on July 15th. Assuming no unexpected issues arose, there was plenty of time.

Other films like "Rain Man," "Steel Magnolias," "Scream," "Dead Poets Society," etc., were also being pushed forward methodically by Simon and Amy, who had divided the work between them.

On the other hand, on March 7th, the Writers Guild officially began its strike after once again rejecting the latest contract offer from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Except for Simon, no one anticipated that the strike would last five months.

After the strike began, the operations of major television networks were quickly affected, with daytime soap operas shifting to reruns and late-night talk shows cutting back on segments that required scripts. Thanks to prior preparation, the prime-time TV shows airing during the spring season weren't too badly impacted.

Additionally, the Oscars ceremony, originally scheduled for the end of March, was postponed after the strike began. "Run Lola Run" only received a consolation technical nomination, so naturally, Simon had little expectation for it.

Since the strike arrived as anticipated, Simon, while busy with film affairs, also began planning several TV programs. He didn't intend to produce TV dramas, as the workload for TV drama scripts far exceeded that for film scripts. Although there were many classic American TV shows in his memory, Simon couldn't afford to waste too much time on scripts now, especially since Daenerys Studios couldn't hire professional writers during the strike.

Simon planned to produce reality shows.

It was the Hollywood writers' strike of 1988 that spurred the development of reality TV programs in the United States.

However, due to the generally conservative strategies of North American television networks, reality TV didn't truly take off until the late 1990s, when a series of proven successful reality shows from Europe were introduced to the United States, leading to the flourishing of various reality TV programs in the North American television industry over the next two decades.

Including the newly established Fox network, there were four major national mainstream networks in North America, and Simon planned to produce four reality TV programs, ideally selling each to a different network. Whether the networks would be willing to buy them, the content-starved networks facing months of strikes wouldn't have many choices.

"I met a vice president of ABC in New York last time, a very nice person. I had planned to poach him after acquiring New World Entertainment, but as you know, that's not going to happen anytime soon. However, he agreed to introduce me to a few TV producers. I'll have Janet give you his contact information later, and you can discuss this with him."

Back at Daenerys Studios headquarters, after the final production meeting for "Rain Man," which was scheduled to start filming next week, Simon and Amy returned to their office.

"Simon, about these... reality TV programs, don't we need to communicate with the networks first?"

"It's not time to approach the networks yet," Simon shook his head, "We'll see how it goes. Anyway, the budgets for these reality shows won't be too high, and even less for the initial preparations. If the strike ends soon, the likelihood of the networks buying these novel programs is low. Even if they're willing, we won't get a good contract, so we'll just cut them off. However, if the strike lasts a long time and affects the production of fall TV shows, we'll have a chance. As long as there's such a possibility, we definitely need to be prepared."

Amy nodded, then said, "Also, about 'Steel Magnolias,' Meg Ryan still owes us a film contract. I think we can cast her as Shelby, and her agent has expressed interest in this."

"Meg Ryan's persona is too sweet for a frail character suffering from a terminal illness," Simon shook his head, "And I've already scheduled a meeting with an actress, who should be here by now. Do you want to come and see?"

Amy was startled, asking, "Who?"

"A newcomer," Simon said, "I saw her in a movie recently and hope she can play Shelby."

Amy smiled slightly, "Alright, if you think she's suitable. But I have to go to Disney later, so I'll check her out when I have time."

Simon knew Amy probably misunderstood but didn't bother to explain.

They parted ways, and Simon returned to his office, where three people were already waiting in the outer lounge.

After nodding to the other man and woman, Simon turned to Courteney Cox, who he had only briefly met at his birthday party, and asked in surprise, "Court, didn't we schedule for four o'clock? You seem to have arrived an hour early?"

Courteney Cox, who also attended Simon's birthday party last month, found no opportunity to speak with him alone due to his busyness.

Now, facing the young man who seemed even more composed than when they first met, and thinking of last month's 10 million dollar birthday party, Courteney felt even more bitter but still managed a relaxed smile, "Simon, I was worried about being late, so I came early. You can attend to your other matters first; I'll wait."

"Then, please wait a moment."

Simon said and turned to the other man and woman.

The middle-aged man extended his hand to Simon, saying, "Mr. Westerlow, hello, I'm Marvin Josephson, pleased to meet you."

Although Simon hadn't met him in person, he knew Marvin Josephson was the president of ICM, one of Hollywood's largest talent agencies next to WMA and CAA. With Ed Limato bringing stars like Mel Gibson and Denzel Washington to ICM earlier this year, the agency's strength had significantly increased.

"Hello, Marvin, just call me Simon," Simon shook hands with Marvin Josephson, then turned to the young woman beside him with ash blonde curly hair, smiling and extending his hand, "Hello, Julia."

Julia Roberts, somewhat flattered by the young man's familiar and friendly tone, quickly shook hands with Simon, saying, "Hello, Wes... Simon."

"Let's go in and talk, then."

Simon instructed his secretary Susan briefly, nodded to Courteney, and led the other two into his office. Courteney Cox, seeing the door to Simon's office close and realizing she hadn't received any special treatment, felt even more dejected.

Inside the office.

After sitting down in the guest area and waiting for Susan to bring coffee, Simon observed Julia Roberts.

The big-mouthed beauty, barely in her twenties, still appeared somewhat green. Simon had discovered this future Hollywood box-office powerhouse in a musical film called "Satisfaction" that premiered last month. Julia Roberts played a guitarist in an all-girl rock band in "Satisfaction." Simon also spotted another future Hollywood star, Liam Neeson, who was also taking on various minor roles at the time, in the same movie.

Julia Roberts was the original Shelby in "Steel Magnolias," a character who suffers from kidney disease and dies unexpectedly. Shelby's character was based on the sister of "Steel Magnolias" screenwriter Robert Harling, who wrote the screenplay following his sister's death, pouring a lot of emotion into the character.

With her role as Shelby, Julia Roberts received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Compared to Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts' fresh-faced quality indeed better fit the character of Shelby.

After a brief chat, Simon brought up the matter at hand.

"Marvin, I saw Julia's performance in 'Satisfaction,' and as you know, Daenerys Studios is currently producing a series of films. So, I won't beat around the bush. I want to sign Julia to a long-term contract for five movies. What do you think?"

Marvin Josephson and Julia Roberts were taken aback by the proposal.

The industry was aware of Simon's decision to cast Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally," and many, including the two present, didn't doubt there was some relationship between Simon Westerlow and Meg Ryan.

Julia Roberts was just a newcomer who had recently played a minor role in a standalone film. Marvin Josephson, as president of ICM, came today mainly to make contact with Simon Westerlow to secure more opportunities for ICM's artists. Thus, he hadn't placed much importance on the girl beside him and had even convinced Julia Roberts to leave alone after discussing business.

Neither expected Simon Westerlow to offer what they thought was a misunderstanding.

For a newcomer to Hollywood, securing an occasional decent role was already a stroke of luck. Most aspiring actors and actresses remain stuck at this stage, eventually giving up after their youth fades.

A contract for five movies!

Julia Roberts hadn't expected such a windfall and quickly nodded, "Weste... Simon, I'm willing."

As Julia spoke, Marvin Josephson also came around, calming his emotions before asking, "Simon, could you elaborate?"

Simon said, "Five movies, besides the 'Steel Magnolias' supporting role I sent to Julia, the other four will guarantee her as the lead actress."

Julia Roberts immediately nodded again, but this time, she looked to Marvin Josephson. She was willing to do anything for such a contract, and if Marvin dared to mess it up, she wouldn't hesitate to leave ICM.

Marvin Josephson became even more composed, glancing at the pretty young woman beside him and then at the young man across, "Simon, I believe you have the capability to offer Julia a five-movie contract, but what's the duration of this contract, and how will the payment be handled?"

Simon said, "The contract duration is 10 years. As for the payment, Julia will receive newcomer's pay for the first two films, and starting with the third, she can renegotiate."

Marvin Josephson asked, "Simon, can Julia participate in other movies during these five contracts?"

"Unless I agree, she cannot. And since we're offering Julia such a generous contract, Daenerys Studios will definitely include very strict restrictions and penalty clauses for breach of contract."

Marvin considered for a moment, "In that case, 10 years is too long. Five movies, I think a 5-year duration is more appropriate."

Simon shook his head, "It has to be 10 years, Marvin. We all know an actor's career has its ups and downs."

Marvin Josephson said, "But, 10 years for only five movies, Simon, don't you think that's too few?"

Simon shook his head, "I just said, Julia can still participate in other movies with my approval. And the contract is for 10 years, but it doesn't necessarily have to take 10 years to complete. If everything goes smoothly, maybe, we really can complete this contract in 5 years."

Marvin Josephson glanced at Julia Roberts again, unable to suppress his curiosity. He didn't believe a young man who had made a fortune so early would offer such terms for mere attraction: "Simon, may I ask why?"

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