Chapter 69: Final Destination

Peter Sanders seemed eager to get down to business, and after exchanging pleasantries with Simon, he suggested they find a quieter place to talk. Simon agreed without hesitation, and after a brief word with Janet and the others, he led Peter Sanders out of the hotel where the crew was staying and into a nearby café.

Once seated and having ordered coffee, Peter Sanders got straight to the point. "Simon, I've come here to discuss the contract between you and Fox."

Simon nodded slightly, maintaining a calm demeanor as he waited for Peter to continue.

Peter eyed Simon's expression, paused, and then unexpectedly switched topics. "Simon, Mr. Goldberg arranged a screening of the dailies for 'The Butterfly Effect' on Tuesday, and the reception wasn't great. Several critics felt the movie was a bit disjointed."

Stirring the coffee that the waiter had just brought, Simon responded lightly, "If that's the case, Mr. Sanders, I'm sorry to hear it. However, I believe my script is a fantastic story, and I trust that Brian has the capability to present it brilliantly. Perhaps you just need to be patient and wait for the film to be fully completed."

Sensing Simon's assertive stance, and remembering Ronald Goldberg's instructions, Peter conceded, "Well, that's probably right."

Simon, picking up on Peter's tone, decided not to make it too awkward for him and shifted the conversation back, "You mentioned a contract earlier, Peter?"

Taking a sip of his coffee, Peter set down his cup before replying, "Yes, Simon, we want to exercise our option from that contract right now, to purchase your script for 'Final Destination.' Furthermore, Mr. Goldberg wants you to direct it. If you agree, we can start the project immediately, aiming for a release at the end of the year."

The allure of 'Final Destination' was its novel concept, though as a typical slasher flick, its box office potential was limited. Simon had no intention of devoting much energy to this project and had already committed to directing another film for Orion, making immediate collaboration with Fox impossible.

Simon did not immediately refuse, however, and instead inquired, "What are Fox's terms, Peter?"

After a moment's hesitation and dropping any roundabout tactics, Peter stated directly the terms Ronald Goldberg had authorized: "Simon, if you agree to direct, we can offer a director's fee of two million dollars, plus a 10% share of the North American box office profits. This is a very generous offer, Simon. Typically, newcomers like you wouldn't get a profit-sharing deal. Also, I can tell you that your contract would be on par with what we've offered Brian for directing 'The Butterfly Effect'—and he's a well-established director. Additionally, we're prepared to offer $300,000 for the script, with profit-sharing terms equivalent to those of a union member."

Simon nodded slightly; the offer from Fox was indeed sincere.

In this era, aside from a few top-tier directors like Spielberg, other leading directors could earn up to about five million dollars per film.

Fox's offer was an acknowledgment of Simon's filmmaking abilities demonstrated in "Run Lola Run."

In the well-developed Hollywood film industry, production studios were quite accurate in assessing a filmmaker's abilities based on their work.

If Simon had achieved high box office returns with a technically simple film like "The Blair Witch Project," studios would have been impressed but unlikely to offer him a directing contract unless they wanted to capitalize on his newfound popularity. This offer indicated they saw him as nearing A-list director status.

Though flattered, Simon had to decline: "I'm sorry, Peter, but I've already signed a directing contract with Orion, which was also a condition for them distributing 'Run Lola Run.'"

Peter Sanders was at a loss for words.

If Fox had known that "Run Lola Run" would achieve such box office success, they would have eagerly signed a similar deal with Simon.

Regrettably, the world is full of 'what-ifs,' but only one outcome can unfold.

Peter wasn't privy to the specifics of Simon's distribution agreement with Orion, but from their interactions, it wasn't hard to infer that Orion had likely agreed to maintain a 30% share of the North American box office revenue.

Assuming a total gross of $150 million for "Run Lola Run" in North America, Orion would stand to make about $50 million from box office shares alone.

Considering marketing costs, which for "Run Lola Run" were minimal due to its reliance on media buzz and word of mouth, even if Orion decided to increase marketing expenditures for greater profits later, it wouldn't likely exceed $10 million.

Thus, Orion could net about $40 million in pure profit from theater distributions alone.

$40 million—this was a conservative estimate.

Yet, the entire profit of Fox Studios last year didn't reach $40 million. In fact, Fox's film operations had been running at

 a loss.

As vice president of Fox Studios, Peter knew very well that the highest-grossing film they distributed last year was "Aliens" at $85 million.

Moreover, of the 16 films they released last year, none made $100 million, only five exceeded $10 million, and twelve were unprofitable. The parent company, News Corporation, was even discussing cutting the film business budget for the year.

Peter was just relieved that Ronald Goldberg had been the one to reject "Run Lola Run." Otherwise, he might have been packing his bags in the coming months.

Seeing that Peter had nothing to say, Simon continued, "Peter, to be honest, I'm not personally interested in directing 'Final Destination.' However, if Fox wants the script now, I have my own conditions—I want to serve as a producer."