Chapter 74: You're Finally Back

Simon got only less than five hours of sleep, and he was up early at 8 o'clock the next day.

To save time, he decided not to drive back himself this time; the film crew would hire someone to drive his SUV back to Los Angeles. After a quick breakfast and farewells, Edward Feldman, the producer of "Night of the Blood Zombies," drove him to Phoenix Airport.

Due to the time difference, when he arrived in Los Angeles, it was still only nine in the morning.

Los Angeles International Airport.

Simon disembarked from the plane and made his way to the arrivals hall, looking around.

He had called the night before for Jeanette to pick him up, but instead, it was Jonathan's assistant, Owen Wright, who showed up. Owen quickly spotted Simon, approached him without much preamble, and handed him a pair of sunglasses, saying, "Simon, you'd better wear these."

The terminal wasn't very crowded at this time, but before Owen could say more, Simon had already noticed several people with cameras rushing towards them, some even eagerly snapping photos, causing a flurry of flashlights around them.

As the commotion drew more attention, many eyes in the hall turned towards them.

Although this was the first time Simon experienced such a situation in his two lives, he didn't panic. He put on the sunglasses, picked up his luggage, and hurried out of the terminal with Owen.

The paparazzi, seeing Simon and Owen quicken their pace to leave, hurried after them, tightly surrounding them, continuing to take photos and asking questions incessantly.

"Simon, can you stop and talk for a moment?" "Simon, 'Run Lola Run' won the box office last weekend, what are your thoughts?" "Simon, we heard you're looking for partners for your new script, offering 10% of the North American box office revenue share, do you think this is possible?" "Simon..."

Buzzing, buzzing.

Amid the chaotic questions, Simon just silently bowed his head slightly and squeezed through the gaps among the paparazzi with Owen, being careful not to push too hard. He had heard in Arizona about Sylvester Stallone being "bumped" by paparazzi and didn't want to encounter such troubles just as he returned to Los Angeles.

After a somewhat difficult trek to the parking lot, they got into the car, and it wasn't until they entered the freeway around the airport that Simon finally relaxed a bit, only to quickly notice that the same group of paparazzi had followed them.

Owen, looking in the rear-view mirror, said with a smile, "Simon, how does it feel to be famous?"

Simon replied honestly, "I feel like hitting someone."

"Heh, you'll get used to it. Actually, the number of people today is quite small. Your sudden return must have been picked up by the reporters from Arizona on short notice," Owen pressed the accelerator, speeding up a bit before continuing, "Miss Johnston was supposed to pick you up, but when she tried to leave her house, she found it surrounded by paparazzi, so she called Joe, and then I came."

Simon, concerned, immediately asked, "What happened?"

Owen gestured for Simon to calm down and explained, "Didn't you tell the reporters last night that you have a girlfriend?"

Simon was surprised, "I didn't mention Jeanette's name, and how did you find out so quickly?"

"Thousands of newspapers across the federation, how else do they sell? But don't worry, those paparazzi generally follow the rules. As long as Miss Johnston stays inside, there shouldn't be any problems. In a few days, when the news dies down, the paparazzi camped outside her door will disperse," Owen explained before adding, "Simon, where do you plan to go now? I suggest it's best not to go to Miss Johnston's place. That would just bring more paparazzi there."

Simon thought for a moment. Since Jeanette was already blockaded at home, surely his villa in Montana area was also under watch.

After considering for a moment, Simon decided, "Let's go to the WMA headquarters. I also have some things to discuss with Joe."

Owen nodded, "Joe actually wants to talk to you as soon as possible. In the month you were gone, especially the last two weeks, with people seeking partnerships, requesting interviews, and snooping for information. They couldn't find you and had to contact us. Joe's nearly been driven mad, even I have to block dozens of calls about you every day."

Although Simon had already felt the changes around him while in Arizona, he still laughed and said, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Owen glanced at Simon through the rear-view mirror again before saying, "It seems you still don't quite understand your situation. Simon, 'Run Lola Run' is very likely to take the North American box office title this year

. Think about how prominent Tom Cruise was after 'Top Gun' made a big hit last year. Now, you're in the same boat."

Simon noticed a paparazzo on a motorcycle attempting to take photos of them through the car window with one hand, nodded, and fell silent again, pondering his next moves.

Twenty minutes later, Owen parked the car in front of the WMA headquarters. Before the paparazzi could swarm them again, they hurried into the WMA building.

It was the busy time just after the start of the workday, and the WMA headquarters was bustling with activity.

Noticing Owen Wright walking in with a young man, most people were initially puzzled. However, as some recognized Simon and eagerly came forward to greet him, everyone soon realized who he was. They either nodded in acknowledgment or came forward to chat.

Reaching the office of Jonathan Friedman, his agent greeted them outside.

"Simon, you're finally back."

Greeting him, Jonathan stepped forward and hugged Simon, then patted his shoulder before leading him into his office, surrounded by envious glances from other WMA employees and clients.

Once inside the office, Jonathan gestured for Simon to sit in the visitor's area on the sofa, while he turned to his desk and pulled out a thick stack of folders.

Simon, watching his agent busy himself, didn't head to the visitor's area but approached the desk and pointed to the landline, saying, "Joe, I'd like to call Jeanette first."

"Of course," Jonathan nodded understandingly, placed the stack of folders on the desk, and pressed a button, "Go ahead with your call. I need to step out for a moment; the mailroom just told me they need me to personally sign for a package."

Simon watched as his agent left the office, then picked up the handset and dialed Jeanette's number.

Having spent so much time together, Simon had realized Jeanette disliked answering calls. The phone buzzed for a while before someone finally picked up with a lazy hum.

Simon smiled and said, "Jeanette, it's me."

Hearing Simon's voice, Jeanette perked up on the other end but immediately started chastising Simon for attracting a swarm of paparazzi to her.

After a lengthy conversation and under her insistence, though Simon knew heading to Malibu would only attract more paparazzi, he ultimately promised Jeanette that he would come over as soon as he finished discussing things with Jonathan.

After hanging up, Jonathan, who had been waiting outside for a while, re-entered the office.

The two sat down in the visitor's area, and Owen Wright brought in two cups of coffee. Once Owen left, Jonathan began handing Simon the stack of folders he had prepared earlier, saying, "Simon, these are some files and memos related to you from the past few weeks—from the media, from producers, from other filmmakers. I've mentioned some over the phone. But it's best if you see them yourself."

Simon nodded, flipping through a folder briefly.

After Simon had looked through a few pages, Jonathan handed over two scripts, saying, "Also, about the screenwriter Nora Ephron you asked about—she has two scripts under her name. One is a crime comedy called 'Ghostly Father-Daughter,' which I think is quite good, but it's already been bought by Warner Brothers. The other is a romantic comedy called 'When Harry Met Sally,' with a very unique plot structure. However, maybe because it deviates from the mainstream, no production company has picked up the story yet."

Simon took the scripts, smiling casually as he flipped through them.

Jonathan watched Simon's expressions and then passed over the last folder, saying, "Lastly, regarding 'Final Destination,' after you asked me to put out feelers, in the past few days, Warner, MGM, Columbia, as well as second-tier companies like Cannon and New Line have all inquired about this project. While none have given a definitive response, the heads of these companies all expressed a desire to talk to you personally."

Simon took the last folder and opened it; it contained Jonathan's assessments of the collaboration possibilities with companies like Warner on the "Final Destination" project.

After scanning it briefly, Simon placed the document in front of him and looked at Jonathan, saying, "Joe, I think we should first talk about the new contract."

Simon's original contract with Jonathan was a simple script representation agreement for three years.

But now, with Simon's rapid rise in Hollywood thanks to "Run Lola Run," if the two were to continue working together, the original contract was no longer suitable.

Jonathan had piled these scripts and memos in front of Simon both as a demonstration of his commitment and as a reminder that they needed to discuss a new contract.

Hence, when Simon initiated the conversation, Jonathan just smiled and nodded, waiting for him to continue.

Simon was not a stingy person, naturally, he wouldn't expect Jonathan to work as a full-fledged agent

 for just a script agent's commission. However, considering his future development plans, Simon also couldn't sign a profit-sharing contract with Jonathan anymore.

Reorganizing his thoughts, Simon said, "Joe, I've thought it over before coming back, and I hope we can sign a fixed salary contract for three years, $500,000 per year. What do you think?"

Jonathan's expression flickered with disappointment upon hearing Simon's terms, and he hesitated before responding.

Simon noticed Jonathan's change in demeanor and quickly clarified, "You misunderstood, Joe. It's $500,000 per year, not for three years."

Jonathan, aware of the substantial earnings Simon would likely gain from "Run Lola Run," understood the details.

Based on what he knew, Simon's personal earnings from various channels of "Run Lola Run" would definitely not be less than $20 million. Given such a large sum, it was understandable that he wouldn't want to sign a revenue-sharing agreement.

Initially thinking Simon was only offering a total of $500,000 for three years, although this offer was strictly speaking not too low, Jonathan would have accepted it to maintain cooperation with Simon and secure opportunities for his other clients. However, he would inevitably feel disappointed about Simon.

Now, at $500,000 per year, Jonathan Friedman had no dissatisfaction at all.

In that era, only a small number of top stars could command a salary of $5 million per film, and these stars often did only one or two leading roles per year. Thus, on average, they would bring their agents less than $500,000 a year in commissions.

Simon's offer, effectively placing him in the position of a top star averaging one full-salary film per year, was generous. Although Jonathan sensed that the young man's annual income would undoubtedly exceed this sum in the future, as an agent, he knew he couldn't ask for more.

With a smile, Jonathan extended his hand, "Then, it's a pleasure doing business."

Simon also reached out his hand, "Pleasure doing business."

The details of changing the contract were not urgent. Jonathan began to explain the series of documents in detail. However, less than half an hour into their discussion, Jonathan's desk phone rang.

He gestured for Simon to wait and picked up the phone, spoke a few words, then quickly whispered 'Goldberg' to Simon before continuing the conversation.

Simon didn't get up but quietly listened to Jonathan's conversation with Ronald Goldberg, the president of Fox Studios.

After a moment, Jonathan hung up and said to Simon, who had roughly grasped the situation, "Goldberg would like to have lunch with you at noon. And from what he said just now, it sounds like Fox is going to agree to your terms."

Jonathan's expression carried a trace of disbelief as he spoke.

10% of the North American box office and 5% of the video sales revenue.

Even Spielberg wouldn't dare to make such demanding conditions hastily, and yet Fox was going to agree, which was simply incredible.

Although Jonathan diligently negotiated with film studios on behalf of Simon, he originally only expected that after some bargaining, Simon might achieve half of his proposed terms at best.