Chapter 38: Where's the Furniture?

After the production meeting, Simon's days were consumed by script revisions. Working from home didn't mean he could relax; crew members came daily to collect his drafts for "The Butterfly Effect," and both David Giller and Brian De Palma frequently discussed details with him over the phone.

The core team for "The Butterfly Effect" was set, funding was secured, and the tight production schedule meant shooting would start in early October. Simon had three weeks to complete the second draft. Then, a week before filming began, he would make further adjustments based on the project's progress, fulfilling his contract obligations with Fox, which included two rounds of script revisions.

Once these tasks were completed, Fox would pay the remaining $60,000 of his fee, and Simon would be fully discharged from his contract. Any further script changes during filming would require a new contract and additional payment.

While busy with the script for "The Butterfly Effect," Simon didn't neglect preparations for "Run Lola Run." On David Giller's recommendation, Simon spent $3,000 to hire a production assistant to help finalize the detailed budget for "Run Lola Run."

Originally, Simon wanted to handle the budget himself to gain experience. However, realizing that his previous experience wasn't well-suited for Hollywood's standards, he acknowledged his limitations in this area.

Fortunately, the results were satisfactory, although relinquishing control over the budget production was somewhat frustrating.

Simon faced a tight schedule; finalizing "The Butterfly Effect" would take another month, and manually crafting a detailed movie budget could take just as long. Additional tasks like fundraising, assembling a crew, and casting would consume another month or two.

Even with everything ready, it might be December by the time filming could start. To avoid frequent interruptions from the holiday season, which could inflate the budget, Simon decided to delay until after the new year.

Now, for $3,000, everything was handled efficiently.

Simon could earn $60,000 in a month working on his current project, whereas hiring a production assistant cost only $3,000 for the same period.

After deciding not to micromanage, Simon efficiently balanced rewriting "The Butterfly Effect" and preparing "Run Lola Run." If funding was secured, he could start filming in October and wrap up in time for the Sundance Film Festival next year.

Two weeks into his script revisions, good news came from David Giller: Orion Pictures was interested in "Run Lola Run." Brian De Palma was hosting a cocktail party that Saturday, and Orion's CEO, Mike Medavoy, agreed to discuss the project with Simon there.

Given the formal occasion, Simon went out on Saturday morning to buy a proper suit and shoes.

Returning to his rented villa in Montana area around noon, Simon was trying on his new clothes when the doorbell rang. Not expecting visitors on a non-workday and knowing few people, he opened the door with curiosity and found Jeanette Johnston standing there with a handbag, looking particularly charming in a pink knee-length dress and white strappy sandals.

However, Simon was well aware of the potential havoc beneath her polished exterior. Glancing at Jeanette and then around cautiously, he asked, "Is Catherine here?"

Jeanette, already displeased by Simon's distracted demeanor—she had dressed up for the occasion—was annoyed by his question. "Really? Kate and I aren't joined at the hip."

Resigning himself to the situation, Simon reluctantly let her in, asking, "Jeanette, what brings you here?"

Instead of answering immediately, Jeanette took a brief tour of the empty living room, then turned to Simon with an innocent look, "Where's the furniture?"

Simon internally scoffed at the irony. The villa, costing $2,700 a month, was unfurnished. The lease Jeanette had handled was a constant source of frustration for him. The property, although luxurious, came without any furniture except for a bed frame—without a mattress.

If it were his own house, the emptiness wouldn't bother him much as he could furnish it over time. But as a rented property and for a bachelor like himself, Simon had neither the inclination nor the time to manage such a place.

Since moving in, Simon had only bought the bare essentials: a desk, chairs, a wardrobe, and a mattress. He had even tried to sublet the villa, but potential tenants were turned off by the high rent and lack of furnishings.

Now resigned to waiting out the year-long lease, Simon responded dryly to Jeanette's question, "Yeah, where is the furniture?"

Jeanette seemed oblivious to Simon's frustration and suddenly perked up, "Actually, this is great. We can redecorate together."

Simon caught on a particular word, "We?"

"Yes, Simon and Jeanette. Sounds like Bonnie and Clyde, doesn't it?"

As Simon nodded and stepped forward to usher her towards the door, his touch prompted Jeanette to blush and comply, half-joking about the basement being a fine location

 even at midday.

At the door, Simon pushed her out with a firm, "Thanks for coming, Jeanette. Goodbye."

Jeanette stood frozen for a moment, then turned back with a determined look, as if challenging Simon to actually shut the door. He didn't dare to and after a standoff, relented with a weak, "Hi Jeanette, what brings you here?"

With a scornful glance, Jeanette re-entered, pulled out a framed painting from her bag, and handed it to Simon, "Here, scaredy-cat."

Accepting the frame, Simon saw it was a crudely drawn crayon picture of alien-like figures on a field under a sun and moon, obviously the work of a child. A note on the frame thanked Simon for a generous donation of $500,000 to UNICEF, presumably from the settlement with Matthew Broderick that Simon had casually handed to Catherine to donate.

Revisiting that donation brought no regret; Simon never considered the money rightfully his. He would've almost forgotten about it if Jeanette hadn't brought the painting.

After a brief pause, Jeanette continued, "There are also some receipts, but I guess you're not interested, so I tossed them. I framed this myself. What do you think?"

"Looks good," Simon replied, "It'll be nice to have some decoration around here."

With that settled, Jeanette prepared to leave but then hung the frame on a discreet hook in the living room, left by a previous tenant. Pleased with the placement, she linked arms with Simon, "Let's go have lunch. You're buying."

Simon, reluctantly led away, suggested weakly, "Actually, there's leftover pasta from last night in the fridge, enough for both of us."

"Don't worry, I'll throw it out when we get back."

"Uh, could you not come back?"

"Kate's in Arizona, and I'm scared staying alone in Malibu. I'll stay here for a few days."

"Jeanette, that's not okay."

"Relax, I'm just joking, you wimp."

They left the villa, with Jeanette's wine-red Ford parked nearby. Lacking a vehicle, Simon had rarely left the house and was now forced to use Jeanette's car.

Opening the car door, Jeanette let Simon drive, directing him to a French restaurant near the Brentwood Country Club.

Once seated, Jeanette realized Simon was unusually dressed in a formal shirt, trousers, and new shoes—a departure from his usual casual T-shirts and jeans. Though Jeanette was often oblivious, even she couldn't ignore this change.

Prodding further, she soon found herself invited to join Simon at the evening's cocktail party.