Chapter 118: August

As the summer of 1987, marked by notably sluggish box office returns, drew to a close, two movies associated with Simon also wrapped up.

On August 6th, after an extensive 17-week run, "The Butterfly Effect" officially ended its showing across North America, finalizing its box office tally at $116.95 million.

Following closely, Orion Pictures pulled "Run Lola Run" from theaters on August 13th to make room for the new release, "Navy Spy." From its debut on February 13th to its final showing on August 13th, "Run Lola Run" had exactly six months in theaters, amassing a final gross of $223.77 million.

By the end of August, there were only three domestic films that had surpassed the $100 million mark at the North American box office this year, and two of them came from a young filmmaker who had been in the business for just over a year—an undoubtedly miraculous feat. Just as in June, when both films crossed the hundred million dollar mark, their departure from theaters led to a renewed spike in media coverage about Simon.

However, Simon could hardly pay attention to the media discussions about himself.

While shooting "Pulp Fiction," Simon also had to oversee the post-production of "Final Destination" and the preparations for "When Harry Met Sally." Simultaneously, the operations in the stock index futures market demanded much of his attention.

The busy month of August passed almost imperceptibly amidst this flurry of activities.

Robert De Niro wrapped up his scenes in early August, and cameo appearances by Robert Redford and Nicole Kidman, among others, concluded soon after. Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly until the last week of August when Simon faced his toughest challenge since the start of shooting—Madonna.

Madonna's second film, "Who's That Girl," had just premiered in North America on August 7th.

If last year's "City of Wonders" saw Madonna attempting to act seriously, her role in "Who's That Girl" was an unabashed relinquishing of any such effort, filled with contrived and exaggerated acting that nearly guaranteed her a Razzie for Worst Actress the following year.

When it came to "Pulp Fiction," it seemed Madonna's penchant for over-the-top performance had not entirely subsided, resulting in a shoot that was initially scheduled for three days being extended to five.

Previously, Janet, Nicole, and the other female leads had satisfied Simon with their performances. He did not want to compromise on the portrayal of 'Little Bunny,' a character that appeared right at the start of the film. As a result, Simon spent several days clashing directly with Madonna.

If he couldn't get this right, Simon Westeros might as well quit.

Today was August 28th, Friday.

In a fast-food restaurant in South Santa Monica, crew members who had been with Simon since "Run Lola Run" witnessed his 'frenzied' side for the first time. However, this frenzy had nothing to do with the filming not going smoothly, but rather with Simon personally demonstrating scene after scene for Madonna how 'Little Bunny' should be portrayed.

Simon, a tall and handsome director who was the dream of all the female crew members, played the role of a frenzied female robber himself, which was an amusing sight to behold.

At the fast-food counter, all the crew patiently waited as Simon instructed Madonna, with even Sean Penn standing by, amused. Noticing Simon's attentive gesture of handing his wife a bottle of water, he didn't show any jealousy. Having read the script thoroughly, he understood Simon's intentions and was somewhat impressed by the lengths some guy would go to ensure the last scene was shot perfectly.

Moments later.

The scene that had been much discussed over the past few days occurred again.

Simon explained to Madonna with gestures, grabbed the prop revolver from her, and jumped onto the counter with no hesitation. He screamed at the top of his lungs to an unoccupied space, "Let him go, let him go, let him go or I will kill you, let him go…"

After performing, Simon stayed in position on the counter and addressed Madonna below, "Maggie, did you see? That's how you do it. You need to squat a bit more. You've botched the robbery, you're scared, even on the verge of breaking down. So, shake your legs a bit more, like this."

After a serious demonstration, Simon jumped down from the counter.

Initially, Madonna was somewhat resistant to playing a role like a madwoman. However, seeing Simon entirely abandoning his image to demonstrate for her, she couldn't help but develop some respect for this young director who had already created box office miracles twice before turning twenty. Over the last few days, she fully let go.

After all, it was just a role.

And since people had called her a madwoman before, she might as well go all out.

When Simon came down from the counter,

 Madonna took the prop revolver he handed back to her, took a moment to gather her emotions, and then jumped onto the counter: "Let him go, let him go, let him go or I will kill you, let him go…"

"Legs, start shaking... that's too obvious, tone it down... alright, come down," Simon instructed as Madonna descended from the counter. He took the revolver again and demonstrated once more.

After several attempts, when Simon saw the desired effect was nearly achieved, he casually handed another bottle of water to Madonna, "Here, Maggie, have some more water, then let's start shooting."

Madonna took the water bottle, giving Simon a sidelong glance with a teasing look, "Kid, is this how you charm the ladies? I must say, it's quite clumsy."

Despite her comment, Madonna briskly tipped her head back and drank nearly half the bottle in one go.

Simon then magically produced another bottle of water but didn't hurry to give it to Madonna. Instead, he instructed Sean Penn, Samuel L. Jackson, and the other extras to get into position.

If today's shooting went smoothly, Madonna's scenes would also wrap up successfully.

Holding this hope, everyone on set was invigorated.

Despite several more attempts not quite meeting Simon's expectations, and Madonna being "watered" once again by Simon, after half an hour, Madonna, stepping down from the counter, headed straight for the restroom but was stopped by Simon.

"Hey, kid, I need to go to the restroom. Are you planning to join me?" Madonna joked with a raised eyebrow, then it dawned on her, staring at Simon, "Did you do this on purpose?"

Simon neither confirmed nor denied, instead suggesting, "Maggie, let's finish this scene, and I'll treat you and Sean to dinner tonight, how about that?"

Madonna held her stomach, her eyes shifting, "It's urgent, kid. Do you want to see me embarrass myself?"

"Alright," Simon surrendered, "Name your terms."

Madonna held up two fingers, "Add two more songs."

"I'm just a film director, Maggie," Simon feigned distress, "Besides, songs need inspiration; it's not like I can just produce them on demand."

"Given how well you played 'Flight of the Bumblebee' and the awesome score in 'Run Lola Run,' I have a lot of confidence in you," Madonna said, seeing Simon's reluctance, she started moving forward, "Then I'm off to the restroom."

Simon hastily stopped her, "Two songs total, no more."

"Deal," Madonna nodded briskly, then added, "But make it quick, I can only hold on for half an hour."

Simon shook the water bottle in his hand, "If you can't stand it, you can go, but I need you to stay in this state for the whole afternoon, maybe even work some overtime."

Madonna was immediately displeased, "Three songs."

"Only two," Simon insisted, "but I promise you'll be satisfied."

Madonna's eyes darted around, then she proposed, "Next time at my concert, you come play guitar for me."

"That's impossible!"

"Just one show, it's also a cameo. Just rehearse a bit beforehand. Plus, kid, I'll pay you," Madonna grew more excited as she spoke, seeing Simon still hesitant, she again pushed forward, "Then I'm off to the restroom."

Simon had no choice but to nod, "Alright, just one show."

Madonna's eyes moved again, continuing, "You know, it's really uncomfortable holding it in..."

Simon stepped aside, "You better go to the restroom then."

Madonna didn't leave, instead, she said rather reluctantly, "Fine, fine, you really are a stingy man."

Being in a state of not going to the restroom can make one very vulnerable, and so, Queen Madonna, without much effort, easily reached the emotional state Simon needed for the role. In the subsequent performance, most people felt that Madonna completely embodied the desperation of a robber on the brink of collapse after a botched job.

Although they inevitably worked an extra hour, the restaurant scenes featuring Madonna and Sean Penn were successfully completed within a week.

After wrapping up, Madonna reminded Simon again to quickly produce the promised songs before leaving with Sean Penn.

Tomorrow was the weekend.

Simon returned to Palisades, arriving home at seven o'clock.

Janet had thoughtfully prepared dinner, and during the meal, she told him that Noah Scott had been calling repeatedly since five o'clock.

Simon only remembered that the S&P 500 index had peaked above 330 points before the big crash but couldn't recall the exact figure.

Therefore, on August 19th, when the S&P 500 reached 325 points, Simon began the process of closing out the 10,000 long contracts in the Westeros company account. On August 25th, Tuesday of this week, as the S

&P 500 broke through 330 points, Simon asked Noah Scott to accelerate the closing.

According to the planned selling schedule, the 10,000 long contracts should have been closed out today.

However.

This time, Simon wasn't in a rush to have Noah Scott establish short positions.

After dinner, Simon headed to the study, with Janet following. Despite being fairly confident about the operations over the past three and a half months, the woman was still very curious about how much money her man had actually made.

Dialing the phone, Simon sensed that Noah Scott was unusually enthusiastic today.

After exchanging a few words, the other side faxed over a series of transaction statements and accounting data following the completion of the 10,000 long contract liquidations.

Today, at the close, the S&P 500 index had reached 337 points.

Due to the accelerated rise of the S&P 500 index in July and August, it was challenging for Simon to establish positions at lower index levels. This time, the average entry point for the 10,000 contracts was 316 points, with an average selling point of around 332 points.

Calculating it all together, the average gain per contract was only 16 points, not reaching the profit levels of the previous two cycles. Even so, the total profit from liquidating the 10,000 contracts still reached $80 million.

Ultimately, after deducting various fees, the Westeros company account now held $278.56 million.

While it hadn't reached the $300 million Simon had hoped for, in just three and a half months, going from $75 million to $278.56 million, nearly a 300% profit, was something even Wall Street's top elites couldn't easily achieve.

As Simon spoke with Noah Scott, it was already past ten o'clock at night in the Midwest, specifically Chicago.

In a mansion in Naperville, a wealthy suburb of Chicago, Noah Scott had sent his live-in girlfriend away for the evening, leaving only himself and two men in their fifties in the house.

The two middle-aged men, one was Nelson Scott, Noah's father and a vice president at American Express, and the other, a red-faced middle-aged man, was James Robinson, the current CEO of American Express.

Quietly listening as Noah Scott finished his call with Los Angeles, Nelson Scott asked, "How is it?"

Noah Scott shook his head, "Still waiting for instructions."

"Such a cautious young man," James Robinson, holding a thick file of Westeros company's recent detailed transaction records, commented while flipping through it, "But given that he's made two hundred million in just over three months, such caution is indeed justified. Noah, what do you think he'll do next?"

Noah Scott thought for a moment, "Another delivery month is coming up, and the index volatility in September will definitely be intense. Plus, Westeros hasn't asked me to continue establishing positions while selling, so he's either pulling out completely or planning to go short. After all, most people now think the market has reached its peak."

James Robinson, however, shook his head, "Since June, many have thought the market had peaked, everyone was establishing short positions, but the result was, a certain young man made two hundred million dollars in a blink of an eye. Tsk, two hundred million. Plus his performance in Hollywood, those two movies, I specifically went to see them recently, really quite remarkable, and the box office was surprisingly high. Really makes one wonder where that kid came from."

"Rumor has it he spent half a year in a mental hospital in San Francisco, then turned into what he is now," Noah Scott joked, seeing smiles on the faces of his elders, then asked, "So, Mr. Robinson, what do we do next?"