Chapter 157: The Last Compromise

On April 1st, three new films joined the Easter holiday box office competition.

Besides Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice," the other two new films posed no threat to "When Harry Met Sally."

Simon was well aware of the box office potential of "Beetlejuice." In the original timeline, it was precisely because of the success of "Beetlejuice" that Tim Burton secured the job of directing "Batman."

However, Warner Bros. didn't seem to have high expectations for "Beetlejuice" this time, even though they had given it an Easter release slot. The film was provided with a mere 1,000 screens for its opening, significantly less than the 1,700 screens allocated to "Police Academy 5" two weeks prior.

Consequently, during the Easter week, "When Harry Met Sally" managed to bring in $15.49 million with only a 13% drop in box office revenue, accumulating a total of $37.05 million. Following closely behind was "Beetlejuice," which earned $13.24 million in its opening week, almost double the opening week revenue of "Police Academy 5."

Warner Bros., as one of Hollywood's seven major studios, quickly demonstrated its deep-rooted strength.

Thanks to its successful opening week, the number of screens showing "Beetlejuice" expanded to 1,523 in its second week.

By contrast, in its third week of wide release, "When Harry Met Sally" was still being shown on 1,077 screens. Disney, while not refusing to increase the number of screens, stated that the process would take at least four weeks.

It wasn't hard to notice that Disney preferred to allocate over 1,500 screens to "Good Morning, Vietnam," which was only earning around $2,000 per theater, rather than providing more screens for "When Harry Met Sally," which was averaging over $13,000 per theater.

Such is reality.

Had it not been for the contractually guaranteed minimum of 1,000 screens, "When Harry Met Sally" might have faced even worse circumstances.

On April 11th.

Today marks the 60th Academy Awards ceremony, which has been delayed due to the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike that was supposed to end at the end of March.

Despite attending the awards ceremony in the evening, Simon spent the entire day busily.

In its fifth week of release and third week of wide distribution, the Easter holiday came to an end.

From April 8th to April 10th, the weekend box office for "When Harry Met Sally" inevitably saw a 25% increase in its decline compared to the same period before, bringing in another $8.11 million for a cumulative total of $45.16 million.

Starting this week, Disney would take an 18% commission on the North American box office revenue of "When Harry Met Sally."

Burbank.

It was already the afternoon.

Simon and Amy left the Disney headquarters together. After getting into the car, Amy looked at Simon, who was leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed in contemplation, and waited a moment before saying, "The company is currently spreading itself too thin, Simon. I think we should consider Eisner's suggestion."

With the box office and critical reception of "When Harry Met Sally" already settled, Simon began considering the distribution of upcoming releases. Due to the priority clause in the original contract, an agreement had to be reached with Disney.

Simon and Amy came to Burbank to discuss this matter with Michael Eisner.

Based on the box office trajectory of "When Harry Met Sally," calculated at a domestic gross of $100 million, the contract signed between Disney and the theaters was a 50/50 split. Naturally, this arrangement had its complexities, and Danerys Pictures could only accept it.

Thus, the future $50 million production and distribution share, minus Disney's 18% commission and the inevitably inflated $10 million marketing and distribution expenses, would leave Danerys Pictures with approximately $22 million. This ensured that Danerys Pictures recovered its production costs and made a profit.

It's rare for Hollywood films to recoup their entire production costs during the domestic theatrical run. Of course, for a film expected to gross over $100 million in North America, failing to recover costs would be a joke.

As for other distribution channels, after negotiating with Michael Eisner, Danerys Pictures successfully retained domestic VHS and television broadcasting rights. The international theatrical, VHS, and television broadcasting rights were sold to Disney for a package price of $30 million.

This $30 million was roughly equivalent to the price for which the overseas distribution rights of "Run Lola Run" were sold last year at $35 million.

Initially, Simon's foothold in Hollywood was too weak. In order to quickly raise funds for the futures market operations, the distribution rights of "Run Lola Run" were sold off at a low price. However, the overseas box office of $200 million made Warner Bros., which acquired the full overseas distribution rights of "Run Lola Run," extremely profitable.

Although "When Harry Met Sally" didn't perform as well as "Run Lola Run," Simon was no longer the rootless newcomer of last year and was not inclined to concede as much.

However, the $30 million buyout price was still a result of Simon's compromise.

As long as the overseas box office of "When Harry Met Sally" matched its domestic gross, Disney would likely make a profit, not to mention the lucrative VHS and television broadcasting distribution.

By selling the overseas distribution rights of "When Harry Met Sally" for $30 million, Simon was able to retain the domestic VHS and television channel distribution rights.

After finalizing the distribution details for "When Harry Met Sally," Michael Eisner expressed interest in continuing to distribute several other films from Danerys Pictures, which Amy thought was worth considering.

Hearing Amy's words, Simon came back to his senses, looked at his executive woman beside him, and shook his head, "Amy, I've made too many compromises lately, enough is enough. So, I want you to know, this negotiation was my last concession to Hollywood. After this, no one can take advantage of Simon Westeros again."

Feeling the emotion in Simon's tone, Amy said, "These two issues aren't contradictory, Simon. Danerys Pictures is still small, and we definitely need to establish our distribution channels as much as possible. However, given the company's situation, we must maintain some cooperation with the majors."

Simon didn't deny this, nodding, "Of course, Amy. However, the distribution rights for 'Pulp Fiction,' 'Basic Instinct,' and 'Rain Man' are already in other companies' hands, and I can't give up any more. Eisner offered a 10% commission, which seems generous. But look at 'When Harry Met Sally.' 'Beetlejuice' could easily expand its screening scale by 50% in its second week, while we could only passively wait for Disney to grant us more screens. I don't want Danerys Pictures' other films to face this situation again."

Amy said, "Simon, if we distribute independently, we might not get as many screens from the theaters as Disney does."

"Theaters also want to make money. I don't believe that after the series of blockbusters like 'Run Lola Run,' 'The Butterfly Effect,' 'Final Destination,' and 'When Harry Met Sally,' North American theaters would refuse films produced by Danerys Pictures. Moreover, the writers' strike has been going on for over a month. If it continues for another month or two, the summer slot might not be affected, but the second half of the year's schedule will definitely not have enough films from the majors for theaters, which is our opportunity."

Amy, thinking about the reality TV shows the company was preparing, looked worried and said, "The Writers Guild has restarted negotiations with the Producers Guild. They might reach an agreement before the end of the month. Next month is the new TV season presentation, and both sides probably don't want to mess this up, as it would be detrimental to both."

Simon simply shook his head, "Amy, if you feel overwhelmed, we can hire more people. We have a lot to do ourselves, and there's no negotiation on that."

"Alright," Amy reluctantly agreed, glancing at her watch, "It's already 2:30. The Academy Awards are tonight, aren't you going to prepare?"

Simon casually replied, "I'll wear this suit. Besides, I still have things to handle."

Amy hesitated, then asked, "The McMillen matter?"

Simon nodded somewhat helplessly.

Returning to the Danerys Pictures headquarters in Santa Monica and seeing the bustling office after its recent expansion, Simon pondered selecting a more spacious office for the company before heading to his second-floor office.

Ron McMillen, who had helped Simon complete "Run Lola Run," was waiting in the office.

With the partnership established through "Run Lola Run," Ron McMillen naturally became the first signed producer at Danerys Pictures.

After completing "Final Destination" with Wes Craven last year, Ron McMillen was currently working with Wes Craven on "Scream."

The matter Simon needed to discuss with Ron McMillen was precisely about "Scream."

Seeing Simon enter, Ron McMillen, noticeably more prosperous than two years ago, warmly greeted him with a handshake, "How did it go with Disney, Simon?"

"It's settled," Simon shook McMillen's hand, sat behind his desk, and pulled out a folder, "Ron, we need to have a serious talk."

Sitting opposite Simon, McMillen noticed Simon's serious expression and became somewhat anxious, "Is there a problem?"

Simon handed over the folder, "Regarding 'Scream,' I mentioned at the first production meeting that the role of Casey, who gets killed in the opening, is crucial for setting the entire film's suspenseful tone. To increase the impact on the audience, we need to cast a well-known actress."

McMillen opened the folder, saw a profile of a female actress, and immediately looked guilty.

However, under Simon's gaze, he tried to sound casual, "Doesn't Amanda Wyss meet your criteria? She debuted ten years ago and has played roles in many films."

"They were minor roles. I wouldn't know who she was without seeing her profile," Simon shook his head, looking at McMillen, "Ron, that's not the most important issue. During the initial casting process, I chose Phoebe Cates and asked you to contact her. You told me Phoebe Cates refused, then bypassed all other options and presented me with this actress's profile. However, Ron, you overlooked something. I'm not one of those outsiders who want to invest in a couple of Hollywood films to gain fame after making money. Phoebe Cates is a WMA client, and it's just a phone call away. Then, Jonathan told me that Phoebe Cates and her agent never received any invitation related to 'Scream.'"

Caught red-handed by Simon, McMillen's expression turned awkward. After hesitating, he defended himself, "Simon, it's just a minor role."

Simon frowned, "Ron, I don't mind if you guys use your positions for personal enjoyment, that's how Hollywood works. But, you must be responsible for your projects. 'Scream's' production budget is $10 million. Do you know what that means? In any city, just $1,000 can find you a very decent woman, $10 million can find you 10,000. If you lower your standards, that money could even find you 100,000, 100,000 you couldn't sleep with in a lifetime. So, no woman is worth risking a $10 million project for, and I won't allow anyone to risk my $10 million, understand?"

McMillen's expression changed for a while before he quietly said, "I'm sorry, Simon."

Simon continued to observe the middle-aged man across from him, softening his tone, "Ron, I cherish our experience completing 'Run Lola Run' together, and I hope we can continue working together. So, get Phoebe Cates on board. As for this woman, you can give her another minor role. I don't want any mess coming out of this. Remember, just this once, no exceptions."

After sending McMillen away, Simon leaned back in his chair, exhausted.

These days, as Danerys Pictures expanded, various problems began to emerge.

At the beginning of the month, Simon visited the "Rain Man" crew in Palm Springs, California, and found the entire crew in a 'let loose' state. It was clear that Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, and other key members had already mentally prepared for the film to fail, thus treating the shooting like a vacation.

To prevent the already loose budget from exceeding further, Simon assigned an accountant to constantly monitor the "Rain Man" crew. He also insisted on reviewing "Rain Man's" dailies twice a week and decided to personally participate in the film's post-production to ensure no mishaps occurred.

Many people invited to the upcoming films were taking advantage of Danerys Pictures, demanding salaries well above industry standards.

Simon also began to understand why the original timeline's Carolco Pictures frequently produced films that broke budget records, even releasing Hollywood's first film with a production cost over $100 million, "Terminator 2." This company, backed by German tax shelter capital, was also seen as a cash cow.

Simon's words to Amy on the way back from Disney were a culmination of his frustrations during this period.

Because of his deeply ingrained indifference, Simon felt no resentment towards those who saw him as an easy mark. Nevertheless, Danerys Pictures would naturally not cooperate with them as easily moving forward.

Holding rights to the Tolkien Middle-earth series, "Superman" and "Batman," "The Fast and the Furious," "Forrest Gump," "Dances with Wolves," "Pretty Woman," and many other blockbuster scripts, Simon had accumulated enough assets. If he wished, he could even produce a North American box office champion every year. Thus, Simon had no intention of giving Hollywood the impression that he was an easy target.

If they wanted to challenge a major player, they had to see if their teeth were sharp enough.

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