Chapter 190: HBO

After the meeting between Simon and Ovitz, the public uproar caused by Barry Levinson's dismissal didn't dissipate immediately. However, the key creators of "Rain Man" quieted down in the media.

Yet, this was far from the end of the matter.

During the production of "Rain Man," compared to many more dominant Hollywood studios, Simon had already given the main creators enough room to express themselves. His intervention in the movie was merely to prevent the project from going completely off the rails.

Barry Levinson and others, in an attempt to escape the potential negative impact of the film's failure on themselves, had far exceeded Simon's tolerance limit. He had never intended to let this matter rest from the beginning.

However, although it was created by several people he disliked, "Rain Man" was a project in which Danylis Films had invested a lot of money. Simon would not intentionally ruin this project, as doing so would mean sabotaging his own efforts to spite others, a lose-lose situation.

Only by achieving the same level of box office success as "Rain Man" did in its original timeline could Simon effectively retaliate.

And Simon didn't plan to stop at just retaliating.

That wouldn't be painful enough.

People tend to forget these not-so-deep impressions of minor hurts and pains too easily.

While personally taking over "Rain Man," another film of Danylis Films, "Scream," completed its rough cut smoothly after wrapping up at the end of July. With ongoing communication about creative ideas, Wes Craven's work satisfied Simon immensely. The film could finish post-production by early September at the latest, reserving nearly two months for marketing before the Halloween season at the end of October.

Moreover, the filming of "Mulan" and "Dead Poets Society" was also nearing completion, unlikely to delay the year-end schedule.

On the other hand, after the Producers Guild of America proposed the latest contract offer to the WGA, the cornered WGA had to initiate another vote.

Due to the Producers Guild giving only a week to respond, this voting could only be carried out in New York and Los Angeles through a lottery, with 2,137 out of 2,500 participating writers voting in favor.

Finally, on August 12, the five-month-long strike was declared over, lasting 160 days, five days longer than the 155 days in the original timeline.

Although the WGA announced a compromise, the aftermath of the strike continued.

The most severe issue was that, even after reaching a new agreement with the WGA, the Producers Guild still did not forgive those second and third-tier production companies that had signed contracts with the WGA early. The WGA also did not withdraw its antitrust lawsuit, and although it might eventually win, those blacklisted production companies would likely find it very difficult to obtain business from the seven major movie studios and four major networks for at least this year.

The five-month-long strike caused not only a disruption in the television fall season but also a shortage of content for the second half of the year's movie schedule, creating very favorable external conditions for the release of several Danylis Films productions at the end of the year.

With the strike over, a large number of Hollywood projects that had been stalled due to a lack of writers quickly resumed production.

Robert Aiger, already in charge of television production at ABC, smoothly took over and restarted a series of TV projects under New World Entertainment.

New World Entertainment had already accumulated a very solid foundation over the past few years, so this task did not encounter too much difficulty.

Although there were voices within the American Writers Guild advocating for a boycott against cooperating with Danylis Films, the blacklisting of many second and third-tier film companies had already significantly reduced the writers' options. Given the massive work opportunities from Danylis Films launching multiple projects at once, hardly any writers had the leverage to initiate a boycott.

With more than 10,000 members and no mandatory constraints, it was difficult for the guild to act in unison. If you decline this job, too many others are waiting in line to take over.

While restarting the television business, the integration of Danylis Films and New World Entertainment was also swiftly progressing.

On August 15, after completing preliminary adjustments, the newly reorganized company held a press conference to announce the reformation of Danylis Films and New World Entertainment into Danylis Entertainment Group.

After this integration, Danylis Entertainment would retain three film labels: Danylis Films, New World Cinema, and another independent label from New World Entertainment, Highgate-Film.

Previously, due to the company's startup nature, whether it was a romance like "When Harry Met Sally" or a genre-breaking film like "Pulp Fiction," or even B-grade horror like "Final Destination," all were produced under the single label of Danylis Films. This approach was actually not conducive to the company's brand building.

Now, Simon planned to use these three labels to handle different types of films separately.

Danylis Films would focus on mainstream commercial movies like "When Harry Met Sally," "Rain Man," and "Batman," while New World Cinema would take on violent, thriller, and horror productions like "Scream" and "Final Destination."

As for Highgate-Film, Simon intended to venture into the art film domain.

The Weinstein brothers' Miramax had not yet risen, and art films were considered insignificant by many major film companies, a reality that tended to support this view.

In the current Hollywood, a well-made art film, after several months or even a year of operation, luckily earning ten million dollars in profit, was considered very successful. However, for major studios, this might only equate to a week's income.

However, many in Hollywood failed to notice that if a company could operate multiple successful art films each year, the cumulative income from this business would be substantial. Moreover, there are always unexpected box office hits among art films.

Furthermore, this approach could rapidly expand a film company's library resources.

The video cassette and DVD industry in Hollywood would thrive for at least another twenty years, and the growth of the cable television industry continued to increase the demand for movie content. Under such industry conditions, having a rich film library was very beneficial for any film company.

To quickly implement this, Simon placed the original external film purchasing team of New World Entertainment under Highgate-Film.

Film production is a lengthy process, but with a global expansion, new films are completed every day. Highgate-Film's team's first task was to scour the world for various high-quality film rights to bring to North America for distribution.

Beyond the three labels, the company also reorganized its existing distribution team.

For brand building, the company's theatrical distribution team was split into two: Danylis Distribution Company for mainstream commercial films and New World Distribution Company for films under the New World Cinema and Highgate-Film labels.

Danylis Entertainment would also establish Danylis Home Entertainment for video cassette and television broadcast distribution.

Both sets of theatrical distribution teams and Danylis Home Entertainment were overseen by Robert Lem.

On the television side, the company established Danylis Television, managed by Robert Aiger, responsible for the production and distribution of all television projects under the company.

Mark Silverman's Danylis Special Effects, which focused on CG special effects and 3D animation technology research, was also incorporated into Danylis Entertainment during this restructuring.

As for Marvel Entertainment, this comic book company, which did not attract much attention in this acquisition, would not initiate any film plans in the short term. However, the company would continue to operate independently and report directly to Simon, bypassing Aiger, Aiger, and Lem.

With all these initial integrations completed, the summer season of 1988 also came to an end.

On August 11, "When Harry Met Sally," after 20 weeks in North American theaters, was withdrawn, ultimately grossing 110.92 million dollars.

According to the contract signed with Disney, Danylis Films would receive 35.5 million dollars from the box office share. After settling in the next two months, along with the previous 30 million dollars from overseas rights buyout, Danylis Films would accumulate 65.5 million dollars in revenue.

Subtracting the 15 million dollars production cost and sharing with Handcrafted Films, Danylis Films would gain a net profit of 30.3 million dollars from these two revenue streams.

After a three-month hiatus, Danylis Films would also launch the video cassette distribution of this film, continuing to bring substantial profit returns to the company.

Although only receiving forty percent of the net income, Handcrafted Films became the envy of many independent producers.

Many independent producers in Hollywood might not earn as much as Handcrafted Films did from "When Harry Met Sally" over several years. Dennis O'Brien, the head of Handcrafted Films, had been frequently in contact with Danylis Films, hoping to continue the collaboration.

Subsequently, on August 18, in its 11th week, "Pulp Fiction" reached a cumulative North American box office of 131.51 million dollars, temporarily claiming the top spot on the North American annual box office chart. Orion Pictures, with just this one project, swept away the company's lukewarm performance in the first half of the year.

"Basic Instinct," in its fifth week, added 10.21 million dollars to its box office, reaching a total of 82.76 million dollars. This controversial film performed significantly better than its original version, destined to break the hundred million mark within the next three weeks, becoming the third film produced by Danylis Films in 1988 to achieve this milestone.

Santa Monica.

Although New World Entertainment also had a larger office space in Burbank, Danylis Entertainment's headquarters was temporarily located in an office building on 4th Street in Santa Monica.

Before long, it was already August 22.

Despite delegating as much company business as possible to his executives, Simon was still exceptionally busy. Apart from preparing for "Batman," he also had to pay attention to the post-production work of "Rain Man," "Scream," "Mulan," and "Dead Poets Society."

Just managing these aspects nearly consumed most of Simon's week.

After the initial integration, Simon also needed to personally review the film projects previously under New World Entertainment. He couldn't completely ignore the television department's ongoing TV drama projects.

Although New World Entertainment had already been in severe distress before the acquisition, it still had a considerable number of film and TV projects in progress. While Simon couldn't find any with potential for blockbuster success, he couldn't just scrap all these projects that had already consumed significant resources.

Additionally, to avoid embarrassing gaps in Danylis Entertainment's film releases next year, Simon had to spare some effort to select new film projects.

In this busy schedule, Simon's planned trip to Australia had to be continuously postponed.

Inside the conference room at Danylis Films headquarters.

"Next, this is a film originally planned for joint investment by New World Cinema and two other independent production companies, called 'Angel's Mission.' It tells the story of a comic artist entering his own work and embarking on an adventure with the female protagonist. The original production team has already invested 300,000 dollars in preliminary development and has signed intention contracts with Timothy Dalton, the male lead of 007, and Bo Derek, the female lead of '10.' The film's preliminary budget is 15 million dollars, with each company bearing 5 million dollars."

After Amy Pascal briefly introduced the project and looked towards Simon seated opposite her, she suggested, "I think this project is very interesting and can be continued. Timothy Dalton and Bo Derek both have good fame. If necessary, we can also cancel the cooperation with the other two companies and invest alone."

Simon, after reviewing the project information, looked up at Amy and asked, "What do you think is the selling point of this movie?"

Amy thought for a moment and replied, "The biggest selling point is the comic artist entering his own work, which will give the audience a very wonderful sense of immersion. Moreover, the box office appeal of Timothy Dalton and Bo Derek is sufficient. Bo Derek seems to be dating Michael Jackson, which is also a very favorable publicity point for us."

Simon, after listening to Amy, said, "If you think it's feasible, then continue with it. However, the script must be rewritten; I need a clearer storyline."

Amy paused, looking at Simon and asked, "You don't think highly of this movie?"

Simon only remembered some fragmented information about the box office failure of this movie in his memory, and Bo Derek completely lost her footing in Hollywood due to the box office disaster of this film.

However, combining various pieces of information, Simon was aware that the failure of this project in the original timeline was largely due to the internal turmoil of New World Entertainment. At that time, it was a question of whether the company could continue to survive, let alone focus on film production.

A film undergoes too many stages from script to completion. If the script is reworked and combined with the current production and distribution capabilities of Danylis Entertainment, the possibility of repeating past mistakes is not large.

As the company grows, Simon cannot only invest in films that are guaranteed to be box office hits; this is simply unrealistic. Moreover, an investment of 15 million dollars, even in the event of failure, is something Danylis Entertainment can now easily afford.

"My opinion is not important, Amy. You need your own judgment. However, for this project, let's forget about Bo Derek. Her acting is poor, and audiences are only interested in her movies before she turned 18. I remember her last movie 'Sahara' was a box office disaster, and that was supposed to be a big production."

Amy looked at Simon and asked, "So, do we continue with this project?"

"You decide," Simon handed off the decision, saying, "You are the CEO of the company. The company's projects will increase in the future, and not all of them can be decided by me alone. Of course, if the loss is too severe, I will still get angry."

Amy hesitated for a moment before firmly making up her mind, "I will have someone rewrite the script. Also, if Bo Derek isn't suitable, maybe we can consider Nicole Kidman for the role. The film is scheduled to start shooting early next year, by which time she should have finished filming 'Dead Calm.'"

Simon nodded, "Nicole is good. The female protagonist in this script is a very outgoing character, and Nicole's acting is strong enough to support it."

As they were discussing, Robert Aiger knocked on the conference room door and entered, carrying his briefcase. Clearly fatigued from just flying in from the East Coast, Aiger's demeanor showed signs of weariness.

After exchanging greetings, everyone sat down at the conference table again.

"Simon, Amy, this is the draft agreement I just negotiated with HBO," Robert Aiger took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Simon, saying, "HBO is willing to purchase one season of 'Beverly Hills Wives' at 600,000 dollars per episode, but they want the first season to only have 13 episodes."

The agreement was only in one copy, so Amy leaned over to read it with Simon.

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," "Survivor," and "Big Brother" were bought by the three major networks, leaving "Beverly Hills Wives" hanging because it wasn't favored. This wasn't because the networks didn't want it, but rather Danylis Entertainment's pricing and various attached conditions were unacceptable to them.

As a reality show about daily life, "Beverly Hills Wives" had a lower budget, needing only about 200,000 dollars per episode.

The six wives agreed to participate mainly for the potential benefits the show could bring to their family businesses and personal fame, so their salaries were not high. The contract for the first season included a participation fee of 5,000 dollars per episode for each, totaling only 30,000 dollars for all six, with the rest covering team salaries and equipment expenses.

Danylis Films originally quoted 800,000 dollars per episode, only for the simple North American first-round broadcast rights. Subsequent domestic and international syndication rights, as well as all merchandise revenue from posters, music, books, recipes, etc., would also belong to Danylis Films.

This led to rejection by all four major networks.

After some back and forth, HBO, a premium cable channel under Time Company, showed interest in this reality show.

Simon didn't think HBO acquiring "Beverly Hills Wives" was a good idea, but since there was a buyer for the show, he naturally wouldn't oppose it. He also hoped to establish business relations with this premium cable network, which was the most profitable in the original timeline, so he let Aiger contact HBO.

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