Chapter 106: Children

At an open-air restaurant halfway up Beverly Hills, Hollywood moguls Barry Diller and Michael Eisner sat leisurely at a terrace overlooking Los Angeles in the early morning sun.

After ordering their meals, Michael Eisner said to Barry Diller, "I suppose you haven't seen last week's box office report yet? $13.88 million, with a cumulative total of $53.85 million over three weeks. Goldberg won't be embarrassed this year, at least."

Today was May 1st, a Friday.

Michael Eisner did not mention the name of the movie, but Barry Diller knew that the only film currently achieving weekly box office figures over $10 million during this off-peak season was Fox's ongoing release, "The Butterfly Effect."

Being focused on the operations of the Fox Television Network, Barry Diller hadn't been paying much attention to the film sector and asked, "What about 'Run Lola Run'?"

Michael Eisner's expression grew more reflective as he shook his head slightly, "It made $7.59 million, totaling $175.6 million. Orion could potentially make over $80 million from box office alone. Plus, with 'Platoon,' from February till now, Orion's stock has tripled, nearing a market value of $1 billion. I heard that Sam Raimi and John Kruger are planning to take control of Orion."

Barry Diller also felt incredulous, reminded of a young person everyone had been talking about lately, and said, "He really is a miraculous kid. Maybe I should meet him sometime."

Michael Eisner smiled, "If you want to meet him, you could come with me to Burbank later."

Barry Diller gave a puzzled look.

The waiter brought their breakfast at this moment, pausing their conversation. After the waiter left, Michael Eisner began eating and continued, "That kid started a production company, have you heard?"

Barry Diller nodded with a smile, "Of course, Daenerys Productions, even poached one of our Fox vice presidents of production."

Michael Eisner smirked mischievously, "Daenerys Productions is seeking a distribution deal for a movie, and Disney might be one of their choices. Besides, Simon Westeros submitted an animated script to us, wanting Disney to produce it. I've arranged to officially discuss it with Amy Pascal today. I'll have someone call Simon to come over later."

Barry Diller nodded, then hesitated, slightly shaking his head.

The two had been colleagues during their ABC days, and Michael Eisner knew Barry Diller very well. Noticing his subtle gesture, he realized it was about Ronald Goldberg.

Simon Westeros had already collaborated with Fox Studios on two movies, "Final Destination" and "The Butterfly Effect," both proving successful. Under these circumstances, Fox should have been the best partner for Daenerys Productions.

Now, Ronald Goldberg apparently missed another opportunity.

Michael Eisner, who wasn't very fond of Ronald Goldberg himself, understood the strong friendship between Ronald Goldberg and Barry Diller, so he said, "It's not really Ronald's fault. That movie's director and screenwriter aren't Simon himself, and the script is somewhat unconventional. Daenerys Productions only wants to give up the domestic theatrical rights and they're insisting on an Easter release next year."

Barry Diller listened silently, then asked, "What about on your end?"

"Next Easter, we were planning to re-release 'Bambi,' plus a live-action film, so there's no distribution pressure. And, you've seen 'Run Lola Run.' While its success had many random factors, Simon's filmmaking skills are impeccable. I plan to sign him for several movie deals," Michael Eisner said, then added with a laugh, "So, Barry, shall we meet the kid?"

...

While Barry Diller and Michael Eisner were having breakfast, Simon was waking up in his Century Tower apartment a bit earlier.

He was in his study, sighing at the bleak life of a bachelor. After clearing a pile of finance books from the sofa, he walked to a writing board embedded in the wall of the study.

Drawn on the large board were rough projections of the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices for the upcoming months, surrounded by various notes in Chinese, French, Spanish, Hebrew, and other languages.

Compiling this information from his myriad memories wasn't easy, often just fleeting thoughts. It took Simon a week to gather it all.

To be cautious, Simon didn't use English for the notes, and the other languages were all cryptic phrases only he could understand. Except for the index trends, even if someone else discovered them, they likely wouldn't comprehend anything.

After scrutinizing the meticulously redrawn index trends now engraved in his memory, Simon cleaned the board, leaving only the scattered textual notes, and then left the study.

He had originally planned to audition supporting actors for "Pulp Fiction" that morning, but after receiving a

 call from Amy during breakfast, Michael Eisner wanted him to personally attend today's meeting, prompting a change in his schedule.

At eight o'clock, Simon met Amy first, then they headed together to the Disney headquarters in Burbank.

The secretary led them to a conference room where, upon entering, Simon noticed another middle-aged man sitting beside Michael Eisner at the conference table. He immediately recognized him as the chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox, Barry Diller.

After greetings and handshakes with Michael Eisner, Simon extended his hand to Barry Diller, smiling, "Mr. Diller, it's a pleasure to meet you. Your high-concept film strategy has greatly benefited all of us in the film industry."

Barry Diller shook hands with Simon, responding to his compliment by pointing to a script of "When Harry Met Sally" he was browsing through, "But Simon, I notice that the projects associated with you aren't exactly high-concept films?"

Noting the interest from Amy and Eisner, Simon casually replied with a smile, "Daenerys Productions is still a child, and children can afford to be more creative. As it grows up, it will certainly become more conventional."

Barry Diller, intrigued by Simon's articulate and ambitious response without hesitation, raised an eyebrow and said, "I look forward to seeing what Daenerys Productions looks like once it's grown up."

With that, they all took their seats at the conference table. Noticing that Michael Eisner didn't jump straight into business, Simon understood that the two executives had specially invited him just to meet.

Seizing the opportunity, Simon continued to Barry Diller, "Mr. Diller, I heard you're helping Mr. Murdoch refine the Fox Television Network. Perhaps next year, we could collaborate."

Barry Diller, looking across the table at the young man, asked, "Why not this year, Simon? This month is pitch season, and if you have good ideas, you could go to New York soon."

North American networks finalize their programming for the next year each May. Thus, during this month, program producers from North America and around the world gather in New York to pitch their TV shows to networks.

Simon, however, shook his head, "Daenerys Productions definitely won't have a chance this year; we're still too small. But next year might be different."

Barry Diller asked, "Simon, are you saying that Daenerys Productions just needs one year to 'grow up'?"

"Of course not," Simon shook his head, "I mean, next year the WGA might strike. By then, Daenerys Productions might get some opportunities."

If Daenerys Productions wanted to collaborate with networks now, even with great ideas, the best outcome would likely be selling the concept, then having the network commission Daenerys Productions for production. The crucial copyrights would certainly belong to the network.

Simon was hoping for a deal like those of powerful producers like Warner or Universal, where they only sell the first broadcast rights to networks, retaining other distribution rights. Only in such a scenario could Daenerys Productions maximize its benefits.

To achieve this goal in the short term, Daenerys Productions would need to seize the opportunity next year when major networks are unable to produce enough TV shows due to the writers' strike.

Hearing Simon's explanation, Barry Diller asked, "Simon, you must be a member of the WGA, right? If they strike next year, won't you participate?"

Simon shook his head, "Barry, I'm not a member of the WGA, nor do I plan to join."

Barry Diller, taking another look at Simon, then offered a smile and handed him a business card, "I'm really glad to have met you, Simon. Call me if you need anything."

"Of course."

Simon accepted Barry Diller's card, also handing over one of his own.

Barry Diller pocketed Simon's card and stood to say goodbye.

After seeing off Barry Diller, the three returned to the conference room and sat down.

Michael Eisner opened his memo, almost instinctively ignoring Amy Pascal, who he had met several times before, and spoke directly to Simon, "Regarding the collaboration for 'When Harry Met Sally,' Disney can offer you an Easter release with a guaranteed 1,000 screens. However, our requirement is that you sign a two-movie directorial deal with Disney. You can write the scripts yourself or we can provide them, and the salary will depend on the specifics at the time of each project. As for 'The Lion King,' Disney's animation department does not do contract work for others. Therefore, we'd like to buy that script for $300,000. What do you think?"

Originally, Michael Eisner planned to firmly stick to these conditions. However, recalling the conversation between Simon and Barry Diller and considering Simon's achievements over the past year, he felt almost instinctively that Disney should secure this deal,

 hence the conciliatory ending to his offer.