Chapter 36: A Zero Forgotten

Simon looked around, puzzled as to why the first production meeting for "The Butterfly Effect" had quickly devolved into a standoff. However, given the tone and stance of both David Giller and Brian De Palma, Simon felt reassured about the progression of the meeting. These two influential Hollywood figures clearly shared his perspective.

Realizing this, Simon relaxed and began to analyze the situation quietly. Hollywood has a complex power structure, but usually, one's influence can be gauged simply by their direct reports — essentially, who in Hollywood's hierarchy they answer to.

From David Giller's comments, Simon discerned that Giller likely reported directly to Fox's CEO, Ronald Goldberg, and was not under Vice President Peter Sanders' jurisdiction. This placed Giller and Sanders at essentially the same level, with Giller perhaps even holding a slight edge in influence.

Simon had done his homework on the "The Butterfly Effect" project. He knew that David Giller, who was over fifty years old, was the producer of the currently screening "Alien 2." Coupling this with Giller's words, Simon deduced that Peter Sanders might be associated with the disastrous summer release "Space Station."

With a budget of $18 million and premiering in June's prime slot, the box office haul of just over $9 million was a significant flop.

As expected, following David Giller's final remarks, Peter Sanders' expression turned sour, his lips twitching slightly before he responded, "David, I'm just trying to be responsible for the company's $10 million investment, and I mean no personal offense."

Sensing that Sanders' resolve was weakening, Giller didn't push further, "Of course, that's your responsibility. However, Peter, you need to ensure that the investment is spent in the right places, not meddling with the content of the film. That's the job for Brian and me."

Feeling the firmness in Giller's tone, Sanders hesitated for a moment before shrugging, "Alright, but I hope you don't mess this film up."

With that, Sanders' attempt to seize creative control was thwarted.

Simon concluded silently, noting Sanders' behavior as typical of someone who preys on the weak and shifts his sails with the wind.

The meeting normalized somewhat after Sanders' play was blocked by Giller. Still, both Giller and De Palma had their own notes on the script modifications.

Giller's comments focused on the film's title and ending, echoing the content of the memo. As a producer concerned with the film's commercial future, Giller wanted a more universally appealing name and suggested Simon rewrite a softer ending than the protagonist strangling himself in the womb.

Brian De Palma wanted to reduce the childhood scenes of the protagonist to less than 20 minutes to prevent the setup from being too lengthy.

Compared to the initial, almost arbitrary suggestions in the memo, the feedback from Giller and De Palma was professional. Simon didn't agree entirely but took their comments very seriously.

As the three discussed, the sidelined Peter Sanders didn't leave but lingered in the room, occasionally interjecting until the meeting broke for lunch. Sanders then excused himself, mentioning other afternoon commitments.

In the Fox Studios cafeteria, both Giller and De Palma, having interacted with Simon several times, were impressed by the promising young man. Over lunch, Giller shared some not-so-secret information.

The summer box office flop "Space Station" was a project facilitated by Peter Sanders. Fox had allocated a generous $18 million production budget during the best movie season, and Ronald Goldberg, the president of Fox Studios, had personally been listed as the executive producer.

All of this was because the lead actress of "Space Station," Kate Capshaw, was Steven Spielberg's fiancée.

This revelation helped Simon understand Fox's actions.

In the original timeline, Spielberg's influence over Hollywood in the last three decades of the 20th century was undeniable, with blockbuster hits like "Jaws," "E.T.," "Indiana Jones," and "Jurassic Park." Although Spielberg was primarily associated with Warner Bros., Universal, and Paramount, other studios were keen to establish connections with him.

Including the recent "Space Station," Simon had read in "The Hollywood Reporter" that Disney had just greenlit a film in collaboration with Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," with a staggering budget of $45 million. In the 1980s, Hollywood's big-budget films typically stayed within $20 million. Only Spielberg-related projects could easily break this budget cap, sometimes by several multiples.

Noticing Simon's admiration and aspiration, the two middle-aged men in the business for decades shared a knowing smile.

Many young people dream of becoming the next Spielberg in Hollywood every year, but very few achieve such heights.

Yet, here was Simon, who had attracted significant attention within just two months of arriving in Hollywood. Coupled with his undeniable talent, Giller and De Pal

ma realized that Simon was destined to make a significant impact in Hollywood.

Thus, the two successful middle-aged Hollywood veterans didn't mind giving a young man a boost.

Giller lightly stoked Simon's ambition, and as they sat across from him, De Palma asked, "Simon, Jonathan mentioned that you plan to make an experimental film. Could you talk about it? Maybe David and I could offer some advice."

Unaware of the older men's intention to mentor him, Simon would have appreciated their gesture even if he had known. Having navigated similar circles in his previous life, Simon understood the importance of connections in such industries.

"Actually, I wanted to mention this during this morning's meeting," Simon replied to De Palma's question, pulling out the script and storyboard sketches for "Run Lola Run" from his backpack and handing them to Giller and De Palma, "David, Brian, I don't think we need to change the name of 'The Butterfly Effect.' The term has already gained attention through media coverage recently. And the experimental film I plan to make, titled 'Run Lola Run,' will vividly explain the concept of the 'butterfly effect.' If Fox could provide some media support, this film could further popularize the concept. Even if some people still don't grasp the term, the hype generated by the movie could draw audiences into the theaters."

While recognizing Simon's motive to promote his film through Fox, his unique insights into film marketing impressed Giller, who had just begun reading the "Run Lola Run" script. Beside him, De Palma was captivated by Simon's professional storyboard sketches.

As the two showed interest, Simon naturally shifted the conversation to "Run Lola Run," explaining, "The film uses a parallel three-segment structure. It's a simple story: Lola's boyfriend Manny loses $100,000. To prevent Manny from being killed by his boss, Lola has 20 minutes to gather the money and reach him. I plan to present the story in the style of a video game, with Lola making three different attempts in the same scenario due to the game's save-point mechanism. Each attempt results in different outcomes. Each of Lola's runs subtly affects the lives of people she encounters, and these effects amplify over time, leading to vastly different life outcomes for them — this is the butterfly effect."

"Run Lola Run" was not a lengthy script, and as Simon explained, Giller quickly reached the scene where Lola encounters a woman with a stroller at the first intersection. Captivated by Simon's storyboard sketches, De Palma, who hadn't ignored Simon's narrative, looked up and asked, "Simon, how do you plan to depict this 'butterfly effect'?"

"Photo montages," Simon answered promptly. "Every time Lola encounters a key character, we can insert a brief photo montage to show how their lives evolve afterward."

Impressed by the explanation, De Palma tapped the table lightly, appreciatively saying, "That's a brilliant idea."

Despite having read this method in the script, Giller nodded in agreement, generously praising, "It's fantastic."

Both Giller and De Palma, having been immersed in Hollywood for decades, knew how challenging it was to innovate in this industry.

As Simon continued, they even felt that if well-executed, this film might become a model for many in Hollywood.

The waiter had already served their lunch, but the three showed little interest in eating as they engaged deeply in discussion.

After about half an hour of detailed conversation, Giller finally said, "So, Simon, you mean to use your 'The Butterfly Effect' screenplay payment to fund this movie?"

Simon nodded, "Yes."

Giller thought for a moment and said, "Your contract payment totals $200,000, minus agent commissions and taxes, that leaves maybe $150,000. If you were shooting with 16MM film, that might suffice, but you're wasting your script with that. Why not make it a standard 35MM film?"

Simon paused, then admitted, "David, I was actually planning to shoot on 35MM film."

Giller paused as well, "You mean, $150,000 for a 35MM film? Simon, you must understand, while they may seem like just two different filming standards, a 16MM and a 35MM film are completely different production scales. Your movie involves a lot of outdoor scenes, and without a full professional crew, it will be very difficult to execute. So, $150,000 simply isn't enough."

Hearing this from Giller, an experienced Hollywood producer with decades of experience, Simon finally resolved a lingering doubt.

The original "Run Lola Run" was produced at a high standard in all aspects — cinematography, music, lighting, set design, and editing — showing few signs of a low-budget film. Simon had always assumed this was due to director Tom Tykwer's genius. The elasticity in movie production costs is always significant.

However, Simon was not very

 familiar with the typical production standards of German cinema.

The 350,000 German marks he remembered, converted to about $180,000 — about 1.5 million Chinese yuan. In 1998, that was more than enough to produce a film.

But as he progressed in preparing "Run Lola Run," Simon increasingly felt his budget was stretched thin, even subconsciously simplifying some scene specifications.

Now, with Giller's clarification, Simon finally realized he might have remembered the budget of "Run Lola Run" incorrectly.

Perhaps, in the original timeline, the production cost of "Run Lola Run" was not 350,000 German marks at all. He had, indeed, forgotten a zero!