Chapter 79: Mars

Despite being on the East Coast, the New York Times not only surpasses the Los Angeles Times in the US news hierarchy but also wields significant international influence. Any news it publishes could trigger a wide-ranging social response.

Due to the three-hour time difference between the East and West Coasts, Los Angeles was just beginning to light up when the New York Times article casting serious doubts on Simon and "Run Lola Run" had already spread rapidly throughout Hollywood.

Accompanying the article were the latest weekend box office figures.

From March 6 to March 8, although Warner Bros.' "Lethal Weapon" starring Mel Gibson and MGM's "Angel Heart" with Robert De Niro were released this week, the momentum of "Run Lola Run" remained unaffected.

Thanks to a massive rollout on both coasts with a total of 1,176 screens, the film earned $18.51 million over the three days, easily retaining its champion spot on the North American weekend box office chart.

Now entering its fourth week, "Run Lola Run" had surpassed the $50 million mark, reaching a total of $50.6 million.

In contrast, the original screenplay of "Lethal Weapon," which had also sparked discussions with a transaction price of $250,000, received good reviews but garnered only $6.12 million in its opening weekend. Although it ranked second on the charts, this figure was less than a third of "Run Lola Run's" revenue.

The other new release, "Angel Heart," made just $3.28 million over its opening weekend, even trailing behind "Nightmare on Elm Street 3" and "Platoon," landing fifth on the charts.

Perhaps due to the fierce competition, North American media reporters proved exceptionally keen.

Sensing a major event was about to unfold from the New York Times article, Simon intended to rush to Orion Pictures' headquarters to discuss strategies with Mike Medavoy and others. However, he found the narrow mountain road outside his mansion jam-packed with reporters.

Considering the unusually intense media frenzy, Simon opted to call Mike Medavoy and others to come to Palisades.

Around 9:30 a.m.

As she also resided in Palisades and had close business ties with Fox, Amy Pascal, Vice President of Fox, came as a representative of Fox's executive team.

After struggling through the crowd of journalists, Amy drove into Simon's mansion, where several cars were already parked.

Greeted by Janet upon arrival, they exchanged brief pleasantries before heading to the backyard. Amy, following Janet, couldn't help but survey her surroundings.

The mansion, akin to a small estate occupying about 4,000 square meters, stood alone on a cliff surrounded by lush trees. The Mediterranean-style villa featured a pool, a garden, and even a private tennis court in the front yard.

Amy was unaware of the mansion's worth but recalled that years ago, Spielberg had bought 13 acres in Palisades and subsequently spent over $4 million on construction alone.

In recent years, Los Angeles' real estate prices had indeed skyrocketed.

Despite becoming vice president of Fox before turning 30, especially as a woman—a rare feat in Hollywood—Amy felt slightly discouraged, realizing such a mansion was still far out of her reach.

As she pondered, images of Simon trying to recruit her at Saturday's party flashed through her mind.

For a brief moment, she wondered.

Perhaps.

She really could take a risk?

Soon, they reached the backyard where four people were sitting around a set of sofas meant for sunbathing, with Simon among them. Under the villa's eaves, a few younger men and women were busy making calls, likely the secretaries or assistants of those seated.

As Amy arrived, everyone stood up to greet her.

Among the four, Amy recognized three—Simon himself, Orion's president Mike Medavoy, and Simon's agent Jonathan Friedman. The last person, a middle-aged woman introduced as Simon's newly hired PR manager Patrice Kingsley, was unknown to Amy until now.

Realizing she was the last to arrive, Amy apologized, slightly embarrassed. Janet personally poured Amy a cup of coffee and handed her a folder before heading towards those under the eaves. Everyone sat back down.

As Amy began to peruse the documents, she heard Patrice say, "Simon, and everyone, we can now be fairly certain that this is a premeditated media attack, and it's just the beginning, a probe. If we don't respond immediately, the situation will become increasingly unfavorable for us."

Having read the article more than once, Amy, though not naive, still found herself puzzled by Patrice's assured tone and asked, "Patrice, do we have any evidence?"

Patrice and Amy weren't familiar, and at the question, she instinctively shook her head.

Simon, noticing Amy's gaze, asked, "Amy, if you wanted to prove that 'Run Lola Run' wasn't filmed by me,

 whom should you investigate?"

Amy thought briefly and then understood, saying, "The crew members."

"Exactly, the crew members."

Simon nodded and gestured towards Patrice.

Patrice continued, "Ms. Pascal, you must have read the article. Mark Hollington simply speculated based on Simon's upbringing and the common perceptions of most people, concluding that 'Run Lola Run' couldn't possibly be Simon's own work. It's rash and absurd. If he truly cared about the truth of the film, he would have contacted those who worked on 'Run Lola Run.'"

Amy nodded earnestly and replied, "Patrice, just call me Amy. What should we do next? I've already spoken with Mr. Goldberg, and Fox will cooperate as much as possible."

Although the contract for "Final Destination" was not yet signed and might be further delayed by this incident, "The Butterfly Effect" was set to premiere on April 10, just a month away. As a closely involved party, Fox did not want the New York Times article to cause too much stir.

With "Run Lola Run" performing spectacularly at the box office, this was an unexpected blow. Among the five gathered, Mike Medavoy was clearly the most anxious, hence his predawn call to Simon. He couldn't help but say, "Simon, the original negatives for 'Run Lola Run' are still intact, right? I think you should quickly cut some behind-the-scenes footage; it's obviously the best way to clarify things."

Simon shook his head, "Mike, there's no footage of the kind you're looking for. To save on the budget, I even hoped every shot would be perfect on the first take; it wasn't feasible to waste film on irrelevant material."

"Then let the crew vouch for it," Mike suggested, pausing to think before adding, "Orion could put up some money for this, consider it part of the marketing budget."

Listening to Mike's urgent tone, Simon's agent Jonathan Friedman couldn't help but interject, "Mike, I think it's not a good idea to rush into responding to that article."

Mike was momentarily puzzled, but Simon nodded slightly in agreement.

Patrice also spoke affirmatively, "Indeed, an immediate response would only invite more skepticism because those manipulating this situation don't want the truth; they only aim to destroy Simon and 'Run Lola Run's public image and keep the audience doubting."

Mike, usually more composed, had momentarily lost his cool amidst the urgency of Hollywood. After Patrice's explanation, he quickly understood and also realized she hadn't finished speaking.

Some were acting to curb "Run Lola Run's" box office performance.

After all, just the $18.51 million from the past weekend alone surpassed most blockbuster films during peak seasons.

With annual cinema attendance in North America relatively fixed at around 1 billion in recent years, the anticipated $150 to $200 million box office for "Run Lola Run," based on the current average ticket price of about $4, would equate to 37.5 to 50 million viewers. This percentage, against a total of 1 billion, was already a highly conspicuous, even glaring figure.

If "Run Lola Run's" box office was too high, it would inevitably come at the expense of other films.

Even movies scheduled for the Easter holiday or early summer releases in May could suffer from the ripple effects of "Run Lola Run's" strong box office trajectory.

Realizing this, Mike rubbed his temples.

He even anticipated that, regardless of whether anyone was manipulating the New York Times article from behind the scenes, such a spark had been ignited and would surely attract many to eagerly add fuel to the fire.