"Vincent, not black gears—I need the kind that gleam with a metallic shine, preferably stainless steel."
"Do the sides need grooves? Like those gears in Chaplin's Modern Times—I think that'd add more artistic flair."
"No, no grooves on the sides."
"That might look too plain, Simon. Let me grab a part to show you what I mean."
"I know, but with multiple gears overlapping, it'll create a sense of depth—that way it won't be plain. Just like in this concept sketch."
"Simon, your sketch is nice, but it's pretty amateurish."
"That's why I'm the customer and you're the owner, Vincent. Figuring out how to bring my vision to life is your job. Plus, when the wall clock runs, all these gears have to turn with it—I need to give a really strong sense of time passing."
"Two options, Simon. If you just want that effect, I can set up a separate power system—simple and cheap. If you want the gears integrated with the clock's mechanism, it might take two or three months, and it'll be expensive."
"I'll go with the first one."
"All right, then. Now, your next sketch—this is, uh, a butterfly?"
At the counter of Strong's Clock Store, Sandra Bullock still clutched Simon's backpack, sitting quietly beside the boy as she listened to his back-and-forth with the owner, Vincent Strong. Though she wore a smile, inside she felt a bit frustrated at not being able to chime in at all.
At the same time, her gaze kept drifting to the two concept sketches Simon was showing the owner.
These were two wall clocks.
The first had a pendulum, its main body made up of densely packed gears. Since it was just a light gray pencil drawing, it did easily evoke scenes from Chaplin's Modern Times.
The other clock was a butterfly, with beautifully intricate patterns. The designs and textures on the butterfly cleverly divided into twelve hours. From Simon and the owner's talk, he seemed to want it in gold—that would make it even prettier.
Simon and the owner discussed for a full ten minutes or more, hashing out every detail of the two clocks and the custom price.
Finally, after paying the deposit, Simon led Sandra out of the clock store.
Standing on the street, Sandra watched Simon scan around and mustered her energy, smiling casually. "So, where to next?"
Though she hid it well, Simon caught the faint hint of complaint in Sandra's tone. He pointed to a café diagonally across the street. "There—I'll treat you to coffee, and we can talk about the movie."
The bit of dissatisfaction that had just bubbled up inside her vanished.
Realizing she was happily following him across the street, she inwardly mocked herself.
Such a pushover.
But.
Whatever.
Simon locked his bike on the curb, and they entered the café together, finding a spot to sit.
They each ordered coffee and a plate of muffins before Sandra spoke first. "Simon, what are those two clocks for?"
Simon explained patiently, "Two props for the shoot. The gear clock is for the opening scene, and the butterfly one is set dressing in Lola's room. As clocks, they obviously represent the passage of time. But the butterfly clock has another layer—I want this movie to lay some groundwork for my other film."
In the original Run Lola Run, the two clocks that appeared were both European antique styles. That actually fit perfectly with Berlin's vibe as an ancient European metropolis.
But Simon was in Los Angeles now.
A brand-new, vibrant city full of energy.
So, copying the originals would make those antique European clocks feel totally out of place in the new version.
With major changes needed to the time, location, plot, and more, Simon was essentially remaking a completely different Run Lola Run.
In that case, he planned to infuse it with ideas entirely distinct from the original.
Truth be told, the original Run Lola Run didn't convey much profound philosophy—just some vague notions.
Director Tom Tykwer had simply wanted to pour all the wild ideas he'd built up as a hardcore video game fan into a movie. He dashed off the script, shot it quickly—the male lead was his buddy, the female his girlfriend, and most other roles went to acquaintances. Everyone had a blast making a super fun film.
Now, Simon's purpose in making this movie was equally straightforward and clear.
First: Create a cool film to showcase his talent to Hollywood.
Second: Through the production, refamiliarize himself with the filmmaking process in the celluloid era of Hollywood.
Third: Promote the "butterfly effect" concept to pave the way for The Butterfly Effect's release.
The first two were must-dos for Simon; the third was a bonus—if it worked out, great; if not, no big deal.
But even though the third goal depended on luck, Simon spared no effort on the details.
The two clocks he'd just custom-ordered: the ultra-modern gear one to match the new shooting environment, and the butterfly to explicitly hint at the "butterfly effect."
In fact, Simon planned three "butterfly" motifs in the film total.
One or two might not stick with viewers; more than three would feel overdone. Three was just right.
The waiter brought their coffees, and Sandra waited until he left before asking, "Another movie? You're making two films?"
"No," Simon shook his head. "The other is The Butterfly Effect. You must have heard about all the buzz lately? I wrote that script."
Sandra had just signed with Jonathan last week, and the media storm over WMA's packaged project and the internal fallout had erupted right after. For a moment, she'd worried if she'd need a new agent already—how could she not know about The Butterfly Effect?
But no matter what, she never imagined the script was by the big boy across from her.
She stared at Simon wide-eyed for a few seconds before finally letting out a soft exclamation: "Whoa!"
Simon just shrugged and continued, "Most people who've read the Butterfly Effect script think the title's too obscure. Run Lola Run's plot happens to illustrate the 'butterfly effect' concept vividly. So, with an obvious prop like the butterfly clock, I'm hoping Run Lola Run can introduce more people to the term 'butterfly effect.'"