Arizona, Coolidge.
When Run Lola Run first premiered, amid the media's unanimous praise, most of the crew still saw Simon as just a young man with a bit more talent than average.
But with the box office numbers rolling in, over the past few days, everyone's gaze toward Simon had noticeably shifted—even Katherine's. [TL/N: Katherine = Kathryn Bigelow, Her nicknameeeeee!!!!]
Opening week gross: $6.97 million.
In twenty years, that might not even amount to a fraction of a blockbuster's opening weekend. But in the eighties, especially with only 207 screens, it was enough to make jaws drop.
Keep in mind, in 1986, out of the 451 films released in North America, fewer than 90 grossed more than $6.97 million total. That meant, in this era, over 80% of Hollywood movies didn't even reach Run Lola Run's one-week haul in their entire North American run.
And for Run Lola Run, the opening week was clearly just the start.
Given the film's current word-of-mouth and media buzz, it had successfully ascended to the status of a standard "event movie"—Hollywood's term for films that generated far beyond expected social buzz and box office.
Before Run Lola Run, only films like The Exorcist, Star Wars, Jaws, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial qualified as event movies, though Star Wars and the like were still standard Hollywood blockbusters.
While Hollywood had successes like Mad Max on similarly low budgets, that film's total North American gross was just over $8 million—impressive, but nowhere near Run Lola Run's miracle of an opening week already exceeding its production cost by tenfold.
Now, Run Lola Run had essentially pioneered a trend akin to The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity in the original timeline—low-budget, high-grossing films.
Moreover, what truly sent chills down some spines were the media predictions for Run Lola Run's box office potential.
$150 million to $200 million.
Again, numbers that wouldn't stand out in twenty years.
But across all of North America, even counting Platoon's projected but unconfirmed breach of $100 million, only five Hollywood films hit that mark in 1986.
Among them, Top Gun, which catapulted Tom Cruise to global stardom, ended at just $176 million in North America.
So, looking back at Run Lola Run.
A projected North American total of $150 to $200 million meant that if the rest of Hollywood's 1987 releases underperformed, the year's box office champion could very well go to an independent film with a mere $650,000 budget.
Eighteen years old.
$650,000.
His first film ever.
North American box office champ.
It was as if many were witnessing a legend unfold before their eyes.
The motel where the Near Dark crew was staying.
The date was February 21, Saturday.
In the simply repurposed screening room, the film's key creatives were watching rushes from this week's shoots.
As a fixed weekly-salaried director's assistant, Simon originally neither needed nor qualified to be in such a setting.
But last week, Katherine had personally brought him along to view the dailies. At the time, though, Simon had no real say—he was mostly just observing.
This week, producer Edward Feldman had personally invited him at noon, hoping Simon could join the work, even suggesting they upgrade his assistant director role to co-director, like Katherine's position on Run Lola Run.
Simon didn't mind helping out, but he saw through Edward Feldman's intent to leverage his name for the film's future promotion. While he agreed to watch the dailies and join discussions, he declined the offer to re-sign a contract.
In the screening room, after playing a scene where Caleb kneels before Mae to drink her blood, Katherine hit pause and instinctively glanced at Simon on the other side of the viewer.
"The lighting has some minor issues, but we can fix it in post," Simon said, then added, "But I feel the emotional shifts between them in this scene are too frequent—the audience will struggle to grasp what emotion you're trying to convey."
Katherine listened and replied, "This is a progression and elevation in the relationship between Caleb and Mae."
Simon pondered for a moment. "Then this needs to convey a strong emotion to the audience. Maybe like this: Add a make-out scene."
Katherine, hearing yet another "maybe like this" from Simon since he joined, felt a mix of emotions but said, "That probably won't work—Adrian and Jenny's contracts don't include intimacy clauses."
As she spoke, she glanced at producer Edward Feldman.
Edward Feldman shook his head regretfully. "Simon, the budget's tight—amending contracts would mean more money, and they probably won't agree easily."
Simon smiled. "I don't mean the kind that requires undressing—just later: kissing, embracing, feeling the burning sunrise like lovers about to martyr themselves, holding out until the last moment before retreating into darkness."
As he said this, he casually grabbed a pen and sketched a quick diagram in his notebook.
Katherine and Edward Feldman listened attentively and soon agreed to Simon's plan, deciding to reshoot that segment.
They discussed like this until evening, when a knock came at the screening room door, followed by Janet appearing in the doorway.
Simon was surprised—Janet hadn't mentioned coming over—and quickly stood to greet her. Katherine, Edward Feldman, and the others rose as well.
Simon hugged Janet and smiled. "What made you suddenly decide to come here?"
Janet blinked, looking at him. "You don't know?"
Simon was puzzled. "Know what?"
Janet eyed him for a moment, confirming he truly didn't, then flashed a fleeting slyness and changed the subject. "It's not just me—Fox's Peter Sanders is here too."
With that, she gestured behind her, released Simon, and went to greet Katherine and the others.
Simon wasn't as surprised by Fox vice president Peter Sanders' arrival—the man's intentions were easy to guess—so he simply stepped forward, smiling as he shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.
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