Though based on the East Coast, The New York Times held a status in American journalism that not only surpassed The Los Angeles Times but also carried significant international influence. Any article in such a newspaper could spark widespread public reaction.
There was a three-hour time difference between the North American East and West Coasts.
Thus, as dawn barely broke in Los Angeles, the article in The New York Times sharply questioning Simon and Run Lola Run had already spread like wildfire through all of Hollywood.
Along with this article came the North American box office data from the just-past weekend.
From March 6th to 8th, despite the simultaneous releases of Warner Bros.' Lethal Weapon starring Mel Gibson and MGM's Angel Heart starring Robert De Niro, Run Lola Run's box office momentum remained unaffected.
With Run Lola Run fully expanded across theaters on both coasts, totaling 1,176 screens, the film raked in $18.51 million over three days, easily claiming the weekend's North American box office crown once more.
At the same time, entering its fourth week of release, Run Lola Run's cumulative total crossed the $50 million mark, reaching $50.6 million.
By comparison, Lethal Weapon, which had stirred some buzz with its $250,000 original script sale price, earned positive reviews but only $6.12 million in its opening weekend. Though it ranked second on the chart, that figure was less than a third of top-placer Run Lola Run.
As for the other new release, Angel Heart, its opening three-day haul was a mere $3.28 million, landing it in fifth place behind even A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and Platoon.
Perhaps due to the intense competition, North American media reporters' noses for news were indeed razor-sharp.
Clearly sensing a major story brewing from The New York Times article, Simon had planned to head to Orion Pictures' headquarters that morning to discuss countermeasures with Mike Medavoy and others—but he found swarms of reporters already clogging the narrow mountain road outside his mansion.
Realizing that venturing out today would invite even wilder pursuits than before, Simon simply called Mike Medavoy and the others to come to Palisades instead.
Around 9:30 a.m.
Given her own residence in Palisades and the close ties with Fox through shared interests, Fox vice president Amy Pascal arrived as the studio's executive representative.
Struggling through the packed crowd of reporters, Amy Pascal drove into Simon's mansion, where several cars were already parked in the yard.
Amy had just stepped out when Janet came over to greet her.
After brief pleasantries, Janet led Amy toward the backyard. Amy followed beside her, unable to resist glancing around.
An acre in imperial measurement equated to about 4,000 square meters; the mansion before her felt more like a small estate, enclosing a cliffside all to itself. Surrounded by green trees, the Mediterranean-style villa, pool, and gardens were artfully arranged, with a private tennis court in the front yard.
Amy Pascal wasn't sure of this mansion's exact value, but she recalled Spielberg buying a 13-acre plot in Palisades a few years back and spending over $4 million just on building the house.
In recent years, Los Angeles home prices had skyrocketed.
Though she'd risen to Fox vice president before 30—a rare feat in Hollywood, especially for a woman—Amy Pascal felt a twinge of dejection realizing such a mansion was still far out of her reach.
As she pondered this, her mind drifted back to Simon Westeros's offer to recruit her at Saturday's party.
In a fleeting moment, she suddenly thought.
Perhaps.
She really could take the risk?
They soon reached the backyard. Looking out, four people were gathered on a set of sunbathing sofas at the lawn's edge, Simon among them. Under the villa's eaves nearby, a few younger men and women were bustling with phone calls—likely secretaries or assistants to the group on the sofas.
Seeing Amy arrive, everyone stood to greet her.
Of the four, Amy knew three: Simon himself, Orion president Mike Medavoy, and Simon's agent Jonathan Friedman. The last, a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties, was introduced as Simon's newly hired PR manager, Pat Kingsley.
Realizing she was the last to arrive, Amy apologized a bit sheepishly. Janet personally poured her a cup of coffee and handed her a folder before heading over to the eaves. Everyone settled back down.
Once seated, Amy had just opened the file when Pat Kingsley beside her spoke up: "Simon, and everyone—it's now basically confirmed that this is a premeditated media attack, and just the beginning, a probe. If we don't respond immediately, the situation will only worsen for us."
Amy Pascal had read the article more than once before coming; though she wasn't naive, hearing Pat Kingsley's assured tone, she still asked curiously, "Pat, is there evidence?"
Pat Kingsley, unfamiliar with Amy, simply shook her head subconsciously at the question.
Simon, seeing Amy turn to him, said, "Amy, if you wanted to prove Run Lola Run wasn't personally shot by me, who would you investigate first?"
Amy Pascal thought briefly before realizing. "The crew members."
"Exactly—the crew members."
Simon nodded, gesturing to Pat Kingsley.
Pat Kingsley then added, "Ms. Pascal, you've probably read the article. Mark Hollington bases his conclusion solely on Simon's upbringing, drawing from most ordinary people's common perceptions to claim Run Lola Run couldn't possibly be Simon's solo work—which comes off as rash and absurd. If he truly cared about the film's truth, he should've contacted the staff involved in making Run Lola Run."
Amy nodded earnestly. "Pat, just call me Amy. So what should we do next? I've already spoken with Mr. Goldberg—Fox will cooperate as much as possible."
Though the contract for Final Destination hadn't been formally signed—and might be delayed further by this incident—The Butterfly Effect was set for April 10th, just a month away. As a key stakeholder, Fox didn't want The New York Times article to stir up too much trouble.
With Run Lola Run's box office soaring, this sudden hit had Mike Medavoy as the most anxious among the five—or he wouldn't have called Simon before dawn. Now he couldn't help saying, "Simon, the negatives for Run Lola Run must still be around, right? I think you should cut some behind-the-scenes footage as soon as possible—that'd be the best way to clear things up."
Simon shook his head. "Mike, there's no footage like that. To save on budget, I even aimed for every shot in one take; I couldn't waste film on irrelevant stuff."
"Then have the crew members come forward to vouch," Mike Medavoy suggested, thinking a moment before adding, "Orion can cover the cost—call it part of marketing expenses."
Hearing Mike Medavoy's urgent tone, Simon's agent Jonathan Friedman couldn't resist chiming in: "Mike, I actually think rushing to respond to that article right now isn't the best choice."
Mike Medavoy looked puzzled, but Simon nodded slightly.
Pat Kingsley agreed: "Exactly—if we jump to clarify immediately, it'll only invite more doubts. Because whoever's pulling the strings doesn't want the truth; they just want to damage Simon and Run Lola Run's public image, keeping the fans doubting."
Mike Medavoy had just been panicking in the heat of the moment; after years in Hollywood, Pat Kingsley's brief explanation snapped him back, and he realized she hadn't said it all.
Some people were doing this ultimately to curb Run Lola Run's box office.
After all, just the $18.51 million from the past weekend alone outpaced most blockbuster releases in peak seasons.
North America's annual moviegoers were basically fixed, hovering around 1 billion admissions in recent years.
Run Lola Run's projected $150-200 million haul, at the current average ticket price of about $4, equated to 37-50 million admissions—a glaring, or rather glaringly irritating, share of that 1 billion total.
If Run Lola Run raked in too much, it would inevitably siphon from others' earnings.
Even, given Run Lola Run's dominant box office trajectory, not just recent releases like Lethal Weapon and Angel Heart—even films in the Easter slot a month away, or early summer releases in May, could see their hauls shrink from the ripple effects.
Thinking this, Mike Medavoy couldn't help rubbing his temples.
He even sensed that, for such reasons, even if no one was manipulating behind The New York Times article, once this spark flew, plenty of people would rush to douse it with buckets of gasoline.
Ko-fi.com/GodOfReader