April 13, Monday.
Under the close scrutiny of countless people, the box office data for the just-passed weekend three days was officially released.
The Butterfly Effect, enduring overwhelmingly negative media reviews, still forcefully raked in $14.31 million over its opening weekend, claiming the North American weekend box office champion spot without any suspense.
Boosted by the popularity of Run Lola Run, many had already anticipated that The Butterfly Effect's opening weekend wouldn't be too shabby. But under the bombardment of bad reviews, the film's $14.31 million over three days still turned heads.
A quick comparison made it clear just how impressive this figure was.
In the same period, Michael J. Fox's new film The Secret of My Success had a clear edge in marketing push and screen count, and while its media reviews weren't stellar, they were far better than The Butterfly Effect's.
Yet, The Secret of My Success only grossed $7.76 million over its opening weekend—merely half of The Butterfly Effect.
Following The Secret of My Success, though impacted by the two new releases with another widened drop, Run Lola Run, entering its ninth week, still hauled in a whopping $7.19 million over the weekend, pushing its cumulative box office officially past $150 million.
Seeing this phenomenon-level event movie charge ahead with unstoppable frenzy, many instantly understood why The Butterfly Effect's opening weekend box office could double the runner-up.
In Run Lola Run, from plot to props, dialogue to shots, countless details tirelessly instilled the concept of the butterfly effect into audiences. Even director Simon Westeros had personally admitted on NBC's Late Night Show that his purpose in making Run Lola Run was to annotate and pave the way for The Butterfly Effect.
With Run Lola Run achieving unexpected massive success, tens of millions of viewers who had seen the film were naturally even more curious about The Butterfly Effect. Thus, The Butterfly Effect's opening weekend box office was clearly a watered-down figure, heavily impacted by the strong negative reviews.
But even so, based on the opening weekend trajectory, Fox would only need one week to recoup its entire production cost. The question now was how The Butterfly Effect's subsequent box office curve would unfold.
After all, an opening weekend of $14.31 million, in this era, was absolutely the seed of a film destined to break $100 million in North America.
If that goal could be achieved, Fox, whose performance had been sluggish for years, would finally have another North American $100 million grosser. But under the current media reception, if the follow-up performance plummeted, breaking $100 million would naturally become impossible.
Thus, Fox Pictures president Leonard Goldberg, who had originally feared The Butterfly Effect would flop disastrously under the harsh reviews, saw the opening weekend figures and, far from relaxing, became even more anxious about potential gains and losses.
On the other side.
In the new week, news of Hollywood director Simon Westeros breaking up with Australian mining tycoon's daughter Janet Johnston quickly landed on major media outlets' prominent pages.
Though Simon's publicist Pat Kingsley issued a statement at the first opportunity, claiming the two were just temporarily separating due to some emotional confusions, the media clearly dismissed such "official rhetoric" with disdain.
In just a few days, all sorts of speculations flooded the papers.
"According to insiders, the reason for Simon Westeros and Janet Johnston's breakup lies in uneven profit distribution from Run Lola Run. Rough estimates suggest Run Lola Run will bring in $110 million in net revenue for the producers, with Janet Johnston taking 61.5% alone—about $67 million—far exceeding Simon Westeros's share."
"Simon Westeros moved out of the Palisades mansion Monday morning."
"Rumors say Simon Westeros transferred Run Lola Run revenues to Westeros Corporation, potentially leading to a litigation battle with his ex-girlfriend."
"Janet Johnston unaffected by breakup, meets with prominent Los Angeles art dealer."
"Westeros's untitled new film officially greenlit; Daenerys Films president Amy Pascal declines comment on breakup."
"'Age-gap romance' enthusiast Simon Westeros dates Blade Runner actress Sean Young; the two are nine years apart." [TL/N: ???]
"John Travolta confirmed to join Westeros's new film."
"Janet Johnston lunches with Kathryn Bigelow; the two women appear close, dispelling rumors of Bigelow's involvement in the split."
"..."
"..."
Compared to Hollywood couples who made headlines every other day, Simon and Janet had been far too low-key before.
Thus, when their breakup rumors were confirmed—and potentially involving a $100 million interest dispute—the entire North American media exploded with excitement. For a time, the duo was once again surrounded by hordes of paparazzi wherever they went, with every move subjected to all sorts of wild interpretations.
Simon had anticipated this situation in advance and left the quite private cliffside mansion in the Palisades to Janet. He himself subsequently moved to the Century Plaza Towers adjacent to the Fox lot.
The Century Plaza Towers in Century City consisted of two adjoining 28-story luxury apartments with gated management. Many celebrities, including Michael Douglas, resided there, making it equally effective at warding off media harassment.
Los Angeles paparazzi might not be as notoriously and insane as London's, but they were definitely the most numerous. Eagerly anticipating Simon and Janet's "litigation war," the duo's surroundings remained exceptionally lively for the entire following week.
Simon adopted an almost coldly indifferent attitude toward the paparazzi, confidently leaving media handling and image maintenance to Pat Kingsley. Thus, regardless of how many paparazzi swarmed him, the matter didn't cause him any real trouble.
In comparison, the sudden split from Janet threw Simon's life into minor chaos.
Over the past half-year, perhaps starting from the first time she helped Simon rent the villa in Montana, Janet had unwittingly taken over his daily life. From major items like home appliances and furniture to minor ones like Simon's towels and toothbrushes, the woman had handled everything without him noticing.
Now, abruptly single again, Simon discovered his life skills had regressed considerably.
So scheming.
Definitely on purpose.
When Simon called Janet to ask about the brand of coffee he'd grown accustomed to over the past half-year, he "interrogated" her along the way, and the woman proudly admitted it, looking every bit the triumphant little witch.
Beyond these minor details, Simon's work remained unaffected.
In downtown Santa Monica, not far from the beach on 4th Street, Daenerys Films' new headquarters was set up there.
Compared to the original three simple offices, the company now fully rented a two-story white building. Offices for everyone, a screening room, audition room, and even a post-production studio for films were all in place.
Final Destination's release was set for October 23, and the company was currently pushing full steam ahead on casting.
As a teen horror film, Final Destination didn't demand much from its roles. To save on budget, Simon had no plans to cast overly famous young actors. Plus, the film had numerous characters. Thus, these days, Daenerys Films' headquarters was absolutely teeming with handsome guys and beautiful girls.
This was already the penultimate round of auditions.
Though Simon preferred to make the final call in the last round, to avoid Fox doubting whether his compensation was worth it, he still participated in the casting process as much as possible.
"Thank you for coming today, Miss Clark. We'll notify you of the audition results as soon as possible."
In the audition room.
Another tall girl with short blonde hair finished her performance, and casting director Linda Vargas, whom Simon had worked with on Run Lola Run, formulaically sent her off. As she was about to call the next, Susan Landis—originally the company's first hire and now Simon's office secretary—pushed the door open and whispered something in Simon's ear.
"I'll head over right now."
Simon nodded after listening, greeted Wes Craven and Ron McMillan, then got up and left the audition room.
Wes Craven and the others knew Simon's focus was more on his own Pulp Fiction, as he'd been scouting roles for that film these past days too, so they weren't surprised by his temporary departure.
Simon left the audition room, and the waiting area outside, extending into the hallway, was filled with over a dozen stunningly attractive girls.
Seeing Simon appear, all the girls' eyes lit up instantly. They stood up, showering him with enthusiastic greetings like "Simon" and "Mr. Westeros." Some bold ones even slipped notes into his pocket.
The girls clearly knew Simon had recently become single again; some were auditioning specifically with him in mind.
Landing such a boyfriend—not to mention the boost to their acting careers—just Simon Westeros's current net worth made him a dream catch for many.
After all, Hollywood's hottest director, Steven Spielberg, had only accumulated a bit over $200 million over the years. Simon Westeros had earned over $40 million from Run Lola Run alone.
A multimillionaire under 20 was exceedingly rare worldwide.
Simon simply smiled and silently navigated the crowd. If he said he didn't enjoy being pursued and surrounded by a group of beautiful women, that would be a lie. However, deep down, he didn't truly believe he and Janet had broken up. With two lifetimes' experience, he also had the resolve to resist such simple temptations.
He casually tossed the few cards from his pocket into the hallway trash bin and arrived at his office. A man and a woman waiting in the secretary's area stood up simultaneously.
"Mr. Lieberman, Miss Ryan, hello," Simon smiled, shaking hands with each before saying, "Follow me."
With that, he instructed Susan to brew some coffee and pushed open the door to his office. Moving to the seating area, the three sat down, and Simon finally took a serious look at the woman across the sofa.
Meg Ryan.
One of the most famous American sweethearts, the original female lead in When Harry Met Sally.
At present, Meg Ryan was still just an unknown actress with a few film roles, her most notable being a small part as a pilot's wife in last year's Top Gun.
Simon had originally thought Meg Ryan's look in Top Gun might have been the result of offending the makeup artist. But now, seeing her in person, he couldn't help feeling even more disappointed.