On Thursday, Simon still arrived at the 7-Eleven convenience store on time early in the morning.
After yesterday's press conference, the packaging project for 'The Butterfly Effect' was essentially free of any further complications, and the relevant contracts would be signed sequentially next week.
According to Hollywood script transaction procedures, Simon would receive a preliminary script fee of $140,000 and a deposit for the option on two future scripts within a week of the contract signing.
The remaining $60,000 balance would be settled gradually as Simon made the necessary revisions and refinements to the script as required by the film company.
The first instalment of $140,000 in cash should be enough for Simon to start the production of 'Run Lola Run'.
Therefore, Simon had already informed Roger that he would resign from 7-Eleven after completing next week's work.
After being busy for more than two hours, around 9:30, Simon, standing behind the cash register, saw Roger Griffin hurrying out of the office, holding a newspaper.
Noticing that Roger Griffin was clearly heading towards him, Simon asked, "Roger, has something happened?" as the large man approached.
Roger Griffin didn't answer immediately, instead, he looked Simon up and down with a very curious expression before handing him the newspaper, pointing to an article, and inquiring, "Simon, this isn't about you, is it?"
Simon took the newspaper and glanced at it; it was a copy of the Los Angeles Times. Then he noticed the headline of the article Roger had just pointed to.
"What Does 'The Butterfly Effect' mean?"
Simon's first thought was, well this question is truly familiar. He then looked at the main text.
The article still began by mentioning WMA's recent series of events. Perhaps because this matter had already been discussed by too many people, the Los Angeles Times reporter named Peter Butler chose a different approach, beginning to focus on the script concept of 'The Butterfly Effect'.
To Simon's surprise, Peter Butler actually found the origin of 'The Butterfly Effect.' In an era without internet search engines, achieving this was not simple.
After spending a section explaining the meaning of 'The Butterfly Effect', Peter Butler began to speculate on the story content of 'The Butterfly Effect' script.
Combining information such as WMA choosing Brian De Palma as the director, he ultimately concluded that 'The Butterfly Effect' was likely a crime thriller that triggers a series of serious events under certain circumstances.
If the article only contained this much, Simon wouldn't have been too concerned.
Peter Butler's speculation had little to do with the actual story content of 'The Butterfly Effect'.
However, to Simon's surprise, Peter Butler also specifically mentioned his name in the article and expressed curiosity about the surname 'Westeros,' claiming that he had searched many sources but found no relevant information about this surname.
Therefore, he believed that 'Westeros' was likely an original surname, a very interesting original surname at that.
Seeing Simon frown slightly at the newspaper in front of him, and remaining silent for a while, Roger Griffin couldn't help but snap his fingers near his ear, saying, "Simon?"
Simon snapped out of his thoughts, smiled at the convenience store owner, and said, "Roger, I might have to ask for another day off tomorrow".
"No problem, even if you don't come to work next week, it's fine," Roger Griffin shook his head. Although Simon's attitude clearly implied confirmation of the fact, he still couldn't help but press, "So, this really is about you?"
Simon handed the newspaper back to Roger, nodded, and replied "Yes, it is".
Upon hearing Simon's confirmation, Roger Griffin waved the newspaper he had just received, making a rustling sound, and said, "Then, that middle-aged man a few days ago, he's the WMA vice president mentioned in the newspapers these days, named, um... what was his name again? Also, you now, you already have $200,000?"
Simon looked at the somewhat stammering Roger and smiled, "$200,000 isn't that much for you, is it? This store..."
At this point, Simon paused, turning his head to scan the 7-Eleven convenience store he was in.
Roger's convenience store should be a franchised type with its own premises, and it was quite large. Coupled with its location in downtown Santa Monica, business was also very good.
However. Recalling his daily cashier data, even on days with higher customer traffic, the store's daily turnover was only just over ten thousand dollars.
Roger looked at Simon, who had suddenly fallen into a daze, and snapped his fingers near his ear again: "Hey, what's wrong now?"
"Roger," Simon shook his head helplessly, "I suddenly realized that your store isn't suitable for my movie. I need a store with a daily turnover of over $100,000".
Hearing Simon say this, Roger showed no disappointment. Instead, he said, "A daily turnover of over $100,000? That would probably only be a Walmart-level store, and they definitely wouldn't agree to let you film any robbery scenes".
Simon recalled how lucky he had felt just days ago to immediately find a filming location, and a wry smile appeared on his lips. "That's true, but we still have to try."
As they were talking, several customers walked up one after another.
Seeing a line forming at the cash register opposite Simon, the two temporarily stopped talking. After Simon finished with a wave of customers, Roger asked again, "Simon, why does it have to be a store with a daily turnover of over $100,000?"
Simon replied, "My protagonist needs to steal $100,000 in one go."
"Steal $100,000 in one go?" Roger echoed, then continued, "Then robbing a supermarket is a terrible choice. Most supermarkets couldn't possibly keep that much cash at the register. If it were me, I'd definitely choose a jewellery store. Even if the money isn't enough, gold, gems, and the like can make up for it".
Simon thought to himself that things were really piling up today. Hearing Roger, he grinned and said, "You seem quite familiar with this kind of thing?"
"Who hasn't seen a few movies?" Roger also laughed, saying, "And, coincidentally, my brother owns a jewellery store. His store is on 26th Street, right next door. Of course, he's even less likely to agree to let you film a robbery scene in his store".
Simon had already planned a detailed filming scheme around Roger's convenience store and was struggling with how to adjust it. Hearing this, many thoughts immediately fell into place again.
Roger's convenience store was on 25th Street, and his brother's jewellery store was on 26th Street. If it was just adjusting one block, it would be very easy.
However, getting a jewellery store to agree to cooperate with filming a robbery scene would obviously be even rather difficult.
Calculating this, Simon didn't want to appear too eager.
Having sold the script to Fox, he would still have to work for them on script revisions for at least another month.
His own 'Run Lola Run' wouldn't be able to start filming until September at the earliest, so he had plenty of preparation time.
Now, he still needed to solve the immediate problem.
At 3 PM, Simon finished his shift and rode his bike to WMA headquarters, buying a copy of today's Los Angeles Times on the way.
Arriving outside Jonathan Friedman's office, Simon greeted Owen Wright first, as usual.
"Simon, what brings you here?" Owen Wright's face lit up with a warm smile when he saw Simon appear, then he pointed to Jonathan's office door and said, "Please wait a moment, Jonathan is talking to Sean Young"
Simon asked uncertainly, "Sean Young, as in Rachel?"
Owen Wright got up, pulled over a chair nearby, motioned for Simon to sit by his desk, and confirmed "Yes, Rachel".
Simon then nodded, a bit surprised that Sean Young was Jonathan's client.
However, besides her performance as the stunning replicant Rachel in 'Blade Runner', Sean Young didn't have many other outstanding representative works.
Moreover, it was rumoured that this woman had a penchant for diva behaviour, and many Hollywood filmmakers disliked working with her.
This ultimately led to the actress's career quickly fading after 'Blade Runner', only enjoying a brief period of popularity for a few years.
Simon also happened to remember that, due to her increasingly unsuccessful career, Sean Young, who missed out on the Catwoman role during the filming of Michael Keaton's 'Batman' due to a fall from a horse, did something that caused a sensation throughout Hollywood.
After 'Batman' became a huge success, Warner Bros. quickly greenlit the sequel, 'Batman Returns'.
During the film's production, Sean Young suddenly appeared outside the Warner Bros. studio and even appeared on talk shows, dressed in a homemade Catwoman costume, making a scene and demanding that Warner Bros. reinstate her as Catwoman.
However, she only earned the moniker 'Hollywood Madwoman,' completely destroying the image of the goddess Rachel in many people's minds.
Recalling these things, Simon said to Owen Wright, "Speaking of which, I don't even know who all of Jonathan's clients are, Owen. Could you show me the list?"
"Of course," Owen Wright nodded, took a folder from his desk drawer, and handed it to Simon, saying, "You can take a look".
Simon took the folder and opened it. The first page of the file was an old-school male star named Robert Duvall.
Simon had some impression of this male star, but he was still the type he barely recognized by face.
However, in the bio, Robert Duvall was not only an Oscar winner for Best Actor in 1984 but also had three other Oscar nominations.
By this reckoning, he could probably be considered Jonathan's biggest star.
Continuing to flip through, there were still several veteran male stars, generally in their forties or fifties.
Simon wasn't too surprised by this situation.
Affected by the television industry, Hollywood's film industry experienced a long silence of more than twenty years.
With the film business in a slump, opportunities had naturally decreased. Everyone competed for the limited roles based on seniority, which not only slowed down the pace of artist turnover in Hollywood but also meant that the stars at the very top of the Hollywood pyramid were generally older.
Thinking this, Simon had flipped through nearly half of the documents when he discovered a very familiar male star, Billy Crystal.
Then, his own information was conveniently sandwiched between the male and female stars.
Next appeared a string of veteran actresses. Simon quickly flipped past them and found Courteney Cox's name in a relatively late position.
He continued until the last page. Simon was about to casually hand the folder back to Owen when his gaze was drawn to the girl's name on the final page of the document.
In the ID photo, it was also a short-haired girl.
He glanced at the girl's profile; she had no film or television works yet, only some stage play experience. It seemed she was a newcomer Jonathan had just signed.
After a moment of thought, Simon patiently waited for Owen Wright to finish a phone call, then spread the documents in front of him and asked, "Owen, what's the situation with this girl?"
Owen Wright put down the phone and looked at the girl's name on the document.
Sandra Bullock.
"Sandra, oh, Jonathan just signed her last week. She was recommended by the New York dramatist Sanford Meisner, a very promising newcomer," Owen Wright explained a few sentences, then gave Simon a certain look, teasingly saying, "You like this type of girl? I happen to have a photo album here. Do you want to take a look?"
Simon smiled and shook his head, saying, "I just think she's quite suitable for the female lead in my movie".
"Is that so?" Having spent some time together, Owen Wright also knew about Simon's plan to shoot an experimental film. His tone became a bit more serious. He found Sandra Bullock's contact information in his address book and handed it to Simon, adding, "The autumn season is already too late.
Jonathan's plan is for her to first take on some TV dramas for the spring season next year to hone her skills, then transition to trying films. So, she happens to be free these next few months.
However, Simon, if you want a female lead, I can help you pick a few with more acting experience. If we communicate well, the price won't be too high".
"No need," Simon shook his head, "I'll contact this girl first and see how it goes".
Owen Wright didn't try to persuade him further, nodding and saying, "If you need help, you can call me anytime".
As they were talking, the door to Jonathan's office opened, and a beautiful woman in a black cinched dress walked out. It was Sean Young.
However, Sean Young was clearly in a very bad mood at this time, looking like an ice queen. She glanced sideways at Simon, who had stood up, but her steps didn't falter at all. She quickly walked away, her high heels clacking.
Jonathan followed Sean Young out of the office. Looking at the figure of the woman who had already turned into the corridor and disappeared, he turned to Simon, raised his hand and gestured to the empty space in front of him, saying earnestly, "Simon, this is Miss Young".
Simon walked over, smiled, and shook Jonathan's hand, saying, "I didn't expect you to tell cold jokes?"
"Just amusing myself occasionally" Jonathan's lips curved into a wry smile, but he didn't explain what had just happened.
After instructing Owen to prepare coffee for them, Jonathan led Simon into the office and sat down behind his desk. He began, "By the way, Simon, regarding Courteney, I originally planned for her to be the female lead.
However, she just passed the audition for the second female lead in Cannon Films' live-action 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'. This film has a production budget of $20 million, and the second female lead is also a good opportunity.
So, I temporarily replaced the female lead of 'The Butterfly Effect' with Elizabeth".
Simon didn't know much about 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe', vaguely remembering it should be an animated series from recent years. However, he just smiled and nodded, saying, "That's great. Neither opportunity was wasted".
Jonathan habitually crossed his hands and looked at Simon, saying, "So, you suddenly came over?"
Simon showed Jonathan the article from the Los Angeles Times, saying, "Jon, have you seen this?"
Jonathan took the newspaper, glanced at it, and nodded, "Owen showed it to me this morning too. I think this should be a good thing for you, right?"
Simon, however, shook his head. After a moment's thought, he said, "Jon, there's something about my experiences before I came to Los Angeles that I feel I need to explain to you first".