Early the next morning, Simon and Janette flew to Utah together.
As the plane took off, Janette asked about yesterday's events: "So, how did the talk with Fox go?"
Feeling the plane no longer turbulent, Simon unbuckled his seatbelt. The rapid succession of expressions on Peter Sanders' face yesterday afternoon, when he saw the age on his driver's license, flashed through his mind. He smiled and shook his head, "You know, I wanted a split contract, and Sanders insisted on a buyout. So, we might have to wait until after Sundance. Hopefully, things will turn around then".
Although Simon had explained in detail to Peter Sanders yesterday about the distribution strategy using his age as a gimmick for publicity, Peter Sanders was clearly somewhat tempted. However, the other party ultimately did not agree, nor did he offer a new increment.
Simon also realized that this was likely due to Peter Sanders' limited authority.
The power structure of major Hollywood film companies is basically decided by the helmsman. Although Peter Sanders was a vice president with certain departmental authority, in terms of films, the power to make final decisions still rested with President Ronald Sandberg.
Janette clearly just asked casually. Hearing Simon's reply, she wasn't discouraged at all and said, "Worst case, we'll handle the distribution ourselves. Maybe we can even gain some experience".
Simon smiled and hummed in agreement.
Actually, doing the distribution himself wasn't impossible; it would just be too time-consuming.
Simon only took four months to make 'Run Lola Run', but if he were to personally handle the distribution through various channels, it would probably take one to two years. Moreover, the final profit might not even be as good as selling the film directly to a film company, making it completely not worth the effort.
After a few casual chats, Simon opened a copy of 'The Hollywood Reporter' he had brought on the plane. Just as he was about to read it, he suddenly remembered something and asked Janette beside him, "Hey, I'm suddenly curious, why does Kathryn always look at me so strangely these days?"
Janette blinked innocently, "Hmm?"
Noticing Janette's demeanour, Simon grew more suspicious and stared at her, saying, "Did you say something to Kathryn?"
Janette's eyes flickered again, even more innocently, "What could I say? I'm too lazy to talk about you".
"You definitely said something," Simon scrutinized Janette's current expression, becoming more certain. He made to roll up the newspaper in his hand and raised it, "Confess, what bad things did you say about me?"
Seeing Simon raise the newspaper, Janette shrunk into her seat but then lifted her slender white neck, looking defiant, and shouted in a husky little voice, "No!"
With that shout, all the passengers in the cabin looked over.
Feeling the collective gaze of everyone condemning a domestic abuser, Simon could only sit back awkwardly, reopening his newspaper and pretending nothing had happened.
A moment later, Janette leaned closer again, gently scratching Simon's arm with her small paw. Seeing no reaction from him, she hesitated, then leaned into his ear, "I, I just told Kate about you bullying me all night on Christmas Eve".
Simon looked puzzled, "How did I bully you?"
Janette raised her pretty little hand and waved it in front of Simon, stammering, "It's just, it's just, five damn times".
Simon's mind went through several loops before he understood what 'five times' meant. He immediately slumped back in his seat, looking dejected, with an urge to jump out of the plane.
Sigh.
It's ruined.
Everything's ruined.
I've met the wrong person.
In Kathryn's mind, I must have become an oversexed beast.
Even though he had already committed to the woman beside him, no one would want to be seen in such a light by other women.
Why am I so miserable?
Janette saw Simon's dejected look and leaned closer to him again, saying in a sweet voice, "Simon, don't worry, I already told Kate that I don't mind".
Simon said weakly, "Didn't you tell Kate that I suddenly caught a cold in the middle of the night that day, had a high fever, and was being difficult about not wanting to go to the hospital? And that you diligently stayed by my bedside for a day and a night, practically a model girlfriend?"
Janette blinked, "Huh? Wasn't I the one who caught a cold?"
Simon rolled his eyes and weakly raised his hand to a passing flight attendant, "Excuse me, could you please help me change seats? I need to calm down".
...Salt Lake City had just had snow. The plane landed on a runway surrounded by pure white. Simon and Janette then rented a car and drove east along the mountain road for nearly an hour before reaching Park City, the venue of the Sundance Film Festival.
The Sundance Film Festival originated in the late 1970s as a film exhibition in Salt Lake City, later moving to Park City.
As the founder, Robert Redford's initial intention for launching the Sundance Film Festival wasn't entirely pure. The Hollywood superstar had bought a ski resort in Park City and also built a holiday village, but it was poorly managed. To change the situation, Robert Redford decided to imitate the experience of another American ski town, Aspen, by holding an arts festival to stimulate the local tourism market while supporting the development of independent films.
Through more than two decades of subsequent development, the Sundance Film Festival's influence grew, and many later world-renowned Hollywood directors rose to prominence through the Sundance platform.
Of course, these are all later stories.
In 1987, Park City was still relatively unknown, and the Sundance Film Festival had far less influence than it would later.
Utah is in the Mountain Time Zone, one hour ahead of California.
When Simon and Janette arrived in Park City, it was already past noon.
Janette had booked accommodation in advance at a resort. The location was on the east side of Park City, with more than a dozen exquisite wooden apartments scattered among the mountains and forests, connected by smooth asphalt roads. Each house was beautiful, and transportation was also very convenient.
Of course, it certainly wasn't cheap.
Simon was basically penniless now, and all his credit cards were overdrawn. However, he still had to pay for the resort apartment, but only by putting his thumbprint on Janette's IOU.
He occasionally thought that if he couldn't make money soon, he might really have to use 'little Simon' to pay off his debts.
After settling in and having lunch, the two rushed to the Sundance Institute at the foot of the Park City West ski resort to complete the necessary procedures for participating in the film festival and to submit the film print of 'Run Lola Run' to the organizers.
Speaking of which, today was January 15th, and Simon was definitely the last exhibitor to submit a film print.
As early as December last year, the Sundance Film Festival had already announced the list of nominated films for its two main sections: Feature Films and Documentaries. If it weren't for the personal recommendation of Robert Redford, the festival chairman, and the fact that competition at Sundance was far less intense then than it would later become, 'Run Lola Run' certainly would not have qualified for exhibition.
After completing the registration procedures, Simon had just left the institute's main entrance when he happened to run into Robert Redford and his entourage walking from the parking lot.
"Hey, Simon, you're finally here. David was just asking about you".
Greeting Simon warmly, Robert Redford then introduced him and Janette to the people around him, all of whom were judges for this film festival.
Simon had inquired in advance. The current Sundance only had two sections, Feature Films and Documentaries, with five judges for each section, totalling ten people. Robert Redford only had four people with him, so it was clearly not everyone.
Moreover, listening to the names of the four people: David Ansen, Randa Haines, Kit Carson, Jane Benes.
These people should all be film and television professionals.
However, Simon didn't recognize any of them.
Actually, this wasn't surprising. Even more than a decade later, the judges of the Sundance Film Festival tended to be 'less famous,' far from the household names of the major film festivals' celebrity judges.
As Robert Redford introduced them, Simon and Janette shook hands with each person one by one.
Hearing that the judge named David Ansen had just mentioned him, Simon specifically scrutinized the other party a few times during the greeting process, noticing that David Ansen was also curiously scrutinizing him.
"We're just about to watch the nominated films. Since you've brought the print, we can watch it first. Everyone is very curious about your film".
Saying this, after the introductions, Robert Redford patted Simon on the shoulder again, gave a few instructions, and then walked into the institute with the other four people.