Without any suspense, the next morning, the newspapers were full of headlines like 'Simon Westeros' New Romance Exposed'.
In his Century City apartment.
Simon woke up to the ringing of the phone, and then practically held the receiver until after breakfast.
Jonathan Friedman and Pat Kingsley called immediately to ask Simon and Sandra what was going on and how they planned to deal with the media. Simon's answer was simply to tell them to be vague. Sandra had kissed him voluntarily last night, and if he immediately declared that they had no relationship the next day, it would certainly make the girl very embarrassed.
Janette, of course, also called, complaining in a resentful tone about Simon being a playboy and a scoundrel, but then she went off-topic to profound questions like kissing techniques. Simon patiently humoured her, chatting about this and that. At the end, he tentatively asked if they could start dating again, since they had been 'broken up' for two weeks, but was rejected again due to a serious matter of pride.
Among a series of calls, Dennis O'Brien, head of Handcraft Entertainment, also called.
Handcraft Entertainment had agreed to participate in the production of 'When Harry Met Sally', and Dennis O'Brien wanted to formally discuss the contract details with Simon. This kind of thing would normally be better handled by Amy. However, Amy still had to rush to New York, and Simon didn't have any important work over the weekend, so he took it upon himself.
After two days of intensive negotiations, Daenerys Entertainment and Handcraft Entertainment officially signed a cooperation agreement on Monday. After Amy Pascal returned from New York, she began discussing distribution cooperation with several major film companies.
Subsequently, the strong monopoly of the major film companies over Hollywood's film distribution channels and Daenerys Entertainment's shallow roots were once again clearly exposed.
Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters.
Simon and Amy sat together on the sofa in his office's reception area, quietly discussing the results of Amy's recent discussions with several major film companies. The atmosphere was inevitably a bit heavy.
Due to the consecutive successes of 'Run Lola Run' and 'The Butterfly Effect', the studios had initially expressed interest in investing in 'When Harry Met Sally'.
However, when Daenerys Entertainment decided to produce it independently and was only willing to cooperate with the Big Seven on domestic theatrical distribution, the attitudes of all parties immediately changed significantly.
Among the Big Seven, Paramount and Universal directly rejected Daenerys Entertainment's cooperation invitation, citing that their release schedules were full.
The remaining five companies.
Since Daenerys Entertainment only wished to license North American theatrical distribution separately, Columbia demanded a buyout, but offered only 3 million US dollars.
If it were a revenue-sharing distribution, independent Hollywood producers typically received about 20% of the box office share from distributors. Based on this proportion, Columbia's $3 million offer was equivalent to an estimated North American box office of 15 million US dollars for 'When Harry Met Sally'.
A $15 million box office, in this era, was not actually too bad. A film with a production cost of $15 million that achieved such a North American box office would basically break even through subsequent distribution channels.
However, this figure was far lower than the box office of 'When Harry Met Sally' in Simon's memory, so he naturally couldn't agree.
The other four companies were willing to do revenue-sharing distribution.
However, MGM and Disney both offered distribution commissions as high as 15%, with promotional and distribution costs naturally calculated separately. Moreover, both companies not only demanded Simon sign additional conditions such as director and screenwriter contracts, but also their proposed number of screens and release dates were unsatisfactory.
Next were Fox and Warner.
Fox was willing to offer the Easter holiday slot at the end of March next year, guaranteeing a minimum of 1,000 opening screens, with a 12% distribution commission. However, Fox demanded the North American distribution rights for other channels of 'When Harry Met Sally'.
Warner offered the best release date among the seven, November next year, Thanksgiving, guaranteeing a minimum of 1,000 opening screens, with a 10% distribution commission. The additional condition was the distribution rights for all other channels of 'When Harry Met Sally' outside of North American theatres.
The biggest difference between agency distribution and buyout pre-sale is the payment date.
If Daenerys Entertainment retained the distribution rights for other channels, after 'When Harry Met Sally' was released, if the market response was good, they could quickly recoup funds by selling off the distribution rights for subsequent channels, just like 'Run Lola Run'.
However, if they chose agency distribution, they would have to wait for the film company to complete distribution through various channels before payments would be settled in stages.
Take video cassette distribution, which is closest to theatrical release, for example. After a film finishes its theatrical run, there's a three-month window period before the video cassette can be released. Then, even if payments are settled quarterly, that's at least another three months of waiting.
Therefore, choosing agency distribution, even if it ultimately yielded more profit, the repayment cycle of several years was something a small company like Daenerys Entertainment could not afford.
In short, the terms offered by the five major companies that agreed to cooperate were basically not what Simon wanted to see.
However, the fact that five of the Big Seven film companies were willing to cooperate with Daenerys Entertainment was actually the result of Simon's continuous success with two hit movies. For an independent film, and with Simon wanting to keep more distribution rights in his hands, it was clear that the Big Seven couldn't offer very good terms. For example, popular slots like the summer blockbuster season were out of the question.
In fact, the situation 'When Harry Met Sally' faced was a true reflection of what independent Hollywood producers generally encountered.
Although Hollywood never lacked second and third-tier film companies that could distribute films independently, the Big Seven studios' monopoly on film distribution channels was absolutely not an empty phrase; only those who were in it understood how terrifying this strong monopoly was.
Take New Line Cinema, for example. Its founder, Robert Shaye, established the company in 1967. But it wasn't until 1984, when New Line Cinema released its first independently produced film, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street', that it could only secure 165 opening screens for the film, and it was even released on a niche date like November 9th.
Even the recent 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 3', although the number of opening screens finally expanded to over 1,000, the release date seemed even more niche: February 27th. For major studios, such a release date was basically a film graveyard; only films that were not highly anticipated or films from independent producers would be thrown into such niche slots to fend for themselves.
So, why didn't New Line Cinema choose popular slots like the summer or Christmas seasons?
Because they couldn't get in.
Even after the 'Paramount Decree' that forced the separation of exhibition circuits from film companies, the intricate web of interests between major film companies and North American theatre chains was not broken.
What's more, in recent years, as the Reagan administration continuously relaxed regulations on the media industry, the Paramount Decree had become a dead letter.
Currently, the total number of cinema screens in North America is approximately 22,000, of which 7,500 screens located in core bustling areas contribute as much as 80% of the annual North American box office.
After the Paramount Decree became ineffective, companies like Warner, Universal, and Columbia have recently re-entered the cinema exhibition business, and currently control nearly half of the core 7,500 screens.
With direct control over 40% of the total North American box office share, plus close ties with other theatre chains, second and third-tier film companies can make small splashes, but they are basically unable to threaten the Big Seven's monopoly.
Due to his attention to various Hollywood dynamics, Simon was actually well aware of these matters, but a strong sense of unwillingness still arose within him.
Glancing again at the memo detailing the cooperation terms of the major film companies, Simon looked up at Amy Pascal and asked, "Amy, how likely do you think it is that we handle the distribution of this film ourselves?"
Amy Pascal shook her head and said, "Simon, it's too risky. This is $15 million, not $1.8 million for 'A Nightmare on Elm Street.' Domestic box office data is the most important basis for subsequent channel distributors' quotes. It's not impossible for us to do the distribution ourselves, but the box office we get might not even be half of what the Big Seven would achieve, which would severely impact the revenue from all subsequent channels. It's simply not worth it".
Simon fell silent after Amy finished speaking. He naturally understood these principles.
He once again focused his gaze on the memo in front of him, quickly weighing the various cooperation proposals in his mind.
Columbia's $3 million buyout was definitely out of the question.
For Fox and Warner, even if 'When Harry Met Sally' still reached 90 million US dollars at the North American box office, Daenerys Entertainment's share from the box office might not exceed 20 million.
Just like 'Run Lola Run', Simon was more interested in the revenue from subsequent distribution channels.
These two were also excluded.
Finally, only MGM and Disney remained.
However, the release dates offered by MGM and Disney, one in early October and one in late February, were both graveyard-level slots.
Moreover, Simon really didn't want to sign any more director contracts.
Today was already Thursday.
Simon had given the story script for 'The Lion King' to Jonathan on Monday. Although he hoped to cooperate with Disney, he had to go through Fox Pictures first. Because of the original contract, after 'The Butterfly Effect' and 'Final Destination', he still owed Fox a script.
Although Fox Pictures doesn't make animated films now, the lawyers on both sides still worked all day, signing a formal memorandum of understanding before Jonathan could pitch the project to Disney.
Thinking this, Simon sighed inwardly, knowing that he still had to face reality.
Currently, the only trump card Daenerys Entertainment had that could entice major film companies was himself. To achieve cooperation, he could only sign another film contract with MGM or Disney.
Picking up a pen, he circled the names of MGM and Disney on the memo and handed it to Amy, saying, "Continue to contact these two. The Easter holiday slot in March, 1,000 guaranteed screens, that's our bottom line. Everything else is negotiable".
Amy nodded. She actually also leaned towards these two companies.
As for Simon having to sign an additional film contract again, in Amy's opinion, it was no big deal.
The fundamental reason why Spielberg has only been able to direct films for Universal, Warner, and Paramount over the years is due to contractual restrictions.
After the success of 'Jaws' back then, Universal changed Spielberg's seven-year 'indentured servitude' into a four-picture deal. Even now, Spielberg still owes two films.
Therefore, even though he publicly expressed his dislike for Universal Pictures president Frank Price and even defiantly wrote a clause in his contract stating that he would not work with him, Spielberg still had to continue working for Universal Pictures.
Once this matter was settled, the two chatted for a few more moments before there was a knock on the office door.
After Simon assented, Susan opened the door and said, "Mr. Westeros, Miss Kidman's hair is dyed".
As Susan spoke, a tall, fair-skinned woman with dyed black hair walked in. It was Nicole Kidman, who was just twenty years old at the time.
Nicole Kidman with black hair.