Simon was woken up by the phone ringing in the morning. He opened his eyes and saw Kathryn looking at him, her gaze a little confused and flustered from being suddenly woken up.
Simon pulled the woman into his arms, kissed her on the lips, then reached for the phone on the bedside table.
The call was from Pat Kingsley. Due to the recording of 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson', Pat Kingsley, Simon's public relations manager, had also been in New York for the past few days. Kingsley's call was about a piece of gossip published in today's 'Daily News' newspaper in New York.
"Palme d'Or Juror Resides in Westeros Cannes Mansion".
Natassja Kinski borrowing Simon's residence was still dug out. The 'Daily News' sensationalized the matter into a tabloid story, but a little thought about the title made it clear that the other party's fundamental purpose was still to question the fairness of Simon winning the Palme d'Or.
Simon was not surprised to hear this news at all.
The summer blockbuster competition had entered its most intense phase, with over ten major new films scheduled for release in the coming weeks. Due to the nature of the box office market, where one's gain is another's loss, at such times, suppressing an opponent's momentum would allow one's own side to gain more market space.
The two were close together, and Kathryn naturally heard Simon's conversation with Kingsley. After Simon hung up the phone, the emotions in Kathryn's eyes had changed, but she still stared fixedly at him. Evidently, the woman's focus was not on the deeper meaning of the 'Daily News' report.
Simon, being watched by Kathryn, had no choice but to explain, "I have no relationship with that woman, and besides, she's already married".
Kathryn hummed, broke free from Simon's embrace, and said indifferently, "That's Janette's business, it has nothing to do with me".
Simon smiled and tried to lean in, but Kathryn pushed him away, so he had to ask, "What do you want for breakfast?"
Kathryn didn't answer the question, but instead said, "You need to sew the button back on my shirt".
"I don't think there's any needle and thread at home, just wear my clothes", Simon sat up, intending to get out of bed, found his shirt, and gestured it towards the woman, saying, "You'd definitely look better in a men's shirt".
Kathryn reached out and pushed him, complaining, "People will notice".
Simon knew Kathryn was more cautious than him about their relationship, so he nodded, "Alright, I'll have Neil send some needle and thread over later".
After they had breakfast, Kathryn remained in the apartment, planning to leave quietly later. Simon rushed to the Westeros Corporation headquarters to discuss with James Raybould the acquisition of New World Entertainment through a debt-for-equity swap.
Meanwhile, the report in the 'Daily News' was indeed just the beginning, with similar news subsequently coming from the West Coast. The public relations teams of Daenerys Pictures and Orion Pictures immediately began to guide public opinion.
Amidst this open and covert struggle, the next day, 'Pulp Fiction' officially premiered in North American theatres. Also opening at the same time were 20th Century Fox's 'Big', starring Tom Hanks, and Warner Bros.' 'Funny Farm', starring Chevy Chase.
In addition, the North American box office data for the past week was also released.
'Crocodile Dundee II', with 2,837 opening screens, took in $30.17 million at the box office in its first full seven-day week, easily winning the weekly box office championship. Including the accumulated two days from the previous week, the film's total box office had reached $34.92 million.
However, the reputation of 'Crocodile Dundee II' was in stark contrast to its massive early promotion and large-scale opening screens, with North American media almost universally giving the film negative reviews.
"Variety" magazine commented that 'Crocodile Dundee II' was 'too bland as an adventure film, and not very funny as a comedy'.
The "New York Times" film critic's view was even more intense: "The default strategy for most sequels is to extract as many of the previous film's strengths as possible and give audiences more of what they loved. 'Crocodile Dundee II', however, like an idiot, does the opposite. It almost discards everything that made the first film shine, appearing mediocre and uninteresting".
Sylvester Stallone's 'Rambo III' received slightly better media reviews than 'Crocodile Dundee II', but only relatively speaking.
Moreover, with a similarly large opening of 2,562 screens, 'Rambo III', a sequel film that cost a massive $63 million to produce, had box office revenue comparable to 'Crocodile Dundee II' in its first two days of opening, but in its first full week, its box office was quickly outpaced by the latter, taking in $20.17 million in seven days, with a cumulative box office of $24.63 million.
'Willow', in third place on the list, saw its second-week box office drop by only 16%, taking in another $9.26 million. However, due to a weak start, 'Willow' had accumulated only $20.32 million in two weeks.
'When Harry Met Sally' still ranked fourth, continuing to earn $3.32 million in its 12th week of release, with a cumulative box office of $97.55 million, just a step away from breaking the $100 million mark.
Compared to the previous new films like 'Crocodile Dundee II', the three films released on June 3rd all received very good reviews.
Tom Hanks' 'Big' can be said to be the breakout film for this Hollywood A-list superstar, and in the original timeline, it also earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Chevy Chase's 'Funny Farm', from the veteran comedian, also received many positive reviews.
However, these two new films were completely powerless in the face of 'Pulp Fiction', a film destined to go down in cinematic history.
The halo of the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or.
The popularity brought by the addition of big names such as Robert De Niro, John Travolta, Robert Redford, Madonna, and Sean Penn.
The vast fan base Simon had accumulated since 'Run Lola Run'.
The extremely high topic heat brought by both praise and controversy.
All these factors made 'Pulp Fiction' one of the most anticipated films of the summer.
Apparently to curb the momentum of 'Pulp Fiction', with the film's release, some media outlets directly ignited the controversy surrounding Simon's Palme d'Or win, openly and unreservedly questioning the possibility of inside dealings at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival.
Faced with these accusations, Cannes officials were forced to publicly respond again.
The media, naturally, would not give up easily. Natassja Kinski borrowing Simon's mansion was quickly sensationalized into one of the most important pieces of insider evidence, and many newspapers relentlessly pursued this point.
Because this matter was linked to gossip, Natassja Kinski's wealthy Egyptian merchant husband also got involved, personally rushing to Le Cannet, Cannes, to try and bring his wife home. The eccentric and stubborn Natassja Kinski evidently would not easily submit.
The couple was already separated, and after being rejected, the wealthy Egyptian merchant felt greatly humiliated and publicly announced that he would divorce Natassja Kinski.
With this uproar, the matter instantly became even more lively.
Simon Westeros not only seduced a juror to manipulate awards but also broke up someone else's family, it was truly unbearable to witness.
However, before the media chasing this story could concoct more 'explosive material,' the situation suddenly took a 180-degree turn.
On June 7th, Natassja Kinski, annoyed by the constant encirclement of countless tabloid reporters flocking from all over the world, suddenly declared to the trailing reporters during a shopping trip that she had not supported 'Pulp Fiction' during the judging process. She had cast her vote for 'A World Apart'.
As soon as the woman's statement was released, all the media pursuing the story immediately went 'wtf'.
Is that even possible?!
The Cannes Film Festival's selection process did not have the rigorous voting procedures of the Oscars. Sometimes, if the jurors could reach a verbal consensus, the award could be decided without any voting. However, the recently concluded edition did initiate a voting process due to differing opinions among the jurors.
Natassja Kinski's public statement immediately prompted the Cannes Film Festival organizers, who had been somewhat overwhelmed by the media bombardment, to retrieve the voting cards from the recently sealed festival archives. Since the voting cards were directly written with names, Natassja Kinski's handwriting was also easily identifiable, and the woman had indeed cast her vote for 'A World Apart'.
Confirming this, the relieved Cannes Film Festival organizers immediately published a photocopy of Natassja Kinski's voting card in the newspapers.
Italian renowned director Ettore Scola, who had served as a juror for the main competition unit, subsequently also publicly stated that Natassja Kinski had indeed leaned towards 'A World Apart' during the deliberation process, and in the competition for the Palme d'Or, the vote ratio between 'Pulp Fiction' and 'A World Apart' was six to four.
When the news was announced, even Simon himself, who had just returned to Los Angeles, was like'wtf'.
Sister, I lent you a place to stay and even hired you a housekeeper, chef, servants, and a bunch of drivers, and I'm still paying the bills. Is it really okay for you to do this?
Janette, upon hearing about this, laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up, and by the way, she thoroughly scorned Simon for being a 'sucker'.
Although the truth was somewhat amusing, the accusations of inside dealings that some media had been heavily pushing instantly vanished into thin air.
After this back-and-forth, the attention for 'Pulp Fiction' reached another level. Moreover, the overwhelmingly positive reviews for 'Pulp Fiction' from most North American media, as well as the word-of-mouth praise for the film's quality from the audience itself, made the reversal very thorough.
Amidst the clamour, June 10th marked the end of another week of the summer blockbuster season.
From June 3rd to June 9th, the release of new and old films increased the total North American box office for the week to $92.67 million. In comparison, from May 27th to June 2nd, the total North American box office for a single week was only $73.87 million.
The highly anticipated 'Pulp Fiction' unsurprisingly claimed the top spot on the North American box office charts for the new week. With an opening screen count of 1,569, its first-week box office ultimately reached $27.53 million.
Although it didn't reach the level of 'Crocodile Dundee II's $30.17 million last week, no one doubted the strong power of 'Pulp Fiction'.
After all, 'Crocodile Dundee II' had 2,837 opening screens, while 'Pulp Fiction' only had 1,569. On a per-theatre average, 'Crocodile Dundee II' barely reached $10,636 last week, while 'Pulp Fiction' soared to $17,546.
What's more, 'Crocodile Dundee II' only had one competitor last week, 'Rambo III', and perhaps a struggling 'Willow' with low box office. But this week, 'Pulp Fiction' was in a free-for-all with four other films: 'Big', 'Funny Farm', 'Crocodile Dundee II', and 'Rambo III'.
Following 'Pulp Fiction', due to poor reviews and the over-extraction of market potential from its large-scale opening, 'Crocodile Dundee II' saw a 41% drop in box office relative to the previous week, earning only $17.87 million.
But even so, the film's opening scale of over 2,800 screens easily pushed its North American box office past the $50 million mark.
Ranking third on the list was 20th Century Fox's 'Big', with a first-week box office of $12.59 million. Because 20th Century Fox
The studio only arranged 1,132 opening screens for this new film, so this weekly per-theatre average exceeding $10,000 is a decent box office performance.
In Simon's memory, 'Big' grossed over $100 million in North America, and if history hadn't changed, 'Big' would have had a very excellent box office curve going forward.
Sylvester Stallone's 'Rambo III' ranked fourth, with an even more dismal box office drop than 'Crocodile Dundee II', reaching 47%, earning only $10.62 million this week, with a cumulative box office of $35.26 million. According to this decline curve, 'Rambo III's total North American box office is very likely to not even reach its production cost of $63 million.
Chevy Chase's 'Funny Farm' ranked fifth, with a first-week box office of $8.11 million.
'Funny Farm' had an opening screen count of 1,557, comparable to 'Pulp Fiction', but its first-week per-theatre average was just over $5,000, less than one-third of 'Pulp Fiction'. Warner Bros. Pictures' first film of the summer season undoubtedly turned out to be a dud.
With an opening of $8.11 million, even if the subsequent decline curve looks better, the total North American box office will likely not be very high.
Outside the top five, 'Willow' in sixth place continued to earn $7.08 million in its third week of release, with a cumulative box office of $27.40 million.
Next up 'When Harry Met Sally' in seventh place on the list, took in another $2.66 million at the box office. This film, which had been in theatres for 13 weeks, finally broke the $100 million box office mark amidst many people's expectations, with a total box office of $100.21 million, officially becoming the first film of 1988 to gross over $100 million in North America.
Amidst the discussions brought about by 'When Harry Met Sally' breaking $100 million at the North American box office, some media outlets suddenly discovered that Daenerys Pictures had successfully completed a box office relay.
'Pulp Fiction' earned $27.53 million in its first week alone. This film was impeccable in terms of reviews, cast, and buzz, and no one doubted that it would easily break the $100 million mark at the North American box office.
It should be noted that when 'When Harry Met Sally' had its wide release after test screenings, its first-week box office was only $17.81 million. 'Pulp Fiction's first-week performance almost exceeded 'When Harry Met Sally' by a full $10 million.
Two films breaking $100 million at the North American box office already matched Simon Westeros's achievement last year.
Previously, in 1987, 'Run Lola Run' and 'The Butterfly Effect', both associated with Simon, achieved excellent box office results of over $100 million in North America, while 'Final Destination' grossed slightly less, only over $70 million.
It's just that, it's not even halfway through 1988, and Simon Westeros has already matched his box office feat from last year. So, what's next?
'Pulp Fiction' is taking over from 'When Harry Met Sally' to continue its push for over $100 million at the North American box office. Will 'Basic Instinct', also personally written by Simon, do the same by mid-next month?
After 'Basic Instinct', Daenerys Pictures' publicly announced production slate also includes a long list of films such as 'Scream', 'Rain Man', 'Dead Poets Society', and 'Steel Magnolias'.
Although many people believe these films don't have much commercial appeal, Simon Westeros has already created too many miracles.
Imagine boldly, if these films continue to follow suit... Tsk!