As "The Bodyguard" heats up in theaters, the post-production work for "Batman" continues steadily.
Recently, the film has entered the music scoring stage. After some hesitation among several of Hollywood's top composers, Simon decides to take on the task himself. After all, no one in Hollywood knows better than him what he wants.
Warner Bros. owns the top-tier recording studios and other related equipment, so this part of the work is still carried out in Burbank.
After a busy morning, Simon leaves Warner Bros. and heads to the nearby Daenerys Entertainment Burbank branch.
Today is June 9, Friday.
Ella Doichman returned from Europe yesterday, and Simon visits the company branch. Everyone chooses a nearby restaurant for lunch, where Doichman shares the results of her trip to Europe.
"Universal tried to snatch 'Cinema Paradiso' with a $5 million advance plus a backend deal, just for the North American distribution rights alone, which is already a sky-high price. I had no choice but to give up. Tornatore won the Palme d'Or this time, and many people hope to invest in his next film. I also had disagreements with him on the script for 'The Journey of Life', so that deal didn't go through either."
As expected, Simon simply asks, "What else?"
Ella Doichman says, "Considering the situation, I selected 10 films from the main competition and various screening units, earnestly communicated with each producer, and then sent them a time-limited offer to consider overnight. In the end, I missed out on 'Beauty Over Fire', which won the Jury Prize, but I managed to secure 'Sweet Sister' by Jane Campion, with the North American all-channel rights, for an upfront payment of $300,000 plus 50% of the net box office profit. There's also a Swedish film, 'The Woman on the Roof', for an upfront payment of $100,000, with the same 50% net box office profit share."
Simon notices the smile on Ella Doichman's face as she talks, imagining her wits against other film merchants closely watching Daenerys Entertainment.
"The Woman on the Roof" is just an addition; the focus is still on "Sweet Sister".
$300,000 plus 50% of the net box office profits is negligible for a Hollywood commercial film. However, according to Simon's estimation, the production cost of "Sweet Sister" won't exceed $500,000. Just selling the North American rights, the New Zealand film merchant can almost cover most of the costs, not to mention the profit-sharing clause.
Simon prefers outright purchases, but he also understands that this is somewhat unrealistic.
Just like his insistence on sharing in "Run Lola Run", filmmakers always hope for miracles. Doichman's offer actually lowers the risk for Daenerys Entertainment.
Moreover, the share only involves box office, while video and TV broadcast rights income are all for Daenerys Entertainment, which can also avoid long-term financial entanglements, a transaction mode both parties are happy to accept.
The upfront cost is $300,000, and with another $500,000 or so for promotion, "Sweet Sister"'s North American box office needs to exceed $1.5 million to break even.
Simon doesn't have high expectations for "Sweet Sister"'s box office potential, deeming $3 million a success.
By this calculation, Garon Film Industry can achieve a small profit on the box office, and later video and TV broadcasts can bring decent income. The New Zealand film merchant can also gain an additional $300,000 to $400,000 in share profits, a win-win for both.
Simon is about to ask about other matters when he notices Robert Lamm's frowning expression as the two talk. He asks, "Bob, is there a problem?"
Robert Lamm glances at Doichman and says, "Simon, I just think you're too focused on these small deals."
"These are not small deals, Bob. Like 'Run Lola Run' and 'Pulp Fiction', both films lean towards the arthouse attribute, yet their box office was incredibly impressive. Since I can achieve this, I believe other filmmakers can create such miracles too. I don't expect Garon Film Industry to discover films like 'Run Lola Run' every year, but as long as there's one big-selling arthouse film every two or three years, that's a success," Simon explains earnestly. "Moreover, for me, there's no concept of big or small deals. I hope to do every job well, and I expect the same from you. This is a very important attitude. If a person can't take a $300,000 'small deal' seriously, then even if you give him $3 million or $30 million, he still won't do it well."
Being rebuked in front of Doichman, Jennifer, and Danny Morris, president of New World Film Industry, who joined them for lunch, Lamm feels somewhat embarrassed, though he still insists on his point, managing only a forced smile and nodding, "Alright."
Simon sighs inwardly and turns to Doichman.
Without waiting for Simon to ask, Doichman proactively says, "Following your request, I also successfully signed two film contracts with Campion. She's going to shoot a biographical film called 'Angels at My Table', and I've seen the script, which is also very suitable for European film festivals. Additionally, she has an original script idea about a mute woman who moves to New Zealand with her piano. Since the script isn't formed yet, I can't judge its quality, but she says she'll draft an outline soon."
Regarding the piano and mute woman's story, it's obviously the one Simon likes, "The Piano".
Without seeing the script, Simon doesn't comment much and continues to chat. He turns to Danny Morris, the head of New World Film Industry, and asks, "Danny, how's the preparation for the sequel to 'Children of the Corn'?"
Initially appointed as the head of Garon Film Industry but skeptical of the prospects of arthouse films, Danny Morris was sent to manage New World Film Industry, specializing in thrillers and horror films.
After the exchange with Doichman and Simon's remarks on 'big business' and 'small business', Danny Morris somewhat regrets giving up the presidency of Garon Film Industry.
New World Film Industry currently handles few projects, mainly the sequel to last year's hit "Scream", "Scream 2", the third installment of "Poltergeist", "Poltergeist 3", and the sequel to "Children of the Corn" Simon mentioned, "Children of the Corn 2".
All three films were commercially successful in their previous installments.
Therefore, unless the sequel significantly surpasses the original, the credit won't be great. But if it fails, it will seriously affect one's career.
Thinking this, Danny Morris quickly says, "The script is finished, and we're currently looking for a director. Additionally, I plan to shoot this film in Australia to save at least 10% of the budget."
"Children of the Corn"'s budget is $3 million. Since it's a low-budget film, shooting in Australia won't get the generous tax rebates "Batman" did. A 10% budget reduction actually saves only $300,000.
Considering shooting in Australia was just an idea Danny Morris had hesitations about, but after hearing Simon's words, he decides without hesitation.
At least, such an attitude can win the boss's favor.
Simon is indeed satisfied.
While a company's profits aren't saved, if there's a chance to economize, it should be taken.
After a few words, Simon doesn't neglect Lamm and brings up "The Bodyguard".
"The Bodyguard"'s opening week box office is $23.63 million, slightly below Simon's expectations and far behind "Indiana Jones 3" of the same period.
Fortunately, like in the original timeline, "The Bodyguard" soundtrack unexpectedly sells well, giving Simon high hopes for the film's box office trajectory and international performance.
Moreover, compared to the soundtrack, Simon actually values box office more.
If "The Bodyguard" can achieve the original's global box office of $400 million, Daenerys Entertainment can gain at least $100 million in net profits over the next year or two, with later video and other channels starting to provide income.
In comparison, the expected revenue from the soundtrack is also astonishing, but the memory of over 45 million album sales is the result of a long-term accumulation over the next decade or two.
Additionally, Simon is somewhat worried about the impact of "Ghostbusters 2", releasing this week, on "The Bodyguard".
There's no specific box office data for "Ghostbusters 2" in memory, but this $37 million blockbuster is obviously one of the top-selling films of the year.
Moreover, both in terms of release scale and promotional efforts, "Ghostbusters 2" is on par with "Indiana Jones 3" and "The Bodyguard".
After lunch, everyone returns to the Burbank office building, only to hear another explosive news.
At 1 p.m., Paramount Communications suddenly holds a press conference, announcing its intention to acquire Time Inc., offering a high price of $175 per share, totaling $10.7 billion.
Before this, Time Inc. and Warner Bros. had been publicly negotiating a merger for three months, nearing conclusion.
Paramount's sudden move catches both Time Inc. and Warner Bros. off guard.
Time Inc. immediately releases a statement, expressing disapproval of Paramount's hostile takeover. Warner Bros. also quickly supports Time Inc.'s announcement.
The general public might not understand the details of this acquisition, but all of Hollywood is closely watching.
The entanglement between the three companies is quite interesting.
In the deal between Time and Warner, Time Inc. initially proposed the acquisition, with Time as the buyer. Now, with Paramount's acquisition of Time Inc., Time becomes the target.
The reason Time Inc.'s management reacts so strongly is mainly due to this role reversal.
In the Time-Warner merger, as the acquirer, Time Inc.'s executives would remain in control of the new large media conglomerate.
Moreover, according to information Simon heard, Time Inc.'s executives even prepared a ten-year lucrative salary contract for themselves, ensuring continuous compensation even if some had to leave post-merger.
In contrast, if Time Inc. is acquired by Paramount, the management is likely to be ousted, with no talk of a ten-year salary contract.
After Paramount's announcement, both sides engage in media exchanges for a few days, with Paramount quickly stating it will sue in Delaware Federal Court to stop the Time-Warner deal.
In the Time-Warner deal, both sides used a stock swap model, valuing Time Inc.'s stock at around $7 billion. Paramount's $10.7 billion cash offer, at first glance, seems much more generous than the Time-Warner deal.
However, the numbers are somewhat superficial.
Considering the 28% capital gains tax in the US, accepting Paramount's cash offer would result in shareholders paying taxes and ending up with roughly the same profit as the Time-Warner merger, which doesn't require capital gains tax.
Thus, Paramount's claim of protecting shareholder interests isn't very convincing.
As an observer, Simon knows the outcome of this acquisition.
Moreover, he somewhat envies this deal.
Not to mention Warner Bros., Time Inc. owns HBO, North America's most profitable pay cable network, which alone makes Simon envious.
Additionally, Time Inc.'s print media business, including Time magazine, is also highly profitable.
However, Daenerys Entertainment currently lacks the strength to participate in such large acquisitions.
Simon follows this acquisition to accumulate experience for Daenerys Entertainment's future planning. In fact, this day isn't too far off, possibly just until next year.
Meanwhile, "The Bodyguard" soundtrack's first-week sales are quickly tallied.
Planning for marketing, Alastair Records and Daenerys Entertainment intend to push the album's first-week sales over 1 million, even if it means risking fabrication.
Fortunately, "The Bodyguard" soundtrack's final sales tally is 1.02 million, eliminating the need for risk and allowing both companies to promote this sales figure extensively.
In the fierce summer competition, the new week's box office data is released on June 16.
"Ghostbusters 2" opens with a strong $44.91 million, easily claiming the top spot in the weekly box office, similar to "Indiana Jones 3".
Entering its fourth week, "Indiana Jones 3" maintains a box office of $23.88 million, securing the second spot and officially crossing the $100 million mark, reaching $110.65 million.
Boosted by the soundtrack's popularity, "The Bodyguard" experiences only a 15% drop in its second week, earning an additional $20.06 million for a cumulative $43.96 million.
Although "The Bodyguard"'s two-week total doesn't match the complete first-week figures of "Indiana Jones 3" and "Ghostbusters 2", its strong box office performance amidst competition from two blockbuster films is quite commendable.
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