Hunting in Hollywood

"William Friedkin isn't suitable, Tom. His 'The Exorcist' was indeed spectacular, and 'The French Connection' is definitely a classic. However, William has been resting on his laurels for years. 'Midnight Ring' requires a breakthrough different from the traditional Hollywood horror style, and I don't think William can achieve that," said Simon Westeros, in his office discussing the potential directors for 'Midnight Ring' with Danny Morris, the president of New World Cinema.

Despite William Friedkin being MGM's representative Sherry Lansing's husband, and knowing that Danny Morris's suggestion was likely influenced by Lansing, Simon didn't hesitate to dismiss him.

After 'The Exorcist' and 'The French Connection', William Friedkin had the richest resources in Hollywood but hadn't directed a critically or commercially successful film in over a decade.

Danny Morris himself was also skeptical about Friedkin, continuing, "Then what about Wes Craven, Simon?"

"Wes is more skilled in splatter films, completely unsuitable for this movie."

"How about Jonathan Demme?"

Today was Wednesday, October 9th.

Jonathan Demme's 'The Silence of the Lambs', which had premiered on August 9th, had been in theaters for eight and a half weeks. By last weekend, this classic horror film, starring Sandra Bullock and Robert Duvall, had just crossed the $100 million mark, reaching $100.27 million.

Simon thought for a moment and nodded, "Joe could be an option. However, 'Midnight Ring' heavily focuses on atmosphere through cinematography and music, and I hope the director can have stronger skills in these areas."

Danny Morris smiled and said, "In that case, you might be the most suitable person yourself, Simon."

"I feel the same," shrugged Simon, "but unfortunately, I don't have the time."

Danny Morris's suggestion was more of a passing comment. He then said, "There's also Joe Dante, but if we're planning for a release by next Halloween, Dante's schedule definitely won't fit."

Joe Dante, known for 'Piranha' in the 1970s and 'Gremlins' in the 1980s, was the director Simon had chosen for last year's summer blockbuster, 'The Sixth Sense of the Supernatural'. Having become a well-known director, they had only signed him for one film.

Although everyone in the industry understood that the key to 'The Sixth Sense of the Supernatural's' success was Simon, the film's global box office of over $600 million made Joe Dante highly sought after, and he was still booked solid by other studios.

If no better options arose, Jonathan Demme would have to continue in charge.

However, Simon still had reservations.

'Midnight Ring' would introduce a style completely different from traditional Hollywood horror films.

These veteran directors who had been in Hollywood for many years had mostly settled into their own styles, making it difficult for them to break old habits and achieve a breakthrough.

After a moment, Simon said, "Let's do this, Danny, screen some relatively young directors as alternatives. I'll be closely involved with this project. It would be best if the director is quite malleable."

Hearing this, Danny Morris quickly nodded.

This project was directly under Simon's control, and his personal involvement meant he would devote more effort to it.

With that settled, they preferred a younger, less experienced director who would be more compliant and easier to work with.

After settling this matter, Danny Morris checked his notes and continued, "About the leading actress..."

Simon waved his hand, saying, "I've already offered it to Nicole Kidman; just negotiate the contract with her agent directly."

Danny paused, then nodded again.

He felt a twinge of regret for the actresses who had recently been desperately trying to secure the project.

Originally, Naomi Watts, Nicole's close friend, was the lead in the American version of 'Midnight Ring'. Now, unaware of the situation, Simon had decided to let Nicole take on this potentially lucrative project as the spokesperson for Van Cleef & Arpels.

'Midnight Ring', a female-led film, was a horror movie, but as long as it was successful, it would definitely help solidify Nicole Kidman's fame and status.

After discussing some details, the conversation between the two men turned to other projects at New World Cinema.

An hour later, Danny Morris left, and Ella Doichman rushed over.

Directed by Catherine, 'Thelma & Louise' had reached a cumulative box office of $25.41 million by last weekend, four and a half weeks since its release.

Due to the film's excellent reviews and steady decline in box office, its weekly revenue was still around four million dollars, and it was expected to surpass $40 million before leaving theaters, enough to cover the entire production and marketing costs.

Since they had decided to forgo competing in next year's Oscars, Simon planned to use '

Thelma & Louise' as a focus for the next Oscar nominations, primarily to accumulate an Oscar Best Director nomination for Catherine.

They didn't harbor hopes for an award.

Barbra Streisand's 'The Prince of Tides' was scheduled for the end of the year and would also be a strong contender for next year's Oscars.

Thus, next year's Oscars could potentially see two female nominees for Best Director for the first time. If they just slightly manipulated the narrative and hyped it up, considering Hollywood's penchant for political correctness, the first female Oscar for Best Director was nearly at hand.

Catherine definitely couldn't compete with Streisand, who had extensive connections and a deep foundation in Hollywood.

While a forceful contest wasn't out of the question, Simon had no intention of fighting for Catherine; partly due to Daenerys Entertainment's strategy, and partly because missing this Oscars could benefit Catherine, who still had much potential for growth.

After discussing the Oscars, Simon and Ella Doichman discussed several key projects for Highgate Cinema next year.

Most were personally selected by Simon.

One was 'Scent of a Woman', acquired from Universal after its purchase. This project was a remake of the 1974 Italian film 'Profumo di donna'. The original starred Al Pacino, renowned for a tango dance scene that fans had celebrated for many years.

Simon had no intention of changing the cast of 'Scent of a Woman', which would be Highgate Cinema's main release for the 1992 holiday season.

Another project was a bit more 'unconventional', called 'The Crying Game'.

Directed by Neil Jordan, this film told a very complex love story involving war, politics, love, and transvestism.

Remembered for its shocking twists, 'The Crying Game' had sparked a viewing frenzy in North America, turning a production budget of around $3 million into over $60 million in box office revenue, thus becoming a turnaround project for Miramax, the North American distributor.

This success had drawn Disney's attention to Miramax, eventually making it a part of Disney.

By now, Miramax was practically out of options, and Simon wasn't about to give the Weinstein brothers a chance to recover.

'The Crying Game's' director, Neil Jordan, had been preparing for this project for several years. After Highgate Cinema took over, the film's scale didn't increase, and the budget remained at $3 million.

However, because Daenerys Entertainment had taken an interest, other studios had naturally paid attention during the negotiation process.

To secure the project, Daenerys Entertainment also agreed to give Neil Jordan a 10% share of the net profits from the North American box office and the same percentage from subsequent videotape and television broadcast revenues.

If 'The Crying Game' achieved the $60 million North American box office of the original timeline, according to the agreement, Neil Jordan could earn at least an additional $5 million in subsequent dividends, a salary on par with top directors.

Of course, if the box office fell short, there would be no bonus to discuss.

Simon also agreed to this arrangement.

$5 million was a significant expense, but it was still negligible compared to the expected returns for Daenerys Entertainment. Moreover, this relatively generous profit-sharing scheme could attract more filmmakers to collaborate with Daenerys Entertainment.

As the Westeros system grew larger, Simon increasingly preferred to attract talent through profit-sharing.

Money was never enough, but by sharing profits, more people could be tied to the Westeros system, forming a community of shared interests.

After Ella Doichman left, a female assistant knocked and entered, holding a stack of card-like items and handed them to Simon in the sitting area, saying, "These just came from San Francisco."

Simon took the cards, casually pulled the assistant's hand to sit beside him, and began examining the items.

Developed over half a year, the cards were actually consumption cards soon to be launched by Igritte Company, available in $10 and $50 denominations.

This cautious approach reflected the management team's prudence.

As online payments were just starting to spread, security was paramount.

If users encountered issues like account theft when first using online payments, it would definitely leave a bad impression.

As a completely new payment method, such incidents could be easily misinterpreted by traditional media.

In the plans, these consumption cards would be sold through an increasingly nationwide network of internet cafes and Blockbuster stores. Although America Online had sold its internet cafe business, the Westeros system still maintained strong influence there; Blockbuster was part of Daenerys Entertainment's own channel. With nearly 3,000 stores across North America, it was an ideal retail distribution network.

In fact, not only the consumption cards, but with the launch of the Igritte App Store, Igritte's online payment tool Ypay would also start. Users of the Igritte portal site could manage a special online consumption credit card through two banks that had signed agreements with the company

: Bank of America and Citibank.

Jennifer sat quietly beside Simon, waiting as he played with the consumption card for a while before speaking, "The official product launch is next Monday, and that's when the Igritte App Store will officially open."

Simon nodded.

Privately, he had already tested the beta version of the online app store.

The app store initially focused on video games, with not many applications available. Jeff Bezos had contacted Bill Gates hoping to sell Microsoft's Office software suite in the app store, but was rejected by Gates.

However, Simon was very optimistic about the app store's prospects.

In the computer field, developing an operating system wasn't as difficult as imagined. The real challenge was building a matching software ecosystem. Otherwise, no matter how excellent or smooth your operating system, without applications, it was all for naught.

On the other hand, the number of technical talents capable of developing software was almost countless. Previously, what limited these developers' enthusiasm was the difficulty in promoting and selling software they created.

Distributing software through physical sales was an extremely costly affair.

Now, Igritte Company offered a platform, a profitable platform for developers, naturally boosting their enthusiasm.

Looking further ahead, if the Igritte App Store succeeded, it could significantly influence the popularity of an operating system.

In fact, from this point on, the Igritte App Store would only be open to users of two types of operating systems: Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Macintosh.

As for the older DOS system or other non-mainstream operating systems on the market, the Igritte App Store would not support them.

As the internet became more widespread, the Igritte portal's choice would inevitably affect user preferences.

Computer buyers, considering other non-mainstream systems might not receive support from the Igritte portal, would naturally lean towards Windows and Macintosh.

Even if one day, the Igritte App Store stopped supporting Apple's Macintosh version...

Of course, that was just a thought.

Even as a major shareholder in Microsoft, Simon wouldn't easily do such a thing, or perhaps, it was precisely because he was a major shareholder that he couldn't.

Apple's market value had been climbing, recently reaching a high near $8 billion.

However, this was likely Apple's 'peak' in the 1990s; afterward, the company would only decline.

Keeping Apple to avoid Microsoft completely monopolizing the market and facing various troubles was actually beneficial. In the original timeline, Gates had chosen to invest in Apple in the late 1990s for this reason, including Intel's overt and covert support for AMD.

Setting aside the consumption card, Simon told his assistant, "Arrange for us to go together to the product launch next Monday."

Jennifer blinked gently a few times, then hummed softly.

They would return the same day they went.

That meant no overnight stay.

Simon smiled, knowing the assistant actually wanted to go over the weekend. He turned and kissed her on the cheek, saying, "You know, Jenny's over seven months pregnant now, and her mood hasn't been great lately. I don't plan to leave Los Angeles for an extended period in the coming months."

Jenny had no issues in the early stages of pregnancy and was very excited, eagerly preparing for the arrival of the little one.

However, as the due date approached, it was natural for her to feel increasingly anxious, even thinking about getting the little one out of her belly sooner.

Simon understood that Jenny was naturally unrestrained and loved her freedom. Initially, her excitement about pregnancy and having a baby was largely because of Simon, influenced by some traditional ideas; after all, she grew up in a very traditional and conservative Western family.

At heart, Jenny somewhat resisted the idea of a little one who might change her life.

Jennifer nodded understandingly, not saying anything further.

Seeing the assistant's calm and compliant demeanor, Simon felt moved and wrapped his arms around her.

Jennifer instinctively shrank her neck as Simon embraced her.

She was always not quite comfortable with affection in the office.

Especially during work hours.

But the assistant's body soon relaxed, and she tilted her chin up slightly, letting the man kiss her fair neck and whispering softly, "Mrs. Brille… it's almost time."

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