After Monday, with the strong efforts of 20th Century Fox, the media's attitude towards 'The Butterfly Effect' noticeably shifted in just a few days.
Compared to media film reviews, which tend to be subjective, ordinary people are more easily influenced by real-world data.
First-week box office: $21.69 million.
A slight drop of 17% in the second weekend.
An average audience rating of 7.7.
All of this undoubtedly showed that the film quality of 'The Butterfly Effect' was far from as bad as critics had slammed it.
Under 20th Century Fox's deliberate public opinion guidance, the public gradually realized that the overwhelmingly negative reviews for 'The Butterfly Effect' were likely the result of intentional smear tactics.
Subsequently, an article published by the New York Post, a subsidiary of News Corporation, further convinced many people of this.
The story goes back to March, when Simon suddenly faced media scrutiny. A reporter from the New York Post discovered that Mark Hollington, the independent writer who had questioned Simon in The New York Times, had recently purchased a brand new Ferrari sports car.
And so, the question arose.
Mark Hollington's previous income was nowhere near enough for him to afford such an expensive sports car.
So, where did the money come from?
Was it a sudden windfall earned from being instructed to criticize a certain young prodigy?
As a large-circulation tabloid known for its various unscrupulous news stories, The New York Post, to avoid libel lawsuits, did not directly raise such questions about Mark Hollington in the article, but the language subtly guided readers towards a certain conclusion.
Facing the accusations from the New York Post, Mark Hollington 'cooperated' by immediately refuting them, claiming that he bought the sports car on an instalment plan and had not paid the full amount, so there was no 'windfall' whatsoever.
The New York Times, perhaps unwilling to get involved in the murky waters again, meant Mark Hollington's clarify article could only be published in another newspaper, the Daily News.
This made things even more lively.
It is well known that the Daily News and the New York Post, with similar market positioning and comparable circulation, have always been sworn enemies. These two equally unscrupulous newspapers frequently engage in public slanging matches, almost completely tearing down any pretence of civility, and even drag their respective bosses, Rupert Murdoch and Mortimer Zuckerman, into the mud.
Now, with Mark Hollington's clarification in the Daily News, the war between the two sides reignited.
This kind of media squabble usually doesn't lead to any clear resolution.
However, Mark Hollington was the one who suffered.
As the matter escalated, the accusation that he had taken money to smear Simon Westeros was confirmed, in the court of public opinion, amidst this media scuffle.
This lively situation continued until Friday, April 24th.
Due to the shift in media sentiment and 20th Century Fox's intensified marketing campaign, the box office drop for the entire second week of 'The Butterfly Effect' further narrowed compared to the three-day weekend, reaching only 15%, bringing in an additional $18.28 million.
In two weeks, the total box office for 'The Butterfly Effect' had already reached $39.97 million.
This nearly $40 million box office alone pushed 'The Butterfly Effect' into fourth place among all films released in 1987, trailing only 'Run Lola Run', 'Lethal Weapon', and a Disney film released in January called 'Cruel Fate'.
Meanwhile, Simon, while busy with a multitude of tasks, also cooperated with 20th Century Fox by making another appearance on NBC's 'The Tonight Show', spending a few minutes discussing the inspiration behind 'The Butterfly Effect' and other topics.
Although Simon had an obligation to cooperate with the film's promotion according to their contract, he was actually someone who disliked public appearances.
However, when Peter Sanders invited Simon to participate in the talk show, he directly sent a check for $300,000 and stated that if the film's North American box office exceeded $100 million, 20th Century Fox would pay Simon an additional bonus.
Given the other party's generosity, Simon naturally tried his best to cooperate.
At the same time, after Michael Ovitz's visit, Robert Redford responded the next day, agreeing to a salary of $500,000 plus a 5% profit share.
After the party last Saturday, Madonna and her husband considered it for a few days and also responded, expressing their willingness to make appearances as Honey Bunny and Pumpkin. The final agreed terms were that the couple would receive a combined $500,000 in acting fees.
Additionally, Simon also agreed to write a song for Madonna's new album, due out in the second half of the year.
With these finalized, 'Pulp Fiction' now boasted the star power of Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, and John Travolta. The fame of Madonna and Sean Penn was also not to be underestimated.
With an $8 million budget, such a powerful cast had been assembled. Orion Pictures, ecstatic, held a press conference on Thursday, grandly announcing the title of Simon's new work, 'Pulp Fiction', and a list of its participating big-name stars.
In the afternoon.
At the headquarters of Daenerys Entertainment in Santa Monica.
In Simon's office, Meg Ryan, dressed in a white shirt and black pencil skirt, looking like an office lady, carefully poured coffee for Simon and Amy before turning and leaving.
Amy held her coffee cup, watching Meg Ryan's retreating figure, and said to Simon, "She seems a little afraid of you. Making a woman afraid is not a good sign".
These past few days, Meg Ryan had officially started working 'nine to five' at Daenerys Entertainment.
Simon merely wanted Meg Ryan to return to the state a 26-year-old woman should be in through a regular routine, not expecting her to do any substantial work, so he simply arranged for her to serve as his secretary in the outer office alongside Susan.
Hearing Amy say this, Simon, who was flipping through a thick stack of actor profiles, just shook his head slightly and said, "It's not fear, it should be awkwardness".
It would be strange if she wasn't awkward after 'bumping' into him twice.
Amy naturally didn't understand Simon's explanation, but she just smiled and didn't press the issue.
Seeing Simon lower his head again to diligently review the actor profiles, Amy noticed a novel placed on his desk near her side. She put her coffee cup back on the table and curiously picked up the book.
These days, Simon always had one or two books to read with him. Amy thought this was a good habit of her boss and didn't think much of it. Achieving accomplishments that many people would struggle to reach in a lifetime at such a young age, and maintaining a reading habit at all times, seemed perfectly logical.
Amy even felt that perhaps she should also take some time to recharge.
Thinking this, Amy glanced at the title of the book in her hand, 'Forrest Gump', by an author named Winston Groom. Although she didn't recognize the name, she figured a novel chosen by the young man opposite her wouldn't be too bad, so she opened it with interest.
Simon noticed Amy's actions and, while looking through the material, explained, "Amy, these days I'll have Jonathan help me negotiate some scripts, novels, and remake rights. However, for now, they'll be placed with Westeros Company. You know, they have more money on their books, and we'll definitely be producing these in the future".
Since he already had a certain amount of capital, Simon had recently begun to implement something he had wanted to do ever since returning to this era: securing the rights to many films that were destined to be blockbusters in the future.
Looking at the gold mine that could almost be picked up at will, not doing so would simply be letting himself down.
Amy smiled and nodded, saying, "I understand".
Film companies with even a little ambition would try their best to hoard some copyrights. Simon doing this didn't surprise Amy at all.
Daenerys Entertainment only had the operating funds Simon had initially borrowed and the production budgets for 'Final Destination' and 'Pulp Fiction' on its books. It would certainly be unable to undertake this task, so it had to be handled by Westeros Company.
Chatting casually, Simon quickly picked out an actress's profile, pressed the intercom button on his desk, and called Susan Landis in. Noticing Amy's curious expression, he handed over the profile and said, "Here, this is my Mia".
Amy took the profile and glanced at the name.
Nicole Kidman.
Who is this?
This thought flashed through her mind first, and Amy then glanced at the photo and said to Simon, "If there's a videotape, you should at least watch her performance, right?"
Simon shook his head and said, "No need to waste time".
As he spoke, Susan walked in. Simon pointed to the material in Amy's hand and said, "Send this actor profile to Jonathan. Tell them they have two days to poach her to WMA. Also, for the Black actor playing Jules, I'm not satisfied with the candidates recommended by several companies.
Have them select another batch and send them over; fame doesn't matter. And the female taxi driver, too: charming, seductive, with an accent. I think I've made myself clear. No need to recommend local ones anymore; pick from Europe".
Amy handed the material to Susan, listening to Simon's string of instructions, and shook her head with a helpless smile, finding it always difficult to guess her young boss's thoughts.
Simon was actually also helpless.
After finalizing a group of big stars, he only had $1 million left in his budget for casting other actors, yet the film still had a large number of roles unaccounted for.
Among them, the relatively important role of Jules, which was Samuel L. Jackson's role in the original, Simon still hoped the other party could play it. But right now, Samuel L. Jackson's whereabouts were unknown.
In this era without the internet, trying to find an unknown person was incredibly difficult.
Even Mia was a bit of a struggle.
Simon originally wanted Michelle Pfeiffer to try out; a higher price wouldn't matter.
However, after a simple audition, Simon discovered a very serious problem.
John Travolta was nearly 1.9 meters tall, while Michelle Pfeiffer was only a little over 1.7 meters. With such a height difference, standing on stage, the composition would be directly skewed, making it impossible to perform that classic swing dance.
After Michelle Pfeiffer, Simon added a height restriction of over 180cm to the casting requirements.
'Pulp Fiction' was scheduled to start filming in July, and Simon still had too much work to do. After a simple selection, he very decisively chose the once very familiar Nicole Kidman.
When Susan left the office, Simon glanced at his watch and asked Amy opposite him, "Didn't you say three o'clock?"
Amy also looked at the time and said, "How about I have someone call and ask?"
Just as she spoke, the office door was knocked on again, and Meg Ryan poked her head in, saying, "Mr. Westeros, Ms. Pascal, Mr. O'Brien has arrived".
Hearing this, both stood up to greet them.
At the office door.
A round-faced white middle-aged man, around forty years old, also walked in at this moment, apologizing as he extended his hand to Simon and Amy, saying, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Westeros, and Ms. Pascal, we encountered a small problem on the way".
Simon heard the middle-aged man's typical British accent, walked over, smiled, and shook his hand, saying, "It's alright, Danny, just call me Simon".
Amy also shook hands with the other party and introduced herself.
Simon motioned for Meg Ryan to bring in more coffee, and the three sat down in the reception area, naturally sizing each other up.
The middle-aged man, named Denis O'Brien, was a film producer who co-managed a film company called HandMade Films with former Beatles guitarist George Harrison.
George Harrison founded this film company in 1978 to help a friend.
Later, the film produced by Harrison's friend earned $20 million at the North American box office with a budget of $4 million, and HandMade Films subsequently took off, later releasing successful films like 'Time Bandits' starring Sean Connery, gradually becoming a renowned independent production company in the UK over the years.
However.
HandMade Films had just suffered a major setback last year, with the film 'Shanghai Surprise' starring Madonna and Sean Penn.
With a budget of $17 million, the final North American box office of $2.31 million might not even cover the distribution costs for MGM.
Due to the overheating global economy in recent years, a large amount of capital poured into the film industry. HandMade Films did not go bankrupt due to the failure of 'Shanghai Surprise'; instead, through Madonna's connections, they reached out to Daenerys Entertainment, expressing interest in 'When Harry Met Sally'.
The renewed success of 'The Butterfly Effect' broke the previous stalemate where 'When Harry Met Sally' had been ignored. This past week, not only many second and third-tier film companies, but also the Big Seven, had basically re-expressed their interest in 'When Harry Met Sally'.
However, Simon now had other plans.
Daenerys Entertainment couldn't establish its own distribution channels in the short term, so the promotion and distribution of 'When Harry Met Sally' would naturally still require cooperation with the Big Seven. But in terms of production, to maintain absolute control over the entire project, Simon planned to co-invest with some independent filmmakers.
By doing this, as long as some initial funds could be secured, the entire project could be launched.
Once Simon completed his stock index futures operations in the second half of the year, Daenerys Entertainment could inject subsequent funds into the entire project. At the same time, due to the success of 'Run Lola Run' and 'The Butterfly Effect', even with co-investment, Daenerys Entertainment had enough confidence to demand a larger share of the profits.