Arizona.

Coolidge, a small town south of Phoenix.

The time is February 3rd.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Kathryn Bigelow stood in front of the hotel where the crew was staying. She saw a black Chevrolet SUV driving dusty from the end of the street. When the car stopped, she subconsciously took two steps forward.

Simon pushed the door open and got out of the car, looked at Catherine who was wearing a close-fitting black cardigan and jeans in front of her, then opened his arms and hugged the woman, and said: "You look more stylish in black."

Catherine glared at Simon with a slightly annoyed expression, then said, "I heard about the news in the Hollywood Reporter yesterday. Is it really okay for you to come here like this?"

"Of course not. Everything is basically done, and we are waiting for the release. Besides, I think I should leave for a while. Some things are still too much."

Catherine nodded in understanding, gestured behind her, and said, "I have prepared your room for you. Also, have you had lunch?"

Simon shook his head and said with a smile: "Not yet, I thought I'd come over quickly and let you treat me."

Catherine rolled her eyes at him again, looked around, and pointed not far away diagonally across the road: "Let's go over there, there's a restaurant there."

The two walked through the wide asphalt road in the small town. Simon looked at the streets with almost no people. He recalled the endless Gobi Desert on both sides of the interstate highway when he came all the way. He felt a little emotional and said: "There is a vacuum here."

"There are about 6,000 people in Coolidge City, which is already a lot," Catherine said as she walked beside Simon, and then said, "Didn't you originally plan to cooperate with Fox Films? Why did you become Orion again?"

"We can't reach an agreement," Simon said with a somewhat helpless tone, "Orion is easier to communicate with."

Catherine nodded in understanding and asked again: "What conditions did Orion give?"

When he came outside the restaurant, Simon opened the door for the woman and said: "They will only take away the theatrical distribution rights in North America for the time being, and other channels will retain priority. Our share ratio is 15%."

Catherine walked into the restaurant and was a little surprised to hear Simon say this: "15%, very good."

Film companies with publicity and distribution channels in Hollywood are very powerful. After distributing a film as an agent, they usually take more than 30% of the box office share of a film after spending on promotion, distribution and commissions.

On the other hand, due to factors such as attendance rates, the shares that non-mainstream art films receive from theaters are generally low. Some films can only get less than 30% of the box office from theaters.

Combining the two, Simon was able to obtain 15% of the box office share for a low-cost movie like "Run Lola Run", which still surprised Catherine.

The two sat down at the dining table. Simon ordered a lunch and asked the waiter to bring a pot of coffee before explaining: "It's not as good as you think. There are conditions. The cost of the copy must be borne by us."

I produced it myself. Moreover, I also signed a package contract with Orion as a writer and director."

In order to win this 15% share contract, Simon and Mike Medowa worked hard all day last Saturday and almost moved one place behind the decimal point.

Even if there are two additional conditions, it will be quite a struggle.

Mike Medowa believed that since Simon was willing to bear the cost of the copy, he should pay the fee first. Simon couldn't afford the money now, so it was naturally impossible for him to agree. In the end, Orion Pictures had to advance it first.

As for the package contract, Mike Medowa first took a fancy to "Death Comes" and wanted to sign it for US$500,000.

Among them, US$300,000 is Simon's director's salary, and US$200,000 is the script fee for "Death Comes." Of course, although he is not a member of the two major unions of directors and screenwriters, according to industry practice, Simon can still enjoy a similar share to union members.

Terms.

"Dead Man" has actually been spotted by Fox, but the other party is still waiting for the response of "The Butterfly Effect" and has not made an offer. Of course, according to the exception clause in Simon's contract with Fox, if he is willing to direct, "Dead Man" will

It's really no problem to hand it over to Orion.

However, Simon has no interest in directing this film himself. He only hopes to sign a blank contract that does not involve any details for the time being, and then discuss specific cooperation when he has a script that he is interested in.

Naturally, Mike Medowa would not agree.

In the end, both parties made some compromises, with Simon signing a blank contract with a base salary of $500,000, but retaining the right to renegotiate the share-sharing terms.

In the restaurant, Catherine held a cup of coffee and listened to Simon explain the details of his battle of wits with Mike Medowa. She smiled and said: "$500,000, what else are you dissatisfied with? I only have $150,000."

Woolen cloth."

Simon retracted his arm on the table, asked the waiter to put down his lunch, picked up the tableware, took a bite of pasta, and said: "When I have money, I will give you a blank contract, how much investment and how much salary you want.

, fill it out yourself.”

Catherine dodged Simon's gaze and said, "I don't need your money."

"Then I will help you attract investment in the future."

"I can do it myself."

Simon nodded quickly: "Oh, yes."

Catherine watched Simon start to lower his head to eat, pursed his lips, and said: "You, you think I can't make a movie well?"

Simon immediately shook his head: "Of course not, you will definitely become the first female director to win the Oscar."

Catherine still stared at Simon, not believing what he said at all, and insisted: "You just don't think I can make a good movie."

Simon didn't expect that women's intuition was so keen, and he really wanted to swallow back the few words he just said.

Raising his head again, Simon looked at Catherine seriously and said: "No one can walk when they are born, so even if you can't take pictures now, you will definitely be able to take pictures well in the future."

Catherine made eye contact with Simon again, and suddenly felt like an angry little girl.

God, I'm really crazy.

She picked up the coffee cup, lowered her eyes and took a sip. She glanced over secretly with her peripheral vision. She felt relieved when Simon started eating again.

After a moment of silence, he found a new topic and whispered: "Well, how many openings can Orion give to "Run Lola Run"?"

Simon also seemed to have forgotten the conversation just now, and said nonchalantly: "It's about 200 yuan. You can only get so much in two weeks. This is because it is the off-season. Moreover, these screens are mainly concentrated on the West Coast and East Coast.

For the time being, there will only be some screenings in New York."

The media industry in the 1980s was far less developed than it would later be. The current discussion about Simon and "Run Lola Run" is basically focused on a few West Coast states and counties where the "Los Angeles Times" can reach.

Therefore, Orion has temporarily chosen to focus its publicity resources on the West Coast.

The opening screen price of 200 yuan actually exceeded Simon's expectations.

In this era when "Star Wars" only has 1,000 opening screens, Simon naturally cannot ask for too much. Even if he cooperates with the Seven, they will only give him about 300 to 400 screens, but Simon will never get 15

% share, it is also impossible to temporarily retain the distribution rights of other channels.

After a simple lunch, Simon and Catherine left the restaurant together, and then asked about "Night of the Bloody Corpse": "How are your filming plans arranged?"

"The next month will be night shooting, starting at six in the afternoon and going until two in the morning." Catherine said, the two crossed the asphalt road and returned to the other side. After a pause, the woman suddenly said: "You,

Don’t you say those words to me again?”

Simon pretended to be stupid: "What?"

Catherine didn't look at Simon and threatened slightly: "Otherwise, I will tell Jenny."

Simon immediately raised a hand: "Okay, I promise."

Listening to Simon's insincere tone, Catherine just glared at him angrily.

Back at the hotel, Catherine helped Simon settle into the room and then introduced him to some of the other main cast members of "Night of the Blood Corpse."

The male protagonist of "Night of the Blood Corpses" is named Adrian Pasdar, who coincidentally happens to be a client of Jonathan Friedman. The female protagonist, Jenny Wright, is a baby-faced girl with short hair and very cute.

She is beautiful, but her temperament is more pure, and she lacks the coolness and enchantment that a vampire should have.

Simon then met the film's producer, Edward Feldman, a middle-aged man in his fifties. The other party had obviously heard about some recent events in Hollywood. When he saw Simon, he was very polite and didn't say anything to him.

He showed some dissatisfaction when he joined the group midway, and even signed an employment contract with him personally.

After getting to know each other, Simon quickly integrated into the work of the crew starting in the evening.

Simon's position is that of a director's assistant. Since he is part of a regular crew, his salary is pretty good, 500 US dollars per week. Of course, Simon is here to help, so naturally he doesn't care about the money.

While Simon was sleeping around the clock in Arizona, the announcement of "Run Lola Run" was also progressing rapidly in Los Angeles.

Although Orion had some objections to Simon's sudden departure at this time, they did not ask him to return.

Because it's not useful.

Before Simon left, he had already finished the posters and trailers he might need, and there were no plans to hold a premiere for the film.

What Orion did was basically to contact theaters, roll out posters, and release the trailer of "Run Lola Run" to local TV stations in some cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego a week before the release.

These may seem simple, but without experience and connections, a film company that has just started will definitely not be able to do it.

Moreover, in just two weeks of release, the entire publicity budget invested by Orion easily reached 500,000 US dollars. This is based on the fact that the copy cost of "Lola Run" is included on Simon's side.

You know, the total cost of a 200-yuan copy of "Lola Run" is also about 150,000 US dollars.

This shows how expensive film distribution was in the film era. This is why many low-cost films are basically unable to enter theaters and will only flow directly into video channels.

Due to the tight schedule of "Lola Run" and the appropriate publicity methods of Orion Pictures, from the rise of the topic of Simon in the media to the release of the film, the relevant media discussions have been maintained in a very active state.

This continues until Friday, February 13th.
Chapter completed!