As the weekend arrived, the viewership data for 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' declined, but after a full week of pilot episodes, the show's average viewership over seven days still reached 15.6 million, making it the highest-rated TV show of the summer.
However, ABC still expressed strong dissatisfaction with Daenerys Pictures' insistence on a price of $2 million per episode, far exceeding the production cost.
After several rounds of unsuccessful negotiations, the negotiating team led by ABC President Daniel Burke simply returned to New York, seemingly intending to deadlock with Daenerys Pictures.
Daenerys Pictures appeared more composed and began negotiations with several other TV networks in an orderly fashion.
On the other hand, after the Producers Alliance issued a ban on production companies that had signed contracts with the Writers Guild in advance, the WGA filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Producers Alliance's actions in federal court the following Monday, demanding a halt to the Producers Alliance's alleged monopolistic behaviour.
Both within the entertainment industry and among various media outlets, everyone understood that the WGA's lawsuit would likely succeed.
But at the same time, everyone also knew that the Producers Alliance would absolutely not honestly comply with the judgment in the future, and those production companies that had signed contracts with the WGA in advance would inevitably face difficulties.
In addition, after more than three months of striking, signs of instability also appeared within the WGA.
With no income for an entire quarter, some writers who could no longer financially sustain themselves also began to demand that the WGA relax the strike regulations.
On June 27, 16 members of the Writers Guild jointly submitted a proposal, suggesting a temporary regulation allowing writers to sign contracts with production companies during the strike but not yet fulfil them.
By being able to sign contracts with production companies, writers would also be able to receive a portion of the advance deposit to maintain their livelihoods.
As for temporarily not fulfilling the contract, this was completely a case of burying one's head in the sand.
The relevant proposal was, not surprisingly, rejected by the WGA.
However, the signs of instability within the WGA were thus exposed to the public.
Many media outlets began to predict that if the situation continued, this strike organized by the Writers Guild of America could lead to catastrophic consequences, the most severe of which being that a large number of unsustainable writers would announce their withdrawal from the union, and the WGA would face disintegration.
This was not without precedent; in American history, strikes organized in the textile, automobile, and newspaper industries had all faced failure and led to the disintegration of union organizations because the striking party refused to compromise.
However, this situation was a first in Hollywood.
As things developed to this point, the Producers Alliance also began to assert itself.
After a new contract proposal was voted down by the WGA, the Producers Alliance proactively suggested that the next round of negotiations would take place in August.
Before then, representatives of the Producers Alliance would not have any further contact with the WGA.
The issuance of such an announcement almost certainly meant that this 1988 strike would become the longest-lasting major strike in Hollywood history.
While the WGA faced a dismal situation, Daenerys Pictures seemed to be thriving.
Not only was it reported by the media that it was expected to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in profit from each season of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?', but it also continued to provide TV networks with so-called "reality shows" that could threaten writers' livelihoods.
As a result, the writers, who were in the most anxious state, quickly turned their attention to Daenerys Pictures.
In the last few days of June, many people appeared outside the headquarters of Daenerys Pictures in Santa Monica, holding signs to express their dissatisfaction with Daenerys Pictures, and this was immediately exaggerated and reported by the media.
While cautiously dealing with this situation, the internal work of Daenerys Pictures was not significantly affected.
The contracts for the male and female leads of 'Batman' were finalized in the last week of June.
Adam Baldwin, who was to play Bruce Wayne, signed a 15-year, five-picture deal with Daenerys Pictures.
In the core salary clause, Adam Baldwin's fee for the first film was $300,000.
This was a relatively high figure for a small actor who had only played supporting roles in some films and television series.
However, considering the difficulty of filming 'Batman', Simon generously offered this fee, and Daenerys Pictures would also cover Adam Baldwin's physical training and other expenses for the next six months.
But after the first film, Adam Baldwin's salary would increase based on a maximum of £3 million.
Simply put, Adam Baldwin would receive a maximum of $3 million for the sequel, a maximum of $6 million for the third instalment, a maximum of $9 million for the fourth instalment, and a maximum of $12 million for the fifth movie.
There were no profit-sharing clauses.
At present, apart from stars who unexpectedly received tens of millions of dollars in remuneration through profit-sharing, there was no situation in Hollywood where basic remuneration could reach tens of millions.
Therefore, neither WMA nor Adam Baldwin himself had any objections to this contract.
Simon, however, knew that in the next few years, with the continuous expansion of the European market and the videotape market, Hollywood stars' salaries would also increase rapidly.
Even based on the original timeline's global box office of $500 million for the first 'Batman' film, Adam Baldwin would almost certainly not be satisfied with only $3 million US dollars for a sequel at that time.
However, despite any dissatisfaction, Simon was not worried that Adam Baldwin would renege.
Not only the 15-year contract term and the pre-agreed salary clauses, but the contract also stipulated many other restrictive clauses.
For example, to avoid type conflicts between other films Adam Baldwin might take during the contract period and 'Batman', Adam Baldwin would need to obtain Daenerys Pictures' approval for any other film offer.
This meant that if Daenerys Pictures did not agree, Adam Baldwin could not play any role other than Batman during the upcoming 15-year contract period.
In addition, if Adam Baldwin wanted to terminate the contract early, it was not impossible, but he would have to compensate Daenerys Pictures three times all of its income during his fulfilled contract period and for the three years following the contract termination.
This expensive breach of contract clause was enough to completely set Adam Baldwin back to square one.
As for Valeria Golino, who played Catwoman, Daenerys Pictures signed a three-picture deal with her.
Considering that Scarlett Johansson's 'Black Widow' in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the original timeline could command a top salary of $20 million, second only to Robert Downey Jr., and even surpassing all other heroes, Daenerys Pictures also signed a precautionary clause with Valeria Golino.
Although she was the youngest Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, European actresses have always had low value in Hollywood, offering good quality at a low price, which was actually a very important reason for Simon to choose her.
Valeria Golino's fee for the first film was finally set at $200,000, a notch lower than Adam Baldwin's.
For the subsequent two film contracts, Daenerys Pictures offered a salary increase base of $2.5 million, with a maximum of $2.5 million for the second film and a maximum of $5 million for the third film.
Simon did not intend for Valeria Golino to play the main female lead in all three films of the trilogy.
If this actress performed well enough in the first film, Simon planned to take one of the three film contracts she signed and produce a standalone 'Catwoman' feature film.
Of course, all these plans still depended on the market performance of the first 'Batman' film.
It was unlikely to keep the news of the 'Batman' casting, which the entire Hollywood industry had been closely watching, a secret.
Although Daenerys Pictures issued a gag order, detailed information about Adam Baldwin and Valeria Golino was already leaked to the media before the contracts were completely finalized.
Adam Baldwin playing Batman was unequivocally confirmed.
Then, just like every Batman casting in the original timeline, many comic fans inevitably jumped out to express their dissatisfaction with Adam Baldwin's selection, and Daenerys Pictures received a large number of related letters almost every day.
Valeria Golino's casting also inevitably drew criticism.
Daenerys Pictures, however, did not intend to address these discussions.
Since the news was already out, the company generously held a public press conference, where Simon sent the two leads to Australia after a brief appearance before the media.
This was partly to avoid the limelight, and partly to familiarize them with the future filming locations.
That's right, the first 'Batman' film would be shot in Australia.
In the comic's setting, Gotham City's prototype leans more towards Chicago.
However, the original author of 'Batman' created a fictional city primarily to express the concept that "Gotham" could be any city in the world.
Simon initially favoured filming in Chicago.
However, considering the start date of 'Batman', this was clearly not feasible.
'Batman' was scheduled to start filming early next year, which would be Chicago's coldest winter, with temperatures easily reaching minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius, and possibly continuous blizzards.
Under these circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for the crew to start work.
In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere would be in summer at that time.
Simon chose between Sydney and Melbourne, and ultimately, under Janette's influence, confirmed Melbourne as the filming location.
Janette's family was in Melbourne, and the city's crisscrossing rivers also bore some resemblance to the fictional Gotham City.
Most importantly, as the base of the Johnston family, choosing to film in Melbourne would allow the 'Batman' crew to receive the maximum administrative support.
Making movies also requires connections, and no one can deny that.
Of course, at that time, during several months of filming, Simon would also inevitably have very in-depth contact with the Johnston family.
Amidst this bustling and busy situation, June of 1988 quietly passed.
July 1st was also a Friday.
From June 3rd to June 30th, 'Pulp Fiction' had been in theatres for exactly four weeks.
Following its opening weekend of $27.53 million and its second week of $23.38 million, 'Pulp Fiction' earned an additional $17.30 million and $15.03 million in its third and fourth weeks, respectively.
Thus, for the entire month of June, over four weeks, 'Pulp Fiction' accumulated a total box office of $83.26 million.
It was less than $20 million away from breaking the $100 million mark.
Considering the box office trajectory of this film, no one doubted that 'Pulp Fiction' would successfully break the $100 million mark in the following two weeks, and complete another relay with 'Basic Instinct', which was to be released on July 15th.
Over the half-month since its preview, although various events were constantly happening in Hollywood, under the joint guidance of Fox and Daenerys Pictures, the media buzz for 'Basic Instinct' had been continuous.
The two companies constantly released various news to maintain the film's topicality.
During the run of 'Pulp Fiction', Disney's 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' was also released as scheduled on June 24th.
This animated and live-action hybrid film, which cost a massive $70 million, ultimately grossed $21.56 million in its opening week.
Although this box office opening was not particularly outstanding compared to previous films like 'Crocodile Dundee II', 'Rambo III', and 'Pulp Fiction', 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' received unanimous praise from both critics and audiences, and was expected to achieve a very impressive long-term performance.
Sandra Bullock's second film, 'A Fish Called Wanda', in which she took a pay cut for a profit-sharing clause, also premiered on July 1st.
Due to Sandra's involvement, distributor MGM gave the film considerable attention, not only investing heavily in promotional resources but also opening it in 1129 theatres.
During the preview process before its release, 'A Fish Called Wanda' also received widespread critical acclaim.
Now, they just needed to wait for the film's upcoming box office performance.
Beyond all these events, Daenerys Pictures' 'Rain Man', produced with a massive investment of $25 million, also successfully wrapped up filming at the end of June.
The two male leads, despite all their shenanigans, managed not to drag the film's shooting schedule past July.
However, after filming was completed, less than $3 million remained from the $25 million budget.
Speaking of which, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise each took home $6 million in salary, and director Barry Levinson also received $3 million, which was due to Daenerys Pictures having signed a director's contract with him before 'Good Morning, Vietnam' last year.
Last year's 'Good Morning, Vietnam' not only made its male lead, Robin Williams, famous but also successfully propelled director Barry Levinson into the ranks of A-list directors.
If the contract had been signed after 'Good Morning, Vietnam' was released, Daenerys Pictures would likely have had to pay a salary comparable to the two male leads, or offer profit-sharing clauses.
But regardless, with only $3 million remaining for post-production, the film's budget was bound to be very tight.
Fortunately, 'Rain Man' was not a special effects film, and post-production work primarily involved relatively simple editing and scoring.
Although it might still go slightly over budget, it wouldn't be by much.
Of course, in Simon's view, as an unconventional road movie, both editing and scoring were crucial for 'Rain Man' to achieve the same success as it did in the original timeline.