Los Angeles.
September 12th, a new week in the blink of an eye.
Amy Pascal woke up in the morning to the viewership data for 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' after it resumed airing last night.
On the first day of the official fall season premiere, the first episode of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' attracted 23.7 million viewers. It is expected that the average viewership for the first season will exceed this number, with peak viewership potentially surpassing 30 million.
News from Robert Iger indicated that ABC was already considering raising the advertising prices for the show again.
However, this matter no longer had anything to do with Daenerys Entertainment.
Daenerys Entertainment's operational focus for 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' moving forward would be on overseas syndication distribution and the sale of remake rights for the series. Although it was a highly current reality show, it still had excellent syndication potential. Some Canadian TV stations had already contacted them, and Iger stated that each episode could likely fetch around $250,000. While this was a significant difference compared to ABC's purchase price, selling the entire season as a package would still be a very considerable income, and would require almost no additional cost.
Now, they just needed to await the viewership performance of the other three reality shows, 'Survivor', 'Big Brother', and 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills', in the coming days.
In the week or so since Simon left, Amy had successfully negotiated a cooperation agreement for 'Uncle Buck' with John Hughes. However, there were still some details to iron out regarding the upcoming collaboration with Warner Bros. on 'Look Who's Talking', The weekly morning meeting was held directly at the company's Burbank branch. After the meeting, Amy went directly to Warner Bros. Studios to meet with Terry Semel.
Nearing noon, the two chose an upscale restaurant near Warner Bros. Studios, intending to dine and discuss business.
As it was a gathering place for several major film studios, many Hollywood big names chose to dine at this restaurant. As soon as Amy and Semel sat down at their reserved table, some people proactively came over to greet them.
"Harrison, I never thought I'd see you here. How's the filming of 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' coming along?"
"Hi, Jessica, your performance in 'Steel Magnolias' was really good. I think you'll definitely get another Oscar this time."
"Casting for 'Batman'? We can only start when our boss returns... 'The Sixth Sense,' Michelle, your information is truly well-informed. Perhaps we can arrange a meeting; Simon has always looked forward to working with you... He should be back this week".
"..."
Although the people who came to greet them did not neglect him at all, Terry Semel still clearly felt that big names like Harrison Ford, Jessica Lange, and Michelle Pfeiffer were more enthusiastic towards Amy Pascal.
Hollywood had always been very realistic. Terry Semel understood that Warner Bros. was not the only option for these big names, so the cooperative relationship between them had always been equal. Although he was the head of Warner Bros. Pictures, as a professional manager, Terry Semel's influence in Hollywood was even less than that of these A-list stars.
However, Daenerys Entertainment had become an anomaly. With multiple films consecutively grossing over 100 million at the North American box office, this small company, established only two years ago, not only rose rapidly but also meant that Daenerys Entertainment had enough strength to elevate the careers of many, even A-list Hollywood stars.
Just like Robert De Niro, this two-time Oscar winner's status in Hollywood was unattainable by few other stars, but in reality, before 'Pulp Fiction', he had no film that grossed over 100 million at the box office. Whether it was 'The Godfather Part II' or 'Taxi Driver', although both were very famous, their box office revenues were only in the tens of millions of dollars.
In fact, even before this lunch, Terry Semel had received several similar requests for favours.
After the situation calmed down, Amy and Semel chatted while ordering lunch, then began to discuss business.
"Terry, regarding 'Look Who's Talking' since Simon initially negotiated a single film contract with you, then as long as this film can reach the standard of over 100 million at the North American box office, Warner Bros. has no right to participate in any possible sequel production. I don't want both parties to continue to be entangled in this issue".
Terry Semel shook his head and said, "But that's not customary, Amy. Since Warner Bros. and Daenerys co-produced the film, we should own half of the copyright to this film, and participating in sequels is our rightful power".
Amy did not back down at all, saying, "If you insist on this, Terry, we will just have to wait for Simon to return to make a decision. You know his temperament; Simon might even cancel this cooperation. Warner Bros. has already publicly announced our upcoming cooperation and gained stock market benefits from it. If things reverse, you might even face the dishonourable accusation of deliberately announcing false information".
Terry Semel picked up the mineral water that the waiter had just brought, took a sip, and fell silent.
Although he wanted to secure more benefits for Warner Bros., Terry Semel knew even more that at this critical moment when Time Warner and Warner Bros. were negotiating a merger, it was best for his side not to have any mishaps.
A moment later, Semel finally nodded slightly and said, "Alright, Amy, so, who do you plan to cast as the male and female leads for this film?"
Amy's face remained impassive as she said, "For the female lead, we plan to cast Meg Ryan. Her style is very suitable for this film, and she also happens to owe Daenerys Entertainment a film contract".
Meg Ryan successfully became an A-list star with 'When Harry Met Sally'. Terry Semel recalled the script of 'Look Who's Talking' and some information about the actress, nodded with satisfaction, and then asked, "What about the male lead?"
Amy truthfully replied, "We don't have a candidate yet".
"Then, what do you think of Mel Gibson?"
Amy thought for a moment and asked, "Can Mel's schedule fit?"
Terry Semel saw a glimmer of hope and nodded, "Of course, Mel will finish filming 'Lethal Weapon 2' before the end of the year. The schedule for 'Look Who's Talking' is the end of next year, and the film can totally start shooting at the beginning of next year, can't it?"
The request Terry Semel received was precisely from Mel Gibson. Like Robert De Niro, although Mel Gibson's fame in Hollywood had grown over the past few years, he also hadn't had a film that grossed over 100 million at the box office. Last year's 'Lethal Weapon', which grossed over 60 million dollars, was his most successful commercial film. Moreover, neither Warner Bros. nor Gibson himself had much confidence in 'Lethal Weapon 2' for next summer. It was hard to predict whether audiences would still like a sequel. Therefore, Mel Gibson urgently needed a film that could secure his star status.
Coincidentally, 'Look Who's Talking' seemed to be a perfect fit.
This project was personally selected by Simon Westeros. Besides this, Mel Gibson happened to know the general situation of this cooperation between Warner Bros. and Daenerys. Both parties agreed that the contract would only terminate after producing a film that grossed over 100 million at the box office. Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment obviously did not want to be entangled with Warner Bros. indefinitely.
Thus, the chances of 'Look Who's Talking' grossing over 100 million at the North American box office would be very high.
As long as he could secure this film contract, Mel Gibson could ensure an additional layer of security against the risks of 'Lethal Weapon 2'. If all went well, it could even allow him to successfully join the ranks of leading actors in the 100-million-dollar box office club.
Amy heard Semel's suggestion and said, "You seemed to have recommended Mel to play Bruce Wayne last time, and Simon rejected it?"
"That's because Simon wanted to cast a newcomer to play Bruce Wayne, like in 'Superman", Terry Semel explained. "Amy, Mel is absolutely suitable for this role in 'Look Who's Talking'. Perhaps we should arrange a meeting to discuss this project in detail".
"That will have to wait until we sign the contract", Amy said, without any of Semel's eagerness. "And, this matter will definitely still be decided by Simon".
"Simon will definitely agree", Terry Semel smiled, pointed to the west, and said, "He's in Australia right now, and Mel is also Australian".
When Amy and Semel met, it was already early morning on September 13th in Melbourne, which was 18 hours ahead of Los Angeles.
The official work of this trip was over. Simon and Janette woke up in Brisbane, Queensland, in northern Australia, that morning. They had rushed there yesterday to visit the set. 'Dead Calm', produced by George Miller and starring Nicole Kidman, was being filmed near Brisbane.
Having long decided to court the Hollywood Australian contingent, Simon had specifically taken a day to come here.
At breakfast, George Miller also brought up the topic that Amy and Semel were discussing across the ocean. He had also received a similar call from Mel Gibson.
Besides the two action film series, 'Mad Max' and 'Lethal Weapon', in the future Mel Gibson had also starred in successful romantic comedies like 'The Man Without a Face'. Since the character image was very suitable, and he could gain a favour, Simon readily agreed without hesitation.
However, after breakfast, Nicole Kidman approached Simon and subtly declined the invitation for 'Brenda Starr'.
The script for 'Brenda Starr' originally slated to star Brooke Shields, indeed had too many problems. Since Nicole refused, Simon did not force the issue.
After breakfast, Simon and Janette bid farewell to George Miller and the others. However, the two did not return directly to Melbourne but flew to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, an island directly south of Melbourne.
Simon had never forgotten his ambition to claim this super-large island at the end of the world, and Janette had also been secretly acquiring various plots of land on the island.
With the help of the Johnston family, Simon's shell company had recently purchased a vast forest land of over 500 square kilometres in northern Tasmania for only $7 million. Although the local government had imposed various strict restrictions on logging and other matters in the forest, Simon had no intention of logging these precious old-growth forests, so these restrictions seemed irrelevant.
Including some other farm and forest lands, Simon was already a major landowner with 150,000 acres of land.
Of course, this was still far from comparable to the Kidman family.
The Kidman family owned nearly 100,000 square kilometres of land across Australia, which translates to over 24 million acres, making them truly super landowners.
However, compared to the relatively small Johnston family, the Kidman family was very large. Starting from Nicole's great-grandfather, Sidney Kidman, over several generations, the number of people in the Kidman family had exceeded a hundred. Nicole's family had deviated from the core of the Kidman family and could only obtain certain rights through a family trust, with little say. This was also the main reason why Nicole rarely disclosed the affairs of the Kidman family to the outside world.
After spending another full day on Tasmania, it was roughly time to return.
Back in Melbourne, the two drove from the airport to the Johnston family mansion. Simon leisurely leaned back in his seat, perusing the documents of his various land holdings, while Janette picked up the car phone and dialled a series of numbers. The call clearly went unanswered, and the woman, unwilling to give up, made several more calls before finally connecting.
"What, Singapore, why is Iceberg in Singapore again... Really, Dad won't eat her, why does she keep hiding? She doesn't want to get married, and Dad won't force her on anyone. Do you know her number in Singapore?... Hmm, how long does it take to get from here to Singapore?... Humph, I'm just asking. I'm not going to chase her down to see her. Let her hide if she wants to... Hung up, bye-bye".
After Janette hung up the phone, Simon smiled and said, "Still not there, huh?"
"She said she had another temporary business trip to Singapore. I think we shouldn't come to Melbourne so often in the future, haha. Just coming here once, and Auntie has to run around everywhere", Janette said with a smile, sounding quite helpless. Then she continued, "Actually, it's understandable. Don't look at how nice Dad is to you. A few years ago, he would always put on a stern face whenever I came back, and he even forced me to go on blind dates several times. Otherwise, I wouldn't have hidden in Los Angeles and been unwilling to come back".
Simon couldn't help but feel a little curious about Janettete's aunt. He suddenly realized that although he had seen real people or photos of Janettete's other family members, he had never seen a photo of Veronica Johnston: "Your aunt and you must be different, right?"
"It's all the same. You know, Auntie is a few years younger than Tony. Although they're siblings, most of the time, Dad treats her like a daughter. Auntie is also very afraid of Dad, haha. Actually, everyone in our family is very afraid of Dad".
Simon listened to Janettete's rambling and said with a smile, "How come I didn't notice? Your dad is quite nice."
Janette leaned closer, hugged Simon's face, and kissed him, saying, "Dad couldn't be more satisfied with you. How could he possibly be harsh with you? But, in the long run, that might not be the case. Wait, um, wait... you understand".
Simon shook his head: "I don't understand."
"Little rascal."
Janette chided him, then leaned over and rested her head on Simon's shoulder. Perhaps she was too tired from playing all day, as the woman's body quickly slid down softly, eventually lying on Simon's lap.