Simon and the two others were discussing the distribution details of several company films. Jennifer adjusted the projector, then, with Amy's assistant Vanessa, drew the conference room curtains before going to the VCR.
Upon receiving Simon's signal, the female assistant pressed play.
On the projection screen at the front of the conference room, an image appeared: in a hellishly dark and fiery pool, accompanied by a sharp cry, an orange-red firebird emerged from the flames. After briefly circling in the air, it spread its wings and froze in the centre of the screen. The dripping flames from its wings formed the words 'Daenerys Pictures' below it, with an accompanying tagline: 'A Daenerys Entertainment Company'.
After the brief five-second intro played, Robert Rehme looked at Simon and asked, "Phoenix?"
Simon nodded and explained, "The immortal bird from Greek mythology. Every five hundred years, this bird throws itself into the flames and is reborn in the fire. I really like this legend. The Phoenix image you just saw will also be the logo for Daenerys Entertainment in the future. I hope Daenerys Entertainment can exist for a long time, and even if it encounters difficulties, it can be reborn from the ashes".
Major Hollywood film companies all have impressive studio intros, such as MGM's roaring lion and Columbia's Statue of Liberty. Starting with 'Run Lola Run', Daenerys Pictures had previously only used simple text intros for its films. New World Pictures and Highgate Film also had very rudimentary intros.
Now that the company was on track, Simon had recently hired design companies to formally create studio intros and company logos for Daenerys Pictures, New World Pictures, and Highgate Film.
Robert Rehme had actually been thinking of the city of Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, which borders southeastern California. After listening to Simon's explanation, although he still didn't quite understand the connection between 'Daenerys' and 'Phoenix', he strongly agreed with the concept Simon presented.
After a brief chat, Jennifer loaded another videotape into the VCR, and the New World Pictures intro quickly appeared on the screen: after a fierce flash of lightning and thunder, the dark clouds dispersed, and the sky returned to a clear blue, simultaneously revealing the CG-style 3D lettering of 'New World Pictures', with the same tagline 'A Daenerys Entertainment Company' below the main title.
Among the proposals submitted by several bidding design companies, Simon found this concept somewhat similar to the later Lionsgate Films intro. The positioning of New World Pictures happened to be the same as Lionsgate Films, so Simon directly chose this proposal.
Compared to the grandeur and flamboyance of the Daenerys Pictures and New World Pictures intros, Highgate Film' intro was full of artistic flair.
To gentle music, several rows of slowly flowing film reels gradually formed the words 'Highgate Film' against a pure black background. The meticulously rendered image appeared incredibly realistic, and the film strips forming the two words of Highgate Film seemed to flicker with movie scenes. Below the name Highgate Film was still 'A Daenerys Entertainment Company'.
Later, major Hollywood film companies generally included their parent company's name in their studio intros. However, since the wave of media group consolidation would only begin next year with Sony's acquisition of Columbia, similar intro styles had not yet emerged.
Simon's early adoption of this model, adding parent company branding to studio intros, was primarily to quickly imprint the Daenerys Entertainment brand image in the public consciousness.
After the three intros played, everyone continued to discuss, and then decided to release information about the three intros and a list of upcoming films from the three labels in the media soon. This was also a good promotional opportunity for Daenerys Entertainment.
After discussing this matter, it was already past six o'clock, but Simon didn't let Amy and Rehme leave: "Let's have dinner together. Also, there's another matter I want to discuss with you two".
Robert Rehme didn't think Simon had called him all the way from the valley just to watch three studio intros, so he readily agreed.
Amy naturally didn't object either.
The three left the company headquarters and soon arrived at a nearby restaurant where Simon had already had Jennifer reserve a table.
"It's like this, I've noticed that neither of you are very enthusiastic about Highgate Film", Simon said, getting straight to the point after they were seated and had ordered their meals. "New World Entertainment's original acquisition team was transferred to Highgate Film, but unfortunately, at last month's Venice Film Festival, Danny Morris led the team to Italy and came back empty-handed. Some of the projects he's submitted to me recently also lack any highlights".
Danny Morris was the former Vice President of New World Entertainment's acquisition department and now holds the title of Vice President of Daenerys Entertainment, serving as the head of Highgate Film.
Amy and Rehme exchanged glances upon hearing Simon mention this. Robert Rehme took the initiative to explain, "Simon, from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Hollywood art-house films did have a period of prosperity. Saul Zaentz began to gain attention in those years, and major film companies generally established subsidiaries named 'Classics' to specialize in the art-house market. But now, due to the continuous rise in Hollywood production costs, there's not much profit left in the art-house film sector.
If we don't count your 'Run Lola Run' last year, the best-performing art-house films in recent years generally only grossed around $20 million, which is already a ceiling. More art-house films actually lose money, just like Saul Zaentz's 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' earlier this year, which had a production cost of $17 million and a North American box office of just over $10 million. So, I don't think we need to waste too much energy on this".
"You make a very good point, Bob," Simon nodded seriously and said, "However, since Hollywood could produce a 'Run Lola Run', it will certainly produce a second, and even more. Also, have you noticed the development trend of the cinema industry in recent years?"
Amy asked in confusion, "Simon, are you referring to the Reagan administration lifting restrictions on film companies operating movie theatres?"
"No", Simon shook his head and looked at Robert Rehme, saying, "Bob, AMC, you must know about it, right?"
"It's a chain of movie theatres operated by the Durwood family, headquartered in Kansas City, Nebraska. AMC Theatres' biggest feature is the introduction of a large number of multiplex cinemas. This company currently owns about 150 movie theatres in North America, but it has over 1,300 screens. However, their screening room capacities are generally lower as a result."
Robert Rehme skilfully introduced information about AMC, saying, "I already discussed distribution with AMC's manager on Monday. Simon, you're not planning to acquire a cinema chain, are you? AMC has developed very rapidly in recent years, and the Durwood family won't sell. United Artists Theatres would have been a good target, but it was just acquired by John Malone's Tele-Communications Inc. earlier this year, so we've already missed that opportunity".
Simon denied, "Daenerys Entertainment will not enter the cinema market in the short term. I'm just talking about a trend, Bob. Multiplex cinemas are an inevitable trend".
Robert Rehme nodded and said, "That's true. AMC's model is very successful, and the industry is tracking and experimenting with it. But Simon, what does this have to do with the topic we're discussing?"
"Of course. Although the overall audience numbers in North America won't grow too rapidly each year, I believe that with the popularization of multiplex cinemas, the total number of screens in North America will definitely increase significantly in the coming years. Multiplex means diversification. A movie theatre with ten screening rooms, even if eight of them are used to show mainstream commercial films, will still, due to having too many screens, consider appropriately introducing some art-house films that cater to a smaller audience on the other two screens. This is an opportunity".
Amy, hearing Simon say this, couldn't help but interject, "Simon, even if you're right, wouldn't it be better for us to focus our main energy on those 'eight screens'?"
Due to a lack of examples, Simon realized he couldn't explain to Amy and Rehme how prosperous the independent film market, led by New Line and Miramax, would become in the 1990s.
Given this, Simon quickly decided not to explain too much further, but instead to leverage his advantage as the boss: "Alright, in that case, Highgate Film will be spun off and reorganized into a subsidiary directly accountable to me personally. I think Danny Morris must share the same views as you two, which is why he's been so lackadaisical. So, let him be responsible for New World Pictures. With the success of films like 'The Butterfly Effect', 'Final Destination', and New Line's 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series, I think he won't feel sidelined anymore".
Robert Rehme hadn't expected Simon to see through Danny Morris's thoughts so clearly.
As the former head of New World Entertainment's acquisition department, Danny Morris held significant authority, as most of New World Entertainment's previous films were acquired externally. After the merger of the two companies, Simon assigned Danny Morris to be responsible for Highgate Film, and this executive inevitably felt a sense of being relegated.
Art-house films, they were practically synonymous with not making money.
Robert Rehme and Danny Morris were not only superior and subordinate, but also very good friends privately.
Danny Morris had previously spoken with Robert Rehme several times. Daenerys Entertainment was clearly rising rapidly, and he hadn't considered resigning, but merely wanted a position with more room for his abilities, even if it meant moving to distribution.
Robert Rehme had recently wanted to find an opportunity to mention this to Simon, but unexpectedly, before he could, Simon proactively granted Danny Morris's wish.
However, Robert Rehme was not happy for Danny Morris.
Judging from Simon's words just now, his boss clearly had high expectations for Highgate Film. The previous assignment of Danny Morris to head this company was obviously a recognition of his abilities. Now, Danny Morris must have lost a lot of points in Simon's eyes, and if he couldn't achieve results in his new position at New World Pictures, the outcome was predictable.
After dinner, Simon began looking for a new head for Highgate Film the next day.
Actually, Hollywood had two ready-made best candidates: the Weinstein brothers.
In their thirties and in the prime of their lives, the Weinstein brothers had been working in Hollywood for over a decade, accumulating sufficient experience.
Moreover, Miramax's current situation was not good. Two years ago, the brothers had a moment of madness, abandoning their successful distribution business to become directors. They self-wrote and self-directed a teen film, 'The Experts', in the style of John Hughes, which was a box office disaster. Miramax almost went bankrupt as a result and hadn't recovered since.
If Simon were to recruit these brothers now, the chances of success would be very high.
Although Harvey would become infamous for sexual scandals many years later, in Hollywood, if Simon had such moral purity, he wouldn't be able to continue running Daenerys Entertainment at all.
However, these two brothers were not the type to be content working under others; a more apt description would be untameable.
In the original timeline, as a subsidiary of Disney, the Harvey brothers frequently clashed with their parent company.
At the time, Disney was negotiating with the Bush administration over crucial cable television licenses for the company, and despite repeated warnings from Michael Eisner, the brothers still invested in 'Fahrenheit 9/11', a film that aimed to unseat George W. Bush. Although the documentary made a lot of money, it caused the entire Disney company to face repercussions from the Bush administration.
After Miramax gained prominence, the Harvey brothers also constantly tried to break away from the company's focus on art-house films, but their investments in big-budget films like 'Cold Mountain' and 'The Aviator' all ended in failure, and the brothers eventually parted ways with Disney.
Simon had observed the entire Weinstein sexual harassment scandal, and he felt that if the Weinstein brothers had not left Disney, that storm would never have happened. Just like John Lasseter, the head of Disney's animation business, who was also exposed for sexually harassing female employees during that incident, yet it caused little stir.
Many people stumbled badly in that storm, but John Lasseter remained as prominent as ever, appearing on the cover of that year's 'Vanity Fair' magazine as one of the Disney Empire's 'Four Titans' alongside Robert Iger, Kevin Feige, and Kathleen Kennedy.
It's conceivable that if Harvey Weinstein hadn't left the Disney system, Disney would have been the 'Five Titans'. With Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, and Pixar Animation, plus the invincible Miramax in the Oscar realm, Disney, as a media giant, would certainly have been even more prominent.
Since he wasn't planning to recruit the Weinstein brothers to cause him trouble, Simon decided to suppress them before they rose to prominence, to prevent Miramax and Highgate Film from competing in the future.
Moreover, doing so was not difficult at all.
In the original timeline, Miramax only entered a period of rapid development after releasing 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' next year, achieving great success with this Palme d'Or film. Simon was also well aware of other successful films Miramax distributed in the subsequent period and could easily intercept them.
Without popular projects, Miramax, which hadn't emerged from its slump in the past two years, wouldn't last long at all.
While managing Highgate Film, Simon's main focus recently was still on the casting for 'Batman' and films like 'The Sixth Sense' and 'The Bodyguard'. Most of the main roles for these films had already been determined, but the selection of some key supporting roles could not be overlooked.
Additionally, although there was a clear deliberate delay, on October 12th, another Wednesday, the MPAA finally approved 'Scream' with an R rating. The Big Seven clearly didn't have the resolve to directly confront Daenerys Entertainment yet.
With 'Scream' approved, Daenerys Entertainment began its two-week promotional sprint before the film's release. Moreover, due to the success of Daenerys Entertainment's previous films and the general content shortage among theatre owners after the writers' strike, Robert Rehme ultimately secured 1,755 screens for 'Scream', a number that might be even higher than the original film's release scale.
'Dead Poets Society' also secured 1,693 screens. After all, it was a popular Christmas release, so being slightly fewer than 'Scream' was understandable. However, due to general pessimism about the female-centric film 'Steel Magnolias', theatres ultimately only allocated 922 screens.
However, while the distribution of 'Scream', 'Dead Poets Society', and 'Steel Magnolias' went smoothly, MGM's 'Rain Man' ran into trouble.