Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters.
When Simon arrived outside his office, six people, four women and two men, were already waiting in the outer lounge. Among them, three tall and beautiful women were the candidates Simon had chosen for Wonder Woman, and the other three were clearly their agents.
Seeing Simon appear, one of the women in the group was the first to raise her hand and greet him, "Hi, Simon".
Simon walked closer, examining Helena Christensen, whom he hadn't seen in over half a year, and smiled, "How are Cindy and the others doing these days?"
"Very well", Helena Christensen said, a hint of playful resentment in her eyes, "I thought you had completely forgotten about us".
At Simon's twentieth birthday party earlier this year, he happened to meet several supermodels he remembered: Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Paulina Porizkova, and Stephanie Seymour.
Simon remembered leaving his contact information with the women, but the circles they moved in were ultimately too far apart. After an initial flurry of eager phone calls, Simon didn't respond very enthusiastically, and the women, understanding the hint, stopped contacting him frequently.
If it weren't for the current situation, Simon wouldn't have intended to contact them proactively.
"Of course not, I have a very good memory".
Simon joked, then greeted the others.
Besides Helena, the other two Wonder Woman candidates were Famke Janssen and a woman named Erika Anderson.
Famke Janssen was the actress who played the first-generation Phoenix in the 'X-Men' series in the original timeline, and she also appeared as the villainous Bond girl in 'GoldenEye'.
Among the three candidates, Simon actually leaned more towards Famke Janssen. In many aspects, she was on par with Gal Gadot; her aura as Phoenix in 'X-Men' was even stronger than Gal Gadot's.
Famke Janssen is 23 years old this year, from a Dutch acting family.
Simon's planned 'Wonder Woman' would start filming in three years and be released within five years, which was also due to the customary five-year copyright contract restriction. Therefore, Famke Janssen's age was just right. In five years, she would be 28, and after several years of training and honing, her looks and aura would reach their peak.
Erika Anderson was also a great beauty on par with Helena and Famke, though relatively less famous than the former two. In Simon's memory, Erika Anderson's most famous film should be 'Wild Orchid', an erotic film she co-starred in with Nicolas Cage a few years later.
Simon chose Erika Anderson based on an athletic-style video she submitted.
Finally, for Helena Christensen, Simon was drawn to her healthy, wild Nordic girl temperament. However, she was actually the youngest of the three, having just turned twenty this year. If she got the opportunity, being 25 in five years would also be perfect.
The six people followed Simon into the office, and the room immediately felt a bit crowded. The reception area had a sofa layout of one long and two single seats, which could only accommodate five people, so the other two agents moved chairs and sat beside them.
Once everyone was seated, Simon looked at the three women squeezed onto the long sofa and said, "First, it's best if you don't reveal our conversation today. Whoever can't keep a secret is out".
Before this, the various agencies had only submitted candidates based on the casting requirements provided by Daenerys Entertainment. Although there had been some speculation, there was no definite news until now.
Upon hearing the seriousness in Simon's tone, the three women and their agents all perked up.
Simon's words clearly implied that this opportunity was extremely rare. The three agents, who closely followed industry trends, had already basically made a judgment; after all, Daenerys Entertainment had only recently announced that they had acquired the copyright for Wonder Woman.
However, after glancing at their clients, a somewhat regretful thought simultaneously arose in the minds of the three agents: "No chest".
It was well known that whether in the comics or Linda Carter, the most famous Wonder Woman actress of the 1970s, her chest was definitely well-endowed. But the three women in front of them seemed to have no advantage in this regard.
Did they guess wrong?
Or did Simon Westeros just prefer this type?
It was still very difficult to fathom the minds of important people.
Simon naturally also had images of Linda Carter's Wonder Woman in his memory, but even without Gal Gadot as a reference, he had no interest in choosing a large-chested "vase" actress to portray his Wonder Woman.
After everyone nodded to show they understood, Simon continued, "You've probably guessed it. Yes, I am indeed choosing the actress to play Wonder Woman". Before the three women could express their joy, Simon immediately added, "However, Daenerys Entertainment does not plan to start filming this movie in the near future. You will need to wait three years. If we can reach an agreement today, Daenerys Entertainment will arrange some opportunities for you in the next three years to help you hone your acting skills. To be honest, you probably don't have much acting skill right now".
Because they were all models of a certain standard, the three women certainly didn't lack camera presence. Many Hollywood actresses at the beginning of their careers would work as both actresses and models. But modelling professionalism and acting skills were two entirely different things.
Smiling cooperatively, the three women were more excited than anything else when they heard Simon's confirmation.
If they could choose between acting and modelling, they would absolutely choose the former without hesitation, and most girls in the industry would clearly do the same.
After all, modelling was a youth-dependent profession. Except for the very few who made a name for themselves as supermodels, most models often retired before the age of thirty, either marrying a well-off man to become a housewife or transitioning to other professions.
In contrast, acting was a long-term career.
As long as they could successfully break into the industry, even if they could only become second or third-tier actresses who occasionally played supporting roles, it would still be far superior to being an ordinary well-known model. The fame brought by acting could, in turn, extend their professional lifespan in the fashion world, giving them more opportunities.
Moreover, the salary difference between the two was also very significant.
Therefore, most models in the fashion industry had tried to break into Hollywood.
Michael J. Fox's film 'The Secret of My Success' last year, with just a few fleeting, non-speaking scenes at the beginning, brought together several of the fashion world's top supermodels like Cindy Crawford. In comparison, A-list Hollywood stars would clearly not lower themselves in such a way.
After briefly introducing the situation, Simon began to discuss the specific details: "If you have no issues on your end, we can sign an agreement soon. The three of you will need to follow Daenerys Entertainment's arrangements for the next few years".
The three women paused, and this time, it was Erika Anderson, who had been more reserved among the three, who spoke up: "Simon, what if we don't get the opportunity after three years?"
"Even if you can't play Diana Prince, 'Wonder Woman' still needs many Amazon warriors. Moreover, after the next three years, I believe that as long as you don't slack off too much, you'll be able to establish yourselves in Hollywood. Even returning to the fashion industry won't be a problem", Simon said, then remembered something and added to Erika Anderson, "Didn't you just get a role in New Line's 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 5'?"
Erika Anderson nodded, surprised that Simon knew this.
"Turn it down", Simon said after getting confirmation from Erika Anderson. "The tone of the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series isn't very high, and you're not the lead. Participating in such a movie won't do you any good".
Although it was just a small role as the protagonist's best friend in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 5', and she died a rather tragic death in the end, it was a role she had fought hard to get. Erika Anderson couldn't help but look at her agent.
The woman's agent was clearly very decisive and said, "Mr. Westeros, we'll contact New Line after the meeting to turn down the role".
As the agent spoke, she still looked at Erika Anderson with some disappointment, feeling that the girl was a bit small-minded.
Are you kidding me?
Compared to the opportunity Simon Westeros was offering, even the lead role in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 5' wouldn't be worth it. Was there even anything to consider?
Simon just nodded, continued to discuss some details with the three women, and then dismissed them.
After seeing them off, Jennifer walked in carrying a cardboard box. The box contained a stack of documents and seven or eight video cassettes: "Boss, Mr. Deutchman sent these over. They're some project scripts and independent film samples he's recently selected".
Simon casually placed a business card that Helena Christensen had secretly left him on his desk, glanced at his assistant whose eyes had drifted to his hand and then quickly darted away, and smiled as he took out a script from the box and opened it. He tapped his right hand on the desk and said, "Come here".
Jennifer stood opposite Simon, her face slightly flushed, and said, "No".
"Should I come over then?"
"I need to get back to work".
As Jennifer spoke, she took a small step back, then suddenly stepped forward. Simon thought she was going to do something across the table, but just as he looked up from the script, the assistant was already walking out.
Simon was a little puzzled. He glanced left and right, then realized that the business card he had casually placed down was gone.
He just smiled and refocused his attention on the script in front of him.
A moment later, just as Simon was immersing himself in the script, there was another knock on the office door, and Amy Pascal walked in.
Having spent a long time together, Simon didn't bother with excessive politeness with Amy. He just nodded at her and asked, "How did the talk with Wes go?"
Amy sat opposite Simon and shook her head, "Paramount offered a contract with a $6 million base salary plus 10% of the project's profits. I talked to Wes, and he hopes to get the same treatment for the 'Scream' sequels".
For the first 'Scream', Wes Craven received a top-tier director's fee of $5 million, which alone accounted for half of the project's budget. The actors in the film were all paid new talent rates.
For the next two sequels, Simon had actually prepared for the budget to double. However, although Amy didn't explain the specific details of the 10% profit share, Simon immediately rejected it internally.
Taking the first 'Scream' as an example, if the North American box office was $100 million, then with overseas markets, video rentals, television broadcasts, and other multi-channel operations, this project would bring Daenerys Entertainment at least $100 million in net profit. Even if Wes Craven was asking for a share of this net profit, a 10% share would amount to $10 million.
If Wes Craven was indispensable to 'Scream', Simon would be willing to pay the $16 million expenditure, including the base salary and profit share. After all, the profit earned by Daenerys Entertainment would still be very substantial.
However, for a formulaic teen horror film, Wes Craven was not essential. Simon would absolutely not pay the enormous director's fee of $16 million, which was equivalent to the budget of an additional horror film.
After a moment of thought, Simon said, "Two sequels, $15 million. That's Daenerys Entertainment's offer. Talk to Wes again. If he's unwilling, then this matter is closed".
For two 'Scream' sequels, an average of $7.5 million per film, equivalent to a 50% salary increase over the first film, was already very good for a horror film director.
After all, horror films might seem like a way to make big money with small investments, but there were actually more failed projects. Hollywood was doing very well if one or two horror films made a big splash at the box office each year, but there were definitely more than one or two hundred low-budget horror films that went unnoticed or directly to the video market.
Amy's thoughts were actually the same as Simon's.
For 'Scream', Wes Craven was definitely not indispensable. Just like the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series he created for New Line Cinema a few years ago, Wes Craven only directed the first 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. Subsequently, the two parties also failed to agree on sequel fees, and Wes Craven chose to leave. But the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series was not affected by this, and the box office of several consecutive sequels actually increased one after another.
Looking at the conditions offered by Paramount, a $6 million base salary plus 10% of the film's profits, if calculated based on 'Scream', this remuneration was indeed very high. But what about beyond 'Scream'?
Wes Craven's previous films, the best box office performance was only the first 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' with over $25 million. His other films were all within the $20 million box office range, which was actually the limitation of horror films.
Calculated at this level, the additional profit-sharing clause in that contract wouldn't amount to much. If the project budget was too high, for example, reaching $20 million, and the box office was $20 million, then there would basically be no profit to speak of.
In comparison, Simon's offer of $15 million for two 'Scream' sequels was absolutely very sincere.
However, considering Wes Craven's choice in the previous 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series, it was uncertain if he would be smart enough. If Wes Craven chose to cooperate with Paramount, once the subsequent projects were unsatisfactory, his value would immediately fall again, and Daenerys Entertainment certainly wouldn't wait for him to return and continue to take over the 'Scream' sequels.