In the following week, the North America media was discussing Michael Ovitz and the 'Infantry Soldier' incident.
The disgraced Ovitz quickly had to issue an open reply, vehemently denying that he had threatened Joe Eszterhas during the dispute, and stating that Eszterhas was free to leave CAA at any time, and he would absolutely not stop him.
Joe Eszterhas, however, did not heed Ovitz, and during an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he once again accused Ovitz of verbal abuse, claiming that he had suffered severe psychological trauma and completely lost his sense of security because Ovitz threatened to destroy his career. Eszterhas also stated that he had to sell the property he had just purchased with his family to avoid unforeseen disaster.
Immediately afterward, whether pushed by Ovitz or not, many CAA clients began publicly voicing support for Ovitz. big names like Sean Connery and Sydney Pollack all stated that they did not believe the always polite and rarely inappropriate Ovitz would say such things to Joe Eszterhas, implying that Eszterhas might be exaggerating to gain sympathy.
This possibility certainly existed.
However, Joe Eszterhas did not defend himself, cleverly continuing to play the victim card and implying that the public statements from the big names were Ovitz pressuring him to shut up.
The media, never one to shy away from drama, continued to fan the flames.
Amidst this excitement, on August 23rd, Japan's Sony Corporation suddenly interrupted the media's heated discussion of the 'Infantry Soldier' incident by announcing that it had reached an agreement with Columbia Pictures to acquire it for $3.4 billion in cash, while also assuming the $1.6 billion debt of the veteran film company.
On August 25th, the Columbia Board of Directors voted to approve Sony's acquisition plan.
Thus, after a year-long struggle, Sony officially took possession of Columbia Pictures, one of Hollywood's The Big Seven film studios.
The total $5 billion transaction brought Sony Columbia Pictures assets including the Columbia and TriStar major labels, a massive film library with copyrights to over 4,000 film and television programs, the Loews theatre chain with 820 screens, and some television station assets.
The American television sector was not yet open to foreign investors in the late 1980s, so Sony simultaneously stated in the announcement of the agreement that it would divest Columbia Pictures' television assets after the transaction was completed.
Then, on Monday August 28th, 1989.
Before Sony had even finalized the head of Columbia Pictures, it held the fourth recent press conference jointly with Daenerys Entertainment, announcing The Fourth Film in Daenerys Entertainment's 10-Film Plan: 'A League Of Their Own'.
Like 'Sleeping With The Enemy', 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle', and 'The Fugitive', 'A League Of Their Own' was also written by a novice screenwriter. It was adapted from a true event during World War II in the United States, telling the story of an aging baseball star who tries to establish a women's baseball team after the men rush off to the battlefield.
This North American local sports film was not internationally renowned, but it was a box office hit in Simon's memory, grossing over 100 million and ranking in the top ten annual list.
Following 'A League Of Their Own', on August 30th, at the fifth press conference, Universal Pictures and Daenerys Entertainment jointly announced the fifth film in the 10-Film Plan, an adaptation of Stephen King's novel 'Misery'. 'Misery' tells the story of a crazed fan who accidentally rescues her favourite author, only to then kidnap and imprison him, forcing him to rewrite the plot after discovering he killed off a character she cherished.
After Stephen King became famous, due to his high productivity, his novels were frequently adapted into films, with works being brought to the big screen every year. Daenerys Entertainment holds the rights to Stephen King's 'Children Of The Corn', and during the Easter slot in the first half of the year, there was also 'Pet Sematary', adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name.
However, apart from 'Pet Sematary', which grossed over $57 million during its Easter release this year, most other film adaptations of Stephen King's novels only grossed ten or twenty million, meaning producers wouldn't lose too much money, nor would they earn too much.
A novel like 'Misery', which lacked supernatural or horror elements, was originally not highly regarded, until Simon took interest in it, prompting Universal Pictures, which had acquired the rights early, to treat it seriously.
Five consecutive projects and five press conferences were intentional moves by Simon. He hoped that the 10-Film Plan would create an influence similar to a 'brand effect.' Judging from the recent media reaction, the desired effect has been achieved. These films will not lack media attention from various platforms, from casting and shooting to post-production and release, which alone is enough to offset millions of dollars in publicity and distribution costs.
With the announcement of five projects, Hollywood stars became even more eager to move.
Century City.
More than a week had passed, and the media's criticism, ridicule, and attacks on Michael Ovitz still hadn't stopped. Ovitz sometimes even wondered if someone was deliberately targeting him. However, the root cause of the matter was that Ovitz had been too low-key in the past; the media was full of curiosity about him but lacked understanding, so as soon as any relevant information was exposed, everyone naturally swarmed.
Due to the recent negative news, or perhaps Daenerys Entertainment's blacklist and the announcement of five films in the 10-Film Plan, CAA's clients were still continuously leaving.
Following Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Geena Davis, who had just won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress last year, was also poached by WMA. WMA simultaneously poached a writer named Michael Crichton.
The writer client, Ovitz recalled, didn't have any particularly famous blockbuster works, but a dinosaur novel concept he had discussed with him a few days ago was very interesting.
But now he didn't have the mind to care about these things.
If those two weren't too important, WMA reaching out to Tom Hanks, who had become increasingly popular in the last two years, made it difficult for Ovitz to remain calm.
Tom Hanks' 'Big' last year not only grossed over $100 million in North America but also earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. This summer's 'The 'Burbs' also had excellent domestic box office performance, and he is now firmly established as an A-lister. The departure of established A-listers like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, whose careers are starting to decline, is one thing, but if a rising star like Tom Hanks leaves, it would be a severe blow to CAA's reputation.
With the continuous loss of clients, it was hard to guarantee that other stars wouldn't develop the misconception that CAA was starting to decline and was no longer worth staying with.
Once the domino effect formed, the results would be catastrophic.
Moreover, when Columbia Pictures suddenly announced on August 31st that Geena Davis, who had just defected from CAA, would star as the female lead in a league of their own from the 10-Film Plan, Michael Ovitz knew he had to make a decision quickly.
Friday September 1st, 1989.
In the new week, only a single low-budget B-grade thriller from New Line Cinema quietly premiered, signalling the official end of this year's summer box office season.
Based on existing data, there were six confirmed films that grossed over $100 million during this summer season: 'Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade', 'Ghostbusters II', 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids', 'Lethal Weapon 2', 'The Bodyguard', and 'The Sixth Sense', two of which belonged to Daenerys Entertainment.
Considering that 'Batman' and 'Look Who's Talking', both collaborations between Daenerys Entertainment and Warner, and Universal Pictures' 'Back To The Future Part II' are still scheduled for release at the end of the year, if one or two dark horses emerge, the total number of films grossing over $100 million this year could still exceed ten.
Ticket prices in North America haven't risen significantly in recent years. Going from only four or five, or sometimes even fewer, films grossing over $100 million annually in Hollywood just a few years ago to the current level of ten, Hollywood's rapid rise after the stagnation of the seventies and eighties is unstoppable.
In Simons, memory, the appearance of blockbusters like 'Home Alone', 'Pretty Woman', and 'Ghost' in 1990, along with the further expansion of the global film market, signalled Hollywood's renewed rise. Subsequently, films grossing over $100 million would essentially fill the annual top ten list.
In this timeline, future historians tracing the trajectory of Hollywood's development would likely pinpoint 1988 as the year Hollywood first saw more than ten films grossing over $100 million annually.
The appearance of Simon, this great butterfly, can be said to have advanced Hollywood's recovery by two years.
Around eight o'clock in the evening.
At the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, the reception hosted by Sony, the newcomer, for the Hollywood power brokers was underway.
Simon, accompanied by Famke Janssen, was chatting with Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. Goldblum and Davis are a couple, and both are currently considered quasi-A-listers.
'Batman' was nearing completion. As long as the box office met expectations by the end of the year, 'Wonder Woman' would likely begin preliminary planning. Simon also accelerated the process of helping Famke Janssen 'get known'. The two original candidates, Helena Christensen and Erika Anderson, had already abandoned their attempts to compete with Famke, and Simon stopped paying much attention to them.
Over the past year, Famke had taken on several small roles in various films and TV shows. Simon arranged for her to play two small roles this time: one in Robert Altman's ensemble film 'Short Cuts' and another in 'A League Of Their Own', a collaboration between the company and Columbia Pictures.
Both of these films would receive high attention, and Famke Janssen's figure and appearance were certainly enough to draw the audience's notice.
As everyone was discussing 'A League Of Their Own', Michael Ovitz appeared nearby, spotted Simon, and walked straight over.
Everyone present in the ballroom tonight was well-informed. Seeing Ovitz approach Simon Westeros, they all looked over curiously, whispering to each other.
Michael Ovitz came up to Simon, making no attempt to hide his intentions. He got straight to the point: "Simon, can we talk privately?"
Simon readily replied, "Sure".
Nodding toward Geena Davis and the others, Simon and Ovitz walked together to a sofa in the corner of the hall and sat down. Famke Janssen tactfully did not follow.