Chapter 286: The Third Press Conference

"Simon, since you weren't moved by that story, how about this one: Danny is a formidable police officer in public, but he's like a mouse seeing a cat in front of his harsh and irritable mother. One day, during his duty, Danny meets the girl he adores, Theresa, and they quickly fall in love. However, Danny is worried that his mother will disapprove of Theresa, and he's very cautious and secretive in his interactions with his girlfriend, leading to a series of comedic mishaps."

In the office.

John Hughes presented several story ideas to Simon Westeros, who remained non-committal throughout.

After John Hughes introduced another story, and after some discussion, Simon casually said, "John, considering the box office performance of 'Uncle Buck,' have you thought about making a more pure children's film?"

John Hughes, as if imagining a dreadful scene, shook his head and said, "Simon, children's films have always been a taboo in Hollywood. I've deeply realized this while filming 'Uncle Buck.' Those kids gave me a hard time, and sometimes I wanted to replace them. So, I really don't want to go through it a second time."

"Uncle Buck" tells the story of the Russell couple who, due to some family emergency, had to leave their three children in the care of their bachelor brother, Buck Russell.

Simon was unaware of these intricacies during the production of "Uncle Buck," not realizing the conflicts involved.

It's well known that children and animals are the two most challenging elements to work with in Hollywood films.

Understanding John Hughes' position, Simon realized why he hadn't come up with the idea for "Home Alone."

In the original timeline, John Hughes had a very pleasant collaboration with the three young actors in "Uncle Buck," especially Macaulay Culkin, which led to the creation of "Home Alone." However, in this new version of "Uncle Buck," the young actors were not the original performers and caused significant trouble for John Hughes during filming.

Feeling dejected, it was naturally hard for the filmmaker to contemplate another children's film.

Realizing that "Home Alone" was definitively off the table, Simon stopped beating around the bush and said, "Actually, after watching the screener of 'Uncle Buck,' I had an idea, John. I think this project suits your style, and your recent ideas have given me some inspiration, like the story about a young couple encountering two thieves while working overnight at a convenience store. So, how about another children's film? If you don't want to direct, you can let someone else take charge, and the salary package for this project could follow 'Uncle Buck's. However, Daenerys Entertainment will also need to be involved in the project decisions, especially in casting."

The original contract for "Uncle Buck" allowed John Hughes to earn a base salary of $5 million plus a 10% share of the North American box office as writer, director, and producer.

John Hughes is a savvy individual.

Inspired by Simon Westeros' film, it was also Simon Westeros' idea. Considering the box office success of Simon Westeros' films in recent years, including "The Sixth Sense," which grossed over $300 million in North America alone.

Moreover, with the prospect of a $5 million base salary plus a 10% share of the North American box office, John Hughes, not being one of those directors with a strong personal style who only makes films they like, saw no reason to refuse.

"So, Simon, can you elaborate on your idea?"

Seeing John Hughes almost immediately agree, Simon began to outline the general plot of "Home Alone."

As for handing over the project entirely to John Hughes, maintaining the $5 million base salary plus a 10% North American box office share, Simon had no reservations.

Having John Hughes at the helm would ensure the new "Home Alone" retained its original charm. Moreover, if the new "Home Alone" could achieve the same stunning box office success as in the original timeline, grossing over $280 million in North America alone, John Hughes would be fully deserving of a salary in the $30 million range.

This decision was also influenced by Simon's recent shift in perspective.

The logic is similar to the recent plan for ten collaborative films. If the aim is to maximize profit to the extent that all benefits fall into Daenerys Entertainment's pocket, Hollywood filmmakers would have little motivation to collaborate with Daenerys Entertainment.

After discussing for about an hour, the meeting ended.

John Hughes then decided to stay in Los Angeles for another week to keep in touch with Simon and start drafting the outline for "Home Alone."

Following the weekend, after some detailed negotiations, Daenerys Entertainment and Fox Studios held a press conference to announce the first of the ten film projects, "Sleeping with the Enemy."

"Sleeping with the Enemy" is based on a novel of the same name by author Nancy Price, completed in 1987. The novel was not well-known or a bestseller until Fox's script department acquired the adaptation rights for a modest $150,000, after which it had been shelved.

After the project was announced, the previously obscure novel "Sleeping with the Enemy" suddenly attracted a lot of media attention, leading to a surge in sales and prompting the publisher to rush reprints.

Then, on August 16th, a Wednesday.

Daenerys Entertainment and Disney held another press conference to announce the second of the ten film projects, "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," a classic psychological thriller in Simon's memory. It tells the story of a housewife who, after her husband's suicide and her own miscarriage, disguises herself as a nanny to take revenge on the family she blames for her tragedies.

Like "Sleeping with the Enemy," "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" was not well-known, and it was an original screenplay by a female writer named Amanda Silver.

However, without an original novel and due to the secrecy maintained by Daenerys Entertainment and Disney, the media could only speculate about the plot of "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle."

The low profile of these two screenplays was not coincidental.

High-profile rights that are highly sought after by various film companies are generally not shared with Daenerys Entertainment, just as Simon would not share the already quietly initiated "Home Alone" project with other production companies. Most projects sent to Simon are either not well-known or have uncertain prospects.

On August 18th, a Friday.

Daenerys Entertainment and Warner Brothers held the third press conference, announcing the third film of the ten movie projects, another anticipated blockbuster called "The Fugitive."

The story, adapted from a TV series owned by Warner Brothers, is about a surgeon who is framed for his wife's murder and seeks to clear his name.

In the original timeline, "The Fugitive," starring Harrison Ford, grossed over $360 million worldwide. However, unlike the previous two projects set for next year, Simon had clarified from the start with Warner that this project would begin production next year, with the earliest release date set for the summer of 1991.

The reason is that Simon's plan for 1990 is already too crowded.

With "Home Alone" confirmed, Daenerys Entertainment is set to release five major films in 1990: "Pretty Woman," "Ghost," "Dances with Wolves," "Home Alone," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

According to Daenerys Entertainment's schedule, "Pretty Woman" is set to premiere around Valentine's Day in February next year. "Ghost" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" are slated for the summer, while "Dances with Wolves" and "Home Alone" are planned for the year's end.

If "The Fugitive" were to start production now, being a big-budget film unlike "Sleeping with the Enemy" which could be prepared and shot quickly, and if its release were scheduled for the end of next year, it would clash with "Dances with Wolves" and "Home Alone," both of which have the potential to earn around $200 million at the box office.

In the original timeline, "The Fugitive's" North American box office earnings exceeded $180 million, also reaching the $200 million mark. If three major films were to compete at the end of the year, the result would be detrimental to all, as Simon confirmed that the year-end schedule of that era could not accommodate three domestic movies with box office potentials of $200 million each.

Moreover, there would undoubtedly be other movies in the same timeframe, intensifying the competition.

Warner Brothers understood Simon's decision but still hoped to announce the news immediately, as it would be good news for Warner and could help boost its stock price.

After Paramount unexpectedly intervened in June, disrupting the nearly finalized stock swap acquisition agreement between Time Inc. and Warner Brothers, the original agreement was now void. Winning the lawsuit against Paramount, which aimed to prevent the merger between Time and Warner, meant that the two parties needed to renegotiate the merger terms.

Time Inc. has proposed a new acquisition plan, split evenly between cash and stock, but the specific price has yet to be finalized.

Now, with every increase in Warner's stock price, Time Inc. would have to pay more.

Indeed, after the announcement, Warner Brothers' stock price rose by 2.1% before the market closed.

The announcement of the third film collaboration between Daenerys Entertainment and Warner Brothers coincided with the release of the latest weekly box office data for North America, from August 11th to August 17th, marking the end of the summer season.

John Hughes' "Uncle Buck," which he wrote and directed, debuted with 2021 screens, earning $16.94 million in its opening week and ranking first.

While "Uncle Buck's" average revenue per theater of about $8,000 did not reach blockbuster levels, it met expectations. With an opening of nearly $17 million, the film's total North American box office was projected to be between $50 and $70 million, aligning with Daenerys Entertainment's initial forecast and matching Hughes' historical box office performance.

Including the initial $5 million salary paid to Hughes, and with a production budget of only $15 million (excluding the upcoming $5 to $7 million box office share for Hughes), Daenerys Entertainment was set to profit from the film's box office performance.

"Uncle Buck's" success, along with "The Sixth Sense's" continued strong performance in its seventh week, ranking second with $16.71 million and crossing the $200 million mark in North America, underscored Daenerys Entertainment's influence and the high anticipation for its collaboration with Hollywood's three major studios on three film projects.

In reality, Simon had confirmed more than these three projects, such as "Terminator 2," which Fox had already started discussing with the rights holders, and a project with Columbia Pictures. Columbia's subsidiary, TriStar Pictures, had decisively dropped Matthew Broderick, a move that did not go unnoticed by Simon.

However, Sony's acquisition talks with Columbia had not been finalized.

Compared to the merger between Time and Warner, Sony's acquisition of Columbia was almost certain, as there were no other competitors vying against Sony for the purchase in recent years. Sony had already begun overseeing Columbia Pictures' operations, with the decision to drop Matthew Broderick influenced by the Japanese executives.

Daenerys Entertainment agreed to delay announcing the project chosen for collaboration with Columbia, allowing it to serve as a successful launch for Sony's acquisition of Columbia.

Daenerys Entertainment was happy to cooperate.

As film companies began investing in these projects, many Hollywood talent agencies became eager to get involved.

Except for CAA.

Since the dispute over "Rain Man" last year, Daenerys Entertainment's major projects had conspicuously lacked CAA stars. For example, the male lead of "The Bodyguard," Kevin Costner, was represented by ICM, and the actress contract for the female lead, Whitney Houston, was signed by WMA. As for "The Sixth Sense," including Robert De Niro, all main and supporting roles were filled by WMA clients.

CAA had not felt the impact until Daenerys Entertainment announced its plan for ten collaborative films, putting pressure on the agency as they realized the significance of being excluded from such high-profile projects.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT