Natasha Henstridge, curled up in bed, was about to make lunch into something more when Simon withdrew his hand and reminded her again before leaving the bedroom.
Watching him leave, Natasha reached for her wristwatch on the bedside table and checked the time—it was 11:30 AM.
After a moment of consideration, she chose a black knit dress suitable for winter indoor wear and put on some light makeup. In just 15 minutes, she was downstairs.
Simon was sitting on the couch in the living room, casually flipping through a script. When he saw Natasha come down, he looked her over and complimented, "You look beautiful."
"Thank you," Natasha replied, sitting down next to Simon. She glanced at the script in his hand and asked, "What are you reading?"
Simon showed her the cover and said, "Cutthroat Island, a pirate movie script."
Natasha nodded, quickly searching her memory for information about pirate movies, but found nothing. Fortunately, Simon didn't expect a response and put the script aside, instructing a nearby maid to prepare lunch.
In the dining room, the maids served their lunch and poured some red wine before leaving them alone.
Picking up his utensils, Simon asked the lady across from him, "What would you like to do this afternoon?"
Cutting into her pan-seared cod, Natasha paused and said, "I don't know. Whatever you do, I'll do."
Simon smiled, "Most people come to Park City for two things: movies and skiing. Which one do you choose?"
After a brief hesitation, Natasha said, "Skiing, but I'm not very good at it."
Despite being Canadian and actually quite good at skiing, she pretended to be less skilled in front of Simon, even worrying that he might not know how to ski, which would be embarrassing.
Simon just nodded, "Alright, we'll ski in the afternoon, attend a movie premiere in the evening, and then there's a party here."
Natasha finally caught onto the conversation, "Is it for Four Weddings and a Funeral?"
"Yes, do you know it?"
"I came here with the film's two leads yesterday," Natasha said. "But this film isn't part of the Sundance competition, is it?"
Daenerys Entertainment's support and nurturing of the indie film market were key to Sundance's rapid rise. In recent years, there were always Daenerys Entertainment films in the main competition at Sundance.
Before coming to Park City, Natasha had done some homework on the film festival. She knew Daenerys Entertainment had two films in the main competition this year: Whit Stillman's Barcelona and David O. Russell's Spanking the Monkey.
Whit Stillman was a Sundance protégé; his last film, Metropolitan, did well critically and commercially. Barcelona was his second directorial effort. Spanking the Monkey was a debut film by newcomer David O. Russell, a mother-son drama with a title that was a sexual innuendo.
Choosing to screen Four Weddings and a Funeral the day before the festival closed, with Simon personally attending, showed how much Daenerys Entertainment valued the film. Natasha was curious why it wasn't in the main competition.
Simon explained, "The film is a commercial romantic comedy aimed at the Valentine's Day market. If it entered the main competition at Sundance, it might be mistaken for an art film, limiting its audience."
Natasha realized, "I see, I thought being in a film festival and winning awards was the best."
Simon smiled and shook his head, "Not necessarily. Different types of films have their own distribution strategies."
Distributing Hollywood movies can be simple or complicated.
Massive ad campaigns across various media platforms are the most effective way to promote a film, but this is only suitable for a few highly guaranteed blockbusters, like the DC movie universe series.
Most Hollywood films need tailored marketing strategies to achieve the best market exposure within their budget.
The quality of a film is fundamental to its commercial success, but a severe marketing mistake can also be disastrous.
Knowing Natasha wasn't very interested in these business details, Simon didn't elaborate. Instead, he asked about her recent situation.
They enjoyed a pleasant lunch, then Simon sent Natasha upstairs to change for skiing while he returned to the living room to pick up the Cutthroat Island script he had been reading before lunch.
This script was a project Carolco Pictures was pitching to Hollywood studios, with all the major studios receiving a copy.
Backed by German and other foreign capital, Carolco Pictures was well-known in Hollywood. Unlike other frugal second-tier studios, Carolco was famous for its high-budget films. The first Hollywood movie to break the $100 million production budget, Terminator 2, was a Carolco project. They also produced hits like Basic Instinct and Total Recall.
Simon's emergence had preempted some of Carolco's most successful projects like Terminator 2 and Basic Instinct, but over the past few years, Carolco still invested in many films featuring action stars like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, driving star salaries up to $15 million.
As an indie studio not handling distribution, Carolco had previously partnered with Columbia Pictures.
Last year's turmoil at Columbia had dissolved that partnership, and Carolco was now seeking new partners. Cutthroat Island was their new pitch.
In 1990s Hollywood film history, one couldn't avoid the most successful Titanic and the most disastrous Cutthroat Island.
The original Cutthroat Island had a production budget of $98 million but grossed just over $10 million domestically, a catastrophic failure recorded in the Guinness World Records.
Was Cutthroat Island entirely worthless?
Not at all.
The film featured excellent cinematography, editing, and music, with epic-scale sea battle scenes. Even many years later, Pirates of the Caribbean borrowed heavily from it. The weak storyline wasn't fatal for a blockbuster since many big-budget films shared this flaw.
The North American market for blockbusters in the mid-90s wasn't saturated, and a $100 million budget alone could draw huge audiences, not resulting in a mere $10 million gross.
So, why did Cutthroat Island fail so spectacularly?
There were multiple reasons.
As a studio supported by foreign capital, Carolco faced natural suppression by Hollywood insiders.
Director Renny Harlin cast his wife Geena Davis as the lead, overshadowing the male protagonist, but Davis lacked the box office appeal to carry a blockbuster.
Cutthroat Island was an original script, lacking the pre-built audience of a superhero movie.
The distributor, MGM, was undergoing severe internal turmoil, neglecting the film's marketing.
These factors combined, exacerbating the film's not-so-fatal flaws, and deterring audiences from theaters, leading to its record-setting failure.
Even knowing that Daenerys Entertainment could handle it better in this timeline, Simon had no intention of taking over. Instead, following his 'tit for tat' strategy, he planned to pass this box office dud to someone else.
The success of the DC movie universe and Jurassic Park made Hollywood seek high-budget projects. Cutthroat Island was a tempting option.
If Simon Westeros showed interest, other studios would surely fight for it.
Another major pitfall from 1995 was Kevin Costner's Waterworld.
Produced by a major studio like Universal, Waterworld didn't bomb as badly as Cutthroat Island, but its $175 million budget still set a new record, causing Universal significant losses despite decent box office returns.
Waterworld remained unchanged in this timeline.
But now, Warner Bros. was the producer, not Universal.
After collaborating on Dances with Wolves and The Bodyguard, Kevin Costner had recently partnered with Warner Bros., working on Oliver Stone's JFK and last year's A Perfect World with Clint Eastwood.
This summer, Costner would release a major Warner Bros. western, Wyatt Earp.
Following three successful collaborations, Costner easily signed with Warner for Waterworld, set to start filming in May or June for release next summer.
Simon had no intention of interfering, merely observing.
In the original timeline, Waterworld's budget spiraled out of control mainly because Costner chose to film in Hawaii, overlooking local tidal storms, which repeatedly destroyed costly sets.
According to reports, this Waterworld would still be filmed in Hawaii.
This wasn't a coincidence.
As one of the world's most famous tourist destinations, Hawaii offered very comfortable working conditions for film crews, especially stars. Spielberg chose Hawaii for Jurassic Park for the same reasons, and Daenerys Entertainment incurred considerable additional costs without tax breaks.
Fortunately, Jurassic Park was filmed on land, though it still faced storms.
If Daenerys Entertainment took over Waterworld, Simon would avoid the same mistake. Despite a good relationship with Warner, he saw no reason to warn them.
Waterworld and Cutthroat Island, meeting the demand for big-budget films, were also large enough box office pitfalls to clear at least $100 million for Daenerys Entertainment in next year's popular slots, embodying 'tit for tat.'
With this in mind, Simon moved to the living room adjacent to the main villa and placed the Cutthroat Island script on a shelf under a glass coffee table.
Tonight, after Four Weddings and a Funeral, there would be a Daenerys Entertainment-hosted party, and this room would be open.
Just then, Alison came in with a down jacket, helped Simon put it on, glanced at the script he had deliberately placed under the coffee table, and asked, "Boss, should I put this away?"
"No, leave it. Make sure Naomi and the others don't touch it. You can remove it when the party is in full swing tonight."
Alison understood immediately and whispered, "You're not keen on this script, boss?"
"Right, just act natural and don't let on."
"Okay," Alison nodded. "One script might be too obvious. I'll add some magazines nearby."
"Good idea, smart Alison."
As they conspired, Natasha soon came down
, ready.
Alison saw them off, watching her boss's car disappear down the mountain road. Feeling a bit forlorn, she quickly dismissed the thought, reminding herself that the other woman saw him only a few times a year and only for one year. She, however, could stay by his side much longer. She should be content.
Simon and Natasha skied at a members-only club in southern Park City until after 4 PM, then headed directly to town.
The premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral began at 5 PM at the festival's main venue, the Egyptian Theatre.
As a major project for Daenerys Entertainment, many notable filmmakers, including Robert Redford, attended, along with a large number of critics from across North America.
These attendees alone ensured the film's media buzz. Simon didn't plan to appear in the press, at least not visibly, and entered through the back door with Natasha. Natasha sensibly chose to sit with Nancy Josephson from ICM rather than stay with Simon.
Despite its genre diverging from Sundance's indie and avant-garde style, the film's first public screening was a success, ending with unanimous applause.
After the premiere, many guests headed to Simon's mountain villa southeast of Park City.
After accepting Redford's invitation at last week's Golden Globes after-party, Simon decided to host this gathering to solidify Daenerys Entertainment's status in the indie film world.
Once announced, the party became the most anticipated event of this year's Sundance, with many pulling strings to secure an invitation. Even stars who usually ignored Sundance came to Park City, hoping for a chance to meet Simon Westeros.
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