Simon left London the next day, heading to Helsinki.
The official agenda for his UK trip was mostly complete, but two smaller tasks he had thought of on the plane remained unresolved: the Spice Girls and Harry Potter.
Let's set aside the Spice Girls for now.
Regarding Harry Potter, Simon had privately searched platforms like Facebook and other online communities in the UK but couldn't find anyone named J.K. Rowling. He then remembered that Western women often take their husband's surname after marriage. The J.K. Rowling he knew was a single mother, but that might not be the case this time.
He tried searching with the "J.K." prefix and even looked through some online literary communities but still found nothing.
He had no choice but to give up.
In the end, he decided to take matters into his own hands. During his trips to Finland and Italy, Simon took some time to outline the first book of the Harry Potter series based on his memory and wrote a brief synopsis, which he sent to Los Angeles for a ghostwriter to flesh out.
As for the story's inspiration, Simon stuck to the original tale: a chance encounter with a little boy dressed as a wizard wearing black-rimmed glasses. He even sketched a rough drawing of Harry Potter.
Of course, when the story was eventually published, Simon didn't plan to take credit. Considering the strategic importance of this IP, he also didn't intend to give the ghostwriter any recognition, instead assigning a pseudonym: J.K.
The "Rowling" part was omitted.
As for what would happen in the future, Simon could only do so much. The rest was up to fate.
---
*Los Angeles.*
While Simon was traveling around Europe, April 18th, another Friday, had quietly arrived in Los Angeles.
The Easter holiday season had ended, but the films released during that period were still running.
In the past week, Jet Li's new version of Taken had once again claimed the top spot at the box office. Having been released on March 28th, it was now in its third week. This action film, which combined Chinese martial arts with a Hollywood template, had opened with a strong $31.37 million in its first week. In its second week, it dropped 43%, earning $17.88 million, and in its third week, the decline narrowed to 26%, bringing in $13.21 million.
Over three weeks, this mid-to-low-budget film, which cost $25 million to produce, had already grossed $62.46 million. Even with an additional $10 million in marketing expenses, it had essentially broken even.
Based on its current trajectory, Taken still had the potential to earn another $15 to $20 million, with a projected domestic total of around $80 million.
Although it wouldn't reach the $100 million mark, the $80 million projection had already exceeded everyone's expectations, especially since even Simon hadn't set his hopes too high for this new version of Taken.
The consecutive successes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li in Hollywood had reignited a craze for Chinese martial arts films among audiences. Hollywood studios were also turning their attention across the Pacific, with many starting to explore opportunities in China.
Then they realized they were too late.
This brings us to another Chinese martial arts film released by Daenerys Entertainment last Friday: Iron Monkey.
Although the English title was shamelessly translated as Iron Monkey, the film's impressive display of Chinese martial arts, riding on the wave of Taken's success, had garnered significant attention.
On April 11th, Iron Monkey opened in North America on 1,514 screens and, in its first week, unexpectedly grossed $10.36 million, breaking the $10 million mark.
For a Chinese-language film released in April on a modest 1,514 screens, a $10.36 million opening week was nothing short of a small miracle.
Thanks to this miracle, Iron Monkey even secured the second spot on the weekly box office chart.
In the same week, the top two films at the North American box office both starred Chinese actors, a rare sight that hadn't been seen in many years.
With this strong opening, Iron Monkey was expected to gross around $25 million domestically. While that might not seem like much, this 1993 Hong Kong film had been part of a package deal Daenerys Entertainment had acquired.
Even though Rush Hour last year had reignited interest in Chinese martial arts, most people tended to look forward rather than dig up old films.
Daenerys Entertainment, however, had gone against the grain.
On the other hand, the collapse of the Hong Kong film industry since last year had left many film companies in desperate need of funds, making it difficult for them to hold out for better offers. As a result, Daenerys Entertainment had acquired the North American distribution rights for over 20 films, including Iron Monkey, for less than $10 million, averaging less than $500,000 per film.
Of course, when converted to Hong Kong dollars, the average price of nearly HK$4 million per film was still quite substantial.
Now, with Iron Monkey grossing over $10 million in just one week, the film's production companies, such as Golden Harvest and Media Asia, were feeling more than a little shortchanged. The sense of being cheated was even worse than what one of the producers of Black Mask had felt last year.
If even half of the 20-plus films they had sold had this kind of market potential, it would be a massive loss.
They had thought that by being strict with new projects like Police Story 4, they wouldn't let Hollywood take too much advantage. But who would have thought that a film released so many years ago could still be a hit in Hollywood?
Amid their distress, the Hong Kong film industry, which had been struggling due to the collapse of the local market, saw a glimmer of hope with the consecutive successes of Hong Kong films in Hollywood. Coupled with the increasing interest from Hollywood, it was a match made in heaven.
---
*Daenerys Studios.*
As the workweek drew to a close, Amy Pascal held a summary meeting with the heads of the various production companies under her before returning to her office to discuss some work matters with her assistant, Vanessa Lind.
The focus was on a few tasks Simon had recently assigned.
These included the concept for a romantic comedy titled My Best Friend's Wedding, the attempt to intercept Sony's negotiations with Toho for the Godzilla rights, and, just yesterday, a fantasy novel idea called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
"Ronald Bass has accepted the screenwriting job. Also, I've forwarded the story concept to Julia, but ICM hasn't responded yet. As for Godzilla, Toho's stance is a bit ambiguous."
"I don't want to hear this kind of ambiguity."
"Sorry, Amy, but it's clear from the information we've gathered that Sony was close to finalizing a deal with Toho. Now that we've stepped in, as long as the Japanese aren't fools, they know who the more advantageous partner is. But they're probably waiting for us to make an offer."
Amy thought for a moment and understood: "Toho wants to invest?"
"Yes," Vanessa Lind, who had been by Amy's side for years, explained. "From what we've heard, Toho's deal with Sony didn't involve investment, just a share of the profits. Now that Daenerys Entertainment wants to take over, the Japanese see the box office potential and naturally don't want to miss the investment opportunity."
"In that case…" Amy pondered for a moment before saying, "Have our rights team continue discussions with Toho, but let them make the first move."
Vanessa nodded. She had the same idea. Since the Japanese's intentions were clear, there was no need to lose more leverage. Letting them propose the terms would give Daenerys Entertainment a better position to negotiate. After discussing this, Vanessa handed over a folder: "Also, here are some profiles of writers skilled in children's fantasy novels."
Amy took the folder and began flipping through it. "You can head home first. I'll leave after I finish reviewing these."
Vanessa nodded but added, "Actually, Amy, you don't need to work so hard, especially now that you're pregnant. It's okay to leave early."
Amy knew Vanessa meant well but didn't explain.
In short, Hollywood studio executives fell into two categories: those skilled in creativity and those skilled in management.
Michael Eisner, for example, was known for his creativity, even giving himself the title of Chief Creative Officer during his tenure at Disney and hosting a Disney Channel show.
On the other hand, those skilled in management often had legal or accounting backgrounds. Take Disney again: Eisner's deputy, Frank Wells, was a lawyer who handled administrative tasks while Eisner steered the company's creative direction. Their partnership in the 1980s had revitalized Disney.
If not for Simon's intervention, Disney would have continued to shine in the 1990s.
Although Amy had started as an assistant, she considered herself a creative executive after transitioning to a producer role. However, with Daenerys Entertainment's rapid growth and a boss who was a constant source of inspiration, Amy had no choice but to focus solely on management.
Frankly, given the scale of Daenerys Entertainment, Amy felt somewhat overwhelmed. That's why she didn't resent Simon's decision to decentralize power, distributing it among Nancy Brier, Robert Iger, and the heads of the three production companies.
But she also didn't dare slack off.
Having worked alongside Simon for so long, Amy knew that her current position was largely due to the goodwill she had built up over the years, not her abilities. Therefore, she had a clear understanding of her role and focused on doing what she could.
One of her most important tasks was to ensure that the projects Simon personally assigned were handled as well as possible.
Whether it was the script for My Best Friend's Wedding, the Godzilla rights, or the concept for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Amy knew from experience that these seemingly minor tasks often became core blockbusters for Daenerys Entertainment.
The most obvious example was the DC Extended Universe.
The rights to the DC superheroes had also been negotiated by her, one by one.
By excelling in these areas, even if the lion's share of the credit went to Simon, her role remained indispensable.
With the wealth she had accumulated, Amy could retire and live comfortably for the rest of her life. But for those who have reached the top of the pyramid, few can truly let go.
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