His thoughts drifted briefly but soon returned to the script in his hands. Future matters could wait until the future; for now, he needed to focus on the present.
According to the script and his memory, by the standards of a straightforward blockbuster, Deep Rising was actually above average. With a high-concept story, classic elements like tough heroes, beautiful women, humor, and a mysterious sea monster, it was designed to leave a good impression on audiences. The movie's initial failure was largely due to Disney's misguided distribution strategy during its troubled period. However, the film eventually found success in home video and TV broadcasts, even making its way to China.
With the laptop nearby on the round table, Simon finished reading the script and, after some thought, typed up his thoughts on Deep Rising in an email to Amy Pascal.
According to the notes in the script, Stephen Sommers wanted to direct this project himself and hoped to cast a major star like Harrison Ford to make it a major hit. Simon saw the director's shrewdness in this request, guessing that Sommers was aware Simon had been deliberately slowing down the production of several collaborative projects.
If Simon agreed to let Sommers direct Deep Rising, The Mummy 2 would inevitably be delayed.
For the Mission: Impossible series, Simon indeed had that intention. Even when Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. personally advocated at a recent party, Simon remained firm. The interval between the releases of Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossible 2 was set at two and a half years. As for Mission: Impossible 3, that would also follow the same timeline, with an earliest possible release at the end of 1998.
But The Mummy, a collaboration with Fox, was different. The Westeros system and Fox's parent, News Corp, were allies, and Simon wasn't planning to delay The Mummy series. The Mummy 2 was on track for a two-year production gap and a summer 1998 release.
Simon valued Stephen Sommers as a talented commercial director and wanted to encourage him to expand his skillset, possibly even to take on a producer role. Sommers had previously been only a writer and director, and Deep Rising provided a perfect opportunity for him to try his hand as a producer. Simon planned for him to direct The Mummy 2 while overseeing Deep Rising as producer, leaving direction to someone else.
Regarding the budget for Deep Rising, Simon wanted to keep it under the original $50 million. With pre-production starting now, filming could begin in the first half of next year, aiming for an Easter 1998 release. A more ideal release would be the year-end holiday season, but with Titanic scheduled for that period, Simon had no intention of competing with that powerhouse.
Stephen Sommers would work on Deep Rising in the first half of the year and then move on to The Mummy 2 in the second half—perfect timing.
After a moment's thought, he added a note suggesting Natasha Henstridge as the female lead. Famke Janssen, the original choice, was now widely recognized as Wonder Woman and was thus unsuited for a decorative role in a film like this. Natasha Henstridge, however, was a fitting choice.
After finishing the email, Simon picked up another folder.
Inside were outlines for several potential films starring Jet Li.
Simon remembered the Jet Li movies made around 2000, which were mostly commercially successful. However, he wasn't particularly fond of the movies like Romeo Must Die or Kiss of the Dragon, written by Luc Besson. They didn't capture the true essence of Chinese martial arts, which was something Simon felt should be showcased.
Simon understood that the cultural gap was the main issue; the influential voices behind these projects were all Westerners. Jet Li, not yet an A-lister like Jackie Chan after Rush Hour, didn't have much creative control, resulting in movies that leaned more toward Western-style brawling or gunfights than martial arts.
That was not what Simon wanted to see.
Simon's plan for Hero was already in motion, with the concept recently sent to China for development. However, since such a large project would take time, Simon didn't want Jet Li idling for a year. So he allowed Jet Li, together with New Line Cinema's writers, to explore new projects with a $25 million budget and gave him the opportunity to be credited as a producer. The extent of his involvement would depend on his interest.
What Simon wanted was authentic Chinese martial arts in Hollywood, not just action or shootouts.
The materials in his hands were the result of a brainstorming session on that end.
The ideas didn't particularly stand out, with most of the plots involving a kung fu master traveling from China to the U.S. to visit family or investigate criminals, ultimately taking on Hollywood-style villains.
After browsing through several outlines, Simon crossed them out.
He would do it himself.
After all, most good ideas come from personal experience and knowledge. And if that's the case, there was probably no one in Hollywood with more material accumulated in their head than Simon, who had the memories of over a dozen individuals, all highly specialized.
Just as he picked up another script with Saving Private Ryan on the cover, he heard light footsteps approaching. A little girl, as delicate as a doll, was carrying a fruit platter toward him, her dark eyes looking at him. "Daddy, Mom prepared this."
The way the little girl called him "Daddy" sounded far more natural than a certain shameless girl who used the term to mean "Sugar Daddy."
Simon smiled and patted his knee, inviting her to sit. As he held the tiny person on his lap, he continued to look through the script, speaking in Mandarin. "MiuMiu, are you getting used to life in the U.S.?"
The little girl, still holding the fruit platter, picked up a piece of apple and offered it to Simon, carefully pulling back the toothpick afterward. She nodded and replied, "I'm enjoying it. There's a lot of delicious food and so many pretty clothes. Last weekend, Mom and I even took a private jet to London. But it was raining all the time, not as nice as New York."
Simon took the apple and, seeing her offer a piece of pineapple, took another bite and said, "It rains in New York too; you'll run into it sooner or later."
"It's different. It's like London's always gloomy, and even the streets and people there seem gloomy."
Surprised by her accurate impression, Simon chuckled. "Well, if you don't like it, you don't have to go back."
"Okay." The girl continued feeding him fruit, refraining from eating any herself, then asked, "Daddy, will you have time to go out with me and Mom?"
Simon, turning a page in the script, asked, "Where do you want to go?"
"Anywhere's fine, as long as it's with Daddy."
Simon glanced down at the bright-eyed little girl, realizing that her mother had probably coached her on what to say. Looking up, he saw her mother standing at the doorway, hesitant but eventually coming over when she noticed Simon watching her.
When her mother joined them, the girl quickly hopped off Simon's lap and handed her mother the fruit platter. "Mom, you and Dad can talk now. I'm going to do my homework."
After the girl disappeared into the villa, Simon patted his knee again, and Ms. Liu, blushing slightly, hesitated before finally sitting down, relaxing as his strong arm encircled her waist. She resumed feeding him fruit as she started the conversation. "You're reading a script?"
Now dressed in a sleeveless, form-fitting green silk dress, Ms. Liu's dancer's physique and soft elegance added to the subtle charm in her posture. The delicate fragrance of her perfume tempted Simon, who had been abstinent for almost a week.
"Yes," he replied, enjoying the small talk. "Isn't it summer vacation? What homework is MiuMiu doing? Have you settled on her school?"
"Yes, her school is confirmed, and I arranged for some summer tutoring so she can get familiar with American courses."
Simon shook his head. "No need for that. Girls should be raised generously and don't need to do so much homework."
Ms. Liu quickly agreed. "She's calling you Dad now; you decide."
"Let's keep only the English lessons so she can communicate with other kids here," Simon continued. "Actually, Chinese kids often outperform their peers in knowledge, so there's really no need for extra tutoring. Otherwise, the other kids wouldn't stand a chance."
Ms. Liu looked a bit skeptical. "Really?"
"You'll see over time."
They chatted like this for a while, with Ms. Liu confirming that Simon would be around for the weekend before she politely left him alone.
Simon's attention returned to the script in front of him.
Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, was an epic war film released in 1998, achieving nearly $500 million in global box office sales on a $70 million budget, even securing the top spot in North America.
Even though Saving Private Ryan's $200 million domestic box office was overshadowed by Titanic in 1997 and The Phantom Menace in 1999, it still held the 1998 top-grossing title, an achievement not to be dismissed.
This time around, however, the script ended up with Daenerys Entertainment first, due to the company's strong presence in Hollywood.
As a war film, Saving Private Ryan wasn't highly regarded at first. Since the Vietnam War-themed movies of the 1980s, Hollywood
hadn't seen a blockbuster war movie in years. War films typically require high budgets and come with high risks, which discouraged studios from greenlighting them.
If it weren't for Spielberg's interest, this film might never have made it to the big screen.
Now that Daenerys Entertainment had acquired the script, Simon had to decide how to handle the project.
Spielberg still owed Daenerys Entertainment a film from his Universal contract. However, the friction between Simon and Spielberg over Jurassic Park meant that Spielberg's commitment was flexible enough that he could delay it indefinitely.
Since Spielberg was now deeply involved in DreamWorks, the likelihood of him directing this project was low.
With that in mind, Simon needed to consider alternative options.
Since Daenerys Entertainment's schedule wouldn't allow Saving Private Ryan to start production anytime soon, he would still go forward with it as part of his commitment to diversify Hollywood content. However, the film wouldn't be ready for a 1998 release and would need to be planned carefully.
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