While Simon was on the phone with Robert Iger, ABC also faxed over more detailed ratings data.
On its premiere day, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire drew 13.65 million viewers, with a ratings share as high as 13 percent.
Moreover, among the highly valued 18–49 core demographic, the show achieved a rating of 5.9. This meant that 5.9 percent of all North Americans aged 18 to 49, regardless of whether they usually watched television, tuned in to the program that night. Based on an estimated total population of around 120 million in that demographic, the concrete number of core viewers reached 7.1 million.
All of this far exceeded ABC's prior expectations.
Due to viewing habits, summer audiences in North America generally amount to only sixty to seventy percent of those in the popular fall season. For that reason, ABC had set a passing line of 6.5 million viewers for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Reality, however, showed that the program's 18–49 core audience alone had already reached that benchmark. Going forward, even if the entire week of trial broadcasts only maintained Monday's 13.65 million viewers, once the fall season arrived, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was destined to become a hit capable of reaching 20 million viewers.
After seeing the first-day ratings, ABC executives generally began to regret not locking down all cooperation terms in advance. Now, although they still held some initiative at the very least, Daenerys Pictures could not sell Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to another network ABBC would nonetheless have to pay a hefty price to secure the show.
During the call, Robert Iger expressed ABC's desire to immediately hold a meeting to finalize further cooperation details. However, now that the program had succeeded and might succeed even more Simon naturally had no reason to be as anxious as ABC.
Politely declining Iger's meeting invitation, Simon followed his plan and flew back to the West Coast.
Over the next few days, as popularity continued to spread, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire saw its ratings climb steadily.
After Tuesday's 15.5 million and Wednesday's 16.8 million, the trial broadcast reached a peak on Thursday, with 17.3 million viewers, an 18 percent ratings share, and an impressive 8.2 rating among the 18–49 core demographic, translating to 10.2 million viewers.
If calculated using the average that summer audiences amount to about 65 percent of fall-season viewership, then the June figure of 17.3 million would equate to roughly 26.6 million viewers in the fall.
Even in this era, when cable television was only beginning to rise and broadcast networks still dominated, programs capable of reaching 26.6 million viewers were exceedingly rare.
As a result, while Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was sweeping through the audience, North American media quickly took notice of this suddenly emerging reality show.
The New York Times did not hide its amazement, exclaiming that "Simon Westeros seems to have suddenly created yet another miracle, perhaps even a cultural phenomenon rarely seen in many years. In just a few days, Regis Phil's hair-raising multiple-choice questions have become the topic Americans care about most. Some of my friends have even suggested that George Bush and Michael Dukakis abandon their tedious exchanges of insults and decide the next president of the United States by competing on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
In recent years, ABC's operating conditions had not been particularly good.
After Warren Buffett and Tom Murphy acquired the network in 1985 for a massive 3.5 billion dollars, internal turmoil caused by the change in ownership led ABC to suffer losses of 70 million dollars in 1986 and 30 million dollars in 1987.
Had Who Wants to Be a Millionaire not emerged, ABC would almost certainly have continued to post losses this year as well, especially due to the Hollywood writers' strike.
For a large media conglomerate, losses of several tens of millions of dollars were still within tolerable limits. However, the continued decline in the stock price of ABC's parent company, Capital Cities/ABC, triggered by those losses, was something neither shareholders nor management were willing to accept.
As the trial broadcasts grew increasingly successful, ABC became more eager to finalize a cooperation plan as soon as possible. Executives also generally hoped that starting in July, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire could become a permanent program on the network, rather than the originally planned 69 episodes meant merely to fill a scheduling gap caused by the shortage of fall programming.
Thus, after cautiously holding out for several days, on Thursday, Capital Cities/ABC president Daniel Burke personally flew to Los Angeles to discuss the concrete terms of cooperation for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with Daenerys Pictures.
Santa Monica.
Inside a casting room at Daenerys Pictures' headquarters, Simon and Terry Semel sat at the center, while other staff members stood or sat around them.
On the opposite side of the audition table, a man and a woman were performing.
The woman was Valeria Golino, already confirmed to play Catwoman, Selina Kyle. The tall man beside her was named Adam Baldwin. The surname Baldwin inevitably reminded people of Hollywood's famous Baldwin brothers.
However, Adam Baldwin was not a member of the Baldwin family.
Twenty-six years old this year, Adam Baldwin had debuted in 1980. His most notable role to date had been that of a brutal soldier in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket.
In Simon's memory, this Hollywood actor with a famously "cop-like" face had also appeared in films such as Independence Day, Firefly, and Serenity, though all in supporting roles. In the original timeline, Adam Baldwin was primarily a television actor, holding recurring roles in well-known series such as The X-Files, Bones, and CSI.
Among the final batch of candidates for the male lead of Batman at Daenerys Pictures, Adam Baldwin's advantages were obvious: he had entered the industry at eighteen, possessed extensive acting experience, had no bad habits, and his appearance, image, and age all matched most of Bruce Wayne's characteristics.
Therefore, today marked the final audition for Batman. If everything checked out, Bruce Wayne would be definitively cast.
On the performance floor, Adam Baldwin and Valeria Golino had clearly prepared carefully, thoroughly refining the audition scene Simon had provided.
The scene depicted Batman just after finishing a battle with a villain, with Catwoman stepping in at a critical moment to help him. Through repeated encounters, Batman had begun to develop feelings for Catwoman, yet stubbornly rejected them. Catwoman, likewise, had developed feelings for Batman.
Although dressed only in ordinary clothing, both actors were fully immersed in their roles.
Following the script, Adam Baldwin lifted a staff member serving as a "prop" and placed him on a chair in the corner. This was the criminal Batman had just captured.
Valeria Golino followed closely, her expression and demeanor carrying traces of post-battle fatigue. Seeing Batman ignore her, a hint of resentment surfaced. In a mocking tone, she spoke as if she were Batman himself, saying, "Thank you, Selina. Thank you for stepping in at the critical moment. Your actions were practically heroic."
"Batman" remained where he was, hesitating slightly as he turned around, and said in rare defense, "Everything was under control."
"Catwoman" moved closer like a little wildcat, resting her hand on "Batman's" shoulder. "Yes, yes. Now be a good girl and give your fearless hero a kiss."
As she said this, "Catwoman" leaned in to kiss "Batman," only to be firmly pushed away. The tender "Catwoman" instantly turned hostile, mercurial as a real cat, extending her "claws" to swipe at "Batman's" face, only to have her wrist easily caught.
Having subdued her, "Batman" kept his tone cold, lowering his head to look at the struggling wildcat in front of him. "Nice acting."
"Catwoman" pressed closer again, her voice turning seductive. "Then why didn't you play along?"
"Batman" flung her wrist aside, stepped back to create distance, and shook his head slightly. "No. I wasn't acting. And I never will be."
"Catwoman" watched "Batman" turn away, took a step forward, then stopped, her tone once again tinged with sarcasm. "Oh? And what does that mean?"
"It means, Selina, this ends here," "Batman" said with his back to her before turning around again. "It means we can't. I can't… Gotham needs a guardian. I need to protect this city."
Hearing this, "Catwoman" stepped closer once more and gently rested her hand on his shoulder. The wildcat now carried a trace of tenderness and sympathy. "But I don't need your protection."
"Batman" lifted his hand, uncertain whether he meant to place it over hers or push her away again. After a brief pause, he lowered it. "Selina, I should go."
"Catwoman" lingered a moment, then withdrew her hand. "Fine. We'll meet again."
"I hope I never see you again."
She laughed softly. "As if that's possible. You're Gotham's vigilante, and I'm a criminal. Cops always chase criminals, right?" Without waiting for an answer, "Catwoman" turned and left. "Batman" stood there watching her disappear, then turned and departed as well.
When the performance ended, light applause rippled through the room.
Simon clapped as well. After Adam Baldwin and Valeria Golino nodded to everyone and temporarily left the audition room, he turned to Terry Semel beside him. "Terry, what do you think?"
"Outstanding," Terry Semel nodded firmly, then added, "But Simon, this is a fifty-million-dollar production. Isn't it a bit rash to choose the two of them? Valeria Golino is acceptable, but Adam Baldwin—honestly, if you hadn't put his profile in front of me, I wouldn't even know who he is."
"Now you do," Simon said with a smile. "And by the end of next year, everyone else will too, just like Christopher Reeve after Superman."
Knowing Simon's mind was made up and that Warner had no real decision-making power here Terry Semel made a few brief comments and did not press further. After discussing some production matters, he stood and took his leave.
Adam Baldwin and Valeria Golino were waiting in another meeting room. After seeing Terry off, Simon dismissed the remaining staff in the audition room, leaving only Jonathan Friedman and the two agents representing the male and female leads of Batman: Matthew Stidert and Ilian Bohlman.
Although WMA had attempted over the past two years to strengthen collaborative mechanisms through reform, changing a talent agency older than the Big Seven was clearly no easy task. Adam Baldwin and Valeria Golino each had their own agents, and although Jonathan Friedman was a vice president at WMA, he could not take a commission from this deal.
Nevertheless, in order to expand his influence and compete for the position of WMA's next president, Jonathan Friedman after failing to push his client Matt Dillon into the Batman role—still took the initiative to coordinate the process. The other two agents naturally aligned themselves with his faction.
None of the four sat down again. Standing by the audition table, Simon asked Adam Baldwin's agent, Matthew Stidert, "I hear Adam is about to get married?"
Matthew Stidert nodded. "Yes. He has a girlfriend he's been with for five years."
Simon did not beat around the bush. "Have him postpone the wedding for two years. I don't want to see a situation like Robin Williams, who divorced his longtime wife the moment he became famous. If, after Batman is released, he still wants to marry his girlfriend, Daenerys Pictures will give him a generous wedding gift."
Robin Williams had risen to the A-list late last year thanks to Good Morning, Vietnam, and this year divorced his first wife of ten years.
"I'll talk to him when I have time," Matthew Stidert agreed.
"Talk to him tonight," Simon shook his head. "Give me an answer tomorrow. Tell him to treat it as a test of their relationship. Of course, if he insists on marrying her, Daenerys Pictures won't object. But as I said, I don't want to see the kind of mess where someone divorces right after becoming famous. So have him sign a generous prenuptial agreement with her—the kind that makes a man's heart ache so much he can't bring himself to divorce."
Jonathan Friedman and the other two could not help but smile wryly.
Simon did not negotiate further. Just as they were about to leave the audition room, Amy Pascal hurried in. After glancing briefly at the other three, she said to Simon, "Simon, the Producers Guild just issued a blacklist order. They announced that they will no longer purchase any television programs from production companies that signed contracts with the Writers Guild in advance."