"Simon, Willem Dafoe is certainly strong, but don't you think he would be better suited to the Joker than Black Mask?"
In the conference room at Daenerys Entertainment headquarters, the morning auditions had concluded, and Simon was discussing the final choice for Roman Sionis. Black Mask, with several key members of the Batman creative team.
The speaker was Joe Silver, the film's other producer.
Joe Silver was one of Hollywood's top producers. In the original timeline, his crowning achievement was overseeing the Matrix trilogy. At just thirty-six, he had already made his name with Die Hard and Lethal Weapon.
Simon was the lead producer on Batman, but he needed a co-producer to handle personnel, budgeting, and location coordination. Fresh off a successful collaboration with Warner on the Lethal Weapon series, Joe Silver had been recommended for the role.
"Joe, Willem is more than sufficient for Black Mask. For the Joker, I want someone who can embody the character's evil from the inside out, not just someone with Willem's naturally villainous look."
Willem Dafoe's most iconic role would later be the Green Goblin in the Spider-Man films. At thirty-three, however, he lacked the heavily lined face of later years and could even be described as handsome. In his career to date, Dafoe had already worked with major directors like William Friedkin, Tony Scott, and Oliver Stone, his acting skill and experience perfectly suited Black Mask.
Moreover, if one discounted a cut extra role in Heaven's Gate, Dafoe's first feature had been The Loveless, directed by Katherine her debut as well. Hollywood was a small world.
Simon's choice of Dafoe for Black Mask was influenced in part by Katherine.
On a $50 million production, casting required more than mere suitability: the actor had to be reliable, professional, and able to get along with the rest of the team. It was why many directors favored familiar faces.
Simon had specifically called Katherine to ask about Dafoe's off-screen reputation. With her confirmation, he had placed the actor at the top of the list.
After further discussion, with Simon holding firm, the role was finalized.
The afternoon was reserved for final auditions for Commissioner Gordon, beginning at two.
The meeting ended, and the group dispersed for lunch. Simon walked out with Joe Silver, quietly discussing preparation details, when Jennifer approached with a bespectacled, short Caucasian man.
Seeing them, Simon paused. "We'll continue this afternoon, Joe."
Silver understood Simon had other business, smiled, nodded, and greeted Jennifer and the man before leaving.
Once Silver was gone, the bespectacled man stepped forward and extended his hand. "Hello, Mr. Westeros. Ira Deutchman."
"Simon is fine," Simon replied, shaking hands. Noting the briefcase, he added, "If there's nothing urgent in there, let Jennifer hold it. We're going to lunch."
"Oh, of course." Ira handed the briefcase to Jennifer. "Thank you, Ms. Rebould."
Jennifer smiled, then leaned in to whisper to Simon, "Mr. Rehme is on the line."
Simon gestured for Ira to follow and told Jennifer, "Transfer it to the car phone. I'll speak to him on the way."
She nodded. Simon led Ira downstairs, where Neil Bennett had the car ready.
They climbed in. Without instruction, Neil drove toward the restaurant. Simon signaled Ira to wait a moment and picked up the car phone to discuss Rehme's negotiations with MGM.
After a morning of haggling, MGM had agreed to relinquish North American distribution rights to Rain Man for $5 million, payable by Friday. Both Amy and Rehme had budgeted exactly that amount, but the price delighted Simon. He accepted immediately.
Rehme also asked whether to postpone the release. Industry sentiment toward Rain Man was overwhelmingly negative, and scrambling for screens would be difficult. The distribution team was fully committed to Scream, Steel Magnolias, and Dead Poets Society; adding Rain Man would disrupt the schedule. Delaying it would also avoid competition with Dead Poets Society in the Christmas corridor.
Simon rejected the suggestion.
Media coverage of Rain Man was already unfavorable. Announcing a delay would cement its reputation as a flop in the eyes of press and public. Daenerys could not postpone; it had to launch an aggressive promotional campaign instead.
By the time Simon hung up, the Range Rover had pulled up to the restaurant.
Simon led Ira inside, and once seated, he began to study the man.
Ira Deutchman was thirty-five but looked younger, with an almost scholarly air. His first name sounded feminine, but it was "Ira," not "Ella" a Hebrew name more commonly male. Deutschman was clearly a Jewish surname.
Ira Deutschman was the candidate Simon had been considering for Highgate Pictures.
A Northwestern graduate, Ira had deep Hollywood ties. While still in college, he had worked on distribution for a film by legendary independent director John Cassavetes.
After graduation, he joined United Artists Classics, the arthouse division of United Artists.
When MGM acquired United Artists after the Heaven's Gate disaster and dissolved Classics, Ira co-founded Cinecom in 1983 with several partners, again focusing on arthouse fare.
Three years earlier, Cinecom had released A Room with a View, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Helena Bonham Carter. Made for $3 million, it grossed over $20 million domestically and earned eight Oscar nominations, winning three.
Cinecom was still operating, but Ira had recently been pushed out by his partners.
In the original timeline, he would later join Fine Line, New Line's arthouse subsidiary. Though New Line never invested heavily, Ira remained active in Hollywood for decades.
After ordering and the waiter left, Simon asked, "You've seen Michael Hoffman's Some Girls, what did you think?"
Despite the age difference, Ira was visibly nervous. This was an interview, and he badly wanted the job.
Having just been forced out of his own company, he carried the stigma of failure and had expected Simon to raise it first. Instead, Simon had not mentioned it.
Per the appointment, Ira had arrived at nine but had been sent to a screening room to watch Michael Hoffman's new film Some Girls instead of meeting Simon immediately.
Since Simon brought it up, Ira gathered himself. "A very good film. Through the protagonist's holiday journey, the director explores his feelings about life, love, and desire. The use of Botticelli's Primavera at the beginning and end is clever, the Three Graces represent all that is beautiful in the world, hinting at human desire."
Simon listened, then asked, "How much do you think it could gross?"
Another unexpected question. Ira hesitated, then answered carefully. "If I handled distribution, I believe around five million."
Simon remained neutral. "Outline your marketing approach."
"It's a niche arthouse film, but not dry. The target audience is sixteen to twenty-two—young adults," Ira said, thinking aloud. "First, I would submit it to Sundance next year. It may not win awards, but it should earn strong reviews. Building buzz, we could platform in New York and Los Angeles. With a half-million marketing budget, I could open on twenty screens and advertise in select print outlets, then scale based on results. One of the female leads, Jennifer Connelly, is a strong selling point her teenage Deborah in Once Upon a Time in America left a lasting impression. She'll draw audiences."
Simon listened patiently, then shook his head firmly. "That is a very conventional, conservative arthouse strategy. I can guarantee that approach relies entirely on luck and you would be lucky to reach even one or two million, let alone five."
Ira's expression betrayed a flicker of embarrassment; deep down, he had not truly believed five million was realistic.
Seeing Ira fall silent, Simon paused, then asked abruptly, "Ira, do you love movies?"
"Of course," Ira replied without hesitation. "Simon, I started in distribution at nineteen. If I didn't love movies, I wouldn't have lasted this long."
Simon nodded. "You know why we're meeting. But actually, I'm looking for someone who doesn't love movies quite so much."
Ira was caught off guard again. "Simon, I don't follow."
"It's simple," Simon said. "If you love movies, you instinctively judge them good or bad and develop strong personal biases. If you dislike a film, you may become passive about it. Deep down, if you believe it won't sell, you may lack the drive to push it."
Ira instinctively protested, "Simon, I wouldn't—"
Simon raised a hand to continue. "On the other hand, if movies are less personal to you, they become pure product. Your first thought is how to sell it how to maximize its box office."
Ira countered, "Simon, I love movies, but I also do everything possible to sell them. My thirteen years in Hollywood prove that."
Simon met his gaze. "Then you have one minute. Give me a new plan how to get Some Girls a higher gross."
Ira thought briefly, then answered quickly. "Ignore the arthouse label and market it as a sexy teen comedy. A guy juggling three sisters, keeping things ambiguous with all of them that hook alone would draw crowds." [TL/N: As expected of Jewish Immigrant!]
Simon snapped his fingers. "Exactly. You already knew that. But your moral sense, professional ethics, or respect for the film held you back from saying it earlier. Yet that's what audiences want. We know Michael intended deeper themes life, love, desire, and so on. To sell tickets, though, you promote what the audience craves, not what the director wants to say. Most people aren't interested in philosophical explorations of love. They just want to see breasts. It's that simple. Sometimes it's brutal, but it's the reality filmmakers must face."