hunt hollywood

The re-chosen residence is on the hillside of the Palisades area in the north of Santa Monica. The mansion covers an area of ​​about one acre, which is more than twice the size of Janet’s residence in Malibu. It stands alone on a cliff with a view Excellent, standing in the mansion, you can easily overlook the entire city of Los Angeles and the magnificent sea view at the foot of the mountain.

Of course, the monthly fee is also as high as $15000.

Although he didn't have any particular preference for luxury houses, Simon found that if he wanted to ensure privacy, he could basically only choose to rent this type of residence.

Speaking of which, Simon's current net worth is actually more than enough to buy a luxury house, and he prefers to live in his own house in his bones.However, right now is the peak period of the 80s US stock market and property market bubbles.

If you can't see the future, Simon may also choose to buy a luxury house in this hot market.But he clearly remembers that with the stock market crash in the second half of this year, the U.S. property market will also be affected and plummet. If you choose to buy a house at that time, the price will not only drop a lot, but you will definitely have more choices.

After a busy weekend, a new week is upon us.

However, early on Monday morning, Simon was awakened by the phone ringing while he was still asleep, followed by the anxious voice of Mike Medova asking him to receive a fax.

After some tossing, Simon saw an article in the East Coast "New York Times" with a title of only one word, "Scam", and the content came from a New York Times contributor named Mark Hollington .

"The first time I saw "Run Lola Run", I fell in love with this movie. The camera, color, soundtrack, editing and all the details of the film gave me a refreshing feeling."

"Movies can still be shot like this."

"However, when I heard that the film was from an 18-year-old, I immediately fell into a kind of inexplicable confusion, and then began to recall my own 18-year-old as the West Coast article said. , and even the 18-year-olds of everyone around me."

"I grew up in a decent family, got a decent education, and surrounded by a lot of smart people. But I found out that no one I knew had the same personality as when I was 18 years old. The potential of such an excellent movie can be completed. Yes, I said 'potential'. Even if they have received professional film training in all aspects of directing, photography, soundtracking, lighting, etc. from a young age, I don't think anyone can do it. I can finish an amazing film like "Run Lola Run" when I am 18 years old."

"Now, someone just did it."

"He wrote the screenplay, directed it, picked up the camera, edited it, and scored it...and all of it is impeccable."

"Is this really possible?"

"So, while watching the film repeatedly, I began to pay close attention to everything about this young director named Simon Westeros. When the information in the newspaper was no longer sufficient for my personal needs, I even returned I personally rushed to San Francisco and stayed there for a full week."

"Simon Westeros, perhaps he prefers to be called that now."

"This boy grew up in San Jose, San Francisco County's orphanage. He had no relatives and no foster homes. This is indeed sympathetic. Simon Westero then completed his work in obscurity with the support of the federal welfare system. I studied from elementary school to high school, and was admitted to Stanford University with a blockbuster. I interviewed many people around Simon Westeros, and they really said that this is a very hardworking boy. But at the same time, these people also revealed that, They never found out that Simon Westeros had any cinematic talent, and a lot of them don't even remember that Simon Westeros ever saw a movie."

"Then, I can basically conclude that Simon Westeros' film talent definitely didn't come from his teenage years."

"Next, Simon Westero entered Stanford University. However, in less than two months, the poor young man was sent to a mental hospital for nine months of treatment because of a sudden mental illness."

"Obviously, two months at Stanford University is also not enough for Simon Westeros to accumulate any film skills."

"Afterwards, I also visited that mental hospital. The attending physician in charge of Simon Westeros was very vigilant in the face of my inquiry and did not reveal too much to me. I even tried to get Simon Westeros Luo's case, but was told it was lost."

"Very neatly 'lost'."

"Although I can't determine what happened during the nine months in the mental hospital, it is very rare for a violent schizophrenic patient to be able to leave the mental hospital in nine months. It is obviously unlikely that he will Receive any film skills training during these nine months."

"And then, a miracle happened."

"When Simon Westeros showed up in Los Angeles, he was instantly a cinematic genius with a wide range of professional skills."

"Yes, definitely 'genius'."

"Every detail of "Run Lola Run" makes him worthy of this word."

"Just, is this really possible?"

"A person who has never had anything to do with movies as a child suddenly becomes a director; a person who has never touched a camera suddenly becomes proficient in photography; a person who has no musical training at all suddenly becomes proficient in soundtrack? And editing , lights, and other things?"

"As a film critic, a long-time film buff, and a film practitioner who barely broke through because he wrote a script or two, although I have not been involved in film production, I am very aware that any aspect of the film production process involved A job that wants to reach the top requires long and dedicated honing, and no one can appear on the top of the mountain without climbing."

"Now, looking at the box office of "Run Lola Run", watching the heated discussions in the media, watching the audience waiting in line in front of theaters, watching Simon Westeros like a handsome young man Being chased by the paparazzi like a singer, I couldn’t get rid of a thought in my heart.”

"scam."

"All of this is just a scam."

"First of all, I must declare again that I have no doubts about the excellence of "Run Lola Run". This is an excellent film that can be recorded in the annals of Hollywood movies."

"but,"

"I never believe that a young man like Simon Westeros did so much of the work in the film's subtitle list. I prefer to believe that all of this is just a behind-the-scenes rehearsal for huge profits. farce."

"So, Simon Westeros, if I am wrong, prove it to me! If you can prove it, I am willing to apologize to you in any form on any occasion. But if I am right, then tell the truth Everyone, to all the fans who loved this movie so much and were so deluded."

Chapter 079 Mars

Although far away on the east coast, the "New York Times" not only surpasses the "Los Angeles Times" in the US news circle, but even has a very significant influence internationally. Any news in such a newspaper may trigger a very wide range social response.

There is a three-hour time difference between the east and west coasts of North America.

As a result, the sky in Los Angeles had just dawned, and the article in the "New York Times" that strongly questioned Simon and "Run Lola Run" had already spread throughout Hollywood.

Along with this article, there are also North American box office data for the past weekend.

From March 3th to March 6th, although two new films, "Lethal Weapon" starring Mel Gibson under Warner Bros. and "Angel Heart" starring Robert De Niro under MGM, will be released this week, but The box office momentum of "Run Lola Run" has not been affected in the slightest.

As "Run Lola Run" was released on a large scale across the east and west coasts, a total of 1176 screens brought the film $1851 million in box office revenue in three days, easily winning the North American box office rankings this weekend.

At the same time, entering the fourth week of its release, the total box office of "Run Lola Run" also broke through the US$5000 million mark, reaching US$5060 million.

In comparison, "Lethal Weapon", which also caused heated discussions at the time when the original script was sold for US$25, had a good reputation after its release, but its box office was only US$612 million in the first three days of its opening weekend. It ranked second on the list, but this number is less than one-third of No.1 "Run Lola Run".

As for another new film "Angel Heart", the box office in the first weekend was only 328 million US dollars, and it even ranked No. 3 on the list after "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5" and "Platoon".

Perhaps because of the fierce competition, the sense of smell of North American media reporters is really very keen.

It was obvious from the article in the "New York Times" that a big event was about to happen. Simon planned to rush to Orion Films headquarters in the morning to discuss coping strategies with Mike Medova and others, but found that the swarm of reporters had already taken his mansion The mountain road that is not spacious outside is crowded.

Considering that going out today will definitely encounter a crazier chase than ever before, Simon simply called Mike Medova and others to come to Palisades.

Around 09:30.

Since he also lives in Palisades, Simon now has a close interest relationship with Fox Films. Amy Pascal, the vice president of Fox Films, also rushed over as a high-level representative of Fox Films.

After struggling through the crowd of reporters, Amy Pascal drove into the mansion where Simon lived, and several cars were already parked in the yard.

As soon as Amy got out of the car, Janet greeted her.

After a few pleasantries, Janet took Amy to the backyard.Amy followed Janet, but couldn't help but look around.

One acre in the British system is equivalent to about 4000 square meters. The mansion in front of you looks more like a small manor, surrounded by a cliff alone, surrounded by green trees in the field of vision, with Mediterranean-style villas, swimming pools, and gardens Well-proportioned, there is also a private tennis court in the front yard.

Amy Pascal is not too clear about the value of this mansion, but he remembers that Spielberg also bought a 13-acre land in Palisades a few years ago, and then invested 400 yuan in the construction of the house. Thousands of dollars.

In recent years, housing prices in Los Angeles have gone crazy.

Although she has already become the vice president of Fox Films before the age of 30, especially as a woman, this is already very rare in Hollywood.However, Amy Pascal was a little frustrated to find that such a mansion was still too far away from him.

Thinking of this, Amy Pascal couldn't help but think of the situation where Simon Westero recruited herself at the Saturday party.

A small moment, even suddenly felt.

perhaps.

Can you really take a risk yourself?

Soon came to the backyard, looking around, the edge of the lawn should be a group of sofas used for sunbathing, and there were four people sitting around, and Simon was among them.Not far away, under the eaves of the villa, there are two or three younger men and women who are busy answering and making calls. They should be secretarial assistants for the people on the sofa.

Seeing Amy coming, everyone got up and said hello.

Among the four people, Amy knew three of them. In addition to Simon himself, there were also Orion Films President Mike Medova and Simon's agent Jonathan Friedman.The last one was a middle-aged woman who looked about 50 or [-] years old. After being introduced, Amy knew that the other party was Pat Kingsley, the public relations manager Simon had just hired.

Realizing that she was the last one to arrive, Amy apologized in embarrassment. Janet poured a cup of coffee for Amy herself, handed her a folder, and then turned to the side under the eaves, and everyone sat down again. .

After sitting down, Amy Pascal just opened the document in her hand when she heard Pat Kingsley next to her say: "Simon, and everyone, it is now basically certain that this is an obviously premeditated Public opinion attacks, and it's just the beginning, a trial. If we can't respond immediately, the next situation will be even more unfavorable to us."

Amy Pascal had read the article more than once before she came here. Although she was not a naive person, she still asked with some doubts after hearing Pat Kingsley's determined tone: "Pat, is there any proof?" Yet?"

Pat Kingsley and Amy were not familiar with each other. Hearing this question suddenly, he just shook his head subconsciously.

Seeing Amy looking at him again, Simon said, "Amy, if you want to prove that "Run Lola Run" was not shot by me, who should you investigate most?"

Amy Pascal thought about it for a while, then she understood, and said, "The crew."

"That's right, the crew."

Simon nodded and raised his hand towards Pat Kingsley.

Pat Kingsley then added: "Ms. Pascale, you should have read that article. Mark Hollington simply started from Simon's growth experience, according to the usual cognition of most ordinary people To conclude that "Run Lola Run" could not have been done by Simon himself seems very rash and ridiculous. If he really cares about the truth of this movie, he should contact the staff who participated in the production of "Run Lola Run"."

Amy nodded seriously, and said: "Pate, just call me Amy. So, what should we do next? I have already talked to Mr. Goldberg on the phone, and Fox will try to cooperate here."

Although the contract of "Death is Coming" has not been officially signed, and even because of this incident, it will be delayed for a while.However, "Butterfly Effect" will be released on April 4, and there is only one month left. As a close stakeholder, Fox does not want the "New York Times" article to cause too much trouble.

The box office situation of "Run Lola Run" is very good, but such a trick came suddenly.Among the five people present, Mike Medova was obviously the most anxious one, otherwise he wouldn't have called Simon before dawn.At this time, he couldn't help but said: "Simon, the negatives of "Run Lola Run" must still be there. I think you should cut a filming scene as soon as possible. This is obviously the best way to clarify."

Simon shook his head and said, "Mike, I don't have the kind of extras you want. In order to save the budget, I even hoped that every shot could be passed, and it is impossible to waste film to shoot irrelevant things."

"Then let the crew members come forward to endorse," Mike Medova said, and after thinking about it, he said, "Orion can pay for this, and it will be included in the publicity fee."

Listening to Mike Medova's eager tone, Simon's agent Jonathan Friedman couldn't help but said: "Mike, I think it's not a good thing for us to be too eager to clarify."

Mike Medova was a little puzzled, but Simon nodded slightly.

Pat Kingsley also said in agreement: "It is indeed the case. We immediately jumped out to clarify, and we will only usher in more doubts, because the people who manipulated this matter did not want to see the truth at all. They just wanted to see the truth." Want to damage the public image of Simon and "Run Lola Run", so that fans continue to question."

Mike Medova was only concerned about it for a while, and he was in Hollywood for many years. Pat Kingsley only explained a little, and he immediately came to his senses, and he also knew that Pat Kingsley hadn't finished speaking.

The ultimate goal of some people doing this is to curb the box office of "Run Lola Run".

After all, "Run Lola Run"'s box office data of $1851 million this past weekend has surpassed most of the blockbuster movies in the popular schedule.

The annual number of movie viewers in North America is basically fixed, and it has been around 10 billion in recent years.

《罗拉快跑》预期1.5亿到2亿美元的票房数字，按照目前4美元左右的平均票价，这就等于是3700万到5000万左右的观影人次，这在10亿总观影人次中已经是一个非常显眼或者说刺眼的比例。

The box office of "Run Lola Run" is too high, so it is doomed to ebb and flow, affecting the box office of other films.

Even, according to the strong box office curve of "Run Lola Run", not to mention the recent "Lethal Weapon" and "Angel Heart", even if it is the Easter schedule a month later, or even the early summer movies in May, it may The box office has shrunk due to the impact of "Run Lola Run".

Thinking of this, Mike Medova rubbed his temples involuntarily.

He even had a premonition that because of this reason, even if no one was behind the New York Times article, if such a spark splashed, there would definitely be a bunch of people scrambling to pour a few barrels of gasoline on it.

Chapter 080 Compensation Plan

All of you here are smart people. What Mike Medova can think of, everyone has expected.Considering the upcoming public opinion storm, the atmosphere couldn't help but fell silent.

After a while, Simon spoke first, pulling everyone back to reality from their thoughts, and said: "Everyone, there is no need to be too stressed. What we have to do now is to try our best to solve the problem. As for the result, leave it to God .Then, Pat, you have more experience in this field, so go ahead."

As Simon spoke, everyone else relaxed a little.

Pat Kingsley rearranged his thoughts and said, "Simon, although it is not appropriate to respond to the New York Times article right away, we must also get involved immediately to avoid one-sided public opinion in the future." situation."

Simon thought for a while, then nodded and said, "That's it, let's muddy the water first."

Following Simon's description of 'mudging the water', the other three people also showed a clear expression, and couldn't help but feel that this metaphor was very appropriate.

The current situation is obvious.

Doubtful voices have emerged.Simon immediately responded, providing evidence to prove that "Run Lola Run" was indeed filmed by him. Under the manipulation of people with intentions, the result is bound to usher in more doubts.But if there is no response, one-sided doubts will only lead to collapse of the situation, and it will be impossible to explain it when the time comes.

Then, the best way is to stand behind the scenes and indirectly respond to those doubts through the media, turning the original pure doubts into disputes, or even a debate about whether "Run Lola Run" is Simon West or not. Low shot' big media discussion.When this controversy lasts for a period of time, the topic cools down, and Simon comes forward to provide a series of sufficiently solid evidence in person, and this turmoil will be passed safely.

Now that the strategy is finalized, the next things will be much easier to handle.After continuing to discuss for nearly an hour, everyone came up with a preliminary response plan.

All that's left is execution.

If it was before the release of "Run Lola Run", Simon might not be able to fight back in the media.

But at this time, due to the box office explosion of "Run Lola Run" and the upcoming release of "Butterfly Effect", whether it is WMA, Orion Pictures, or [-]th Century Fox, which is backed by the behemoth News Corporation, will Bet enough public relations resources on him.

Moreover, even without the assistance in these aspects, Pat Kingsley, the public relations manager Simon had just hired, also had no shortage of media connections.

This woman has been engaged in media public relations since the 60s.After the assassination of Reagan that year, it was with the help of Pat Kingsley that Jodie Foster survived the difficult period of being bombarded by the media and gradually resumed her acting career .

Now, under the joint operation of several forces, even just when everyone was discussing the detailed response plan, several press releases trying to 'join in the fun' have been blocked.

So busy until noon, after lunch, no one left.

Evening newspapers in North America are usually published at [-]:[-] p.m. Information has already been sent back from the east coast, and Pat Kingsley and the others are still busy analyzing and responding.Simon took time to take Amy Pascal to the railing on the edge of the cliff in the backyard.

Leaning on the railing, facing the warm afternoon wind, I enjoy looking at the blue sea under the warm spring sun.After a while, Amy Pascal opened her slightly squinted eyes, looked at the relaxed young man beside her, and said, "Simon, several newspapers in New York have already responded, and things are obviously in line with what we expected Same, aren't you worried at all?"

The world is never cleansed.Just like Michael Jackson couldn't get rid of his suspicion of pedophilia until his death, because he couldn't get rid of it.

Simon nodded and said, "I'm really worried. However, what should be done must continue. So, Amy, what do you think?"

Amy recalled her contact with Simon in the past few days. She stopped looking at the distant sea view, turned slightly sideways, looked at the young man beside her, and said, "To be honest, Simon, I haven't thought it through yet. My intuition Tell me I should say yes because you're a guy who can do miracles. But my mind tells me it's crazy to make such a decision. I need to give up the job I've been fighting for for seven years. Start from scratch."