Who is Daenerys?

When Simon heard this question, he immediately remembered the long list of domineering titles of the Dragon Mother.

Daenerys of the Stormborn, The Unburned, Queen Meereen, Queen of the Andals, Rowena, and the Ancestors, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and Guardian of the Realm, Kalihee of the Prairie, Shackle Breaker, Mother of Dragons.

It's just that.

I can't say that.

I'm afraid it will scare you if I say it.

Casually flipping through the documents in his hand, Simon shook his head calmly and said, "I forgot where I saw this name, I thought it was very interesting, so I used it." ”

Sandra noticed Simon's nonchalant look when he said this, and knew he was talking nonsense. However, after glancing at George Norman and Jennifer Raybould on the other side, Sandra did not poke it, but only smiled approvingly.

Jennifer Raybould, who was holding a coffee cup, also did not speak, and there was a smile on the corner of her mouth.

George Norman didn't think much about it, and when Simon roughly read the registration information of the two companies, he began to explain some precautions for him.

After more than an hour, and after confirming that Simon had no further problems, George Norman and Jennifer Raybould got up to take their leave.

Simon and Sandra send the two out of the villa together.

Everyone had been here again, and when they were about to get on the bus, Jennifer Raybould finally mustered up the courage and asked Simon, "So, Simon, are you planning to make a movie yourself?"

Simon smiled and nodded, "yes." ”

Feeling the boy's gaze at her, Jennifer suddenly didn't know what to say, smiled shyly, and said, "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing it in the future." ”

"If you're interested," Simon replied, "next year's Sundance Film Festival, you can come to Park City." ”

Jennifer heard the Sundance Film Festival, and her expression was obviously puzzled: "Sundance?"

The reaction of the girls is not surprising, as the Sundance Film Festival, initiated by Robert Redford, has only been held since last year, and next year will only be the third time. In fact, it wasn't until more than a decade later that the Sundance Film Festival began to attract more and more attention.

Simon patiently explains: "This is a film festival initiated by Robert Redford in support of one-man films, which will be held in mid-January. Actually, even if you're not interested in movies, it's a good idea to go to Park City in January, where the ski slopes are fantastic. ”

Jennifer naturally knew Robert Redford, and when she heard Simon say this, she nodded with a smile and said, "Okay, if I can spare time, I will definitely go over." ”

After chatting like this, Jennifer got into the car waiting on the side of the road.

The funds were in place, the company was registered, and the production assistant hired by Simon, Bill Locke, then made the budget table for "Lola Run".

According to Simon's shooting specifications, the entire film is expected to invest $650,000.

In this way, Janet's check alone is enough.

However, since he gave up his cooperation with Orion, Simon himself hopes to be able to invest some money in it.

Before Janet took out the check, Simon had sent his contract with Fox to several banks for mortgage appraisal, and the terms of the contract involving the sharing of the rights to the videotapes and television broadcasts were still very valuable.

After review, Wells Fargo was willing to give Simon a mortgage of up to $100,000, on better terms than several other banks, and Simon agreed without hesitation.

The federal tax filing deadline is April 15 each year, and you can apply for a six-month extension, and Simon will not consider the issue of setting aside taxes for the time being.

Therefore, the basic remuneration of $200,000 in the contract, excluding the broker's commission and daily expenses, Simon can also come up with $150,000, including the Wells Fargo loan, for a total of $250,000.

After some negotiations, Simon contributed $250,000 and Janet contributed $400,000, and the interests of the two in this film were completely in accordance with the investment ratio, with Simon accounting for 38.5% and Janet accounting for 61.5%.

In addition, Simon also completely gave up his personal director, screenwriter and other salaries. Janet had a check for $680,000, which had obviously emptied her purse, and Simon was grateful for it, and had no intention of fighting for more for himself.

Solving the most important funding problem, Simon also completed the script revision of "The Butterfly Effect" around August 15, and immediately began to devote himself to the production of "Lola Run".

Then, Simon once again deeply realized the truth that connections in Hollywood are more important than ability.

Thanks to the help and guidance of Jonathan Friedman, David Giller, Brian de Palma and others, the formation of the crew was much smoother than Simon imagined.

Santa Monica.

In the busy work, the time has entered September unconsciously.

In an office building on 16th Street in Midtown, Daenerys Pictures is home to its headquarters.

Mr. Simon rented three offices in the five-story office building at the end of August.

Under the introduction of David Giller, Simon hired another producer named Ron Macmillan during this time.

Ron Macmillan is a somewhat thin white middle-aged man, about forty years old, who is said to have worked as a set designer in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" back then, and this is the first time he has worked as a producer.

David Giller's reason for introducing it is that the other party is very good at coordinating the shooting of location scenes, which is obviously what "Lola Run" needs most.

However, he was mixed with Martin Scorsese's crew ten years ago, and he is still unknown for so many years, Simon was still a little skeptical of the other party's ability. Ron Macmillan obviously feels the same way, and Simon, who is probably only about twenty years old, wants to make a movie.

Therefore, it took a whole week for the two sides to recognize each other.

In terms of salary, Ron Macmillan was also unceremonious, asking for $1,000 a week at the beginning.

The budget of the crew is not rich, Simon proposed to sign a contract with a base salary and profit sharing, but Ron Macmillan refused, and the middle-aged man is obviously not optimistic about the prospects of "Lola Run".

After some haggling, Ron Macmillan's weekly salary was finally determined at $850.

The filming period of "Lola Run" has been basically determined to be six weeks, and the preliminary preparation will probably take a considerable amount of time, which means that Ron Macmillan will be paid $10,000 for 12 weeks of work.

Compared to those regular commercial films, this pay is obviously very shabby, but for "Lola Run", Ron Macmillan is definitely the highest-paid one among the behind-the-scenes crew of the crew.

Fortunately, after signing the employment contract, Ron Macmillan also showed sufficient professional ability.

Entering September, the main job of the crew is to select actors for the roles in "Lola Run", and Simon will work for "The Butterfly Effect" for another week at the end of September, so the casting of the crew must be completed within three weeks.

In the plan, Simon will make one last revision of the script of "The Butterfly Effect", and Ron Macmillan will also replace Simon in selecting the lighting, sets, props and other behind-the-scenes staff. If all goes well, "Lola Run" is likely to start filming in early October, just like "The Butterfly Effect."

Inside an office that was temporarily set up as an audition room.

There were four people sitting behind the audition table, Simon and Ron Macmillan in the middle, and next to Simon was Sandra Bullock, who as the heroine, had to cooperate today to help play against the potential male lead. Next to Ron Macmillan is a woman in her early thirties named Linda Vargas, who is the casting director of "Lola Run" and was also introduced by David Giller.

After interviewing another young man who auditioned for Lola's boyfriend, and waiting for the other party to leave, Ron Macmillan brought up another thing again: "Simon, anyway, I suggest you hire a director of photography." If you want to learn photography, you can practice it in private, and it would be too rash to practice with this film. ”

Simon jotted down a few notes on the actor's profile and said to Ron Macmillan, "Ron, do you think this movie is demanding from the cinematographer?"

Ron Macmillan nodded, "Of course, there are so many shots that need to be changed, and there are a lot of very complicated camera movements, if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have to mention these to you repeatedly." ”

Simon said, "Well, Ron, we only have a budget of $650,000 for production, and we can't get a great photographer anyway. Rather than having a mediocre person act as a DP, I would do it myself. I've already shown you a lot of my ideas for shooting various scenes, so that's the end of this matter, let's interview the actors as soon as possible. ”

Saying this, Simon flipped the page of the information in his hand, looked at the name on the information, and his expression was a little strange, but he still ordered Susan Landis, the first official employee of Daenerys Films, who had just been hired recently, to signal the next audition to come in.

Seeing that the two were no longer arguing, Sandra Bullock and Linda Vargas, on either side of them, turned their attention back to the list in front of them

As another young man walked through the door, everyone looked over.

This is a very handsome tall young man, wearing an everyday T-shirt and jeans, with long hair and a layer of stubble. It's just that this young man obviously has some figure-eight steps when he walks.

Simon recalls "Lola Run" in his mind and finds that the original Lola's boyfriend Manny seems to walk in a figure-eight step.

Is this a coincidence?

And.

Simon sent out this audition invitation casually, and he didn't expect the other party to participate in the audition.

Linda Vargas and the other young men, who were sitting next to Ron Macmillan, stood still, looked at Simon and Ron, and said, "So, Mr. Keanu Reeves, can you introduce yourself first?"