After more than 20 minutes, about halfway through the script, Jonathan Friedman forcibly stopped reading any further. There are other jobs today, and now is not a good time to read the script.

And, although only halfway through it, Jonathan Friedman has determined that the quality of the script for The Butterfly Effect is absolutely as good as its story idea. If it can be filmed, it will definitely become a very classic film.

Of course, with Jonathan Friedman's professional vision, the shortcomings of this script are also very obvious.

First of all, the name 'butterfly effect' is too niche. Most ordinary people still can't understand this professional theoretical term that was only put forward in the seventies, which will undoubtedly hinder many people's interest in the film. It's just that after Simon explained the meaning of the butterfly effect, Jonathan Friedman couldn't find a more appropriate name for a while, so this point could only be put on hold for the time being.

Secondly, the overall style of the story is too grey. Especially the plot at the end of the story where the male protagonist returns to his mother and strangles himself with the umbilical cord, if you think about it carefully, it even makes people feel creepy.

However, the whole script also fits the style of his client's work.

In the course of the reading just now, Jonathan Friedman was actually still thinking about certain thoughts.

As a result of the internal turmoil at WMA, a large number of customers have fled, and Jonathan Friedman has also been affected.

Brian De Palma, a well-known Hollywood director who has directed films such as "Carrie the Witch" and "Scarface", was recently invited to jump ship to CAA, and according to the information he received, CAA has even prepared a project as a meeting gift.

The reason why Brian de Palma did not leave as neatly as Al Pacino, Barbra Streisand and others was mainly due to some of the feelings that have been cultivated through cooperation over the years.

However, Brian de Palma's two successive big-budget films with more than $10 million have failed in recent years, and as an agent, Jonathan Friedman believes he will soon lose this client if he can't find a quality project with enough box office guarantee for him as soon as possible.

Now, "The Butterfly Effect" couldn't be more appropriate.

Fresh enough ideas, wonderful storytelling, and at the same time the thriller genre that Brian de Palma is best at. Moreover, judging from the storyline, the budget of the film is not too high, which is undoubtedly easier to prompt the studio to set up the project.

All these favorable factors are added together, and Jonathan Friedman doesn't think "The Butterfly Effect" really has much chance of failure, not even much worse than Brian De Palma's famous "Carrie the Witch" back then.

Moreover, as a group drama with rich roles, this film can be used to promote young artists under his name. Since CAA can make a series of successful packaging projects, there is no reason why the WMA, which is no less powerful than CAA, cannot replicate the experience of the other party.

Now, the low-budget and low-stakes Butterfly Effect is clearly a good package to try.

After weighing all the details, Jonathan Friedman looked up at the youth opposite. Perhaps, signing a movie screenwriter once in a while is also a good option.

Having made up his mind, Jonathan Friedman re-spoken, "So, Simon, do you have any other scripts?"

Simon listened to Jonathan Friedman's tone and knew that he was going to make it to the end of the day.

However, since "The Butterfly Effect" has already piqued Jonathan Friedman's interest, he doesn't plan to pull out another script right away, doing so will only distract his agent from the pitch process.

In fact, Simon had planned to submit a script only every one to two months as soon as he could find an agent.

Still, in order to continue to add to his weight in Jonathan Friedman's heart, Simon replied with certainty: "Yes, but the script is still being perfected, and it will take some time." It is a story about death, combined with a certain fatalistic view of the East. In the Oriental conception, they believed that if the Grim Reaper confirmed the date of a person's death, then the person would not be able to escape the entanglement of death anyway. ”

Jonathan Friedman had just asked politely and casually, but Simon's remarks piqued his interest again.

However, Simon didn't continue, and Jonathan Friedman stopped asking.

There will definitely be many opportunities to chat in the future, and it is still necessary to solve the current matter.

"In that case, let's talk about the contract. Simon, since you have done so much preparation, you must also have a certain understanding of signing a contract with a brokerage company, first tell me about your requirements?"

Simon nodded, and said politely, "First of all, I only write scripts that I am interested in, and do not accept commissioned scripts or long-term employment, so I hope to only sign a simple script agency contract." ”

Just listening to Simon's first request, Jonathan Friedman couldn't help but want to shake his head.

Hollywood produces only a few hundred films and television programs based on original scripts each year, and if they only rely on original scripts to make a living, the two major screenwriters' unions on the east and west coasts of North America combined with more than 10,000 members may starve to death. As a result, most screenwriters in Hollywood rely on a variety of script-based assignments such as script adaptations, script doctors, and long-term employment in film and television production companies.

Simon's request at this time is tantamount to limiting his personal career to a very narrow scope.

I wanted to explain, but looking at the young face opposite, Jonathan Friedman chose to dismiss this idea.

Since you are young and frivolous, it is better to experience more setbacks.

Simon could probably understand Jonathan Friedman's thoughts from the change in his expression, but he didn't pause and continued: "Secondly, I want to be able to try my hand at working as a film director if I can, so I want to retain some autonomy over my script. ”

Jonathan Friedman still felt the corners of his eyes jump, and he looked at Simon a few times before finally saying, "Actually, Simon, I'm very curious about your age?"

Simon pulled out his wallet, took out his driver's license, handed it over, and said, "Mr. Friedman, while I don't intend to hide this from you, I still feel that you need to avoid talking to the studio executives about my age during the pitch of the script." ”

Jonathan Friedman took Simon's driver's license and glanced at the date of birth on it.

February 22, 1968.

Jonathan couldn't help but glance at the date on the desk desk phone display, which was June 19, 1986.

In other words, the little guy in front of him just turned 18 at the beginning of this year.

Shaking his head and smiling wordlessly, handing his driver's license back to Simon, Jonathan Friedman said, "Well, I'm going to ignore that as much as I can next." However, Simon, you must know that most directors in Hollywood don't get their first chance to direct a film until after the age of thirty, so you're still too ......."

Simon couldn't wait for Jonathan Friedman to continue, he couldn't help but shake his head and interrupt, "You're wrong, Joe. Steven Spielberg is not, Martin Scorsese is not, George Lucas is not, and neither is Francis Ford Coppola. In that case, why should I be those mediocre majority?"

Jonathan Friedman was stunned.

It wasn't until many years later that Jonathan Friedman vividly remembered the high-spirited teenager's words in his office one afternoon in the summer of 1986.

Steven Spielberg is not;

Martin Scorsese is not;

George Lucas is not;

Neither is Francis Ford Coppola.

Little did he know that the young man had less than $100 left in his pocket, and if he didn't find a job to make ends meet as soon as possible, he would probably have to sleep on the streets.

It took a while for Jonathan Friedman to come back to his senses before Jonathan Friedman began to continue discussions with Simon about signing.

Simon had already made such an impression on him during this meeting that Jonathan Friedman couldn't help but stop making Simon too harsh on him by the standards of a newcomer.

In fact, in the final analysis, the heights that a screenwriter can achieve in Hollywood are limited after all, and the benefits to the agent are irrelevant compared to an agent of Jonathan Friedman's level.

Jonathan Friedman instinctively felt that giving the young man a little convenience at this time might be able to achieve unexpected gains in the future.

As a result, the two quickly negotiated a basic contractual framework.

A simple script agency contract with a three-year contract and a commission of 10%. Simon has some autonomy over his script. To put it simply, if he wants to direct one of his own scripts, he doesn't have to go through an agent to prepare the project himself.

The details of the contract will not be so simple, so Simon will need to sign it again tomorrow.

Finally, in order to ease Jonathan Friedman's mood that he was obviously frightened just now, Simon also took the initiative to explain a few words, saying that his next goal is just to make some ultra-low-budget experimental films as exercise.

PROBABLY A 16MM CAMERA, A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS, TWO OR THREE PEOPLE.

Jonathan Friedman was more than willing to accept Simon's rhetoric and offered to help in any way he could.

The two talked happily, and when the meeting ended, the time had passed 5:40.

Saying goodbye to Jonathan Friedman, who had personally dropped him off at the door of his office, Simon turned around to find two men and a woman, both young men, waiting in the outer lounge.

As the office door opened, the three people who were chatting all stood up with respectful expressions, and couldn't help but look at Simon, the guy who had kept them waiting for more than an hour. The two young men looked at Simon with obvious envy and vigilance in their eyes, and the girl with short black hair also looked at Simon with curiosity.

Simon just nodded slightly to the three of them, and although he felt that the short-haired girl was a little familiar, he didn't think much about it and walked out.

It wasn't until he left the WMA headquarters building that Simon remembered a name Jonathan Friedman had mentioned more than an hour ago that he realized that the short-haired girl should be Courteney Cox, the obsessive-compulsive Monica Geller from the famous "Friends".