The two sat in the café until the evening, and Simon explained to Sandra Bullock in great detail the details of Lola Run.

Sandra Bullock is a very straightforward person, and did not hesitate to agree to Simon's request to dye his hair, and also said that he would start working out during this time to adapt to the upcoming high-intensity shoot.

In the end, Sandra did not express any objection to Simon's $5,000 salary.

The heroine's matter is so decided.

It's a new week in the blink of an eye.

After the Los Angeles Times article last Thursday, in the days that followed, some media outlets turned their attention to the content of the "Butterfly Effect" story.

Now that he has taken over the project, Fox is aware of this situation and has begun to warm up for "The Butterfly Effect". The WMA is even more happy to see the media shift its attention from the company's infighting to the packaging project itself.

As a result, under the guidance of many parties, the slightly obscure group of words 'butterfly effect' began to gradually attract more and more people's attention.

However, although many media outlets began to attach Simon's name to topics related to the script of "The Butterfly Effect", Jonathan successfully blocked some invitations to interview Simon himself.

As a newcomer, the $200,000 script transaction price is indeed amazing, but after all, he is only a screenwriter for a movie that not too many people pay attention to. Just like not many people remember, last year, a rookie original script called "Lethal Weapon" was also sold for a high price of $250,000.

In the final analysis, script trading is actually more only noticed by fellow screenwriters who also want to get ahead, and most ordinary people, even if they notice, tend to be amazed and envious, and then there will be no more.

As a result, Simon's life is still very peaceful.

Now that he has agreed with Roger Griffin, Simon still hasn't left the convenience store in the new week, and the fat boss is happy that Simon, a young man with a low salary but still dutiful, continues to work for him.

After several days of intensive negotiations, the final signing date for the package contract between WMA and Fox for Project Butterfly was set for Tuesday.

Simon arrived at WMA headquarters around 8:50 a.m., and Jonathan's black Mercedes sedan happened to turn into the parking lot.

Locking up the bike, Simon walked over to Jonathan, who was waiting for him not far away, shook hands with the agent, and said, "Morning, Joe." ”

"Morning, Simon. ”

Jonathan smiled and shook Simon's hand, then looked at his bike.

Jonathan lent Simon $20,000 before he left for San Francisco last week, and Simon spent only $500 on the entire process.

However, after coming back, Jonathan did not recover the money, he knew that Simon was still living in a motel, and only told Simon to choose a suitable place to live as soon as possible, which was considered his advance payment for the "Butterfly Effect".

Jonathan originally thought that Simon suddenly had a large amount of money in his hands and would definitely be eager to improve his life. Unexpectedly, Simon is still riding that second-hand bicycle today, and the clothes on his body have not changed much.

Although he admired the teenager's self-control in terms of money, Jonathan still advised: "Simon, you'd better buy a car as soon as possible, you can't have a car in Los Angeles, even if Fox's salary will take a few days, but the $20,000 is almost enough." ”

Simon smiled and nodded, "I'll think about it as soon as possible." ”

It's not like Simon doesn't want to improve his life. He has made an appointment with a real estate agent and intends to rent an apartment as soon as possible in the next few days. There are too many inconveniences in staying in a motel after all.

But in addition, Simon has no plans to buy a car or buy other businesses for the time being.

On the one hand, Simon is so busy that he has a very fulfilling schedule and doesn't have much free time to shop.

On the other hand, as the preparation for "Lola Run" deepened, Simon felt more and more that he might have misremembered a very important thing, a mistake that was even more serious than choosing Roger's convenience store as the filming location, which made him more cautious about spending money.

After Simon and Jonathan arrived at the WMA headquarters, several other creators of "The Butterfly Effect", director Brian De Palma, actor Matt Dillon and actress Elizabeth Sue and others also arrived.

After a brief intervention by Lou Weiss and other high-level executives, the project is now entirely in charge of Jonathan alone.

Everyone simply held a small meeting and rushed to Fox Studios, not far from the WMA headquarters.

On Fox's side, Fox President Ronald Goldberg also appeared at the signing ceremony, along with Fox's producer David Giller, who is in charge of "The Butterfly Effect".

The signing ceremony began at 10 o'clock.

However, the whole process is quite low-key, which is actually the common will of both parties.

In a conference room at Fox's headquarters, Simon, like several others, frequently signed his name on a thick contract in duplicate witnessed by lawyers on both sides, and finally finalized it completely.

This was followed by a brief luncheon at a restaurant in Fox Studios, where the heads of the two companies introduced each other to the various staff members who would be responsible for the Butterfly Effect project.

During this period, Simon was also informed that the first production meeting of "The Butterfly Effect" will be held next Monday, mainly to discuss the revision of the script.

While Simon is very confident, the script he offers is already quite well-developed.

However, this kind of thing is unavoidable, and the studio has the right to modify the script according to the actual situation and even the personal wishes of the person in charge.

Of course, Simon can actually refuse.

But if so, the studios may be happier, they can find a more obedient screenwriter to revise the script, and Simon will no longer be able to get the remaining $60,000 in the contract.

It can be said that the power of subsequent revision of the script is not only the power of the studio, but also the power of the screenwriter himself. No screenwriter wants their script to be changed beyond recognition and end up being a bad movie. Rather than having someone else do it, it's better to do it yourself.

After lunch, Brian de Palma and the others drove away from Fox Studios, but Simon hitchhiked back to WMA headquarters with his agent, where his bike was still there.

"Fox's funds are still settled in a very timely manner, and if it goes well, you can get the check in the next few days," Jonathan looked at the boy opposite in the agent's office and said, "So, Simon, $200,000, do you plan to do anything?"

Simon smiled and replied, "Make a movie, you know." ”

Jonathan also laughed and said, "Speaking of which, except for "The Butterfly Effect", you haven't shown me your other scripts all along, especially the "Death is Coming", which was seen by the studio first. ”

Simon took out the script of "The Grim Reaper" from his backpack, handed it to Jonathan, and said, "I've been so busy lately that I almost forgot to give it to you." ”

Jonathan took the script, but he didn't rush to open it, and said: "Fox has actually taken a fancy to this script, and I have also read the outline, a very novel idea, not much worse than "The Butterfly Effect". Simon, the question now is, do you want to give the script to Fox now for another sum of money, or wait until "The Butterfly Effect" is released?"

Simon did not hesitate at all, and said: "Of course, after the release of "Butterfly Effect", I still have this confidence. ”

"The Butterfly Effect" has become Fox's green light project, and although the schedule has not yet been determined, it will not be released later than next summer.

If Simon were to sell the script to Fox now, he wouldn't get a high offer due to option contract restrictions.

But if you wait patiently until next year's "Butterfly Effect" is released, the situation will be different.

Of course, things don't necessarily go in a better direction.

Once "The Butterfly Effect" is a box office success, the price of Simon's second script will naturally rise. On the contrary, if "The Butterfly Effect" fails at the box office, Fox will not only further suppress the offer, but even give up Simon's script completely.

Simon signed a five-year option with Fox.

Within five years, Fox will receive first refusal rights to both of Simon's scripts. The so-called right of first refusal, simply put, is an equal offer, and Fox can get Simon's script first.

Moreover, over the years, film companies have actually formed a tacit understanding with each other.

As long as a screenwriter signs a preemptive contract, unless the company voluntarily gives up, other studios will basically no longer participate in the competition for each other's scripts, which also makes the relevant screenwriters can only negotiate with the producer for remuneration based on the results of their previous works.

Of course, if Fox is on a five-year contract, he won't be happy with any of Simon's scripts. At the end of the contract, the initial deposit of $40,000 is non-refundable.

After discussing this matter, Simon took the initiative to mention Sandra's participation in "Lola Run".

Jonathan heard that the two had agreed on a $5,000 salary, and he also did not express any objections. These days, I am busy with the affairs of "The Butterfly Effect", and the agent still doesn't know much about the details of "Lola Run", and even thinks that Simon's offer is a little too high.

However, also as Sandra's agent, of course, this kind of thing cannot be said. Anyway, the two of them agreed, and Jonathan asked Simon to find Owen and ask him to prepare a contract for Sandra.

In any case, the broker's commission is still required.

Simon also had to rush to Roger's convenience store, and he was on the middle shift for the last few days, and from 3 p.m. to 11 a.m., he talked to Jonathan about these things and got up to say goodbye.

Leaving Jonathan's office, Simon had just turned a corridor when he heard the hurried footsteps of a group of people behind him, with a faint sense of arrogance that wanted to crash past anyone in front of him.

Somewhat confused about who would be so flamboyant at the WMA headquarters, Simon stepped over to the side of the corridor, turned his head, and saw Matthew Broderick's expression with unwillingness and anger, not caring that this was an office that needed to be kept quiet.

Moreover, Matthew was followed by a group of men and women who were also noisy.

Matthew Broderick apparently didn't expect to meet Simon in the corridor of the WMA headquarters at this moment.

While walking, he suddenly found Simon appear in front of him, thinking of the events of the last few days, his originally unwilling and angry eyes suddenly had a little more hatred, and he looked at Simon fiercely, but his pace did not slow down, and he hurriedly passed by Simon and walked out of the building.

Simon didn't know that the WMA chose to sacrifice Norman Broca and Matthew Broderick in order to calm the situation as soon as possible.

However, feeling the hatred in the other party's eyes, Simon was still a little more vigilant in his heart.

Six or seven men and women behind Matthew Broderick also passed by Simon one after another, and the guy who was picked up by Simon in the nightclub with one hand also defiantly tried to bump into Simon, but Simon easily dodged it.

This is not the place to make trouble.

Simon also saw Courtney's original roommate Christie Swanson in the crowd, but the other party obviously pretended not to see Simon at all, holding a boy and leaving with several other young people.