Like Daenerys Entertainment's "Magnolia" and "Drive for Miss Daisy," "A Fe Good Man," based on the hit Broadway stage play, tells the story of a fledgling Navy lawyer who is under pressure to investigate a murder in the military.

The original version of "Few Good People" was also translated as "The Heroes of the Righteous Sea", starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore, and it was also a blockbuster movie that broke 100 million at the box office that year. However, just by looking at the coffee positions of the three protagonists, you can know that the production cost of the film will not be too low, which is why Simon is willing to take out the project and cooperate with MGM.

Shirley Lansing took the coffee brought by the female assistant, thanked him, and said to Simon: "Very good story, similar to Harrison Ford's "Presumed Innocence" this summer, should still be able to win the Oscar. ”

Harrison Ford's "Presumed Innocence" released in the summer is also a courtroom crime film.

The film had a mediocre start, but in three months since its release on June 8, the film has unwittingly accumulated more than $70 million at the box office, and the total domestic box office is expected to reach $80 million, far exceeding the initial expectations of the industry media.

Simon even thinks that "Few Good People" in the original time and space is probably a movie that follows the trend of "Presumed Innocence".

"In that case, let's start preparing as soon as possible. Also, I've given the heroine to Demi Moore, she's a good fit for the role, and it just so happens that she has a contract with Daenerys. Actor Daniel Kafee, you can get in touch with Tom Hanks. ”

Shirley Lansing hesitated: "Simon, I think Hanks is more suitable for comedy, and besides, he is not young enough. ”

"You can take the time to watch the sample film of "Pink League", Hanks's acting path is much wider than you think. Moreover, Hanks is 34 years old this year, which is already very young in Hollywood, and he really can't change the script. The original script of "Rain Man" was two middle-aged people, and the producers wanted Hoffman and Nicholson to play together, but later changed it to a pair of brothers with a big age difference for Cruise. The same is true of "Few Good People", the actor is not necessarily a fledgling, he may be a middle-aged man who has been excluded or made some mistakes, in short, it is necessary to give the audience a sense of counterattack. ”

Shirley Lansing nodded, but said: "Actually, Simon, I showed the script to Cruise, Tom is very interested in the role of Kafei, and his offer is not high, $6 million, which is $3 million less than the salary he got in "Thunder and Ambition", which is very sincere." ”

If you want to ensure the success of "Few Good People", it is undoubtedly the safest to use the original cast.

Simon, however, never thought about it in the first place.

Over the years, Hollywood studios have lost much of the initiative in front of the stars.

Simon now wants to take back all the powers that should belong to the studio, he will not allow Daenerys Entertainment to become passive in front of any star, let alone like Paramount in the original time and space, for the revenue share of "Mission Impossible" and his own actor to have a vigorous quarrel, and after the trouble, he had to re-cooperate with the other party.

Although Cruise's $6 million offer this time is obviously a gesture of goodwill to Daenerys Entertainment and wants to resolve some of the previous entanglements, Simon did not let go and insisted: "Shirley, I know that you have a good relationship with Cruise, but this matter is not negotiable, and Daenerys Entertainment will not cooperate with Cruise." ”

Shirley Lansing knew that she was not qualified to bargain with the young man in front of her, so she could only express regret to Cruise and said, "Then, I will contact Hanks as soon as possible." ”

After talking about this, Simon changed the subject: "The next script can wait for the completion of "Few Good People". Also, about 007, how did you talk to Brosnan, and the copyright of the Ghost Party?"

Shirley Lansing shook her head and said, "Brosnan refused. Moreover, the Brockley family meant that Timothy Dalton could star in a sequel. The copyright of the Ghost Party will probably be negotiated recently, $3 million, and this price can't be pressed any longer. ”

The copyright of 007 has always been jointly held by MGM's Luen Mei Company and the British Brookley family, and the filming rights of the previous 007 series have always been in the hands of the Brookley family.

Pierce Brosnan is 37 years old, which is older than Hanks. has been in the circle for so many years, and finally became popular with "Pretty Woman", and indeed he will not easily lock himself in the character image of 007.

Simon was not reluctant, but said: "Even if Brosnan is unwilling to act, the actor still has to be replaced." Dalton's several 007s are not considered successful, and the most recent "License to Kill" should be the worst box office performance of the 007 series, and it will only be a waste of time to continue. ”

At the Brisbane meeting, Qintex shareholders and creditors had offered Simon to join MGM's board of directors or serve as an adviser to the company, but Simon had rejected it.

In this way, Simon did not meddle in MGM's operation in any proper name.

However, after personally experiencing the meeting that day, Shirley Lansing knew that even if the young man in front of him wanted to replace himself as the CEO of MGM, it was actually easy, so even if there was a little resistance in his heart, he did not dare to ignore Simon's suggestion, and said: "I will discuss this matter with the Brockley family when I go back." ”

After the meeting with Shirley Lansing, Simon sent him off and returned to the borough to continue his afternoon work.

Until more than six o'clock in the evening, Simon was looking through another recently obtained "Killing Hour" copyright information, the phone on the desk rang, and the female assistant prompted MCA chairman Lou Vasalman to call in person, Simon was a little surprised, but still picked up the microphone.

After chatting for a few words, Simon hung up the phone, summoned the female assistant in, and said, "Vasalman invited me to a cocktail party tonight, let's go together, and after that, we will fly to San Francisco for the night, how about it?"

Jennifer nodded: "Okay, but I won't accompany you to San Francisco after the cocktail party, and I have to work tomorrow." ”

Simon's trip to San Francisco was on business, and he was probably going to be there for two days.

Hearing Jennifer say this, Simon pretended to be dissatisfied and said, "Don't go to the drinking party, you go home and rest." ”

The female assistant's eyes were shining, and she insisted: "You must go." ”

Simon grimaced and said, "You see that being so tight will make me rebellious, and it seems that this should be Jenny's duty." ”

The female assistant nodded firmly and said with a smile: "Yes, it is indeed Jenny's duty." ”

All right.

It's also a Jenny.

Seeing that the female assistant walked out with a small high heel after speaking, Simon just smiled and began to look through the information in front of him again, and couldn't help but think about the purpose of Lou Vasalman's invitation.

According to some sources in the circle, Panasonic's acquisition team has begun to make formal contact with MCA management these days. On Simon's side, Daenerys Entertainment, Cersei Capital and Raybould Law Firm have also formed an acquisition team of about 60 people.

Things have developed so far, and it is unlikely that they want to keep it secret.

Presumably, Lou Vasalman must have received the news that Rasimon was planning to join the warband early in order to raise the MCA's bid.

In order to avoid the price of MCA skyrocketing to an unacceptable level, Simon did not plan to make a move in advance, but planned to wait until Panasonic's negotiations with MCA reached a stalemate, and then consider the right time to make a takeover offer.

Even if Panasonic's acquisition negotiations with MCA are no longer as bumpy as in the original plane, but smooth sailing, Daenerys Entertainment can still cut MCA's shareholder vote on the takeover.

However, tonight I still have to find an excuse to perfunctory Vasalman.

Simon quickly remembered another thing he had been thinking about lately, a plan he was going to start when he flew to San Francisco tomorrow. A multibillion-dollar acquisition, also involved, may serve as a temporary shield.

In short, MCA can't use itself as a bargaining chip to raise the stock price and increase competition.

Having made up his mind, Simon's attention turned back to the Killing Hour material in front of him.

"Time to Kill" is a crime thriller about racism and justice published last year, similar to the very famous "To Kill a Mockingbird".

The original "Killing Hour" movie, which was only released in 1996 and starred Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock, also achieved very good box office results and Oscar recognition.

Not only that, but the other two works of John Grimson, the author of "Time to Kill", "Gannet Assassination" and "Sugar-Coated Trap", were both blockbuster films in the 90s. It's just that the original books of the last two movies have not yet been published, and Daenerys Entertainment signed the priority of John Grimson's other two films by the way while buying "Killing Hour" this time.

However, Simon has no intention of investing in these projects again in the short term.

Only next year, the blockbuster projects related to Daenerys Entertainment, including their own production and external cooperation, will already include "Toy Story", "The Silence of the Lambs", "Scream 3", "Few Good People", "Batman: The Dark Knight", "Terminator" and "The Outlaw", which are expected to exceed 100 million at the box office.

Although the annual box office in the United States exceeded $5 billion earlier than in the original time and space, this box office is limited after all, but these films may form internal competition in Simon's view, not to mention that there will be other studio key projects such as "The Flash", "007: GoldenEye" and "Captain Hawke" next year.

In order to avoid too much competition, Simon has recently decided to move "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2" to 1992, some blockbuster projects that were originally planned to be launched in advance have also been put on hold for the time being, and he is already considering lengthening the production rhythm of the first phase of the DC Cinematic Universe.

The '90s were a time of great films, and Simon didn't want the market to be prematurely overrun by action blockbusters and superhero movies. A hundred flowers bloom in order to maintain prosperity for a longer period of time, and focusing too much on bombshell commercial movies is actually very detrimental to the long-term development of Hollywood.