Regardless, Steven Spielberg's complete withdrawal from the "Jurassic Park" series was bound to trigger various interpretations and speculations by the media. After instructing Amy to pay attention to media public relations, Simon saw Robert Redford approaching from the crowd of guests and stood up to greet him.
Robert Redford was the presenter for the Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at tonight's Golden Globe Awards.
Hollywood stars typically appear at major film award ceremonies either because they have a nominated film or they have a new release that needs promotion and exposure. Therefore, they don't always scramble to attend these award ceremonies.
Redford fell into the latter category.
This brings us back to Redford's film "The Horse Whisperer," which he directed last year. At the time, Simon made a strategic move to induce Disney to take on the project. Originally, it was expected to consume part of Disney's prime holiday schedule at the end of last year. However, the final product turned out poorly. Despite the $40 million investment, Disney decisively abandoned the holiday schedule last year and even considered relegating it to the dump months of January or February this year.
As the director, Redford naturally disagreed.
Film release schedules have always been a crucial factor influencing box office performance. If "The Horse Whisperer" were to be released in January or February, a period already fraught with low expectations, its box office performance would be even worse, potentially becoming a blemish on Redford's career.
After several negotiations, Disney made some compromises. Although the holiday release schedule was off the table, they adjusted the release date to the relatively better Easter period this year. Redford's attendance at the Golden Globes was to generate some buzz for "The Horse Whisperer," and he would surely attend the Oscars in March as well.
Even without the release of "The Horse Whisperer," Disney's 1993 holiday season was dismal. The highly anticipated "Sister Act 2" grossed only $26.56 million in North America as of last week. Before leaving theaters, it was expected to barely surpass the $30 million mark. Considering the film's total production and marketing costs of $55 million, this project would struggle to break even, even with overseas distribution and other post-release revenue streams.
In fact, due to Daenerys Entertainment's strong presence, the past year had not been easy for other Hollywood studios.
Amy stood up with Simon, greeted Redford, and then walked away.
Simon and Redford sat back down in the booth where they had just been talking.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival, a significant milestone. The festival opened on January 20th, slightly later than usual, and would run for 11 days, ending on January 30th.
Having formed a friendship through the film "Run Lola Run," their conversation naturally started with Sundance.
Responding to Redford's invitation, Simon readily agreed to attend the Sundance closing ceremony next Sunday.
After discussing a few outstanding films from this year's Sundance, Redford mentioned "The Horse Whisperer." He expressed regret for not choosing to work with Daenerys Entertainment, as the film had consumed all his energy over the past year and was likely to fail. He had not yet started looking for other projects.
Understanding Redford's intent, Simon proactively offered to keep an eye out for suitable projects for him. This was also Redford's purpose for attending this after-party. Despite his gratitude towards Simon, he realized that meeting the increasingly illustrious young man was not always easy.
After chatting warmly for about ten minutes, Redford, aware that many people at the party were hoping to meet Simon, decided it was time to leave. Simon personally escorted Redford to the party hall entrance, bid him farewell, and turned back to see Nancy Josephson, daughter of ICM founder Marvin Josephson, approaching with a tall woman, Natasha Henstridge.
As they neared, Nancy Josephson smiled and greeted Simon, "Simon, are you about to leave?"
Shaking hands with her, Simon nodded, "Almost, it's quite late."
Nancy Josephson then gestured to the woman beside her, "Actually, Natasha wanted to say hello."
If not for seeing Natasha Henstridge, Simon might have forgotten that he had acquired a beautiful vase late last year.
Recently, "Species" had started filming. Since it was a MGM project and not a major one, Simon hadn't paid much attention to it, apart from finalizing the basic 'creative team' last year to ensure some box office guarantee.
Glancing at the tall woman in a black deep V-neck dress that perfectly showcased her graceful figure, Simon smiled and pointed to the booth where he had just been talking with Redford, "Shall we chat over there?"
Nancy Josephson agreed, of course.
As they approached the booth, noticing Natasha Henstridge's hesitation, Nancy Josephson nudged her quietly. After Natasha sat down beside Simon, Nancy sat opposite them, ordered a glass of champagne from a waiter, and initiated the conversation, "Simon, have you seen the two projects that Daenerys TV recently signed with us?"
Simon nodded, "I happened to be in New York a few days ago. The scripts are excellent. I heard 'Friends' was your personal recommendation to Iger?"
Nancy Josephson carefully observed Simon's expression, not detecting any other emotions, and felt a bit disappointed. She replied with a matching smile, "Yes, after the success of 'Seinfeld,' I thought there was definitely a market for similar urban sitcoms."
After the new year, Daenerys TV began searching for new television projects.
Recently, they signed two scripts with ICM, one being an old-school crime drama that Simon wasn't too enthusiastic about, and the other, the famous "Friends."
In the original timeline, "Friends" was recommended by ICM founder's daughter, Nancy Josephson, to Warner Bros. Television, and then aired on NBC, becoming the most successful sitcom for NBC in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Warner Bros. even continued to earn over a hundred million dollars a year from Netflix decades later due to the show's phenomenal success.
CAA pioneered a very successful project packaging mechanism in the 1980s.
After Daenerys Entertainment's rise, Simon never completely rejected this producer-unfriendly cooperation model but also never accepted mandatory project packaging. Talent agencies could recommend their clients for projects, but Daenerys Entertainment retained the final decision-making power if they felt it wasn't suitable.
Nancy Josephson's earlier words were an attempt to gauge Simon's attitude toward this project to determine how many ICM artists could be recommended.
If Westeros was very optimistic about "Friends," ICM could be more assertive in subsequent negotiations and have more leverage in securing roles, knowing that Robert Iger and other executives might make concessions to facilitate the boss's favored project's progress.
In the original "Friends," apart from the six lead actors, numerous big names like Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney, who guest-starred over the years, were all ICM clients, demonstrating ICM's influence on the project.
In this timeline, many things had changed.
At least this time, Courteney Cox, who was signed with WMA and had some fame, definitely wouldn't be playing Monica Geller.
Apart from Courteney Cox, Simon was very inclined to keep other actors 'original,' meaning he would privately interfere with the casting of this series.
Of course, he wouldn't show any of this to Nancy Josephson.
After casually brushing off the topic, Simon turned his attention to Natasha Henstridge, who occasionally pretended to unintentionally make physical contact with him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and asked with a smile, "How have you been, Natasha?"
Natasha Henstridge felt her past few years had been full of ups and downs.
She had initially been selected for the increasingly popular Victoria's Secret fashion show but was replaced at the last minute by a girl named Nadja Auermann, whom Westeros personally endorsed as 'the leg queen.' She knew she couldn't compete and was devastated upon learning she lost her spot for that reason.
Losing the Victoria's Secret opportunity, she saw her modeling career dimming and tried to transition to Hollywood.
However, Hollywood was no less challenging than the fashion industry.
Then, she was suddenly chosen by Simon Westeros, got a role in "Species," and became his exclusive 'vase.' During this period, not only did she gain a luxurious $2 million mansion in Bel Air, Los Angeles, but also received respectful treatment from the cast members, who were much more established than her. Compared to other decorative roles, her treatment on set was almost princess-like.
However, aside from their initial half-hour conversation on a plane, Westeros hadn't contacted her for over three months.
Recalling some words from his female assistant, she began to worry that he might have discarded her.
They hadn't even slept together.
Despite being promised to be his lover for a year, if she was discarded, and others found out, her situation in Hollywood would be dire. This led to her developing insomnia and anxiety, unable to discuss this with anyone but her agent.
Until tonight, her agent informed her she would attend this party with ICM's boss's daughter, with a chance to meet Westeros.
She finally saw him.
But, from his initial look, it seemed he had genuinely forgotten her.
At this moment, when his hand reached around her, Natasha Henstridge felt relieved rather than shy or resistant.
She couldn't help but glance around the hall.
Many guests noticed the situation here, and she didn't mind. In fact, she hoped more people saw and knew she was Westeros' woman.
However, she couldn't let her thoughts wander.
Quickly responding to his question, she said, "It's been good, everyone is very considerate of me."
Initially, she had thought that if he liked her enough, she might forgo this movie for a better script
. After all, "Species" had quite a significant amount of nudity, making it hard to shake off her vase image.
But now, she didn't dare think about it anymore.
During the shoot, when the director mentioned using a body double for some scenes, she didn't agree, fearing he might want to see her body in this movie. Some kissing scenes were arranged to use camera angles, a small detail her agent proactively communicated with the crew about. The crew, though puzzled, had no objections to such minor requests compared to nudity scenes.
Simon nodded slightly, "Actually, you have a great figure. If you want to continue in Hollywood, you could try the action heroine route. Hollywood will need a lot of such actresses in the future."
As Simon finished speaking, Natasha Henstridge immediately thought of "Catwoman" Valerie Golino in "Batman" and Famke Janssen, the "Wonder Woman."
Valerie Golino was the youngest actress to win at the Venice Film Festival, which she couldn't compare to. But thinking of Famke Janssen, who started as an unknown model, she found hope.
Nancy Josephson's eyes also lit up.
With the success of "Wonder Woman," Famke Janssen had become the most successful model-turned-actress in Hollywood, leading more fashion models to Hollywood in recent years.
Famke Janssen was also an ICM client. However, if the company had another top action actress, it would be a plus. Famke Janssen would be tied to the "Wonder Woman" role for a long time, and another action star wouldn't create much resource conflict.
Natasha Henstridge subtly leaned closer to Simon, "But, I don't know how to start."
"Have you ever learned dance?"
"I took dance classes for a while when I was a kid but stopped at ten."
Nancy Josephson couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Was it necessary to add that last part?
Simon just smiled, "In that case, it might be a bit tough. But you're only 20 this year, right? There's still time."
"19," Natasha Henstridge corrected, "My birthday is August 15th. I still have half a year before turning 20."
Nancy Josephson mentally rolled her eyes again: Westeros wasn't one of those men who liked young girls, no need to make yourself sound younger.
Looks like this vase needs some proper lessons.
Simon said, "19 is even better. Your body is still flexible. With your limited screen time in 'Species,' you could start some training courses with ICM soon."
Natasha Henstridge obediently nodded.
This time, she didn't mention her financial constraints.
Having greedily requested a $2 million mansion, she realized maintaining such a house, including property taxes, utilities, upkeep, and cleaning, would cost around $50,000 annually.
With limited screen time and no significant status, her pay for "Species" was only $50,000.
Her agent, Raul, said this was already high, likely out of respect for Westeros. Any other actress might have gotten $30,000, considering the nudity requirement; otherwise, it would be even less.
With $50,000, after agent fees and taxes, along with her usual not-so-low expenses, she was left with almost nothing. Thus, she recently had to take a $100,000 loan. Tonight's dress was even rented from a lesser-known brand.
This financial strain also contributed to her recent anxiety and insomnia.
If Westeros truly forgot her, she might have to sell the house in two or three years, get some money, and then... nothing. Experiencing the glamour of Hollywood, many cared about what came after.
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