On October 28, the same day Simon returned to Los Angeles, the 1994 Halloween season officially kicked off.
Daniels Entertainment's "Conjuring Universe" series released its second film, *The Haunting in Connecticut*. Building on the success of this summer's *The Conjuring*, *The Haunting in Connecticut* debuted on 2,361 screens. With a production budget of $15 million, and despite already having built up significant buzz thanks to the "Conjuring Universe" branding, New World Pictures still invested an equal $15 million in marketing.
In recent years, as the wide-release model has risen to prominence, Hollywood studios have increasingly realized the importance of marketing in determining a film's success, making it just as crucial as the film's quality.
While not as extreme as *The Conjuring's* $15 million budget and $25 million marketing spend, the equal budget for production and marketing of *The Haunting in Connecticut* was still an uncommon strategy in Hollywood, where marketing budgets are typically only half of the production costs.
If the film's box office meets expectations, New World Pictures plans to continue investing in further promotion.
By committing to such high marketing budgets for consecutive films, Simon's goal is to firmly establish the "Conjuring Universe" brand in the public consciousness.
Achieving this would make future films in the "Conjuring Universe" much easier and cheaper to market, while also significantly boosting revenues from home video sales, TV rights, and other ancillary streams.
In early internal screenings, *The Haunting in Connecticut* received an average rating of about 7, slightly lower than *The Conjuring*.
However, thanks to the skillful marketing efforts of the Daniels Entertainment team, the film debuted with an official critical rating of 7.8, nearly an excellent score. Coupled with widespread promotional efforts, many viewers were eager to buy tickets on opening day.
In Hollywood's increasingly important secondary release windows, *The Haunting in Connecticut* faced competition from other films opening on over 1,000 screens, including Sony's *Mary Shelley's Frankenstein*, Warner Bros.' *Silent Fall*, and Disney's *Squanto: A Warrior's Tale*.
In recent years, Sony had gradually abandoned its commitment to the Columbia Pictures brand and began producing and releasing films under the Sony Pictures label. *Mary Shelley's Frankenstein*, aimed at this year's Halloween season, had a hefty $45 million budget and starred Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branagh, and Helena Bonham Carter. It opened on 2,177 screens.
However, after its wide release, *Mary Shelley's Frankenstein* received a disappointing critical score of 3.9, casting a shadow over its box office prospects.
Warner Bros.' *Silent Fall*, about a down-on-his-luck psychiatrist investigating a bizarre murder case, starred veteran actor Richard Dreyfuss, *Terminator* star Linda Hamilton, and Hollywood newcomer Liv Tyler. With a $30 million production budget, it opened on 1,251 screens.
Compared to *Mary Shelley's Frankenstein*, which scored 3.9, the reception for *Silent Fall* was disastrous.
On its opening day, critics universally panned the film, resulting in a dismal score of just 2.2.
Despite its poor reviews, *Mary Shelley's Frankenstein* still had a chance to draw audiences due to its strong cast, and could even turn into a sleeper hit. This is because, like horror films and lowbrow comedies, critical reviews aren't always the deciding factor for box office success—it all depends on whether audiences are entertained.
However, media reviews aren't entirely irrelevant. A film like *Silent Fall*, with such overwhelmingly negative press, is almost certain to flop.
Richard Dreyfuss, a veteran actor who starred in Spielberg's *Jaws*, *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*, and *Always*, has seen his box office appeal wane in recent years. His co-stars, Linda Hamilton and Liv Tyler, don't have the star power to carry the film on their own. Thus, *Silent Fall's* box office outlook is bleak.
Lastly, Disney's *Squanto: A Warrior's Tale*, about the adventures of a Native American warrior, had a $20 million budget and opened on 1,022 screens.
Compared to *Mary Shelley's Frankenstein* and *Silent Fall*, *Squanto: A Warrior's Tale* received decent reviews, scoring a respectable 6. However, unlike the high-profile horror films, this biographical drama struggled to generate much buzz.
Disney likely hoped to replicate the success of films like *Dances with Wolves* or *The Last of the Mohicans* with *Squanto: A Warrior's Tale*. Unfortunately, in recent years, several films with similar themes have bombed, as they are too far removed from mainstream tastes.
Moreover, *Dances with Wolves* and *The Last of the Mohicans* had big names like Kevin Costner and Daniel Day-Lewis, while Disney's *Squanto: A Warrior's Tale* starred the relatively unknown Gus McDonald and Don Carmody. Without breakout reviews, the film's fate was all but sealed.
Overall, the opening weekend of the Halloween season was quite lively, with four mainstream films debuting on over 1,000 screens each, plus several smaller productions hoping to catch a break.
Returning to Los Angeles, Simon spent four days at his Point Dume estate with his family.
It wasn't until November 2, after Halloween, that he returned to work.
During those four days, Simon wasn't completely idle.
Inspired by his conversation with Grace, Simon took the time to personally outline a new version of the script for *The Man from Earth*. On his first day back at work, he handed the script to Highgate Films head Ira Deutschman, instructing him to assemble a team of university professors to discuss and fill in any scientific gaps. The project was immediately greenlit for casting and pre-production, with the goal of completing it in two months for submission to next year's Sundance Film Festival.
After careful consideration, Simon decided to take credit as the screenwriter.
A story about immortality is bound to spark curiosity. With rumors already swirling about Simon being a "psychic" or an "alien," adding the label of "immortal" wouldn't change much.
However, attaching his name to the project made it impossible to stick to the original $100,000 ultra-low budget Simon had envisioned.
In the budget proposal Ira Deutschman submitted two days later, the script alone was valued at $250,000, plus a 10% share of the net global box office.
A Simon Westeros script, even at $2.5 million, would have no shortage of buyers.
The low valuation was mainly because *The Man from Earth* was intended to be a low-budget film. If it were a commercial blockbuster, Simon's script would easily command millions, with profit-sharing on top of that.
Although Simon is the owner of Daniels Entertainment Group, every project he's involved in is meticulously contracted. Jonathan Friedman still handles these matters for him.
For example, in the DC movie universe, even for projects like *The Flash* and *Cyborg*, where Daniels Entertainment is not directly involved, Simon still earns a significant profit share due to his role as a producer. *The Flash*, with a domestic box office of $253 million, earned Simon $25.3 million from his 10% share, and given the DC universe's recent string of successes, no one questions Simon's right to such a large cut.
With a personal fortune in the tens of billions, Simon doesn't need these earnings.
But rules are rules. If you work, you get paid—this is Hollywood's creed, and Simon is a firm believer in it.
This principle also applies to Daniels Entertainment.
In the contracts established before the company went public, aside from Simon's symbolic $1 base salary, he still receives 5% of the company's net profits each year, along with additional stock options and bonuses.
Now, with *The Man from Earth*, just the script is valued at $250,000, making a $100,000 budget for the entire project impossible. After careful consideration, the Highgate Films team proposed a budget of $1.5 million.
Anything less would be unacceptable.
Although Hollywood is currently abuzz with anticipation over Daniels Entertainment's latest external collaboration plans, Simon's new script quickly became the talk of the town once news of it broke.
While the script remains under wraps, every major talent agency is already vying to get their clients involved.
Starring in a Simon Westeros film, even for free, would be immensely beneficial.
Unlike many directors whose films succeed without boosting the careers of their actors—Steven Spielberg being the prime example—Simon's films have consistently launched or revitalized the careers of many.
From Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in *Run Lola Run* to the male stars of *Pulp Fiction*, whose careers were rejuvenated, and Nicole Kidman, to the DC movie universe's breakout stars like Adam Baldwin, Valeria Golino, Brad Pitt, and Will Smith, Simon's films have been a breeding ground for new talent.
Therefore, when Highgate Films announced that Simon's new movie would not feature A-list stars but rather talented second and third-tier actors, the entire industry went into a frenzy.
Amidst this flurry of activity, Kriss Goff, who was preparing for the upcoming Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on November 12, posted photos of herself attending acting classes on her Facebook and Instagram pages, captioning them "preparing for my role as Simon Westeros's little vase in his new movie." This quickly boosted the popularity of the doll-faced model, who had risen to prominence over the past six months.
Both Hollywood and the fashion world could only marvel at Kriss Goff's luck.
Despite all the commotion, Simon himself remained elusive.
He had reached a point where rumors and legends about
him were everywhere, yet the man himself was rarely seen.
While Hollywood was fixated on his new film, after Halloween, Simon's focus was on Daniels Entertainment's ten upcoming collaborative film projects.
Out of the ten projects, MGM had already secured two: *Charlie's Angels* and *The Bourne Identity*. As for the more ambitious "Spy Movie Universe" concept, similar to the early days of the "Conjuring Universe," MGM would not publicly announce it until the project proved successful.
Compared to previous collaborations, the biggest change this time was that mid- to low-budget projects no longer met the demands of other Hollywood studios.
And Simon wasn't willing to settle for them either.
Thus, after *Charlie's Angels* and *The Bourne Identity*, Warner Bros., whose CEO Terry Semel called Simon repeatedly, quickly secured a spot with *Jumanji*, a project for which Daniels Entertainment had long held the rights.
With Warner Bros. on board, Fox, which had also collaborated well with Daniels Entertainment over the years, couldn't be left out.
Rupert Murdoch, despite his preference for newspapers and television over movies, was eager to collaborate with Daniels Entertainment when the opportunity arose.
The project they eventually agreed upon was *The Mummy*.
This is a remake of a 1930s Universal film. In history, after the success of *The Mummy* and *The Scorpion King* around the turn of the millennium, Universal ambitiously attempted to reboot and create a Mummy movie universe. However, that plan failed when Tom Cruise turned *The Mummy* into a "Tom Cruise Movie."
With four collaboration projects secured, Simon was in no rush to finalize the others.
All four are potential franchises that could anchor a release calendar. If all ten projects were finalized at once, it would lead to fierce competition in the coming years.
During these negotiations, Simon also received an unexpected surprise: James Cameron's new film, *Titanic*.
Although Simon's choices for these collaborations were mostly based on his memories, the outside world had no idea. Recently, a flood of script ideas had been submitted to Simon, including James Cameron's *Titanic* script, or more accurately, just a story outline.
After finishing *True Lies*, James Cameron took his usual break and spent time exploring the wreck of the Titanic in the Atlantic, which inspired the story of *Titanic*.
Despite having worked with Fox on his last few films, Cameron's relationship with the studio was strained due to frequent budget overruns and the failure of *The Abyss*.
As a result, once the story idea was finalized, Cameron's agent first sent the script to Daniels Entertainment.
Given Titanic's legendary status, numerous films and TV projects have been made about the ship over the past half-century. Recently, Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studios had been developing a similar project, which Simon recalled because its lead actress was Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Several executives at Daniels Entertainment were initially skeptical about a disaster movie centered on a sinking ship.
Budget was one concern; another was the limited storytelling potential of a shipwreck, making the film's commercial prospects uncertain.
In the end, it was Simon himself who made the final decision.
As for Fox, they were out of luck—Simon wasn't one to pass up a good opportunity.
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