Unlike the first Westeros Villa party, where some people tried to sneak in, no one dared to do so now. The consequences of being caught were severe, and the chances of sneaking in unnoticed were virtually zero.
Compared to the first party, this year's gathering atop the southeast hill of Park City was much livelier. Not only were the newcomers from the Sundance Film Festival invited, but also many Hollywood stars and various figures from other industries—totaling five to six hundred people.
However, the larger crowd created a new problem: though Simon Westeros was at the party, it became incredibly difficult to have a meaningful conversation with him, let alone leave a lasting impression. Fortunately, even if one couldn't meet Simon, networking with other attendees could still greatly benefit one's career.
Inside the hilltop villa, four young people who had arrived early felt like mice who had fallen into a vat of rice. The group, consisting of three men and one woman, were clearly two brothers and a couple. The brothers were Ben and Casey Affleck, while the couple was Matt Damon and Minnie Driver.
Two of them were the same Ben Affleck and Matt Damon who, as Simon remembered, would go on to have long-lasting careers in Hollywood.
At the time, both Affleck and Damon, around 25 years old, had been working in Hollywood for years. For example, Matt Damon had appeared in a small role in Mystic Pizza back in 1988, a film starring the then-unknown Julia Roberts. Despite their persistent efforts, their most notable film role was in Kevin Smith's second film Mallrats after Clerks. It was another low-budget film where they played small, unremarkable parts.
Around the same age, their peer River Phoenix had already risen to stardom, while they remained relatively unknown.
For many young people chasing their Hollywood dreams, there comes a time when they must face reality.
Just when they were on the verge of giving up, they finally caught a break.
Daenerys Entertainment's subsidiary, Highgate Films, became interested in a screenplay the two had written together called Good Will Hunting. The script had been inspired by Matt Damon's brief time at Harvard, and he had worked with Ben Affleck to develop it. The story revolves around a young janitor named Will who solves a math problem left on a blackboard by a professor. Later, it is revealed that Will, due to his history of fighting, faces jail time, but the professor helps him discover his potential and purpose.
Their script caught the eye of Highgate Films, largely thanks to their connection to Kevin Smith's Mallrats.
Typically, it would be the responsibility of their agent to pitch their script to studios, but judging by their lack of success in Hollywood up until now, their agent clearly didn't have strong connections or the ability to push their careers forward. Although they had completed the script in 1992, it wasn't until they met Kevin Smith last year that things began to change.
It wasn't that Good Will Hunting wasn't a good script—many industry insiders who had read it gave it high praise.
The issue was that Hollywood is not a place where talent alone guarantees success. Often, luck plays a far more significant role. Simon Westeros, of course, was an exception—he had transcended the notion of mere genius.
Though both Affleck and Damon had the credentials to get into Harvard, those didn't mean much in Hollywood.
Earlier this year, after appearing in Mallrats, Kevin Smith asked the pair about their script during a casual conversation. Upon hearing that they had no offers, he suggested they take the script to Park City and try their luck at Sundance.
By this time, the Sundance Film Festival had evolved into a comprehensive film trading platform that included opportunities for new screenwriters to pitch their work.
Thanks to Smith's connections, they submitted their script to Park City. To their surprise, good news arrived swiftly.
In just a few days, Highgate Films expressed interest in their script, and they were offered a deal. When their agent suggested they hold off for a better offer, they didn't listen. They fired their agent and negotiated the deal themselves with a Highgate Films executive.
Their only condition was that Matt Damon must play the lead role.
Initially, they expected a long negotiation, but to their surprise, Highgate Films agreed almost immediately.
After signing the contract, they received an invitation to the Westeros Villa party at Sundance. The invitation didn't explain much, but the fact that it was Simon Westeros' party suggested they might get the chance to meet him. They both speculated that Simon Westeros himself might have been the one who greenlit their script.
If that were true, after so many years of struggle, they were finally on the verge of breaking through.
Every project Simon Westeros backed had a history of success.
With two invitations, and each allowed to bring a guest, Matt Damon brought his girlfriend, while Ben Affleck, who was single at the time, refused to let his former agent tag along. Instead, he brought his younger brother, Casey Affleck. The four of them drove from Los Angeles to Park City a few days before the festival began.
They fantasized about being noticed by Simon Westeros, becoming close friends, and quickly rising to stardom.
But reality proved more mundane.
After more than half an hour at the party, aside from the strict security at the entrance, no one had paid them special attention.
However, the sheer number of celebrities at the party was overwhelming.
Robert Redford, Nicole Kidman, Gus Van Sant, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, John Travolta, Rosanna Arquette, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore...
It was a star-studded spectacle.
Even top models like Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Daniela Pestova stood out among the crowd. Matt Damon's girlfriend, though tall at 178 cm, seemed to pale in comparison to the supermodels.
Initially, they worked up the courage to introduce themselves to some of the celebrities, but after several attempts, they found themselves feeling more and more out of place.
Thankfully, they weren't the only ones in this predicament.
Naturally, they gravitated toward others in a similar situation. They soon struck up a conversation with another young filmmaker named Paul Thomas Anderson, who was also 25 years old and had just completed his first feature film, Hard Eight, which was selected for the main competition at Sundance.
As it turned out, Anderson was also represented by ICM.
As one of the top three agencies in Hollywood, ICM was large, with distinct tiers of representation. It wasn't surprising that their paths hadn't crossed before.
Anderson's Hard Eight had been funded by Highgate Films, with a budget of $3 million. It featured actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman. In their spare time over the past few days in Park City, Damon and Affleck had studied the films in competition, including Hard Eight, which had yet to be screened. They also knew that Spielberg's protégé, Gwyneth Paltrow, had a role in the film.
She was also represented by ICM.
They had seen Paltrow at some of the parties earlier, but she was far too proud for them to approach.
Though Samuel L. Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman were in Hard Eight, they hadn't come to Park City, likely only showing up for the film's premiere.
With the conversation flowing naturally, Anderson expressed interest in Damon and Affleck's screenplay. He even mentioned that he was preparing another film titled Boogie Nights, which had also been greenlit by Highgate Films. Because they hit it off so well, Anderson invited Affleck to audition for the lead role, as he thought Ben had the right look for the part.
Affleck perked up at the offer but grew a bit suspicious after hearing about the film's subject matter and Anderson's hint that he had been given a lot of creative control by Highgate Films.
The audition?
While Anderson seemed sincere and didn't give any overt signals, Affleck couldn't help but wonder.
Still...
No matter what, he thought, he should at least give it a shot. After all, if he landed the role, what's the worst that could happen?
Just as they were talking, a Westeros family stewardess approached them, scanned the group, and asked, "Are you Mr. Damon and Mr. Affleck?"
The presence of a Westeros stewardess was well-known throughout Hollywood—perhaps even the entire United States.
Damon and Affleck quickly confirmed their identities.
The stewardess nodded, gesturing for them to follow. "Come with me. Mr. Deutschman is waiting for you."
They instinctively started following her before realizing that it wasn't Simon Westeros, but Ira Deutschman, the president of Highgate Films.
They had signed their contract with one of Highgate's script department heads, but of course, they knew who Ira Deutschman was.
Affleck's brother Casey and Damon's girlfriend Minnie Driver, seeing that the stewardess hadn't mentioned them, wisely stayed behind. Damon and Affleck followed the stewardess through the villa's crowded hallways, eventually reaching an indoor bar on the east side of the building.
The bar was large, covering at least a hundred square meters and filled with various entertainment options. Unlike other parts of the villa, the lighting here was dim and atmospheric, with soft music playing as people danced slowly on the dance floor. The ambiance was much more subdued than the rest of the party.
Though there were no visible guards at the entrance, the mood shift alone deterred many from entering. Damon and Affleck couldn't help but tread lightly as they followed the stewardess inside.
They soon arrived at a booth.
As they approached, the two men inside stood up to greet them. Damon and Affleck recognized both of them—at least
from newspapers and magazines. Ira Deutschman, the president of Highgate Films, and Gus Van Sant, a renowned independent film director and a jury member at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Simon Westeros wasn't there, which left the two a bit disappointed.
As they exchanged greetings and handshakes, Affleck's eyes drifted to a larger booth further inside the bar. There were many women there, but he could clearly make out the face of Gwyneth Paltrow, who sat at the booth's edge.
Affleck's sharp eyes also caught Paltrow's expression—it was one of unmistakable flattery as she looked toward someone across the booth.
In Hollywood, few people could inspire such deference from Spielberg's protégé. Moreover, Paltrow wasn't even fully seated due to the crowded booth. Affleck also recognized the woman sitting next to her—Jennifer Connelly, another renowned beauty.
As for the figures sitting deeper inside the booth, they were harder to discern in the dim light.
But at the far end, partially obscured, a pair of long, impossibly graceful legs stretched out.
The person receiving such attention from all the women?
It could only be one person.
Affleck quickly snapped out of his thoughts, keeping his expression neutral. He let his friend take the inner seat of their booth while he sat on the outside. Returning his focus to the conversation, they began discussing Good Will Hunting.
Ira Deutschman shared a small piece of insider information with them: two Highgate Films producers had been fired because of their screenplay.
This revelation made Damon and Affleck a little nervous.
What was going on?
Luckily, Deutschman quickly explained.
It turned out that Damon and Affleck had included a scene in the middle of the script where the two male leads suddenly kissed. The characters were both straight and had no romantic inclinations toward each other, so the scene was completely out of place.
It was a small test they had inserted into the script to see if anyone was actually reading it carefully.
Simon Westeros, however, had caught onto their little trick. He passed the script to five of Highgate's producers, two of whom failed to notice the scene. Clearly, they hadn't read the script thoroughly, and after Westeros found out, he personally ordered their dismissal.
Upon hearing Deutschman's explanation, Damon and Affleck exchanged uneasy glances.
Had they gone too far?
Deutschman, however, seemed to find the whole situation amusing, showing no sign of taking offense. In fact, he seemed a bit smug—although he hadn't been one of the producers, he had passed the test.
It had been a close call, but the lesson had been learned.
With Daenerys Entertainment's rapid rise to dominance, some people within the company had grown complacent. This incident had been a timely wake-up call from their boss.
Deutschman then asked them about the incident, and though Damon and Affleck were reluctant to admit to their prank, they ultimately decided to come clean.
After all, they couldn't exactly claim it was a mistake in the script. Treating others as fools could lead to even worse consequences.
Fortunately, Deutschman didn't seem bothered.
After this brief detour, they got down to business. As Damon and Affleck had suspected, Highgate Films had officially greenlit Good Will Hunting, and Gus Van Sant was interested in directing. Deutschman had arranged this meeting to introduce them to Van Sant.
The group discussed the project for about half an hour, with plans to continue their conversations over the next few days in Park City, while Van Sant fulfilled his duties as a Sundance juror.
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