After Simon returned from China, the 1996 summer movie season in North America was set to kick off on May 10.
Due to the Atlanta Olympics, this summer season saw all major studios deliberately avoiding the 17 days between July 19 and August 4, pushing many films to release earlier or later than usual.
For Daenerys Entertainment, this summer season was also seen as a potential turning point.
Simon's plan to gain maximum control over Hollywood required more than just a package project to guide capital investment; the most direct approach was to make Hollywood seem unprofitable for outside capital looking to enter.
The method was simple.
Hollywood's resources are finite.
Whether it's movie release dates, screen availability, or marketing resources, the more the Westeros system occupies, the less is left for other studios.
Simon had been quietly implementing this strategy for some time, notably through his cooperation with other studios on joint film productions.
However, up until now, Simon had exercised restraint to avoid provoking a united backlash from Hollywood competitors. But after completing the merger with Metro-ABC last year, and considering that most Hollywood studios were now controlled by foreign capital, Simon no longer needed to be overly cautious.
As a result, this summer, Daenerys Entertainment, along with the entire Westeros system, was fully prepared to dominate Hollywood on multiple fronts.
In particular, the three labels under Daenerys Entertainment.
In past summer seasons, Daenerys Films was typically the main player with major blockbusters or large-budget collaborations with other studios, while Highgate Pictures and New World Entertainment had a much smaller presence. This time, however, all three labels were joining the fray.
Additionally, MGM, which was effectively controlled by Australian Capital Holdings, also fell under Simon's influence.
Altogether, from early May to late August, Daenerys Entertainment was involved in 14 projects over nearly four months, far surpassing the number of films released by other studios, which ranged from two to five.
Out of these 14 films, nine were fully produced and distributed by Daenerys Entertainment's labels, two were co-productions, and three were MGM releases.
Of the nine fully self-produced projects, the majority came from Highgate Pictures and New World Entertainment. Daenerys Films had only one solo production, Tim Burton's major blockbuster Sleepy Hollow. However, when factoring in two other blockbusters, The Mummy and Mission: Impossible 2, which were co-productions, Daenerys Films still carried significant weight.
MGM's three films were headlined by the 18th installment of the James Bond series, 007: Spectre, which also marked the beginning of Simon's planned MGM spy movie universe.
Malibu, Daenerys Studios.
May 6.
Upon his return to Los Angeles, Simon's first day back at work involved meeting with the heads of the three labels under Daenerys Entertainment to discuss the upcoming summer release schedule.
Chronologically, Daenerys Entertainment's summer season would kick off on May 10 with Baz Luhrmann's modern adaptation of Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
In the original timeline, Romeo + Juliet faced significant distribution issues in North America.
Although it was a low-budget production costing only $10 million, and despite Luhrmann's previous film Strictly Ballroom performing decently at the North American box office, 20th Century Fox had released the film in early November, a less favorable period. The studio also provided limited marketing resources and screen availability.
Despite this unfavorable environment, the modern Romeo + Juliet still earned over $46 million domestically.
Realizing the film's potential, 20th Century Fox adjusted its overseas release strategy, and as a result, the film's international box office easily surpassed the $100 million mark.
Why?
This was Romeo and Juliet.
For Westerners, not knowing this story is like a Chinese person not knowing Dream of the Red Chamber.
In modern entertainment terms, Romeo and Juliet is a universally recognized super IP. Simply making this film saved millions of dollars in promotional expenses because everyone already knew what it was about—no need for extensive marketing.
There's a well-known Hollywood anecdote.
When Leonardo DiCaprio auditioned for Titanic, the sight of him drew every woman in the building to watch, convincing director James Cameron to cast him as the male lead.
Why did this happen?
Chinese moviegoers probably haven't thought about it.
The reason was Romeo + Juliet. Before this film, DiCaprio's most famous role was playing Johnny Depp's mentally challenged brother in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which hardly made him a heartthrob.
This also indirectly highlights the success of Luhrmann's modern Romeo + Juliet.
Naturally, Simon wasn't going to repeat Fox's mistake.
May 10 might not be the absolute best date in the summer, but it was much better than the original November slot. With a budget of $15 million, the film's marketing budget matched its production costs, and it would open on 2,107 screens.
On the same day, Warner Bros. would release Arnold Schwarzenegger's $100 million blockbuster Eraser.
To most people, the two films seemed incomparable.
However, Simon was more optimistic about Romeo + Juliet than Eraser.
In the original timeline, Eraser was considered a turning point in Schwarzenegger's career, marking the start of his decline. After Eraser, Schwarzenegger relied on increasingly unsuccessful Terminator sequels to maintain his popularity, but he never had another hit outside of that franchise.
The once mighty camel may still be bigger than a horse, but in the face of Eraser, Romeo + Juliet looked fragile by comparison. Yet, going head-to-head with a big film in the summer season was inevitable.
Trying to secure a good release date without competing against blockbusters was simply not an option in the summer season.
Compared to The Mummy, Mission: Impossible 2, and 007: Spectre, Eraser was actually the weakest contender, as Simon knew its box office potential. In the original timeline, Eraser barely crossed $100 million in North America, largely because it had no strong competition at the time. Now, with various films competing, Eraser's chances of breaking $100 million were slim.
In contrast, Romeo + Juliet had a strong chance of becoming the first dark horse of the summer to break $100 million.
After all, this romantic film with a handsome male lead and a beautiful female lead, backed by a universally beloved IP, directly appealed to the summer season's core audience—teenagers. Thinking back to the hordes of young women who flocked to see DiCaprio's good looks, it was clear this film had no chance of failure.
After Romeo + Juliet on May 10, the next release on May 17 would be The Mummy.
The decision to schedule The Mummy for May 17 was based on the fact that Eraser could be a soft target. The Mummy would compete directly with Eraser, but without overly crowding Romeo + Juliet's space.
After several internal screenings, Simon believed that the quality of this new version of The Mummy, starring Val Kilmer and Rachel Weisz, was on par with the original Brendan Fraser version. Fox, which was responsible for the distribution, had invested $35 million in marketing and, with Daenerys Entertainment's support, secured 2,986 screens for the opening.
Next, on May 24, came another noteworthy release: Black Mask.
Yes.
That Black Mask starring Jet Li.
In recent years, Simon had been quietly encouraging New World Entertainment to introduce high-quality Hong Kong films to the North American market. Rumble in the Bronx had been a huge success, and Rush Hour, which released during the Valentine's Day slot earlier this year, represented a peak for Hong Kong stars breaking into Hollywood. Black Mask had been in development long before Rush Hour even premiered.
The film's production budget was 60 million Hong Kong dollars, which was a massive amount for Hong Kong cinema. The project was designed with Hollywood in mind from the outset.
Unlike Jackie Chan's comedic kung fu style, Simon personally preferred Jet Li's approach, and the two hit it off thanks to Simon's backing as the major stakeholder. However, 60 million Hong Kong dollars only translated to about $7 million USD, a small budget by Hollywood standards.
New World Entertainment, the co-producer, invested $2 million to secure the film's distribution rights across Europe and the U.S. This was largely due to the fact that Hong Kong producers saw their primary market as Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, where the bulk of the profit would come from.
However, Simon knew that Black Mask would be just as significant for Jet Li as Rumble in the Bronx had been for Jackie Chan.
When Jackie Chan made Rumble in the Bronx, he specifically shot parts of it in the U.S. to break into the Western market. Jet Li, on the other hand, caught Hollywood's attention solely through his natural charisma.
In the original timeline, Black Mask earned over $12 million at the North American box office, far exceeding its $7 million production cost. More importantly, its box office was just the beginning—this Hong Kong kung fu film found even greater success in the home video market, where it grossed over $50 million.
Thanks to Black Mask's success, Jet Li was later cast in a villain role in Mel Gibson's Lethal Weapon 4, which helped him break into Hollywood
, and the experience even led to the famous "two-hour waiting" anecdote.
This time, if Black Mask succeeded, Simon had more plans in store for Jet Li.
In the original history, after breaking into Hollywood, Jet Li went on to star in a series of disappointing B-movies, and even his role as a minor villain in Lethal Weapon 4 was not exactly a career highlight.
There was actually a better opportunity on the horizon.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
In the original timeline, Jet Li had been the first choice for the lead role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but for various reasons, the collaboration never materialized, and the role ultimately went to Chow Yun-fat.
Simon wasn't planning to change that.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was fundamentally a more artistic martial arts film rather than one focused on spectacular kung fu. The male lead, Li Mu Bai, didn't have many action scenes, as the story revolved more around the two female characters, Yu Shu Lien and Jen Yu. According to director Ang Lee, the film was essentially a martial arts version of Sense and Sensibility, with the core of the story being the relationship between two women.
Therefore, Chow Yun-fat was a better fit for the role.
Forcing Jet Li into the project might have backfired, as audiences would likely expect to see the slick, action-packed fighting style he showcased in Black Mask. Instead, they'd get a philosophical discussion on martial arts. People wanted kung fu, not long dialogues about martial arts ideals.
On the other hand, Simon also wanted to bring more talented Chinese actors into Hollywood.
Leaving Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to its original lead, Chow Yun-fat, was part of this plan.
If all went well, Hollywood would soon have three prominent Chinese actors: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chow Yun-fat.
There were also two Chinese directors.
Ang Lee, and John Woo, who followed Black Mask by directing Mission: Impossible 2, which was set to release on May 31. As long as John Woo stayed away from projects like Windtalkers and Red Cliff, he could enjoy a longer career in Hollywood. And of course, Simon would make sure Ang Lee never directed Hulk again—Life of Pi was much better.
The original Mission: Impossible 2 had been directed by John Woo, so this was in line with history.
On May 31, Paramount would release Mission: Impossible 2.
On June 7, New World Entertainment's third summer project, Adam Sandler's Billy Madison, was slated to release. This was part of Simon's effort to support the new generation of comedy actors, including Ben Stiller, who had already been cast in The Frighteners.
On June 14, MGM would release 007: Spectre, the opening chapter of the spy movie universe. Although Daenerys Entertainment was not directly involved in financing this project, future films in the spy universe would begin to overlap and intersect.
On June 21, Cop Land would hit theaters.
This crime drama, written and directed by James Mangold and starring Sylvester Stallone, was initially intended for last year's awards season. However, after several internal screenings, it was decided that the film was unlikely to gain Oscar attention, especially given the stiff competition last year, so its release was pushed to this summer.
It was now positioned as a commercial release.
Expectations were modest, and the film was slotted between 007: Spectre on June 14 and Sleepy Hollow on June 28. But with a production budget of just $10 million, even if it failed, the losses wouldn't be significant. Moreover, Stallone's star power, combined with some summer marketing, would likely draw attention.
On June 28, Sleepy Hollow would arrive, and there wasn't much more to say about that.
On July 4, Independence Day weekend—actually a Thursday, which added an extra day to the box office weekend—MGM would release The Birdcage.
The Birdcage was an unconventional project starring Robin Williams. Initially budgeted at $30 million, the film slightly exceeded that during production, coming in at $31 million. It told the story of a gay nightclub owner.
Yes.
Gay men.
This was an unusual film in Hollywood, and MGM had been hesitant to greenlight it.
Simon had to step in.
In Simon's memory, The Birdcage was the seventh highest-grossing film of 1996, grossing $120 million domestically. Conveniently, it was also produced by MGM in the original timeline. Although Simon had read the script and seen the final cut, he didn't personally care for it. To be honest, he preferred films about lesbians—beautiful, glamorous lesbians were the way to go.
But as long as the audience liked it, that was what mattered.
Who could say no to money?
From May 10 to July 4, nine consecutive weeks, nine films—most of the Westeros system's key projects would have been released.
After that, there were still five more films to be released during the post-Olympics portion of the summer season: Michael, Fargo, The Innocent Farm, Emma, and From Dusk Till Dawn. All of these films had significant potential.
Michael, starring John Travolta and produced by MGM, would release on July 19.
Fargo, the latest from the Coen Brothers, was produced by Highgate Pictures and scheduled for July 26.
The Innocent Farm and Emma were both literary adaptations. The Innocent Farm starred Kate Beckinsale, while Emma starred Gwyneth Paltrow. Both films were produced by Highgate Pictures and set to release on August 2 and August 16, respectively.
While both films were British novel adaptations, they were quite different.
The Innocent Farm was a British acquisition with distribution rights purchased for the purpose of giving Kate Beckinsale, who had starred in Charlie's Angels, more exposure.
Emma was a homegrown Highgate production with a $6 million budget.
Although The Innocent Farm was set to release earlier, it was overshadowed by the fact that the Olympics wouldn't have concluded by August 2, making Emma the more high-profile release.
Finally, From Dusk Till Dawn, Quentin Tarantino's collaboration with George Clooney, produced by New World Entertainment, would release on August 23, right at the tail end of the summer season.
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