Back in Los Angeles, Simon had to juggle Daenerys Entertainment's entire film business, yet Hollywood's attention was still locked tight on Batman and the DC cinematic universe plan that was about to unfold.
From January 19 to January 25, Batman entered its fifth week in theaters. With only a 23% drop, it pulled in another 31.63 million dollars, bringing its total to 303.36 million. It officially surpassed The Sixth Sense, becoming last year's box office champion.
As some outlets put it, the profit Daenerys Entertainment made from just this one film was equal to the annual film business earnings of most Hollywood studios.
Which was, more or less, true.
The other studios could only seethe with envy at the insane returns of Batman. Warner Bros., however, was in position to take a slice of the pie through what came next.
So during the days Simon was back in Los Angeles, Terry Semel, the CEO of Warner Bros., who was eager to push the follow up plan forward as quickly as possible, kept in contact with Simon almost daily, either by phone or by coming straight to Santa Monica in person.
And with that urgency, negotiations between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner over the details of future cooperation on the DC cinematic universe plan began accelerating as well.
Santa Monica.
It was Friday, January 26.
After seeing a piece of news in The Hollywood Reporter that morning, Terry Semel came over first thing.
Some of the finer points of the DC cinematic universe plan were still under discussion, but because Simon had prepared so thoroughly in advance, the second Batman film, Batman: The Dark Knight, already had its fixed cast lineup locked in, including Adam Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, Tommy Lee Jones, and the rest. Even the actor for the main villain, Two-Face, had been decided early.
Now there was only one issue left.
The director.
Once that was settled, the film could start shooting in the middle of this year and hit theaters in next summer's peak season.
Ever since Simon confirmed he would not direct the second film, plenty of people in Hollywood had quietly tested the waters, including many A-list directors eager to take over. Warner would be funding half of the sequel, and for its own interests, it had also recommended several candidates to Simon.
However, the director Simon chose left those in the know utterly stunned.
Jan de Bont.
In Simon's original world, hearing that name would instantly make people think of Speed.
But right now, Jan de Bont was only a cinematographer.
Although he had entered the industry back in the 1960s and had shot more than twenty films by this point, Jan de Bont had never directed a single one.
Following the successful model Simon remembered from the Marvel cinematic universe, selecting suitable talent from among new directors to helm DC cinematic universe projects had been the plan from the beginning. He had indeed scouted quite a few promising picks, and Jan de Bont was one of them.
In the original timeline, Speed, the film that vaulted Jan de Bont into the front ranks of directors, was actually his very first project after switching from cinematography to directing. His second film, Twister, was also a worldwide smash. That alone was enough to prove he had the potential to make the jump.
Compared to other newcomer directors with only two or three films under their belts, de Bont's decades of experience across more than twenty productions gave him a far richer foundation. And as a "new director," Daenerys Entertainment would also find it easier to negotiate a long term multi picture deal with him.
Still, after Simon returned to Los Angeles last week and formally informed Warner of his decision, the pushback came immediately.
From Warner's perspective, putting a cinematographer with zero directing credits in charge of Batman: The Dark Knight was pure insanity.
The two sides had originally been negotiating behind closed doors. Terry Semel had not expected The Hollywood Reporter to suddenly run the story.
Maybe everyone was wondering who Jan de Bont even was.
After Daenerys Entertainment made the notification, Warner had investigated de Bont's background in detail. Though he had worked on well known films like Die Hard, he did not even have a single Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. How could someone like that direct a heavyweight film that both studios had pinned enormous hopes on?
When Terry Semel arrived at Daenerys Entertainment's Santa Monica headquarters, he was told Simon was not there. After asking around, Semel hurried to Daenerys Effects' headquarters a few blocks away.
Simon was indeed there. Jan de Bont, now the focal point of intense attention, was there too. Several people were gathered around a computer, watching something on screen.
Jan de Bont had been in the business for many years, so of course he had worked with Warner before. One recent example was Who's That Girl, the film from two years ago that won Madonna a Razzie for Worst Actress.
Terry Semel had barely finished greeting Simon when Jan de Bont's portable phone rang.
This "newly promoted director" was clearly having a very busy day.
After apologizing to everyone, Jan de Bont stepped away to take the call.
Once de Bont left, Simon spoke before Semel could. "Daenerys Entertainment has already signed de Bont to a three picture deal, Terry. This isn't up for negotiation."
Terry Semel looked like he had been choked on the spot. After a pause, he said helplessly, "Then, Simon, when production starts in the second half of the year, will you be involved the whole way through?"
"Of course," Simon replied. "Terry, I care about the DC cinematic universe plan more than you do. So I also hope you'll trust my judgment."
As he spoke, Simon turned slightly and continued, "Also, Terry, Mark Silvestri, you've met him before. And these are Roland Emmerich and Martin Campbell. They'll serve as co-directors on Batman: The Dark Knight. After that, they'll direct Superman and Wonder Woman respectively."
Roland Emmerich hardly needed an introduction. From Independence Day to 2012, he was practically Hollywood's disaster film godfather.
Strictly speaking, Emmerich was German. In 1984 he produced his first sci-fi film, The Noah's Ark Principle, and quickly made a name for himself in the German film world. He had only recently begun trying to break into Hollywood, and Simon had snapped him up.
In the original timeline, Roland Emmerich began to decline after 2000, and he had failures like the 1998 Godzilla. But at thirty four this year, he was right in the golden age of his creative career.
And while his most famous works were disaster films, he had started out directing sci-fi. His recent films since The Noah's Ark Principle were all science fiction.
Simon had watched several of Emmerich's films from the past few years. That increasingly scattered, multi-thread narrative style Emmerich would later become known for had not fully taken shape yet. With a bit of polishing, he would be a strong fit for Superman.
As for Martin Campbell, he had debuted back in the 1970s and had plenty of experience in film and television, but he had never created a true box office hit.
In the original timeline, Campbell's breakout was GoldenEye. Later he directed another near classic, Casino Royale. Both were extremely successful, which was precisely why Simon chose him for Wonder Woman.
Both GoldenEye and Casino Royale proved Campbell's ability to handle big set pieces, something Wonder Woman would desperately need.
In addition, Martin Campbell was also the director of the 2011 Green Lantern, a film that bombed at the box office.
In Simon's memory, the Ryan Reynolds version of Green Lantern burned through a 200 million dollar budget and barely made a little over 200 million worldwide. Warner took a massive loss and even delayed development of the DC cinematic universe plan for a time.
But the failure of Green Lantern, like many later DC projects, was not the director's fault. It was the result of Warner rushing into production to compete with Marvel before even locking down the script. The story was a mess due to weak pre production, but the film's effects, music, and other technical elements were actually excellent.
And in the end, Simon was the one truly steering the DC cinematic universe plan from behind the curtain.
Choosing Jan de Bont, Roland Emmerich, and Martin Campbell as directors was not only about their ability. More importantly, it ensured Simon's absolute control over the franchise. Like the Marvel cinematic universe model, Simon had no intention of giving these directors too much freedom to run wild.
So even though the DC cinematic universe's current momentum meant Simon could easily afford A-list directors, he had no intention of doing so. He wanted his will executed cleanly, without deviation.
After Simon finished the introductions, Jan de Bont returned from his call.
Everyone gathered again around the computer.
Only then did Terry Semel realize what they were watching: new features recently developed for Maya, integrated by Daenerys Effects, capable of simulating effects like real buildings exploding and collapsing.
Watching a skyscraper shatter apart on the small computer screen, Terry Semel set aside his curiosity about Emmerich and Campbell for the moment and asked Mark Silvestri, the president of the effects studio, "Can this actually be done on the big screen?"
Mark Silvestri nodded. "Some technical details in compositing CG with live action are still being refined, but by this time next year, it'll be no problem."
Terry Semel understood why Mark phrased it that way.
The planned DC cinematic universe had a gap year this year.
Starting next year, they would release two films a year.
The confirmed 1991 projects were Batman: The Dark Knight and The Flash.
The 1992 projects were Wonder Woman and a rebooted Superman. The technology they were looking at now would likely be used in either Superman or Wonder Woman.
At that moment, Simon said to the staff at the computer, "Right. Show Terry the Flash effects test too."
The staff member nodded and quickly pulled up a set of experimental footage.
Terry Semel's focus sharpened immediately.
On the screen, a test staffer mimed running inside a room. Faint arcs of electricity coiled around his body, and the speakers emitted a low crackling of thunder.
Five heroes had been confirmed for the first phase of the DC cinematic universe plan: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg.
Those five were chosen mainly because of the special effects limitations of the era.
Aquaman and Green Lantern simply could not be done with the current level of effects.
By comparison, The Flash and Cyborg were easier.
To convey The Flash's speed, the primary tool for the film would be high speed photography. That technique had existed since the 1950s. While it was still nowhere near the 3,000 frames per second achievable many years later, existing technology plus CG would be enough to blow past the cheap looking effects of the previous Superman series.
As for Cyborg, the film would likely use a combination of practical model work and CG.
In that regard, the liquid metal robot and the internal endoskeleton effects in Terminator 2 were a perfect reference. If that could be achieved in 1991, Simon believed that with two to three years of focused development, they could deliver truly outstanding Cyborg effects on the big screen.
To refine the technical details as much as possible, compared to the three heroes scheduled to launch in the next couple of years, Wonder Woman, Superman, and The Flash, Cyborg's production would be pushed back. It would likely begin shooting in 1994 and release in 1995, right before Justice League.
They stayed at Daenerys Effects until noon. After lunch, Jan de Bont and the others took their leave, while Terry Semel remained.
He was not actually that free, but the DC cinematic universe plan was, more or less, the most important thing on his plate.
Just as the media said, if they pulled this series off, Warner would be set for years.
Since Simon was unwavering about de Bont directing Batman: The Dark Knight, and since he had already selected directors for Superman and Wonder Woman, Terry Semel did not argue further. He also trusted that Simon would not treat a franchise with such a bright future like a toy.
Now, what Terry Semel cared about more were Warner's own The Flash and Cyborg.
To maintain his control over the DC cinematic universe plan, Simon had previously proposed a suggestion: in exchange for giving Warner half the investment rights in Superman, Warner would give Daenerys Entertainment half the investment rights in The Flash and Cyborg.
Compared to Batman and Wonder Woman, where Warner already held half the investment rights for two of the "big three," the Superman rights Daenerys Entertainment had acquired from the Salkind family did not include an investment rights clause. Daenerys Entertainment could fully self finance if it wanted.
While Superman's popularity was higher than both The Flash and Cyborg, if Warner agreed, it would essentially mean handing over the rights to two more heroes to Daenerys Entertainment.
As Batman grew more and more successful, losing the DC "big three" had already become a bitter regret inside Warner.
Now this two for one trade was something no one there wanted to accept.
However, even though Warner did not agree to Daenerys Entertainment's proposal, Simon still held strong influence over the DC cinematic universe plan.
If nothing else, with The Flash and Cyborg, even if Daenerys Entertainment did not invest, if Warner wanted those heroes to join the DC cinematic universe plan, things like the scripts, directors, and leading actors still needed Simon's approval.
Daenerys Entertainment had also made its stance clear. If The Flash and Cyborg were botched, those two heroes would likely be excluded from the DC cinematic universe plan entirely. Daenerys Entertainment would rather have a future Justice League that included only Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
Warner had not yet experienced the benefits of interconnected storytelling, but it also knew that without Daenerys Entertainment's support, it would probably not be able to handle these superheroes on its own.