Back in Los Angeles, Simon had to oversee the entire slate of Daenerys Entertainment's film business, yet Hollywood's attention remained firmly fixed on 'Batman Begins' and the soon-to-launch DC Cinematic Universe.
From January 19 to January 25, in its fifth week of release, 'Batman Begins' dropped only 23 percent, adding another $31.63 million for a domestic total of $303.36 million, overtaking 'The Sixth Sense' to become the previous year's box-office champion.
As one trade put it, the profit Daenerys Entertainment reaped from 'Batman Begins' alone equalled the annual film earnings of most Hollywood studios.
That was essentially true.
Other studios could only watch the film's windfall with envy, but Warner Bros. Pictures stood to share in the follow-up spoils.
So, since Simon's return to Los Angeles, Warner Bros. CEO Terry Semel, eager to accelerate the next phase, had been in daily contact, either by phone or by racing over to Santa Monica.
Negotiations between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner over the particulars of the DC Cinematic Universe likewise shifted into high gear.
Santa Monica.
Friday, January 26, 1990.
Terry Semel arrived early that morning, having spotted an item in The Hollywood Reporter.
While some details of the DC slate were still being hammered out, Simon's advance work was thorough: the second batman film, 'The Dark Knight', already retained returning cast members Adam Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, and Tommy Lee Jones, and even the actor for the new villain, Two-Face, had been signed. The only missing piece was the director.
Once that was settled, shooting could begin by mid-year for a summer release the following year.
Ever since Simon confirmed he would not direct the sequel, Hollywood had buzzed with hopefuls, including several A-list names. Warner, investing half the budget, had naturally pitched its own candidates.
Yet Simon's final choice left insiders stunned.
Jan de Bont.
In Simon's original timeline, the name instantly brought up the name 'Speed'.
Here and now, however, Jan de Bont was still just a cinematographer.
Though he had shot more than twenty films since the 1960s, he had never helmed one.
Following the Marvel Cinematic Universe playbook, plucking promising newcomers to steer DC projects, Simon had zeroed in on several prospects, de Bont among them.
In the original history, 'Speed' the movie that catapulted de Bont to the top, was his very first directing effort. His follow-up, 'Twister', also soared globally, proving he could make the leap.
Compared with directors boasting only two or three features, de Bont brought far richer experience from two dozen shoots. And as a 'newcomer,' Daenerys could lock him into a long-term deal more easily.
But when Simon formally notified Warner last week, pushback came instantly.
To Warner, handing a tent-pole shared by two studios to a cinematographer with zero directing credits was lunacy.
Discussions had stayed private, until The Hollywood Reporter broke the story.
No doubt many were now wondering: who exactly is Jan de Bont?
After Daenerys named him, Warner had combed his résumé; beyond shooting 'Die Hard', he had never even snared an Oscar nomination for cinematography. How could he captain a blockbuster both studios were banking on?
Arriving at Daenerys Entertainment's Santa Monica HQ, Semel learned Simon was off-site; directed to the nearby Daenerys Effects building, he hurried over.
Simon was indeed there, as was the newly famous Jan de Bont, the group huddled around a monitor.
De Bont, of course, had worked with Warner before, most recently on the Madonna-starring 'Who's That Girl', which two years earlier had won her a Razzie for Worst Actress.
Semel had barely greeted Simon when de Bont's cell rang.
The 'new director' was clearly in demand.
After excusing himself, de Bont stepped out to take the call.
The moment he left, Simon spoke first: "Daenerys has signed de Bont for three pictures, Terry. Non-negotiable".
Semel looked strangled. After a beat he asked, "Then will you be on set every day when we shoot this fall?"
"Of course, Terry. I value the DC Cinematic Universe even more than you do, so I need you to trust my judgment". Simon gestured. "Also, meet Mark Sylvestri, you've crossed paths. And this is Roland Emmerich and Martin Campbell. They'll co-direct 'The Dark Knight', then split off to helm 'Superman' and 'Wonder Woman' respectively".
Roland Emmerich needed little introduction; from 'Independence Day' to 'The Day After Tomorrow' to '2012' he was Hollywood's disaster maestro.
A German, Emmerich had made his first sci-fi feature, 'The Noah's Ark Principle', in 1984, quickly rising in the German film world. His recent move to Hollywood had landed him straight in Simon's net.
Though the Emmerich of the original timeline would stumble, with misfires like 1998's Godzilla, at thirty-four he was in his creative prime.
Moreover, while famed for disaster spectacles, he had begun in sci-fi; his last several films, starting with 'The Noah's Ark Principle', were science-fiction.
Simon had screened his recent work; the future, scattershot multi-thread storytelling attempts had yet to set in. With a bit of shaping, Emmerich was perfect for 'Superman'.
As for Martin Campbell, the director had worked since the seventies, amassing solid experience yet never a breakout hit.
In the original timeline his breakout came with 'GoldenEye', followed by the equally acclaimed 'Casino Royale', both Bond movies. That track record made him Simon's choice for 'Wonder Woman'.
Both 'Goldeneye' and 'Casino Royale' proved Martin Campbell's command of large-scale spectacle, something 'Wonder Woman' desperately needed.
In addition, Martin Campbell was actually the director of the 2011 box-office bomb 'Green Lantern'.
In Simon's memory, the Ryan Reynolds version of 'Green Lantern' burned through a $200 million budget yet barely scraped past $200 million worldwide, plunging Warner into a huge loss and stalling the DC Cinematic Universe for a while.
Still, 'Green Lantern's failure, like many later DC projects, wasn't the director's fault; Warner, desperate to compete with Marvel, rushed into production without even locking the script. Apart from the story mess caused by that lack of prep, the film's VFX, score, and other technical details were excellent.
After all, this time, Simon was the true power behind the DC Cinematic Universe.
Choosing Jan de Bont, Roland Emmerich, and Martin Campbell as directors was less about their individual talent, though they had plenty, than about guaranteeing Simon absolute control over the slate. Just like the Marvel Cinematic Universe plan, Simon wasn't going to give these directors much creative leeway.
So while the DC Cinematic Universe's momentum meant Simon could easily afford A-list directors, he had no intention of doing so; he wanted his own vision enforced without compromise.
After Simon's introductions, Jan de Bont, who had stepped out to take a call, walked back in.
Everyone gathered once more around the same computer.
That's when Terry Semel realized Simon and the others were watching a newly developed feature in the Maya software integrated by Daenerys Effects: it could simulate the explosive collapse of solid buildings.
Seeing a tower crumble on the small screen, Terry Semel set aside his curiosity about Roland Emmerich and Martin Campbell and asked studio president Mark Hilvis, "Can this be done on the big screen?"
Mark Hilvis nodded. "The CG/live-action compositing still needs polish, but by this time next year it'll be ready".
Terry Semel understood why Hilvis was giving that timeline.
The DC Cinematic Universe slate had a gap this year.
Starting next year, two films a year would roll out.
Confirmed for 1991 were 'The Dark Knight' and 'The Flash'.
For 1992: 'Wonder Woman' and the rebooted 'Superman'. The tech Daenerys Effects was perfecting now would likely show up in 'Superman' or 'Wonder Woman'.
Simon added, "Right, show Terry 'The Flash' FX".
The operator nodded and quickly queued an experimental reel.
Terry Semel straightened up, instantly alert.
On-screen, a test runner dashed across a Room, crackling strands of lightning flickering around him, faint thunder rumbling from the speakers.
The heroes locked for Phase One were Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg.
They were picked mainly because of current VFX limits.
Aquaman and Green Lantern simply couldn't be done with today's technology.
By comparison, The Flash and Cyborg were easier.
To sell The Flash's speed, the movie would rely on high-speed photography, a technique around since the fifties. Though it couldn't yet hit the 3,000 fps of later decades, combining existing cameras with CG would blow past the bargain-basement effects of the previous 'Superman' series.
Cyborg would use a mix of practical models and CG.
The liquid-metal T-1000 and Schwarzenegger's endoskeleton in 'Terminator 2' were perfect reference; if that could be achieved in 1991, Simon believed two or three years of R&D could deliver outstanding Cyborg effects on the big screen.
To refine the tech, 'Cyborg's production would come later than 'Wonder Woman', 'Superman', and 'The Flash', tentatively shooting in 1994 for release in 1995, right before 'Justice League'.
They stayed at Daenerys Effects until noon; after lunch Jan de Bont and the others left, but Terry Semel lingered. He wasn't exactly idle, overseeing the DC Cinematic Universe was arguably his top priority.
As the press put it, if the slate worked, Warner would be 'set for years.'
Since Simon was adamant about 'The Dark Knight's director and had already chosen the filmmakers for 'Superman' and 'Wonder Woman', Terry Semel said no more; he trusted Simon not to gamble with a franchise that looked so promising.
Right now he cared more about Warner's 'The Flash' and 'Cyborg'.
To keep control of the universe, Simon had proposed trading half the investment in 'Superman' for half of 'The Flash' and 'Cyborg'.
Unlike Batman and Wonder Woman, where Warner already owned fifty percent, Daenerys Entertainment had picked up Superman's rights from the Salkinds without any co-investment clause, so the studio could foot the entire bill itself.
Even though Superman was more popular than either The Flash or Cyborg, accepting the deal would basically hand over the other two heroes' rights to Daenerys Entertainment.
With 'Batman Begins' growing ever more successful, Warner already rued losing the big trio.
Trading two for one was something the studio was reluctant to do.
Still, even without accepting the proposal, Simon retained strong say over the DC Cinematic Universe.
For one thing, although Daenerys wouldn't invest in 'The Flash' and 'Cyborg', getting those heroes into the shared universe still required Simon's approval on scripts, directors, and casting.
Daenerys had made it clear: if those films botched the characters, The Flash and Cyborg could be dropped; the company would rather release a justice league featuring only Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
Though Warner hadn't yet tasted the benefits of narrative synergy, it knew that without Daenerys' support it probably couldn't handle these superheroes alone.