Similar to Daenerys Entertainment's recent two-year productions, 'Steel Magnolias' and 'Driving Miss Daisy', 'A Few Good Men' is also adapted from a popular Broadway stage play. It tells the story of a rookie Navy lawyer investigating a military murder case under immense pressure.
The original 'A Few Good Men', starred Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore, and was also a blockbuster film that grossed over $100 million at the box office that year.
However, just looking at the calibre of the three protagonists, it's clear that the production cost of the film wouldn't be too low, which is why Simon was willing to bring the project to MGM for cooperation.
Sherry Lansing took the coffee offered by her female assistant, thanked her, and then said to Simon, "It's a very good story, similar in theme to Harrison Ford's 'Presumed Innocent' this summer, and it should also receive Oscar recognition".
Harrison Ford's 'Presumed Innocent', released in the summer, was also a courtroom crime film.
The film's opening performance was mediocre, but since its release on June 8th, it has quietly accumulated over $70 million at the box office in three months, with an estimated total domestic box office of $80 million, far exceeding the initial expectations of industry media.
Simon even felt that 'A Few Good Men' in the original timeline was probably a film that followed the trend of 'Presumed Innocent'.
"In that case, let's start preparations as soon as possible. Also, I've already given the female lead to Demi Moore; she's very suitable for the role, and she happens to have a contract with Daenerys. For the male lead, Daniel Kaffee, you can approach Tom Hanks".
Sherry Lansing hesitated, "Simon, I think Hanks is more suited for comedies, and he's not young enough".
"You can take some time to watch the rough cut of 'A League of Their Own.' Hanks' range is much wider than you imagine. Moreover, Hanks is 34 this year, which is already very young in Hollywood. If it really doesn't work, we can revise the script.
The original script for 'Rain Man' was about two middle-aged men, and the producers wanted Hoffman and Nicholson to star together, but later it was changed to a pair of brothers with a large age difference for Cruise.
It's the same for 'A Few Good Men'; the male lead doesn't have to be a rookie. He could be a middle-aged man who's been ostracized or made some mistakes. In short, we want to give the audience a sense of a comeback against the odds".
Sherry Lansing nodded, but said, "Actually, Simon, I showed the script to Cruise, and Tom is very interested in the role of Kaffee. His asking price isn't high either, $6 million, which is $3 million less than he received for 'Days of Thunder.' He's very sincere".
To ensure the success of 'A Few Good Men', using the original cast is undoubtedly the safest option.
However, Simon had never considered this from the beginning.
Over the years, Hollywood studios have lost too much initiative to stars.
Simon's goal now is to reclaim all these powers that rightfully belong to the studios.
He will not allow Daenerys Entertainment to become passive in front of any star, nor will he allow it to be like Paramount in the original timeline, which had a huge dispute with its male lead over the profit sharing of 'Mission: Impossible' only to have to sheepishly resume cooperation with him afterward.
Although Cruise's $6 million offer this time was clearly a gesture of goodwill towards Daenerys Entertainment, intending to resolve some previous entanglements, Simon had no intention of relenting.
He insisted, "Sherry, I know you have a good relationship with Cruise, but there's no room for discussion on this matter. Daenerys Entertainment will not cooperate with Cruise".
Sherry Lansing knew she didn't have the right to bargain with the young man in front of her, so she could only express regret for Cruise in her heart and said, "Then, I will contact Hanks as soon as possible".
After discussing this matter, Simon changed the subject: "The next script can wait until 'A Few Good Men' is completed. Also, regarding 007, how are your talks with Brosnan going, and also the SPECTRE copyright?"
Sherry Lansing shook her head and said, "Brosnan refused. Moreover, the Broccoli family's intention is to let Timothy Dalton star in another sequel. The SPECTRE copyright should be settled soon, for $3 million. We can't push the price down any further".
The 007 copyright has always been jointly held by MGM's United Artists and the Broccoli family in the UK.
Furthermore, in previous 007 series, the filming rights have always been in the hands of the Broccoli family.
Pierce Brosnan is already 37 this year, older than Hanks.
After so many years in the industry, he finally became famous with "Pretty Woman" and certainly wouldn't easily confine himself to the image of James Bond.
Simon didn't force the issue, but said, "Even if Brosnan is unwilling to star, the male lead still needs to be replaced. Dalton's 007 films haven't been very successful. The most recent one, 'Licence to Kill,' should be the worst-performing 007 film of all time. Continuing with him would only be a waste of time".
During the meeting in Brisbane, Qintex's shareholders and creditors had proposed that Simon join the MGM board or serve as a company consultant, both of which Simon declined.
In that sense, Simon had no legitimate reason to interfere with MGM's operations.
However, having personally experienced that day's meeting, Sherry Lansing knew that the young man in front of her could easily replace her as MGM's CEO.
Therefore, even if she had a slight resistance in her heart, she dared not ignore Simon's suggestion and said, "I will discuss this matter with the Broccoli family when I return".
After concluding his meeting with Sherry Lansing, Simon saw her off and returned to the executive area to continue his afternoon work.
It wasn't until past six in the evening that Simon was reviewing another recent acquisition of the novel rights for 'A Time To Kill' when the phone on his desk rang.
His female assistant informed him that Lew Wasserman, the chairman of MCA, had called personally.
Simon was a bit surprised but still picked up the receiver.
After a few words, Simon hung up the phone, called his female assistant in, and said, "Wasserman invited me to a cocktail party tonight. Let's go together later, and after that, we'll fly to San Francisco for the night, how does that sound?"
Jennifer nodded: "Okay, but I won't go to San Francisco with you after the party. I have to work tomorrow".
Simon's trip to San Francisco was for business, and he planned to stay there for about two days.
Hearing Jennifer say that, Simon pretended to be displeased and said, "Then don't go to the party either, go home and rest".
The female assistant's eyes sparkled, and she insisted, "I must go".
Simon grimaced and said, "You being so clingy will make me rebellious, and besides, this should be Jenny's responsibility".
The female assistant nodded confidently and smiled, "Yes, it is Jenny's responsibility".
Well…. alright.
This one is also a Jenny.
Watching the female assistant click-clack out in her small heels after speaking, Simon just smiled and resumed flipping through the documents in front of him, pondering the purpose of Lew Wasserman's invitation.
According to some rumours in the industry, Panasonic's acquisition team has recently begun formal contact with MCA management.
On Simon's side, Daenerys Entertainment, Cersei Capital, and Raybould Law Firm have also formed an acquisition team of about 60 people.
At this point, it's unlikely to keep things confidential anymore.
Presumably, Lew Wasserman has received the news and intends to bring Simon into the fray early to drive up MCA's bid price.
In his memory, Panasonic's acquisition of MCA was very unsuccessful.
To prevent MCA's stock price from soaring to an unacceptable level, Simon had no intention of making a move prematurely.
Instead, he planned to wait until Panasonic and MCA's negotiations reached a stalemate before considering an appropriate time to make an acquisition offer.
Even if Panasonic and MCA's acquisition negotiations were not as bumpy as in the original timeline, but rather went smoothly, Daenerys Entertainment could still make a move before MCA's shareholder vote on the acquisition.
However, tonight he still needed to find an excuse to appease Wasserman.
Simon quickly recalled another matter he had been considering recently, a plan he would launch after flying to San Francisco tomorrow.
It also involved a multi-billion dollar acquisition, which could perhaps serve as a temporary shield.
In short, he wouldn't let MCA use him as leverage to inflate stock prices and intensify competition.
Having made up his mind, Simon's attention returned to the 'A Time To Kill' documents in front of him.
'A Time To Kill' is a crime thriller novel published last year, dealing with racial discrimination and judicial justice, similar to the very famous 'To Kill A Mockingbird'.
The original film adaptation of 'A Time To Kill' starred Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and Sandra Bullock, and also achieved very good box office results and Oscar recognition.
Not only that, two other works by 'A Time To Kill' author John Grisham, 'The Pelican Brief' and 'The Firm', were both blockbuster films in the 1990s.
However, the original novels for the latter two films have not yet been published, so Daenerys Entertainment, while acquiring 'A Time to Kill' this time, also signed the priority rights for John Grisham's other two novels.
However, Simon has no intention of filming these projects again in the short term.
Next year alone, blockbuster projects related to Daenerys Entertainment, including those produced in-house and those co-produced, already include 'Toy Story', 'The Silence Of The Lambs', 'Scream 3', 'A Few Good Men', 'Batman: The Dark Knight', 'Terminator 2', and 'The Fugitive', seven blockbusters expected to gross over $100 million.
Although the annual box office in the United States broke through $5 billion earlier than in the original timeline, this box office market is ultimately limited.
Simon believes that these films alone could create internal competition, not to mention other major projects from other studios next year, such as 'The Flash', ' James Bond', and 'Captain Hook'.
To avoid overly fierce competition, Simon recently decided to reschedule 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II' to 1992, temporarily shelved some major projects originally intended for early launch, and is already considering extending the production pace of the first phase of DC cinematic universe films.
The 1990s in the original timeline was a period of many excellent films, and Simon does not want this market to be prematurely dominated by various action blockbusters and superhero films.
A hundred flowers blooming can maintain prosperity more sustainably.
Over-focusing on blockbuster commercial films is actually very detrimental to the long-term development of Hollywood.