While Simon was in Greenwich welcoming the eleventh child of the Westeros family, it was already evening in Europe.
Venice, Italy.
The 54th Venice Film Festival in 1997 was nearing its conclusion.
Much like the 50th Cannes Film Festival in May, which saw the emergence of films like The Full Monty and Girl, Interrupted, this year's Venice Film Festival was also buzzing with topics.
The reason traces back to Cannes in May.
Thanks to the strong lobbying efforts of Daenerys Entertainment, the British film The Full Monty unexpectedly won the Palme d'Or at the 50th Cannes Film Festival. With the prestige of this award and the social buzz surrounding the film, The Full Monty became a massive box office hit in the UK after its release on August 8, emerging as the biggest dark horse of 1997.
As of September 11, the film had grossed £50.41 million in the UK, equivalent to approximately $77 million, setting a new record for 15+ rated films in the country.
And the production cost of The Full Monty? A mere £2 million.
Considering the film's recent weekly box office still stood at £4.62 million, it was expected to earn at least another £10 million, pushing its total UK box office to over £60 million, or nearly $100 million.
Thanks to the Palme d'Or and its phenomenal success in the UK, The Full Monty had generated significant anticipation worldwide. In North America, where it was set to release on September 12, the film was expected to open on 1,435 screens. Early feedback from theaters suggested it could easily gross over $50 million in the region. Moreover, many critics believed the film was a lock for a Best Picture nomination at the 1998 Oscars.
Based on the UK and North American performance, this low-budget drama, made for just £2 million, was projected to earn a global box office of $300 million.
A return on investment of nearly 100 times.
No one could deny that the starting point for all this was the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
The prestige of the Palme d'Or had saved The Full Monty at least £10 million in advertising costs in the UK, propelling the film's reputation to its peak without the need for gradual buildup.
This was indeed the case.
In Simon's memory, the original The Full Monty had grossed around £52 million in the UK. This time, thanks to the Palme d'Or, it was expected to earn an additional £10 million.
Moreover, the value of the Palme d'Or extended far beyond the UK.
After all, The Full Monty was a film with strong regional appeal, much like American buddy comedies or French art-house films.
Without the Palme d'Or, even if the film had achieved phenomenal success in the UK, its overseas performance would have been limited. But with the UK's record-breaking box office and the globally recognized prestige of the Palme d'Or, The Full Monty was projected to gross $300 million worldwide, a conservative estimate compared to its original $257 million global box office.
On the other hand, this year's Cannes Film Festival not only gave rise to The Full Monty but also saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon set a new overseas box office record for Chinese-language films.
Additionally, Girl, Interrupted, which earned Mia Kirshner and Angelina Jolie a shared Best Actress award at Cannes, had been released in North America on August 22. As of the past three weeks, it had grossed $34.16 million, with a projected North American total of $50 million and a global box office of at least $100 million.
The film's production cost was $20 million, meaning it had already turned a profit in North America alone. Its overseas releases would further boost its returns.
In short, one Cannes Film Festival had yielded three films—The Full Monty, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Girl, Interrupted—with a combined production cost of $40 million. These films were expected to bring Daenerys Entertainment a global box office of $600 million, equivalent to a blockbuster like Twister.
So, what about this year's Venice Film Festival?
It's worth noting that the lineup of films Daenerys Entertainment brought to the 54th Venice Film Festival was almost identical to its Cannes selection.
Two films were entered into the main competition: Giuseppe Tornatore's new work The Legend of 1900 and Life Is Beautiful, written, directed, and starring the famous Italian actor Roberto Benigni. These were akin to The Full Monty and Girl, Interrupted at Cannes.
Moreover, both films had received widespread acclaim after their premieres at the festival. The premiere of Life Is Beautiful had earned a standing ovation and moved many in the audience to tears with its touching story.
Then there was Titanic, Daenerys Entertainment's long-delayed $200 million epic, which had chosen this year's Venice Film Festival for its global premiere.
Today.
Whether it was film-related media, industry-savvy fans, or even the Venice Film Festival organizers themselves, the perception of Daenerys Entertainment was complex.
On one hand, if Daenerys Entertainment could replicate the success of its Cannes films, it would greatly enhance the festival's value.
On the other hand, if Daenerys Entertainment achieved another sweeping victory, it might create the impression that the company dominated the festival circuit, leaving little room for others. After all, no matter how powerful Daenerys Entertainment was, the vast festival market couldn't thrive with just one player.
At the Lido's Palazzo del Cinema, the global premiere of Titanic began at 5:00 PM local time in Venice.
First came the red carpet.
Thanks to Daenerys Entertainment's immense influence, the festival jury, led by Jane Campion, along with renowned filmmakers from around the world and critics and journalists from various countries, all showed up to support the event.
Given Titanic's commercial appeal, a large number of lucky fans had also been invited to the screening. The organizers had even distributed questionnaires to these fans to gather feedback for potential final adjustments to the film.
The red carpet event lasted an hour.
By 6:00 PM, James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Rachel Weisz, the film's main creators, appeared on the red carpet, marking the event's climax.
Unlike the relatively relaxed DiCaprio and Weisz, James Cameron, who had endured over a year of turmoil, was now in a state of resignation.
At this point, he was just glad it was over.
As he walked the red carpet with the lead actors, politely interacting with fans and posing for photos, Cameron ignored the shouted questions from the media. Since the project had spiraled out of control last year, despite Daenerys Entertainment's efforts to manage the fallout, he had seen too many negative comments in the press.
What was the point of saying anything now?
Better to say nothing.
If things went south, he could always quit directing.
Inside the cinema, the screening was about to begin.
While the attitude of Daenerys Entertainment's top brass remained unclear—whether they were calmly confident or equally resigned—no one within the company was optimistic about the film. However, the marketing team hadn't slacked off, as Simon's rule was clear: you could lack ability, but not effort.
Thus, Mark Belford, Daenerys Entertainment's Global Operations Vice President, had personally flown in to oversee the premiere.
Mark Belford had caught Simon's attention with his marketing work on Scream and had risen through the ranks. Over the years, he had been responsible for building Daenerys Entertainment's global production and distribution network outside North America, extending into gaming and music. His achievements had earned him a spot as the company's fifth-highest executive, just below Simon, Amy Pascal, Nancy Brier, and Robert Iger.
Mark Belford's personal involvement in Titanic's premiere underscored the fact that Daenerys Entertainment hadn't given up on the project.
This was understandable.
A $200 million record-breaking blockbuster—who would dare abandon it?
However, whether this was a case of doing their best and leaving the rest to fate was something only those involved could know.
At the very least, some media outlets, based on various clues, had concluded that Daenerys Entertainment's confidence in Titanic was far from strong.
For example, the film's premiere date was neither the festival's opening nor its closing night, which felt somewhat awkward.
With Daenerys Entertainment's clout, securing a spot as either the opening or closing film would have been effortless.
Additionally, the film wasn't screened in the festival's main hall, which could seat thousands, but in a smaller auditorium with only 1,032 seats. Even then, the venue wasn't full. Aside from over 200 distinguished guests, only 500 carefully selected fans were in attendance, bringing the total to fewer than 800 people.
This series of decisions suggested that Daenerys Entertainment was deliberately keeping a low profile.
Why the low profile?
The reason was obvious.
If the film received negative reviews after the premiere, the company could handle it quietly, avoiding a complete disaster before its year-end release.
Inside the Palazzo del Cinema.
As Cameron and the others arrived, Mark Belford excused himself from a conversation with Jane Campion and approached the group. He greeted Cameron warmly, showing no trace of the negative emotions that might have arisen from the film's troubled production.
After the greetings, everyone entered the screening room. Mark Belford personally checked the preparations of the marketing team responsible for the questionnaires, down to the small gifts fans would receive after submitting their feedback. He then entered the screening room just as the lights dimmed.
At 6:00 PM sharp.
The screen lit up with the Daenerys Pictures logo of a phoenix rising from the flames, signaling the start of the film.
Not only had the lead actress been replaced with Rachel Weisz, but many details of this new version of Titanic inevitably differed from the original. However, under Simon's direct intervention, the film's runtime remained 194 minutes, just as it had been in the original.
A runtime of 3 hours and 14 minutes was practically suicidal for a commercial film.
Many executives at Daenerys believed that Simon had essentially given up on the film, hence the decision to keep it over three hours long.
One of the key questions in the audience survey was whether the film's runtime felt excessively long.
If everyone agreed, there would still be time to shorten the film before its release.
Of course, Simon had no intention of cutting it.
As the film began, James Cameron stared intently at the screen, losing himself in the moment. No matter what others thought, this film was his baby—possibly his last in Hollywood. Regardless of the outcome, Cameron was satisfied with what he had created. He had done everything he could.
The film opened with an expedition searching for the legendary "Heart of the Ocean," a gem said to have been lost with the Titanic.
The treasure hunters found a safe, but instead of the gem, they discovered a sketch of a woman, which led to the appearance of a 100-year-old woman named Rose, who claimed to be the subject of the drawing.
Through her memories, a story buried with the Titanic for decades unfolded before the audience.
Inside the screening room.
Twenty minutes into the film, as the camera panned over the bustling docks, the audience finally caught their first glimpse of the massive ship from over half a century ago.
For some journalists and critics who had approached the project with bias, their first thought was understanding where the $200 million had gone. The sheer realism of the ship's design made it clear that this wasn't just CGI. In fact, the full-scale model of the ship, built at the Gold Coast resort south of Brisbane, Australia, had been exposed by the media and still existed.
However, due to the project's troubled production and the resulting negative press, the model had largely been ignored.
But for most of the audience, especially the lucky fans, the first sight of the Titanic on the big screen was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Even though modern cruise ships now exceeded 200,000 tons, few people had actually been on such massive vessels.
Then, Rachel Weisz and Leonardo DiCaprio, both at the peak of their beauty, made their entrances. Along with the colossal ship itself, they served as catalysts, fully immersing the audience in the film's flowing narrative.
Time seemed to fly by.
Pacing.
In the end, it all came down to pacing.
Simon had always championed films that made audiences lose track of time, and Cameron's The Terminator was a prime example. That film's story unfolded seamlessly, and only when the credits rolled did viewers realize it was over. Even with Titanic's three-hour runtime, Cameron, with his innate directorial instincts, had achieved the same effect.
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