Capítulo 163: Chapter 163: Cannes
The opening date of this year's Cannes Film Festival was May 11.
On May 9, Simon and his entourage departed from Los Angeles, taking the newly received Gulfstream IV first to New York, then directly to Cannes.
As Gulfstream's latest long-range business jet, the Gulfstream IV has a range of 7,800 kilometers, easily capable of completing the roughly 6,000-kilometer transatlantic flight.
However, the Gulfstream IV, with a maximum capacity of 20 people, actually has only 12 seats available for passengers.
Simon, Jennifer, and Jennifer took up three of these seats. Orion Pictures President Mike Medavoy also went along, as did Robert De Niro, John Travolta, Nicole Kidman, Samuel L. Jackson, Madonna, and Sean Penn, among other main and supporting actors. Once everyone boarded, the cabin was fully occupied, even with Simon's two bodyguards, Neil Bennett and Ken Dixon, acting as pilots. The rest of the entourage had to take commercial flights.
Due to the time difference of 9 hours ahead of the US West Coast, the group left Los Angeles at 10 a.m. local time and, after a total flight time of 11 hours, arrived in Cannes on the morning of May 10, around 6 a.m.
At Cannes Airport.
As they disembarked, the clear hierarchy among them was evident. De Niro and Travolta, two long-established superstars, had confirmed stays in friends' mansions in Cannes. Madonna and her husband had rented an apartment in advance, while the rest, including Medavoy, headed to the hotel prepared by Orion.
Naturally, Simon wasn't relegated to staying in a hotel with the others.
After agreeing on a time to meet in the evening, Simon and a few others drove to the Le Cannet area in northeast Cannes. Half an hour later, after several turns on the narrow, tree-lined mountain roads of Le Cannet, they entered a gated estate at the mountain's summit.
Upon alighting from the car, Simon went to the southern edge of the courtyard, looking out at the expansive view of Cannes and the distant bay, spontaneously remarking, "I like it here."
Jennifer also came over, saying, "It's quite similar to our Palisades property, but this is much larger, with a total area of 1.5 hectares, more than three times the size of our Palisades estate."
While they were chatting, a brunette in a light grey business suit, carrying a stack of documents, approached them, smiling and introducing herself in fluent English, "Mr. Westeros, Ms. Johnston, hello, I'm Sophia Fecy, your real estate agent here in Cannes. Would you like a tour?"
Having already completed the purchase formalities before their arrival in Cannes, Simon was well aware of the property details but still nodded in agreement.
"Please, follow me," Sophia Fecy gestured invitingly, leading them towards the mansion, briefly mentioning, "This is the annex, designed for security and staff. The previous owner, Mr. Brent, was very generous to his employees, hence the annex's exquisite design. Let's head directly to the main villa. The villa spans 18,000 square feet, with three floors encompassing 69 rooms, including 16 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, 3 kitchens, and fully equipped with a library, gym, and cinema room. Oh, and there's also a spacious basement originally used as a wine cellar..."
After the 11-hour flight, Simon and Jennifer were quite exhausted and, after a brief introduction from Sophia, sent her away.
Despite the distance, buying this mountaintop estate was not something they could customize as freely as in Los Angeles. Simon had only asked Sophia Fecy, the agent, to replace the villa's linens, sofa covers, and the like in advance; the rest remained unchanged for the time being.
After finding a nearby restaurant's delivery number from the information left by Sophia Fecy and having breakfast, Neil and Jennifer were left to their own devices while Simon and Jennifer retired to the third-floor master bedroom.
After a bath, dressed in robes and finding the sunlight on the bedroom terrace increasingly inviting, Simon felt unexpectedly awake and strolled out to the terrace.
Looking down from the terrace, the estate's architecture was typical of Spanish style: red roofs, white walls, columns, fountains. Despite no particular fondness for this architectural style, Simon decided to purchase it as soon as he saw the property details in Los Angeles.
The location was too good to pass up, and the original owner would not have sold such a property, destined to appreciate in value, unless absolutely necessary.
Moreover, at an asking price of 35 million French francs, which translated to just over 5 million dollars given the ongoing depreciation of European currencies, the deal was finalized at 5 million dollars after Simon agreed to a cash payment.
Although Cannes's real estate value couldn't compare with Los Angeles's at the time, the threefold larger area, castle-like villa, and exceptional mountaintop views made the 5 million dollars seem like an absolute bargain to Simon.
Jennifer also came out to the terrace, leaning on Simon as they looked out together. She asked, "What's up?"
Simon wrapped his arms around Jennifer's waist, musing, "I was just thinking, if we had bodyguards in sunglasses with assault rifles standing around the yard, it would completely recreate many movie scenes, and I would definitely be playing a drug lord."
"Drug trafficking is so tiresome, and it doesn't make as much money as my man does," Jennifer cheekily said, leaning her face against Simon's and laughing, "But you're right, those movie scenes always need a couple of pretty vases to complement them. Should I call Nicole Kidman over? After all, you've been eyeing her since you cast her as the lead actress, haven't you?"
Simon shook his head, "No."
Jennifer, of course, didn't believe him and playfully pouted.
Simon laughed, lifting Jennifer in his arms to head back to the bedroom, "Even if I had some interest before, it's gone now."
"Why?" Jennifer queried curiously.
Simon gently tossed Jennifer onto the bed, drawing the curtains closed, and explained, "I solved a math problem for Ron McMillan last time, and suddenly I found myself less interested in women."
Jennifer playfully posed on the bed, reminiscent of a poster from "Pulp Fiction," swinging her beautiful legs and pressed, "What kind of math problem?"
Simon sat down on the bed, shaking his head, "It's nothing. Better I don't tell you, or you might think I objectify women."
Jennifer blinked, snuggling up to Simon, "You mean feminism? I'm no feminist."
Simon hugged her, "So, you're a masculinist?"
"Why not? I am a masculinist."
Simon's hand wandered under Jennifer's thin robe, and as she purred like a kitten, he laughed, "Confirmed, you can't be a masculinist."
Jennifer held onto Simon's withdrawing hand, murmuring, "Who says a masculinist has to be a man?"
Simon thought of many men claiming to be feminists and nodded in agreement, "Seems like, indeed."
Suddenly, Jennifer's eyes snapped open, looking at Simon, "You almost had me there. What math problem?"
"I still don't want to tell you."
"Okay," Jennifer complied, no longer pursuing the question, but then added, "But you've made Nicole Kidman famous. If you don't want her, someone else will benefit."
Simon pinched Jennifer's nose, "Are you looking for an excuse to bite me?"
Jennifer bit Simon's shoulder without hesitation, "I don't need an excuse to bite you."
Simon understood why Jennifer bit him after the Oscars last month; perhaps it was a woman's unique sixth sense, sensing Sandra might pose a threat, which prompted her reaction.
Clearly, Jennifer didn't see Catherine and Jennifer as threats.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Due to age, Catherine was unlikely to end up with Simon. As for Jennifer, the female assistant posed no threat in Jennifer's eyes.
With these thoughts in mind, Simon patted Jennifer's waist, "Let's sleep, we have things to do tonight."
Jennifer hummed in agreement, cuddling Simon into a comfortable position, and soon fell asleep.
They slept until the evening when Jennifer knocked on their door, waking Simon and Jennifer.
With the opening ceremony the next day, Simon had to start getting busy, attending a Hollywood filmmakers' gathering that night. After getting up and freshening up, Simon and Jennifer headed to a hotel in the Cannes city center.
The party was about to start, and as they entered the banquet hall, Robert Redford, who was nearby chatting, came over.
Redford had only a cameo in "Pulp Fiction" and didn't need to attend the festival for that role. He was in Cannes for his directorial work "The Battle of Beanfield."
"Beanfield" received mediocre reviews compared to his first directorial success, "Ordinary People." Universal Pictures released it in mid-March, and after nearly two months, it barely made 8 million dollars, a loss against its 22 million dollar budget.
To recoup losses, Universal sent the film to Cannes for exhibition, and Redford led the promotion.
Redford, accustomed to Hollywood's ups and downs, greeted Simon warmly, "Simon, you're just in time. I was about to introduce you."
Leading Simon and Jennifer to his recent acquaintance, Redford introduced, "William, this is Simon. Simon, this is William Goldman."
Simon shook hands with Goldman, a distinguished 60-something with silver hair and a warm yet serious demeanor. Goldman, a renowned Hollywood screenwriter and a Cannes jury member, suggested meeting back in Los Angeles.
Simon, unaware of the favor he owed Redford, recognized Goldman's significance, especially given Cannes's unpredictable jury decisions. With "Pulp Fiction" among 21 mediocre competitors, Simon's efforts in public relations, including networking with jury members like George Miller, were crucial, even as he navigated the festival's social intricacies without overtly expecting awards.
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