Simon continued to spend the weekend in Australia, and on the new Monday he set off alone again to return to North America.
Although in the end, even Amy Pascal reminded him in a private call with Simon that maybe he should go to the "Titanic" set, which was obviously out of control, to see that Simon had not passed after all, and also reminded Daenerys Entertainment that this The producer who is responsible for the project budget should not waste time arguing with James Cameron, but should try his best to cooperate with him to complete the film.
This is already a hint of laissez-faire.
Simon actually didn't ignore it completely, and asked someone to re-estimate it privately. According to the current progress, Cameron would need about 150 million U.S. dollars to complete the film. Even if it exceeds the final amount, it may be more than the previous 200 million U.S. dollars. Save a lot of dollars.
In addition, the previous "Titanic" also indirectly created James Cameron's Light Storm Special Effects Studio. This time, starting from "Terminator 2", all the special effects technologies involved in Cameron's film production have been Retaining Daenerys' special effects, "Titanic" may seem to outsiders to be less showy than films such as "Star Wars" and "Transformers", but it only contains a lot more special effects technology.
These special effects innovations are very valuable technical assets for Daenerys’ special effects.
In addition, Simon also really hopes that Daenerys Entertainment will make some progress and 'entertain' the public. After all, even if "Titanic" completely fails this time, it will not hurt Dany, who has completed a comprehensive diversified layout. The foundation of Liz Entertainment Group.
In short, Card God can do whatever he wants this time.
Simon pays the bill.
Back in Los Angeles, local time is still September 9th.
on Monday.
Simon's first concern is the 1996 summer season, which has officially concluded. This is actually the reason why Daenerys Entertainment can support James Cameron's casual play.
The duration of this summer vacation, to be precise, is from May 10, when "The Order" and "Romeo and Juliet" are released, to September 5, when schools across North America begin, lasting a total of 17 weeks, and the past 9 During the three-day weekend from September 6 to September 8, the weekend box office in the North American market dropped from more than 62 million in the same period last week to about 35 million, which also clearly announced the end of the summer season.
Over a period of 17 weeks, a total of 6 films with a box office of over 100 million have appeared in North America. All six films have more or less connections with Daenerys Entertainment, even though Daenerys Entertainment has no involvement in investment and distribution. Simon also privately recommended Eddie Murphy's new film "The Fat Professor" to Fox.
You know, "The Fat Professor" in the original time and space is a movie invested by Universal Pictures, and Universal is now part of Daenerys Entertainment.
Moreover, in addition to 6 local movies with over 100 million box office, the entire summer season, not to mention cooperation projects such as "The Mummy" and "Mission: Impossible 2", are only films independently produced by the three labels of Daenerys Entertainment, whether it is " "Dark Man", "Police Empire", "Fargo", etc., have all achieved quite good results.
If we extend the timeline to the first eight months of 1996 from the beginning of the year to the end of the summer season on September 5, there have been a total of 9 movies with a box office of over 100 million in North American theaters, namely:
First place: "Spectre", $307 million.
Second place: "Mission: Impossible 2", $216 million.
Third place: "Sleepy Hollow", $177 million.
Fourth place: "The Mummy", $156 million.
Fifth place: "Rush Hour," $141 million.
Sixth place: "The Haunting of the Morgue 2", $137 million.
No. 7: "Romeo and Juliet", $123 million.
No. 8: "The Fat Professor," $113 million.
No. 9: "Phantom 2", $108 million.
The entire list is clear at a glance.
Among them, Daenerys Entertainment produced 5 of the 9 films entirely on its own. There are also two cooperative films. Even the top-ranked "Spectre" was due to MGM's insufficient distribution capabilities. , distribution in many overseas markets is handled by Daenerys Entertainment, so it can also be considered a stakeholder.
There is only one "The Fat Professor," and it's completely exclusive to Fox.
Although the first place on the list is temporarily occupied by "Spectre" produced by MGM, although Simon actually does not want to compete for the limelight of this first place, considering that at the end of the year, there will be a DC movie universe series that happens to have the distribution rights of Dan. Nelise Entertainment's "Wonder Woman 2" is released, and the final result of the full-year ranking is still unknown.
In any case, just looking at the list so far, Daenerys Entertainment is no less than Disney at its peak in Simon's memory.
If the connections between this series of films can be completely clarified, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Simon has basically controlled the entire Hollywood at this time. In the century-old history of Hollywood, Louis Meyer, who was once the most popular at that time, has more power than Simon at this time was far inferior.
Daenerys Studios.
In Simon's office, as an insider who had watched the entire rise of Simon Westeros, David Geffen looked at the young man opposite and couldn't help but feel filled with emotion. Even Geffen Records, which he founded back then, has gone round and round and is now part of Daenerys Records.
And now, not to mention anything else, this young man's power in Hollywood is enough for everyone to look up to.
On the sofa in the reception area, Simon took a sip of the soda that Girl A had just given him. He felt a little uncomfortable with David Geffen looking at him. You know, this is the recognized gay man in Hollywood. He put down the cup and Simon Get to the point: "David, I have a meeting later, so let's keep the story short."
"Oh, of course," David Geffen also quickly put away his thoughts and said: "I have already sent an email in advance about the matter. DreamWorks hopes to buy the "Saving Private Ryan" film held by Daenerys Entertainment. "Script, Simon, I also checked in advance. Daenerys has not made any preparations for this project. I think you don't mind changing hands."
Simon was noncommittal and said: "David, "Saving Private Ryan" is a World War II-themed script, and it must be a blockbuster-level investment. The risk is very high. Why do you want to make this project?"
"The main thing is..." David Geffen originally wanted to excuse himself, but he hesitated a little, and finally told the truth, with a wry smile on his face: "Okay, Simon, it was actually Steven who saw this script. Finally, I was very excited, but it was a pity that we took action too late.”
Hollywood is full of intrigue.
However, for Simon Westeros, if he had lied today, even if he had obtained the script of "Saving Private Ryan", once the matter was exposed, this young man would not have to admit that he was unlucky like other deceived filmmakers. If there is a rebound, the entire DreamWorks will be implicated.
Might as well tell the truth.
Even if Spielberg hadn't requested it, David Geffen wouldn't have wanted to accept the job at all. As a shareholder of DreamWorks, his attitude is consistent with what Simon just said. He is also not very optimistic about the future possibility of such a huge investment. A war movie that was not popular with audiences.
Simon had already guessed the general details of the matter. Since Geffen confessed, he did not beat around the bush and said: "Since Steven is interested, Daenerys can let it go. However, it happens to be an opportunity. How about Steven just repay the last film contract he owes Daenerys Entertainment this time.”
David Geffen didn't expect Simon to agree so readily, but was stunned immediately.
Looking at the expression on the face of Westeros, this big shot who has been in Hollywood for many years felt inexplicably that he might have stepped into a pit.
But, this can only be said to be a feeling.
No evidence.
However, David Geffen quickly realized that if this project could be made into a joint film with Daenerys Entertainment, it would be a good thing for DreamWorks, which has been ambitious but has not developed so smoothly since its establishment.
The problem is that Spielberg asked him to come over to discuss the script because he did not want to have any contact with Daenerys Entertainment. After all, Daenerys kicked him out after the success of the "Jurassic Park" series. I still remember that Spielberg produced two blockbuster films, "Jurassic Park" and "Schindler's List" for Daenerys Entertainment.
The young man on the opposite side later ditched Spielberg and hired a newcomer, which was really a bit chilling.
Simon saw that David Geffen was hesitant, and then said: "David, you can go back and discuss with Steven. If he wants this project, my conditions are very simple. Our two companies will invest together. Daenerys Entertainment is responsible for distribution, and in terms of production, I feel very secure about Steven, so I will not interfere at all."
There's another thing Simon didn't say. It's easy for either Geffen or Spielberg to think clearly. After completing this project, Spielberg's film contract owed from Universal Times was completely cleared this time.
Seeing that Simon had made clear conditions, David Geffen nodded slightly, but then said: "The problem is, Simon, we have signed an agreement with Paramount."
"This is not a problem. I think Paramount can also negotiate. For Daenerys, I only ask for half of the investment share and the distribution rights of the film."
David Geffen was originally not very optimistic about "Saving Private Ryan", but at this time, seeing Simon Westeros, who had expressed the same attitude before, making such a request, he suddenly confirmed some of his intuition just now, Naturally, I feel that leaving only half of the investment share to share with DreamWorks and Paramount is definitely not enough.
However, after the discussion continued, Simon refused to make any more concessions and had to stand up to leave temporarily, mentally thinking about how to discuss with Spielberg when he went back, and whether he could completely get rid of Paramount.
After seeing Geffen off, Simon was about to attend the production meeting for the "American Pie" project that had just been launched some time ago, when he was stopped by another incident.
Girl A brought the news that just came from San Francisco.
After this period of secret negotiations, Tinker Bayer, who was in charge of Lady C, successfully negotiated an acquisition agreement with Apple.
After all, it’s just a small business worth billions of dollars. Simon handed it over to Lady C last month, and within just one month, Apple agreed to Tinco Beyer’s acquisition offer.
The main reason is that Apple is really at the end of its rope.
Obviously, the new technology industry has been booming in recent years. As an old giant that created the PC era, Apple has bucked the trend and declined under the impact of Microsoft. The most direct manifestation is the market value, which is the highest compared to the years in the early 1990s. With a market value of more than US$7 billion, Apple's market value has almost fallen to the US$2 billion threshold recently, shrinking by more than 70% compared to its peak.
Moreover, Apple, which could barely maintain profits in the past few years, has fallen into losses since last year. In the first two quarters of this year, Apple's total losses have reached 300 million U.S. dollars, and the annual loss is expected to exceed 600 million U.S. dollars.
Unless a miracle occurs, Apple will go bankrupt in at most two years.
On the other hand, this time, Jobs, who had already sold Pixar to Simon, had unknowingly fallen into obscurity. Without the appeal brought by "Toy Story", it would be impossible for the other party to return to take charge of Apple, and Simon did not intend to Allow this to happen.
Therefore, selling oneself to Tinker Beyer is almost the only way out for Apple.
Many people probably don’t quite understand Tinker Bayer’s intention to acquire Apple for a while.
He continued to a nearby conference room and signaled New World Pictures President Danny Morris to start the meeting. Simon held the draft acquisition agreement reached between Tinker Bayer and Apple in his hand.
Tinker Bayer will acquire Apple in the form of cash and stock. The final transaction price is US$2.8 billion. Compared with the market value of about US$2.1 billion at this time, it is a premium of 33%, of which US$1 billion will be paid in cash and another US$1.6 billion. The dollar is Tinker Bayer's stock.
At the same time, Tinkerbeier will also assume approximately $1.2 billion in Apple's debt.
Calculated, the total transaction value is US$4 billion.
Relative to Apple's sluggish state at this time, this is a significantly high price. However, a higher offer is also the key to Tinco Bayer being able to negotiate a satisfactory acquisition agreement within a month. After all, if the time drags on too long and the news leaks, Apple's stock price may rise by more than 30% within a few days.
Simon doesn’t want to have long nights and have many dreams, and Girl C, who received Simon’s private advice, doesn’t want to have long nights and have many dreams. As for Apple, at this time, they don't have the confidence to treat Tinkerbell as a fat sheep and kill him, and they probably don't want to have long nights and dreams.
So that's basically the final solution.
As long as Simon has no objections, the news will be announced tomorrow morning.
In addition, such an acquisition will not encounter any resistance in terms of review by the authorities, and Simon can now consider the next step.
The first is the system.
Since Yigrit obtained the original source code of the Linux system in 1991, Simon began to plan a graphical interface PC operating system with Linux as the kernel. Currently, Yigrit's team has been developing it for five consecutive years and has begun to use it. The operating system of Yigret's self-built data center.
As for the PC version, the original plan was to officially launch it in 1997. Now, with Apple and a series of core patents for the graphical interface operating system, the Westeros system will not be afraid of Microsoft's patent barriers.
The worst case scenario is a lawsuit.
Secondly, there is the hardware.
Many people may not know that the British ARM company that proposed the ARM architecture was first invested by Apple. Now Apple is still the major shareholder of ARM. In recent years, the Newton tablet has used ARM architecture processors.
After winning Apple, the next step is to take full control of ARM.
Then, use the resources of the Westeros system to fully promote the research and development of ARM architecture chips suitable for mobile electronic devices. Even though the mobile Internet era may take another 10 years to fully arrive, with the success of products such as iCam and iPlayer, It is more than enough to develop more portable mobile electronic devices with ARM chips as the core, and create a mini home-style mobile Internet ecosystem through technologies such as Bluetooth and WIFI that have emerged at this time.
Simon read the draft agreement between Tinker Bayer and Apple, and quickly began to write down various brainstorming ideas on the scratch paper in front of him. Unknowingly, an hour had passed.
It wasn't until Danny Morris reminded me that this was a production meeting for "American Pie."
Simon quickly glanced at the meeting memo handed over by the girl A next to him, and finally recovered his mind and turned to the theme of the meeting. He said to Danny Morris and others: "Regarding this project, at the public level, we need to package the film into A story about youth and growth with special connotations. However, you must understand that in fact, the selling point of this movie is only one word, sex. Only by firmly grasping this point, whether it is the production of the film or the future Issuing it will prevent everyone from going astray."
Over the years, many movies in Simon's memory have been forgotten, and many films he has never heard of have appeared.
The "American Pie" under discussion is one of the stories that was relatively lucky not to be dropped by Butterfly. Although the details of the script are very different from Simon's memory, the overall story has not changed much, so Simon decisively won it and gave it the green light.
In the past, "American Pie" had a global box office of more than 200 million after the first part cost only 11 million U.S. dollars. Even Simon couldn't remember how many sequels it had made.
Although there are various analyzes of the core of the film, youth, growth, blah blah, in fact, the key to the success of this series is really only one word, sex. The film even created terms such as 'MILF' that have become part of the adult vocabulary, so this is evident.
As for the rest, they are all foils outside this core.
Therefore, if this new version of "American Pie" wants to succeed, no matter how it whitewashes a more vulgar theme in the future, Simon must let the team at New World Pictures understand the core of the project.
Grasp the main contradiction.
Although it is not comparable to the DC movie universe, and is not even as good as the Conjuring movie universe, according to memory, this series is actually a gold mine-level big IP. As long as the first part can be successful, the follow-up can continue for many years like the original time and space. Production continues, including multiple non-theatrical versions that are only available to the videotape and DVD markets.
Daenerys Entertainment still controls the huge Blockbuster video chain system, so it can maximize the benefits of this series in all aspects. Combined with the information in memory, this seemingly inconspicuous youth film series, if developed properly, will be enough to bring $1 billion in revenue to Daenerys Entertainment in the future.