It was supposed to be a very happy Christmas, but bad news came one after another.
The day after reading the script of "Rain Man", Simon asked Amy to take over this project as much as possible and roughly explain his reasons. The two also discussed some negotiation strategies in advance.
However, plans never keep up with changes.
Simon did not expect that Tony Tomopoulos, chairman of United Artists, would make an impromptu call to his side, so he could only improvise.
To be able to reach a high position in Hollywood, Tony Tomopoulos cannot be a fool. After the meeting, Amy called the next day, but Tomopoulos used the holiday as an excuse to push the negotiations until after Christmas, and also demanded that Simon must appear in person.
The matter was put on hold.
Then.
Before Robin Williams' famous work "Good Morning Vietnam" was released, Amy had already negotiated a contract with the other party for "Dead Poets Society" with a salary of US$2 million.
The average box office of Robin Williams' previous three movies was less than US$15 million, and Daenerys Pictures' offer of US$2 million is already very generous. Such a salary for the male protagonist can also keep the production cost of "Dead Poets Society" within 10 million US dollars.
As a result, this incident also happened.
The two parties agreed to sign the contract on the morning of December 24th. When things came to a close, CAA suddenly changed its mind and said that Robin Williams needed to think about it again and agreed to reply to Daenerys Pictures after the New Year.
It's not hard to imagine that once "Good Morning Vietnam" becomes a box office hit, Robin Williams will immediately rise to the top.
By then, without five to six million dollars, it would be impossible to sign the other party again. If Daenerys Pictures insists on using Robin Williams, the overall production budget of "Dead Poets Society" will also increase, even exceeding $15 million.
Immediately afterwards.
James Raybould rushed to Chicago a few days before Christmas, hoping to discuss joining Motorola's chairman, Robert Galvin, on the company's board of directors.
Among the 26 companies held by Westeros Corporation, Motorola has the highest market value.
When Simon was bargain hunting during the stock market crash, Motorola's stock price had plummeted 40% from its highest point, but its market value still exceeded US$5 billion. Therefore, the 4.9% of Motorola shares absorbed by Westeros Company fully consumed Simon's capital of approximately US$250 million.
At the close of trading on the day before Christmas, Motorola's stock price had risen from the lowest point of the stock market crash of $53 to $75.5. Although it has not yet touched the record of $87, the highest before the stock market crash, it is already very difficult for an established communications electronics giant with a large market capitalization.
As the company with the largest capital investment in Westeros, Motorola's stock price has been able to return to its current high level, and the 'Westeros Combination' has obviously played a role that cannot be ignored.
Moreover, after more than half a century of development, Motorola has become a publicly held company with very dispersed shares. With a 4.9% shareholding, Westeros has become the company’s fifth largest shareholder and is fully qualified to claim Join Motorola's Board of Directors.
During this period, the 26 companies in which Westeros holds shares were basically in a wait-and-see state after receiving invitations to sit on the board of directors. Now, if Motorola, an old communications and electronics giant, can absorb Westeros representatives to join the board of directors, the resistance of other companies will definitely be reduced a lot.
However, James Raybould rushed to Chicago and waited for three full days in the town of Schaumburg, where Motorola's headquarters is located on the outskirts of Chicago.
As a result, he was rejected.
The meeting had been arranged, but after three days of waiting, a Motorola employee suddenly informed James that Chairman Robert Galvin had taken his family to Florida for vacation, and James had no choice but to return without success.
That's not all.
On Christmas Day, Motorola publicly gave Simon a 'Christmas gift'.
Robert Galvin, the chairman of Motorola and the son of Paul Galvin, the company's founder, issued a statement through the New York Times, saying forcefully that "Motorola is an industrial company with a sense of social responsibility and insists on making excellent products. The company's board of directors A speculator is never welcome to join. "
After two months of waiting, the federal investigative agency still has not filed any investigation or charges against the huge profits made by Westeros companies during the stock market crash. The media had already begun to die down.
After the Westeros Corporation had this capital, it began to seek corresponding power by asking to join the boards of various companies. Although the incident did not cause much trouble on the surface, many people were secretly paying attention to the progress of the incident.
Now, the traditional capital forces suddenly challenged Simon Westeros, a young latecomer, and public opinion suddenly became boiling again.
Although the Westeros Company quickly issued a rebuttal statement, the media, which had waited for such a long time, naturally would not give up easily. All kinds of inflammatory remarks came one after another, making Christmas a mess.
Manhattan.
Located in a penthouse duplex in a building on Lexington Avenue in Midtown, this is the second property Janet has bought during this period. The apartment on Fifth Avenue in the Upper East Side took half a year to complete the renovation. Now Simon was unwilling to stay in any hotel anymore, so Janet bought the penthouse apartment in front of her.
This 69-story building was built in the 1950s, but the interior decoration is quite in line with Simon's personal preference of modern minimalist style.
The two-story duplex apartment has a total internal space of 600 square meters. Although it is less than one-third of the apartment on Fifth Avenue, it is still spacious enough. The entire apartment has a layout of 2 living rooms, 1 kitchen, 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, as well as a study room and a private screening room. The oversized master bedroom upstairs with an area of more than 100 square meters overlooks most of New York City.
The price tag of this apartment before the stock market crash was $5 million. After the stock market crash, Janet successfully bought it for only $3.5 million due to full payment. According to Simon's memory, such a duplex apartment will have at least 10 times the potential for appreciation in the next thirty years.
The time is already December 26, the day after Christmas, Saturday.
In the evening, she was invited to a party at Raybould's house. In the cloakroom, Janet, who had already changed into a burgundy evening dress, was carefully helping her boyfriend choose a tie. At the same time, she asked: "What are you going to do about Motorola? "
Simon buttoned up his suit in front of the full-length mirror and said: "Be sensible and sell the stocks bit by bit, so as to maximize profits. If you are irrational, just smash the market and bring Motorola's stock price back to the lowest point during the stock market crash." .”
Motorola's current total share capital is approximately 95 million shares, of which Westeros holds 4.7 million shares.
According to the stock price of US$75.5 on Thursday, the total value of the shares held by Westeros Company has exceeded US$350 million. If capital gains tax is not taken into account, Simon will be able to benefit from the appreciation of these shares in more than two months. Made $100 million.
Janet chose a light blue striped tie, came over and personally tied it around Simon's neck, and said with a smile: "You definitely want to be irrational for once, right?"
"Yeah, a good Christmas has been messed up like this. If I don't fight back, more people will definitely jump out." Simon nodded, put his arms around Janet's slender waist, and kissed her smooth silk He rubbed his clothes and said: "If you have to endure, weigh, compromise and worry all the time just to make more money, what's the point of this life? I intend to enjoy wealth, and I have never thought of becoming a slave to money." "
With bright eyes, Janet came over and pecked the man on the lips, continued to tie her tie, and said, "After cashing out this money, what are you going to do?"
"There are a lot of things to do, including increasing my stock holdings, trying to buy two comic companies, and Hollywood. Next, I plan to invest in some technology companies that can promote the development of 3D animation and CG special effects, and set up my own special effects studio," Simon said As he said that, he smiled at the woman in front of him and said: "Of course, there are also our things, the island in Australia, the building in Manhattan. By the way, you can also buy more of the various apartments in Manhattan. I like to have a lot. It feels like a house, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be on the top floor. In short, the money will definitely be spent.”
Janet listened to Simon casually talk about some plans that he would never mention to others easily. The corner of her mouth curled up and she said: "If you want, it's okay to buy a hundred houses, but you definitely don't like renting it out, right? ?A house will rot if it is left unoccupied for a long time, even if it is cleaned regularly by the cleaners. I remember when I was a child, my family bought a manor outside of London. The castle inside was very beautiful. But the UK is too far away from Australia. , the family didn’t go there often, and then the castle became like a haunted house, completely deserted.”
"Of course I don't want to rent it out, but I can definitely find someone to live in it."
"Um?"
"Pick out some beautiful vases. You know, I'm not exclusive to the opposite sex."
Janet immediately rolled her eyes at him and teased: "Like your ponytail assistant?"
"Jenny is not a flower vase."
"Um... hum..." Janet trailed in a small voice, stepped back and looked at the tied tie, nodded with satisfaction, then walked to the shoe cabinet to pick out shoes, while saying: "I'm warning you, little bastard, my dad But he is very face-conscious and also likes hunting. You'd better be careful when you are fooling around outside and don't always get photographed by the paparazzi."
Simon sat down on the chair next to him and waited for Janet to help him choose shoes. He smiled and defended: "I just picked some vases. I didn't plan to do anything."
"I don't believe you," Janet said, choosing a pair of leather shoes and walking over, saying: "Put them on and try them on, it's getting late. Let's turn to Madison Avenue and take a look at those buildings. Fifth There is no suitable land next to the avenue, only that place is the most feasible. As long as we can buy all the six low-rise and old apartment buildings between 59th Street and 60th Street east of Madison Avenue , we have the site to build the Westeros Tower. I have had people do an evaluation. If we want to acquire all six buildings including the land, including property rights replacement, we may have to invest another 100 to 200 million US dollars. I We have asked Bingshan to help us register a shell company in Australia to acquire these lands and properties, you just need to pay."
Simon nodded, wearing leather shoes, and asked curiously: "You seem to often mention Iceberg, male?"
Janet rolled her eyes: "Female."
"Oh, but the surname Asperger is really rare."
Janet picked out a pair of high heels for herself, sat down on the chair, and said, "What's your last name? Bingshan is Bingshan. Because he is always cold, he is called Bingshan."
Simon immediately became interested and said: "Ice beauty, I like this type the best. Is it beautiful?"
Janet glanced at Simon: "She's prettier than me."
Although he felt that Janet's expression was a little strange, Simon still said casually: "Take the time to introduce it to me."
Janet nodded: "Okay, but if you dare to have any bad ideas, I will learn to hunt from dad."
Simon made a frightened expression: "So cruel, who is it?"
Janet said: "Veronica Johnston, little bastard, who do you think this could be?"
When Simon heard the surname 'Johnston', he immediately understood that this was Janet's relative. He realized that the joke just now was somewhat inappropriate, and quickly said: "I'm so sorry, honey."
Janet put on her shoes, left the cloakroom with Simon on her arm, and explained: "Veronica is my little aunt, only 10 years older than me. Our family is not as big as the Kidman family. After my great-grandfather, my grandfather He is an only son, and his father is also the only son of his grandfather. Later, my little aunt was born when my grandfather was 53 years old. At that time, my eldest brother Anthony was already 3 years old. After my little aunt was born, my mother gave birth to four more children. My grandfather was very happy, he felt that my little aunt was the lucky star that made our family start to prosper.”
The two came to the entrance of the apartment. Simon handed the windbreaker on the hanger to Janet and put on the coat himself. Hearing what she said, he smiled and said: "There must be an ending to this kind of story, right? What happens next?"
Janet put her windbreaker on over her dress, rolled her eyes at Simon, and said, "Then, many, many years later, Janet Johnston met a little bastard, and the tragedy began. It was so tragic. Well, help me with my hair. Sort it out.”
Simon took out Janet's blond hair that was hidden in her clothes. Seeing that the woman changed the subject, he did not pursue the question. He pretended to be dissatisfied and said: "Why is it a tragedy? It's obviously a fairy tale. The prince and the princess lived happily ever after."
Janet didn't know what the point of the joke was. She suddenly laughed and said, "I've always thought there was something wrong with this statement."
The two left the apartment, Simon locked the door and asked doubtfully: "Huh?"
Janet took the key from the man and put it in her bag, still smiling, and said: "Look, prince and princess, this is inherently problematic."
"Your Highness, please explain?"
Janet raised her hand and made random gestures, saying, "Look, the prince and princess, their parents should be the king and queen, right?"
Simon immediately understood the theory forced out by Janet, and said with an upright face: "I have decided not to talk to a dirty-minded woman like you for the next minute."
Janet came over, took Simon's arm, and said coquettishly: "My dear, don't ignore little Jenny."
Simon remained sternly silent and raised his wrist to tap on his watch.
Janet and Simon walked towards the elevator together, her eyes flickering funny, her tone suddenly became a little softer, and she said softly: "Your Highness."
Simon immediately surrendered: "No, honey, I'll just be a groom. Occasionally, a groom can kidnap one or two princesses. This gives me a greater sense of accomplishment."
"hehe."