After the false alarm, Daenerys Entertainment's operations quickly returned to normal.
However, after experiencing this incident, Amy and other leaders of the Westeros system also realized how fragile the business empire created by Simon was in some aspects.
When various rumors suddenly spread from Melbourne, Amy even heard that the Los Angeles County government once planned to set up a special working group to prepare to take over Daenerys Entertainment. Because legally, Simon is actually alone, and he has no legal heir.
Janet is undoubtedly the person closest to Simon, but legally, the two have no relationship.
Moreover, during the whole process, no one thought that Simon, a young man in his early twenties, would think of making a will.
During the rush to Melbourne, they confirmed that their boss was safe and sound, and Amy and James together advised Simon to re-establish his will and estate agent in some cases. They had learned that Simon had left testamentary documents with George Norman, but with billions of dollars in assets involved, there was no way to be too cautious.
The lawsuit over the huge estate of Howard Hughes, who died in 1976, is still ongoing more than a decade later.
A large amount of information confirms that Hughes left a will. However, due to the lack of a clear legal heir and the trend of huge profits, all true and false will documents have been declared invalid. Hughes' huge inheritance has completely become a mystery to many people. A feast for everyone.
Naturally, Simon didn't want to end up like Hughes, so he followed Amy's advice and re-drafted relevant wills and agency documents with multiple guarantees.
Entering March, following "Rain Man", Daenerys Entertainment's other two films "Steel Magnolias" and "Dead Poets Society" released at the end of last year also achieved box office sales of over 100 million in North America.
As a result, in 1988, there were a total of 11 North American box office billion dollar club films, 7 of which were produced by Daenerys Entertainment, and the other 4 were Disney's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", Paramount ’s “Coming 2 America,” Fox’s “Up” and Paramount’s “Crocodile Dundee 2.”
Two films that were also box-office hits at the end of 1988, "The Dark Knight" and "The Mice and Dragons," were unable to touch the 100 million yuan threshold due to the attack of Daenerys Entertainment's many blockbuster films.
The two films are still in theaters, but according to current box office data, the North American box office volume of "The Great Detective" is only about 73 million U.S. dollars, and the local box office volume of "Mouse and Dragons" is only about 95 million U.S. dollars.
Of the 7 Daenerys Entertainment films that have exceeded 100 million in box office in North America, 6 have entered the top ten in the 1988 box office list. Only the last one, "Dead Poets Society", is still catching up with its predecessor, "Crocodile Dungeon". Dee 2》.
However, although "Dead Poets Society" cannot be regarded as an awards season hit like "Rain Man", it has been a hot topic recently. It will not be difficult to catch up with "Crocodile Dundee 2", which was released last summer and has been canceled.
On the other hand, "The Bodyguard" and "The Sixth Sense" have both been successfully completed recently, and the filming of John Hughes' "Uncle Buck" is also halfway through. Daenerys Entertainment also officially announced the schedules of the three films, which are June 2, June 30 and August 11 respectively.
In addition, on February 24, following "Blue Angel", Daenerys Entertainment's High Gate Pictures label released its first film "Metropolitan", directed by Whit Stillman This kid's art film didn't win an award at the Sundance Film Festival in January, but it got good reviews.
The production cost of "Metropolis" was $3 million, which was far more than the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Whit Stillman originally planned to recruit his family and friends to help shoot.
Because of the casting of some well-known actors and the film's reputation, "Metropolitan" opened with 127 screens, and the box office reached US$1.39 million in the first week of release, with a single box office achieving a sales level of over 10,000 US dollars.
Ira Deutschman invested a $2 million promotional budget for the film.
It earned US$1.39 million in the first week. After appropriately increasing the scale of screenings and relying on long-term release, the total box office in North America is expected to reach about US$8 to 10 million, which is enough for Daenerys Entertainment to recover its costs from the North American box office alone.
While "Metropolis"'s projected North American box office total may not match the opening weekends of some of Daenerys Entertainment's blockbuster films, that's how High Gate Pictures is positioning it. Simon is already very satisfied with Ira Deutschman's operation.
Easter this year is March 26, which is earlier than in previous years.
After "Metropolitan", another film "Sisters" from Highgate Pictures will be released on March 17, and New World Pictures' "The Amityville Horror 2" will also be released on March 24 during the Easter period. .
Overseas.
Because he was establishing overseas distribution channels from scratch, Robert Rem's work progressed slowly. However, relying on the four hit movie rights of "Scream," "Steel Magnolias," "Dead Poets Society" and "Rain Man" to pave the way, everything is going smoothly.
It is expected that in the first half of this year, Daenerys Entertainment will be able to achieve a share of the company's four best-selling films at the end of last year in major overseas box office countries. Moreover, as long as this channel expansion is completed, the overseas distribution of Daenerys Entertainment's future movies will be much faster.
Finally, counting a large number of films that are in various stages of preparation, including "Pretty Woman," "The Last Days," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Driving Miss Daisy," etc., Daenerys Entertainment It can be said that the film business has truly entered a state of sustainable and healthy development.
Los Angeles.
Sophia Facey arrived here yesterday after leaving Melbourne.
Because the fashion week in the second half of the year is crucial to Gucci's recovery, even though she received Simon's funds and commitment, she still flew to Los Angeles in person, intending to communicate with Amy in person.
Moreover, Gucci also has a store on Beverly Boulevard. Sofia also plans to make some financial audits and personnel adjustments to the store here. These tasks also require assistance from Daenerys Entertainment, which she cannot find in a short time. With a suitable accounting team, the same applies to the specialty store in New York.
After signing the equity transfer agreement, Sophia appointed herself as the president of Gucci. Because Melisandre Company already had absolute control, Gucci no longer had a board of directors, and some core members of the original Gucci family only received some consultant titles.
Today is Saturday.
Sofia spent two days in the store on Beverly Boulevard and arrived in Malibu early in the evening.
There is a PR party organized by Daenerys Entertainment.
Due to Daenerys Entertainment's continuous public relations offensive for the Oscars at the end of the month, the mansion in Palisade has become the target of many gossip tabloids, and the company can only change locations to hold various parties.
Today's party was held at a mansion Amy had just bought in Malibu, located in Paradise Bay not far from Cape Dume.
After the 1987 stock market crash, housing prices throughout North America have continued to fall, and Malibu has not escaped. Malibu's booming real estate development in the early 1980s has almost stagnated in the past two years, and housing prices are at the lowest point in recent years.
However, Amy is keenly aware that with the construction of Daenerys Entertainment Studios and Dume Point Estate, Malibu will definitely be affected by this and become a gathering place for various celebrities and superstars.
There's never been a better time to buy property in Malibu.
Although it will be late March before she can get her last year's apartment, Amy has already started looking for a nice seaside mansion in Malibu.
It was getting late, and seeing that the guests had almost arrived, Amy, who had been welcoming the guests with her boyfriend, the restaurant owner, felt a little more relaxed.
After officially announcing the party, Amy came to the living room next door.
Just as Simon inadvertently predicted, Sophia Fessey and Nancy Brill really hit it off immediately. Because they both arrived early, the two women had been chatting for more than an hour without knowing it.
Amy sat down on the sofa next to Sophia and Nancy, holding a glass of red wine, and asked, "What are you talking about anymore?"
Nancy said: "Sophie plans to ask the little boss to help shoot Gucci's commercials. I don't think this idea is a good one at all. Although I don't doubt that Simon is capable enough to shoot a stunning set of commercials, such a gimmick The ability to promote the brand is not as great as imagined.”
Hearing this, Amy looked at Sophia with some confusion. Nancy's thoughts were sometimes hard to follow.
Sofia smiled and explained: "As for Gucci's promotion, I hope Simon can personally shoot a set of advertisements for Gucci, but Nancy made another better suggestion, to prepare a Gucci brand film for the fashion week in the next six months. documentary."
"Fashion documentary, this is a very novel idea. If you plan to do this, I can help."
Sophia said: "I wouldn't be able to do this without the help of Daenerys Entertainment."
Amy realized that Sophia was not joking, and became serious. She thought for a while and said: "If it is really to be done, it can be placed under the Gaomen Pictures Company in charge of Ella and run as an art film. However, Sophie, I remember, shouldn’t luxury brands be as reserved and low-key as possible? Wouldn’t this be a bit ostentatious?”
Before Sofia answered, Nancy shook her head and said: "Those low-key luxury brands have probably disappeared. I have privately studied Dior and LVMH run by Bernard Arnault in France. At that time, Bernard When Arnault acquired the Bossac Group, Dior's parent company, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, and Dior could hardly continue to operate. Arnault sold most of the assets of the Bossac Group and reintegrated Dior, making this The brand is back in business. The way Arnault works is a massive advertising campaign and all kinds of eye-catching public relations activities, we clearly have an advantage in this regard.”
Amy nodded, looked at Sophia again, and said, "In that case, you can talk to Ella later."
Sophia had already begun to think about how to make this documentary. She agreed and asked Amy: "What about you, Amy, what have you been busy with recently?"
Amy smiled and said: "There are so many things, I feel like they are about to fly."
Nancy suddenly said quietly from the side: "I can help you share the burden."
Amy raised her hand and poked Nancy on the waist, saying, "Don't worry, I will never give you a chance to replace me."
Nancy opened Amy's hand and said, "Speaking of which, why did the little boss faint last time? I don't think it was because of overwork. I always felt there was something weird about it."
"Well, the doctor didn't find any problems in the examination, and no one can tell. However, you also know what happened in his past." Amy couldn't explain the reason, so she looked at Sophia and asked: "Sophie, what are you doing? I just came back from Melbourne, what do you think is going on?”
"I don't know even more."
Sophia shook her head, but her expression was a little strange.
She didn't tell the two women that although they didn't get along much, she could clearly feel that Simon had obviously undergone some different changes compared to before. However, he couldn't explain this change in detail.
I'm not too embarrassed to say it too clearly.
The three women chatted for a while, then got up again to socialize with the party guests.
Sophia also found Ella Deutschman who was chatting enthusiastically with the guests in the crowd under Nancy's recommendation, and talked about the Gucci documentary.
Ella Deutschman's main focus during this period was on the public relations for several films such as "Rain Man", but after hearing the introductions of the two women, he still showed interest.
There have not been very successful fashion documentaries in the industry, but this can also be said to be an opportunity.
Moreover, the Gucci brand is also full of topicality.
If done right, this documentary could even be brought to the big screen. More importantly, this documentary does not require high production costs.
According to Ira Deutschman's experience, it only takes about three to five million US dollars to complete. He has a budget of US$30 million. In addition to the release of several films such as "Metropolitan" and "Sisters", Gomen Pictures has only confirmed two films, "My Left Foot" and "Driving Miss Daisy". Both projects were made on a very low budget, and he still had a big budget to work with.
Moreover, Daenerys Entertainment does not need to pay all the money for making the documentary.
The fundamental purpose of the documentary is to promote the Gucci brand, and Gucci will definitely need to provide some funds, which is roughly equivalent to sponsorship fees. Daenerys Entertainment only needs to pay about half of the production cost to obtain all the rights to a documentary.
After the three people discussed it in detail, they quickly determined the production plan for the Gucci documentary.
After the party, Ella Deutschman also agreed with Sophia to continue discussing the matter in detail tomorrow, and the energetic Nancy Brill also participated enthusiastically.