Entering April, Simon began to turn more energy to the film business of Daenerys Entertainment.
The most important DC movie universe project, "The Dark Knight" completed the final cut at the end of March and successfully received a PG-13 rating, and is scheduled to be released on June 7. In the first week of April, the film began its last two months of massive promotion before its release.
This past January, "The Flash", which is solely owned by Warner Bros. and is still produced by Simon, quietly started shooting in Melbourne, Australia. The shooting period is expected to be 3 to 4 months, and the release date is December 20, the Christmas schedule.
Daenerys Entertainment has scheduled "Wonder Woman" for next summer, which will probably start filming in June.
In addition to the DC movie universe plan, because Simon delayed the production plan of "Superman", the original project director Martin Campbell was loaned by MGM to shoot "007: GoldenEye".
At the insistence of the Broccoli family, which jointly holds the copyright to 007 with United Artists, the leading actor in "007: GoldenEye" is still Timothy Dalton. However, Martin Campbell was the original director of Brosnan's version of "GoldenEye."
Of course, Famke Janssen, who has been confirmed to play Wonder Woman, will not play the Russian female agent who uses her long legs to kill people this time.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Shirley Lansing put a certain 'old man killer' on the final list of Russian female agents, and specifically asked Simon for his opinion.
Simon doesn't feel at all that Catherine Zeta-Jones, who prefers the sweet sister type, can perform Famke Janssen's crazy and bloodthirsty temperament in the original "007: GoldenEye". Given that MGM would soon become a Johnston family business, he did not accept Lansing's suggestion that it might come with some 'good intentions'.
Regarding the role of the film project at hand, Simon's attitude has always been that if the role is suitable, he will be very happy to give out a few favors, but if it is not suitable, he will never joke about the investment of tens of millions of dollars.
Speaking of which, there are actually many projects in Hollywood that fail due to improper casting due to factors such as favor transactions. This proportion accounts for a very high proportion of failed Hollywood films.
The Hollywood film industry system has a very powerful side, and many times it can appear very unprofessional. It is only because of the strong gambling nature of film investment that success or failure seems to have a large element of luck, which conceals many unprofessional factors.
In the final analysis, Hollywood filmmakers are used to spending other people's money and just earning labor fees.
If you spend other people's money, you won't feel too bad if you lose it.
Daenerys entertains, but Simon spends his own money.
Because we are responsible for our own profits and losses, and each project means a huge investment ranging from several million to tens of millions of dollars, of course we need to be cautious and cautious.
Not only "The Dark Knight", Daenerys Entertainment's other films that will be released in the summer, whether it is the external cooperation of "Terminator 2", "The Fugitive" and "A Few Good Men", or from Universal Pictures Films such as "Backfire", "Jungle Fever", "Problem Boy 2" and "We Are the World" that have been taken over by the industry have all started the final stage of promotion work for the summer season after entering April.
After the Oscars, it was confirmed that Pixar had accumulated enough technology, and the 3D version of "The Lion King" officially started production.
At the same time, another top priority project in 1992, "Jurassic Park", was successfully completed with Simon's personal intervention. Entering April, the project has officially begun the preliminary casting work. It is expected to start production at the end of the year, and the schedule is determined to be the end of next year.
Taken together, Daenerys Entertainment's key self-released projects in 1992 have reached four, namely "Wonder Woman" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2" in the summer and "Home Alone 2" and "Jurassic" in the year-end garden".
Simon has previously re-extended the development cycle of the DC movie universe plan, which is not without benefits.
If the rhythm of two films per year is maintained, projects such as "Jurassic Park" are likely to directly compete with DC movie universe blockbusters, which will often result in a lose-lose outcome for both parties.
As for the other project that Simon promised Spielberg, "Schindler's List", because there is more time this time, Spielberg is not in a hurry to shoot back-to-back with "Jurassic Park". The film is expected to be filmed next year Filming will begin in the second half of the year and it will be released in 1993.
In addition, Daenerys Entertainment’s other external cooperation projects are also among Simon’s recent key work schedules.
Of the original 10-movie plan, four have been released so far, and three more will be released this summer, namely "Terminator 2," "The Fugitive" and "A Few Good Men."
There are three remaining films, one owned by MGM and the other two owned by Warner Bros.
Last year, in order to get Paramount to give up blocking Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA, Simon promised the other party three more cooperative films.
If you include the director contract that Simon still owes to Disney, Daenerys Entertainment has a total of 7 external cooperation projects.
Finally, after sorting out the script and novel copyrights that Daenerys Entertainment has purchased over the past year, in addition to several key IPs such as "Mission: Impossible" and "Jurassic Park", Daenerys Entertainment has also obtained several major IP rights in 1990. Two other major copyrights in publishing.
Both are comics, one is the science fiction comic "Men in Black" written by a cartoonist named Lowell Cunningham, and the other is a children's comic "Shrek".
Taking all statistics into account, Daenerys Entertainment's current copyright library includes the entire Marvel superhero system, DC's three giants of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, the entire Tolkien's Middle-earth series, "Mission: Impossible" " and "The Bourne Supremacy", two major spy series, the "Charlie's Angels" series that bought the rights from Columbia Pictures, and the "Fast and Furious" series that was originally acquired from the king of B-movies Roger Corman, quietly I have collected "Forrest Gump", the long-lasting "Jurassic Park" series in the original time and space, plus "Men in Black", "Shrek", and the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" that have been put into development. series, the old film "The Mummy" series from the 1930s that has great adaptation value in the Universal Copyright Library, etc. All these original time and space accumulated copyrights are hot-selling, which is enough for Daenerys Entertainment to develop for thirty years. years and above.
In terms of animated films, Daenerys Entertainment also acquired Pixar, which developed blockbuster 3D animated films such as "Toy Story", "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters, Inc." in the original time and space in advance.
It can be said that even if Simon completely starts to be the hands-off boss now, even if only half of all these rights are as successful as Simon remembers, Daenerys Entertainment's film business will be enough to maintain a strong position in Hollywood for a long time.
What's more, Simon will certainly not let go. The team that Daenerys Entertainment has carefully built over the past few years is enough to support the development of these precious copyrights.
After a month of continuous work on various film sets, production meetings, post-production meetings, actor auditions, publicity meetings and other film matters, the time soon came to May.
This year's Cannes Film Festival will open on May 9. Daenerys Entertainment still has two films shortlisted for the main competition this time, namely the Coen brothers' new film "Barton Fink" invested by Gaomen Pictures and the film from Universal The studio has taken over Spike Lee's new film "Jungle Fever," which will be released this summer.
Ella Deutschman led the team to Cannes a week in advance.
Simon would like to take this opportunity to go to Europe with Janet to have a rest.
However, Janet was less than three months pregnant, and the doctor's advice was that it was best not to fly. The woman planned not to fly during the entire pregnancy. This was actually one of the reasons why she let go of Cersei Capital Management.
Although she no longer manages Cersei's capital, Janet does not do nothing all day long, but only thinks as little as possible.
The little brain that was originally only used to turning seven points has now been reduced to three points.
Dume Point Estate.
The time is Sunday, May 5th.
James Raybould was driven here from Los Angeles International Airport by his daughter, and the Simons were already waiting outside the Baker Villa.
Even though it's a day off, there are some very important things to discuss today.
In short, it's the assets, cash, and liabilities of the entire Westeros system.
Everyone exchanged pleasantries and went to a small conference room in the villa.
Seeing the work in which the four ABCD girls in the villa took the initiative to fetch tea and water like his own daughter, James Raybould once again felt a little tired.
What a waste!
However, just thinking about it, James quickly turned his attention to business.
Since the stock market crash in 1987, Simon's personal assets have grown rapidly in a few years.
At the same time, the entire Westeros system is definitely spending money like water.
Especially the two major acquisitions of MCA and Bell Atlantic in the past year. Although the final loan ratio was not as high as initially expected, the debt scale of the entire Westeros system has reached tens of billions of dollars.
In this era when the market value of giant companies such as General Motors, IBM, and General Electric is still 50 to 60 billion U.S. dollars, tens of billions of dollars of debt is a very heavy burden for most companies, let alone this The money is basically Simon's personal liability.
In recent years, the expansion of the Westeros system has mainly relied on the lucrative Daenerys Entertainment, in addition to Simon's gains in several major financial markets.
The just-ended Gulf War can be regarded as the last big market trend that Cersei Capital's fund hedging business can take advantage of in the next many years.
Therefore, it is unlikely to obtain another billion-dollar level of funds from the financial market.
As for Daenerys Entertainment, although the company's net profit in 1990 reached an astonishing US$1.12 billion, this year, due to the acquisition of MCA, Daenerys Entertainment's liabilities increased by US$7 billion at a time. Including previous accumulation, Daenerys Entertainment itself has more than 8 billion US dollars in debt, and the amount of principal and interest that needs to be repaid every year will reach more than 1 billion US dollars.
In 1990, Daenerys Entertainment's revenue figures ended up at $3.96 billion, and MCA's revenue was $3.37 billion.
With the merger of the two companies, the revenue of the new Daenerys Entertainment will exceed US$7 billion.
However, with Daenerys Entertainment doubling its size at once, corporate profit margins will no longer be as high as they were when they were traveling lightly.
What's more, there are still huge debts that need to be repaid in recent years.
Therefore, it is not feasible to obtain funds from Daenerys Entertainment to provide blood transfusions to other companies in the Westeros system.
The other Bell Atlantic, although also a source of cash flow with annual revenue of billions of dollars, can provide funds for the Westeros system.
However, Simon has no intention of drawing blood from Bell Atlantic. Instead, he plans to provide additional funds to promote Bell Atlantic’s investment in mobile communications and Internet fields in the next few years. Therefore, this company cannot count on it.
Cersei Capital, Daenerys Entertainment, and Bell Atlantic are unable to provide much funds to the entire system. However, many companies in the Westeros system maintain a continuous thirst for funds.
Yigrit alone will probably need to invest US$500 million this year.
AOL, Nokia, Cisco and other companies are also big spenders.
Moreover, even if Westeros Company no longer invests in other new technology companies, Simon will need to continue to inject funds if he wants to maintain his shareholding ratio in the new technology companies he has invested in.
Next, Daenerys Entertainment also plans to launch the Osaka Universal Studios project with a total budget of approximately US$2 billion. Even if Panasonic shares half of the investment, Daenerys Entertainment itself will need to spend another US$1 billion.
Last but not least, Simon and his wife’s daily expenses are actually very large.
Of course, speaking carefully, the Westeros system does not face the problem of difficulty in raising funds. Because the entire Westeros system has been in a state of rapid development and prosperity in recent years, major banks in North America and overseas are very happy to provide loans to Simon.
The focus of everyone's discussion this time is the routine sorting and re-planning of the funding trends in the Westeros system.
Simon's family is very rich, and it is very easy to obtain investment from banks.
However, if you spend your money too casually and lack careful calculation, you will unknowingly accumulate a large amount of completely unnecessary expenses. If a small amount continues to accumulate, a tangled debt problem may one day erupt, or even form a domino effect.
Janet has always taken care of Simon's personal financial issues personally. A woman's little brain turns seven points, which is probably equivalent to an ordinary person's twenty or thirty points. Simon has always been very relieved, and the woman has indeed taken care of this matter. Do it in an orderly manner.
In addition to personal finance, James has also been diligent and responsible in managing Westeros companies in recent years. Simon has also always attached great importance to the financial supervision of the entire Westeros system.
Therefore, the possibility of a financial crisis in the Westeros system is unlikely.
However, of course Simon also knows the principle of guarding against the slightest possibility, so he attaches great importance to today's meeting.
"For the construction of Universal Studios Osaka, several Japanese banks are very happy to provide us with funds. In the next few years, the yen, which has appreciated for many years, may enter a depreciation cycle. I think it is very cost-effective to obtain loans from Japanese banks. "
"As for Ygritte, Cersei Fund Management's profit this year is probably enough to maintain the company's expenses, so there is no need to raise additional funds."
"Nokia has successfully developed a new generation of digital mobile phones, and Europe's GSM network has also begun to enter the practical application stage. The funds needed for the company's next development, the funds needed by Melisandre to buy Van Cleef & Arpels, Bell Atlantic's The expenditure required for the layout of mobile communications and other fields, the next stage of investment required to maintain our shareholding in unlisted companies such as Qualcomm, plus your own expenses, we will probably need another 1 billion to 1.5 billion this year. dollar loan.”
"These are expenses. The three-year commitment not to reduce holdings of the technology stocks I bought has expired. Except for Microsoft, Intel and other companies that I plan to hold for a long time, I have recently reduced my holdings to 5% of other companies. At the same time, we have withdrawn from the boards of directors of these companies one after another. If there is an emergency, we can cash out five to one billion US dollars in cash at any time. This amount of money will be enough to cover the repayments we need to make in addition to Daenerys Entertainment in the next two to three years. Debt due.”
The small meeting of four people lasted a day.
James Raybould finally concluded like this, looked up at Simon and Janet, and asked: "One last thing, the Westeros Building construction plan in Manhattan, do you two really plan to start it in the near future? ?”