Friday, January 3, 1992.
In a new box office week, when people are starting to work after the holidays, the box office of a series of films in the year-end period that just passed has seen very obvious declines.
From January 3 to January 9, the box office of "The Flash" dropped by 49%. Compared with the previous week's box office of US$53.18 million, this week's revenue shrank to US$27.12 million.
However, in three weeks, the cumulative box office of "The Flash" quickly reached 153.16 million US dollars.
Based on the box office base of US$27.12 million in the third week, there is no problem that "The Flash" will continue to earn US$100 million in the future. The total North American box office can easily exceed US$250 million, becoming the runner-up at the North American box office in 1991.
"Toy Story", which has always been very stable at the box office, also saw a 43% box office drop in the week after the New Year. The single-week box office fell to US$7.79 million, and the cumulative box office was US$166.83 million.
Following this, films such as "Captain Hawke", "JFK", and "007: GoldenEye" all saw box office declines of around 40 to 50 percent this week.
Of course, according to past box office rules, after this week's deep decline, based on factors such as media reputation and audience popularity of these films, next week's box office decline will be readjusted to a level similar to that of the popular period at the end of the year.
Overall, this is just a shrinkage of the box office size during unpopular periods.
After finishing some work accumulated by Daenerys Entertainment at the end of last year, Simon flew to New York on January 6, and in the following days he was busy with the final preparations before the start of construction of the Westeros Tower.
The specific design work of the Westeros Tower was handled by the famous North American SOM architectural design firm, and the design firm of David Johnston's girlfriend Leslie Whickert also put some thought into it. However, it is impossible for Simon to hand over the design of such an important building to a company that is only medium-sized and does not have much experience in the design of super high-rise buildings due to personal reasons.
The design of super high-rise buildings is definitely not just as simple as the appearance that ordinary people see. It also involves a series of complex professional issues such as structure, load-bearing, earthquake resistance, ventilation, etc.
In comparison, SOM Architectural Design Office, founded in 1936, has very deep experience in high-rise building design.
At the same time, the construction of the Westeros Towers was also contracted by the historic Tishman Speyer real estate construction company.
To ordinary people, Tishman Speyer's reputation is not that great. However, the engineering and construction company has undertaken a series of projects that are familiar to everyone. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were built by Tishman Speyer.
In addition, Tishman Speyer has built Disney World in Florida and a large number of Hilton hotel projects around the world.
The selection of SOM Architectural Design Office was entirely Simon's personal wish, but there were other factors involved in Tishman Speyer's choice.
To put it simply, Tishman Speyer is equivalent to a local snake in the New York real estate industry.
This engineering and construction company founded at the end of the last century is run by the Speyer family, the behind-the-scenes controller. It has established a complex network of relationships in New York's political and business circles. There is even a Rockefeller family behind Tishman Speyer. The current and former heads of Tishman Speyer have also served as presidents of the New York Real Estate Union.
The final design of the Westeros Tower is 622 meters tall and has 139 floors.
It includes 135 floors above ground and 4 floors underground.
Simon and Janet's residence will occupy the entire tenth floor of the top 50 meters of the building. The apron platform of the original Avengers Tower is also retained in this building, which is also the most difficult part of the construction of the Westeros Tower.
With a height of 622 meters, it is 200 meters higher than the 443 meters of the Empire State Building and the 417 meters of Twin Tower One. Once completed, the Westeros Tower will become the world's tallest building.
Such a skyscraper destined to become a landmark building can make any architectural design firm famous, and it can also make any engineering and construction company that takes over it famous. As a veteran engineering and construction leader in New York, Tishman Speyer would naturally not let such an important project fall into the hands of other contractors.
As soon as news of the Westeros Tower project got out, Tishman Speyer took the initiative to contact Simon.
Simon had no intention of quarreling with such a local snake, not to mention that Tishman Speyer was also qualified to build this building. After several discussions between the two parties, the contract was officially signed last year.
In return, Tishman Speyer provided a lot of help in obtaining building approvals for the Towers of Westeros.
However, although the main construction tasks were handed over to Tishman Speyer, Simon would not completely trust the engineering and construction company because of its established qualifications.
Similar to buildings like the Empire State Building, Simon hopes that the Westeros Building can also stand for a hundred years.
Therefore, no detail of the project was spared.
To this end, the Westeros Company has organized a dedicated financial supervision team to monitor all expenditures on the Westeros Tower project in real time during the construction cycle of the next five years.
At the same time, Simon also organized a team of technical experts in Australia through the Johnston family's connections in everything from building materials to structural engineering. In the next five years, this group of people will stay in New York and keep an eye on all the construction details of the Westeros Towers.
The two teams worked together to ensure that the construction side would not have any opportunity to take advantage of the loopholes.
After a busy week in a row, we re-examined various details of the planned building and signed a series of contracts on everything from building material procurement to accident insurance. The preliminary preparations for the project were finally finalized. Demolition of six buildings between 59th and 60th streets will begin next week.
Just demolishing the original six buildings and completing subsequent cleanup is expected to take two months.
Counting the initial expenses for purchasing the land, SOM's design fees, Tishman Speyer's construction deposit and building materials purchase contract, Simon has invested more than US$400 million in total to complete the building.
Because Simon has put forward the highest requirements for all details of the Westeros Tower, the five-year construction period and subsequent annual expenditures will not be less than US$200 million.
After the construction is completed, internal water and electricity decoration, etc., are also a large expense.
Overall, the entire budget for Westeros Towers is likely to reach more than $1.6 billion, making it undoubtedly the most expensive single building ever budgeted.
In the original time and space, the New World Trade Center was rebuilt to the highest standards with an overall cost of only US$3.1 billion.
That building started construction in 2006, a full 14 years ago.
Now it is 1992, the U.S. dollar is very valuable, and most of the richest people in the United States have a net worth of less than 5 billion U.S. dollars.
January 11, Saturday.
After a busy working day, Simon came from Manhattan to East Hampton on Long Island in the morning to visit Steve Ross.
Late last year, Steve Ross' prostate cancer, which he had been battling privately for five years, returned again and he has recently begun chemotherapy.
Simon also knows that this media tycoon, who is the same age as Rupert Murdoch and Sam Redstone, will pass away this year if nothing unexpected happens.
Ross is 65 years old.
For people who have reached the top of this social pyramid, 65 years old is actually not that old.
Murdoch and Redstone, who are similar in age, are still in control of their own media empires even nearly 30 years later.
For an ambitious person, losing to time is undoubtedly a great regret.
Ross was very happy about Simon's visit. He had already told his family in advance to prepare a sumptuous lunch and invited some guests to accompany him.
After a lively lunch, Steve Ross and Simon walked around the estate in East Hampton after dismissing the others.
As one of the best summer resorts for New York's wealthy class, East Hampton is not so eye-catching now that it is still in the coldest time of the year. There happened to be a snowfall recently, covering up the dead grass and dead trees, and everywhere you looked you saw a white and decaying scene.
Putting his hands casually in the pockets of his windbreaker, he chatted about something about the DC movie universe. Simon looked around again and said: "It's quiet enough here, but it seems a little too cold. Steve, I still suggest you go to Los Angeles. Then The climate over there is more suitable for cultivation.”
Steve Ross also wore a thick black trench coat and a hat.
Chemotherapy has left him with very little hair.
"I still prefer the East Coast. Besides, Time Warner's headquarters is also here. You know, Simon, I can't leave anytime soon."
Of course Simon knows.
Just after the year, the news that Rose would earn an annual salary of US$79 million through his work in 1991 once again became a hot topic of media controversy. Moreover, after last year's merger, Rose also drew up a ten-year salary agreement for himself, which will continue to be performed even after his death.
Simon can feel that having received an annual salary of more than 100 million U.S. dollars for two consecutive years and a ten-year salary contract are obviously the rhythm of Rose's funeral arrangements.
The various drawbacks caused by the Time Warner merger have not been completely eliminated. Ross's huge annual salary has undoubtedly once again aroused strong dissatisfaction among other factions within Time Warner.
There are so many memories in his mind, and Simon certainly knows the horror of cancer.
Huge wealth can ensure that a person will not have a financial burden after suffering from cancer. However, cancer is difficult to cure after all, and the disease varies from person to person. Some people can survive for decades after suffering from cancer, just like normal people. However, for some people, the disease is so menacing that it reaches the end of their lives in the blink of an eye.
In Rose's current situation, finding a more comfortable environment wouldn't actually help.
Simon and Ross don't actually have a close relationship. However, this self-made media boss who takes both black and white does have a very strong personality and is very good at wooing and making someone like him.
Clint Eastwood has only been arranging films for Warner Bros. for the past ten years because of Roth's influence. Spielberg even regarded Ross as his father-like existence, and the original "Schindler's List" in time and space was specially dedicated to Ross.
Although the number of contacts was not many, Ross also gave Simon a feeling that he was worth interacting with.
The two continued walking for a while, and Ross's wife came over and called her husband and Simon to return to the villa. Ross's current body was not suitable for staying outdoors in the cold for a long time.
Returning to the warm living room, the two sat down on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Ross said again: "There is one more thing, Simon, I hope you can help."
Simon nodded and motioned for Rose to speak.
"That's right, I hope that next, um, Terry and Bob can take over my current CEO position together. I have already said hello to Steven and the others. Of course, if they can get your support, the two of them would like to It would definitely be easier to take over Time Warner."
The Terry and Bob Ross was talking about were Terry Semel and Robert Daly, two close confidantes Ross had cultivated over the years.
Terry Semel has been CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures in recent years, and Robert Daley is in charge of Warner Bros.'s communications business.
In Simon's memory, after Ross's death, Time Warner's CEO was indeed Terry Semel and Robert Daly.
Daenerys Entertainment now cooperates very closely with Time Warner. During the stock issuance last year, Simon also bought 1 million shares of Time Warner stock. Although the proportion was very low and he did not have voting rights, Simon Weiss Tello holds a stake in Time Warner, which in itself means too many things.
Therefore, Simon now indeed has the strength to support the successor Rose wants to promote.
Moreover, helping Terry Semel and Robert Daley get the job will definitely help Daenerys Entertainment's subsequent cooperation with Time Warner.
At least, there will be no unexpected changes in the DC movie universe.
Since Terry Semel and Robert Daley served as co-CEOs of Time Warner in memory, Simon certainly didn’t mind sending this favor, so he nodded seriously and said: “No problem, Steve. I will support them when the time comes. So, where is the chairman?"
Rose smiled helplessly when he heard this question.
Now Time Warner, Ross personally serves as chairman and CEO.
Pushing Terry Semel and Robert Daley to the position of co-CEOs is probably the limit of Rose's layout.
"The chairman will probably be Levin."
Gerald Levin, a core executive of the original Time Company system, is also an important shareholder of Time Warner.
During the original merger, Gerald Levin was one of the important driving forces behind the times.
However, due to Paramount Communications' interference, Time Inc.'s merger with Warner Bros. was actually almost the opposite. Many executives in the Time Inc. system did not gain much power or benefit after the merger. Ross and Levin's originally good personal relationship also deteriorated.
Because of Ross' suppression, Levin now only has a vice chairman position with little real power.
However, once Rose passes away, Gerald Levine, combined with the forces of the original era company system, and perhaps the senior executives within Warner who have long been dissatisfied with Rose, will indeed have to do better than Terry Semel to get the position of chairman. And Robert Daley has the advantage.
Simon actually had some bolder ideas, such as annexing the entire Time Warner.
However, this kind of thought is just a thought.
Controlling MGM with a marginal stake is already the limit that the current antitrust regulations and media industry regulations in the United States can tolerate.
Even if the media industry is further liberalized, with the current size of Daenerys Entertainment, it will be difficult to merge with Time Warner.
What's more, Daenerys Entertainment itself also needs competitors.
Time Warner fits right in as such a competitor in the future.
Of course, more may just be superficial.
Time Warner, which is suffering from internal disputes, has a low chance of competing with Daenerys Entertainment.
Steve Ross took the initiative to make a compromise this time and planned to give up the chairmanship to Gerald Levin, which could create some excuses for the 'confrontation' between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner.