In recent years, from "The Sixth Sense" to "Cape Fear," Robert De Niro has been at the peak of his career. Al Pacino's originally sluggish popularity quickly recovered through "Scent of a Woman" at the end of last year. In addition, the two of them are four established Hollywood male stars, so it is not easy to get together.
Daenerys Entertainment had already been in contact with De Niro, but he did not immediately agree.
So Simon had to come forward in person.
The two chatted for a while at the party. Simon made a detailed analysis of "The Wire" and promised that it would become a classic police film in the 1990s, before De Niro finally relented.
After cooperating with "Scent of a Woman", Al Pacino had already agreed to "The Wire" in advance.
This time, De Niro was taken care of, and the project basically had no major obstacles.
Many people at the party had been paying close attention to Simon's movements, and when they saw that he had finally finished talking to De Niro, they took every opportunity to step forward to say hello.
For most of the filmmakers who are only in the second and third tiers or even have no celebrity status, it is a very rare opportunity to meet Simon Westeros. If you can leave some special impression, then at least you can get a small job in Hollywood. It has been ten or twenty years of hard work.
Over the years, Daenerys Entertainment has not only been shining brightly in Westeros, but has also spared no effort in cultivating emerging filmmakers.
Simon was not indifferent to the greetings from the people around him, and he would patiently socialize with them. If he was interested, he would chat for a while, but he would not make any immediate promises.
It wasn't until about ten o'clock that Simon and his wife left the party and returned to their residence in the mountains southeast of the small town.
I slept until about eight o'clock the next day.
After waking up, he did not leave the bed. January is the coldest season in Park City. It has not snowed recently, but the weather has become increasingly dry and cold, with the outdoor temperature below minus ten degrees.
The wooden house located on a hill is naturally warm and springlike.
There was no schedule today. After waking up, Janet was still clinging to the man like an octopus, rubbing, rubbing, rubbing, and then making love naturally.
At ten o'clock, I carried the lazy woman to the bathroom, took a hot bath, washed myself and then went downstairs. It was already past eleven o'clock in the morning.
This time, four girls, ABD and Aaliya, followed.
After going downstairs, lunch was ready and we went directly into the restaurant.
Although it is a wooden structure house, the architectural design is full of fashion. The restaurant faces the south and is installed with a whole wall of sealed floor-to-ceiling glass, mainly for the purpose of keeping warm. The midday sun shines in, and it seems to have no temperature, which matches the heating in the house. , but gives people a very comfortable feeling.
Sitting next to Simon at the dining table, Janet still had a faint blush on her face. She ate the food in front of her for a while, then touched the man sideways and asked, "What are we doing this afternoon?"
Simon smiled and said: "Do nothing, just bask in the sun."
Janet's beautiful eyes flickered for a few times, then she nodded and said with a curved corner of her mouth, "Yeah."
Since you are attending a film festival, the best activity is of course watching movies.
However, no matter which movie screening Simon appears at now, he will probably cause some commotion. In addition, there was no movie that I was particularly interested in, so I just stayed at home.
Not to mention skiing.
The main thing is that Janet can't ski.
It was already noon, and the outdoor temperature in Park City was still below freezing. Of course, it was impossible to bask in the sun outside.
After lunch, we moved to another living room that also had floor-to-ceiling windows and was brightly lit. After making coffee and preparing some fruits, we cuddled together on the sofa. A black-and-white movie, "Casablanca" was playing on the TV.
This was delivered by the Blockbuster chain store in Park City.
There is actually a private screening room in the wooden house, but at this time, the couple prefers to watch TV in the warm and bright living room.
Simon had originally drawn up a plan to release old classics through Blockbuster channels, imitating the model of Disney's re-released animated movies.
Blockbuster has been doing this forever, and quite successfully.
The one I highly recommend recently is "Casablanca".
The film is actually produced by Warner Bros. However, since the plan is successful, Blockbuster will naturally not just leave the layout with MGM.
I remember it seemed like a long, long time ago. One night during a phone call, Simon made fun of the two male protagonists of "Casablanca" and Janet. The woman still clearly remembered this incident, so she couldn't help but think while watching the movie. I went off track, and then once again blamed someone for ruining my mood for a classic film.
Simon, who was just joking at first, is still enjoying the movie at this point.
Compared to today, the black-and-white films from decades ago did not have complex techniques, rich colors, or complex plots, but this did not prevent it from becoming a classic that is still talked about half a century later.
This is probably the entire charm of the movie.
When Rick and Sheriff Reynolds were shown on the big screen planning to travel around the world together again, Janet blinked a few times, couldn't help but chuckle a few times, and then turned her head to Simon's shoulder again and hit Simon.
Simon picked up a strawberry from the fruit plate held by Janet and said with a smile: "I was joking at first. They are actually a very pure male-to-male relationship."
Janet is not big, but she opens her small mouth towards the man.
Simon had no choice but to bring the strawberry he had just picked up to the woman's mouth, but his fingers were bitten and chewed several times.
After a moment of fun, Janet also put a piece of strawberry into Simon's mouth and said: "Speaking of spies, we now have a team of about a hundred people. Do you want to do something bad?"
It all started in the autumn of last year.
Realizing that there were many forces following him around him, Simon gradually began to belong to the intelligence team of the Westeros family.
It happened to encounter the merger of East and West Germany and the subsequent drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The changes in the world structure caused many things to change. In particular, the huge intelligence network built by the Eastern forces became fragmented in this turmoil, which happened to be convenient. The Westeros system seeks relevant talents.
However, because Simon was too busy, Janet had always been in charge of this matter. The woman would only occasionally mention a few words to Simon about how he had developed a team of people, what interesting things he had uncovered, and what he had discovered. Guys who are 'interested' in Westeros.
As time passed, Simon unconsciously stopped paying much attention to this matter.
Unexpectedly, a team of more than 100 people suddenly appeared.
Turning to look at the woman beside him, Simon asked: "To be specific, how many people are there?"
Janet said: "136 people."
When Simon heard this number, he couldn't help but said: "You don't want any random people, do you?"
Janet blinked a few times, shook her head and said: "Of course not, they are all the best. For example, the KGB team we first discovered was actually because they deliberately exposed their flaws and we found out. Behind that team There is also a very powerful couple, they had a premonition of the end of the Soviet Union and were looking for a way out from the beginning."
Simon vaguely remembered a family Janet had mentioned before.
The couple works as teachers at a less well-known university in London, England, and has a daughter studying at the University of Southern California.
At that time, Simon was busy with the acquisition of MCA and Bell Atlantic, and did not have much energy to pay attention to this matter, and Janet rarely mentioned it afterwards.
But there are more than a hundred people.
Although I can afford to keep them at home, and there is no shortage of places to use them, raising so many spies can cause trouble if you don't pay attention.
Janet looked at Simon's expression, suddenly smiled, and said: "Don't worry, I am the only one who knows the specific information of these people. They are all scattered teams, and the largest group only has eight people. Even some people Once discovered, it is impossible to bring out the entire network."
Simon did not relax, and asked: "Will it involve us?"
Janet thought for a while and said: "Some people will, such as some we recruited from Australia, but they will not do anything too out of bounds. Even if they are discovered, it will be nothing, and there will be no evidence that points directly to us. . Other people, whose identities are more sensitive, will not. I have always only maintained contact with them indirectly."
Simon thought of another question: "How to guarantee loyalty?"
Janet shrugged: "I tried my best to ensure this matter, but it is impossible to be 100% sure. You know, the human heart is the most complicated thing in the world. No one dares to be 100% sure except oneself." Make sure of something.”
Simon nodded slightly, thinking of another thing, and said: "I remember that the treatment given to Martin Dinham and the two groups of people was very generous. The one-time retirement reward was only 5 million US dollars. These more than 100 people, not Will it always be like this?"
When the old man was asked to help identify 11 people, the Simons offered a generous reward that was almost like buying out their lives. A 20-year working term, an annual salary of US$200,000, a one-time settlement allowance of US$1 million, and a retirement bonus of US$5 million in the future, followed by an equally generous pension.
Both sides know that this is almost a life-threatening situation.
In the past two years, there has been no such thing as eavesdropping around Simon, and many small attempts to target Simon and his wife were discovered in advance. This also proves that the two teams directly under Martin and Dinham are very capable. Value for money.
Janet shook her head and said: "Martin and the others are direct descendants. Of course, most of the others have to work to get paid. We are not taken advantage of."
Even if these more than 100 people were treated according to Martin Dinham's treatment, Simon's current and future net worth would still be completely affordable. However, this involves the question of whether it is worth it.
Simon has now reached the point where he has too much money to spend, and it will be even more so in the future. However, he never likes to be treated as a fat sheep.
Hearing what Janet said, Simon said with confidence: "For a net, on the premise of ensuring that it has the ability to catch fish, of course it can be used as little as possible. It is best not to use it in vain."
Janet understood what Simon meant and nodded, but then she came over and said with a smile: "But, I just want to do something bad."
Simon pinched the woman's smooth face and said, "If you really want to do something bad, you still have to do it."
Feeling the unabashed indulgence in the man's tone, Janet chuckled a few times, rubbed her face against the man's palm, leaned closer to him, and said, "I want to do other bad things."
I stayed in the mountain cabin in Park City like a homebody all weekend, and time flew by.
In the new week, Simon returned to Los Angeles, and Janet flew to New York as usual.
Not only Cersei Capital, but now many jobs in Westeros, as well as Verizon, are largely handled by Janet, plus the inside and outside of the Westeros family, women There is no need to worry about the things that need to be taken care of in daily life.
However, compared to Simon, who had to participate in a lot of micro-management in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, Janet has always been a macro-manager who is good at "working on top", so she actually has to do much less than Simon. .
Malibu, Daenerys Studios.
The time is Tuesday, January 19th.
During lunch time, Simon ate with Nancy Brill in the restaurant in the office loft area on the second floor of the studio.
The two had just discussed a new development plan for Blockbuster, headed by Nancy Brill, about Blockbuster's plan to directly get involved in film production and distribution.
Blockbuster's 1992 financial data is also still under review, but preliminary data has been released.
For the four quarters of 1992, Blockbuster's total revenue was approximately $3.36 billion.
The core videotape business has revenue of US$2.51 billion, including US$130 million in online platform revenue. Although the proportion is still low, the development in this area far exceeds industry expectations.
In addition, the chain's movie peripheral product sales were US$730 million. Of this revenue, peripheral sales directly related to Daenerys Entertainment accounted for 69%, reaching US$510 million. This is also the largest share of Daenerys Entertainment peripheral sales. It is the largest sales contributor among all retail channels such as Walmart and Toys R Us.
Finally, there is about US$120 million in store advertising and other revenue.
In the past few years of taking control of Blockbuster, Nancy Brill has continued to make various adjustments to Blockbuster in order to keep the increasingly large video chain in a healthy 'long-distance runner' status. Instead of blindly pursuing scale and eventually becoming a slow-moving 'obese patient'.
Just last year, while canceling the late payment fee that has been criticized by users, Blockbuster decisively cut off side businesses such as game cartridge rentals, and further streamlined its non-video tape retail business, completely establishing its video tape rental and peripheral products. Two core areas of sales.
In terms of store expansion, Blockbuster has also maintained restraint.
This business strategy ensures Blockbuster's overall high-efficiency operations, but it also limits the rapid growth of Blockbuster's revenue to a large extent.
However, Blockbuster's profit margin has also increased significantly due to the streamlining of bloated business and the improvement of efficiency. Even if it still maintains the expansion of online platforms, Blockbuster's expected net profit margin for the whole year will be around 15%. Net profit in 1992 was approximately US$500 million.
This has exceeded the net profits of some major Hollywood studios.
As the news spread, although the annual financial report will not be officially released until next month, during this period, Blockbuster's stock price continued to rise.
With a lot of cash in hand, expansion is a must.
Therefore, there is a plan to directly get involved in film production and distribution, which is actually a complement to Daenerys Entertainment's overall expansion in Hollywood.