Chapter 373: Taking Advantage of Youth

As the last week of September entered, MCA and Panasonic met again on Tuesday, September 25, but parted ways without any agreement. The closely watched Daenerys Entertainment remained silent, and the once noisy acquisition seemed to have reached a stalemate.

After the Forbes America's 400 Richest had faded earlier in the month, this week, the Westeros system's team resumed preparations for acquiring Bell Atlantic, with James LeBeau quietly buying up Bell Atlantic stock, planning to secure 4.9% of the shares before the acquisition went public.

While Forbes magazine will release the global rich list next month, Simon's ranking is already a foregone conclusion, thus unlikely to stir much interest.

Over at Daenerys TV, the sitcom "Seinfeld" handpicked by Simon at the beginning of the year officially premiered this Tuesday on ABC at 9:00 PM, preceded by "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

After its debut, "Seinfeld" reached 15.6 million viewers, prompting ABC to announce a two-season renewal immediately.

In the film sector, David Lynch's "Wild at Heart," which had won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, opened last Friday on 532 screens. The film, controversial from Cannes to North America, made $5.73 million from September 21 to 27 in its first week, a surprising success given its divisive reviews.

Garmon Film Industry, noting the opening weekend box office for "Wild at Heart," began to urgently allocate more screens, expecting to reach about 800 in the second week. The film seemed poised to breach the $20 million mark in North America. Despite being on a revenue-sharing deal, Daenerys Entertainment stood to make a tidy sum from the box office exceeding $20 million, including subsequent video tape and television broadcast rights.

Compared to "Wild at Heart," the earlier release on September 7 of Giuseppe Tornatore's new film "Cinema Paradiso" failed to make any impact after several previews and just scraped together $170,000 at the North American box office.

Garmon Film Industry initially invested $1 million to acquire the North American full-channel rights for "Cinema Paradiso," but with these box office results, a loss was inevitable.

Following the costly acquisition and distribution missteps of "Cinema Paradiso" by Universal, Tornatore's films failed to make a splash in North America, rendering it unlikely for him to gain favor in Hollywood again—Simon excepted.

Tornatore's upcoming "The Legend of 1900" and "Malena," if they still occur, would certainly see Simon stepping in.

Los Angeles.

After a brief rest in Seattle with his female assistant, Simon returned to Hollywood to start a week's work.

Upon learning of Simon's plans to adjust the speed of the DC Universe rollout, Warner Bros. CEO Terry Semel was the first to express opposition, soon followed by Steve Ross calling Simon's office.

The first phase of the DC Universe had been a continuous highlight in the troubled Time Warner's promotions for the past six months.

Moreover, although most investors recognized the win-win situation between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner on the DC Universe project, there was no shortage of shareholders criticizing Time Warner's management for conceding too much benefit and control to Daenerys Entertainment.

It was foreseeable that if the planned five-year development cycle for the first phase of the DC Universe suddenly extended to seven to ten years, those shareholders criticizing excessive concessions by Time Warner's management would become even more dissatisfied, and some investors previously on management's side might change their stance.

More seriously, this issue would likely impact Time Warner's stock price.

Determined, Simon was not inclined to change his mind easily.

After several arguments, Time Warner had no choice but to compromise, as the entire control of the DC Universe effectively rested in Simon's hands. If it really escalated, Daenerys Entertainment wouldn't fear completely shelving the plan, but Time Warner could not afford the resulting consequences.

However, Simon also made appropriate concessions.

The last two slots in Daenerys Entertainment's ten-movie plan were all handed over to Warner Bros., further binding the interests of both parties. Moreover, Simon agreed not to officially announce this adjustment, only gradually delaying the plan through excuses like project preparation issues.

Having reluctantly reached a consensus on this issue, Simon understood that the collaboration between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner Group was inevitably strained.

Yet, such matters were unavoidable.

As Daenerys Entertainment and the entire Westeros system aimed to expand, they were bound to harm more and more interests.

September 28, Friday.

Inside the second-floor office LOFT of Daenerys Film City, the team specifically responsible for the DC Universe project occupied a dedicated office area next to Daenerys Special Effects in LOFT 2, where all aspects of the DC Universe were planned.

Moreover, the team's stationing here facilitated discussions with Daenerys Special Effects about the feasibility of various special

 effects scenes.

In an activity room over 70 square meters in the DC Universe office area, Simon, Amy, and Semel were all present today. The room, recently used for auditions, had walls covered with various actor photos, mainly involving the "Batman," "Wonder Woman," and "The Flash" series.

The core characters of "Batman" had already been decided and required no discussion.

The main creators of "Wonder Woman" had been sequentially confirmed over this period, including Famke Janssen as Diana Prince, Joanna Cassidy as Queen Hippolyta, and Linda Hamilton as Hippolyta's sister Antiope. Over the week, various supporting roles, including Steve Trevor and the god Ares, were also finalized.

Today's discussion focused on the final choices for the characters of "The Flash." Of course, the ultimate decision-making power still rested in Simon's hands.

"Since everyone agrees, let's assign the role of Barry Allen to Jason Jedrick."

After carefully reviewing several audition clips and the actor's background information, and following a discussion, Simon made this statement.

Jason Jedrick, 25, debuted in 1983 and had previously starred in Tom Cruise's "Risky Business," Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July," and Michael Hoffman's "Promised Land." His acting skills and experience were sufficient, and Simon also appreciated his performance in "Promised Land."

Moreover, on Wednesday night, Robert Redford, who invited Simon to watch his new film "Havana," specifically recommended Jason Jedrick, who was on the final shortlist. The differences between the last few candidates were negligible, and Jason Jedrick's overall suitability made it easy for Simon to do a favor for Redford.

With everyone nodding in agreement, an office worker pinned Jason Jedrick's photo on the wall at the spot for "The Flash's" male lead.

With that decided, Simon turned to another document and said, "Next, the female lead—Tracey Brolan, Robin White, and Amanda Wise. Let's rewatch some of their audition tapes."

As Simon spoke, an office worker without needing instructions, drew the curtains and turned on the projector.

Moments later, Tracey Brolan's audition tape appeared on the projector screen in the activity room.

Tracey Brolan, 30 years old, had debuted earlier than Jason Jedrick, with equally extensive acting experience. Additionally, she was the wife of Hollywood star Michael Fox, which was the most important reason she made it to the final round of casting.

Robin White, 24 years old. Not only was she remembered by Simon as 'Jenny' from "Forrest Gump" and 'Mrs. Underwood' from "House of Cards," but Robin White was also the leading lady of the hit series "Santa Barbara," initially produced by New World Pictures and later taken over by Daenerys Entertainment.

"Santa Barbara" premiered in 1984 and had just concluded the previous year. During this time, Robin White also appeared in Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride."

Amanda Pace, 31, also had a background in TV acting and, being the oldest, had more extensive acting experience than the others. Moreover, Amanda Pace was probably the most beautiful of the three candidates.

After the audition tapes played, Simon looked around at the others.

Terry Semel was the first to speak, "I think Tracey Brolan is quite good. As Michael Fox's wife, that could also serve as a great promotional point."

Though the "Back to the Future" series starring Michael Fox had concluded, maintaining his status as a leading Hollywood star for several more years was likely. As Fox's wife, like Demi Moore, Tracey Brolan indeed had an innate advantage.

However, as soon as Semel finished speaking, Amy interjected, "I think the advantage of being Michael Fox's wife isn't that significant. Amanda Pace might be a better choice, she has more acting experience than the other two. Plus, she fits the image and demeanor of Iris West, the journalist, better."

The director recommended by Warner for "The Flash," George Cosmatos, then said, "But Amy, Amanda Pace is already 31 years old."

Cosmatos had directed big productions like "Rambo: First Blood Part II" and "Cobra." Although he didn't meet Simon's typical criteria for selecting directors for the DC Universe, Warner still wanted a more experienced director for "The Flash."

With Warner funding "The Flash," Cosmatos couldn't interfere with crossover films like "Justice League." After several discussions confirming that his production ideas weren't too different from Simon's, Simon agreed.

Amy responded to Cosmatos by picking up a photo, saying, "George, if I told you Amanda was 20, some people would believe it, right?"

Amanda Pace had a soft, Asian-style face. Although she was 31, she maintained herself so well that she could pass for 20.

As

 the selection narrowed to the final three, Simon was satisfied with each actress; any of them could play the female lead in "The Flash." The others knew Simon's attitude, which was why they were earnestly discussing it. Otherwise, they would simply wait for Simon to decide, avoiding wasting words.

"But Amy," Cosmatos added, "Amanda Pace is indeed beautiful now, but if the 'The Flash' series lasts ten years, can you imagine her maintaining her current appearance at 41?"

Simon hadn't considered this, but Cosmatos's remark suddenly enlightened him.

Recalling the ten-year run of "Friends," the female leads looked great at the start but by the end, even the most attractive Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox seemed to have been harshly treated by time.

Moreover, without using "Friends" as a comparison, the "Iron Man" series' 'Pepper' played by Gwyneth Paltrow, still reasonably attractive at the start, appeared much less so after a decade.

Amy then argued, "By that logic, George, Amanda Pace and Tracey Brolan could both be eliminated."

Simon ignored their dispute, looking back at the documents.

While any of the three candidates could play Iris West without issue, Simon naturally had a preference. He originally favored Amanda Pace slightly more. This actress not only embodied the intelligence of a female journalist but also possessed another type of efficient charisma.

Moreover, in "The Flash" storyline, Iris West wasn't just a decorative figure. As a journalist, she would trigger numerous plots, including those in the DC Universe crossovers.

In the original timeline, Amanda Pace wasn't very famous, and Simon couldn't remember what she would look like in ten years. Furthermore, Simon could tell she likely had undergone cosmetic surgery. He wasn't particularly concerned about this, but it was evident that women who had surgeries tended to age more visibly.

After considering these points, Simon crossed out Amanda Pace's name on her profile page, then looked up, interrupting Amy and George's argument, saying, "Amy, George just reminded me—age is indeed an important factor. I remember considering this before, almost forgot, Amanda Pace really isn't suitable, pass her."

Amy paused, then nodded, "What about Tracey Brolan?"

Simon didn't hesitate, "Pass her as well."

With two candidates out, "The Flash's" female lead was nearly decided.

The people in the office realized that a young woman, just 24 years old, had inadvertently taken advantage of her youth.

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