Chapter 193: Deal Sealed

Around noon.

At an Italian restaurant near Santa Monica Beach, Simon arrived to find Terry Semel already there, seated at a table flipping through a newspaper. Upon seeing Simon, Terry stood up, they shook hands, and then sat down together.

Simon took a menu from the eagerly looking tall female waiter next to him, casually asking Semel across the table, "Any news today?"

Due to his recent busy schedule, Simon hardly had time to follow the news.

Terry Semel, also browsing his menu, smiled and said, "Both presidential candidates spoke out during interviews today, stating that if elected, they will implement stricter regulations on the derivatives market to prevent a 'Westeros incident' from happening again."

Simon quickly ordered lunch, handed the menu to the waitress, and said, "That's none of my business. Their actions will only alienate their Wall Street benefactors."

Semel looked up from his menu at Simon, with a probing tone, "You're not going to tell me that you'll never venture into the futures market again, are you?"

Simon was non-committal to Semel's question, saying, "Stricter regulations will only affect those who seek to profit through unconventional means such as insider trading. In the Forbes list, at least none of the top ten made their fortune through such means, and neither did I, of course."

Semel recalled some rumors within the circle, that the Southern District Court of New York and other major regulatory bodies had never completely given up on their covert investigations into Simon. However, so far, no adverse information about Simon had surfaced.

As time passed, these investigations were bound to fade into obscurity.

After ordering, and sending away the waitress who kept glancing at Simon, Terry Semel said, "Simon, you must know that we recently acquired Lorimar, right?"

Simon nodded, understanding why Semel would bring this up.

Founded in the 60s, Lorimar Production Company was the largest television production studio of the era, rising in the 70s and peaking in the early years before declining rapidly due to last year's stock market crash and this year's screenwriters' strike.

A few months ago, Simon and Amy had visited the Culver City MGM studios Lorimar wanted to sell.

Hearing the news of Warner's acquisition of Lorimar at the beginning of the month, Simon realized this was probably the foundation for Warner TV's 90s hits like "Friends" and "ER," a period during which Warner's TV business was not particularly outstanding.

Seeing Simon nod, Semel continued, "I heard you're interested in the MGM studio in Culver City. We're planning to sell that property. Are you still interested? I promise the price will be very reasonable."

Warner Brothers, having a massive filming base in Burbank, obviously did not need a second studio.

However, Simon shook his head, saying, "Terry, that studio is too run-down. Rather than buying and extensively renovating it, I'd rather select a new location to build from scratch, which would be cheaper."

Semel said, "But, Simon, unless it's in the suburbs, it's very hard to find a 50-acre plot in Los Angeles city."

Simon nonchalantly said, "The suburbs are fine. When these studios were first built, they were all in the outskirts. It's just that the city expanded to include them."

Semel had thought he could easily push the MGM studio onto Simon but seeing his lack of interest, had to give up, saying, "Then, Simon, about that matter we discussed last time, you've acquired Marvel Entertainment, securing rights to a host of superheroes like Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men. I'm curious, why are you still interested in DC's superheroes? Without a compelling reason, Warner will find it hard to hand over Wonder Woman to you."

"Marvel's superhero movies are too hard to make. For instance, Spider-Man, with current technology, it's difficult to execute scenes of Peter Parker swinging between skyscrapers," Simon replied without much thought. "Compared to that, DC superhero movies are much more feasible. As for my goal, Terry, it's obvious, I want to accumulate more rights. All Hollywood studios do this; there's nothing to hide. Before me, Canon Films had bought the rights to Marvel's hottest property, Spider-Man, and DC's Superman. Of course, the rights to both superheroes are now with Daenerys Entertainment."

"You're different," Terry Semel shook his head. "I remember you told me at the Oscar after-party earlier this year, you planned to make Superman and Batman crossover, hmm, 'Batman vs. Superman,' that's what you said, right? Now, you also want Wonder Woman."

"Terry, I don't want to waste time on these pointless arguments. Can you just state Warner's terms?"

Semel no longer beat around the bush, saying, "Simon, Warner can give you 'The Bourne Identity' and 'Wonder Woman.' We're willing to let go of 'The Bourne Identity' completely, but for 'Wonder Woman,' Warner must retain 50% of the investment rights. However, unlike 'Superman' and 'Batman,' Daenerys Entertainment can handle 'Wonder Woman's' distribution. As an exchange, Daenerys and Warner need to collaborate on a blockbuster project, sharing profits from 'Basic Instinct' in a similar fashion. If our collaborative project does not reach a domestic box office of $100 million, the contract automatically extends to another film, until this target is met."

Simon weighed Semel's terms in his mind, quickly saying, "In that case, I can't hand over the distribution rights to Warner. Making a movie hit $100 million in North America is hard, but ensuring it doesn't reach that point is much easier."

"Of course, I understand," Semel smiled, saying, "So, if you insist, distribution rights can go to Daenerys Entertainment."

Simon suddenly realized, Daenerys Entertainment would be at a significant disadvantage.

Originally, the profit-sharing model for 'Basic Instinct' involved both companies evenly splitting the production costs, with Daenerys Entertainment providing the script rights and investing in production, while Fox handled the film's marketing and distribution. Both parties' investments were roughly equal.

Now, if they kept the distribution rights, it meant Warner only invested half of the movie's production budget, then sat back to share half of the profits, while Daenerys Entertainment would handle the entire production, promotion, and distribution process.

This was clearly not feasible.

After a moment of consideration, Simon added, "Daenerys Entertainment keeps the distribution rights, and Warner must also share half of the marketing budget."

Semel readily agreed, saying, "No problem."

The two had only agreed on a general framework of cooperation; the specific plan would definitely require detailed negotiations to align with both parties' interests. Thus, Simon did not hesitate any longer, stretched out his hand to Semel, saying, "Deal."

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT