Chapter 316: The Batman Premiere

Simon and Nancy chatted all the way and soon arrived at the Hilton Hotel near Century City in Beverly Hills.

The car stopped in front of the hotel. Due to the signing ceremony between Qintex Group and MGM, many journalists who were specifically waiting outside the Hilton Hotel quickly surrounded the car when they saw Simon Westeros's vehicle appear.

The hotel bellhops diligently approached to open the car door, and the two bodyguards in front quickly got out of the car.

Ignoring the questions from the surrounding journalists, Simon patiently waited for Nancy to get out of the car and come to his side before they walked into the hotel together.

The news of Simon's engagement with Janet had been buzzing recently. When journalists saw him attending the Qintex Group's luncheon with another woman today, they all perked up and raised their cameras.

However, to the journalists' disappointment, Nancy and Simon did not hold hands but instead kept an appropriate distance. Nancy's attire, a black suit and trousers with her blonde hair in a standard OL style, did not give off the vibe of a lady accompanying a man to a luncheon.

Moreover, Nancy had frequently appeared in the media over the past few months due to disputes between the Daenerys Entertainment Consumer Products Department and Alistair Records, as well as during the hot sale of the "Ninja Turtles" game, so the journalists were somewhat familiar with her identity.

It seemed quite normal for a boss to attend a business banquet with his executives.

However, due to Simon's status and Nancy's attractiveness, the journalists still tried to dig up or fabricate some 'explosive news.' Thus, from the moment Simon and Nancy got out of the car to their entry into the hotel, the surrounding area was filled with ambiguous, misleading, and even provocative questions.

Nancy, walking into the hotel lobby shoulder to shoulder with Simon, noticed the continuous flashes of cameras behind them. Noticing the man beside her seemed unaffected by those questions, she suddenly asked, "If I had held your arm just now, would the newspapers be lively tomorrow?"

Simon looked at Nancy somewhat surprised and laughed, "No need to wait until tomorrow, it would be lively immediately."

"Then..." Nancy remembered how her boss always had some small scandals but never got caught by the gossip tabloids, curiously asked in a low voice, "How do you usually sneak around?"

Simon shook his head without hesitation, "I can't tell you that."

Nancy persistently asked, "Why not?"

Simon did not explain, just saying, "I just can't tell you."

As they were talking, a group of men and women came to greet them. Nancy recognized the man leading them with neatly parted black hair, around forty years old, as Christopher Skase of the Qintex Group, and stopped asking further questions.

Seeing Simon skillfully greeting the people, she suddenly understood why he was unwilling to share his scandalous experiences.

Perhaps, it was a form of protection.

No woman likes a man who boasts about his romantic conquests, especially when she becomes one of the protagonists.

If he had candidly shared how he had affairs with certain actresses, even if she had asked, she would definitely have a bad impression of him afterwards, maybe even keeping her distance.

Now...

"Chris, this is Nancy Brill, the manager of our company's Consumer Products Department. Nancy, hello? This is Christopher Skase, you two should meet."

The voice ringing in Nancy's ear brought her back to reality, and she quickly gathered her thoughts to greet Christopher Skase and the others politely.

A total of five people came out to greet them.

Besides Christopher Skase, there was Sherry Lansing, who was about to take office as the CEO of MGM-UA.

Sherry Lansing was quite famous in Hollywood in the original timeline. She was the first female head of a major film studio, having led Paramount Pictures for 13 years after Viacom acquired Paramount.

Now 45 years old, Sherry Lansing, who debuted as an actress in the 1960s, soon ventured into production. Her successful production works in the past two years, "Fatal Attraction" and last year's "The Accused," which won Jodie Foster the Oscar for Best Actress, rapidly increased Lansing's fame in Hollywood.

Christopher Skase knew nothing about Hollywood, so Lansing being able to take charge of MGM was a result of Simon's networking.

Lansing, who had been running her own independent production company for years, was experienced.

Though MGM was declining, it was still one of Hollywood's Big Seven. Like many industries, Hollywood is filled with gender discrimination, offering limited career advancement for women. Becoming the head of one of the Big Seven was attractive to Lansing.

With Simon's networking, Lansing quickly agreed to join.

After the greetings, they all went to the hotel's banquet hall.

Christopher Skase liked to put on a show, and the banquet hall was filled with Hollywood celebrities and stars. The luncheon was buffet style, allowing everyone to choose whom they wanted to talk to, making it more lively than a formal banquet.

Simon greeted some guests, picked some food, and sat down with Christopher Skase, Sherry Lansing, and others. Nancy sat beside her boss naturally, not talking much, just quietly listening to the conversation between Simon, Skase, and the others.

The Qintex Group's purchase of MGM-UA for $1 billion nearly doubled its size overnight.

However, this Australian company's debt also significantly increased. Due to increased oversight from investors and creditors, Christopher Skase's control over the company was greatly weakened after this acquisition.

Among the five people greeting Simon, besides Christopher Skase and Sherry Lansing, the other three were representatives of Australian investors and creditors.

Due to Simon's intricate connections with Australian capital and his miraculous achievements in Hollywood, these people valued Simon more than Christopher Skase.

Simon learned through some Australian connections that although Skase was the founder of Qintex Group, his continuous share dilution and increased debt ratio had put him in a position where he could be ousted at any time.

Controlling MGM indirectly was key to these investors and creditors.

With clear intentions on both sides, they quickly reached an agreement.

However, Simon did not immediately agree to give MGM the ten slots for external collaboration films, only suggesting that after Lansing took over MGM, she should quickly resolve the copyright dispute over the 007 series and restart the project.

The copyright lawsuit related to the 007 novel "Thunderball," published by Ian Fleming in 1965, involved the use of ideas from another screenwriter, Kevin McClory, and had been entangled for decades.

McClory gained the rights to a significant antagonist, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, from the 007 series and even collaborated with Warner Brothers on a 007 spin-off, "Never Say Never Again," starring Sean Connery, in 1983, which performed well at the box office.

Maybe tasting success from "Never Say Never Again," or as some media reported facing financial crisis and nearing bankruptcy, McClory filed a lawsuit this year against the 007 rights holders, United Artists and the Broccoli family in the UK, seeking the filming rights for another 007 spin-off based on "Thunderball."

Given the irritation "Never Say Never Again" caused United Artists and the Broccoli family, they were naturally unwilling to allow McClory to do so again.

Neither side was willing to back down easily, and the lawsuit continued.

Since its decline in the

 early 1980s, the 007 series had always been MGM's lifeline, which remained true for the next two or three decades.

Quickly resolving the copyright dispute and restarting the 007 series could not only keep MGM running smoothly but also prevent the company from bankruptcy with this highly profitable franchise.

After discussing business, as the luncheon wrapped up, people began to mingle in the hall.

While chatting with George Miller, who came to support the event, Sherry Lansing approached with Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.

The disputes between Daenerys Entertainment and CAA were resolved with CAA initiating the termination of contracts with Barry Levinson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, and Meg Ryan.

Lansing's approach clearly aimed to mediate for Tom Cruise.

Cruise's relationship with Paramount was very close, and Lansing, who had frequently collaborated with Paramount in recent years, including producing "Fatal Attraction" with Paramount two years ago, was not surprising to Simon that she would advocate for Cruise.

Although Lansing showed a clear inclination towards Simon during lunch, Simon would not easily relent on certain issues due to their complexity. He briefly greeted Cruise and Wagner before moving on.

From the moment that man appeared in the banquet hall, Nicole Kidman had been paying attention to him.

As an Australian making her way in Hollywood, she naturally received an invitation to the banquet. However, she hadn't found a chance to greet the man even as the luncheon passed.

She understood that compared to their first meeting, his power in Hollywood had reached an unprecedented peak, surpassing even the moguls who founded the major Hollywood studios during the Golden Age.

Thinking of Meg Ryan, she felt even more apprehensive.

With "When Harry Met Sally," Meg Ryan quickly rose to the A-list. However, after parting ways with CAA, Ryan, now completely independent and wary of Daenerys Entertainment, failed to secure a new talent agency or even a new film contract in the past six months.

Hollywood's competition has always been fierce and brutal, especially for actresses. Ryan's "sweetheart" type was exactly what Hollywood had in abundance.

Now, many see the upcoming December 29 release of "The Rocketeer" as a do-or-die situation for Ryan.

If "The Rocketeer" performs well at the box office, Ryan could continue to be cast by Hollywood studios despite the pressure from Simon Westeros due to her lead role in the film. If the film flops, Tom Cruise might still have a chance to recover, but Ryan would likely be quickly discarded by Hollywood.

And herself?

After "Pulp Fiction," she was dissatisfied with several scripts offered by Daenerys Entertainment and sought to free herself from the choice rights contract for more freedom in her career.

Now, all she felt was regret.

She just hoped he wouldn't hold her past actions against her too much.

The deeper she delved into the industry, the more she realized the extent of his power and her own insignificance.

With "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" completed, Nicole was now simply waiting for Daenerys Entertainment to arrange her next film, daring not to harbor any other thoughts.

Seeing the man casually chat with Cruise and Wagner before heading her way, she quickly approached, making sure her GUCCI handbag was prominently displayed.

"Hi, Simon."

Simon, looking at Nicole in her elegant off-shoulder white dress revealing her delicate collarbones, smiled, "Hi, you look really beautiful today."

"Thank you," she raised her wine glass to him, "The day after tomorrow is the premiere of 'Batman.' I'm really looking forward to it."

"Oh, make sure to come and support."

"Definitely will," she nodded, remembering something else, "Also, congratulations on your engagement to Miss Johnston."

"Thank you. What about you? Found a boyfriend yet?"

"No, spent months with four turtles, no time for that."

She even showed a slightly aggrieved expression, but of course, she wasn't lacking suitors, even trying to date someone. However, in front of this man, she smartly presented herself as single.

Simon didn't delve into these matters, exchanged a few more words, and then turned away.

After reviewing their conversation, she found he had no particular emotion towards her, so she felt relieved. Although his attitude was indifferent, not paying much attention to her, she didn't expect much more. It was better than being like Meg Ryan, at least.

Since the "Batman" premiere was mentioned, after the luncheon, she immediately called her PR manager to discuss the details of attending the premiere. This time, she definitely needed to prepare a Gucci dress.

Busy days passed, and Monday and Tuesday quickly went by.

In no time, it was December 20.

Wednesday.

The entire Hollywood's attention was on tonight's "Batman" premiere at the Civic Auditorium.

As another major work directed by Simon Westeros, the promotion for this comic-based movie was overwhelming, evident from choosing the Civic Auditorium for the premiere, a venue usually reserved for grand ceremonies like the Oscars.

Moreover, both the production company, Daenerys Entertainment, and the distributor, Warner Brothers, appeared very confident in the movie.

Both companies had kept the details of "Batman" under strict confidentiality, but due to their confidence in the film's quality, the media reviews would be opened the day after the premiere.

In fact, with over a thousand guests at the premiere, the film's reputation would inevitably be out in the open after tonight.

The red carpet ceremony began at six o'clock in the evening.

However, as early as dawn, the area around the Civic Auditorium was already crowded, with the turnout of fans even surpassing previous Oscar ceremonies.

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