Chapter 390: Continuous Drama

"This place is really beautiful, Daenerys Studios is definitely the most unique film studio I've ever seen."

In the second-floor area of Malibu Daenerys Studios, CNN television journalist Dana Logan walked alongside Amy Pascal in an office loft, surrounded by lighting and camera crews, as they recorded an interview.

Strolling along the open corridor outside the offices, Amy smiled and said, "Simon personally designed it, inspired by the old factory buildings in Manhattan's SoHo that are popular among artists."

Dana Logan looked around at the busy open office area and nodded, "If I could work here, I'd even be willing to work overtime every day."

"We always strive to create the most comfortable work environment for our employees," Amy said, then her expression turned a bit more serious as she added, "However, I must reiterate that Daenerys Entertainment never forces any employee to work overtime."

Dana didn't shy away from asking, "Then, regarding the recent lawsuit filed by the three major unions using this as a basis, Amy, how do you explain that?"

After a moment of thought, Amy replied, "I think it's the natural ambition of a new company, where everyone is working towards the faster and better development of Daenerys Entertainment. Besides the comfortable office environment within the studio, Daenerys Entertainment's base salary for employees is at least 20% higher than other companies in the industry. So, I think the accusations and the lawsuit by the three major unions against Daenerys Entertainment are very unreasonable."

Dana Logan nodded slightly but immediately asked another sharp question: "But Amy, how do you explain the recent memorandum of understanding signed with Australia by Daenerys Entertainment? If Daenerys Entertainment acquires MCA and increases its market share again, does that mean Hollywood will lose even more job opportunities to overseas?"

Amy didn't answer directly but instead looked at Dana Logan and asked, "Dana, if you were offered a job with much higher pay and excellent benefits, would you accept it?"

Dana hesitated, then admitted, "I probably would."

"That's the point," Amy continued, "Employees have the freedom to choose better jobs, and similarly, companies have the freedom to move towards more favorable business environments. If unions abuse their power and pressure businesses too much, it's inevitable that companies will flee. Not just Daenerys Entertainment, but in recent years, due to many restrictions in California's film industry, many studios have been continually moving film productions overseas."

Dana couldn't help but mention, "It reminds me of Detroit."

"Indeed, the decline of Detroit is very unfortunate, and the unions really have to take a lot of the blame. It's like some Latin American countries where politicians, in order to win votes, irresponsibly promise high welfare without considering the economic capacity of their countries, leading to economic collapse, and ultimately it is the ordinary people who suffer."

"Amy, are you suggesting that the lawsuit by the three major unions is an abuse of power?"

"As one of Hollywood's studios, we strictly adhere to the basic agreements of all the major unions. Even after acquiring MCA, this will not change. Any union member working with Daenerys Entertainment will receive their due salary, insurance, and other benefits, which are even higher than those offered by other studios. We have fulfilled all our obligations, and if the three major unions still try to obstruct the acquisition of MCA by Daenerys Entertainment, I can hardly think of any reason other than abuse of power."

The interview recording took two hours, and Amy and Dana Logan's footsteps covered the entire Daenerys Studios.

After the interview, they briefly arranged for CNN's team to rest. Pyatt Ginsley, who had been serving as a PR consultant next to Amy, came over, flipping through her notes, "There's a lot of talk about Simon, which might distract the audience. I think we can cut all the initial dialogue in the administrative area and start directly from the scenes inside the office loft."

Amy looked at Ginsley's notes, thought for a moment, and nodded, "No problem."

Ginsley added, "Also, the remarks about Latin American countries are a bit inappropriate and could easily be exploited. Daenerys Entertainment has a lot of business in Latin America, and there's no need to provoke resentment from those in power."

Amy recalled the recent interaction and asked, "Do we need to re-record that segment?"

"No, just edit it properly," Ginsley shook her head and mentioned other concerns.

After discussing for over ten minutes, Ginsley went to talk to CNN's team about the interview editing plan, while Amy rushed to an administrative area meeting. The meeting focused on Daenerys Entertainment's PR and countermeasures in the media regarding the unions' lawsuit, aiming to sway public opinion in their favor.

After a brief return to Los Angeles post-Thanksgiving, Simon again headed back to the East Coast, focusing on the Bell Atlantic acquisition.

The acquisition of

 Bell Atlantic was proceeding much more smoothly than that of MCA. Simon planned to secure this company first and had instructed Amy to make more noise in Hollywood to attract more attention, reducing potential public resistance to Westeros Corporation's acquisition of Bell Atlantic.

Today's interview was just one of Daenerys Entertainment's recent frequent promotional efforts.

In the interview, Amy consistently emphasized the topic of the unions' "abuse of power," a well-thought-out PR strategy. This approach aimed to label the union leadership as a 'bureaucratic institution' that was at odds with ordinary union members, suggesting that the union leadership was merely playing games with power and not genuinely seeking benefits for its members, thereby creating divisions within the union.

In reality, the lawsuit by the three major unions truly could not bring any direct benefits to their members.

Moreover, it's undeniable that, with salaries significantly above the industry standard and more opportunities for recognition and advancement, Daenerys Entertainment has become one of the most favored studios in Hollywood in recent years. Entertainment industry professionals at all levels are very inclined to collaborate with this company.

Daenerys Entertainment's recent memorandum with the government of Victoria, Australia, and its plans to establish a film production base in Toronto, Canada, although irritating some Hollywood professionals, were largely seen as a countermove to the unions' lawsuit. Daenerys Entertainment was simply responding to an attack.

Unlike typical strikes, the lawsuit by the three major unions could not directly benefit their members but caused many to lose countless job opportunities. Under the deliberate media campaign by Daenerys Entertainment, the unions faced tremendous pressure.

Amy's interview appeared on CNN the next day, followed by a Los Angeles Times article investigating the salary data of Daenerys Entertainment's employees.

The unions accused Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA of potentially leading to an industry monopoly and worsening the working environment, but in reality, both the luxurious comforts of Daenerys Studios and the higher salary levels at Daenerys Entertainment proved that the unions' accusations were hard to substantiate.

At Universal Studios in Burbank.

When Barry Gordon, president of the Screen Actors Guild, arrived, Lou Wasserman had just watched Amy's interview, looking grim.

Gordon's mood wasn't much better, but he considered himself relatively fortunate.

A couple of days earlier, The Hollywood Reporter had exposed a scandal involving George Kogo, chairman of the Western branch of the Writers Guild of America. A member of the WGA with Oscar voting rights came forward publicly accusing Kogo of personally calling him during the Oscar selection for "Pulp Fiction," instructing him not to vote for Simon Westeros.

Kogo immediately denied the accusations and threatened to sue the screenwriter for defamation.

However, the truth was clear to all.

This incident didn't arise out of nowhere, and the media immediately published a series of articles pointing out that since his debut, Simon Westeros had produced outstanding works like "Run Lola Run," "The Butterfly Effect," "Final Destination," "Pulp Fiction," and "The Sixth Sense." Despite being one of Hollywood's most talented screenwriters, even recognized with technical awards for Best Editing and Best Score, the WGA had deliberately overlooked him, rarely even offering nominations.

Everyone in the industry knew that the root of this lay in the 1988 strike. Daenerys Entertainment's reality TV shows, which didn't require screenwriters, had made the strike appear very passive, forcing the WGA to compromise. However, under Daenerys Entertainment's manipulation, this became another clear example of Hollywood unions' "abuse of power."

Kogo's tenure began in 1987 and was originally set to end in late 1991.

Affected by The Hollywood Reporter's report, Kogo might soon be forced to resign prematurely from his position as chairman of the WGA Western branch.

In fact, what frustrated the three major unions the most during this period was Daenerys Entertainment's ability to control and guide media narratives.

Many observant people in the industry noticed that Daenerys Entertainment valued media connections more than other studios, and what made it even more challenging was Simon Westeros's deep pockets.

By the end of the year, Daenerys Entertainment's promotional efforts for a series of films were noticeably stronger than before, with Westeros reportedly approving an additional $20 million advertising budget for several films. Additionally, Westeros-owned companies like Gucci, AOL, and Cisco launched strong advertising campaigns at year-end.

These all signified significant advertising expenditures.

As is well known, the main source of revenue for mainstream North American media, whether television or print, is advertising.

While Daenerys Entertainment's advertising wasn't enough to cover all types of media platforms, the scope was sufficiently broad.

On the other hand, mainstream media in North America generally exists in the form of comprehensive media conglomerates, like the Hearst Group and Newhouse Group, which own hundreds of newspapers, weeklies, and magazines, or the Metropolitan/ABC Group, which owns public television networks, cable TV stations, and radio stations.

Daenerys Entertainment's advertisements with these media conglomerates were enough to keep them on a short leash.

Thus, the efforts of the three major unions to counterattack in the media were largely ineffective. Many articles refuting Daenerys Entertainment's viewpoints were even blocked before publication. This passive stance, combined with Daenerys Entertainment's move to shift film production overseas, not only sparked opposition within the unions to continue the confrontation with Daenerys Entertainment but also caused those who initially challenged Daenerys Entertainment to back down.

Ordinary people often struggle to comprehend the power of capital, and those in the midst of it are forced to acknowledge that a billionaire with a net worth exceeding $20 billion and a rapidly rising business empire are not easily provoked.

Handing Barry Gordon a cigar, the two old men sat silently smoking in the office after the secretary brought in coffee and left.

Lou Wasserman's situation these days was not good either, especially after Westeros Corporation suddenly announced the Bell Atlantic acquisition.

MCA shareholders were not particularly anxious initially, patiently waiting for Wasserman's management team to secure more benefits for them. However, the Bell Atlantic acquisition made many shareholders nervous, worried that intentional pricing delays by MCA's management could lead to the failure of the acquisition.

Or even if the acquisition was eventually completed, whether the deal price would be lower than Daenerys Entertainment's last offer of $7 billion.

Notably, MCA's share price had been falling since the announcement of the Bell Atlantic acquisition.

With Panasonic's withdrawal and the unions' meddling, it was hard to predict how things would unfold. With the looming cloud of the Gulf War and the already frail U.S. economy, recalling the economic damage caused by the Vietnam War, if this acquisition dragged on until the outbreak of war and the stock market declined, MCA would only be more disadvantaged.

These days, Simon Westeros had clearly shifted his focus to the East Coast's Bell Atlantic acquisition, even stopping contact with MCA. Although he was uncompromising in his media confrontations with the three major unions, many felt that Westeros might be deliberately delaying, hoping for war to break out.

From Halloween's "Critical Condition" to "Dances with Wolves" and "Pink League," Daenerys Entertainment had released three highly successful films this year-end, proving that even without MCA, Daenerys Entertainment was rapidly growing.

In contrast, MCA did not have this confidence.

To date, none of Universal Pictures' 1990 releases had broken the $100 million mark at the box office, with the best performer, "Back to the Future Part III," only reaching just over $87 million in North America. "Critical Condition," though also successful, did not reach the $100 million mark either.

Thus, Daenerys Entertainment's need for MCA was not as urgent.

If Lou Wasserman's management continued to delay, causing Simon Westeros to lose patience, Westeros could simply cancel the acquisition, paying only a nominal $60 million termination fee. Not just $60 million, even more, seemed trivial for Simon Westeros.

As for Lou Wasserman himself, he was now also hesitant.

The chips passed to him by Michael Ovitz, compared to the agent's initial plans, had greatly diminished.

Paramount Communications, which could have directly competed with Daenerys Entertainment, had withdrawn. Meg Ryan, who could have sparked a scandal, had withdrawn. Initially planned public opposition by Hollywood heavyweights like Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise had also backed down.

Now, with the major unions retreating under recent media pressures, even the most likely pressure on Daenerys Entertainment was fading.

While Wasserman still held some cards, he truly lacked confidence.

Even more so, if pushed, Wasserman wasn't sure whether the young man would bypass MCA's board and contact shareholders directly. He understood that Westeros hadn't done so only because he wanted to complete the acquisition of all MCA shares through standard procedures like board approval and shareholder voting.

Directly buying MCA shares from shareholders might easily give Simon Westeros control of MCA, but buying up all the shares would become increasingly difficult later on; many shareholders holding out to the end would definitely drive a hard bargain, forcing Westeros to pay a higher price.

However, even without buying shares directly from shareholders, Westeros could still convene a special shareholders' meeting to vote to dismiss the current board.

At that point, Lou Wasserman would lose his main support.

Of course, the biggest downside to this approach was that it would prolong the acquisition.

However, from any perspective, Wasserman didn't think delaying the MCA acquisition by a few months would be disadvantageous for Daenerys Entertainment. No one believed that the U.S. economy, already in decline, would not only not continue to fall but would rapidly recover after war broke out next year; this was illogical.

Silently finishing a segment of the cigar, Barry Gordon was the first to speak, "Lou, we plan to reach a settlement with Daenerys Entertainment

 by next week at the latest and withdraw the lawsuit."

Lou Wasserman merely smiled bitterly.

It was a lawsuit that was very difficult to win from the start, and Daenerys Entertainment was not one of those second or third-tier movie companies that unions could easily manipulate. Other than quickly settling to prevent Daenerys Entertainment from taking more actions that could undermine the union's foundation, the three major unions really had no better option.

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