Chapter 228: Face-Off

Michael Ovitz thought WMA's poaching of Christy Alley was Daenerys Entertainment's retaliation for the "Rain Man" incident against CAA. However, this wasn't the case. For Simon, rather than stopping to engage with enemies, he preferred to keep moving forward, leaving them far behind, to a point where they could only look up to him.

This approach was similar to Simon's past dealings with Matthew Broderick. Initially, Hollywood's general consensus was that a big star like Broderick tried to mess with a little-known screenwriter like Simon and, although unsuccessful, Simon was merely a topic of casual conversation for some people.

Now, with the rise of Daenerys Entertainment, even though Simon never publicly or privately discussed that incident, high-level executives in various Hollywood studios couldn't help but wonder if collaborating with Matthew Broderick might displease Simon Westeros, possibly triggering retaliation or losing potential cooperation opportunities.

There were plenty of popular young actors in Hollywood like Michael J. Fox and Matt Dillon, who could replace Matthew Broderick. In contrast, there was only one Simon Westeros.

As a result, after Universal's "The Nutty Soldier" last Easter, with Simon's skyrocketing status in Hollywood, mainstream movie studios became cautious about working with Matthew Broderick.

In the second half of 1988, Broderick only starred in New Line Cinema's art-house gay comedy "Closeness," a film with an $8 million budget released in October, a slow period. The film grossed less than $5 million in North America.

One could imagine that even if Hollywood studios continued to work with Matthew Broderick, considering Simon, they wouldn't give him any major projects.

Lacking excellent scripts and premium release slots, box office success was out of the question. Without box office performance to back him up, a former A-list actor like Broderick could quickly fall to B or C-list status and eventually disappear from public view.

This type of powerful, indirect dominance was what Simon sought after.

As for Christy Alley, Daenerys Entertainment's decision to cast her was actually because she was the original lead actress in "Hook." Since CAA created obstacles for Meg Ryan's participation in "Hook," employing the original lead actress and conveniently dealing with WMA's poaching was just killing two birds with one stone.

Michael Ovitz, feeling threatened, spent an uneasy weekend in Los Angeles after returning. Meanwhile, Daenerys Entertainment was unaffected.

January 9th, Monday.

Due to the time difference, Simon in Melbourne had already completed the first day of shooting "Batman." Amy arrived at the office at 8 a.m. Pacific Time.

After finishing a one-hour phone meeting with the New York TV department at 9 a.m., the director of "Hook," Amy Heckerling, lead actor Mel Gibson, and newly signed lead actress Christy Alley, along with several other key creative team members, arrived in Santa Monica for another hour-long production meeting.

As the CEO of Daenerys Entertainment, Amy's main responsibilities were the operation of Daenerys Films and the company's daily administrative management. Although Robert Lem, Robert Iger, Nancy Brill, Ella Doichman, and other executives shared a large part of the company's business, Amy's workload often kept her busy for over ten hours a day.

With the lead actress confirmed, "Hook" would begin casting for supporting roles and pre-production scouting, with filming expected to start in early March.

At 10 a.m., after sending off Amy Heckerling and the others, Amy's assistant Vanessa reminded her that the team from Gensler was waiting in the conference room.

Gensler, a renowned architectural design firm based in San Francisco, was known internationally. The design competition for Daenerys Entertainment's 50-hectare Malibu studio complex had attracted many top architectural firms, including Gensler.

Before leaving Los Angeles, Simon had sketched a rough outline of the Daenerys studio complex according to his preferences. The competing architectural firms needed to refine Simon's sketch into a practical design.

Gensler's team was there to present their design proposal and project quote to Amy.

Arriving at the conference room, Amy was surprised to find Janet already there, chatting warmly with several Gensler staff members. After everyone greeted Amy and introductions were made, Janet said, "I'm just observing, please carry on."

During Simon's absence from Los Angeles, Janet had been regularly appearing at the company, participating in Daenerys Entertainment's annual financial audit.

However, Janet fully played her role as a privileged lady, accustomed to commanding others, by bringing three accountants from the Johnstone Group to join the audit.

Ideally, the company's financial data shouldn't be disclosed to outsiders. But since Simon didn't object to Janet's involvement, neither did Amy and the others.

The 50-hectare site was vast. For comparison, the north-south length of Fox Studio in Century City was only 500 meters, while Daenerys Entertainment's triangular plot had a depth of over 1.5 kilometers from the entrance to the highest point. Even after excluding the unusable slopes, the remaining buildable area still surpassed any other major film company studio in Los Angeles besides Universal Studios.

Therefore, even with plans to relocate subsidiaries like Daenerys Special Effects, Pixar Animation, and Marvel Entertainment into the studio complex, there was plenty of room to spare. Daenerys Entertainment requested the design firms to plan for a permanent staff of 2,500 people.

The Gensler team's presentation of their design alone took over an hour. After discussing the quote, it was already noon.

After finishing the morning's work, Robert Lem and Ella Doichman arrived from Burbank to discuss the week's work schedule over lunch with Amy. Since Janet was there, Amy invited her to join.

Once everyone was seated at a nearby restaurant, Robert Lem jokingly asked Janet, "Jenny, how's the audit going? I'm really curious to know how much money our company made this year."

"There's definitely a lot," Janet replied cheerfully while browsing the menu. She then casually added, "But there are also quite a few issues."

Ella Doichman didn't catch the change in Janet's tone and lightly said, "Our company is just over two years old, so some issues are expected."

Amy and Lem, however, picked up on Janet's unusual tone and looked at her.

Janet put down her menu, her usually innocuous eyes narrowing slightly like a cat about to pounce on its prey. She scanned the three of them and said, "I found someone who spent $16,000 on a party at their house but charged it to the company as entertainment expenses for a film project. He also used the company's private jet under the pretext of a business trip but was actually sending his son to college."

Amy and Doichman both looked at Lem, the only one among them who could have a son in college.

Lem shrugged nonchalantly, "Jenny, I've never done such a thing."

"Of course, you haven't, or else I wouldn't be sitting here having lunch with you," Janet's expression softened a bit before revealing the truth, "Actually, it's Ron McMullen."

Amy and the others were surprised yet not shocked by this revelation.

Ron McMullen was Simon's producer when he made "Run Lola Run."

After the success of "Run Lola Run," McMullen became a contracted producer for Daenerys Films. In the past two years, he had successfully completed "Final Destination" and "Scream," both achieving impressive box office results. McMullen had become one of Hollywood's hottest top-tier producers.

Given these connections, everyone was somewhat surprised Janet suddenly targeted this veteran producer at Daenerys. However, following McMullen's rapid rise with Simon, his recent reputation in the industry wasn't very good, so his underhanded dealings didn't seem out of character.

After a moment of silence, Amy, trying to prevent a waiter from approaching, asked Janet in a low voice, "Jenny, have you discussed this with Simon?"

"I did. He told me to handle it," Janet nodded, then asked, "Amy, what do you think we should do?"

Amy seemed uncertain, "Jenny, 'Scream 2' has already started its preparation."

Just last week, "Scream" grossed another $5.61 million in its 10th week, breaking the $100 million mark with a cumulative gross of $100.39 million. Simon had outlined a trilogy, and lead actress Courteney Cox was signed for three films. With such success, the sequel's preparation naturally progressed, again targeting a Halloween release.

Removing McMullen, the producer of "Scream," would undoubtedly affect the project's development.

Hearing Amy's hesitation, Janet said, "I knew Ron quite well. We all helped Simon make 'Run Lola Run' together. However, he's crossed the line too many times. I don't care about his shenanigans in the industry; if he had devoted himself to working for Simon, Daenerys Entertainment would have protected him. But he shouldn't have used these tricks on Daenerys Entertainment. Simon has already given him enough compensation and lifted him from an unknown producer to his current status. He shouldn't take what's not his and certainly shouldn't deceive Simon. So, Amy, call him this afternoon. He's fired."

Amy was taken aback, "Jenny, don't we need to consult with Simon?"

"No need," Janet said firmly, staring intently at Amy, "Simon is actually a very soft-hearted guy who doesn't like to fuss over such minor issues. But I'm not. I'm just a woman who believes that once a person proves untrustworthy or might harm Simon, I won't hesitate to remove them from my boyfriend's life."

Amy, under Janet's intense gaze, hesitated for a moment before nodding, "I'll call Ron this afternoon. But what about 'Scream'?"

"That's not my concern anymore," Janet was pleased with Amy's response but left the matter in her hands. She then looked at Lem and Doichman, half-jokingly, "The financial report issue isn't a big deal. However, I'll still help Simon oversee it next year. Simon is very generous with your compensation. If you think you deserve more compared to the profits Daenerys Entertainment makes, that's fine. But unless you're sure I won't catch you, don't ever take what's not yours."

After saying this, Janet didn't wait for a response, casually picking up the menu again. In an instant, she was back to her cheerful self, laughing and chatting with Amy and the others.

As a result, throughout the meal, while Janet seemed to enjoy herself, Amy and the others felt as if they were swallowing fish bones. Even looking at Janet's smiling face, they felt a chilling sensation.

After lunch, Janet didn't stay at the office.

Amy also said goodbye to Lem and Doichman, who were heading to England to discuss the overseas distribution of "Scream" and other films, as well as matters concerning Gaomen Pictures.

Lem and Doichman rushed to Santa Monica Airport in the city center, while Nancy Brill had just returned from the East Coast on Daenerys Entertainment's private plane. Nancy had flown to New York yesterday to discuss the loan arrangements with several banks for the investment in Baishi Da.

Although Daenerys Entertainment had ample funds on hand, Simon decided to transfer all surplus funds to the Westeros Company account. He didn't explain his reasons to Amy or others, not even to James Rebelde.

Therefore, to invest in Baishi Da, Daenerys Entertainment had to opt for a loan.

Including the $200 million spent on real estate in Europe at the end of last year, Simon's companies' total debt was just over $600 million. Compared to his personal assets, the debt ratio was only around 20%. Therefore, taking on another $100 million in debt was still within Simon's tolerance.

In fact, Simon could even afford to increase his total debt to $1 to $1.5 billion, given the right investment opportunities.

Nancy returned to the office and went straight to Amy's office to discuss the results of her New York trip.

Amy had just finished her phone call with Ron McMullen. She didn't notify him of his termination over the phone as Janet had instructed but arranged to meet him for dinner that evening.

Compared to Janet, Amy hoped for an amicable parting with McMullen, which would be beneficial for Daenerys Entertainment.

As for the issues Janet mentioned at lunch, since she didn't bring them up again, implying no further action was needed, Amy didn't mention them either. She didn't think it was because of Janet's magnanimity; pursuing a few tens of thousands of dollars was difficult, and Daenerys Entertainment didn't want to burn bridges with McMullen.

If it came to a legal battle, McMullen certainly wouldn't admit to the charges easily. The litigation costs alone would far exceed the amount in question, making it a losing proposition. Daenerys Entertainment could also face criticism in the industry for suing a producer who had significantly contributed to the company over such trivial matters.

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