Chapter 302: The Unexpected

Jennifer listened to Simon's reflections and said, "Based on the recent negotiations with Nokia by Dad, taking over Nokia's mobile communications equipment division would only require about $200 million. Including the subsequent operational costs, the total expenditure within a year won't exceed $250 million. Since there are no other large-scale investment projects overseas for now, we can only repatriate the funds back home."

Simon initially planned to acquire a majority stake in Nokia through capital injection. However, due to the political turmoil in Eastern Europe and Nokia's own rush to streamline its operations, the other party insisted that if the Westeros company wanted Nokia's mobile communications equipment division, it must take over entirely.

In the process of reviewing its asset list, Simon discovered a large number of GSM-related second-generation digital communication technology patents. This company's accumulation of other mobile communication technologies was also sufficiently profound.

Thus, since the proposal came from them and Simon had a substantial amount of funds at his disposal, he naturally wouldn't oppose the plan to take over entirely.

Apart from Nokia, Simon hadn't found any other large-scale investment projects that could satisfy Westeros company's appetite for the time being.

Compared to that, repatriating funds to the US, with Simon's foreknowledge advantage, not just MCA, investing in many other targets now could bring him tenfold or even hundredfold returns in the future. The domestic market in the US could easily absorb several billion dollars in funds.

However, the 28% capital gains tax was indeed painful.

Based on Cersei Capital's current size, repatriating all the funds attributable to Simon back home would require paying over $1 billion in taxes.

Simon even had thoughts of changing nationality, but that idea was just fleeting. Compared to other Western countries, the US tax system, though complex, is not high. Moreover, if Simon changed his nationality, his business expansion in the US would definitely face various strict restrictions.

After letting Simon ponder for a moment, Jennifer spoke again, "There's another thing. We received news from Los Angeles. Australia's Qintex Group and MGM announced a joint statement at two o'clock this afternoon. They've finalized a general acquisition plan. Qintex Group's chairman, Christopher Skase, said that as long as the funds are in place, both parties could complete this transaction."

As she spoke, the assistant pulled out a page of information from her folder and handed it over.

Simon was somewhat surprised.

In his memory, Qintex Group did not successfully acquire MGM. What's happening now?

After reading the statement Jennifer handed over, it turned out that Qintex Group recently sold a resort in Brisbane for $430 million successfully. The $500 million in corporate bonds issued by Qintex Group for the purpose of acquiring MGM also received a lot of support from Australian investment institutions.

Putting down the statement, Simon said, "Qintex is already clearly insolvent, yet so many people are foolish enough to join the frenzy."

Jennifer looked at Simon's profile and said, "After last month's Forbes rich list was published, Hollywood's attractiveness to capital has significantly increased. Orion Pictures is also discussing financing issues with a Canadian company. If they get the money, this company might be able to survive the crisis."

Simon tapped the documents on his knee and said, "Orion can't survive the crisis, I'm still waiting to buy their film library."

The proposal given to Simon by Nancy Brill was always on his mind; Orion indeed had a collection of very high-quality film rights.

Jennifer smiled and said, "Did you not give Orion a spot in the 10 projects this time because of this?"

Simon nodded, "Yes, and there's also the matter of Orion owing royalties for 'Pulp Fiction.' The company's situation is getting worse, and continuing to work with them would definitely result in more unpaid dues, or even a total loss of funds."

Daenerys Entertainment has already determined 5 out of 10 external collaboration film projects, not just because the projects themselves are very high-quality, but Simon also had various targeted selections for the collaboration companies.

Fox was chosen because of the Murdoch family, Disney and Warner Brothers because previous collaborations were very pleasant, Columbia because of Matthew Broderick, and as for Universal, collaborating on "10 Days of Danger" could very well end up being their own in the end.

For the rest, Paramount, MGM, and the second-tier Orion, unless necessary, Simon did not plan to cooperate with them anymore.

Perhaps, after Qintex completes the acquisition of MGM, this company might also be lifted from the ban.

After all, it's still an Australian company.

Comparatively, MGM's film library is actually richer than Orion's. This company was very powerful during Hollywood's golden age.

Simon had specifically inquired; the capital game played by Ted Turner and Kirk Kerkorian years ago resulted in Turner Broadcasting only retaining the television broadcasting rights for MGM films before 1986, and not even a permanent license, which would expire in 2003.

Thus, despite its decline, MGM remains the Hollywood company with the largest film library.

Based on the information previously provided by Janet, Simon was sure that even if Qintex could buy MGM this time, the company wouldn't last long.

If he could take over MGM later and the plan to merge with Universal was smoothly implemented, Daenerys Entertainment would definitely become the Hollywood media company with the richest content resources, maximizing the commercial potential of the Blockbuster retail chain.

Forty minutes later, the Gulfstream IV landed at Santa Monica Airport.

It was only six o'clock in the afternoon.

Simon sent his assistant to rest and headed to Daenerys Entertainment's headquarters again.

Amy hadn't left work yet, so they discussed some company matters again.

"Scream 2" will premiere this Friday.

Earlier on October 13th, Daenerys Entertainment's fantasy comedy "My Stepmother is an Alien," starring Daryl Hannah, officially hit North American theaters, opening on 1,638 screens. Due to focusing on the junk bond market, Simon hadn't paid much attention to this film.

From October 13th to 19th, "My Stepmother is an Alien" grossed $7.16 million in its opening week. Based on the subsequent weekend drop-off curve, the film's total North American box office was roughly around $20 million. Compared to its $15 million production cost, it wasn't a success but wasn't a failure either, as post-release operations could easily recoup the costs.

Compared to "My Stepmother is an Alien" and "Scream 2," "Batman" naturally remains the top priority.

With a promotional budget of $25 million for "Batman," although Warner Bros. was responsible for distribution, Daenerys Entertainment's promotional team was also involved. Both companies' efforts show the importance placed on this film.

"Batman's" official release date is December 22nd, and the first 15-second teaser was already broadcast on major North American TV stations at the beginning of the month. Next month, the film will gradually release other trailers lasting 30 seconds and 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Adam Baldwin, Valeria Golino, and other main creators have recently been involved in the film's promotional efforts.

Although closely monitoring all aspects of "Batman's" promotional details, Simon had no plans to participate too much in the film's promotional activities, only planning to appear on some TV interview programs close to the film's

 release in December.

Busy with back-to-back tasks, Simon was increasingly feeling a clear sense of powerlessness, hence the urgent need to take a break and carefully plan the future of his business empire.

In the following days, Simon remained busy with the year-end promotion of various films and the preparation of a series of projects, and the campus network upgrade project at Stanford University based on Ygritte Corporation's 'WWW' technology was quickly initiated after Westeros company's donation was in place.

Naturally, Westeros company's PR department also didn't forget to properly promote this donation to the media.

Until October 26th, while Simon was presiding over the casting audition for "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," Jennifer suddenly delivered a handwritten letter from Janet in Melbourne. The content was simple: hedge funds following Cersei Capital had begun to flee.

Many were monitoring Cersei Capital's operations, and likewise, Cersei Capital was also closely watching its peers.

Since some had already started to react, Simon decided to let go of this matter. He whispered to his assistant to destroy the letter and refocused on the ongoing audition.

The audition for the lead female role, who is also the antagonist in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," didn't have a wide selection range. Only less than ten candidates were shortlisted based on recommendations from major talent agencies. Simon leaned towards having Rebecca De Mornay, who played the role in the original version, continue as the lead female, so he directly asked her to come for the audition today.

Rebecca De Mornay was one of the famous sex symbols of the 1980s, having starred in Tom Cruise's breakout film "Risky Business," and the two were even rumored to be engaged before the movie's release. Of course, it's widely known in the circle what that entailed, and the so-called engagement naturally fizzled out later.

At a party a few days ago, Simon encountered Rebecca De Mornay, and the woman left him an interesting 'business card.'

Rebecca De Mornay was under CAA, and if the time were pushed back, Simon definitely wouldn't have used her. However, with Michael Ovitz and Barry Levinson's departure, Daenerys Entertainment lifted the ban on CAA, so this was no longer an obstacle.

After discussing character performance clips for nearly half an hour, Simon temporarily asked Rebecca De Mornay to leave the audition room and wait.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, responsible for Disney's production business, couldn't help but say after Rebecca De Mornay left the room, "Simon, isn't De Mornay too pretty, and her acting is still somewhat lacking?"

Simon flipped through the audition records and said, "Jeffrey, in Hollywood, there aren't many options for female stars around thirty with enough fame and the right image. De Mornay has starred in Coppola's 'The Outsiders' and Cruise's 'Risky Business,' which is enough for fame. As for acting, I'd like to choose an Oscar-level actress, but Holly Hunter, Melanie Griffith, they aren't suitable. Jessica Lange would fit the role of a villainess well, but she can't be ten years younger."

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