Chapter 394: Chapter 394: Formidable Woman
Simon Westeros could roughly understand the feelings of those around him when they mentioned "Home Alone."
This year, Daenerys Entertainment's independently released hit movies included "Pretty Woman," which grossed $178 million in North America, and "Ghost," which brought in $217 million. Both were close to the $200 million mark.
Now, "Home Alone" was doing the same.
On the other hand, of the ten movie projects that Daenerys Entertainment collaborated on, only "Sleeping with the Enemy" and "A League of Their Own" reached the $100 million domestic box office mark. The other two, "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" and "Desperate Hours," although successful, had box office potentials around $80 million each.
Clearly, Simon Westeros had kept the best projects for Daenerys Entertainment itself.
Moreover, figures like Peter Guber from Columbia and Joe Roth, president of Fox, might wonder how Simon could accurately pick these hit films.
Take "Home Alone," for example. John Hughes was indeed one of the successful filmmakers to rise in the 1980s, but he had never had a North American box office hit breaking $100 million before; his best domestic gross was about $70 million.
Suddenly, "Home Alone" not only broke this awkward situation for John Hughes' films but seemed to be heading straight for $200 million in total North American box office.
For traditional Hollywood filmmakers, investing in movies is like gambling; no one can truly predict whether a film will be a hit, which is why they insist on not investing personally and just taking a fee for their services.
Simon Westeros, however, had been breaking this traditional belief in recent years.
Simon wouldn't solve these mysteries for others, simply chatting about various recent happenings in Hollywood. In this circle, if he didn't want to reveal certain information, no one could make him.
After some idle chat, noticing his personal lawyer George Norman approaching with a few people, Simon nodded to the group and walked over to greet them with Janet.
Janet had just whispered to George about introducing some people to him tonight, mostly friends from his circle.
Simon and the Normans exchanged greetings, casually looking around, his attention unexpectedly caught by another couple.
The man in the couple was in his forties to fifties, with darker skin, clearly of Hispanic descent. The woman looked much younger, in her thirties, with short black hair, pale skin, and the refined demeanor typical of wealthy women from Los Angeles.
Most crucially, Simon instantly recognized the identity of the couple, especially the woman—Robert Kardashian and Kris Kardashian. If history didn't change, she would later be known as Kris Jenner, a formidable woman who single-handedly built what would be known as the 'Kennedy family of the entertainment world.'
Over the years, Simon had met too many people who he'd only seen in news reports in his previous life. Although the world felt small, he showed no particular expression on his face.
However, perhaps due to women's unique sixth sense, Kris Kardashian, holding her husband's arm, felt that the young man, who was prominent in this city and even the entire country, had a special look in his eyes when he saw her.
It must be her imagination, right?
However, they had recently referred their children's godfather, O.J. Simpson, as a client to George Norman's law firm, essentially breaking into this prominent lawyer's private circle in Los Angeles. Doing so, they hoped to reach the upper echelons of Los Angeles through George Norman.
The top of the city's pyramid undoubtedly included Hollywood's big names, especially the young man before them.
If they could establish a connection with Simon Westeros, even without tangible benefits, it would significantly boost their reputation in their social circle.
After introducing several close friends, George Norman finally introduced the Kardashians: "Simon, this is Bob Kardashian and his wife Kris. Bob used to be a lawyer too; we've worked together, but now he's a savvy businessman."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Kardashian."
Simon shook hands with Robert Kardashian, greeted him, and then turned to Kris Kardashian, extending his hand: "Hello, Mrs. Kardashian."
Kris Kardashian had been preparing compliments for Simon during their greeting, but until their handshake, she couldn't find the right words. The young man's brilliance was simply too overwhelming, so she just smiled and said, "Hello, Simon."
Feeling the somewhat rough hand in hers, remembering the young man's earlier look, Kris Kardashian felt a flutter in her heart.
Simon noticed the drifting gaze of the woman and on impulse, gently caressed her palm twice with his fingers before letting go. Kris Kardashian felt Simon's subtle gesture, her surprised expression fleeting before she composed herself, though her thoughts remained unsettled.
What did Westeros mean by that?
Could it be...
Kris Kardashian couldn't help but recall the rumors about Simon Westeros's preferences for women.
But Simon didn't care about how Kris Kardashian's emotions fluctuated; after a brief interaction, he quickly turned to other guests.
For the rest of the party, the elegant woman, holding her husband's arm, looked expectantly, distractedly, and resentfully around, as if yearning for something, but never received any further hints from the young man, even realizing that he had left early.
The next day was Friday.
Early in the morning, the media featured two highly publicized news stories.
Simon Westeros finally responded to the origin of the $500,000 he obtained from Matthew Broderick, shocking many who read the related article in the "Los Angeles Times."
Four years ago, when the young man had just arrived in Los Angeles, living in a motel and working a barely sustaining job, how could he possibly donate a whopping $500,000?
Yet, the fact was undeniable.
The same day the "Los Angeles Times" broke the news, a senior official from UNICEF confirmed this during a CNN interview.
Further media revelations confirmed the accuracy of this information.
Indeed, Simon Westeros had donated that $500,000.
It was unbelievable.
Although Simon did not publicly respond to the reasons behind his donation that winter, the fact remained, and unknowingly, Simon began gaining more favorable opinions from the public.
Another noteworthy news piece was the opening week box office for "Home Alone."
From December 21 to December 27, "Home Alone" dominated its peers during its opening week, grossing $41.93 million.
Impacted by the strong box office performance of "Home Alone," only Universal's "Kindergarten Cop" managed to barely break the $10 million mark during its opening week among the other eight new releases. Films like Brian De Palma's "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and Sean Connery's "The Russia House" had opening week earnings of just five to six million dollars.
Yet, this was just the beginning.
On December 28, a new week of films hit theaters.
However, the major releases that week included Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford's drama "Havana" and Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part III."
"The Godfather Part III" was a long-awaited film.
However, the early reviews were disappointing, and Sofia Coppola's performance in the film received overwhelmingly negative reviews.
The Robert Redford-starring film, telling the story of a gambler in late 1950s Cuba, failed to make a significant impact.
With a production cost of $40 million, Universal evidently lacked confidence in "Havana," giving it a holiday release but only scheduling it in 813 theaters for its opening week. The film was a complete failure.
Just on Friday, December 28, the day's box office trends were almost set.
"Home Alone" alone brought in $9.91 million on Friday, a 15% drop from the previous week.
While many had anticipated "Home Alone" to be a blockbuster, its ability to still perform strongly after an opening week of $41.93 million was surprising.
Then, from December 28 to December 30, the weekend box office for "Home Alone" ended up at $30.16 million, a 13% drop, which, although less than Friday's, was still impressive.
With New Year's Day falling on a Tuesday that week, the extended holiday meant that Monday and Tuesday could also contribute to a hefty holiday box office.
As 1990 ended and 1991 approached, "Home Alone" achieved a 15% drop in its second week, earning $47.99 million from December 28 to January 3. In just two weeks, this unexpectedly successful family comedy amassed a total of $89.92 million, shattering all of John Hughes' previous box office records.
Following this performance, Daenerys Entertainment officially announced the launch of a sequel to "Home Alone."
Having previously signed child actor Macaulay Culkin to a three-picture deal, supporting actors like Joe Pesci weren't in a position to demand higher fees, so the original creative team was set to return for the sequel, with John Hughes at the helm and the same pay scale as the first film.
Aside from "Home Alone," "The Godfather Part III" also opened that week, grossing $22.43 million in its first seven days, surpassing all other new releases except for "Home Alone," but could not overshadow the success of "Home Alone."
Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford's "Havana," described only as a box office disaster, earned a mere $3.12 million in its first week, not even close to a fraction of "Home Alone's" earnings.
Universal had invested $40 million in "Havana," and with the film's opening week earnings released, the project was confirmed as a total loss.
Considering Brian De Palma's similarly unsuccessful "The Bonfire of the Vanities" from the previous week, some media jokingly noted that Daenery
s Entertainment's "Home Alone" had thoroughly outperformed the earlier contributions of helpful figures like Brian De Palma and Robert Redford to Simon.
Fortunately for Brian De Palma, heeded by Simon's advice, he did not cast Tom Hanks as the lead in "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and reduced the film's original timeline budget from over $40 million to $20 million.
Therefore, unlike "Havana's" total loss, "The Bonfire of the Vanities," with a first-week gross of $5.69 million, was expected to reach about $15 million in North American box office earnings. While Warner Bros. wouldn't make much from this project, their loss wasn't as severe as Universal's.
Affected by the failure of "Havana" and the ongoing delays in the MCA acquisition, the stock market saw fluctuations after the holidays, with MCA's stock price teetering close to falling below $60.
As hundreds of thousands of troops began their final assembly in the Gulf region, MCA shareholders became increasingly anxious, and the management under Lew Wasserman faced growing pressure.
After months of maneuvers, with the successful acquisition of Bell Atlantic and removing potential obstacles for the MCA purchase, Simon gave MCA the impression that Daenerys Entertainment was very keen on delaying the acquisition. Throughout the days surrounding the new year, Simon never attended any negotiations regarding the takeover.
Lew Wasserman and Sid Sheinberg, realizing the inevitability, accepted Daenerys Entertainment's $7 billion offer for MCA on January 7, finally settling the months-long acquisition saga.
The day after the agreement was reached, MCA's stocks were temporarily suspended from trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and Daenerys Entertainment submitted the acquisition for review by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Compared to Bell Atlantic, the review of the MCA deal was seen by many as merely a formality. No one believed that after the Department of Justice had approved the Westeros Company's acquisition of Bell Atlantic, they would suddenly reject Daenerys Entertainment's purchase of MCA.
Thus, the transaction was as good as sealed.
In Hollywood, while the transaction was still under review, Daenerys Entertainment's management had already begun the slow process of taking over MCA's operations.
This acquisition would give Daenerys Entertainment control over assets like Universal Pictures, MCA Records, Universal Studios Los Angeles, Universal Studios Orlando, 50% of the USA Network, Putnam Publishing, 40% of Cineplex Odeon theaters, and a vast library of Universal films.
Although MCA's debt ratio was low, the acquisition's total value was ultimately $7.5 billion.
Including Bell Atlantic's total transaction value of $8.7 billion, the Westeros conglomerate had spent a total of $16.2 billion on acquisitions in just a few months, with cash comprising $14 billion of that amount.
Simon had transferred $6 billion back from overseas by the end of last year, deducting substantial capital gains tax and including some tax-exempt principal, precisely matching the funds he needed.
Once the acquisitions were complete, the total debt of the Westeros system would reach $12 billion.
Simon was not only the wealthiest person in the world but also the individual with the highest personal debt.
Many experts and media predicted that if Simon couldn't cautiously manage the massive debt facing the Westeros system or if the U.S. economy deteriorated further after the outbreak of the Gulf War, his personal fortune could rapidly diminish like last year's Forbes list media moguls, Ray Stone and Murdoch.
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