Capítulo 384: Chapter 384: Backlash
In Los Angeles, on the hillside of Palisades, Simon had just gotten out of the car when Amy Pascal came to greet him.
The two headed to the second-floor living room of the villa, where two people stood up as they entered. Besides Simon's female assistant, Jennifer Rebelde, the other person was somewhat unexpected—Meg Ryan.
With only a brief nod of greeting, Simon sat down on an armchair next to him, turned to Meg Ryan with a calm tone, and said, "Explain in detail, what exactly happened?"
Meg Ryan cautiously looked at the young man across the sofa. In their first meeting, he did not have an approachable demeanor. Having been through a rollercoaster of events under his shadow over the past year, and seeing him again now, he seemed even more distant and unapproachable.
Noticing his gaze sweeping over her again, Meg Ryan quickly gathered her thoughts and started explaining recent events.
Having become a leading actress with "When Harry Met Sally," yet suddenly found herself in a situation where she hadn't been able to secure any roles for a year due to last year's unexpected debacle, Meg Ryan had been on the brink of breakdown, harboring extreme resentment towards a certain powerfully rising young man in Hollywood.
Thus, when Michael Ovitz approached her, hoping she would publicly sue Daenerys Entertainment, Meg Ryan agreed immediately.
She had nothing left to lose.
However, as the lawsuit neared, Meg Ryan became increasingly anxious.
She slowly realized that Michael Ovitz was only using this lawsuit to stop Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA.
And the more she thought about it, the more she felt like just a pawn in the entire scheme.
Michael Ovitz promised to help her obtain a significant settlement from Daenerys Entertainment and help revive her career afterward, but Meg Ryan saw little chance of either actually happening.
She had consulted with lawyers more than once, who told her that the grounds and evidence Ovitz had found for the lawsuit were insufficient, and the best outcome might only be Daenerys Entertainment seeking a private settlement under public pressure, just to pay her off and quiet the matter.
Yet, this lawsuit could destroy a business deal worth billions.
Just because she breached her contract at the height of her fame, she was blacklisted, but if she messed up a multibillion-dollar acquisition due to her involvement, she couldn't imagine what would happen.
As for CAA, the talent agency that hadn't been able to protect her last year, Meg Ryan doubted that after this, Michael Ovitz would really go against the full force of Daenerys Entertainment and a billionaire to help her.
Or even if Ovitz was willing to do so, in the face of Hollywood's deep ties with Daenerys Entertainment and the escalated conflicts resulting from her spoiling the multibillion-dollar deal, Meg Ryan didn't believe the major studios would risk offending Westeros to work with her.
When Michael Ovitz informed her that the lawsuit against Daenerys Entertainment would soon be filed, Meg Ryan, still hesitant, finally decided to seek cooperation with Simon Westeros instead.
Although this would definitely offend CAA, between Michael Ovitz and the much more powerful Simon Westeros, choosing the stronger one seemed right. If Westeros still refused to lift her blacklist afterward, she had nothing to lose and could sue later.
Listening to Meg Ryan's account, Simon flipped through a draft of the lawsuit she had brought. After she finished, he looked up and asked, "Besides the Actors Guild backing your lawsuit, is there anyone else involved?"
Meg Ryan thought for a moment and said, "There might be, but Michael... Ovitz only discussed my situation when he talked to me."
Simon withdrew his gaze from Meg Ryan, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes in thought.
Under normal circumstances, such a lawsuit wouldn't mean much to Daenerys Entertainment, as any large corporation is nearly always surrounded by various lawsuits.
However, at a critical moment like the acquisition of MCA by Daenerys Entertainment, the emergence of a lawsuit accusing Daenerys of using its industry advantage to oppress actors within the circle could easily provoke media and public concerns about Daenerys Entertainment's continued expansion.
In another timeline, influenced by the "phone hacking scandal," News Corporation had to abandon its long-prepared full acquisition of British Sky Broadcasting. The coincidence of the timing of these two events made it hard to dismiss a potential causal connection.
Daenerys Entertainment was apparently facing a similar situation.
Of course, there were differences.
In the memory of the 'phone hacking scandal,' if there was indeed some connection, it was probably because the entirety of Britain didn't want News Corporation to expand further, as Murdoch's manipulation of British public opinion made everyone uneasy.
Now, Simon knew that many in Hollywood definitely had reservations about Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA, but it was unlikely many would openly oppose it. Michael Ovitz's
actions were clearly just to ensure his employer, Panasonic, could successfully complete the acquisition and he could claim millions in merger consultation fees.
After organizing his thoughts, Simon opened his eyes, looked at the anxious Meg Ryan, and took out a checkbook from his pocket. He wrote for a moment on his knee, tore off a check, and placed it on the coffee table in front of Meg Ryan, saying, "Jenny will help you contact WMA, or if you prefer ICM, to sign a new agency contract. If you want, Daenerys Entertainment can also sign a movie contract with you. Additionally, this is for you, take this money and go abroad for a few months, come back after the New Year."
Meg Ryan, hearing Simon finish, finally breathed a sigh of relief, even feeling as though her troubles had ended.
With Simon's assistant helping her get introduced to a talent agency and signing a new movie contract with Daenerys Entertainment, it was as if her blacklist had been completely lifted.
Then, looking at the check on the coffee table, Meg Ryan wasn't sure if she should get up and take it.
Simon didn't wait for her to act, instead instructing his assistant, "Jenny, please escort Miss Ryan out. Amy and I still have things to discuss."
Jennifer nodded, stood up to help, took the check, handed it to the standing Meg Ryan, and said, "Miss Ryan, come with me."
Meg Ryan took the check and followed Jennifer out the door, through the corridor, and onto the stairs, only daring to glance at the check in her hand, then nearly stumbled.
Five million dollars.
Far more than she had anticipated.
After her rise to fame with "When Harry Met Sally," she had used all her salary from her second movie "The Rocketeer" to pay the penalty for breaking her option agreement with Daenerys Entertainment. The several endorsements she had been negotiating due to rumors of her being blacklisted in the circle all fell through.
She had thought that the young man's offer to send her abroad implied a check for maybe a few hundred thousand dollars at most, not ten times more than she expected.
Although she felt embarrassed, deep down, Meg Ryan found her long-standing resentment towards the young man dissipating, leaving behind a complex mix of emotions.
At least, he was much better than Michael Ovitz.
Both were Hollywood moguls, but Michael Ovitz only gave her empty promises that were hard to fulfill. Westeros could sign a check for five million dollars on the spot and completely lift all restrictions on her.
Once Jennifer escorted Meg Ryan out, Amy couldn't help asking, "Simon, are you still planning to go to Japan immediately?"
Simon nodded, "Of course, now more than ever."
"So, what about things here?"
Simon's expression became serious, "I might have simplified things a bit, but there's still room to maneuver."
Amy waited silently, letting Simon continue.
"The key issue is a conflict of interest. Our acquisition of MCA will affect certain parties' interests, and those parties might try to stop us. Here in Hollywood, our relationship with the major guilds isn't great, so it's not surprising they would step in. However, the guilds' resistance isn't really significant. We've joined the Producers Guild and signed formal agreements with the major guilds. They can only express some general concerns or produce actual evidence that Daenerys Entertainment has harmed the interests of their members. Now that Meg Ryan has backed down, I don't think they can find any other evidence. The other source of resistance could come from our Hollywood peers."
Pausing, Simon suddenly stopped.
Amy waited a moment, then tentatively said, "Paramount?"
Simon nodded, "Paramount."
Among the current Hollywood Big Eight, Daenerys Entertainment has varying degrees of collaboration with six others. And of these, Fox, Warner Bros., and MGM definitely won't oppose. It's unlikely for Columbia and Disney to come forward either. Universal is a party to the acquisition and won't oppose its own buyout.
That leaves Paramount, which Simon had deliberately sidelined in the past.
The wave of consolidation in the American media industry began with the merger of Time and Warner Bros and will accelerate over the next few years as legal restrictions on lateral expansion in film and television are further relaxed.
Although missing out on Universal, Daenerys Entertainment isn't without other options, but it would certainly be hard to find another company at the right price that complements Daenerys as strongly.
Even Disney, set to become one of Hollywood's dominant forces years later, wouldn't fit.
Disney, while also operating theme parks, had little accumulation in records, television, and cinema at this time, and its strength in animation would overlap with Daenerys. Moreover, Disney's current focus on 2D animation films was destined to be ousted by 3D animation films, buying it would require pruning and hassles.
Time Warner, with its close cooperation but internal strife, was
even less suitable.
Simon wasn't too keen on the other few.
Having sorted this out, Simon no longer hesitated. To successfully complete the two acquisitions at hand, some minor disputes had to be set aside. After all, the two scripts that Paramount had stolen from Simon hadn't brought them any benefits.
Decided, Simon told Amy, "You contact Paramount's Martin Davis later. Ask if he's interested in two movie contracts. Also, as long as Daenerys Entertainment completes the acquisition of MCA, I can guarantee that the existing 50% shares held by MCA and Paramount in USA Network will remain unchanged, unless Paramount opts to sell. Daenerys Entertainment will only seek management rights of USA Network. With our current accumulations in the television industry, I believe Martin Davis won't be indifferent."
Amy nodded, somewhat admiring her boss's decisive actions, and after a thought, added, "I remember you wanted to buy the rights to adapt the 'Mission: Impossible' TV series into a film from Paramount, maybe include that in the two movie deals."
Simon was puzzled, "Isn't 'Mission: Impossible' already greenlit?"
"It should still be on hold; at least, no news of it starting filming. As long as it hasn't started, there's no issue with us taking over the project."
"If Paramount is willing to share this project, I can personally participate in the writing and production."
Amy smiled, "That should be even less of a problem then."
Simon continued, "Besides Paramount, have the company's PR team keep a close eye on the movements of various media outlets. Hmm, isn't the end-of-year season starting? This time, take an additional $20 million from our marketing budget for our movies, but don't rush to sign contracts. Just slowly negotiate with each media outlet, let them know how lucrative this advertising order is."
Amy hesitated, "Twenty million seems a bit much, doesn't it?"
Daenerys Entertainment's own end-of-year releases, the more significant ones being only "Dances with Wolves" and "Home Alone." Others either didn't have high box office expectations or were being distributed by other production houses.
Simon insisted, "That's the plan. We need to spend where necessary, and this money will ultimately benefit our movie box office. Even if it doesn't, it will let the media know that Daenerys Entertainment is a very generous advertising client, and it's totally not worth losing such a client over a few reports."
"Alright, I'll discuss it with Bob and others tomorrow."
"Also, try to find out what else Ovitz has arranged."
"I will."
After assigning these tasks, Simon paused to consider, then asked Amy, "Do you have anything to add?"
Amy smiled, "You've covered it all for now. I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I'll definitely get on it as soon as I do."
Simon nodded, "Since that's the case, I'll be heading to Japan shortly. Contact me anytime if something comes up here."
With the strategies laid out and the conversation concluded, Simon prepared for his next moves, focused on navigating the challenges that lay ahead in both Hollywood and beyond.
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