Bab 392: Chapter 392: First to Strike
Under the powerful operations of the Westeros system, within just a week, the media revealed a version of the story about the attack a few years ago that was closer to the truth.
Janet personally assembled a team of lawyers who swiftly launched a civil lawsuit against Matthew Broderick and the other five for malicious defamation, demanding compensation ranging from 10 million to 50 million dollars—10 million for Mark Stein and the others, and 50 million for Matthew Broderick.
The media, ever attentive, noted that 10 million dollars seemed to be the baseline, and Matthew Broderick's 50 million dollars in damages was precisely ten times his current net worth.
Moreover, even if Matthew Broderick and his group could win and secure the full claim, the compensation amount was well within Simon's financial capacity.
In contrast, if Simon won the lawsuit, it would mean that Matthew Broderick and his group would not only lose all their current assets but the remaining debt would likely cripple them financially for life. Furthermore, after losing the lawsuit, there was a significant chance they could face prison time.
Beyond countering in the media, Simon's legal team also applied to the Santa Monica Police Department in Los Angeles to reopen the investigation of the 1986 summer attack, to prove their client's innocence and present the truth to the public. When the Los Angeles Times broke this news, Simon immediately gained significant leverage in public opinion.
If Simon Westeros wasn't confident, he wouldn't have requested the local police to reopen the investigation.
In such a high-profile case, under intense media scrutiny, even with Simon's influence, the local police dared not engage in any favoritism.
Although there was no detailed case file initially, many people were involved in the incident, and despite four years having passed, unraveling the sequence of events wasn't challenging.
Therefore, when the Santa Monica Police Department held a press conference to announce they were formally reopening the investigation, the six previously media-active individuals clearly became disoriented. Mark Stein, now with his dentures back in, even aggressively accused the Santa Monica Police Department in an interview of being unable to uncover the real truth, suggesting they would only uncover the truth that Simon Westeros wanted.
Facing reporters' persistent questions, Mark Stein argued that Simon Westeros' vast fortune and powerful influence were enough to manipulate the investigation results. While Simon's legal team had not yet responded, such attacks clearly angered the Santa Monica Police Department, prompting an official rebuttal.
Soon after, the Santa Monica Police Department announced a major breakthrough in the case.
The baseball bat.
Although no official case had been filed, the baseball bat from the night of the attack had been preserved and had sat collecting dust in a corner of the police evidence room for years.
The incident had left a deep impression on the police officers and doctors who responded that night, particularly the baseball bat clutched in the hands of a youth, which many remembered clearly. It took considerable effort to finally pry the bat from the youth's grasp.
At a press conference, the chief of the Santa Monica Police Department personally presented the bat covered in substantial DNA evidence from Simon Westeros and the other five youths. While no further details were attached, the media quickly interpreted the evidence.
The high-quality oak bat, branded and priced at 200 dollars at the time, also bore the signatures of two baseball stars.
Given Simon Westeros's status as a temporary supermarket clerk at the time, even if he could barely afford the 200-dollar price of the bat itself, it was unlikely he could obtain a bat signed by stars.
Thus, the bat could not have belonged to Westeros.
Since the bat wasn't Simon Westeros's, the claim by Matthew Broderick and the others that Simon Westeros had attacked them with a baseball bat became untenable.
However, Mark Stein once again made bold claims to the media, stubbornly denying that the bat belonged to any of them and suggesting that while Simon might not have been able to afford the bat, he could have stolen it.
After Mark Stein made this statement, several acquaintances came forward to testify that the bat was indeed Mark Stein's, a prized personal item due to the signatures of two baseball stars, which he often boasted about in public.
Soon after, Mark Stein changed his statement, admitting the bat was indeed his but maintained that during the attack, it was Simon Westeros who initiated the aggression, and the bat was taken from him during his self-defense.
This almost contradictory and nonsensical defense shifted the media and public's stance, who had initially sided with the group of six.
In the midst of the assault case's chaos, the news of Daenerys Entertainment reaching a settlement with the three major unions seemed less captivating.
However, the industry continued to closely monitor the situation.
Before the litigation was settled, it was accompanied by the resignation of George Kogel, president of the Writers Guild of America West. Subsequently, Daenerys Entertainment publicly announced they would temporarily abandon plans to
build a film production base in Toronto. Finally, the three major unions and Daenerys Entertainment signed an almost unconditional settlement agreement, promptly withdrawing the lawsuit.
As this potential obstacle to Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA was resolved, attention abruptly shifted to the US East Coast.
Entering December, with Christmas approaching, Simon Westeros and his wife Janet attended the White House's annual gala, which hosted congress members, media reporters, and societal elites.
The day after the banquet, Simon Westeros was invited by President George Bush for a thirty-minute discussion in the Oval Office, primarily to address current economic issues facing the US.
This was naturally a publicity move. Bush hoped to reverse his negative image of disinterest in domestic affairs. What Simon gained was the Justice Department's approval for Westeros's acquisition of Bell Atlantic.
A week before Christmas, after reaching a partial agreement on certain restrictions concerning Nokia with the US Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, both governmental bodies approved Westeros Corp.'s acquisition application for Bell Atlantic.
On December 20, quietly completing the year-end financial settlements, Westeros Corp. officially repatriated its funds from Cersei Fund Management overseas and paid a hefty 2.29 billion dollars in taxes.
The East Coast's New York Post and the West Coast's Los Angeles Times simultaneously revealed the 2.29 billion-dollar tax check used by Westeros Corp., joking that this tax payment was large enough to qualify for a Guinness World Record.
Westeros Corp. did not miss this opportunity to shape its public image, emphasizing through the media that most of this money was earned overseas and that Simon Westeros's tax payment, without employing any tax avoidance schemes, was a display of strong social responsibility.
The day after the tax check was revealed, on December 21, the last working day before Christmas week, Westeros Corp. formally signed the acquisition agreement with Bell Atlantic.
At the press conference that day, James Lebould, CEO of Westeros Corp., also announced that given the current economic situation in the US, as a socially responsible company, Westeros Corp. publicly pledged that Bell Atlantic would not carry out any layoffs for the next year.
Moreover, with Bell Atlantic's increased investment in mobile communications and the internet, it was expected to create at least 1,000 new jobs over the next few years.
Such public commitments once again won Westeros Corp. a great deal of goodwill at the media and public level.
After the agreement signing, Westeros Corp. planned to gradually complete the cash settlements for Bell Atlantic shareholders in the two weeks following Christmas.
On the Hollywood front, "A League of Their Own," since its November 23 release, had rapidly accumulated a box office of 70.33 million dollars by December 20, four weeks after opening. From December 14 to December 20, the film's weekly box office was 10.92 million dollars. Although the weekly box office might slip below 10 million the following week, this women's baseball-themed film was sure to join the hundred-million-dollar box office club.
Ending its seventh week, "Dances with Wolves" had a cumulative box office of 49.56 million dollars.
Although far from the success of "A League of Their Own," this film, which had garnered six important nominations at the Golden Globes, displayed a very stable box office trend.
Released on December 7, Robert Altman's Venice Golden Lion winner "Short Cuts" opened on 613 screens.
Supported by favorable reviews and the excellent promotional efforts of Highgate Pictures, it earned 7.38 million dollars at the box office in its first week.
In its second week, "Short Cuts" expanded to 823 screens, and its box office rose, reaching 8.63 million dollars.
As a brilliantly interwoven ensemble drama that depicted a cross-section of life in Los Angeles without major stars and with actors only receiving base salaries, the film's budget was just 8 million dollars.
Within two weeks, the film's 16.01 million dollars in North American gross already covered the entire production cost.
Simon initially had modest expectations for "Short Cuts" with a projected North American gross of around 20 million dollars. However, from the box office trends of the first two weeks, the film's gross might potentially reach the 50 million dollar mark.
Despite the unexpected success of "Short Cuts," Daenerys Entertainment had no plans to adjust its awards season PR strategy.
"Dances with Wolves" remained the focus for this year's Oscars campaign.
Nevertheless, "Short Cuts" still managed to secure Golden Globe nominations for Best Drama, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Moreover, the Golden Globes committee planned to establish a 'Special Ensemble Award' specifically to acknowledge the film's excellent ensemble performance.
After briefly shining at the end of the 70s, Robert Altman, who had nearly been forgotten in the early 80s due to several film failures and was mostly active in the European film circle, reentered the Hollywood mainstream with the success
of "Short Cuts," rejuvenating his career.
Faced with offers from other studios, Altman remained unswayed. Although he hadn't signed a multi-film deal initially, he publicly expressed his eagerness to continue working with Daenerys Entertainment on another movie.
On December 21, amid the festive atmosphere, Daenerys Entertainment's blockbuster "Home Alone" officially premiered.
Under Simon's personal arrangement, the film opened on 2676 screens, making it the movie with the highest number of opening screens at the end of 1990. The film's promotional campaign also far exceeded that of other holiday season films; just in advertising and promotion, the budget was over 12 million dollars, with a total marketing budget reaching 15 million dollars.
Clearly, as long as the film's box office met expectations, the post-launch budget would easily surpass the film's final production cost of 18 million dollars.
However, competition during the Christmas season was quite fierce.
Aside from "Home Alone," there were three other new releases with more than 1000 opening screens each: Universal Pictures' new film "Kindergarten Cop," starring Jean-Claude Van Damme after Arnold Schwarzenegger withdrew, Brian De Palma's new film "Bonfire of the Vanities," and the comedy "Almost an Angel," starring Paul Hogan, the lead of the successful "Crocodile Dundee" series.
MGM's Cold War spy film "The Russia House," starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, also opened on more than 700 screens.
Finally, there were four more new releases opening on screens ranging from a few to a couple of hundred.
In total, the week of December 21 saw nine new films entering North American theaters.
Having successfully acquired Bell Atlantic, Simon spent the week of Christmas with Janet at their Greenwich estate on the East Coast.
As it was Christmas, Sophia Fieschi also came over, planning to take a week off.
Perhaps because Janet had always hoped to have a baby, she was very fond of Sophia's two children, and everyone even had lunch together on Christmas Day.
Regarding the acquisition of MCA, having resolved the major hurdle of the three major unions' lawsuit, Daenerys Entertainment resumed contact with MCA's management.
The United Nations had issued an ultimatum to Iraq, demanding that Iraqi forces withdraw from Kuwait by January 15 of the next year.
Simon knew this was Daenerys Entertainment's last easy opportunity to secure MCA. Once the war ended decisively and the US stock market quickly rebounded, complications would arise.
However, on the surface, Daenerys Entertainment's team proceeded methodically, showing no signs of urgency.
Indeed, Simon, who had a thorough grasp of future economic trends, was very eager to finalize the acquisition before the outbreak of war. MCA's side felt similarly.
The several wars the US had encountered since World War II had almost invariably negatively impacted the domestic economy. Therefore, domestic experts and media generally predicted that if a war in the Middle East broke out, it would inevitably mean another downturn for the US stock market. If the Middle Eastern conflict became a prolonged quagmire like the Vietnam War, it would add further woes to the US economy.
Thus, both Daenerys Entertainment and MCA's shareholders were eager for the acquisition to be finalized before January 15 of the next year.
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