Hollywood Hunter

Amy said: "Yes, but this year and next year will definitely not work. If everything goes well, the company may be able to conduct an IPO in 1992 at the earliest."

With the continuous broadening of business vision, Simon gradually ceased to resist the company's IPO. He also understands that if Daenerys Entertainment wants to continue to grow and develop in the future, no matter from all aspects of consideration, public listing is a must.

Simon and Amy talked about this topic because of her salary contract.

When Amy joined Simon, the contract included corresponding cash dividends and the same amount of equity rewards. Although the outside world has various valuations for Daenerys Entertainment, the company was not listed after all. The equity awards are difficult to quantify.

Amy's contract will expire early next year. Simon hopes to postpone her share awards until the company's listing. Amy also agreed.

Nancy heard Amy say this, but keenly grasped another meaning in her words, and tentatively repeated: "If everything goes well?"

"Don't guess," Amy interrupted with a smile, "Speaking of which, the main building of Danelis Studios in Malibu has been completed. Would you like to visit together tomorrow and choose an office building? Design and decorate yourself?"

"Of course, I won't save money for our boss."

As Nancy said, she couldn't help but ponder the matter just now.

Cersei Capital has accumulated a large amount of money overseas. As long as you are not too stupid, you should know that this money can only reflect its value when it is spent as soon as possible. Hoarding will only depreciate in the continuous inflation.

Among the companies in the Westeros system, Daenerys Entertainment is the most suitable and most in need of this funding for large-scale expansion. Obviously, the target of expansion will only be the Seven Hollywood.

Nancy has even locked the merger target in a blink of an eye.

The current Seven Hollywood, Columbia and MGM have just changed hands, and it is impossible to sell them again in a short time. Simon should also look down on these two companies.

Rupert Murdoch is ambitiously building his own global media empire and will not sell Fox.

Although Paramount has just experienced the failure of "Rocket Expert", the company's film business in the past two years has been very good, and the stock price is high. Paramount chairman Martin Davis has rejected several merger invitations in recent years and is not a good acquisition target.

Time Warner is too big for Daenerys Entertainment.

Disney has been in a state of rapid recovery in recent years, and its stock price has grown rapidly. The Bath family and the Disney family, which hold a large number of shares in this company, will not easily make a move.

In the end, only Universal Pictures' parent company MCA is left.

If it was Nancy herself, she would choose MCA without hesitation.

In addition to movies, MCA's business in TV, music and theme parks can form a strong complement to Daenerys Entertainment. Moreover, the aging MCA chairman Lou Vasalman does not resist outside acquisitions like Martin Davis.

The next afternoon.

Because it’s Saturday, there will be a celebration party for "Batman: Hour of War" in the evening. Daenerys Entertainment and all executives of all sizes come to Malibu to check out the movies they will be staying in the middle of this year. City Park.

This mountainside plot, five kilometers into the Malibu area from California Highway 1, is not what it used to be compared to the original barren slope.

After a year of construction, the main buildings in the three areas from top to bottom in the cinema have been completed.

There are a total of five three to five-storey office buildings in the uppermost administrative area. Different from the old-school small buildings and bungalows in the traditional studios, these five office buildings are scattered and designed with high glass curtain walls. The styles are different, and the simplicity reveals a stylish and modern design beauty.

In addition to offices, the five buildings also include restaurants, cafes, gyms and other employee activities and leisure areas.

The most conspicuous second floor are three two-story office LOFT buildings with a length of 150 meters and a width of 30 meters. The exterior of the LOFT is a combination of red brick walls, tempered glass and black steel beams. The ceiling also adopts a loft-style roof design. , It seems full of literary style.

The LOFT office building in this era has not yet emerged.

Therefore, Simon surprised a lot of people after he drew the draft drawings himself, and the effect after the completion of the building was also very good.

The three office LOFTs will house the creative departments of Pixar Animation, Daenerys Special Effects, Blizzard Studio and Marvel Entertainment's West Coast team.

The current Pixar teams are not too large. However, even considering future expansion factors, the theoretical double-layered 9,000 square meters internal space of each office LOFT is enough to accommodate 500 to 1,000 people.

In addition to the three office LOFTs, a large circular glass fiber reinforced plastic-style activity center was built on the second floor, covering an area of ​​2,500 square meters. The interior includes a hall that can accommodate 1,200 people and several small halls with hundreds of people. Multiple purposes such as film screenings, holding parties and holding meetings.

On the bottom floor of the studio are six studios with different specifications and a large post-production center.

Of course, these are just the main buildings in the studio.

In addition to only five office buildings on the top floor, there are other restaurants, shops, warehouses and dormitories on the second and third floors.

However, for the cinema park with a total area of ​​50 hectares, all these buildings actually occupy a small area.

Because of the popularity of American cars and the lack of public transportation in Los Angeles, not counting the land used for greening and reserve, the largest area in the studio is actually the parking lot. There are six parking lots, large and small, in the three-story park from top to bottom, which can accommodate 3,000 cars when fully loaded.

After walking through the studio, others were still visiting everywhere, and Amy, Nancy and Jennifer came to the parking lot on the second floor near the cliffside guardrail.

Leaning on the railing, there is a cliff of more than ten meters at the foot, and the blue scene of the sea and the sky is in the distance. Nancy took a deep breath and curiously pointed to the gradually taking shape of the shell of the Cape Dumei Manor in the distance Zhuang Building asked Jennifer: "When can it be built there, it looks so beautiful?"

Simon is not in Los Angeles, the female assistant has to take into account the multiple roles of assistant and housekeeper.

Following Nancy’s gaze, Jennifer said: "It will be next year at the earliest. The interior decoration is very troublesome, and many things have to be customized."

Nancy leaned forward enviously, and said sourly: "To build such a conspicuous villa, someone will definitely say that BOSS is extravagant, and Hirst has been criticized for many years."

The founder of the Hearst Group, William Randolph Hearst, spent most of his life building Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Until many years later, it has been criticized as a luxury by many people.

Jennifer argued: "Simon is just building a house he likes. How can Hirst be so extravagant."

Nancy nodded solemnly, but joked in her tone, saying, "Yeah, yeah, Simon is right in everything."

Jennifer's face turned red, and she planned to ignore Nancy.

Nancy retracted her gaze, turned to look at the office buildings in the second-level park, and said to Amy: "I would rather work in these loft-like buildings, much better than the office buildings above. I am. I think this can more stimulate the creativity of employees."

"So these three buildings are used by Pixar," Amy said: "However, if you really want to bring your own department to work here, you can also. These LOFT buildings now have a lot of free space. You can use 3 The second floor of LOFT."

"That's it. I will take the time to discuss the decoration plan with the designer."

Nancy nodded immediately. She didn't care about the potential status difference between the first-level administrative area and the second-level office area. Her comfort was the most important thing, not to mention the consumer goods department moved to the second floor, and no one would dare to take it lightly.

With that said, Nancy looked at the empty surroundings and remembered what happened yesterday, and tentatively asked Amy: "We rented the office buildings in Santa Monica and Burbank, and we will return them after moving in. That’s fine. But, Amy, it’s empty enough here, what if we have a second studio park?"

The three people by the railing were extremely clever, and when Nancy said that, Jennifer immediately looked over suspiciously.

Nancy noticed the look in Jennifer's eyes, and couldn't help but joked: "Really, even Jenny knows, I have to be kept secret."

As the closest person to Simon in the company and the relationship with James, Jennifer naturally knew that Daenerys Entertainment planned to acquire MCA. Although Simon is currently in Australia, he has been discussing this matter with James and Amy, and sometimes he needs a female assistant to help spread the word.

Amy smiled and said: "Then pretend you don't know. You are just the president of the consumer products department. You really want to grab my position."

"Maybe," Nancy snarled in Xiaobaifang as a threat, and asked, "So, what about the two major parks?"

Amy said: "We have a lot of high-quality copyrights in our hands now. The staff from another park moved over and this side is full. The space vacated there can be used to expand some superhero attractions and add a horror film community. Ah, that kind of thing, it can enhance the attraction of the theme park to tourists."

Speaking of which, Simon and Amy discussed this matter after they proposed the MCA acquisition plan.

Universal Studios in Burbank covers an area of ​​212 hectares, and Daenerys Studios in Malibu also has 50 hectares. If MCA is bought, Daenerys Entertainment will own a much larger movie theater than other Hollywood studios combined.

However, this problem did not bother Simon.

A large part of the reason Simon wanted to buy MCA was for the company's theme park business.

Movie theme parks are promising in the next 20 to 30 years.

As long as the acquisition of MCA can be successfully completed, Simon will increase investment in theme parks and build more attractions in Universal Studios to attract tourists. The film and television production business there can just be transferred to Malibu.

What's more, MGM at its peak that year had as many as six shooting bases in Los Angeles. Even if it does not reach the height of MGM in the era of big studios, Simon is confident that Daenerys Entertainment's future development will be enough to digest these two. At the Studio Park.

When Nancy heard Amy say this, she immediately understood, thinking for a moment: "It's really a very good idea."

Amy urged: "Remember to keep it secret, the news goes out, don't talk about grabbing my position, Simon must fire you."

"Of course I understand."

The three women chatted, and Robert Rem, Ella Deutschman, and Robert Iger who had flown from the East Coast in the morning walked over.

It is already evening.

The celebration party of "Batman: Hour of War" was held at 7 o'clock in the evening in the mansion of Simon, halfway up the hill in Palisades. Everyone greeted a few words. Amy and Jennifer rushed to Palisades to check the party preparations. Others People leave temporarily.

Daenerys Entertainment’s party is undoubtedly the most sought after party in Hollywood in the last two years, especially in recent months.

The 10 movie plans for the second half of last year are still going on. With the box office explosion of "Batman: Hour of War", the upcoming DC Cinema Universe project will undoubtedly represent more opportunities for Hollywood filmmakers to become famous in one fell swoop.

With the birth of the first North American movie with a local box office expected to exceed $400 million, the actor Adam Baldwin of "Batman: Hour of War", who was not even a third-tier film, rose to the ranks of first-tier superstars. Catwoman actor Valerie · Galino also has a firm foothold in Hollywood.

The film’s supporting roles, William Dafoe, Tommy Lee Jones and Anthony Hopkins, have all increased their reputations.

It is conceivable that even if other films in the DC Cinematic Universe in the next few years can only reach half the commercial height of "Batman: Hour of War", this plan is enough to become a powerful star-making machine for countless Hollywood filmmakers who are eager to get ahead. In other words, this is the coveted upper-level opportunity.

Therefore, in order to get the invitation letter for this celebration party tonight, many people tried their best.

The original plan for a party of 200 people was eventually expanded to more than 500 people because of the irresistible favoritism.

The party opened at 7 o'clock in the evening, but just after 6 o'clock, the mansion in Palisades was already full of celebrities, and a large number of paparazzi who heard the news almost blocked the mountain road, and Amy had to send security guards. Personnel maintain traffic outside the mansion.

As soon as the sky darkened, a glitzy scene of feasting began in the mansion. The men and women decorated with beautiful clothes traveled around the mansion, looking for every opportunity that might make them ascend to the sky.

The most dazzling youth that many people expected did not appear, so Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner's high-level executives and other Hollywood bigwigs who attended the party became the subject of close scrutiny at the party.

However, the reason why a circle is a circle is that some people feel that they are within reach, but they can't get in anyway.

The main villa in the mansion was not fully opened this time.

At the entrance of the stairs leading to the second floor of the villa, two bodyguards stood cross-handed, blocking from time to time guests who wanted to go upstairs and get close to the big men under various excuses.

In the study on the second floor, only Amy and Jonathan Friedman were at this time.

Amy leaned on the edge of the desk, holding her arms, looking at Jonathan Friedman next to the bookshelf with a serious expression, and said: "Joe, we have to make it clear today, Adam and Valais. Li’s contract, as well as everyone else’s contract, is absolutely impossible to modify. DC Cinema Universe is a very huge project. If every movie sells out, the actors will feel that they don’t have enough money and ask to modify the contract. Then there is no way for this plan to go on."

Probably what kind of boss brings out what kind of employees. Jonathan Friedman felt that when Amy said these words, he was clearly showing Simon's breath: "Amy, even if the salary cannot be changed, but other aspects, such as this The role figure of "Batman: Hour of War" is related to the portrait rights of the actors. I think Adam and Valerie should have the right to get a proper share of toys that use their own images. Also, the contract is right. The restrictions on their participation in other films during the contract period are also too harsh."

"Joe, I remember very clearly that the contract stipulates the corresponding licensing terms for derivatives. Moreover, what we produce is not the figures of the actors themselves, but the figures of the movie characters they represent. After all, they are just a carrier. As for the restrictions on their participation in other films, this is to ensure that they can perform their contracts smoothly."

Amy said this, paused, and continued: "Joe, if you need it, I can find the last few shortlisted candidates for Batman characters. You can see what they are in now, and what kind of guy Adam is. Bit. Without this role, Adam would still be just a small person who can't even count as a third-line actor, maybe he can only be such a small person in his life. Batman gave him everything. Simon and I mentioned that he never expected to be His popular actors will be grateful to himself. He is a person who does not believe in people's hearts. He only hopes that those people can fulfill the agreements he has signed. Moreover, if all five contracts of Adam are completed, he can take away the pay. The total amount is 30.3 million US dollars, with an average of more than 6 million per movie. This is already a first-line celebrity level. Daenerys Entertainment has not treated him badly. With the popularity of Batman, Adam can also participate in other movies and take various films. Advertising, these are enough to bring him a very generous income, and everyone else is the same. So, Joe, I hope that we will only talk about this topic once."

After a brief silence, Jonathan Friedman nodded and said with a soft smile: "Well, Amy, you know, we brokers always follow the wishes of our clients."

Amy still has dissatisfaction on her face, saying: "You can let them know how much money Christopher Reeve got when he played "Superman". The first "Superman" sold for 300 million US dollars worldwide. The pay for the second film of "Superman" was only 500,000 US dollars, and the third one barely rose to 1 million US dollars. Joe, if we both did not sign the contract in advance, based on the current box office results of "Batman: Hour of War", they You can pay as much money as you want on the sequel, 20 million, 30 million, or directly participate in the box office share, whether we accept it or not, this is their right. But since the contract is signed, it must be followed ."

Since Amy had such an attitude, Jonathan knew that this incident could not have any results, and it might be worse to talk to Simon directly, so he said: "Amy, I will tell them."

Amy saw that Jonathan was about to leave, stopped him again, and asked, "Joe, I need a name. Who proposed to amend the contract?"

Jonathan smiled bitterly: "Amy, will this end here? I owe you a favor."

Amy and Jonathan looked at each other for a moment, nodded slightly, and said: "Joe, I hope you remind them that if you abide by the contract, everyone will have more opportunities for cooperation in the future. Otherwise, you know Simon's temper, if someone hinders the DC Cinematic Universe plan Moving forward, they will no longer have any foothold in Hollywood."

In the living room downstairs of the villa, Adam Baldwin, who was chatting with some guests happily by the stars, saw Jonathan appear, and immediately walked up, with questions in his eyes.

Adam Baldwin’s agent, Matthew Steirt, also came in.

Jonathan glanced up the stairs subconsciously, but didn't find Amy, and then he took Baldwin and the two to a corner of the backyard and communicated with them in a low voice.

Among the several leading actors of "Batman", the most confident attempt to renegotiate the contract with Daenerys Entertainment is undoubtedly Adam Baldwin, the actor of Bruce Wayne. Amy had already guessed this in his words. One point, I want a name last, just want to get confirmation from Jonathan.

The favor that Jonathan owed, can be regarded as blocking many things for Adam Baldwin.

However, upstairs in the villa, Amy did not intend to forget about it.

Leaving the study, Amy went to another living room on the second floor. Nancy, Jennifer, Valerie Galino, Sandra Bullock and other ladies gathered here. There were some sofas in the room and on the terrace. Full of occupied by women.

Saying hello to everyone, Amy called out her assistant Vanessa Lind, and stood in the outer corridor and said, "You will check tomorrow, which scripts Meg Ryan has seen recently, and which scripts are they working with? The crew contacted and planned to cooperate with whom, I will see the result next Monday."

Vanessa didn't ask much, nodded and said: "Okay."

"Also," Amy said again: "You will tell the Finance Department tomorrow that the "Batman: Hour of War" creative team award plan that is being drafted has been cancelled, and there is no need to count."

Vanessa was a little surprised this time, and asked uncertainly: "Cancel?"

"Yes," Amy said: "In addition, you have tried to spread the news in the last few days, because someone wants to break the contract and re-sign the agreement. All the extra rewards in the plan are cancelled.

Vanessa understood, nodded, and tentatively asked: "Amy, don't you really want to cancel?"

20 million US dollars, if all the small actions are cancelled because of some people, the creative team of "Batman: Hour of War" will probably hate some people to death.

I just don't know who wants to renegotiate the agreement.

Amy glared at her assistant: "Ask so much what you are doing, just do your own thing."

Vanessa shrank her neck and said, "Well, I get it."