It seemed that in the blink of an eye, the first quarter of 1993 was drawing to a close.
March, soon to be over, was dominated by the media frenzy surrounding the formal approval of the "Information Superhighway Plan" bill at the start of the month. This future $400 billion investment plan for the USA over the next twenty years sparked global discussions. Companies like Cisco, AOL, Microsoft, and Intel, all emblematic of this new technological wave, became the darlings of the capital markets.
In Hollywood, the most powerful young man, Simon Westeros, was undoubtedly the focal point of this revolution.
Just Cisco and AOL, two tech giants whose market caps both surpassed $30 billion, had added nearly $50 billion to Simon Westeros's wealth. This led not only traditional billionaires who had witnessed Simon's meteoric rise to dabble in the new tech fields but also some Hollywood stars with surplus funds to start exploring investments in the internet industry.
However, for most Hollywood insiders, terms like new technology, the internet, the information age, and hundreds of billions of dollars still felt somewhat remote.
As March came to an end, the industry's focus shifted to the most significant event of the awards season: the 65th Annual Academy Awards.
Simon, having wrapped up his schedule in New York, returned to Los Angeles and was immediately engulfed by a multitude of tasks.
This year's Easter falls on April 11th, and Daenerys Entertainment's Easter release, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 2, is set to premiere on April 9th. Simon needed to oversee the film's promotional activities.
The summer blockbusters like Superman, Sleepless in Seattle, The Firm, and The Pelican Brief were nearly complete, and Simon had to personally ensure their final quality.
He also had numerous projects in the production phase, such as Mission: Impossible, Se7en, and Schindler's List, all requiring his attention.
At Daenerys Studios, Simon had recently settled a long-standing dispute over the Conjuring universe rights and discussed the development plans for the series with Danny Morris of New World Pictures that morning. After a quick lunch, he rushed to a production meeting for Stargate, scripted by Roland Emmerich and directed by Michael Bay.
When the Stargate meeting concluded at 2 PM, Amy Pascal and Richard Palmers, the president of Universal Music, were already waiting for Simon.
Over the two years since acquiring MCA, Daenerys Entertainment had completed the integration of its film, television, and theme park divisions. However, due to limited resources and a lack of in-depth knowledge of the music industry, Simon hadn't made significant changes to Universal Music.
Under the stewardship of the fifty-something Richard Palmers, a former MCA executive, Universal Music had been managed efficiently, even though it hadn't achieved outstanding success. The division's profitability was largely buoyed by the successful sales of soundtracks from Daenerys Entertainment's films.
Simon originally valued Universal Music for its independence from other distribution channels, which proved beneficial for films like The Bodyguard. But he realized that wasn't enough.
After reviewing the digital music player prototype developed by Tingkobai Company in San Francisco, Simon knew it was time to revamp the music division.
Missing out on the final flourish of physical media sales would make it challenging to establish a strong foothold in the music sector in the future.
Historically, Universal Music had leaned heavily into rock, with notable acts like Guns N' Roses under its wing, along with other bands like Dream Theater and Trixter. Outside rock, the label's roster included multi-talented veterans like Cher and Dolly Parton, whose prime years were long past and who now focused on their non-musical careers.
While these rock bands and multi-faceted stars had substantial followings, they weren't representative of the mainstream music industry.
Compared to Sony's Columbia Records, home to Michael Jackson, or Warner Records, which boasted Madonna, Universal's biggest drawback was the lack of a few mainstream superstar acts.
Simon had a keen understanding of the 1990s music industry trends.
In the 90s, teen pop artists like Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears rose to prominence, overshadowing traditional musicians. Unlike previous eras, where crafting a top-tier artist relied heavily on luck, teen pop stars could be 'mass-produced.'
Speaking of teen pop, one couldn't ignore Jive Records, which flourished in the 90s, launching acts like Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
Simon had already researched Jive Records thoroughly.
Currently, Jive Records was a subsidiary of RCA Group under General Electric (GE), which also owned NBC. The relationship between RCA and RCA Records was akin to that of MCA and Universal Music.
As a subsidiary of a subsidiary under the massive GE conglomerate, Jive Records, part of RCA's portfolio, wasn't tightly integrated. Thus, poaching Jive Records from GE wasn't particularly difficult, as subsidiary reshuffling was common in large music groups.
However, if Daenerys Entertainment, the most prominent player in Hollywood, aimed to acquire Jive Records, complications would inevitably arise.
After a day of discussions, Simon made two decisions: First, Daenerys Entertainment's music division would be rebranded as Daenerys Music Group, signifying the company's serious entry into the music industry. Second, he would initiate contact with Jive Records president Barry Weiss.
Simon decided against acquiring the entire Jive Records, opting instead to poach Barry Weiss, who was instrumental in Jive's success with teen pop in the 90s. This move would be easier and less time-consuming than buying the entire label, avoiding unnecessary entanglements.
By 5 PM, the meetings wrapped up. After Richard Palmers left, Amy Pascal asked Simon, "What's the plan for tonight?"
The red carpet event for the Oscars had already started downtown, but Simon had no intention of attending. He replied with a smile, "I'll head home to have dinner with Janet. I might drop by the after-party once the ceremony is over."
Amy knew about Janet's recent pregnancy and had speculated about some underlying matters from Simon's restructured arrangements for his female assistant but chose not to delve into them. Instead, she shifted the conversation to the construction progress of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. She was scheduled to fly to Japan the next day to inspect the project.
After a brief chat, Amy left, and Simon stayed in his office, reviewing documents until 6 PM before heading back to Malibu.
Tonight's dinner was, in fact, for three.
With both women pregnant, Simon had hoped Jennifer would move into the Dume Point estate for better care. With the estate already hosting many beautiful women, one more wouldn't stand out. However, Jennifer preferred to stay at her uncle George Norman's house.
As Simon's former personal lawyer, George Norman still held board positions in some of Westeros's holding companies. Much like the Raebold family, the Normans had close ties to the Westeros empire. Given this relationship and personal ties, they had not kept Jennifer's pregnancy a secret from George Norman.
Jennifer's insistence on staying at her uncle's meant Simon had to agree. He assigned an additional female bodyguard and a female assistant to take care of her round the clock.
Understanding the gravity of the situation, the Norman family had even sent their youngest son to boarding school to prevent any leaks.
The plan was for Jennifer to move to Simon's mountain villa in Woodside, near San Francisco, once her pregnancy became noticeable. This location was close enough to Los Angeles for convenient travel while providing privacy away from Hollywood's prying eyes.
Although they weren't living together, Janet often invited Jennifer over for dinner, and the two women, already close friends, seemed to have grown even closer during their simultaneous pregnancies.
When Simon returned to the Dume Point estate, the 65th Academy Awards ceremony was just beginning at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles.
This year's host was again Billy Crystal.
Compared to previous years, this year was considered a 'small' year for the Oscars.
Daenerys Entertainment had three films—Scent of a Woman, The Crying Game, and Howards End—that could have been strong contenders for Best Picture. To avoid diluting their public relations efforts, Daenerys Entertainment focused solely on Scent of a Woman for the major categories, while the other two films were only submitted for categories like Best Screenplay or Best Actress.
With The Crying Game and Howards End withdrawing from the Best Picture race, the remaining five nominees seemed somewhat underwhelming.
Besides Scent of a Woman, the other Best Picture nominees were Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, Mike Newell's Enchanted April, Spike Lee's Malcolm X, and Chaplin, starring Robert Downey Jr.
When the nominations were first announced, many in the North American media openly criticized some of the Best Picture nominees as undeserving, accusing the Oscars of padding the list. The Crying Game and Howards End were frequently cited in these critiques.
The Oscars committee, however, was powerless in this regard.
Daenerys Entertainment had chosen not to submit the films for Best Picture consideration, and the Oscars couldn't just add them against the studio's will.
Most of the public were unaware of the Oscars' nomination rules.
Influenced by the media, many believed the Oscars were biased against Daenerys Entertainment.
The previous year's controversy, where the mediocre The Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture over Daenerys's The Piano and Thelma & Louise, was revisited, fueling speculation that the Oscars were unfriendly to this 'new player.'
In reality, this public perception was partly influenced by Daenerys Entertainment's behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
Public opinion heavily swayed
the Oscars.
With over 6,000 members, the Academy's voting body was largely influenced by public relations and media narratives, rather than strictly focusing on the quality of the films.
Last year's awards had sparked significant debate, particularly after the first female director won for The Silence of the Lambs. Ignoring Daenerys's entries this year would have further undermined the Oscars' credibility.
Even those who didn't care about the awards themselves were motivated by a collective instinct to protect the Oscars' reputation as part of the Academy.
At the evening's ceremony, Daenerys Entertainment's previous strategic withdrawal and recent media influence paid off.
At the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Eileen Landy, attending the Oscars for the first time, was unaware of the intricacies behind the scenes. Seated in the center of the hall in the seventh row—a decent spot arranged by Simon—she was surrounded by stars she'd only seen on the big screen. She was filled with excitement, in stark contrast to Simon's indifferent attitude toward the event.
As the awards ceremony commenced, Eileen found herself naturally paying attention to Daenerys Entertainment's films.
Best Sound: Wonder Woman.
Best Visual Effects: Wonder Woman.
Best Cinematography: A River Runs Through It.
Best Actress: Emma Thompson, Howards End.
Best Original Screenplay: The Crying Game.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Scent of a Woman.
Best Film Editing: Wonder Woman.
Best Actor: Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman.
Best Director: Martin Brest, Scent of a Woman.
Best Picture: Scent of a Woman.
Before she realized it, the ceremony was over, and Eileen noticed that out of the 22 awards handed out that night, Daenerys Entertainment's films had secured 10 Oscars, all in highly prestigious categories.
The only notable omissions were in the Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories. The other awards, like Best Animated Short, Best Documentary, and Best Score, were minor technical awards.
Although she had only known Simon for less than three days, being present at the Oscars, Eileen could clearly sense how dominant Daenerys Entertainment had become in Hollywood. This even gave her a strange sense of pride.
Unfortunately, Simon wasn't there.
She recalled reading that he had worked on the music for Wonder Woman and might have been nominated for an Oscar, but there was no mention of him this year.
Given his attitude toward the Oscars, it wasn't surprising.
At his current level, he didn't need these awards to boost his reputation.
As the ceremony concluded, with Simon's image filling her mind, Eileen couldn't help but think how wonderful it would have been to sit together with him tonight. Despite some fleeting thoughts of running into his wife, she had no intention of causing a scene.
Still, with Daenerys Entertainment winning so many awards, there was no way Simon could avoid making an appearance at the Melisandre after-party, right?
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