After spending a week with Sophia, Simon left Rome on February 6th and returned to Los Angeles, while the woman remained at the estate on the southern outskirts of Rome to continue her pregnancy care. From now until the child is born, most of Melisandre's affairs will be handled by her deputy, Angela Ahrendts.
During Simon's absence from Hollywood, aside from the smooth conclusion of the Sundance Film Festival and the 52nd Golden Globe Awards, the week of January 27 to February 2 also saw another significant event naturally unfold: Toy Story 2, which had been released over the Thanksgiving period last year, grossed another $4.31 million in its 11th week, pushing its total box office past the $300 million mark, reaching $300.56 million. It became the third film released in 1994 to surpass $300 million at the domestic box office.
Another film nearing the $300 million milestone was Suicide Squad. During its 7th week from January 27 to February 2, it earned $10.37 million, with a cumulative box office of $278.36 million, just $22 million short of the $300 million mark, making it only a matter of time before it crossed that threshold.
Additionally, Rumble in the Bronx, which premiered on January 27, marked a strong start for Daenerys Entertainment in 1995. In its first week, the film grossed $14.19 million across 1,736 screens, with a per-screen average exceeding $8,000. While it didn't reach the blockbuster level of $10,000 per screen, for a niche Hong Kong film in a slow period at the end of January, this result exceeded all expectations.
By the time Simon returned to Los Angeles, Rumble in the Bronx had already reported its second weekend box office results. The film saw a second-weekend drop of only 27%, grossing $6.34 million over three days, bringing its 10-day total to $20.53 million.
In comparison, the production cost of Rumble in the Bronx was only $7.5 million, and Daenerys Entertainment's New World Pictures division had initially secured the North American and European distribution rights for just $2.5 million. The marketing budget for North America was only $3 million.
Now, with a total investment of $5.5 million, the film had earned over $20 million in 10 days, and its North American total box office could reach $35 to $40 million. Furthermore, there were additional revenues from European distribution and subsequent home video and television rights. Altogether, this film could generate returns for Daenerys Entertainment surpassing those of many high-profile blockbusters.
Given the success of Rumble in the Bronx, Rush Hour could now proceed as planned.
The script for Rush Hour had been hastily pieced together using typical Hong Kong movie tropes, tailored specifically for Jackie Chan. It followed the familiar buddy cop formula that had become a Hollywood staple, so Simon didn't anticipate any competition. However, he didn't personally handle the script. Instead, he outlined the general idea to Danny Morris, president of New World Pictures, and let him find a screenwriter to flesh out the script. The key to Rush Hour's success was the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, with the plot details being less important.
Malibu, Daenerys Studios.
It was now Wednesday, February 8.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, Simon focused most of his energy on the numerous film projects Daenerys Entertainment had in development or already in production.
He started work at 9 a.m. with three consecutive production meetings over three hours. The discussions were about Charlie's Angels, The Mummy, and Jumanji. These were three of the four external collaboration projects that were finalized last year, with the fourth being The Bourne Identity, which, as part of the "Spy Universe," would not begin until Charlie's Angels was released.
Of the three active projects, The Mummy, in collaboration with Fox, was slated for a summer release next year. Charlie's Angels and Jumanji would both have to wait until the end of the year.
The three partner studios weren't entirely happy with this schedule, but there wasn't much they could do.
It was ultimately a matter of too many projects in the pipeline.
Unless they wanted to cannibalize each other, there were no available release dates left for this year. Even next year was already packed with blockbusters, including the rebooted James Bond, Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Mission: Impossible 2 (a collaboration with Paramount), and the next DC Universe film, Wonder Woman 2.
Additionally, there were unavoidable sequels from the "Conjuring Universe" and several other medium to low-budget projects. With these three new films added to the mix, 1996 was shaping up to be a very crowded year. Projects like Independence Day and Justice League, which had been originally planned, would have to be delayed to ensure that no film's box office potential was hindered.
During the morning meetings, Simon and the production team solidified their approach to the three projects.
The plan for The Mummy, in collaboration with Fox, would stick closely to the original storyline Simon remembered and wouldn't deviate much.
The Charlie's Angels film, being co-produced with MGM, would have a brand-new concept, with Simon personally writing the script.
As for Jumanji, Simon decided to go with the 2017 version starring Dwayne Johnson rather than the 1995 version. The idea of being sucked into a game instead of the game invading reality was more immersive for audiences.
Even without accounting for inflation, the 2017 version had a significantly higher box office than the 1995 version, with a global gross close to $1 billion.
Simon's hesitation about using the 2017 version stemmed from the need to cast a highly paid lead actor like Schwarzenegger or Stallone. A one-time collaboration would be manageable, with fees of $15 million to $20 million. However, if the first film succeeded, securing these big stars for a sequel would become problematic.
Simon clearly remembered how Schwarzenegger had assembled a powerful legal team to negotiate for Terminator 3, leading to a production budget of $200 million. Even though the global box office barely crossed $400 million, Schwarzenegger walked away with $30 million, making it a prime example of movie studios working for the stars.
Simon would never let that happen to Daenerys Entertainment.
Moreover, the 2017 version of Jumanji featured four main characters, meaning that if the first film was a hit, all their salaries would inflate.
Now that he had decided on this direction, Simon's next task was to sort out the casting.
In the 2017 version, Sony kept costs down by only paying Dwayne Johnson $20 million, while the other actors weren't major stars. As a result, the entire production budget was only $90 million. Even then, the film grossed close to $1 billion worldwide.
This time, Simon wasn't going to skimp on special effects and had already set the budget at $100 million.
A $100 million budget in 1995 and in 2017 were clearly two different things.
On top of that, Simon intended to cap the total fees for the creative team, including producers, directors, and the four main actors, at $25 million. In exchange, he would offer profit-sharing deals. If this version of Jumanji grossed close to $1 billion globally, Simon would be happy to pay out $100 million in profit-sharing.
He also planned to secure long-term deals with the cast, capping their future salaries to avoid disputes after the first film's success.
If the project flopped, Daenerys Entertainment reserved the right to cancel any sequels without additional compensation. Daenerys Entertainment now had overwhelming leverage in Hollywood, reversing the era when stars dictated unfair terms to studios.
If a star didn't like the terms, someone else would happily take the opportunity. Even the biggest stars couldn't afford too many missed opportunities.
After a busy morning, Simon had lunch with Amy Pascal in the executive dining room at the studio.
As soon as the waiter left, Amy smiled and brought up a topic. "The media's been buzzing about your donation of America Online stock. It's all over the news."
Simon shrugged and picked up his cutlery. "No matter what you do, there will always be controversy. Let them talk. If it gets too annoying, I just won't donate anymore."
A few days ago, while Simon was still in Rome, the Westeros family began fulfilling their charitable commitments by donating the first batch of America Online stock, valued at $1 billion, to the Simon & Janet Westeros Foundation. The money would be used to help modernize public schools across the USA by building professional computer labs.
Though Simon had pledged a total of $3 billion, he wasn't going to donate it all at once.
For one, the stock was still appreciating, so donating it in batches would save money. No matter how rich you are, it's always smart to save where you can.
However, this immediately sparked controversy. Some media outlets claimed that Simon's $3 billion pledge had been drastically reduced, and they criticized him. Even after the Westeros family's spokesperson clarified the situation multiple times, some people still stubbornly clung to their skepticism, accusing Simon of breaking his promise.
In reality, even with this initial $1 billion donation, the Simon & Janet Westeros Foundation was already comparable in size to many family foundations that had been in operation for over half a century.
But for those who didn't want
to see that, no amount of explanation would suffice.
Additionally, some began criticizing Simon for donating stock instead of cash, accusing him of avoiding taxes.
Under U.S. charitable rules, if Simon had sold the stock before donating it, he would've had to pay capital gains tax, even if he declared the proceeds for charitable use.
The current capital gains tax rate was 28%.
This meant that if Simon had donated cash, just the capital gains tax on his $3 billion pledge would have been over $1.1 billion. That was something he obviously wasn't going to do, and no other billionaire would either.
By donating stock directly and placing it into a charitable foundation, the proceeds from selling the stock wouldn't be taxed.
On top of that, Simon would receive a significant tax deduction.
Although it wouldn't be a full deduction, and stock donations only allowed for a 30% deduction compared to 50% for cash donations, the $3 billion pledge still provided a substantial tax break. Furthermore, under the tax code, the deduction could be carried forward for up to five years.
By the time the entire $3 billion worth of stock was donated, the Westeros family would have saved $900 million in taxes.
In effect, Simon was avoiding over $1.1 billion in capital gains taxes, while also earning $900 million in deductions. To many, it seemed like Simon Westeros had "saved" $2 billion, meaning that he was effectively only donating $1 billion, while the remaining $2 billion was subsidized by the federal government's tax revenue.
It was outrageous!
Despite having mentally prepared for such reactions, Simon still found this kind of cynical calculation exasperating.
Moreover, as the debate continued, some media outlets questioned the actual beneficiaries of Simon's charity work.
The $3 billion to build computer labs in public schools would inevitably involve products from companies like Microsoft, Intel, and America Online— all part of the Westeros ecosystem. Some claimed that the money was ultimately flowing back to Simon.
According to this logic, Simon Westeros might not have donated a single cent.
This was beyond outrageous.
The U.S. media industry was simply too powerful, and this wasn't like last year's personal attacks. If Simon responded with lawsuits over every criticism, it would only provoke a stronger backlash.
For now, Simon was content to let the media arms of the Westeros system handle the counterattacks.
And of course, despite his earlier grumbling, Simon couldn't stop donating altogether.
The charity work had to continue.
After all, it was an essential part of the Westeros family's long-term wealth preservation strategy.
With such massive assets, avoiding future estate taxes would inevitably require passing wealth down through charitable foundations. Naturally, to avoid drawing too much attention, the Westeros family's various foundations would likely be split into smaller entities in the future.
Amy sensed the frustration in Simon's tone and asked, "So, is having too much money starting to stress you out?"
Simon shook his head and smiled. "Not at all. I'm enjoying it, and I love seeing how jealous and envious people are about my wealth."
Amy laughed. "Yeah, I have to admit, I get pretty jealous sometimes too."
With the Nasdaq continuing its steady climb throughout January, now having surpassed 2,000 points, Simon's vast holdings of tech stocks had risen accordingly. Saying that Simon's personal wealth had reached $500 billion was no exaggeration, at least on paper.
A personal fortune of $500 billion was beyond the comprehension of the average person, and those advocating for a cap on Simon's wealth were likely running out of ideas.
It was clear that the only way to stop Simon Westeros' wealth from growing would be to break the rules of capitalism and forcibly confiscate his assets.
But that wasn't going to happen.
After all, no one wanted the USA to turn into the former Soviet Union. If they could do that to Simon Westeros, other wealthy individuals might fear the same fate.
And that would be disastrous for everyone.
In such a scenario, no one would feel secure anymore.
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