After finishing his trip to Geneva, Simon flew to Florence, where Gucci's headquarters are located.
Sofia wanted Simon to make an appearance in a Gucci documentary, so on the 24th, he spent the entire day wandering around Florence, followed by cameras, along with Gucci's new Creative Director, Tom Ford. Ford's Spring/Summer 1990 collection for Gucci was to draw inspiration from this oldest cultural and artistic center in the world.
As hosts, the Gucci family prepared a reception dinner for Simon at their countryside estate.
To be precise, the invitation was from Aldo Gucci, the eldest son of the second generation of the Gucci family.
Guccio Gucci, the founder, had three sons, two of whom had passed away, leaving only Aldo, who was reported to prison a few years back for tax evasion by his nephew.
During the last equity transaction, some members of the Gucci family, for tax reasons, emigrated overseas, with only two of Aldo Gucci's sons remaining in Italy. Aldo's eldest son, who also had disagreements with his father, lived in New York.
Years of turmoil had diminished the Gucci family's prominence in Italy, but they still had some foundations. Especially with Simon Westeros, a newly prominent global wealth magnate and Hollywood mogul, attending their event, the Gucci family saw a full house of guests for the first time in years. Many Italian political and business celebrities attended, along with local entertainment figures drawn by Simon's presence.
Even Aldo Gucci, who had insisted on not selling the family company and still tightly held 20% of Gucci's shares, showed a significant change in attitude towards Simon because of this glorious event.
Back in the car, watching the lights of the Gucci estate fade away, Sofia remarked, "Now it will be even harder to acquire the remaining shares of the Gucci family."
Simon understood what Sofia meant.
Gucci's resurgence in recent months was evident.
Had Gucci continued its decline, the family would have sold all their shares in a few years. But now, even the most inept members of the Gucci family understood that holding onto their shares and backing Simon Westeros was a long-term strategy.
"We can't monopolize all benefits; having absolute control over Gucci is enough. After stabilizing Gucci's operations, we can shift resources and focus to other luxury brands," said Simon, then added, "Besides, the Gucci family may have borrowed some of my fame this time, but similarly, if we had 100% control over Gucci, the family wouldn't be so attentive, and in Italy, we'd be like blind outsiders. So, this mutual leveraging is beneficial."
Sofia nodded in agreement.
While Simon was merely socializing at the party, she genuinely made connections with local power players who could help Gucci in the future.
As Sofia was about to bring up Cannes, the car slowed and eventually stopped.
Neil Bennett, the driver, hadn't spoken when someone knocked on the window.
Simon looked out cautiously and saw a woman's face. Recognizing her, he rolled down the window and asked, "Miss Frelli, what are you doing here?"
Sabina Frelli, an actress, had eagerly interacted with Simon several times at the Gucci party and left her business card, which was why Simon remembered her name.
With the window down, Frelli looked pitifully at Simon, "Mr. Westeros, my car broke down. Could you give me a lift?"
Pointing at a black sedan with smoking engine by the road, Simon examined the car in the headlights and chuckled inwardly.
Encountering such a cliché ploy surprised him. The smoke indicated real damage, possibly beyond repair.
They were in Florence's southern suburbs, rich in estates, and Simon's estate was just five kilometers away.
Unable to leave a young woman stranded, Simon let Sabina Frelli in, squeezing with him and Sofia in the backseat.
The front seats had two bodyguards.
Kidnappings in Italy were well-known, so many advised Simon to bring extra people on his trip to Italy. Thus, he brought four bodyguards for his European tour. Two stayed at the estate as Jennifer hadn't come tonight.
With a stranger inside, Simon and Sofia's conversation halted.
Frelli was chatty, leaning against Simon, inquiring about Hollywood, admiring Valeri Golino's role as Catwoman in 'Batman', and boldly asking Simon to take her to Hollywood.
Arriving at another Florence estate, Simon was most pleased with its two-meter-high stone walls surrounding the five-acre estate. The walls made him buy the estate despite the Italian villa not entirely suiting his taste.
After everyone alighted, Simon, now scented with Frelli's perfume, asked, "Miss Frelli, where do you live? I'll have my driver take you home."
Frelli clung to Simon, pleading, "Simon, may I stay here for the night? I've been feeling followed at my hotel."
As Sofia smirked and walked towards the villa, Simon, foreseeing further complications from forcibly sending Frelli away, waved the bodyguards off to rest and led Frelli to the main villa.
In the living room.
Jennifer hadn't retired yet and showed disappointment seeing Simon with Frelli. Her tone chilled as she handed over a folder, "Boss, the Cannes Film Festival awards are out."
As she handed the folder to Simon and turned to leave, Simon pulled her back, explaining, "Miss Frelli's car broke down. She's just staying the night."
Holding Jennifer's hand, hearing Simon's explanation, she softened and sat beside him on the sofa.
Frelli, realizing Simon's closeness with Jennifer and not wanting to intrude, sat quietly on another sofa. Seeing Sofia bring coffee, she courteously took the tray and poured for everyone.
The living room inadvertently formed a male-dominated setting.
Simon noticed he was more comfortable in such situations.
Florence and Cannes had about an hour's time difference, and the Cannes closing ceremony was taking place. Simon had declined the invitation to attend.
Sitting with Jennifer in the living room, Simon opened the Cannes awards document.
Although many films he remembered appeared, the award results surprised him.
The biggest change was the Palme d'Or.
In his memory, the Palme d'Or went to Steven Soderbergh's 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape', but the reality was Giuseppe Tornatore's 'Cinema Paradiso'.
Thinking deeper, Simon realized 'Cinema Paradiso' was also deserving and aligned with Wim Wenders' taste. The change was likely due to the different distributor of 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape'.
The original film's distributor was Miramax, known for the Weinstein brothers' skilled PR.
Now, with Columbia Pictures as the distributor, they lacked the Weinstein brothers' connections and expertise in art film PR.
However, 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' didn't leave empty-handed, winning the Grand Prix, the second highest award at Cannes.
'My Left Foot' only won Best Actor.
Daniel Day-Lewis's performance in 'My Left Foot' deserved the award.
Simon never aimed for 'My Left Foot' to win the Palme d'Or and was pleased with 'Cinema Paradiso' winning, especially as 'Pulp Fiction' won last year. If Hollywood won again, chances of winning in the next few years would diminish.
Cannes officials couldn't directly influence awards, but judges, mostly European filmmakers, understood continuous favoritism towards Hollywood was unwise.
Also, Jane Campion's 'Sweet Sister', which Simon eyed, won nothing.
Recovered from her jealousy, Jennifer handed Simon a script, "This is from Doitchman this evening. Tornatore's new script, 'The Family', about an elderly man visiting his scattered children after retirement. Doitchman talked to Tornatore twice, but he seems to be waiting for the Cannes results before committing."
Hearing about the Italian director's success, Frelli was intrigued, mistaking Simon's investment in the film.
Everyone was waiting for better offers, not surprising Simon.
He had watched 'Sweet Sister' in Geneva, and the New Zealand side, though eager, also awaited award results.
Tornatore's hesitation was expected.
With 'Cinema Paradiso's' victory, Simon saw the likelihood of acquiring it at a reasonable price plummet. With a Palme d'Or, even its lengthy and slow Italian original would attract Hollywood bidders.
The film made only about $10 million in North America in the original timeline, even after Weinstein's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and North American edits. A bidding war would leave little profit for Daenerys Entertainment.
Now, the Weinsteins couldn't reach for the film, but its fate in other Hollywood hands was uncertain.
Like Luc Besson's 'The Big Blue' from last year's Cannes, which Simon loved. Had Daenerys been stronger, he would have acquired its North American rights.
'The Big Blue' broke records in France, but due to the Hollywood distributor's strategy, it earned only $3 million in North America.
Often, a film's commercial success relies more on proper promotion than quality.
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