As night fell, the lights remained off in the bedroom of a penthouse apartment on Lexington Avenue. The dim city lights seeped through the window, casting a faint, dreamlike glow across the disheveled bed, though it was empty.
In a corner by the window, a woman wrapped only in a towel curled up in an armchair, her damp hair loosely covering half of her flushed face. She tilted her head, resting one hand on her lips, afraid to look at the man seated on the carpet, massaging her calf.
It was his fault.
At one point, she felt almost overwhelmed by him.
Yet, she tried to hide the fact that her calf was cramping, a fact he discovered just before they showered, and she felt a strong urge to flee.
Moments later, she cautiously glanced at him again.
He was looking down, his demeanor serious and patient. She gently tapped his knee with her toes, signaling that she was fine.
Simon looked up and asked softly, "Do you want me to massage the other one too?"
No!
She screamed internally, still avoiding his gaze, and whispered, "My left leg is fine, you should head back to Greenwich now."
Simon nodded and said, "I'll have some food sent over first."
She paused.
Then he would leave.
Though she didn't want to compete with Janet, just having been intimate with this young man, and for the first time, she wished he would at least feign some reluctance, perhaps lie to comfort her.
She suddenly felt a pang of self-pity.
She withdrew her leg from his hands and curled up further in the armchair.
Seeing Sophia like this, Simon reached out. She felt his touch and dodged, turning her body away from him.
But his hand did not relent, sliding under her to lift her gently; her body slid down, and she gasped as the towel unfurled.
Her bare form lay exposed.
Trying to move away from Simon, she found herself unable to resist the man's casual grasp.
Looking up at him with eyes brimming with unshed tears, she resignedly responded to his touch.
Simon, seeing she was no longer trying to escape, stroked her face and said softly, "I can't give you much, but what I can, I will."
She knew he was only telling half the truth.
What he couldn't give, no amount of fighting or clamoring would change.
After a brief stand-off and knowing he was waiting for her response, she finally murmured an assent.
Letting go of her earlier mood, she worried he might think her response lacked sincerity. She pressed her cheek into his palm and said, "I brought some food over in the afternoon; it's in the kitchen, just needs heating."
Simon lifted her onto the bed, kissed her on the lips, and said, "Wait here for a moment."
After a simple dinner together, Simon returned to Greenwich.
Sophia had been staying in Manhattan recently, and given her state that evening, she couldn't possibly return to Greenwich to see the children.
The next day was Saturday.
Simon and Janet attended a Gucci party at the Gramercy Hotel in Manhattan and spent the weekend on the East Coast before heading back to Los Angeles.
At Daenerys Entertainment, three films were set to release in October: "Angels at My Table" by Jane Campion on October 12, "Ju Dou," purchased from the Cannes Film Festival, on October 19, and the Halloween-timed "Critical Condition" on October 26.
"Angels at My Table" and "Ju Dou," distributed by Highgate Films, were not ambitious in terms of box office, but Ella Deutschman had submitted "Ju Dou" for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
The focus was on "Critical Condition," co-produced with Universal Studios.
Following the summer's successful collaborations with Fox on "Sleeping with the Enemy" and with Disney on "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," Universal was confident about "Critical Condition," another crime thriller.
"Critical Condition" was adapted from a novel by the renowned horror writer Stephen King and was more famous than the previous two. Its stars, Don Johnson and Susan Sarandon, were well-known Hollywood figures.
Simon had seen this version of "Critical Condition" several times and had been involved in creating its trailer.
Compared to the version starring Kathy Bates, Simon preferred the new one.
Both were of Oscar-winning caliber, but Susan Sarandon's performance was on par with Kathy Bates', and the visible sexual tension between the leads added an eerie contrast and thrill to the film.
As Simon returned to Los Angeles, "Critical Condition" entered the final phase of its promotional trailer release.
As one of the ten films planned by Daenerys Entertainment, which had already seen high box office success and attention with its first two releases, this new film naturally drew significant media interest, indirectly saving Universal Studios millions in marketing costs.
Additionally, promotional
work for the end-of-year film lineup had already begun.
Daenerys Entertainment planned to release four films during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons: "Dances with Wolves" starring Kevin Costner on November 2, "A League of Their Own" in collaboration with Columbia Pictures on November 23, Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" on December 7, and "Home Alone" on December 21.
"Dances with Wolves," which had received positive feedback from several test screenings, was set to be Daenerys Entertainment's main push for the Oscars that year. Ideally, it would have been better scheduled for December.
However, Simon also had box office ambitions for the film, which had grossed over $180 million in North America in his memory. To avoid a clash with "Home Alone," he scheduled it for November.
As for "Short Cuts" in December, the film aimed for an Oscar nomination but, as was well-known, Robert Altman's work never particularly appealed to the Academy. Having already won the Golden Lion at Venice, the film's goal was to capitalize on award season buzz to accumulate steady box office returns, without much hope for actual awards.
The two commercial films, "A League of Their Own" released by Columbia Pictures and "Home Alone" produced by Daenerys Entertainment, were scheduled for the major holiday seasons, with promotional activities proceeding as planned. This aspect required little discussion.
On October 11, a Thursday, the middle of October approached. Far away in Australia, the shooting of "Batman: The Dark Knight" was nearing its final stage, with the wrap scheduled for the following week. Simon planned to fly to Melbourne next week to review the dailies with the creators to decide if reshoots were necessary.
Just after 5 p.m., as Simon, who rarely left work on time, was discussing post-production options for "The Silence of the Lambs" with the film's creators at the studio, his assistant approached and whispered a few words to him.
After hearing Jennifer's message, Simon thought for a moment and said, "Forget the cocktail party; how about tomorrow morning? I'll go to Burbank."
Janet had just informed Simon that Lou Wasserman, unable to wait any longer, had invited him to a cocktail party that evening to discuss the now widely known MCA acquisition issue.
Busy with work, Simon planned to head home after work. He had no desire to become one of those social creatures attending two hundred gatherings a year, so he chose to decline.
Hearing Simon's decision, the assistant turned to leave.
After finishing the discussion with "The Silence of the Lambs" director Jonathan Demme, the assistant reappeared to confirm the details of tomorrow's meeting.
The next day, Simon first stopped at Daenerys Studios, then switched to an unassuming car and drove discreetly to Burbank.
Lou Wasserman was waiting for him in an office building at the northwest corner of Universal Studios.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Wasserman got straight to the point: "Simon, everyone knows you're interested in Universal. A friend at Citibank told me you've signed a $2 billion loan intent agreement with them. So, I don't understand what you're waiting for?"
It's normally unwise for a seller to approach a buyer this way, essentially handing over leverage to the other side.
However, Simon had played it cool this time, pushing Wasserman to the edge of his patience.
At 77, Wasserman should have been the more patient one, but seeing MCA's stock price stagnate due to Daenerys Entertainment's hesitation and Panasonic's pressure, he felt compelled to take the initiative.
Simon was waiting for the preparations on the Bell Atlantic acquisition in New York.
Due to continuous leaks about Panasonic's formal announcement and Daenerys Entertainment's interest in bidding, MCA's stock price had recently approached $60.
Simon believed that if the news went public, MCA's stock price would surge toward $70. If MCA's market price exceeded Simon's bidding cap, it would create a significant problem, making it difficult to lower again.
MCA would be unlikely to accept a buyout offer below the market price.
In contrast, launching two simultaneous acquisitions and possibly dropping one would cool the market frenzy.
In front of Wasserman, Simon wouldn't reveal his full strategy, but he said candidly, "Lou, I'm not even sure I should bid for MCA. You know, Daenerys Entertainment is doing very well. I think, even without merging with another Hollywood studio, just patiently working for a few years would make Daenerys Entertainment strong enough."
In reality, MCA had a revenue of $3.3 billion and a net profit of $296 million in the last fiscal year. This year, with "Back to the Future Part III" underperforming, both revenue and profits were expected to decline. In comparison, not to mention an expected net profit of over $1 billion, Daenerys Entertainment
's revenue alone could surpass MCA this year.
The gap between them was essentially just one of heritage.
Strictly speaking, Simon's excuse was spotless. A few years of patient management would indeed enable Daenerys Entertainment to match or even surpass the Big Seven.
But that would still take time.
Furthermore, MCA's assets like Universal Studios and its record company weren't just about time.
Universal Studios had a history almost as long as Hollywood itself. Even if Daenerys Entertainment had the funds and enough intellectual property to support a theme park, a new studio couldn't match the ingrained influence of Universal Studios and Disneyland.
The same was true for the record company.
Apart from everything else, Universal Music's vast music rights library wasn't something that could be amassed in the short term.
Moreover, MCA could complement Daenerys Entertainment strongly in distribution channels, movie theater chains, and film libraries, making it a vital acquisition for Simon.
Wasserman, with over half a century in Hollywood, could see these benefits and said, "Simon, I spoke with Akio Morita of Panasonic last week. If you really aren't planning to get involved, by next week at the latest, MCA will submit Panasonic's offer to the board for review and further proceed to a shareholder vote. I know many bidders like to jump in just before the shareholder vote, like Paramount did last year. It allows them to fully grasp their competitors' strategies and stakes. However, I think that's unnecessary for you."
Simon pondered.
Before this meeting, he had worried that MCA and Panasonic might reach a preliminary agreement this week and quickly initiate a shareholder vote.
Now, according to Wasserman, MCA would discuss Panasonic's acquisition proposal next week and then proceed to a shareholder vote, adding at least another week, coinciding perfectly with Simon's schedule.
With this reassurance, Simon relaxed completely.
After a moment, however, he said, "Alright, Lou, I am indeed interested in MCA. However, I don't intend to engage in an unrestricted bidding war with Panasonic. If you agree, I'd like Daenerys Entertainment and MCA to sign a confidential intent agreement that, should the acquisition fail, Daenerys Entertainment would not pay any termination fee."
Normally, considering the impact of an acquisition on the target company's operations and stock price, the initiating party often promises to pay a termination fee if the acquisition fails, typically between 1% and 5% of the target company's market value.
This means, based on the $6.6 billion deal value in the original timeline, the acquiring party would need to pay between $66 million and $330 million if they decided to withdraw.
But nothing is absolute.
Proper negotiation can waive this fee.
When Warren Buffett and Tom Murphy's Capital Cities acquired ABC, Buffett proposed that if the acquisition failed, Capital Cities would not pay a hefty termination fee, and ABC's executives agreed.
Of course, that acquisition was successful.
Wasserman hesitated at Simon's request.
He understood that Simon's demand was mainly to curb the market's overenthusiasm for MCA shares. If investors knew that Daenerys Entertainment could withdraw without any cost, they would be more cautious in purchasing MCA shares.
However, this posed a significant risk for MCA.
In a bidding scenario involving two companies, one side does not need to pay a fee if it does not outbid the other. Furthermore, if the winning side in the bidding process cannot complete the acquisition later due to negotiations or regulatory issues, then they must pay a termination fee.
If Wasserman agreed to Simon's condition now, and Daenerys Entertainment pushed out Panasonic but then withdrew from the acquisition for some reason without any cost, MCA would be left in a dire situation.
A complete acquisition failure would first lead to a steep decline in MCA's stock price, returning to pre-acquisition levels. Then, countless shareholders, facing significant losses, would likely pressure the management.
Moreover, undergoing an acquisition ordeal would severely impact the company's operations.
Like MGM, if it hadn't been sold repeatedly in the 1980s and had been managed patiently instead, this venerable studio wouldn't be struggling as it was now.
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