After having a lunch corresponding to European local time on the Boeing 767, the atmosphere in the cabin became relaxed. Some people even took the opportunity to rest in the guest bedrooms.
During this time, Nadja Auermann managed to greet almost everyone in the cabin, thereby establishing a preliminary network of acquaintances.
However, due to the language barrier, she couldn't engage in deep conversations, which made Nadja resolute in her decision to arrange English lessons for herself as soon as she disembarked.
Beautiful women always have a certain sense of superiority.
In the past, Nadja believed that her stunning looks were enough, and that she didn't need to exert much effort in other areas. But after this flight and witnessing people and events beyond her level, Nadja changed her mind.
Of course, if she could capture the attention of a certain man, her path to "advancement" might accelerate a hundredfold.
Observing patiently, she finally found an opportunity after lunch when she thought she could be alone with him. Sneaking to the front lounge of the plane, she discovered that the man had been intercepted by another woman: Jerry Hall.
Hiding in the corridor, she didn't approach but also didn't retreat, curious to hear what they would talk about.
She even entertained some mischievous thoughts.
However, they didn't do anything—at least not what she had imagined.
Though she sensed that if the man initiated it, the woman—who matched her in both figure and charm—would certainly respond enthusiastically, the two merely engaged in casual conversation. Towards the end, the woman seemed to grumble softly about the man's lack of romantic flair and mentioned her Manhattan address.
Then came the indistinct murmuring.
And some other noises.
Without daring to peek, she could imagine what those crisp smacking sounds likely signified.
With the woman's playful reprimand, the man left with a laugh.
Nadja was stunned for a few seconds before a tall figure similar to hers appeared, showing no signs of guilt. Instead, the woman closed in, cornering her against the wall, and teasingly asked, "Heard enough?"
Wanting to retort, she found her chin grasped by the assertive woman, who then kissed her.
Nadja was taken aback.
After a full minute, when she finally reacted, the woman had left, casually dropping a remark, "Little chick."
Feeling somewhat defeated, Nadja regretted her earlier timidity.
As the plane descended, offering a distant view of the US East Coast, Nadja felt the eight-hour flight had been very short.
They landed in New York around 11:00 AM on September 30.
Due to New York Fashion Week and the Fashion TV project, Simon planned to stay on the East Coast for a few days. He and his wife, along with most others, disembarked in New York.
Others heading to Los Angeles would continue their journey as the Boeing 767 took off again.
Those disembarking left through the VIP channel, said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways.
Nadja again noticed the stark contrast between herself and these people.
The Westeros couple was met by an entire convoy, Madonna had her personal driver, and others had company cars or hotel shuttles.
Having spontaneously decided to take Simon's private jet, Nadja had forgotten to arrange transportation with her agency and felt too embarrassed to ask for a ride from others. In the end, as everyone else left, she quietly waited for a taxi, eventually securing one after half an hour.
As the taxi finally left Kennedy International Airport, Nadja felt a twinge of frustration, almost bringing her to tears.
She felt like a fallen princess.
Or,
Cinderella after midnight.
Having enjoyed the limelight in the palace just moments ago, she now felt as though she had lost everything and ended up in the slums.
Determined to climb up at any cost, her resolve grew stronger.
The four major fashion weeks occurred back-to-back, and today was the opening day of New York Fashion Week.
As an American luxury brand, CK's fashion show was scheduled for October 3, Saturday.
After disembarking, the various individuals went their separate ways, and Simon and his wife headed to their Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan.
Having discussed the Fashion TV project with Sophia the previous night in Milan, Simon had sent an email to Robert Iger in New York before going to bed.
The next day was October 1, Thursday.
With the official start of October, Simon arrived at Daniele Entertainment's East Coast headquarters in Greenwich, Manhattan, to formally discuss the establishment of Fashion TV with Robert Iger.
In Western countries with relatively relaxed media regulations, establishing a TV station wasn't as high-end as imagined.
Even some private individuals could broadcast TV signals themselves, much like Mike Myers did in "Wayne's World," with a basement or garage studio and a TV signal transmitter. Moreover, compared to TV stations, the number of underground radio stations in the West was even greater.
Of course, formal commercial operations still required a TV license.
Applying for a TV license in the US was relatively easy.
The key challenge lay in what happened after obtaining the license.
Running a TV station was costly and required ample resources and channels; otherwise, it could end up being a wasted effort.
Many TV stations emerged and disappeared in the US every year.
For Daniele Entertainment now, capital and channels weren't an issue.
Simon usually preferred acquiring TV stations with an established viewer base. However, there were no significant fashion TV stations currently, and acquisition would likely mean sharing ownership with other companies, yielding disproportionate returns.
Thus, he decided to start from scratch.
Over the next two days of discussions, Simon and Iger formulated a general plan.
Naming the TV station required little thought. Since Fashion TV hadn't been established in the original timeline, Simon decided to use the name directly and instructed the Daniele Entertainment team to apply for the Fashion TV trademark in major countries.
Next steps included forming the TV station's core team.
With the US TV industry being highly developed, finding suitable candidates for establishing a fashion TV station wasn't difficult.
During discussions, Iger had already identified several promising candidates. Finalizing decisions required further detailed meetings to confirm their business philosophies and compensation packages.
The operational team would also be assembled concurrently, covering program planning, marketing, and advertising departments. Some tasks could temporarily be managed by Daniele TV's existing team.
After finalizing the team, the next steps involved creating a program list, contacting operators, and engaging potential advertisers.
These tasks were extensive.
Fashion TV would primarily follow the operational model of existing sports TV stations.
Successful sports channels like ESPN mainly aired various sports events.
For Fashion TV, the primary content would be various fashion shows.
People typically familiar with fashion weeks know of the biannual Big Four fashion weeks, but in reality, thousands of fashion shows are held worldwide each year.
Unlike sports channels, which pay hefty sums for broadcasting rights, fashion show rights tend to be more news-like. Fashion brands seek exposure and would not charge TV stations for broadcasting their shows, just as they wouldn't charge magazines for coverage.
Sometimes, they might even pay.
This gave Fashion TV a significant content cost advantage over sports channels.
In addition to numerous fashion shows, Fashion TV would develop fashion-related commentary, interview, and news programs.
Once established, Fashion TV could also organize its own fashion competitions or awards, similar to the MTV Music Awards, further expanding its influence.
Fashion TV would primarily broadcast through cable and satellite platforms.
These two channels would allow more precise targeting of the audience.
Compared to public TV network viewers, cable and satellite TV users were more likely to embrace a fashion TV channel.
With Daniele Entertainment's current clout, major US cable TV operators like Comcast, Warner Cable, and Tele-Communications Inc. wouldn't refuse a TV station personally led by Simon.
Simon also planned to launch Fashion TV simultaneously in Europe.
For this, existing partnerships would be leveraged.
Sky Broadcasting, a subsidiary of News Corporation, headquartered in London, covered most Western European countries with its cable and satellite services.
With the plan finalized, the next step was preparation.
It was already October 1992. The initial plan was for Fashion TV to launch in February next year, giving five months for preparation, coinciding with the 1993 Spring Fashion Week.
Simon and his wife stayed in New York until Sunday.
After finalizing Fashion TV's basic plan and attending CK's fashion show, they returned to Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.
In Hollywood, Simon personally selected the major project for Gaumont Pictures: "The Crying Game," which had a limited release in North America on September 25 with 37 screens.
This political thriller quickly became a hot topic in entertainment media and received high critical acclaim, with an aggregate score of 9.4.
Had it not been for the twist that the 'female lead' was actually a man, the film might not have attracted much audience attention.
Gaumont's team cleverly adopted a mystery marketing strategy.
The marketing team ensured that while most critics praised the film, they also subtly hinted at the major plot twist.
Similar to "The Sixth Sense."
This twist gradually piqued the interest of more and more people.
Combined with the film's quality, "The Crying Game" quickly drew more viewers.
From September 25 to October 1, the film grossed $1.26 million on just 37 screens in its opening week, averaging over $34,000 per screen.
With continued word-of-mouth, the film expanded to 86 screens in its second week, maintaining an impressive $31,000 per screen, grossing another $2.67 million from October 2 to October 8.
In just two weeks, "The Crying Game" grossed $3.93 million.
The production cost of the film was only $3 million.
In other words, in just two weeks, the film's box office exceeded its budget.
However, many realized that this was
just the beginning.
In its third week, starting October 9, to maximize audience curiosity, Gaumont Pictures still didn't opt for a wide release, increasing screens to only 155.
Next week, the screening scale wouldn't expand much either, keeping the screen count under 200.
After four weeks, when audience anticipation peaked, Gaumont would expand the release to over 500 screens, maintaining this scale through the end of the year until the awards season.
For a niche, low-budget art film, it couldn't be released all at once like commercial films.
This gradual release strategy was the most appropriate.
Back in Los Angeles, Simon focused on Daniele Entertainment's year-end film releases.
Meanwhile, the 1992 US presidential election entered its final phase.
As incumbent President George Bush and challenger Bill Clinton engaged in critical battles for votes in the last month, the biggest twist of the 1992 election re-emerged.
On October 12, three months after announcing his withdrawal, third-party independent candidate Ross Perot suddenly declared he would rejoin the presidential race.
Moreover, Perot clearly targeted George Bush, accusing the White House of manipulating the FBI to ruin his daughter's wedding at his re-entry press conference.
Although his withdrawal in July disappointed many supporters, Perot still had a strong following.
Moreover, with some maneuvering, news of Perot's potential return had persisted, maintaining his popularity.
Rejoining the race, Perot immediately faced fierce criticism from conservative media but quickly regained substantial support.
Meanwhile, Perot's return had a clear focus.
With just one month left until the election, Perot's campaign concentrated on regions where Bush had a lead, such as the Rust Belt around the Great Lakes, and southern states like Florida and Texas.
To most observers, Perot's intentions were clear.
As a conservative himself, Perot's actions would dilute Bush's support in traditional Republican strongholds.
Meanwhile, media offensives from all sides intensified in the final month before the election.
Having chosen their sides, Iger's portal, now catering to almost the entire internet user base, showed clear support for Bill Clinton.
For example, the Iger news section had noticeably more coverage of Clinton than Bush, and their "public image" on the Iger media platform was vastly different.
After rapid growth over the past half year, by the end of September, US internet users had surpassed 24 million.
Therefore, even those most resistant to the rise of internet media realized the potential threat, prompting the Bush campaign to take measures to demand that Iger portal demonstrate media neutrality.
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