Kate Beckinsale and Rachel Weisz, having stayed up late the previous night, didn't get up until after nine. Guided by a maid to the dining room for breakfast, they later found their way to an open living room that connected to the main villa's large terrace. Simon was already seated on a sofa, leafing through a script.
He wasn't alone in the living room.
Fernanda Lima occupied a nearby sofa, lying on her stomach with a magazine, while Angela Lindvall sat curled up in a single armchair across from Simon, also engrossed in a copy of Vogue.
With the open layout, they had a clear view of the backyard from the room.
On the west side, at the tennis court, four other women were engaged in a doubles match, their occasional laughter echoing through the air.
It painted a picture of a leisurely weekend morning.
Well... maybe with a few too many women around.
While most people's days were just beginning, Simon had already seen off his breakfast guests and spent an hour handling some work matters.
In China, the team had expressed a desire for Jeff Bezos to speak at the Shanghai Data Center launch event. After hearing a certain name from Chen Qing, Simon readily agreed and personally called Bezos to make the request.
In Europe, Celia had come to an agreement with the French side. After a week of turmoil, the situation seemed set to resolve smoothly.
Once his business was wrapped up, he had no other plans for the day.
It was Sunday, after all. Normally, he'd spend it with his family, but this weekend, he'd been told to stay away from home. So he intended to spend it here.
Actually, just the morning.
After lunch, he'd fly to New York. The following week would be filled with meetings with the New York teams about the Westeros Group's bond issuance plan for core companies. According to the revised schedule, Verizon's IPO was set for August, with the bond issuance kicking off in July.
The goal was to accumulate as much cash as possible, ready to buy at the bottom.
After all, 1997 was approaching.
Even if the speculative tech bubble could hold out a bit longer, the brewing Asian financial crisis was likely to trigger global economic ripples, presenting a ripe opportunity for bargain buys.
Following the 1987 crash, the U.S. implemented the circuit breaker mechanism.
The first time Simon remembered it being triggered was in 1997.
Back then, the circuit breaker was triggered by the Asian financial crisis but passed with little long-term impact. This time, things might be different; the tech bubble had inflated dangerously, and even a minor prick could burst it.
Noticing Kate and Rachel entering, Simon gestured them over, patting his lap.
Kate caught the hint, walked over, and sat on his lap, leaning against him as she asked, "What are you reading, Simon?"
Simon showed her the script, its cover reading The Last Days of Disco. "You're just in time. I think this script would be great for the two of you."
Rachel, lacking Kate's boldness and with no seat left, accepted the spot that Fernanda offered her on the sofa beside her. Curious, she looked over at the script, also noticing the title.
Kate wrapped her arms around Simon's neck, glancing at the cover. "The Last Days of Disco—what's it about?"
"It's a slice-of-life story about a group of young men and women in Manhattan during the peak of disco in the seventies," Simon summarized.
Kate tilted her head. "Sounds kind of dull."
Simon explained, "It's more of an indie film. The director and writer, Whit Stillman, has a distinct style. This is the last part of his 'Metropolitan Trilogy.' His previous two films were well-received, and the script for this one is excellent."
Kate pulled Simon's hand closer, browsing the script. "So, which role do you want me to play?"
"It's a two-female-lead movie," Simon replied. "Charlotte and Alice are junior editors at a Manhattan publishing house. Their pay is low, and they struggle to afford decent apartments. However, through a friend in management, they have access to a popular disco club, where they meet all sorts of people. You'd play Charlotte, who is sharp-tongued, assertive, and slightly feminist but is insecure and secretly jealous of her friend Alice's talents. She's so sensitive that she even faints and ends up in the hospital after a breakup."
Kate shook her head. "She sounds unlikeable. How about I play Alice, and Rachel plays Charlotte?"
"That wouldn't work as well," Simon replied. "Alice's character is more reserved and quiet, which suits Rachel."
Kate pouted. "I can be reserved and quiet too."
"The problem is that if you play Alice, Rachel might struggle with Charlotte's more complex personality," Simon said. "And you heard me; Charlotte is a multifaceted character."
Rachel, who had been quietly listening, looked as though she might object but ultimately said nothing.
After a few moments of thought, Kate finally nodded. "Fine, if you want us to do it together, I'll take it."
Rachel finally spoke up, reminding him, "Simon, I'll be busy filming Titanic."
"No problem. This project will shoot next year, likely in the latter half, so you'll just need to keep your schedule open."
Hearing this, Rachel dropped her objections.
Kate, meanwhile, had a glint in her eye. "Simon, this must be a low-budget project, right?"
"It hasn't entered pre-production yet, but it won't cost more than $10 million."
"But with Charlie's Angels releasing at the end of this year and Rachel's The Mummy already out, our fees are going to be high by then."
Simon ran his hand along Kate's slender waist, saying, "For these kinds of films, even the biggest stars usually take a pay cut. Stallone only earned $60,000 for Cop Land last year. You're not expecting your full fee, are you?"
Kate's eyes widened. "Not $60,000, right?"
"Even with a slight raise, it won't be much," Simon said earnestly. "Kate, this is just how Hollywood works. If you want to break free from the 'commercial starlet' label, you need to take on various indie films to add depth and aim for awards. Given that both of you are fresh off big commercial hits, it's a good time to balance it out."
"I understand. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken Good Will Hunting," Kate said, swaying a bit. "But I think this movie could lose money. Based on what you said, I don't see anything special about the story. Why invest in it?"
"Because I like the story. Plus, if you two are in it, it might not lose money."
The film, The Last Days of Disco, would be set for release the following year.
By then, Rachel would have Titanic following her success with The Mummy, making both actresses some of Hollywood's most sought-after stars. As long as they maintained their popularity, the movie had a good shot at being profitable.
On a deeper level, Simon's investment in The Last Days of Disco was part of his broader strategy to diversify Hollywood.
If Simon were just another Hollywood businessman, he'd simply focus on profits. But having claimed Hollywood as his territory, he now felt a responsibility to take a long-term view.
One of his goals was to prevent Hollywood from stagnating under a heavy diet of blockbusters.
In the Hollywood of ten to twenty years from now, it might still appear prosperous on the surface, but he recalled a gradual decline in audience diversity due to the oversaturation of blockbusters and comic book movies. When theaters filled exclusively with those genres, younger children and older adults gradually stopped coming.
While the foreign market's film industry tended to cater to younger audiences, the North American market boasted a well-balanced viewership spanning ages 6 to 60. And with Hollywood's golden age still ongoing, annual theater attendance had steadily climbed from around 1 billion in the '80s to over 1.3 billion in the past year. It was on track to peak at 1.5 billion.
Afterward, attendance had started to decline.
The lack of diversity in cinema, driven by the blockbuster trend, was a significant factor in this decline. Simon intended to ensure that Hollywood maintained its diversity, reducing the risk of audience loss.
The Last Days of Disco was a small step in that plan.
Noticing she was left out of their conversation, Rachel glanced at a script on the side table and picked it up. She gestured to Simon, who nodded, allowing her to read it.
The script was titled Studio 54.
She skimmed the synopsis and realized it shared a similar theme with The Last Days of Disco, depicting the disco scene in Manhattan.
Curious, Kate asked, "What's that?"
"It's Studio 54, a different take on a similar theme," Simon explained. "While The Last Days of Disco has a laid-back, sophisticated vibe, Studio 54 is raw and intense. Based on the script, it's likely to get an NC-17 rating. I plan to produce both films next year to capitalize on the mutual publicity."
The mention of an NC-17 rating piqued Kate's interest, and she immediately took the script from Rachel, who looked at Simon with mild disappointment.
Smiling, Simon handed The Last Days of Disco to Rachel. "Here, read this one. By the way, I've spoken with Cameron. Titanic will start filming by July at the latest. You might be in Australia for a few months;
would you like me to arrange a couple of assistants?"
Rachel blinked, caught off guard.
Two assistants?
She quickly thought of Kate's two assistants and instinctively shook her head. "No, I… don't need them."
"Of course you do," Kate interjected, catching Simon's implication. "I hear Australia has all sorts of snakes. It'd be nice to have someone looking out for you."
"It's settled then," Simon concluded, preventing Rachel from further protests. "Once you feel they're unnecessary, you can send them off."
Seeing Kate and Simon in sync, Rachel hesitated, finally agreeing in a daze, subtly accepting certain implications.
Meanwhile, Fernanda Lima and Angela Lindvall watched quietly. Fernanda, who'd received a similar "assistant" arrangement after catching Simon's attention last year, now saw Rachel being offered two assistants, which made the difference obvious.
As for Angela, this was her first time meeting Simon.
She felt somewhat disappointed. Last night, Simon had shown interest in her and had even given her the nickname "Little Fox," but, out of all the women present, she was the only one he hadn't been with.
Why was that?
After lunch, Simon departed, with six of the women accompanying him back to New York. Kate opted to stay in Los Angeles for a couple of days until her scenes resumed mid-week.
On the private Boeing 767.
Taking this opportunity, the "Little Fox" grew bolder after takeoff. In the screening room where Simon had planned to watch a film slated for release later in the year, Angela boldly approached him.
Simon invited her to sit beside him, smiling as he suggested, "Time is tight today. Perhaps next time, we could head to Canada or Mexico together."
Angela, now standing at 5'11" with a slender frame, nestled comfortably beside Simon. Seizing the moment, she leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Simon, it could be anywhere, really. I would never…"
She trailed off, but Simon understood. "I believe you. But sometimes, even innocent actions can have unintended consequences."
He recalled the ongoing Paula Jones case against Clinton and the looming Lewinsky scandal.
In both cases, the people involved hadn't sought to make things public. However, the Republican Party had employed every means possible—relentless investigations, exhaustive tax audits, family scrutiny—to pressure them into targeting Clinton. Faced with jail time or threats against their loved ones, Jones and Lewinsky were forced to become pawns in political battles.
Simon avoided exposing himself to unnecessary risks, not out of concern for those involved; worst-case scenario, he'd simply settle financially, as he had no shortage of funds.
His primary worry was the potential for such incidents to be exploited.
Political and business battles often saw competitors using any tactic at their disposal.
It was reminiscent of Jeffrey Epstein, whom Simon had encountered again just that morning.
In his original timeline, Epstein's death by "suicide" had been due to more than the scandals surrounding his personal life; he had become entangled in political crossfire.
Democrats had intended to use Epstein as a weapon against a certain prominent figure, so they reopened a case that had been buried for years. But as they sought to drag one individual through the mud, the investigation pulled in a host of other high-profile figures: politicians from both parties, royals, wealthy elites, professors, celebrities.
Most were untouchable.
In the end, Epstein's "suicide" had conveniently closed the case.
As for those implicated, once the media storm blew over, life returned to normal for them. While their reputations may have taken a hit, none faced any real consequences, and they remained publicly respected.
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