Simon spent another weekend in Australia and began his journey back to North America alone on the following Monday.
Despite Amy Pascal privately suggesting he visit the increasingly chaotic Titanic set, Simon refrained. Instead, he instructed the producer overseeing the budget at Daenerys Entertainment not to waste time arguing with James Cameron and to fully support the director in completing the film.
This was a deliberate show of indulgence.
Simon hadn't completely ignored the situation. A private reassessment estimated that Cameron would need approximately $150 million to finish the film. Even if it exceeded this, it would still be less than the $200 million spent in the original timeline.
Additionally, Titanic in the original timeline indirectly established Cameron's Lightstorm VFX studio. This time, starting from Terminator 2, all the VFX work for Cameron's projects had been retained within Daenerys VFX. Although Titanic might seem less flashy compared to films like Star Wars or Transformers, its advanced visual effects were no less revolutionary.
These innovations were invaluable assets for Daenerys VFX.
Moreover, Simon welcomed a bit of drama to entertain the public. Even if Titanic turned out to be a complete failure, it wouldn't damage the fundamentally diversified Daenerys Entertainment Group.
Cameron could play as he pleased.
Simon would foot the bill.
Simon returned to Los Angeles on Monday, September 9th.
His first focus was the recently concluded 1996 summer box office season—a season that provided the foundation for indulging Cameron's extravagance.
The season officially ran from May 10th, starting with the releases of Eraser and Romeo + Juliet, and concluded on September 5th with the return of students to school. Over 17 weeks, North America saw six films gross over $100 million. Remarkably, all six were connected to Daenerys Entertainment, even Eddie Murphy's The Nutty Professor, which Simon had helped steer to Fox.
In fact, the original The Nutty Professor was produced by Universal, which now belonged to Daenerys Entertainment.
Beyond the six $100 million films, other successes included collaborations like The Mummy and Mission: Impossible 2, as well as standalone productions from Daenerys labels, such as Black Mask, Empire of the Police, and Fargo. All achieved commendable results.
Extending the timeline from January to September 5th, North America had seen nine $100 million films in 1996.
Top 9 Films of 1996 (as of September 5th): Spectre (007) – $307 million Mission: Impossible 2 – $216 million Sleepy Hollow – $177 million The Mummy – $156 million Rush Hour – $141 million The Haunting in Connecticut 2 – $137 million Romeo + Juliet – $123 million The Nutty Professor – $113 million Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls – $108 million
Out of the nine films, Daenerys Entertainment solely produced five and co-produced two others. Even Spectre, the top-grossing film from MGM, saw Daenerys Entertainment handling distribution in many overseas markets, making it tangentially tied to the company.
Only The Nutty Professor was fully under Fox's control.
While Simon wasn't keen on claiming the top-grossing film, with Wonder Woman 2 set to release at year's end as part of the DC Universe series, the final year-end standings were still uncertain.
Even now, Daenerys Entertainment rivaled the peak dominance of Disney from Simon's memories.
If one were to dissect the connections between these films, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Simon effectively controlled Hollywood. The influence wielded by the great Louis B. Mayer in his heyday paled in comparison to Simon's current power.
At Daenerys Studios, Simon met with David Geffen, who had watched Simon's meteoric rise over the years. As one of Hollywood's few openly gay moguls, Geffen couldn't help but feel awed by the young man across from him. Even Geffen's own Geffen Records had, after much back and forth, become part of Daenerys Records.
Simon's Hollywood influence now left everyone in awe.
Sitting in the guest area, Simon sipped soda water brought by his assistant but felt uneasy under Geffen's gaze. After all, Geffen was a well-known figure in Hollywood's LGBTQ community. Setting down his glass, Simon got straight to the point. "David, I have another meeting shortly, so let's make this quick."
"Of course," Geffen said, snapping out of his thoughts. "I've already outlined the details in my email. DreamWorks hopes to purchase the Saving Private Ryan script from Daenerys Entertainment. Simon, I checked, and Daenerys hasn't officially greenlit the project. I assume you wouldn't mind parting with it."
Simon raised an eyebrow. "David, Saving Private Ryan is a World War II script, a potential blockbuster with significant risks. Why are you interested in this project?"
"Well…" Geffen hesitated before opting for honesty, accompanied by a wry smile. "Fine. Steven came across the script and is very interested, but unfortunately, we acted too late."
Hollywood was full of deception.
But with Simon Westeros, lying could backfire spectacularly. Should the truth emerge, Simon wouldn't simply chalk it up to bad luck—he had the power to retaliate, potentially endangering all of DreamWorks.
Geffen had no choice but to be forthright.
Simon, having already deduced as much, didn't beat around the bush. "If Steven's interested, we can let it go. But this is an opportunity—how about Steven fulfills his final contractual obligation to Daenerys Entertainment with this project?"
Geffen hadn't expected Simon to agree so quickly but was momentarily taken aback by the proposal.
Studying Simon's expression, the seasoned mogul couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap.
Still, on reflection, a co-production with Daenerys Entertainment might benefit DreamWorks, which had struggled to gain traction since its ambitious founding.
The problem was that Spielberg specifically wanted to avoid dealing with Daenerys Entertainment after the Jurassic Park fallout, where Daenerys cut him out following his success with Jurassic Park and Schindler's List.
Seeing Geffen's hesitation, Simon added, "David, discuss this with Steven. My terms are simple: joint investment between our companies, Daenerys handles distribution, and I'll leave production entirely to Steven."
Unspoken was an obvious point: completing this project would fulfill Spielberg's lingering contractual obligations from his Universal days.
Geffen nodded slightly but countered, "The issue is, Simon, we're contracted with Paramount."
"That's not a problem. I'm sure Paramount would be willing to negotiate. Daenerys only requires a 50% stake and distribution rights."
Though initially skeptical of Saving Private Ryan, Geffen now felt a gnawing suspicion that Simon knew something he didn't.
Still, Simon held firm, forcing Geffen to depart with plans to consult Spielberg—and perhaps find a way to sideline Paramount entirely.
After seeing Geffen off, Simon was about to join a production meeting for American Pie when he was interrupted by news from San Francisco.
The A-team assistant brought word of a completed acquisition deal: Tinkerbell had successfully negotiated to buy Apple.
Though merely a "small" $40 billion deal by Simon's standards, the tech world wouldn't remain the same.
Next Moves: The Apple Ecosystem
Simon reviewed the draft agreement:
Purchase price: $28 billion ($10 billion cash, $16 billion in Tinkerbell stock). Debt assumption: $12 billion, bringing the total deal to $40 billion. Objective: Turn Apple into the bedrock of a new mobile-first ecosystem.
With patents from Apple and Tinkerbell's resources, the foundation was set for hardware, software, and a connected ecosystem.
Core Strategies:
Software:
Using Linux as the core, Simon's EgretTech had developed a proprietary PC operating system over the past five years. Apple's acquisition provided essential patents to overcome potential Microsoft lawsuits.
Hardware:
Apple's legacy in ARM-based processors (used in its Newton devices) laid the groundwork for Simon's vision of an interconnected, mobile-first ecosystem.
Ecosystem Expansion:
Building on iCam and iPlayer successes, Simon planned to use ARM chips, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi to create a mini home ecosystem—a prelude to the mobile internet era.
Lost in thought, Simon scribbled notes on his pad until an hour had passed.
Finally returning to the American Pie meeting, Simon emphasized the film's unique selling point.
"Publicly, this movie needs to be framed as a heartfelt story about youth and growth," he told the team. "But you need to understand that its real selling point boils down to one word: sex."
Although packaged as a comedy about coming of age, American Pie owed its success to its unabashed focus on taboo humor. Simon reminded the team not to shy away from this core element.
"If we get this right, it could be a
goldmine," Simon said. "Handled properly, this franchise could generate over $1 billion in revenue across sequels, spin-offs, and home video releases."
With that, he turned the meeting's attention back to the details, ensuring every step aligned with his vision of long-term success for Daenerys Entertainment.
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