After the lively New Year's countdown, the party began to wind down.
A little past one in the morning, Simon saw off James Rebould and his family of three. Returning inside, the once-crowded living room now held only waitstaff clearing away the remnants. A few guests likely lingered in the backyard, but they required no personal farewell from him.
Ascending the stairs, he heard Janet's soft laughter even before reaching a sitting room on the second floor.
Inside, Janet, Katherine, Amy, and Nancy Brill lounged in various poses on the sofas, wine glasses in hand, clearly tipsy. Janet's fair cheeks were flushed pink.
Simon settled on the armrest beside Janet, gently taking her glass to stop her drinking, then addressed the others. "Ladies, it's quite late. Shall we continue?"
Amy glanced at her watch and looked surprised. "Already 1:25? Simon, have you seen Cliff?"
Cliff was Amy's new boyfriend, owner of a French restaurant in Brentwood.
Simon thought for a moment. "He should be on the back lawn."
"Then I should go," Amy said, setting her glass on the coffee table and rising with a hand on the armrest. She swayed slightly, smiled at Simon, and added, "Boss, I'll come in late tomorrow. Perfectly valid reason, right?"
Simon nodded with a smile. "Of course."
Tomorrow was technically today, but Simon would not quibble over such details.
New Year's Day was a statutory holiday, yet with his departure for Australia imminent, much remained to arrange. At minimum, Daenerys's senior executives would report to the office.
As Amy stood, the other three women rose as well.
Simon wrapped an arm around Janet, who swayed into him upon standing, and his gaze inadvertently landed on Nancy Brill. He could not help remarking, "So short."
Nancy, who had been curled in an armchair, had removed her heels.
He had not noticed before. Barefoot on the carpet, she appeared scarcely over five feet, dwarfed not only by Katherine but even by Janet and Amy, both around five-seven. Yet the contrast between her petite frame and mature, curvaceous allure created an oddly captivating charm.
His comment drew surprised looks from Janet and the others, who only then noticed.
Nancy, under their scrutiny, sat back down unperturbed, slipped on her ten-centimeter stilettos, and glanced at Simon with a hint of guardedness. "Boss, is that discrimination?"
"Of course not," Simon denied with a laugh, watching her rise again, the towering heels hidden beneath her rose gown, instantly adding inches. "Though constantly wearing shoes that high doesn't seem healthy."
Nancy clearly wished to drop the subject. "Without them, it would be worse."
Since she disliked discussing her height, Simon let it go. Inwardly, however, he wondered whether her ambition stemmed from insecurity about her stature, or vice versa. In the West, five feet was indeed quite short for a woman.
They descended together. Amy found her boyfriend among the last backyard stragglers. After watching a designated driver take them away, Simon noticed Nancy was still alone.
A valet brought a black Mercedes. As Nancy said goodnight and slid behind the wheel, Simon caught the door before she could close it. "By yourself?"
Seated, she removed her heels again and placed them aside, looking up at him. "Boss, is that a problem?"
Simon pulled the door wider and stepped back. "Sit in the back. Let a driver take you home."
Nancy shook her head. "No need."
Simon regarded her steadily. "Out of the car."
Their eyes locked briefly before she relented. "I don't like strangers driving me home."
Simon signaled Neil Bennett, then turned back to her. "My driver will take you."
Nancy hesitated, then moved to the rear seat.
Simon gave Neil instructions, watched them depart, and turned back. Janet watched him with a teasing smile. "Nancy clearly wanted her boss to drive her personally. You're so oblivious."
Neil had originally been assigned to take Simon and Janet to Malibu; now he would wait.
Ignoring the teasing, Simon asked Katherine, "Coming back to Malibu with us?"
"Yes," Katherine answered, surprising him slightly, then added, "I just rented a place in Paradise Cove, not far from Dume Point. It's on the way."
Since their one shared night, Katherine had allowed no further indiscretions.
Seeing his glum expression, Janet linked arms with Katherine, smiling as they headed inside. "The little rascal leaves for Australia the day after tomorrow. Kate, come stay with me while he's gone."
Katherine glanced at Simon trailing behind. "You're not going with him?"
"The house in Dume Point Park starts construction soon," Janet shook her head. "And Daenerys has a full financial audit over the next month. I'll stay to oversee it for him. We'll both visit for his February birthday."
Neil returned after dropping Nancy. By the time they settled in, it was past two.
The next morning marked the true start of the new year.
A senior staff meeting ran from ten until one, focused on arrangements during Simon's absence.
In coming months, Daenerys's priority was establishing overseas distribution and pushing international releases for late-year titles like Scream.
In this era, simultaneous global releases were rare; two- to three-month delays were common. Thus Daenerys had concentrated solely on domestic last year-end.
Now, with those films' massive success, ideal leverage existed for overseas expansion. Using the hits as bargaining chips, contacts with foreign exhibitors would be straightforward.
Beyond distribution, the next major task was a comprehensive group-wide financial audit.
Not publicly traded, Daenerys had no obligation to release annual reports.
Yet rapid growth left even Simon uncertain of total revenues across subsidiaries, let alone potential issues. A thorough audit was essential.
For accuracy, Simon authorized Janet to supervise it fully.
Finally, awards strategy for upcoming films over the next few months.
Simon had never been overly enthusiastic about Oscars. Though High Gate Pictures focused on arthouse fare, relied heavily on festivals, he viewed awards as icing, never the cake itself.
At two, after a simple lunch, Simon and several executives met Wayne Huizenga to finalize Daenerys's investment in Blockbuster.
After hours of talks, preliminary agreement was reached.
Daenerys would invest $120 million for 35 percent equity, promising no management interference for three years. In return, Blockbuster guaranteed no dilution of that stake. For future fundraising, Daenerys held priority to maintain proportion.
Nancy Brill was confirmed as a Blockbuster board member.
That evening Simon hosted the Rebolds again in Malibu, privately discussing Westeros Company matters with James, completing his pre-departure arrangements.
Though reluctant to relinquish the wheel of Daenerys's fast-moving vehicle, Simon knew it necessary. A company unable to function without one person was doomed never to scale.
January 2, Simon and entourage departed mid-morning for Melbourne.
Batman prep was complete. After a few days acclimating, shooting would begin January 9 for a planned thirteen-week, ninety-one-day schedule, wrapping early April if smooth.
Simon's absence barely rippled Hollywood.
He had entrusted awards campaigning to High Gate's Ira Deutchman. After departure, Ira ramped up Golden Globes pushes for Dead Poets Society while preparing Oscar submissions.
With Rain Man's surprise runaway success, its awards strategy drew intense scrutiny.
Daenerys had skipped Globes for Rain Man; many assumed ongoing conflict with key creatives would extend to Oscars.
As a full phenomenon, Rain Man entering the race would crowd out most competition.
Hollywood largely hoped Simon's youth would lead to spiteful withdrawal.
Yet skipping Globes had merely cleared the path for Dead Poets Society. Simon held his longstanding view: sabotaging one's own success out of anger was foolish. Rain Man would pursue every eligible award.
The task thus fell to Ira: secure nominations for Barry Levinson and Dustin Hoffman then ensure neither won.
Like continually inviting CAA talent to audition without hiring, reverse campaigning was tricky, especially against one's own film.
It was also a test for Ira.
Beyond Rain Man, focus remained on Dead Poets Society: best picture for Rain Man, best director for the latter.
With majors quietly uniting to curb Daenerys, the Academy's large voting body over three thousand became an advantage. With quality films and ample spending, nominations and wins remained achievable.
Simon privately coached Ira on the Weinsteins' future tactics.
Another week passed.
Year-end holdovers continued harvesting, though the market cooled from Christmas peak. December 30 to January 5 dropped to $91.56 million from the prior week's $122.36 million; most titles declined.
Except Rain Man.
After its second-week surge, Daenerys urgently added 262 screens, raising the count from 1,136 to 1,398. Fueled by spreading phenomenon-level buzz, in week three it became the only film to rise up 7 percent to $17.91 million, pushing cumulative to $46.23 million.
Simultaneously, Rain Man overtook Dead Poets Society, surging to claim the weekly box-office crown in its third frame.