Lew Wasserman nodded in understanding and asked, "What kind of settlement terms?"
Barry Gordon replied, "Daenerys Entertainment drops its plan to build a film and television production base in Toronto."
"Permanently?"
Barry Gordon shook his head. "For three years."
Lew Wasserman fell silent again.
Such settlement terms were nothing more than giving the three unions a barely acceptable way to save face.
Having controlled MCA for so many years, Lew Wasserman knew very well that building a film and television production base overseas was far from easy.
Shooting films in California might cost studios more and force them to endure all kinds of union restrictions, but they enjoyed a stable and mature production system.
In comparison, rushing into production in an unfamiliar region often led to countless problems: uncooperative local governments, difficult residents, businesses hiking prices, even interference from gangs. In the end, crews that had hoped to save money usually ended up spending more.
Daenerys Entertainment had secured favorable terms and government cooperation in Australia because of the powerful local influence of Westeros's wife's family. If Westeros thought he could easily replicate that model in Toronto, he was being far too naive.
No one would describe Simon Westeros as naive.
Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment's plan to build a production base in Toronto had probably been nothing more than a bargaining chip to pressure the three unions from the very beginning.
Now that the unions were willing to back down, Daenerys Entertainment could casually offer that unused chip as a face-saving step while losing nothing of substance.
Barry Gordon took a few more puffs on his cigar. Seeing that Wasserman remained silent, he asked directly, "Lew, what do you plan to do?"
The question stirred irritation in Lew Wasserman's chest. He stubbed out his cigar and said bluntly, "Perhaps this studio will have to be handed over to the young man after all."
He had originally hoped the three unions' lawsuit would create enough pressure on Daenerys Entertainment. Combined with his own resources, he could keep generating obstacles in the media and government spheres, forcing the other side to abandon the acquisition. At the very least, he had wanted to retain control of MCA.
Yet the three unions, on whom he had pinned such high hopes, had found themselves almost completely on the defensive after launching their attack. They had not even lasted two weeks before starting to retreat.
On MCA's side, aside from the board that Lew Wasserman still tightly controlled, he held few other advantages. Most shareholders wanted to cash out quickly to avoid further drops in MCA's stock price as the American economy worsened. Given the current domestic economic trends and the imminent outbreak of war, that risk was very real.
Lew Wasserman felt that if he continued deploying his remaining cards, Simon Westeros would soon target him personally.
Perhaps with the same accusation of "abusing power" that had been leveled at the three unions.
Lew Wasserman could already imagine Daenerys Entertainment using the exact same charge against him. After all, he truly did want to hold on to his power. In all of Hollywood, Steve Ross, Martin Davis, Michael Eisner, Sherry Lansing, and so many others were no different.
Anyone who had tasted real power would instinctively seek more. Very few could let it go easily.
And that young man, only twenty-two years old this year, would undoubtedly become the most powerful figure in Hollywood for the next several decades. Moreover, judging by the skill Westeros had displayed in handling recent events, he was more than capable of wielding that power.
Twenty-two years old.
It was hard to imagine how someone who should still be fresh out of college could be so extraordinarily talented.
Thinking of his own son, already middle-aged yet still utterly useless, Lew Wasserman's sense of defeat grew even stronger.
The two old men sat in the office chatting in fits and starts when the door was knocked. The secretary poked her head in, pointed at the television in the corner of the office, and said, "Mr. Wasserman, there is something you should probably see."
Lew Wasserman nodded. The secretary entered, turned on the television, and quickly switched to a local Los Angeles channel.
A press conference was playing on screen.
The moment Lew Wasserman saw Matthew Broderick among the row of young men on stage recounting their experiences, he roughly understood what was happening.
This had originally been one of the contingency plans Michael Ovitz had prepared.
After Simon Westeros became famous, the story of him single-handedly breaking five legs had circulated in Hollywood as an amusing anecdote. People in the industry generally knew the full background. Because the young men had not been entirely in the right, both Ovitz and Wasserman had barely considered using this card after Meg Ryan withdrew.
They had not expected the young men to jump out on their own.
Now, watching the young man in the center of the stage, his lips sunken like an old man's after losing his front teeth, tearfully describing his tragic ordeal, Lew Wasserman almost found himself believing it.
The five men, including Matthew Broderick and Mark Stein, who had once had several teeth knocked out by a single elbow from Simon, had completely inverted black and white. They claimed that several years earlier, after a minor argument while drinking at a bar, the extremely vindictive Simon Westeros had secretly tracked them down and ambushed them. Not only had he broken five of their legs, he had later turned the tables and used Matthew Broderick's reputation as leverage to force them to pay compensation.
At the time Matthew Broderick had been riding high on the success of several hit films. To protect his public image, he had been forced to pay five hundred thousand dollars to settle.
However, even after Simon Westeros became famous, he had still not let them go. Matthew Broderick had suffered retaliation that destroyed his career, and for more than a year he had not received a single film offer.
When a reporter questioned why Simon Westeros had dared to attack six of them alone, the sunken-lipped and pitiful-looking Mark Stein claimed that Westeros had been carrying a baseball bat while they had been completely unarmed. Mark Stein even displayed on the spot newspaper reports of Simon single-handedly knocking out ten professional fighters in a Melbourne ring earlier that year to prove he possessed exactly that kind of strength.
At the end of the press conference, Mark Stein and the others announced they would sue in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing the severe and lasting physical and emotional trauma Simon had inflicted on them.
Matthew Broderick was also filing suit, accusing Simon Westeros of violating California's Unfair Competition Law by maliciously using his influence to destroy another person's career.
Moreover, Matthew Broderick's lawyer stated there was reason to believe Simon Westeros had used the five hundred thousand dollars extorted from Matthew Broderick to produce Run Lola Run. Matthew Broderick would therefore also sue to recover the original five hundred thousand dollars in cash plus all profits generated from that money.
The reporters at the press conference nearly erupted when they heard the final point.
Even journalists who knew some inside details forced themselves to believe the wild claims. If the five hundred thousand dollars had truly generated those returns, the story would be enormous.
It was common knowledge that Simon Westeros had built his fortune precisely on the massive profits from Run Lola Run. He had gone on to found Daenerys Entertainment and, during the 1987 crash, had made another huge sum by correctly betting on S&P 500 index futures. If they were to calculate the returns on that original five hundred thousand dollars, Simon Westeros's current net worth of twenty-one billion dollars could be said to have come from it.
Watching the young men leave under a swarm of media on the television screen, Lew Wasserman, who had patiently watched the entire press conference, could not help sighing.
Barry Gordon, as president of the Screen Actors Guild, had also heard some rumors about the original incident. He looked at Lew Wasserman and asked, "Did you arrange this?"
Lew Wasserman shook his head. "I knew about it, but I did not arrange it."
How could anyone arrange something the entire industry already knew the truth about?
Lew Wasserman had never considered completely reversing right and wrong the way those young men had just done, because the story would never hold up under scrutiny.
Yet thinking about it more carefully, he could understand. The group, including Matthew Broderick, had nothing left to lose. By holding such a high-profile press conference and blowing the matter up, they had seized the initiative. Even if their version had holes, the public always tended to sympathize with the underdog.
In the end, Simon Westeros had simply become too powerful.
The video of Westeros taking on ten opponents and knocking them out one after another in Melbourne earlier that year had amazed many people. A man that dominant could indeed dare to attack six people alone.
After all, he had been carrying a baseball bat.
Seeing Wasserman deny involvement, Barry Gordon glanced at the television screen again and smiled. "Well, at least we get to watch another good show."
Lew Wasserman also broke into a smile.
In this acquisition battle, Simon Westeros had dismantled obstacle after obstacle with almost flawless precision, leaving Wasserman completely unable to respond. Now, faced with these young men's shameless twisting of facts, Wasserman was curious to see how the other side would untangle the mess.
Investments aimed at major telecom giants in this era had one defining characteristic: stability. The telecom industry had been developing for a century. Investing in monopolistic giants like AT&T and the Baby Bells offered neither excessively high returns nor the risk of devastating losses.
Because share prices of such companies tended to rise and fall with broader economic trends, and with the American economy remaining sluggish recently, the many investors holding Bell Atlantic stock saw no reason to cling tightly when Westeros Company offered a thirty-percent premium.
Therefore, once Bell Atlantic's board reached an agreement with Westeros Company, the subsequent shareholder vote, under the careful orchestration of the Westeros team, passed just as smoothly.
Next came review by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, which oversaw the telecom industry.
After arranging matters in Los Angeles, Simon had spent these days shuttling between New York and Washington on the East Coast, working to secure government approvals.
Although the Department of Justice was part of the presidential cabinet and its attorney general was nominated by the president, the Bush administration clearly held no great fondness for Simon. Still, the department was not under the complete control of the White House.
In the U.S. midterm elections earlier in November, the Democrats had scored a major victory, securing majorities in both the Senate and the House. Within the Department of Justice itself, Democrats also held high positions. This ensured that Westeros Company's acquisition of Bell Atlantic would not face one-sided obstruction.
As for the Federal Communications Commission, the situation was even more favorable for Simon.
As an independent government agency, the FCC reported directly to Congress and was not under White House authority.
Moreover, the Bush family were seasoned political operators. Unless absolutely necessary, they would not go all-out to alienate a super-rich man with enormous wealth and significant public influence. Besides, Westeros Company's acquisition of Bell Atlantic would not alter the industry's structure and carried no monopoly concerns.
Therefore, the acquisition was essentially a done deal.
It could be said that during these final days of November and early December, Simon was mostly using the Bell Atlantic acquisition to reorganize, deepen, and strengthen his political connections in Washington.
When news of the press conference held by Matthew Broderick and the others reached him, Simon had just finished dinner in Washington with Congressman David Melrose, whom he had met with a few days earlier.
Janet had lived through the entire original incident. On the subsequent phone call she was absolutely furious, declaring she would teach those truth-twisting bastards a harsh lesson and telling Simon not to worry about it. She would handle the matter personally.
The world had never lacked people who inverted right and wrong. After learning the details, Simon was angry but not overly shaken. He truly had no energy to deal with it himself, so he casually agreed to let Janet take charge.
On the other side, Matthew Broderick and his group had clearly coordinated and planned carefully. Although their story was not seamless, it sounded plausible enough. Combined with the media's natural instinct to fan the flames of any spectacle, the incident quickly exploded.
Of course, Daenerys Entertainment had no intention of letting the narrative run one-sided and immediately mounted a counteroffensive in the media.
Unfortunately, the original incident had left no official police record. At the time the young men had been in such pitiful condition that even statements had not been taken. The two sides had then settled quickly. After some maneuvering by Matthew Broderick's side, the police had chosen to let the matter drop rather than pursue it further.
Now, with Matthew Broderick and the others having struck first and seized the initiative, both sides had their own versions of events, and the situation threatened to turn into a complete Rashomon.
After the press conference, local Los Angeles media quickly revealed the young men's further demands.
Mark Stein and the other four were suing in Los Angeles Superior Court for a total of one hundred million dollars in damages, citing the severe and lasting physical and emotional trauma they had suffered. Matthew Broderick was even more aggressive, demanding one billion dollars in compensation.