"The nominees for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy at this year's Golden Globe Awards are: Mia Farrow, Alice; Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman; Andie MacDowell, Green Card; Demi Moore, Ghost; and Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge."
On the stage of the Hilton Hotel ballroom.
After announcing the nominees, last year's Golden Globe winner for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, Morgan Freeman, smiled as he tore open the envelope in his hand. He glanced at the card inside and quickly leaned toward the microphone.
"And the winner is... Julia Roberts. Congratulations."
Thunderous applause erupted across the hall.
Julia Roberts, dressed tonight in a white off-the-shoulder evening gown, stood up from her round table with a look of disbelief on her face. She hugged several members of the Pretty Woman team beside her before making her way to the stage, lifting the hem of her dress as she walked somewhat unsteadily.
Taking the trophy from Morgan Freeman, the big-mouthed beauty stepped up to the microphone. She was still struggling to contain her emotions and instinctively covered her mouth.
The audience responded with another round of warm applause.
"This is... unbelievable. It feels like a dream," Julia Roberts finally said after a moment. The twenty-three-year-old leaned toward the microphone, speaking with slight hesitation. "First of all, I want to thank Simon. Without him, none of this would have been possible for me today..."
At a round table slightly toward the back of the banquet hall, Janet heard the speech and raised a finger, waving it in front of Simon.
"That's the sixth time," she said. "I'm wondering if Michael Blake, who forgot to thank you earlier, is starting to feel a little uneasy right about now."
By this point in the ceremony, including the Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy award just announced, Daenerys Entertainment had already taken home seven major prizes: five film awards and two television awards.
Out of the seven acceptance speeches, six winners had thanked Simon. The only exception was Dances with Wolves screenwriter Michael Blake.
Simon reached out as if to pinch Janet's elegant raised fingertip, but she pulled it away before he could. He didn't pursue it and simply said softly, "It's happening a bit too often."
He remembered someone in another timeline tallying up the Hollywood figures most frequently thanked during Oscar speeches. Even industry giants like Steven Spielberg and Harvey Weinstein had accumulated only thirty or forty mentions after many years.
The Golden Globes naturally couldn't compare with the Oscars.
Still, at this rate tonight, Simon suspected it wouldn't take many years before he set a record for the most thank-yous at award ceremonies.
He had no desire to appear omnipresent.
He much preferred being the one pulling the strings behind the curtain.
Janet knew exactly how her man thought. "You can mention it to Deutchman at the party later."
Onstage, Julia Roberts finished her speech. The host came up to fill the gap for a moment before moving on to present the award for Best Actor in a Drama.
Kevin Costner had already won Best Director earlier tonight. However, his performance in Dances with Wolves didn't particularly stand out. Unsurprisingly, the award went instead to Jeremy Irons for his masterful performance in Reversal of Fortune.
Jeremy Irons would later become widely known for playing Alfred, Batman's loyal butler, in the Ben Affleck version of the superhero films.
As expected, Jeremy Irons would also go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor later that year. The British actor, now in his early forties, possessed both striking looks and superb acting ability. Unfortunately, luck had not been on his side. Since breaking into Hollywood in the 1980s, several of the commercial films he starred in had failed at the box office.
Hollywood was notoriously superstitious.
If an actor starred in several box office flops in a row, it often became difficult to land quality projects from the studios. With fewer resources available, making a comeback became increasingly difficult.
After the Best Actor in a Drama award, the ceremony moved quickly to the final prize: Best Motion Picture in a Drama.
Dances with Wolves successfully defeated Goodfellas, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, The Godfather Part III, and Reversal of Fortune to claim the award.
In total, among the thirteen major film awards that had attracted the most attention at this year's Golden Globes, Daenerys Entertainment productions alone won six.
They included Dances with Wolves for Best Motion Picture in a Drama, Kevin Costner for Best Director, Susan Sarandon for Best Actress in a Drama, Julia Roberts for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, Dances with Wolves for Best Screenplay, and Whoopi Goldberg for Best Supporting Actress.
Nearly half of the awards.
For one company to dominate like this was almost unprecedented.
Although the post-ceremony celebration was officially Daenerys Entertainment's victory party, many stars headed straight for Daenerys Studios in Malibu after the ceremony ended.
The Oscar after-party hosted by Daenerys Entertainment had already been reserved by Gucci. Tonight's Golden Globe celebration, however, was being held in the name of Ygritte.
The Westeros system's push into the internet industry didn't just mean AOL's free trial program and Ygritte's massive investment in content. It also meant an all-out advertising campaign.
The Ygritte website had placed ads not only on television networks but across various print media platforms. It now even had an official spokesperson.
Sandra Bullock, thanks to her status as a celebrity user of the Ygritte blog and her personal relationship with Simon, had easily secured the role. Her endorsement contract lasted three years, and she unapologetically took home five million dollars a year.
After leaving the Beverly Hills Hilton, Simon and Janet first stopped by their mansion in the Palisades so Janet could change into another outfit. Only then did they head to Daenerys Studios.
They had been delayed a bit along the way. After posing briefly in front of the photo wall bearing the Daenerys and Ygritte logos, they entered the studio's event center, where the party hall was already packed.
Apparently someone had been assigned to keep watch. The moment Simon and Janet stepped inside, Kevin Costner approached with Dances with Wolves screenwriter Michael Blake to greet them.
As Michael Blake nervously expressed his joy at winning the award and his gratitude toward Simon, Janet shot her husband a subtle look that clearly said, See? I was right.
Simon, of course, didn't care in the slightest that Michael Blake had forgotten to thank him earlier. If he were that petty, life would be exhausting. He even offered a few reassuring words.
After Kevin Costner and Michael Blake left, Simon called over the head of Highgate Pictures, Ira Deutchman.
"Here's the thing," Simon said. "Let the publicists for those nominees know. At the Oscars and future award ceremonies, don't thank me anymore."
Ira Deutchman looked puzzled. "Simon, is there a problem?"
Simon shook his head with a smile. "No problem. I mean exactly what I said. I just don't want every award ceremony from now on to be filled with the name Simon Westeros. It might make people think I'm manipulating the awards."
Ira finally nodded. "Understood."
After settling that matter, Simon casually changed the subject.
"So, how's the filming of The Piano coming along?"
The two chatted for a while. During that time, Janet spotted Kathryn Bigelow and walked over to join the group of women.
After sending Ira Deutchman away, Simon's female assistant quietly appeared beside him. She accompanied him as he made small talk among the guests. Before long, Amy Pascal approached with another guest.
It was Steven Spielberg.
Simon stepped forward with a smile and shook his hand. "Good evening, Steven."
Spielberg smiled back as they shook hands, though his expression carried a hint of complicated emotion.
This young man who had risen so rapidly in Hollywood over the past few years was now technically his boss.
Spielberg had originally debuted as a contracted director under Universal Pictures. After rising to fame with Jaws, his long-term contract had been converted into several individual film commitments. Even now, he still owed Universal three more movies.
Because of the support he had received in those early years, Spielberg maintained very close relationships with MCA executives Lew Wasserman and Sid Sheinberg.
Now that Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA was essentially a done deal, and Wasserman and Sheinberg had been pushed out by Simon Westeros, Spielberg found himself filled with mixed feelings.
Still, a contract was a contract.
Amy Pascal had recently been discussing Spielberg's next directing project with him. It was a science fiction adaptation of a novel titled Jurassic Park.
If Spielberg agreed, the project could be produced under Universal Pictures. Preparations would begin this year, filming would start early next year, and the release date was already planned for the end of 1992.
Meanwhile, the massive production Hook, which Spielberg had collaborated on with Columbia the previous year, had already wrapped filming and entered post-production.
Although Columbia held the project in high regard, Spielberg had quietly sensed during filming that the movie might turn into a disaster, perhaps even a personal Waterloo for him. The strain had been exhausting.
So when Daenerys Entertainment extended its offer, even though he instinctively felt some resistance toward Simon Westeros, Spielberg still said he would consider it carefully.
After all, projects from Daenerys Entertainment were famously reliable at the box office.
Amy Pascal had also promised him that if he took on Jurassic Park, Daenerys Entertainment would support the film he had long been developing about the Holocaust during World War II: Schindler's List.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Spielberg left. Simon then turned to Amy.
"How did the talks go?"
"Steven agreed," Amy said. "But we still need to negotiate with Ovitz regarding the salary."
She continued, "Steven's previous film contracts all included full-channel profit participation. For example, Hook gives him twenty percent of total profits across all channels. Ovitz still prefers that structure. I've spoken with him a few times, and he's loosened up slightly. He's willing to accept a box office participation model similar to John Hughes. But Steven's base salary... Ovitz probably wants ten million dollars."
When Daenerys Entertainment signed its two-film deal with John Hughes, the compensation package was five million dollars upfront plus ten percent of the domestic box office.
It was already a very generous arrangement and allowed filmmakers to receive their earnings much sooner.
In another timeline, Spielberg's contract for Jurassic Park included a base salary plus twenty percent of all-channel profits.
Because Jurassic Park became such a massive global hit, Spielberg ended up taking home 250 million dollars from the first film alone.
After Matsushita acquired MCA, even with a blockbuster like Jurassic Park, the company still sold MCA to Seagram a few years later. A large part of the reason was that when movies lost money, Matsushita bore nearly all the losses. But when movies made money, especially something like Jurassic Park, most of the profits went to Hollywood filmmakers.
No matter how you looked at it, Matsushita was left holding the short end of the stick.
Simon had once considered directing Jurassic Park himself. Now he obviously didn't have the time. Handing the project to its original creator was the most suitable choice.
Of course, the full-channel profit participation contract was no longer on the table. Instead, they had proposed a deal similar to John Hughes' arrangement: base salary plus box office share.
If Jurassic Park still achieved the same astronomical box office as in the other timeline, Spielberg could still earn forty to fifty million dollars under Simon's proposal.
That was still an astronomical sum.
But Simon believed it was worth every penny. A director capable of creating a one-billion-dollar global box office phenomenon absolutely deserved that price.
Compared to that, the 250 million dollars from the other timeline was beyond what Simon was willing to tolerate.
Simon didn't comment much on the ten million dollar base salary Ovitz wanted. He simply nodded and let Amy continue negotiating.
Then he asked, "What about Schindler's List?"
"Steven still has some concerns," Amy said. "He's unsure how to handle certain emotional transitions in the film. But he's very grateful that you're willing to support the project."
As she spoke, Amy's expression carried a subtle meaning.
The Schindler's List project had been circulating in Hollywood since the 1980s. For years it had been delayed. The author of the original book, Thomas Keneally, often called Spielberg, half joking and half serious, asking whether the film could be made before he died.
He was getting very old.
At its core, Schindler's List was widely seen as a project with almost no commercial potential. It was essentially a historical testimony about the Jewish people.
Although Jewish professionals in Hollywood often supported one another, few were willing to invest in a film that seemed unlikely to make money.
Amy herself was Jewish.
In her view, Simon's decision to support Schindler's List at this moment, when Daenerys Entertainment was about to absorb MCA, was likely a gesture toward Hollywood's Jewish community. It signaled a certain attitude, easing the pressure created by Simon's growing power in the industry.
In truth, Simon did have such considerations.
Because of the environment he had lived in during his previous life, he had never been particularly sensitive about racial issues.
But after several years in this new life, he had been forced to confront the reality.
Jewish influence in Hollywood was undeniably powerful.
In fact, Jewish influence across the United States as a whole was extremely strong.
And changing that reality was impossible.
Since World War II, Jewish communities had mobilized large numbers of young people to participate in the war effort. Over time, Jewish Americans had also gained significant influence within the military system.
If something like the anti-Jewish movements once seen in Germany were to occur in the United States, the result might very well be a civil war.
Simon neither feared nor rejected Jewish people.
Nor did he want such a situation to arise.
Therefore, after acquiring MCA, producing Schindler's List would simply be going with the flow.
Besides, in his memory, Schindler's List had actually been extremely profitable.