A stock additional issuance could never generate the same level of excitement as an IPO. However, after all the difficulties Time Warner had gone through for this three-billion-dollar share issuance plan, the issuance ceremony itself was made exceptionally grand.
The three major summer blockbusters, Batman: The Dark Knight,The Fugitive, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, had delivered outstanding performances. They gave Time Warner's issuance a powerful shot in the arm, making the final step feel perfectly natural.
Besides endorsing the issuance, Simon had also purchased one million shares of Time Warner stock in his personal name at Steve Ross's request, officially becoming a shareholder of the company.
Although it was only one million shares of non-voting preferred stock that would be locked up for twelve months before they could be sold, at the new share price of eighty dollars for this issuance, it still cost Simon eighty million dollars.
Fortunately, even from a pure investment perspective, these shares were very worthwhile.
After the rebound in the first half of the year, Time Warner's publicly traded common shares were now trading at 109 dollars per share. Moreover, Simon knew that throughout the 1990s, the company's stock price would continue to rise steadily due to the bull market driven by the new technology wave.
In addition to the one million shares Simon bought personally, Cersei Capital had recently reached another cooperation agreement with Time Warner.
This involved an investment in the amusement park company Six Flags. Apollo Management under Cersei Capital planned to invest eighty million dollars to jointly take a stake in Six Flags with Time Warner. Afterward, Time Warner planned to revitalize the struggling amusement park company by licensing cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny for promotional use.
In a sense, this cooperation was actually an exchange.
It not only further strengthened the partnership between the two sides and boosted market confidence in Time Warner's development prospects. Moreover, with Cersei Capital's investment in Six Flags, Time Warner formally agreed to establish DC superhero attractions at the Universal Studios parks under Daenerys Entertainment.
Six Flags primarily operated roller coasters, Ferris wheels, and similar thrill rides. It did not directly compete with theme parks like Universal Studios. This cooperation was both an exchange and a win-win situation.
The issuance ceremony lasted all morning. Time Warner also held a reception banquet at the Gramercy Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Nearly all the Hollywood superstars close to Time Warner had shown up today. Steve Ross had also invited a large number of politicians and celebrities, making the banquet extremely lively.
Since he was not the main figure today, Simon had no intention of stealing the spotlight. After greeting some familiar faces, he retreated to a corner of the hall to chat with Spielberg.
"Steven, actually, handling Schindler's change of heart is quite easy to solve. Hollywood screenplays have many similar techniques."
The two men were still discussing Schindler's List, the project Spielberg planned to shoot after Jurassic Park.
This project had troubled Spielberg for many years, and Simon knew exactly why he was struggling. He could not understand how a profit-driven capitalist who loved women above all else could suddenly transform into a savior willing to sacrifice everything to rescue Jews.
As someone from the future, Simon naturally knew how this issue was originally resolved.
He had been planning to find an opportunity to discuss it with Spielberg anyway. Since the topic had come up today, he brought it up.
Spielberg shook his head and said, "I don't want to use those simple methods like watching the sunset from a bench or being moved by some accidental scene. It was a tragic period when tragedies happened all the time. Schindler should have been experiencing them constantly as well."
Simon continued to guide him patiently. "Then stretch that moment of realization out a little."
Spielberg studied Simon's expression for a moment and asked, "Simon, you must already have an idea in mind. Tell me and stop keeping me in suspense."
Simon stopped beating around the bush. "Are you planning to shoot Schindler's List as a black-and-white film?"
Spielberg nodded.
Simon continued, "In that case, insert a touch of color into the film. Preferably red. For example, a little girl in a red coat. When that single splash of color that repeatedly appears in Schindler's view suddenly vanishes, I think his transformation will feel completely natural."
Spielberg thought about it for a moment. His expression soon showed sudden understanding.
As the two were chatting, New York Mayor David Dinkins walked over with another white man in his sixties.
After a simple greeting, Spielberg realized that David Dinkins probably had something to discuss with Simon and tactfully excused himself.
Simon did not need much introduction from David Dinkins to know that the man beside him was Mario Cuomo, the current governor of New York State.
He had not expected David Dinkins, whom the Westeros system supported, to suddenly bring Mario Cuomo in front of him.
"Simon, this is Mario Cuomo, the governor of our wNew York State. Mario, this is Simon."
Simon smiled and extended his hand toward Mario Cuomo. "Very pleased to meet you, Governor Cuomo."
Mario Cuomo also appeared very enthusiastic as he shook hands with Simon. "I've been hoping to meet you for a long time, Simon."
No one was foolish enough to jump straight into the main topic. After the introductions, David Dinkins naturally began talking with Simon about the Westeros Tower that was currently being planned.
As a super skyscraper expected to exceed six hundred meters, the project required approval from the New York City government.
Clearly, with connections like David Dinkins, the approval process had encountered no major difficulties.
By bringing it up himself, David Dinkins was also subtly claiming some credit.
They only chatted for a little over a minute before David Dinkins and Mario Cuomo took their leave. To outsiders, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary greeting.
Of course, anyone with sufficiently sharp political instincts would definitely sense that something unusual was going on.
During their conversation, Mario Cuomo had definitely dropped some hints.
If Simon was willing to support him, he would only need to have someone contact Mario Cuomo afterward to receive a response.
Simon could not help but carefully consider the matter.
It was not about hedging his bets on multiple sides. Rather, placing Mario Cuomo, who currently held stronger advantages than the relatively inexperienced Bill Clinton, into the spotlight might produce unexpected results.
"Simon, what are you thinking about?"
Steve Ross's voice interrupted Simon's thoughts.
Simon pulled his attention back and smiled. "Building a plank road in the open while secretly crossing at North Korea."
The Korean idiom that slipped out left Steve Ross momentarily stunned.
Simon quickly explained, deliberately using a vague tone so that Steve Ross would not guess his real thoughts.
Steve Ross did not press further. He praised Simon's fluent Chinese before changing the subject. "When Reagan ran for president back then, all of Hollywood supported him with full force, and we received enough returns. However, although Bush was Reagan's vice president, his actions in recent years have made it very hard for everyone to be satisfied."
Simon raised an eyebrow slightly and immediately understood why Mario Cuomo had appeared in front of him earlier.
Steve Ross must have played a role in facilitating it.
Although Warner Bros. was one of Hollywood's seven major studios, Time Warner's headquarters was located in New York. Steve Ross spent most of his time in New York and had very close ties with East Coast political circles.
"So, Steve, you are planning to support Mario Cuomo next year."
Steve Ross shook his head. "Of course not. Although I think highly of Mario, he has not even secured the party nomination yet. I will only support whoever wins the nomination."
Simon said, "The Gulf War was such a success that Bush should win very easily next year. If all of Hollywood switches to the Democrats and Bush gets reelected, we might run into trouble."
Ross laughed and patted Simon lightly on the shoulder. "Simon, George Bush is a very mature politician. You know, politicians like him rarely create enemies for themselves. They are much better at balancing interests. Moreover, the Bush family has even greater long-term political ambitions. They won't blatantly suppress Hollywood just because we support the Democrats. Seeing our dissatisfaction, they are more likely to choose to win us over."
Simon actually understood these principles quite well, but he still nodded with a look of having learned something.
After chatting with Ross for a while longer, Simon proposed taking his leave.
Although Steve Ross seemed somewhat disappointed, he did not try too hard to keep him and personally escorted Simon out of the banquet hall.
After rushing from the Gramercy Hotel to the nearby Westeros Company headquarters, it was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon. James Rebould was already waiting for Simon.
Simon proactively brought up his encounter with Mario Cuomo and shared his thoughts.
James also expressed his approval.
Given the current situation, among the politicians intending to participate in next year's presidential election, Mario Cuomo was the one most likely to secure the nomination. Providing him with some support would do no harm. Slightly leaking some information externally could also make certain people overlook the other chips the Westeros system had placed.
After roughly discussing the specific execution plan, at one-thirty in the afternoon, the guest they had been waiting for arrived right on time.
The guest was Albert Gore Jr., also known as Al Gore, the current United States Senator from Tennessee.
Albert Gore Jr. came from a political family. His father, Albert Gore Sr., had become famous in the 1950s for proposing the "U.S. Interstate Highway System" that helped America's postwar economy take off. Now forty-three years old, Al Gore had inherited his father's political approach and had been vigorously promoting his own "Information Superhighway Act" in recent years.
As someone from the future, Simon also knew that Al Gore would later become Clinton's vice president and lose the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush by an extremely narrow and controversial margin. After that defeat, the Gore family's dream of the White House across two generations was completely shattered.
From the information Simon had collected, he discovered that Al Gore was the standard "flawless" politician: well-educated, with a harmonious family, no scandals whatsoever, and a very steady political career advanced step by step.
Compared to Clinton, whose scandals were as numerous as holes in a sieve, Al Gore seemed more suitable for running in the 1992 presidential election.
However, precisely because he came from a political family and was too mature and calculating in this regard, Al Gore had chosen not to participate in the 1992 presidential race.
In the eyes of these old political families, George Bush's reelection after his victory in the Gulf War was almost a foregone conclusion. According to American presidential election tradition, a politician only got one chance to reach for the White House in their lifetime unless they were running for reelection.
As for Clinton, this politician from a humble background with shallow roots in politics and some personal dirt, he probably never thought he could reach the White House in the first place. Just as later no one expected Hillary Clinton to miss her chance at it.
Al Gore's problem was perhaps exactly what Steve Ross had mentioned at the noon banquet: mature politicians were all too good at weighing their options.
In 1988, Al Gore had expressed interest in running for president. But after some "weighing," he probably decided he was too young and the timing was not right, so he voluntarily stepped aside.
In 1992, after another round of "weighing," he concluded that George Bush could not be defeated and chose to serve as Clinton's running mate to build up his reputation. Unexpectedly, he ended up as vice president for eight years in a position he did not really want.
In 2000, riding the wave of economic prosperity from Clinton's eight years in office, he was the overwhelming favorite and could follow the same path George H.W. Bush had taken from vice president to president. Yet he ran into an even stronger political family and suffered a regretful defeat, forever losing his chance at the pinnacle of American power.
Simon was not particularly interested in this "perfect politician's" bumpy road to the White House. He was only interested in the "Information Superhighway Act" that the man controlled.
Any industry would develop much more smoothly if it received policy support at the national level.
Just as some traditional media had recently begun criticizing internet platforms over content copyright issues, if the Information Superhighway plan became a foundational national policy and they could then promote the related "Internet Safe Harbor Act," many obstacles would be greatly reduced.
Moreover, a bill like the Information Superhighway Act, which involved an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars, would take at least one or two years from proposal to passage and implementation.
By then, the 1992 presidential election would already have been settled.
Since the bill was proposed by Democratic Senator Al Gore, the political credit could never fall into Republican hands anyway, so it would not have much impact on next year's presidential election.
In fact, if the White House deliberately obstructed the passage of the Information Superhighway Act, it might even have the opposite effect on George Bush's reelection campaign.