Chasing Stars in Hollywood

After Simon's meeting with Secretary of State Warren Christopher, he flew directly to New York after breakfast. Through last week's ruthless retaliation against the mastermind behind the March assassination attempt, Simon sent a clear warning to some people: do not try to use unconventional means against the Westeros family, or he would retaliate tenfold or a hundredfold.

This Rwandan operation was also a demonstration of the Westeros system's financial power. Some people always thought that having a lot of money was just a string of numbers. Simon wanted to show them exactly what having enough money really meant.

Upon arriving in New York, Simon's morning schedule included meetings with heads of several friendly media groups. The Vietnam War once sparked waves of anti-war sentiment in the US, not only due to military failures but also due to the federal government's complete failure in media control. Three years ago, the Bush administration learned from the Vietnam War during the Gulf War, gaining significant prestige through excellent media management and guidance. Last year's failure in Somalia, leading to a complete withdrawal of US troops, was also a major failure of the Clinton administration's media strategy.

Despite having the moral high ground, Simon couldn't afford to be careless, even with global media attention on Rwanda and thousands of journalists flocking to Africa. History had repeatedly shown that unscrupulous media would twist facts to boost ratings or sales, even portraying a just war as an evil invasion.

To prevent this, the Westeros system's team in Rwanda had been collecting evidence since the genocide began. The Egret portal's Rwanda genocide section released only a small portion of the evidence. The Westeros system had enough evidence to indisputably confirm the past ten days of ethnic cleansing in Rwanda.

Even with ample preparation, Simon remained vigilant against any attempts to distort the truth. This required cooperation with other influential news media to jointly control and guide public opinion.

Moreover, Simon equipped the Westeros system's mercenary troops in Rwanda with a dedicated PR team and established strict media regulations. Mercenary members were prohibited from giving interviews, journalists were not allowed into their camps, and all operations would be covered exclusively by designated Westeros system media, with all news released through official PR channels.

The actual fighting would be handled by thousands of professional soldiers in Rwanda. For Simon, controlling and guiding media coverage was another battle, one he would personally lead. 

Simon didn't expect any direct returns from this military intervention to stop the genocide but would not allow anyone to distort or undermine the justice of this action.

He had lunch with Rupert Murdoch at his invitation, finishing around 1 PM. In the afternoon, he headed to Greenwich Village in Manhattan to handle some matters related to Daenerys Entertainment.

After submitting the IPO prospectus, subsequent IPO-related matters would be handled by senior executives like Amy Pascal and the Cersei Capital team, with Janet also overseeing it, so Simon didn't need to worry too much. However, many other matters still required his attention.

Busy until 5 PM, the end of the workday, his assistant came in to report some end-of-day matters. "Boss, Jim Carrey's agent just requested to change the initial five-film contract to three films."

Simon, making notes on the "Broken Arrow" project budget file, replied without looking up, "No."

Released on April 8, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" hadn't garnered critical acclaim but Jim Carrey's unique and exaggerated comedic style won over audiences, just as it had historically. With Daenerys Entertainment's stronger promotion than the original, and a better release date than the original February slot, the film grossed $23.91 million in its first week, with a per-screen average of $13,000, surpassing the Easter weekend's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III."

Moreover, from April 15 to 17, after quickly increasing its screen count from 1,837 to 2,315, despite the end of the two-week Easter break for US students and the usual market slowdown, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" dropped only 23% over its second weekend, grossing another $12.88 million, with the second week's total projected between $18 million and $19 million.

In ten days, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" had grossed $36.79 million.

According to Daenerys Entertainment's tiered revenue-sharing agreement with theaters, the company would take 90% of the gross revenue after deducting the theaters' basic operating costs for the first two weeks, roughly 70% of the total gross. Subsequent weeks would see a 20% reduction every two weeks, down to a minimum 30% share.

Thus, the $36.79 million in ten days allowed Daenerys Entertainment to recoup the $15 million production cost and $10 million marketing investment, entering the profit phase.

Given the second week's drop and audience feedback, New World Pictures' marketing team predicted "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" might become Daenerys Entertainment's second $100 million domestic box office hit this year, after "Four Weddings and a Funeral."

The success of "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" even affected "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III." Due to the shift in audience attention, the second and third week drops for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" exceeded expectations, forcing Daenerys Entertainment to lower its North American box office projection from $80 million to $60 million. Fortunately, its overseas performance was decent, and the company still expected to recoup its $60 million total investment and make a profit through global theater releases.

Jim Carrey, who had been in the industry since the early '80s, had mostly played minor roles. Now, with the potential for a $100 million hit, he quickly became restless, eager to modify the five-film contract with Daenerys Entertainment, which capped his salary at $5 million.

While other Hollywood studios might agree to modify contracts to maintain good relations with suddenly popular actors, Daenerys Entertainment never indulged such behavior.

Simon was a firm believer in contracts.

Moreover, agreeing to Jim Carrey's demands could lead to unrest among the core actors signed to low-salary, long-term contracts for the DC Movie Universe, jeopardizing many projects.

Hearing Simon's decision, his assistant didn't explain further, simply noting the decision in her memo before handing over an invitation. "Also, boss, this is a party invitation from Elite President John Casablancas. He mentioned that Ms. Graulf will also be attending tonight."

George Graulf, involved in the plot against Simon, was shot dead last week, and his wife and daughters had since faced a series of misfortunes. Laura Graulf, who had been in the midst of a divorce with her husband, instinctively felt the danger after George's murder. She hurriedly retrieved her hidden jewelry from a Manhattan bank safe, intending to sell it and flee abroad with her daughters.

Unfortunately, Laura Graulf was robbed upon returning to her downtown rental apartment. The robbers took not only her million-dollar jewelry but also all valuable clothes and accessories. The three women were left destitute, their immediate need for money so dire that Laura didn't have time to wonder why the robbers, after ransacking her home, merely tied them up in the living room without assaulting them. After reporting the robbery to the police, Laura faced urgent financial problems.

Laura Graulf understood her greatest asset was her appearance. Though 36, her outstanding looks and meticulous upkeep attracted many men. Even with her possessive husband's close watch, she maintained ambiguous relationships with some elite men in Manhattan.

Now it was time to use these connections.

Last Friday, Laura invited a prominent Wall Street bachelor who had long been interested in her. She thought it would be easy to secure his help. The Wall Street fund manager, running a larger fund than Graulf Capital, accepted her invitation.

However, halfway through their dinner, the Wall Street elite received a call that left him pale. His investors were pulling half of the $800 million fund he managed, and the caller bluntly warned that if he continued his association with Laura Graulf, his fund would be shut down, and he would be blacklisted on Wall Street.

Seeing his fund halve in value over one dinner, the Wall Street elite quickly understood the situation. Feeling eyes on him, he hastily left without even settling the bill.

A stunned Laura Graulf had to pay the expensive bill with her last bit of cash from selling furniture.

The news spread quickly in Manhattan.

By the weekend, Laura Graulf and her daughters were pariahs in Manhattan's elite circles. Even their daughters' social circles shut them out. Manhattan's upper class, with no shortage of beautiful women, wouldn't risk financial ruin for three women blacklisted by powerful figures.

The Graulf women, though not clever, weren't foolish. They soon understood what was happening from people's reactions.

Laura Graulf first felt fear, worrying that she might end up like her husband, shot dead.

But now, with no means to escape, as their last assets were stolen, and no family to turn to, Laura had to stay in Manhattan with her daughters, trembling.

And she needed to think about their livelihood.

Once a model, Laura knew she couldn't return to the fashion industry despite her beauty. Instead, she focused on her tall, attractive daughters. Her husband had opposed their involvement in the chaotic fashion world, and she had hoped they would marry into wealthy families. Now, she had no choice.

Unexpectedly, the top US modeling agency, Elite, responded positively, eager to sign her and her daughters.

Despite some doubts and Elite's harsh contract, Laura had no other options and signed with Elite yesterday, making her and her daughters models under the agency.

Their predicament was, of course, orchestrated by Simon.

With other plans tonight and no immediate intention to meet the three women, Simon wanted them to experience hardship before he approached them. Besides, Janet was also on the East Coast, returning from Boston after negotiating a Cersei Capital

 merger project. She was likely on her way back to New York now.

Shaking his head, Simon told his assistant, "Tell John Casablancas not to arrange any activities for the three of them in the next few months, including tonight's party. I trust Elite knows how to sideline its artists."

His assistant nodded, reporting a few more items. After handling these, Simon left Daenerys Entertainment's East Coast headquarters in Greenwich Village and took a helicopter to his estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, where a military affairs team was waiting.

Simon had told Warren Christopher during breakfast that he wasn't one to play a supporting role. Therefore, today, the Westeros system's mercenary forces had successfully carried out their first military operation according to plan.

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