In mid-July, Simon frequently traveled between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The sale of 300 hectares of land to the Westero Company by the Mountain View city government sparked ongoing public debate.
The best way to resolve this issue was undoubtedly to quickly present a comprehensive regional development plan.
Simon's initial intention was very straightforward: seeing an opportunity, he bought a large piece of land in the Bay Area. Once acquired, the development plan would be handled by others.
After more than a month of discussions, the Westero Company officially announced the 'Westero Technology Park' plan on July 15.
Not only would Egret, but AOL's West Coast headquarters, Nokia's North American research center, and Tinkerbell, founded by C Girl, would also move in. Other start-up tech companies invested in by the Westero system would be clustered around Egret.
Simultaneously, the Westero Company welcomed other tech companies to join.
The 300-hectare land, roughly rectangular from south to north, would allocate 50 hectares near Highway 101 to build a park, buffering the noise from the traffic and providing a recreational area for residents.
North of the park would be a 150-hectare office park, expected to accommodate over 50,000 people, including Egret's 30-hectare headquarters. Further north, the remaining 100 hectares would be developed into a high-end community with 1,000 villas, primarily for renting or selling to employees of the tech park.
Simon spent $230 million acquiring this land.
Fully developing the tech park would require an additional $1 billion investment.
Therefore, whether it's the tech park, the residential area, or the accompanying park, it would be a significant opportunity for the Bay Area's construction and real estate industry.
Egret had no plans to manage the construction themselves; the entire park's development would be closely collaborated with local developers in the Bay Area.
As a result, with the preliminary plan announced and some cooperation agreements reached, much of the criticism surrounding Westero Company's large land acquisition subsided. Observers could now see the true reasons behind the previous public disputes.
Real estate development is a highly lucrative industry in any country.
Unlike the emerging internet sector, the real estate industry has existed since the inception of cities and is already a red ocean. Due to its high profitability, the interests involved and the competition are exceptionally fierce. Without sufficient capital and connections, no one can easily navigate it.
Simon has always been interested in owning more land and properties but has no intention of overly involving himself in an industry that could conflict with many established interests.
With the announcement of the Westero Technology Park plan, the area north of Highway 101 in Mountain View began to see plans for other commercial districts, residential areas, and office parks. The city government also promised to invest in improving the infrastructure. It's easy to imagine that in the coming years, this previously desolate area on the city's outskirts would quickly become prosperous.
In Hollywood, the three new releases on July 9 performed as expected, with Fox's "Rookie of the Year" achieving the best results, grossing $18.21 million in its first week.
On July 16, only two new films opened in North American theaters: Daenerys and Warner Bros.'s "The Pelican Brief" and MGM's "Tombstone."
As the second film adaptation of John Grisham's novels this summer, "The Firm's" success brought significant attention to "The Pelican Brief." The star-studded cast of Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts ensured its popularity.
Upon release, the film garnered positive reviews and earned $22.19 million in its opening weekend, rejuvenating the box office.
From July 16 to July 22, "The Pelican Brief" grossed $31.63 million in its first week, topping the weekly box office chart.
MGM's "Tombstone," starring Kurt Russell and costing $25 million, performed modestly in comparison.
In its first week, the film, opening in 1,955 theaters, grossed $18.76 million. While falling short of the hit status with a per-theater average of under $10,000, its total domestic box office was expected to be around $50 to $60 million, comparable to Fox's "Rookie of the Year."
Although not a blockbuster, it would still bring considerable profits to MGM.
After all, by late July, the only $100 million club films of 1993 were all associated with Daenerys Entertainment. Other studios considered having several $50 million-plus projects a success, provided their budget wasn't on the scale of "Last Action Hero."
Meanwhile, "Superman," in its seventh week from July 16 to July 22, continued to earn $15.38 million, officially crossing the $300 million mark in cumulative box office, reaching $300.79 million.
With the success of "Sleepless in Seattle," "The Firm," and the recent hit "The Pelican Brief," Daenerys Entertainment had been preparing for a celebration party since early July.
With "Superman" officially breaking $300 million in North American box office, the celebration was set for Saturday, July 24.
Despite it being a weekend, Simon worked until lunch, accompanied Janet for a pregnancy check-up in the afternoon, and returned to the Point Dume estate for dinner. It wasn't until near 9 PM, after coaxing Janet to sleep, that he left for the Daenerys studio.
The celebration party was held at the employee activity center on the second floor of the Daenerys studio.
When Simon arrived, the party, which had started two hours earlier, was still lively.
Following a pre-arranged list of guests to greet, Simon mingled for half an hour before finally getting a brief respite.
Sandra Bullock dragged him to the dance floor for a dance, then they retreated to a corner sofa booth in the party hall, where Simon refused to get up.
Sandra brought him a drink, plopped down beside him, and complained, "Hey, you look so reluctant, it's really hurting my feelings."
Leaning back in the chair, Simon took the champagne and took a sip. "I've been really busy lately, almost drained."
Sandra gave him a disdainful look. "Drained by women?"
Simon nodded. "Yeah, more than ten a day, I could hardly get out of bed."
Sandra rolled her eyes and got serious. "I read the script you gave me."
Not wanting to discuss work now, Simon joked, "Why don't we talk about those ten yesterday instead?"
Sandra glared at him. "Fine, go ahead."
"Well, there was Broadcast, eBay, 58list, iPets..."
Simon paused briefly, then smoothly listed several names.
Sandra, initially captivated by his talk, then realized and rolled her eyes again, asking, "What are those?"
"Venture capital proposals I saw in San Francisco yesterday."
Sandra blinked, realizing, then became interested again, wrapping her arm around Simon's. "I have some money now. The internet is so hot; can you help me pick some projects to invest in?"
Simon shook his head. "Don't. You can't afford to play in venture capital. It's really burning money, and you could lose everything if you're not careful. If you want advice, just buy shares in AOL or Cisco."
"I won't buy. Many newspapers say the stock prices of your companies are bubbles and could crash at any time."
"Well, who do you trust, me or the media?"
"But... IBM's market value is only $29 billion recently, and Boeing is $12 billion. Cisco is already at $37 billion. Don't you think that's exaggerated?"
"IBM lost $5 billion last year, causing its stock price to plummet. Boeing is affected by the global economic downturn. Moreover, stock prices reflect a company's future potential, and IBM and Boeing have long passed their growth phase."
Sandra thought for a moment. "So, you're saying IBM and Boeing are at their lowest points now?"
"Yes."
"Then should I buy the dip?"
"..."
"Look," Sandra continued confidently, "IBM and Boeing are at their lowest. If I buy now, I might make more than double in the next few years. Cisco and AOL are already over $30 billion. I think $50 billion is the ceiling, right? That's what the papers say, and they could crash at any time."
Simon nodded approvingly and called out to Allison nearby. "A, remind me to buy another $100 million in Boeing stock next Monday."
Allison was puzzled. A few days ago, Simon had given her a memo to pass on to Laurence Fink at BlackRock Asset Management, asking to increase their stakes in companies like Boeing. They were approaching the 5% disclosure threshold and were already in talks with Boeing to secure a board seat.
Suddenly buying another $100 million was unexpected.
Although puzzled, Allison did not question it and noted it down, confirming with her boss before walking away.
Sandra was also confused, thinking Simon might be mocking her. Once Allison left, she asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
Simon shrugged. "Half right."
"Okay, I'll just buy a bit of everything then," she said, turning stern. "But if I lose money, you have to compensate me."
"How about in kind?"
"Fine!"
"Never mind, too costly."
"Humph!"
After a bit of playful banter, Sandra returned to the film topic. "About 'Speed,' Stallone also saw it and asked me to inquire."
"Speed" was a project recently approved by MGM, another highly successful film in the original timeline. Originally starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, the script circulated among several major studios before catching Simon's eye.
With Daenerys Entertainment's schedule full for the next year, Simon passed the project to MGM.
Together with "True Lies," these two films would be MGM's main releases next
year.
Simon had no intention of changing the cast, especially given his good relationship with Keanu and Sandra. He laughed and asked, "Are you dissatisfied with Keanu?"
"Of course not, just helping out. Sly's a nice guy."
Simon understood Stallone was testing for potential collaboration. Sandra had acted in Stallone's other new film, "Demolition Man," funded by Warner Bros. with a $57 million budget.
Warner Bros. originally planned to release "Demolition Man" at the end of the year, but due to its mediocre quality and the poor performance of "Cliffhanger," they pushed it to an early October release, almost a semi-abandonment.
Moreover, Simon knew Stallone's other upcoming film, "The Specialist," was also stalled. Unlike "True Lies," with no pre-secured contract, Warner Bros. proposed a significant budget cut.
Clearly, starting with reducing Stallone's salary.
Stallone earned $15 million for "Cliffhanger" and "Demolition Man." Without a major hit in the coming years, this would likely be his peak salary.
In Simon's memory, Stallone was part of Hollywood's most prosperous era around 2000, earning $20 million per film. However, without standout commercial successes, he struggled until "The Expendables," which many studios initially rejected.
For years, Simon has subtly suppressed star salaries.
The rise of special effects also significantly curbed the growth of star salaries.
The $20 million club of the past, at least under Daenerys Entertainment's control, would see no star reaching that level except through profit-sharing.
Unlike Schwarzenegger, with the "Terminator" series as a foundation, Stallone had less luck.
Simon admired Stallone's inspirational journey and wouldn't reject suitable collaboration opportunities but currently had no such projects.
Sandra just briefly mentioned it, considering the significant investments involved. She had no intention of getting too involved.
After chatting for a while, Jonathan Friedman approached, and Sandra tactfully got up, giving Simon a parting glare because Jonathan brought a woman who seemed to match Simon's taste.
"Simon, this is Farrah. You should know her. You bought the 'Charlie's Angels' rights long ago, right?"
"Of course," Simon greeted Jonathan and the woman. "Hello, Ms. Fawcett."
Farrah Fawcett, one of the lead actresses of the 70s "Charlie's Angels" TV show.
WMA dominated the 70s, and most of the "Charlie's Angels" main cast were WMA artists.
Despite being in her forties, Fawcett, one of the 70s' most famous pin-up girls, had resisted time's ravages remarkably well, boasting a figure and face that rivaled younger women with added mature charm.
Her voice was pleasant too, slightly childlike without being grating.
After the greetings, Fawcett confidently sat beside Simon, her silk dress-covered body subtly brushing against him.
After some casual chat, Fawcett revealed her purpose for asking Friedman to introduce her: she wanted to try for the lead role in "True Lies."
Though the project was still under negotiation with many details undecided, it was widely assumed that Simon controlled the film. Even if the collaboration fell through, if Simon requested a lead actress, neither Fox nor Schwarzenegger would refuse.
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