Hollywood's power structure is extremely complex and cannot be simply determined by a person's job title.
Generally, to understand the extent of a person's overt and potential power, one only needs to see which level of Hollywood they report to.
If a studio president reports directly to the parent company's senior management, their power might be comparable to that of a CEO. And directors of Spielberg's calibre, who can communicate directly with bigwigs like Steve Ross, have potential influence that exceeds that of a studio CEO.
Robert Rem's proposal did not surprise Simon.
In Hollywood at the time, Disney CEO Michael Eisner and President Frank Wells maintained this kind of co-equal relationship. Both reported directly to the Disney Board of Directors. Michael Eisner was one level higher than Frank Wells in title, but in reality, he had no power of jurisdiction or appointment over Frank Wells, and the two had their own separate areas of responsibility.
According to information in his memory, Disney's power structure, based on mutual checks and balances, greatly contributed to the company's rapid rise from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.
In the mid-nineties, Frank Wells died unexpectedly in a helicopter accident, and Michael Eisner began to seize absolute power. To maintain his rule over Disney, he purged dissidents indiscriminately. The intense internal struggle caused Disney to gradually decline into mediocrity during his last decade in power, only regaining vitality during the Robert Iger Era.
Simon did not hesitate much before agreeing to Robert Rem's request.
For publicly listed, widely held companies, setting up co-equal executives can easily trigger internal corporate conflict. But for Daenerys Pictures, Simon was not worried about this. He held absolute control over the company; should internal executive conflict arise, he had sufficient authority to immediately expel the destabilizing elements and resolve the issue.
After confirming this matter, the two discussed Robert Rem's compensation.
Daenerys Pictures was developing rapidly, and its anticipated profitability was astonishing. Naturally, Simon could no longer easily promise Robert Rem a scheme involving a percentage of the company's overall net profit, as he had done with Amy initially.
However, Simon was not stingy. For the agreed-upon three-year contract, in addition to the same $250,000 base annual salary as Amy, Simon also agreed to establish an annual bonus of up to $3 million, with the exact amount determined by Robert Rem's performance.
Currently, in Hollywood, even among The Big Seven studios, executives earning $3 million annually are extremely rare. Even after integrating New World Entertainment, Daenerys Pictures would only be considered a second-tier film company, so Robert Rem had no objections to this contract.
Such compensation structures have many precedents in Hollywood; therefore, details such as how to evaluate Robert Rem's operational performance only needed to be negotiated by the lawyers of both parties based on past experience.
Having settled these matters, Robert Rem began to speak frankly with Simon about the operational status and various issues facing New World Entertainment.
New World Entertainment's main issues currently are a lack of cash, and the Hollywood Writers' Strike preventing the launch of TV projects that should have begun preparation. Furthermore, Robert Rem proactively admitted to Simon that New World Entertainment had approximately $20 million in various types of hidden debt.
The $20 million did not exceed Simon's expectations, and the amount was within his tolerance.
Since he was determined to acquire Marvel, Simon did not intend to create further complications over this sum. After all, this was a common issue among Hollywood entertainment companies trying to make their financial statements look better, and it wasn't a case of shareholders or management embezzling funds. As long as New World Entertainment could resume operations, this money could eventually be absorbed directly into the company's abundant cash flow.
The two talked for over an hour, and then Robert Rem bid farewell and left.
Simon saw Robert Rem off, and just as he sat down behind his desk, Amy knocked on his office door.
"Simon, these are the product placement contracts I just finalized with sponsors like Mars and AT&T. Five companies in total, and we will receive a total of $56 million in sponsorship fees. Also, here are the loan proposals provided by several financing institutions, including Wells Fargo Bank and Citibank. I think Citibank's proposal is the best: a 7-year, $250 million loan, with an annual interest rate of 4.6%. Wells Fargo Bank offered an annual rate of 5%, but the loan term is 5 years. Although the Citibank plan means we will pay an extra $20 million in interest, it minimizes our cash flow pressure the most".
Simon glanced at Amy's seemingly nonchalant expression, smiled, and first opened the financing proposals provided by the banks for Daenerys Pictures' acquisition of New World Entertainment.
Although he internally resisted taking on debt, Simon always knew this matter was inevitable.
He quickly reviewed the proposals from Wells Fargo Bank and Citibank. Under Wells Fargo Bank's 5-year loan contract, Daenerys Pictures would pay a total of $60 million in interest, while Citibank's 7-year contract had a total interest amount of $80 million.
The total interest for both proposals exceeded 20% of the principal amount.
It is easy to see why highly leveraged companies like New World Entertainment are so prone to crisis; if their operational status declines, their annual profits might not even cover the loan interest.
In Daenerys Pictures' acquisition of New World Entertainment, General Electric had actually proactively waived a significant amount of debt interest.
After reviewing the documents in his hand for a moment, Simon took the initiative to speak, saying: "I have finalized negotiations with Robert Rem, and he will be staying".
Amy's eyes flickered, and she hummed in acknowledgment, waiting for Simon to continue.
Simon didn't pause for long, continuing: "You know, Amy, we already made an agreement during that dinner at Iger's house, so he will also be joining Daenerys Pictures soon. My plan is for your position to change to Company CEO, primarily responsible for the company's daily administrative management and film production business. Robert Rem and Robert Iger will both serve as Presidents; Rem will handle film distribution, and Iger will manage the television business".
Amy nodded, finally feeling a sense of relief.
Recently, Amy had increasingly felt that the experiences of the past year and more were incredible. A small company, founded less than two years ago, had rapidly grown into a top-tier second-line film company in her hands, something she could never have imagined before.
Putting everything else aside, the compensation contract she had originally requested from Simon was now worth a staggering amount.
With a 5% share of the company's net profit, based on Daenerys Pictures' performance this year, her personal income could easily exceed the tens of millions of dollars. If the equivalent value in deferred stock options stipulated in the contract was added, her annual earnings would surpass $20 million. No executive in all of Hollywood earned such a terrifying annual income.
Often, Amy herself doubted whether she was truly worth that much.
This doubt had recently transformed into worry.
Considering she would receive $20 million this year, next year, based solely on the already successful 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' project, Daenerys Pictures' operating performance would not be poor. Furthermore, income from post-production videocassette and television broadcast rights for projects like 'When Harry Met Sally' this year would also begin to generate substantial revenue. At that point, her income might even be higher.
Simon definitely couldn't renege on this money this year.
However, according to the original contract, if Simon no longer wished to pay her massive compensation, he only needed to pay a $1 million breach of contract fee to dismiss her.
Thinking about it occasionally, Amy felt that if she were in his position, she would very likely do the same.
After all, such a terrifying compensation package was enough for Simon to hire corporate managers far superior to her. Daenerys Pictures' current merger with New World Entertainment further exacerbated Amy's worries, as she realized that New World Entertainment's current CEO, Robert Rem, far surpassed her in terms of qualifications across the board.
Ever since Simon finalized the deal with Jack Welch and others, Amy had been worried that Simon might replace her with Robert Rem.
Across the desk, Simon saw Amy nod and added: "Right, Robert also proposed a condition to me: although his position is below yours, he wishes to report directly to me personally, and I agreed. Furthermore, Iger will likely do the same after he joins. It will be difficult for your qualifications to suppress those two, and you should be aware of this, so I hope you can accept this arrangement and cooperate with both of them".
Amy was somewhat surprised, but quickly nodded again.
After a moment of silence, she proactively suggested: "Simon, since we are restructuring positions, I think I can sign a new compensation contract".
Simon turned a page of the documents in his hand, looked up at Amy, and said with a smile, "Are you dissatisfied with the current compensation plan?"
Amy sensed the playful tone mixed with Simon's relaxed demeanour, wanted to roll her eyes at her young boss, but held back, saying: "What I mean is, my current compensation is too generous. I can take less. Around 2% would be fine".
"There is no need for that", Simon shook his head and said. "Amy, you took a huge risk resigning from your position as Vice President of Fox Pictures to work for a young punk like me. Moreover, for the past year and more, you have worked almost seven days a week and haven't taken a single vacation yet. I am very satisfied with this; I have always believed diligence is more important than talent.
If you weren't managing this company, Daenerys Pictures could never have reached its current level with just me alone. Therefore, you absolutely deserve this compensation. Of course, after the contract expires, Daenerys Pictures will certainly be even larger and stronger, and if you plan to stay then, I might not offer you such a high percentage clause again".
After persuading Amy to let go of her concerns, the two began discussing the two documents in front of Simon.
In the following days, Daenerys Pictures' audit of New World Entertainment continued, and another week of the North American summer box office season passed unnoticed.
The most attention-grabbing event in Hollywood during the week of July 8th to July 14th was undoubtedly the successful crossing of the $100 million mark by 'Pulp Fiction'.
In its sixth week of release, 'Pulp Fiction' earned another $9.87 million, bringing its cumulative box office to $105.66 million, successfully becoming the second film produced by Daenerys Pictures in 1988 to surpass $100 million. Moreover, based on the film's box office trend, 'Pulp Fiction's box office potential was certainly more than $100 million, and it would continue to go further.
As 'Pulp Fiction' crossed $100 million, many people immediately turned their attention to 'Basic Instinct', which was set to release on July 15th.
During this period, various topics about 'Basic Instinct' in the media had been non-stop.
In the final week leading up to the release, gossip newspapers even exposed news that the male lead, Michael Douglas, refused to attend 'Basic Instinct' promotional events due to an issue with a poster, instantly sparking renewed media discussion.
Fox Pictures recently launched a multi-story-high poster for 'Basic Instinct' in the bustling areas of major central cities across North America.
The massive poster even appeared in Times Square in New York.
However, in this poster, Michael Douglas, the newly crowned Film Emperor and absolute male lead of 'Basic Instinct', was completely absent. The entire poster featured only the female lead, Linda Fiorentino, sitting on a sofa with her legs crossed, dressed sexily like a queen, holding a cigarette, chin slightly raised, with a proud and dangerous expression.
Anyone who has seen the original 'Basic Instinct' will definitely remember the scene where Sharon Stone sits on the sofa with her legs crossed during the interrogation, revealing her crotch. Many 'crazy fans' would pause the video frame by frame to watch, though, in reality, nothing could actually be seen. But that sequence was talked about enthusiastically by too many people for years.
This scene would still appear in the new version of 'Basic Instinct', and Brian De Palma's cinematography was no less impressive than Paul Verhoeven's. Linda Fiorentino's inherently proud and rebellious personality was fully evident in the film. Therefore, Simon specially designed a poster for this.
Due to the extremely high buzz surrounding 'Basic Instinct', after continuous efforts during this period, Fox Pictures ultimately expanded the opening scale again. When 'Basic Instinct' premiered on July 15th, the final screen count reached 1,776.
As expected, the official release of 'Basic Instinct' unsurprisingly triggered even more intense media controversy.
Moreover, although Simon's previous works also caused various discussions, upon closer inspection, whether it was 'Run Lola Run' or 'Pulp Fiction', which Simon personally directed, or 'The Butterfly Effect' and 'Final Destination', which he handed over to others, the screenplays for those films were outstanding.
This time, however, many people viewed 'Basic Instinct' as nothing more than a blatant erotic film. The movie, which contained nothing but long sequences of sex scenes, was quickly rated as Simon Westeros's worst work within just a few days, even drawing condemnation from many of Simon's personal fans.