It was crowded and busy, with an undeniable sense of excitement.
This was Julia Roberts' first impression of the office building of the Daenerys Entertainment branch in Burbank.
It was Saturday, and most people in the company seemed to have no awareness that they should be enjoying the weekend. However, thinking about the media reviews of 'Steel Magnolias' today, Julia herself couldn't help but feel a faint excitement.
In addition to the expected praise for the film as a whole, director Mark Rydell, and lead actress Jessica Lange, many reviews specifically mentioned her role as Shelby.
After analysing the reviews this morning and communicating with Daenerys Entertainment, Marvin Josephson, the president of ICM who had personally taken over her agency work, said that this time there was even a good chance of securing her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Julia was only 21 years old this year, so she didn't expect to win an award, but just a nomination would be enough to give her an advantage over most actresses her age.
This time, she was attending a publicity and distribution meeting. Marvin Josephson hadn't come along, only assigning another agent to accompany her. The two were led by a staff member to a reception room, and Julia was surprised to find that Daryl Hannah, another lead actress from 'Steel Magnolias', and her agent had already arrived.
They were both artists under ICM, but in the past, Julia could only look up to Daryl Hannah.
Daryl Hannah was 28 years old this year, having debuted in the 1970s. She gained attention for her replicant role in Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner', and in recent years, she had participated in hit films like 'Splash,' 'Wall Street,' and 'Legal Eagles,' making her one of the hottest actresses of the 1980s.
However, thinking about her five-picture deal with Daenerys Entertainment, Julia immediately regained her confidence.
She just wondered if she would see Simon Westeros today.
Unfortunately, the young man coveted by countless Hollywood actresses already had a girlfriend. Moreover, rumours in the industry suggested he seemed to prefer mature women, and 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' was said to be influenced by this preference.
That's right, that's right.
It was understandable that a young man who lacked affection since childhood would prefer gentle and considerate mature women. But who said young girls couldn't be gentle and considerate?
With that thought, Julia greeted Daryl Hannah. Seeing that the other party wasn't overly enthusiastic, she didn't deliberately make things awkward. Instead, their accompanying agents occasionally chatted to avoid silence.
After waiting for more than ten minutes, the other main creators of 'Steel Magnolias' arrived one after another. However, even after the agreed-upon time of 2 PM, Daenerys Entertainment showed no signs of starting the meeting.
Just as Mark Rydell, the director of 'Steel Magnolias,' stood up to inquire about the situation, Amy Pascal, the CEO of Daenerys Entertainment, walked in. She greeted everyone with an apologetic tone and explained that some unexpected issues had arisen, requiring everyone to wait a moment.
Whether it was Mark Rydell or stars like Jessica Lange, Dolly Parton, and Daryl Hannah, they were usually the ones being waited for. However, with Amy personally apologizing and Daenerys Entertainment currently at its peak, all the big names were very accommodating. Otherwise, Daenerys Entertainment wouldn't have been able to gather these people on a Saturday.
Nevertheless, everyone was curious about what had suddenly happened to cause the meeting to be temporarily delayed.
After explaining to everyone, Amy only stayed for a short while before rushing off again, leaving only Jennifer and Vanessa to entertain the guests. Everyone knew that the two women were Simon's and Amy's personal assistants, which already showed Daenerys Entertainment's sincerity, so there were no major complaints.
At the same time, in a large conference room upstairs.
Almost all of Daenerys Entertainment's senior executives were present, and even Robert Iger from the East Coast had flown in from New York this morning.
At this moment, Robert Rehme and Robert Iger, the two presidents of Daenerys Entertainment overseeing distribution and television business, Danny Morris, president of New World Pictures, Ira Deutchman, president of Highgate Pictures, Mark Sylvest, president of Daenerys Effects, James Goldton, president of Marvel Entertainment, Nancy Brill, president of the consumer products division, and Paul Schmidt, the company's chief financial officer, along with other core executives, were all seated around the large conference table.
Only Simon stood at the head of the table, his expression serious.
Although he wasn't angry, the unique temperament accumulated from two lifetimes, along with the immense wealth and reputation he possessed, made these executives, who were considered industry elites, not dare to take him lightly.
The cause of the matter was the publicity and distribution plan for 'Steel Magnolias'.
At the end of the year, 'Scream', 'Steel Magnolias', 'Dead Poets Society', and 'Rain Man' all had different target audiences. To efficiently and accurately complete the publicity and distribution of these films, they were each assigned to four different teams within the company.
According to the established brand strategy, 'Scream' was assigned to New World Distribution, using the New World Pictures brand at the beginning of the film. 'Steel Magnolias', 'Dead Poets Society', and 'Rain Man' belonged to Daenerys Distribution, using the Daenerys Pictures brand at the beginning of the film.
Because 'Scream' was Daenerys Entertainment's first truly independent commercial film, the company's emphasis on this project was self-evident.
Robert Rehme had assigned all of the distribution department's elite to the 'Scream' publicity and distribution team, and also gathered a large amount of resources that the company could mobilize.
After all, a nationwide roadshow definitely required the support of a large number of media connections. Any other film company that rushed into this might not even find media willing to cooperate with publicity upon arriving in a city.
The opening weekend box office of $20.71 million for 'Scream' was a great success, and the team responsible for the publicity and distribution of this project definitely deserved credit.
When it came to 'Steel Magnolias', problems immediately arose.
Since the four films were divided into four teams, a sense of competition would naturally arise between them.
Moreover, both Robert Rehme, as the head, and the employees of the distribution department would naturally express their preferences based on the box office potential of the films. 'Scream' had the highest box office potential, so everyone wanted to join that team, and Robert Rehme would allocate more resources to it. Before the distribution rights for 'Rain Man' reverted, 'Steel Magnolias' was undoubtedly the least favoured among the other three films. After some adjustments, it naturally ended up with a weaker distribution team.
During the initial publicity and distribution phase, because it only involved advertising across various channels, Simon did not notice this problem.
However, 'Steel Magnolias' was also going to have a roadshow, and when Simon saw the vastly different roadshow plans for 'Steel Magnolias' and 'Scream,' he realized the seriousness of the situation.
This wasn't because the 'Steel Magnolias' plan was of poor quality. The company was in a period of rapid growth, and everyone was doing their best. Even if the 'Steel Magnolias' team couldn't compare to the 'Scream' team, they had put in enough effort, so the gap wouldn't be too large.
The key was the difference.
The two plans could be said to be completely different in style.
This meant that the two teams for 'Scream' and 'Steel Magnolias' had not communicated at all. Many obvious advantages in the 'Scream' plan were not adopted by 'Steel Magnolias.' Similarly, some details in the 'Scream' plan that had already proven unfeasible still existed in 'Steel Magnolias' plan.
If it were just about the commercial success or failure of two films, Simon wouldn't care, but he understood that if this situation continued, it would quickly lead to internal division within the company and further cause infighting.
The most significant characteristic of a large company's illness is internal struggle, where departments within the company hinder each other.
Daenerys Entertainment was far from developing into a deeply rooted large enterprise, but Simon did not dare to take this issue lightly. Moreover, Simon even felt somewhat fortunate to have discovered this problem in time.
In a few more years, as Daenerys Entertainment grew and its corporate style and culture were completely set, it would be impossible to reverse these problems without significant damage.
Amy quickly returned after a brief absence, and Simon, who had been silent, continued, "Everyone needs to understand one thing: Daenerys Entertainment is a whole. Production, distribution, derivative development, and other support departments, no single link is dispensable. I don't expect all of you to get along harmoniously; disagreements arise even between two people, let alone Daenerys Entertainment, which now has over 800 employees.
But I demand that you must collaborate. Even if you secretly want to strangle each other, in your work, you must cooperate. If you cannot do this, then you can only choose to leave voluntarily, or I will fire you. There will be competition within Daenerys Entertainment, there's no doubt about that. But cooperation is more important than competition, and this will be directly reflected in all of your compensation packages moving forward".
At this point, Simon picked up the two roadshow plans for 'Steel Magnolias' and 'Scream,' showed them to everyone, and said, "Just like these two plans, the distribution of 'Steel Magnolias' could have absorbed the experiential advantages of 'Scream' and avoided some past mistakes, but this didn't happen. This clearly means there was a lack of communication between the two teams. In fact, the 'Scream' team was waiting to see the 'Steel Magnolias' team fail. 'How can you avoid the mistakes I've made? How can I let you know the experience I've accumulated?' This kind of thinking is very narrow-minded, and I don't want to see similar situations again. Moreover, Bob, coordinating communication between the two teams should have been your job, so this situation is your dereliction of duty".
Robert Rehme felt Simon's sharp gaze on him and didn't dare to refute, saying, "I'm very sorry, Simon".
"I don't want to hear apologies", Simon shook his head and said, "As punishment, your bonus for this year will be deducted by 10%".
According to the compensation agreement Simon and Rehme had initially settled on, in addition to his basic annual salary, he could also receive a bonus of up to $3 million based on his work performance. Rehme had started his position in August, and given the development momentum of Daenerys Entertainment, he could easily receive the full $3 million bonus by August of next year.
Now, Simon had effectively deducted $300,000 in one go.
Robert Rehme could only smile wryly. Everyone could feel Simon's unusual seriousness today. If he were to argue at this point, he felt Simon would deduct another 10%. Could he really just leave over this? There were countless people in Hollywood coveting executive positions at Daenerys Entertainment right now. If he left, someone else would immediately fill his spot, and their abilities wouldn't be any worse than his.
Simon didn't hear Rehme's objection to his decision, so he moved his gaze and continued, looking at everyone, "Due to the nature of the film industry, dividing employees into different teams to specifically handle various projects will be more efficient. However, I don't want to see various fragmented cliques appear within the company. Ensuring the unity and synergy of the teams is your job. While you assign employees to different projects, you must also ensure their cooperation with other teams.
Remember, this cooperation is not voluntary, but mandatory. Everyone must provide assistance to others based on their own duties. Only in this way can they receive higher compensation and achieve higher positions. The company's previous HR work was personally handled by Amy and me. Moving forward, I will establish a separate HR department as soon as possible to handle this aspect of the work. That's all I have to say. You can discuss it among yourselves and then inform everyone in the company as soon as possible".
After Simon finished speaking, he picked up the two plans, gestured them towards Robert Rehme, and turned to leave the conference room.
Robert Rehme quickly stood up and followed him out.
Due to limited office space, Simon didn't have a dedicated office in Burbank. Simon stood directly in the hallway, handed the two plans to Rehme, and said, "I'm giving you one day. Have the 'Scream' and 'Steel Magnolias' teams work together to come up with a new plan. Oh, and the 'Dead Poets Society' and 'Rain Man' teams need to be involved too. Go execute it now. Tell them that if they can't complete it, everyone's salary will be reduced by one level next month, and their year-end bonus will be halved".
According to a recently decided compensation plan, in December, all company employees would receive a bonus ranging from a minimum of two times to a maximum of ten times their monthly salary, based on factors such as length of service and work performance. Some outstanding employees would also receive an additional year-end bonus.
It was precisely because this news had been announced in advance that the entire company had been highly motivated these days, with few people choosing to rest even though it was the weekend.
The entire Daenerys Entertainment Group, including Daenerys Pictures, New World Pictures, Highgate Pictures, Daenerys Distribution, New World Distribution, Daenerys Effects, Pixar Animation, Marvel Entertainment, and all other departments and subsidiaries, now had over 800 employees in total.
Because the core management had a separate compensation system, other employees of Daenerys Entertainment, including some middle and lower-level managers, had an average monthly salary of approximately $3,500. In a normal month, calculating for 800 people, Daenerys Entertainment's expenditure in this area was $2.8 million per month.
Even if all were calculated at 10 times their monthly salary, Daenerys Entertainment would only need to pay $28 million.
Such an amount would definitely be a burden for other film companies of similar size, such as Orion Pictures, which certainly couldn't afford to pay that much to reward employees. But for Daenerys Entertainment, it was nothing at all.
Simon could actually be more generous, but he also understood the principle of gradual progress. Daenerys Entertainment's integration had been less than a year, and most employees had only been with the company for a few months. Giving too much now would make it difficult to satisfy employees' appetites in the future.