After a false alarm, the operations of Daenerys Entertainment quickly returned to normal.
However, after this incident, Amy and other heads of the Westeros system also realized how fragile Simon's business empire was in some aspects.
When various rumours suddenly came from Melbourne, Amy even heard that the Los Angeles County government once planned to set up a special working group to take over Daenerys Entertainment.
Legally, Simon was all alone; he had no legal heirs.
Janette was undoubtedly the closest person to Simon, but legally, the two had no relationship.
Moreover, during this incident, no one thought that a young man in his early twenties like Simon would think of making a will or anything similar.
While in Melbourne, after confirming that their boss was safe and sound, Amy and James together suggested that Simon re-establish his will and appoint asset agents for certain circumstances.
They had already learned that Simon had left a will with George Norman, but with billions of dollars in assets involved, it was impossible to be too careful.
The Hughes massive estate lawsuit is still ongoing, even more than a decade later.
A lot of information confirmed that Hughes had left a will back then, but due to the lack of clear legal heirs, driven by huge interests, all genuine and fake will documents were declared invalid.
Hughes's massive estate became a feast for many to scramble for.
Simon naturally did not want to end up like Hughes, so he followed Amy's and James's advice and re-drafted relevant wills and agency documents with multiple safeguards.
Entering March, following 'Rain Man', Daenerys Entertainment's other two films from the end of last year, 'Steel Magnolias' and 'Dead Poets Society', also successively grossed over $100 million at the North American box office.
Thus, a total of 11 films joined the North American box office $100 million club in 1988, with 7 of them produced by Daenerys Entertainment.
The other four were Disney's 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit', Paramount's 'Coming to America', Fox's 'Big', and Paramount's 'Crocodile Dundee II'.
The two films that also sold well at the box office at the end of 1988, 'The Naked Gun' and 'Twins', ultimately failed to reach the $100 million threshold under the onslaught of several blockbuster films from Daenerys Entertainment.
Both films are still in theatres, but according to current box office data, 'The Naked Gun' is expected to only gross around $73 million in North America, and 'Twins' is estimated to have a total domestic box office of only about $95 million.
Among Daenerys Entertainment's seven films that grossed over $100 million in North America, six have already entered the top ten of the 1988 box office chart, with only 'Dead Poets Society' still chasing 'Crocodile Dundee II' for the tenth spot.
However, although 'Dead Poets Society' cannot be considered a big awards season favourite like 'Rain Man', its recent popularity is also quite high, making it not difficult to catch up with 'Crocodile Dundee II', which was released last summer and has already left theatres.
On another note, 'The Bodyguard' and 'The Sixth Sense' both successfully wrapped up filming recently, and John Hughes's 'Uncle Buck' is more than halfway through production.
Daenerys Entertainment has officially announced the release dates for the three films: June 2nd, June 30th, and August 11th, and some preliminary promotional work for all three films has already begun.
Previously, on February 24th, following 'Blue Steel' Highgate Film, a label under Daenerys Entertainment, released its second film, 'Metropolitan'.
This bourgeois art film directed by Whit Stillman did not win any awards at the Sundance Film Festival in January but received very good reviews.
'Metropolitan' had a production cost of $3 million, far exceeding Whit Stillman's initial budget of several hundred thousand dollars, which he planned to raise by enlisting the help of his friends and family.
Thanks to the inclusion of some fairly well-known actors and the film's good reputation, 'Metropolitan' opened on 127 screens and grossed $1.39 million in its opening weekend, achieving a hot-selling level of over $10,000 per screen.
Ira Deutchman invested $2 million in marketing and distribution for this film.
With $1.39 million in its first week, and with an appropriate increase in screening scale, it is expected that the total North American box office will reach around $8 million to $10 million through a long-term release.
This is enough for Daenerys Entertainment to recoup all its costs from the film's North American box office alone.
Although 'Metropolitan's projected total North American box office may not even match the opening weekend figures of some of Daenerys Entertainment's blockbusters, this is the positioning of Highgate Film.
Simon is already very satisfied with Ira Deutchman's operation this time.
This year's Easter is on March 26th, earlier than in previous years.
After 'Metropolitan', Highgate Films other film, 'Some Girls', will be released on March 17th, and New World Pictures' 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II' is also scheduled for release on March 24th during the Easter holiday.
Overseas.
Because it was building overseas distribution channels from scratch, Robert Rehme's work progress was relatively slow.
However, with the hot-selling film rights to 'Scream', 'Steel Magnolias', 'Dead Poets Society', and 'Rain Man' leading the way, everything went smoothly.
It is expected that by the first half of this year, Daenerys Entertainment will be able to achieve revenue sharing distribution for the company's four hot-selling films from the end of last year in major overseas box office countries.
Moreover, once this channel expansion is completed, Daenerys Entertainment's future overseas film distribution will be much faster.
Finally, adding a large number of projects in various stages of preparation, such as 'Pretty Woman', 'Ghost', 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', 'Driving Miss Daisy' and other projects, Daenerys Entertainment's film business can be said to have truly entered a sustainable and virtuous development state.
Los Angeles.
Sophia Fessey arrived here yesterday after leaving Melbourne.
Because the fashion week in the second half of the year is crucial for Gucci's revival, although she received Simon's funding and promises, she still flew to Los Angeles herself, intending to communicate with Amy face-to-face.
Moreover, Gucci also has a boutique on Beverly Drive, and Sophia also plans to conduct some financial audits and personnel adjustments for the boutique here.
These tasks also require Daenerys Entertainment's assistance, as she cannot find a suitable accounting team in a short time, and the same applies to the boutiques in New York.
After signing the equity transfer agreement, Sophia unhesitatingly appointed herself as the president of Gucci.
Because Melisandre Company had already gained absolute control, Gucci no longer had a board of directors, and the core members of the original Gucci family only received some advisory titles.
Today is Saturday.
Sophia spent two days at the boutique on Beverly Drive and then arrived in Malibu early in the evening.
There was a public relations party organized by Daenerys Entertainment here.
Due to Daenerys Entertainment's continuous public relations offensive for the Oscars at the end of the month, the mansion in Palisades had become a target closely watched by many gossip tabloids.
The company could only change locations to host various parties.
Today's party was held at a mansion Amy had just bought in Malibu, located in Paradise Cove, not far from Point Dume.
After the '87 stock market crash, housing prices across North America continued to fall, and Malibu was no exception.
The booming real estate development in Malibu in the early 1980s had almost stalled in the past two years, and housing prices were at their lowest point in years.
However, Amy keenly realized that with the construction of Daenerys Entertainment Studios and Point Dume Estate, Malibu would surely become a gathering place for many Hollywood celebrities and superstars.
Now was the perfect time to buy real estate in Malibu.
Although she wouldn't receive her bonus from last year until late March, Amy had already started looking for a good beachfront mansion in Malibu early on.
As dusk approached and most of the guests had arrived, Amy, who was greeting guests with her restaurant owner boyfriend, finally had some free time.
After officially announcing the start of the party, Amy went to the adjacent living room alone.
As Simon had inadvertently predicted, Sophia Fessey and Nancy Brill indeed hit it off immediately.
Since both had arrived early, the two women had been chatting for over an hour without realizing it.
Amy sat down on the sofa next to Sophia and Nancy, holding a glass of red wine, and asked, "What are you two talking about?"
Nancy said, "Sophie wants the young boss to help shoot Gucci's commercials, and I don't think that's a good idea. While I don't doubt that he definitely has enough ability to shoot a stunning set of commercials, such a gimmick doesn't promote the brand as much as imagined".
Amy heard this and looked at Sophia with some confusion; Nancy's thoughts sometimes made it hard to keep up.
Sophia smiled and explained, "Regarding Gucci's promotion, I hope Simon can personally shoot a set of commercials for Gucci, but Nancy proposed another suggestion, which is to shoot a fashion documentary about the Gucci brand using the preparation for Fashion Week in the second half of the year as the theme".
"A fashion documentary, that's a very novel idea. If you plan to do that, I can help on my end".
Sophia said, "I can't do this without Daenerys Entertainment's help".
Amy realized that Sophia was not joking and became serious.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "If you really want to do it, it can be placed under Highgate Film, which Ira is in charge of, and operated as an art film. However, Sophie, I remember that luxury brands are supposed to remain as discreet and low-key as possible, aren't they? Wouldn't this be a bit too ostentatious?"
Sophia hadn't replied yet when Nancy shook her head and said, "Most luxury brands that were too low-key have probably disappeared. I've privately studied Bernard Arnault's operation of Dior. When Bernard Arnault initially bought Boussac Group, Dior's parent company, that company was already on the verge of bankruptcy, and Dior was almost unable to sustain itself.
Bernard Arnault sold most of Boussac Group's assets and focused on operating Dior, and it only took him a few years to revitalize the brand. Arnault's main operating method was to maximize the exposure of the Dior brand through large-scale advertising campaigns and various eye-catching public relations activities. In this regard, we actually have an advantage".
Amy nodded and looked at Sophia again, saying, "In that case, you can talk to Ira later".
Sophia was already conceiving how to produce this documentary.
She responded and then asked Amy, "What about you, Amy, what have you been busy with lately?"
Amy smiled and said, "So many things! I feel like I'm about to take flight".
Nancy suddenly said faintly from the side, "I can help you share some of the burden".
Amy raised her hand and poked Nancy in the waist, laughing, "Don't worry, I will never give you the chance to replace me".
The rift between the two had long been resolved, and with Simon completely becoming a hands-off boss recently, many important decisions required Amy to make them personally.
Under the sudden increase in pressure, she found it difficult to harbour those small thoughts she used to have.
If necessary, Amy now indeed would not mind letting Nancy help her share some of the work.
However, Nancy's workload was also very heavy.
Daenerys Entertainment's consumer products division, Blizzard Studios, and the recently established Daenerys Analytics Company (DAC) all required a lot of her time.
Coupled with the assertive attitude she habitually displayed in Blockbuster's operations, she simply didn't have any extra energy to help herself.
Nancy pushed Amy's hand away and said, "Speaking of which, why did the young boss faint last time? I don't think it was due to overwork; I always feel there's something strange about it".
"The doctor didn't find any problems. However, you also know about his experience three years ago, so it's hard to explain such things", Amy was also a bit puzzled.
She then looked at Sophia and asked, "Sophie, you just came back from Melbourne, what do you think happened?"
"I have no idea either".
Sophia shook her head nonchalantly, but she couldn't help but recall the time she was alone with Simon in the cabin on Tasmania.
Although they hadn't spent much time together, she could clearly feel that Simon had undergone some noticeable changes after the last fainting incident.
However, Sophia couldn't specifically describe what this change was.
Perhaps, it was also a bit awkward to explain too clearly.
The three women chatted for a while, then got up again to socialize with the guests at the party.
Sophia, introduced by Nancy, also found Ira Deutchman, who was chatting animatedly with guests in the crowd, and discussed the production of the Gucci documentary.
Ira Deutchman's main energy during this period was focused on the public relations of several films like 'Rain Man'.
However, upon hearing the introduction from the two women, he quickly showed strong interest.
There hadn't been any very successful fashion documentaries in the industry yet.
Most so-called documentaries tended to be more like interview programs, and their broadcasting platforms were limited to the small screen of television.
However, this could also be said to be an opportunity.
Moreover, the Gucci brand and the Gucci family have been full of newsworthy topics these years.
If operated properly, this documentary could even be brought to the big screen.
On the other hand, such a documentary does not require a very high production cost.
Based on past experience, it would probably only cost three to five million dollars to complete.
Since it is for the promotional needs of the Gucci brand, Gucci would certainly need to share a portion of the funds, which would be equivalent to sponsorship fees, further reducing the budget.
Ira Deutchman has $30 million in discretionary budget funds.
Apart from the distribution work for 'Metropolitan', 'Some Girls', and 'Heathers', Highgate Film currently only has confirmed production plans for 'My Left Foot' and 'Driving Miss Daisy'.
The combined cost of these two films is less than $10 million, so Deutchman still has ample funds to develop other projects.
After a brief discussion, they quickly finalized the preliminary development plan for the Gucci documentary.
After the party, Ira Deutchman also arranged to meet with Sophia again tomorrow to discuss the matter in detail, and the energetic Nancy Brill also enthusiastically joined in.