In the western suburbs of Melbourne, the abandoned factory that Daenerys initially purchased has, over the past few years, been transformed into a 50-hectare comprehensive film base. Its scale is comparable to the Daenerys Studios in Malibu, Los Angeles, though it is much less densely built. This is primarily because land is abundant in Australia.
The Melbourne studio contains nine large soundstages, with only three being conventional ones. The other six are virtual stages dedicated to special effects filming. Additionally, it houses post-production centers, special effects studios, and other necessary facilities.
Thanks to persistent lobbying efforts by the Westeros system and other stakeholders, the Australian government and the individual states have not only maintained their film incentive policies despite the increasing number of Hollywood productions being shot there but have also continued to increase their support.
With numerous film projects underway in Australia, this massive modern film base in the Southern Hemisphere has been operating at full capacity.
Over $300 million has been invested into the Melbourne studio, which was once seen as a potential burden for Daenerys Entertainment, especially since the company already had studios in Malibu and Burbank. However, not only has this facility avoided losses, but it also generates substantial revenue for Daenerys Entertainment through equipment rentals and other film-related orders, in addition to meeting its own production needs.
After wrapping up his trip to Africa and completing the "Damocles Sword" project that had been quietly in progress, Simon's focus shifted back to the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice project, which was nearing the end of production in late April.
As a major special effects-heavy blockbuster, Batman v Superman was meticulously planned to keep the shooting schedule to just three months, starting in late January and finishing by the end of April. However, the post-production process would take six months, with final completion expected by October.
Having been away from North America for two weeks, Simon couldn't afford to stay abroad much longer. To expedite the work in Melbourne, starting on April 17, the day after Easter, he spent more than 10 hours a day at the Melbourne studio.
He reviewed all the footage shot over the past few months, finalized the editing plans, participated in the editing process, and discussed post-production special effects with the effects team.
The work was detailed and demanding.
People unfamiliar with the industry often think of film directors as designers, but in reality, the job is more akin to that of an engineer, often requiring hands-on involvement in many tasks. After all, making a film, especially a major one, is a vast and complex endeavor.
Since Batman Begins, Simon had stopped personally directing the series, but as the lead architect of the entire DC cinematic universe, his workload had not lessened. While Roland Emmerich could focus solely on Batman v Superman, Simon had to manage this project while also overseeing the planning for related projects over the next couple of years. It wasn't something that could be handled with just a few words.
Between April 17 and April 21, Simon worked more than 10 hours daily, finally completing his follow-up work on Batman v Superman.
At the same time, Simon also took the opportunity to review Westeros' private military force arrangements, primarily in Africa.
Simon had positioned Africa as a de facto training ground for the Westeros system. Since the Rwandan genocide broke out the previous year, Simon had withdrawn the Westeros mercenaries stationed in Rwanda, only to redeploy them across various African countries where the system had interests. These forces were restructured into smaller security teams or military advisors to maintain a discreet yet active presence in the region.
Any military force that stays out of conflict for too long will see its combat readiness decline.
The Westeros system already had numerous lucrative core industries. Simon's various business ventures in Africa were primarily to train and maintain a private army, with profitability being a secondary concern. This made Africa an ideal location since the continent had never truly experienced sustained peace, and likely wouldn't for decades to come.
The African warlords were, in fact, quite smart.
While they distrusted UN peacekeepers or government-affiliated mercenaries, such as South Africa's Executive Outcomes (EO), they were less wary of Simon's forces. These warlords knew that modern Western militaries could easily dismantle their regimes.
Simon's decision to decisively pull his mercenaries out of Rwanda last year reassured many African nations, including the Rwandan government itself, easing their concerns about the Westeros system's presence.
In addition, the Westeros system had spent the past year lobbying heavily in Africa, with one clear message: Simon Westeros was just a businessman with no interest in meddling with political regimes. His sole purpose in Africa was to conduct business. If you provided sufficient benefits, the Westeros system could give you anything you wanted—be it weapons, development opportunities, or even Western recognition.
It was all about mutual benefit.
The warlords knew how to respond to Simon's proposition.
Aside from Rwanda, Angola on Africa's west coast soon became another success story of cooperation with the Westeros system.
A former Portuguese colony, Angola had been embroiled in decades of civil war during the Cold War due to superpower rivalry. Ironically, the current ruling faction had once been supported by the Soviet Union and had since gained UN recognition, while the U.S.-backed opposition had gradually faded away. Even the 1992 peace agreement had fallen apart following a disputed election, plunging the country back into civil war.
When the Westeros system approached Angola, the current president, José Eduardo dos Santos, responded positively. He knew that to eliminate the opposition, he needed to block any potential U.S. support.
The two sides quickly found common ground.
Over the past year, the Westeros system provided Angola with large quantities of cheap arms from Ukraine and facilitated a diplomatic visit for dos Santos to the U.S. Following the Black Hawk Down incident, Washington had little interest in African affairs. However, since the Angolans came knocking, the U.S. accepted the overtures, and the visit signaled that the Angolan opposition had been abandoned by the Americans.
In return, the Westeros system gained access to various resource development rights in Angola.
Moreover, Simon didn't simply take these industries for free. In exchange for weapons or cash, he quietly offered a portion of the shares to Angolan government officials, further strengthening ties between the two sides. Even Westeros-owned Verizon Telecom easily entered the Angolan market, establishing a local mobile network around the capital, Luanda. Though the venture was small for now, it was a significant step forward for such a backward, isolated region.
The most important achievement, however, was the discreet deployment of over 300 Westeros mercenaries in Angola under the guise of military advisors and corporate security personnel.
The small numbers and dispersed arrangement did not raise any concerns with the Angolan authorities.
In fact, during Simon's recent visit to Angola, President dos Santos even requested an additional 200 mercenaries to train government troops, in addition to the 100 advisors already in place. Payment would be made in resources, as the war-torn nation had little money to offer.
Adding in a separate arms deal, the two transactions secured Westeros the ownership of a 150,000-acre (approximately 600 square kilometers) coffee plantation in southern Angola.
Technically, it was more of a planting area due to its vast size.
As long as taxes were paid as required, this massive tract of land essentially became Simon's private domain.
Unlike Simon's 2-million-acre holdings in Tasmania, this coffee estate had significant economic potential due to the high global demand for coffee.
Simon's landowner ambitions had now extended into Africa.
Of course, he still couldn't compare to the super-landed gentry in Australia, who controlled tens of millions of acres. But land wasn't the primary focus here.
The coffee plantation was one of several options provided by the Angolan government, and Simon had specifically chosen it.
This was because the opposition forces in Angola were concentrated in the south, and the coffee plantation had only recently been wrested from them after a series of bloody battles. The local population had either been killed or fled, leaving vast swathes of prime land effectively ownerless. Despite the occasional harassment by opposition guerrillas, the Westeros system would need to invest significant manpower and resources to restore production.
But this was exactly what Simon wanted.
Being near opposition-controlled areas and regularly facing armed threats meant heavy security was necessary, providing a perfect cover to send more personnel to the area.
Moreover, managing such a large coffee plantation would require a substantial local workforce. Once the situation stabilized, it would become a hub of activity, making it easier for the Westeros system to extend its influence. By cultivating a sense of belonging among the locals, Simon could easily achieve his objectives.
In short, the success of the Angola operation had piqued the interest of several other African nations, all eager to forge partnerships with the Westeros system.
Simon, no longer in a rush, intended to quietly infiltrate these regions over the next ten or twenty years.
On April 22, Simon and his family finally left Melbourne.
However, while the two women took the children back to North America, Simon headed to Europe, with his first stop in Ukraine to handle some extensions of his African ventures. Afterward, he planned to visit Sophia in Italy, and then make a trip to the UK, where The Conjuring 2, the third film in the Conjuring cinematic universe, was filming. Only then would he return to North America.
During Simon's absence, North America's two-week Easter holiday period came to an end.
On April 7, the release of Austin Powers 3 brought another pleasant surprise for Daenerys Entertainment.
This project had a turbulent development history.
Initially, Daenerys Entertainment had signed a two-film deal with the series' creator, Mike Myers. Both of the first two
Austin Powers movies were successful, with the first grossing $120 million domestically and the second increasing to $140 million. However, without the constraints of a packaged deal, Myers sought to raise the price for the third installment.
Simon, however, refused to budge.
The first film had a budget of $20 million, the second $30 million, and despite the success of the first two, Simon insisted on capping the third film's budget at $40 million. In Hollywood, where budgets typically double after a successful sequel, Simon's stance was firm: take it or leave it. Daenerys had no shortage of high-quality projects, and the offer was final.
In return, Simon was willing to be more generous with profit-sharing.
This approach was a risk management strategy.
If the budget for the third film followed the Hollywood norm, doubling to $60 million, and with a promotional budget cut in half to $30 million, the total investment would reach $90 million, a blockbuster-sized budget. However, the Austin Powers series, being a lowbrow comedy rooted in American culture, had limited appeal in international markets, relying almost entirely on its domestic box office.
Calculations showed that even if the third film matched the $140 million domestic gross of the second, with additional revenue from overseas markets, Daenerys would barely break even. Moreover, as a one-time popcorn flick, the series didn't have particularly strong post-release revenue streams from home video sales. All in all, it was a high-risk project.
Although the third installment avoided the box office flop that Simon had predicted for the second, he still didn't believe it would be a major hit.
Therefore, he insisted on controlling the risk.
Initially, Mike Myers was unwilling to compromise, until his 2000 summer comedy The Love Guru flopped, grossing less than $10 million on a $30 million budget. Only then did he relent.
The final deal was an $8 million base salary plus 15% of the film's total profit.
Since the series had two leading actors, the other male lead and the director, who had been involved in all three films, also saw a rise in their compensation. The deal ultimately awarded each of them 7.5% of the film's total profits.
With a $40 million production budget and $20 million in marketing, the total cost for the third film came to $60 million.
Simon's original expectation was that the final installment of the series would gross over $100 million, which would be considered a great success. Between international markets and post-release sales, Daenerys Entertainment would see a decent return, and the three main creators would receive substantial profit shares.
If the domestic box office failed to hit $100 million, both sides would likely have to make up for it through later revenue streams.
However, the results exceeded expectations. Whether it was the creators' experience with the first two films or the audience's growing taste for the series, the third Austin Powers not only saw a significant improvement in reviews compared to the second film, but also saw a rise in its overall media rating from a respectable 7.3 to an excellent 8.1. The box office performance was even more surprising.
Opening on April 7 in 2,893 theaters, Austin Powers 3 grossed $49.29 million in its first week, an increase of $6 million over the second film's opening.
And it didn't stop there.
The second film had seen a 39% drop in its second week—a normal figure for a comedy of this type. Yet, during the second week of Austin Powers 3 from April 14 to April 20, likely boosted by the Easter holiday on April 16, the drop was only 27%, far better than its predecessor, adding another $36.83 million to its total.
In just two weeks, the final installment of the series had grossed $86.12 million.
In an email exchange with Simon, New World Pictures CEO Danny Morris even suggested the possibility of developing another sequel, as Daenerys had never officially announced the end of the series.
With an $86.13 million haul in two weeks, and considering the lack of competition until the summer blockbusters in May, Austin Powers 3 could easily surpass $200 million domestically.
With a total budget of $60 million, a domestic box office gross of over $200 million made the idea of not developing a sequel almost too good to pass up.
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