After meeting with Spielberg and handling other tasks, Michael Ovitz left CAA headquarters at 11 a.m. and headed to Universal Studios in Burbank, on the other side of Beverly Hills.
He had a lunch appointment with Simon to discuss LinkedIn, the professional social networking site set to launch at the end of June.
The project was finalized in February and had secured venture capital from Eaglet. In recent months, Eisner had been overseeing it. Since they were neighbors and both shareholders, the two friends often discussed the site's details over dinner. This lunch was arranged at Eisner's invitation but was scheduled around Simon's availability at Universal Studios' internal restaurant.
Ovitz, concerned about traffic, left early and arrived at Universal Studios at 11:40 a.m.
After calling Eisner, he learned that he too had arrived early and was with Simon at the Universal Cinema within the park.
Parking his car nearby on Kirk Douglas Drive, Ovitz walked to the Universal Cinema, reflecting on the past. It felt nostalgic to see the bustling tourists. He remembered when he started in Hollywood as a tour guide at Universal Studios, at a time when Spielberg was just a young upstart skipping classes to work odd jobs there.
Now, everything had changed.
Since Daenerys Entertainment acquired MCA, the 200-hectare Universal Studios had shifted more toward being a pure theme park. Most office departments had moved to Malibu's Daenerys Studios. Even the Wisteria Lane set from *Desperate Housewives* and the *Friends* soundstage were periodically opened to visitors. Offices once reserved for Hollywood stars had now become attractions for fans.
In Hollywood's earlier days, studios would often reserve offices within their lots for prominent filmmakers. Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment once had an entire building at Universal Studios.
CAA's habit of reserving offices for its top clients was a tradition inspired by Ovitz's time as a tour guide at Universal.
Daenerys Entertainment continued this tradition.
Now, aside from Spielberg, who had quietly moved Amblin's headquarters, more prominent figures had set up offices at both Universal and Malibu studios in recent years.
Universal Cinema, located in the center of the studio lot, was essentially a large multiplex theater for tourists. Unlike Disneyland, Universal Studios Burbank resembled a large commercial hub with attractions, restaurants, hotels, cinemas, shopping areas, and even a hospital.
When Ovitz arrived, a staff member led him to a screening room marked as under renovation.
Upon entering, Ovitz immediately noticed the ghostly images on the big screen, barely making out a scene from *Jurassic Park 2*.
3D.
The word instantly popped into his mind.
Due to work, Ovitz had missed the May 31st premiere of *Jurassic Park 2* at the Shrine Auditorium, but he had heard about the impact of the IMAX screening. Rumors were already circulating that Daenerys Entertainment was planning a major push to promote this new format.
Curious by nature, Ovitz had his assistant gather information about IMAX afterward. After reviewing it, he concluded that widespread adoption would be difficult due to the high costs.
However, with the collective power of Hollywood, it might still be possible.
Now, seeing a 3D version of *Jurassic Park 2* at Universal Cinema, Ovitz realized that, much like with CGI effects, Daenerys Entertainment was once again leading Hollywood in film technology.
A staff member handed him a pair of 3D glasses. After thanking them, Ovitz sat down in the middle of the theater. The 3D glasses were not the red-and-blue ones he remembered from before. As he put them on and watched the screen, the scene of dinosaurs overrunning the poacher's base felt incredibly immersive.
Unfortunately, it was just a brief clip, not the full film.
In less than five minutes, the clip ended, and the lights in the theater came back on.
Simon, Eisner, and several others were seated in the front row. As the lights brightened, Ovitz got up to greet them, exclaiming, "Simon, I think I just saw the future of Hollywood, didn't I?"
"Of course."
Simon smiled and nodded. After exchanging a few words with some Daenerys Entertainment executives, he, accompanied by A-girl, led Ovitz and Eisner out of the theater.
Lunch was set at an internal restaurant in the northern part of the studio.
As they walked out, chatting and laughing, Simon put on a pair of sunglasses as the midday crowds weren't too dense. They quickly boarded a golf cart and headed toward the administrative area to the north.
Throughout lunch, Simon and Eisner continued discussing 3D and IMAX.
Both technologies had been around for decades. The reason they hadn't taken off wasn't due to cost, but rather because there hadn't been a real need for them.
Before the 1990s, Hollywood had only a handful of sci-fi blockbusters like the *Star Wars* series. Even *Star Wars*, despite its extensive use of new technology, wasn't known primarily for its visual effects but for the new sci-fi world George Lucas had created.
Apart from that, most Hollywood films were traditional genres.
Whether it was Sylvester Stallone's *Rambo* series or Spielberg's *Indiana Jones*, watching those films in 2D versus 3D didn't offer much difference. The same was true for IMAX versus regular screens.
Since the viewing experience wasn't significantly enhanced, there was no real reason to promote these technologies.
But now, things were different.
With CGI effects becoming more sophisticated and films increasingly relying on visual spectacles—such as the *Jurassic Park* series and the DC Cinematic Universe—the viewing experience in 2D versus 3D or IMAX was vastly different.
Thus, the time had come to promote 3D and IMAX.
Any new film technology requires both content and distribution. In the end, it all comes down to capital. For Daenerys Entertainment, which was now dominating Hollywood, none of these were issues. Even if other studios didn't cooperate, Daenerys Entertainment could single-handedly revolutionize the way films were projected.
And that's exactly what Simon planned to do.
Being a pioneer often carries significant risks, but once the enormous commercial potential is confirmed, the first mover can reap even greater profits.
When it came to the market potential of 3D and IMAX, no one understood it better than Simon.
During lunch, Simon discussed his plans with Eisner and Ovitz. He wasn't entirely transparent, but he didn't hide his intentions either. He explained that with the global resurgence in the entertainment industry over the past few years, the number of cinemas had been steadily increasing. Daenerys Entertainment could take advantage of this momentum to promote these two new technologies.
They could start by rolling it out in Daenerys' own theater chain.
When Daenerys acquired MCA, it wasn't just about Universal Pictures. It included a vast array of assets, one of which was a 40% stake in the large North American theater chain Cineplex Odeon, purchased by MCA after the U.S. government relaxed regulations on the entertainment industry.
Over the past few years, Cineplex Odeon had expanded, not only in the U.S. and Canada, where it operated 379 theaters with 1,863 screens, but also in overseas markets like the UK, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, and Ukraine.
Because most of these theaters were located in prime urban areas, in 1994, Cineplex Odeon—despite having only 6% of North America's total screens—accounted for 11% of the box office revenue.
People often focus on Daenerys Entertainment's flashy film business and question whether the company's hundred-billion-dollar valuation was inflated. However, the reality was that Daenerys had grown into a massive entertainment conglomerate, leading in movies, television, music, games, theaters, and video rental chains.
Now, Simon planned to use Cineplex Odeon as the foundation for a film projection technology revolution. If successful, it would further solidify Daenerys Entertainment's dominance in the entertainment industry.
After lunch, the conversation shifted to LinkedIn, which was set to launch soon.
This company was just a seed Simon had casually planted.
He had purchased 20% of LinkedIn for $5 million, a slightly high price. Simon valued Eisner and Ovitz more than the company itself; otherwise, $5 million could have bought at least 30% of the shares. However, Simon's time investment in LinkedIn would be limited to occasional discussions over meals.
There were simply too many things within the Westeros system that required Simon's attention, and he tried to avoid micromanaging everything.
They spent an hour discussing LinkedIn's core functions and potential business models. By 1 p.m., lunch ended, and Simon resumed his meeting with Daenerys executives to discuss the promotion of 3D and IMAX. Though this initiative wasn't urgent, it was expected to take about two years to fully implement.
After wrapping up his day's work, Simon departed for Europe in the evening to visit Sophia, who was pregnant in Italy.
Meanwhile, as this new box office week began, only one major new release hit North American theaters. It was a Fox romantic comedy titled *Nine Months*, starring Hugh Grant, who had gained fame from *Four Weddings and a Funeral*, and Julianne Moore, the lead in the *Conjuring* series. The film opened on 1,461 screens.
It posed no threat to *Jurassic Park 2*.
The next day, Daenerys Entertainment reported *Jurassic Park 2*'s box office for June 9th. Compared to its first-day gross of $28.79 million, the film's second Friday saw only a 39% drop, earning $17.56 million. Since the first Friday's numbers
had included midnight showings, the marketing team predicted that *Jurassic Park 2*'s second-weekend drop would likely be around 35%.
With $129 million in its first week and a second-weekend drop of just 35%, *Jurassic Park 2* was increasingly likely to cross the $400 million mark domestically.
By the end of its second week, from June 9th to June 15th, the box office dropped as expected by 36%, raking in $82.63 million.
After just two weeks, *Jurassic Park 2* easily surpassed the $200 million milestone, reaching $211.76 million. It had overtaken *Toy Story 3*, released over Easter, and was now second only to *The Man from Earth*, which had dominated the Valentine's Day box office, in the annual rankings.
Everyone also noticed that Daenerys Entertainment's three labels—Gaumont's *The Man from Earth*, Daenerys Pictures' *Jurassic Park 2*, and New World Pictures' *Toy Story 3*—were currently holding the top three spots on the 1995 box office charts.
Including the success of earlier projects like *Broken Arrow*, *Rumble in the Bronx*, *The Brothers McMullen*, and *Under the Zip*, Simon's initial plan for Daenerys' three labels to evolve into three major Hollywood studios had quietly begun to take shape.
On June 16th, two new summer releases hit theaters: Paramount's *Braveheart* and Disney's 2D animated feature *Pocahontas*.
*Braveheart*, directed by and starring Mel Gibson with a budget of $72 million, had taken over *Casper*'s slot, but Paramount clearly lacked full confidence in the film, giving it only 2,055 opening screens.
By contrast, Disney's *Pocahontas* opened on 2,569 screens.
Perhaps due to the excitement of recently taking over Disney, Vivendi was sparing no effort in supporting the Hollywood studio.
On the same day, June 16th, Eaglet, which had delayed its IPO by a month, finally submitted its first prospectus to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealing the company's financial status, business performance, shareholding structure, and fundraising goals to investors.
After surpassing $10 billion in revenue for 1994, the industry widely expected Eaglet's growth rate to slow down.
And it did, but not as much as most analysts had anticipated.
In the first quarter of 1995, Eaglet's revenue grew by 67% year-over-year, far exceeding the 30% to 50% growth that industry experts had predicted. This unexpected growth pushed Eaglet's IPO valuation even higher. In the first draft of the prospectus submitted to the SEC, based on preliminary stock figures and pricing, Eaglet's valuation was already at $130 billion.
If the next two quarters showed similar growth, Eaglet could adjust its offering price before the IPO, potentially pushing the valuation to $150 billion.
Given the massive $20 billion in funds Eaglet aimed to raise through the IPO, the prospectus also mentioned the company would implement the Greenshoe option used during Nokia's North American listing.
If the stock price fell short of expectations post-IPO, Eaglet would use the funds raised to repurchase up to 15% of the IPO shares to support the stock price and protect investors.
The Greenshoe option works both ways.
If the market response exceeded expectations, Eaglet would also offer an additional 15% of the IPO shares at the original price, providing a bonus to investors while raising even more funds for the company.
After the IPO, Simon's stake in Eaglet would drop below 60%.
By selling off more than 40% of his shares, the Westeros system would have effectively integrated Eaglet into both the U.S. and global economies. From then on, anyone seeking to challenge this tech giant with its monopoly-like status would first have to consider the countless investors standing behind it.
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