Akio Tanii's expression didn't change much when Simon brought up cooperation, yet the draft proposal Daenerys Entertainment had sent earlier floated to mind.
The draft was split into three main points. First: deep brand cooperation, priority for Daenerys Entertainment's future audiovisual products on Matsushita hardware, and placement of Matsushita brands in Daenerys films and shows.
That, in fact, was Matsushita's primary goal in acquiring MCA.
Second: jointly building Universal Studios Osaka.
In the original timeline Universal Studios Osaka wasn't finished until just before the new millennium; right now it didn't even exist on paper.
Thanks to Japanese reverence for American culture, Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in 1983, was a smash hit, recouping its billion-dollar investment in just a few years, leaving Disney, which had only licensed the brand and taken no equity, full of regret.
In Simon's memory Universal Studios Osaka, though never matching Tokyo Disneyland's success, was still wildly popular.
So long as MCA could be swallowed smoothly, Simon's next big expansion goal, using Universal's park expertise plus Daenerys's deep content library, was to break ground on Universal Studios Osaka early.
Though called Universal Studios Osaka, the park's catchment area would cover all of Asia once finished, hugely boosting Daenerys brands across the continent.
Of course Simon wouldn't repeat Disney's mistake of settling for 10 percent of gate receipts and 5 percent of merchandising from Tokyo Disneyland. Nor would he foot the bill alone; as an outsider, without a local heavyweight partner the project would be nibbled to death by red tape.
Headquartered in Osaka, Matsushita was the biggest local heavyweight around.
And unlike Tokyo Disneyland's partner, Oriental Land, Matsushita had no theme-park business and wouldn't fight Daenerys for control.
The final item: a five-year, $1 billion convertible bond.
Daenerys Entertainment would issue a $1 billion convertible bond to Matsushita; if Daenerys went public during the bond's term, Matsushita could swap the debt for shares, tightening the two sides' bond.
The $1 billion figure had been chosen with care.
Simon was confident that, once MCA was digested, Daenerys would IPO at no less than $20 billion; $1 billion of debt converted to stock would equal roughly 5 percent.
Five percent was not only the SEC's reporting threshold but also the cap Washington set on foreign ownership in certain restricted industries.
If the US Government still barred foreigners from owning American TV stations, keeping Matsushita under 5 percent, as a voiceless investor, would dodge the ban.
Each of the three deals was potentially worth $1 billion.
A total package worth $3 billion, almost half the MCA acquisition price, showed enormous sincerity on Simon's part.
Seeing Akio Tanii fall silent, Simon paused his pitch and started on his food.
After several quiet minutes in the private room, Furui finally spoke. "Simon, what if Matsushita still refuses to withdraw?"
"Then Daenerys won't withdraw either", Simon replied, looking up without hesitation, then smiled. "Furui, I recall Japanese readers love a book called 'Romance Of The Three Kingdoms'?"
Miss C, beside Simon, clearly didn't know the novel; she glanced at her boss and translated as best she could.
Furui listened to his interpreter's quick explanation, looked surprised, and asked, "Simon, you know the 'Three Kingdoms'?"
"Actually, I speak pretty good Chinese". Simon nodded, poured a little sake onto a plate, dipped a finger, and swiftly brushed the classic line in standard kaishu: 'The Empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. This it has ever been'.
Japanese and Chinese share so much that Furui recognized the most famous sentence from 'Romance Of The Three Kingdoms' without translation; he recited it in Japanese, stared at the elegant characters, and said, "Simon, you've surprised me again".
Simon picked up his chopsticks. "I didn't write that to surprise you. It's my view of U.S. media's future. Hollywood's 1948 Paramount decree marked the split. Before that, the big studios ran agencies, production, and theatres, vertical integration, an era of unity. After the Paramount decree, studios couldn't represent talent or own theatres; TV rose; new small outfits sprouted and competed with the majors. That 'division' lasted until the '87 crash ended the eighties boom. Capital-hungry film companies like Canon and De Laurentiis folded, division done",
Furui listened carefully to the interpreter, then glanced again at the characters on the table. "So you think Hollywood is entering a new era of unity?"
"Exactly", Simon said. "January's merger of Time Inc. and Warner Bros. is the clearest sign. But this isn't vertical integration, it's horizontal. The majors use content as the engine to push into music, TV, print, retail, building synergies through diversification. Once these horizontal walls are up, newcomers can't break in; the giants will keep swallowing each other until only a handful of media oligarchs remain".
Furui's face showed dawning comprehension before Simon could elaborate further.
Simon pressed the point. "Koizumi, if you follow U.S. media trends you'll see growing calls to block Japanese firms from buying Hollywood studios. Even if you outbid Daenerys Entertainment, the deal may still fail. And if you insist on an expensive price for MCA, Matsushita would first have to sell MCA's TV stations under U.S. law. I don't see the Federal Government lifting that ban for a long time. In fact, to stop more Hollywood takeovers, Washington is already considering scrapping rules that bar networks from merging with studios. That consolidation will accelerate, giving U.S. media even greater clout. As an outsider, Matsushita would face Hollywood resistance and legal limits; you'd never keep up. Add up those handicaps and, apart from pulling out again, I see no future for you here."
Simon finished unhurriedly, then added, "Besides, Daenerys Entertainment won't walk away. We have to secure a foothold in this consolidation. And for available funds, my company is no weaker than Matsushita. I simply don't want a bidding war; the current price is already expensive relative to MCA's real value."
"But, Simon," Koizumi replied quickly, "Matsushita wants MCA for our own diversification."
Simon shook his head. "Akio Tanii, Matsushita is already diversified enough. With Japan's economy as it is, you should be pruning branches, preserving core strengths, and opening emerging markets amid tightening U.S.–Japan trade, not blindly expanding where you've never set foot".
Akio Tanii lapsed into a longer silence.
Lunch lasted almost two hours; afterwards they drove to a private seaside house in Osaka and talked for another two hours about the draft agreement and much else.
That evening Simon declined Akio Tanii's invitation to stay, boarded his jet and flew back to Los Angeles.
Before parting, Akio Tanii promised Simon a definite answer within three days.
He returned to the U.S. crossing time zones; when he landed in Los Angeles it was still Monday morning on the West Coast.
While he was away, the Halloween season had begun. On 26 October three major new releases opened in North America: Universal and Daenerys Entertainment's 'Misery', Paramount's 'Graveyard Shift', and Columbia Pictures 'Sibling Rivalry',
From 26 October to 1 November, critically praised and heavily promoted, 'Misery' sprinted ahead, earning $17.16 million dollars in seven days on 1,639 screens, far ahead of the other two films' combined first-week total of under ten million.
The second weekend, however, saw a 33% drop; it took another $7.19 million, for a ten-day cumulative $24.35 million.
Because of that steep second-weekend slide, projected North American gross was set between $60 million and $80 million, the weakest performance among the ten Daenerys releases so far.
Still, everything is relative.
Sixty million-plus in domestic box-office was a hit by any standard, especially since 'Misery' cost only about $20 million to make and market; North American receipts alone would let Daenerys and MCA recoup and profit.
Moreover, Susan Sarandon's chilling performance, The Hollywood Reporter's description, made her a strong Best Actress contender for next year's Oscars, just as Kathy Bates had done in the original timeline; the distributors had already begun campaigning for her.
After the quiet Japan trip, Simon spent the next few days focused on year-end marketing for Daenerys Entertainment's two tent-pole films; the extra $20 million budget he had approved before leaving had to be spent for maximum effect.
Meanwhile, James's team was moving smoothly through negotiations with Bell Atlantic.
Plans rarely keep pace with events. Before leaving Japan Simon had sensed Akio Tanii's retreat, so news of the Bell Atlantic deal no longer needed to be rushed, giving both sides more time to bargain.
Finally 8 November arrived, the deadline he and Koizumi had set.
Three silent days followed. Expecting a higher Matsushita bid, Simon and Janette returned from a Malibu civic reception to their Point Dume villa, where Miss C, Claire, told him a call from Japan had come half an hour earlier and asked him to ring back.
He dialled the number; the line was switched to Akio Tanii.
Akio Tanii wasted no words: Matsushita would withdraw from the MCA race if the cooperation agreement were signed first, but they wanted further concessions on several clauses.
They re-argued details for over an hour, but the framework stayed intact; Simon yielded on minor points and they quickly reached accord.
The next day, Friday, he flew to Japan again, this time with a full Daenerys Entertainment team.
Much had been prepared; only the umbrella agreement needed signing, with later fine-tuning to follow. After weekend talks the formal contract was signed.
Simon and Amy were both in Japan, meeting Matsushita executives so openly that Hollywood and the press began to wonder what was afoot.
Then, on Monday 12 November, Matsushita held a press conference at its Osaka headquarters and abruptly announced it was abandoning the MCA acquisition.
The news stunned media on both sides of the Pacific.