Michael Ovitz had barely stepped out of Los Angeles International Airport when the assistant picking him up warned that MCA chairman Lew Wasserman was already waiting at nearby Marina del Rey.
Reaching the yacht moored in Marina del Rey, less than three kilometres north of LAX, Ovitz caught sight of Wasserman and instinctively shook his head.
It was already 15 November.
Three days earlier Matsushita had stunned everyone by suddenly abandoning its bid for MCA.
Unwilling to concede defeat, Michael Ovitz first tried in vain to persuade Matsushita by phone, then flew to Japan in person. With Wasserman's blessing he even hinted MCA would accept a price slightly lower than Daenerys Entertainment's, yet still failed to convince Akio Tanii to restart the takeover.
Ovitz now rued his misjudgement: when Meg Ryan had unexpectedly dropped her planned lawsuit against Daenerys Entertainment last week, he'd grown wary but never imagined that after all his covert moves to block the takeover, the other side would simply pull the rug from under him.
Inside the yacht's cabin, Ovitz sat opposite Wasserman. "From what I've gathered, Westeros proposed an alternative co-operation plan between Daenerys Entertainment and Matsushita. Matsushita was already hesitant about raising its offer; after Akio Tanii's secret meeting with Westeros last week, combined with internal pressure, he finally decided to withdraw".
Lew Wasserman pressed, "There's really no way back? If need be, I could fly to Japan myself".
Michael Ovitz shook his head again. "I didn't get the details of the Daenerys–Matsushita plan, but Matsushita's side claims Westeros showed genuine sincerity; the board unanimously agreed to drop the takeover and partner with Daenerys instead".
Lew Wasserman frowned, then recalled something. "Mike, didn't you say other Japanese firms were interested; Toshiba, Itochu, or Sanyo?"
"That was last year and only last year", Ovitz replied, nodding then shaking his head. "Back then Japan's stock bubble hadn't burst; the climate's changed. Even Matsushita's retreat was partly due to the wider economy. Canada's Bronfman Family is keen, but they're short of ready cash and can only take a stake in a second-tier outfit like Orion for now. With Asia, North America and Europe all sluggish, don't expect another MCA suitor any time soon".
When Ovitz finished, the two men simply stared at one another.
After a silence Wasserman resolved, "Mike, in that case hand over all those fallback measures you prepared to my people".
Michael Ovitz nodded wearily. "All right".
Since Matsushita's withdrawal couldn't be undone, any further tricks would be pointless and risk angering that young man yet again. Ovitz fretted: the Meg Ryan affair might already have sown fresh discord between Daenerys Entertainment and CAA.
Thinking this, Ovitz couldn't help asking, "Lew, are you going to call off the takeover?"
A bitter smile crossed Lew Wasserman's face.
In truth Wasserman wanted to scrap the deal at once; his probes had shown Daenerys Entertainment unmoved, after the purchase both he and Sid Sheinberg must exit. That would exile them from Hollywood's power centre for good.
Lew Wasserman had no intention of letting go so easily.
Yet Daenerys Entertainment's $7 billion offer was nearly double MCA's market cap at its recent trough.
With another war looming over America, the industry feared the domestic economy would worsen. Many MCA shareholders wanted to cash out now; they cared nothing for what happened to management afterwards.
Though chairman and CEO for decades, Wasserman owned only about five per cent of MCA; Sheinberg held roughly two. Together their stakes commanded almost no real leverage.
Until now they had kept tight control, but if they openly defied shareholder wishes they could be ousted, even if they scuttled the deal.
All they could do was use outside pressure to wring more concessions from Daenerys Entertainment or force it to abandon the bid altogether.
With his health improved, Wasserman felt he could run MCA for several more years, well past eighty. The U.S. economy would rebound; MCA's depressed stock was undervalued. Sooner or later another buyer would appear, willing to pay far more.
While Michael Ovitz and Lew Wasserman met in secret, Simon happened to be flying back from the East Coast.
After weeks of talks Bell Atlantic and Westeros Company had hammered out a $7 billion purchase agreement, $1 billion less than Simon's earlier estimate.
With the price set, the remaining details, negotiable even after closing, fell quickly into place.
If he wished, Simon could announce the deal as early as next week.
The next day, Friday, 16 November, 1990.
With Thanksgiving near and the move into the newly finished Point Dume villa set for the weekend, Janette had been busy on the West Coast; Simon headed to Malibu Daenerys Studios as usual.
The previous week's box-office figures were on his desk the moment he entered the office.
'Misery's trajectory matched expectations.
Released on October 26th, it was now in its third week.
After a $17.16 million opening, the film slid thirty-five per cent to $11.15 million in week two, then eased just twenty-one per cent to $8.81 million 9–15 November.
Three-week total: $37.12 million.
Today Simon's eye was on 'Dances With Wolves', which had quietly begun its small scale release.
Two weeks ago, on November 2, 'Dances With Wolves' opened on just sixteen screens in a handful of key North American cities. Its per-screen average for the first seven days hit $67,000, already a strong hint at its box-office potential. In the second week of its limited run, the release expanded to fifty-one screens, and with Daenerys Entertainment's marketing and word-of-mouth kicking in, the per-screen average actually rose to $69,000.
After only two weeks, the film had banked $4.63 million. Buoyed by near-unanimous critical praise, this politically correct tale of white settlers and Native Americans instantly became an Oscar front-runner for next year.
Because the theatrical cut runs three hours, Daenerys Entertainment is going wide this week with just 1,031 screens, planning to ride reviews and awards for a long tail.
Thanksgiving season officially begins today, and besides the wide rollout of 'Dances With Wolves', two new pictures open: Stallone's latest Rocky sequel, 'Rocky V', and Disney's 2-D animated 'The Rescuers Down Under'.
After Matsushita announced it was dropping its bid for MCA this week, the MCA board dragged its feet on Daenerys Entertainment's offer, but some players grew anxious.
Paramount, for one.
Before Simon met Matsushita last week, he dangled a quick promise to Paramount, two co-productions and the status quo on USA Networks after the MCA deal, to keep them from interfering.
Paramount's chairman saw Simon's worry and dug in. He demanded at least three films, insisted on a 70-30 split with Daenerys holding the minority stake, and pressed for more USA Networks concessions.
Then Matsushita suddenly walked, the tables turned, and Paramount rushed to lock the pact.
Amy had learned Paramount was preparing an antitrust suit to block the takeover. Once Matsushita pulled out, Paramount apparently read the tea-leaves and decided to secure the goodies Daenerys had offered.
A lawsuit would have slim odds of stopping the acquisition, and even if it did, Paramount would gain little while poisoning relations further.
Simon met Martin Davis in person that morning and gave ground: Paramount dropped its USA demands, kept the 50-50 split, upped the slate to three pictures and sequels count toward the total.
In exchange, Daenerys picked up the long-gestating 'Mission: Impossible' rights Paramount had been sitting on.
After all the twists, the two spy franchises Simon remembers as Hollywood's biggest post-nineties hits; 'Mission: Impossible' and the 'Bourne' film, are both in his pocket.
After months of nonstop hustle, the weekend finally brought a break.
And a move.
Modelled on the Iron Man mansion in Simon's memory, the sweeping, shell-shaped structure at Point Dume Manor drew press attention from the first sketch.
As the larger, silver-clad building rose on the cliff, public curiosity snowballed.
Predictably, it became fresh ammunition for columnists accusing Simon of extravagance.
The finished villa covers 5,000 square meters of land alone. Part museum, part spaceship, the three-story silver swirl is even more opulent than the CG mansion he remembered, and with the subterranean garage cloned from Tony Stark's workshop, interior space tops 12,000 square meters.
Next to an ordinary house, calling it "big" feels quaint.
If you need one word: enormous.
Construction costs blew past estimates, $30 million for the shell alone, finishing excluded.
Janette, of course, refused to economize on interiors.
With art and furniture still arriving, the final décor budget could eclipse the building itself.
Every minimalist surface hides eye-watering price tags.
The couple had lived just 500 meters west on the estate; moving day amounted to ferrying clothes and books, finished by lunchtime.
They fussed over details until dusk, then finally exhaled.
Curled beside Simon on the cliff-side sofa, Janette gazed through the giant glass wall at the blazing sunset. "Feels like a dream", she murmured.
Simon nuzzled her fragrant hair. "You never pictured a house like this?"
"Not once", she said, rocking her head against his shoulder. "Even if I had, I'd have to sell my stock to pay for it, and the Old Man would hit the roof".
"It's your dowry; spend it however you like".
"I never planned on landing a husband. Those shares were my lifetime budget, blow it all and I'd be destitute".
"Kathryn told me", he said, still smiling. "Why swear off men?"
She bumped his shoulder. "Waiting for you".
"The honour is entirely mine".
"Hmph". She hugged his hand to her chest. "Truth is, once upon a time someone liked me, and I liked a boy or two. But I was too clever; they disappointed me, so I decided to stay single forever".
"Forever being alone sounds pretty lonely".
"That's why God sent me you".
"When we finally meet the gentleman upstairs, we'll have to thank Him".
"Mmm", she whispered, watching the sky turn molten. "Otherwise you'd have stayed the world's biggest bachelor".
"Not a chance. Girls adore me; without you I'd be Hollywood's top playboy".
"Aha,there it is. Playboy". She raked playful claws across his wrist and melted against him. "Little Bastard, stop tormenting me".
"Enjoying the torment?"
"No".
He tightened his grip. "New answer".
"Mmm… yes".