The three major Hollywood unions filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Federal Court on Monday, November 19, attempting to block Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA, and the entire Westeros System is busy dealing with this matter, but it does not hinder the arrival of Thanksgiving.
This year's Thanksgiving is on November 22.
Snow fell on the East Coast, and Simon, who loves the snowy atmosphere during the holiday, spent Thanksgiving together with Janette at a manor in Greenwich.
After Thursday, another box‑office week in Hollywood arrives.
From November 16 to November 22, the Thanksgiving opening week, Stallone's new film "Rocky 5" smoothly captured the weekly box‑office champion.
However, the once‑miraculous action‑film series still lacks its former popularity, earning only $19.6 million in its opening week, with mediocre critical reception and an overall media score of about five points. Industry insiders generally predict a 40‑50% drop in the second week, with North American total box office expected to stay under $50 million, leaving the producers to rely on overseas revenue and other channels to recoup costs.
Daenerys Entertainment's 'Dances With Wolves' ranked second, with a massive opening week gross of $12.67 million; given only 1,031 screens and a three‑hour runtime, the per‑theatre average of over $12,000 was outstanding.
Including the earlier limited‑release earnings, after three weeks 'Dances With Wolves' accumulated $17.3 million, nearing its $20 million production budget.
The Halloween release 'Misery' fell 22% this week, missing out on a rebound during the Thanksgiving slot, which was somewhat regrettable. In seven days it added $6.87 million, and after four weeks its total reached $43.99 million.
Disney confirmed that the Wednesday, November 21, slot will feature "Three Men And A Little Lady', which, thanks to excellent word‑of‑mouth and holiday atmosphere, earned $5.32 million in two days, giving it a dark‑horse vibe.
Also from Disney, the 2D animated film 'The Rescuers Down Under' earned $4.79 million in its opening seven‑day week, ranking fifth.
Beyond the top five, the list is basically filled with older titles.
On November 23, the second week of the Thanksgiving slot, three new films debuted: Daenerys Entertainment's co‑production with Columbia Pictures 'A League Of Their Own', Fox Pictures' 'Predator 2', and Warner Bros. Pictures' 2D animated film 'The Nutcracker Prince'.
Both 'A League Of Their Own' and 'Predator 2' opened on more than 2,000 screens, while 'The Nutcracker Prince' had only 906 screens, comparable to Disney's 'The Rescuers Down Under', representing the standard distribution model for 2D animated films of this era.
Inside the manor in Greenwich's northern suburb.
Except for the main road, the rest of the manor remains a blanket of snow, with no clearing done.
Sophia Fessey parked the car outside the main villa, opened the rear door, and the two Little fellows rushed out, running toward the waiting Janette.
Today is Sunday, November 25, 1990.
It happens to be a sunny day; at ten in the morning the air is still cold, but the sunshine is brilliant.
Sophia, as usual, flew in from Europe over the weekend to see the children, and Simon and Janette have not left the East Coast after Thanksgiving.
She greeted Janette, listened to the chatter of the two kids, and soon they all ran to build a snowman while Sophia slipped back into the villa.
Inside the villa it felt warm; she took off her coat and handed it to the arriving B Girl Becky, asked a question, learned Simon was upstairs in the study, and walked up the stairs to the second floor.
Simon was on the phone, with many documents scattered on his desk. He answered casually when he heard the knock, smiled at Sophia's hesitant expression after she pushed the door, gestured that it was fine, and she entered.
Trying to appear nonchalant, Sophia paced to the opposite side of Simon's desk, casually helped the man tidy the papers, and listened to his conversation.
They were discussing the recent MCA acquisition case.
How to handle the three unions' lawsuit and the subsequent issues is not something to discuss openly; the man didn't lower his voice or avoid the topic, which warmed Sophia's heart.
After organizing several documents, the woman walked to the bookshelf, pretended to peruse the books, turned her back to Simon, wondering if he was watching her.
But after a while, the man's phone call still hadn't ended.
She walked from one side of the bookshelf to the other, unable to jot down any details.
She set down the 'Run Lola Run' figurine she had been fiddling with, turned around, and Simon happened to finish one call and immediately transferred to another.
She couldn't help feeling a bit resentful.
Then she felt truly hopeless; this little man is, after all, many years younger than she is.
Simon, multitasking with a document, held the microphone while discussing, glanced up unintentionally, noticed Sophia's expression, paused, smiled, and made a gesture for her to come over.
What will he do when she gets there?
While thinking that, Sophia still walked over.
Just as she reached his leather chair, the man wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.
Her body stiffened; she struggled lightly but didn't dare use too much force.
What if he let go?
She didn't dare speak; he was on the phone.
Besides, he was only holding her; he didn't do anything overly improper.
When she first entered, it seemed the door had been casually locked from the inside.
Finding an excuse, she completely let go of her worries and obediently sat on his lap.
Seeing his multitasking demeanour, she turned sideways, reached out, and helped him place the microphone to his ear. His free hand brushed her earlobe, gently removed the silver earring she had specially worn today, and casually tossed it onto the desk.
It turned out he doesn't like women wearing earrings.
She memorized that silently.
Next time she changes earrings, hmm, maybe he doesn't like them either. Perhaps he prefers nothing at all.
Then she might as well wear nothing.
After more than ten minutes, Simon finally put down the microphone, the study fell quiet, and the sound of children laughing outdoors drifted in from the window; Sophia instantly felt nervous again, fearing he might act on impulse now.
It was already noon.
She quickly changed the subject, asking, "Is the MCA issue this time very troublesome?"
Simon rested his chin on the woman's shoulder, inhaled her pleasant scent, picked up a document on the desk and continued reading, saying, "If the three unions are just being unreasonable, it would indeed be troublesome, but once you understand what they want, the matter becomes much easier".
She thought she heard him discuss that the unions' biggest gripe with Daenerys Entertainment is that Simon moved many films to overseas shoots.
That has caused many domestic filmmakers to lose job opportunities.
She casually asked, "Um, the next Batman, will it be filmed back in the country?"
Simon smiled and replied, "If they want something and I give it before they even ask, it only fuels greed. For those who deliberately give me trouble, I prefer they lose even more".
She vaguely recalled him mentioning that next week a promotional short would air on ABC Television Network.
If she had listened carefully, she wouldn't be clueless now.
Fortunately, the man's hand that had been around her waist grew restless and slipped under the hem of her clothing.
At lunch in the manor, Little Gemma was very attentive, asking her mother if she had lost an earring; Sophia seemed just to have realized it, then nodded with a regretful expression. The young girl, being sensible, gave her some advice: replace the lost item, but be more careful next time.
Of course.
Then the little fellow kept pestering, "Is Mom feeling hot? Why does her face look a bit red?"
She hurriedly changed the subject in a hasty way.
She noticed the young man opposite forcing a grin, looking as if he'd been stepped on or choked, seeming quite painful.
She felt no sympathy at all.
She had said it was almost noon, she put up such a resistant front, yet in the end they still acted recklessly.
A new week arrived, and many who were still following Daenerys Entertainment's MCA acquisition news were unexpectedly hit with another sensational headline.
Westeros Company suddenly announced that it had reached a cash‑acquisition agreement with Bell Atlantic, an East Coast U.S. telecom operator, valued at $8.7 billion, of which $7 billion would be paid in cash and the company would assume $1.7 billion of Bell Atlantic's debt.
Bell Atlantic's board declared that an extraordinary shareholders' meeting would be held on December 3 to vote on the deal.
However, according to a later report from The Wall Street Journal, while the board's approval was secured, Westeros Company had already won the backing of roughly 25 % of the key shareholders, meaning the shareholder vote was essentially a foregone conclusion.
What Westeros still needed was approval from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission.
Seemingly paving the way for those two regulatory approvals, The New York Times followed up with news that, if the acquisition were approved, Simon Westeros would repatriate the $8 billion of overseas funds to cover the purchase costs.
At a 28 % capital gains tax rate, that would translate to more than $2 billion in taxes.
Given the deteriorating U.S. economic climate and the ever‑rising federal deficit, a one‑time tax bill exceeding $2 billion is far from negligible for the government.
Moreover, although the Federal Government imposes many restrictions on the telecom sector, acquiring a regional telecom operator presents few regulatory hurdles unless one is deliberately looking for trouble.
Nonetheless, someone jumped out immediately.
It was Motorola, which has long had a big grudge against Westeros Company.
Motorola cited clauses from the telecom law enacted during the 1‑split case, pointing out that Westeros owns a telecom‑equipment firm called Nokia. Even though Nokia is based overseas, it still violates the law's prohibition on telecom operators manufacturing equipment.
Furthermore, retired former chairman Robert Galvin of Motorola appeared on a CBS news interview, harshly condemning Simon's lavish private lifestyle and urging the Federal Government to curb another capital oligarch, saying the U.S. does not need a second Rockefeller family.
Simon pretended not to hear Robert Galvin's accusations at the time. However, Westeros was the first to respond to Motorola's demands, stating Nokia's business would be limited to Europe, and that once the Bell Atlantic acquisition was complete, Nokia would withdraw its nascent North American operations, including a research lab in Silicon Valley.
The media went back and forth, leaving many onlookers bewildered.
What on earth is happening?
Isn't Daenerys Entertainment the one seeking to acquire MCA? Why has the focus suddenly shifted to Westeros buying Bell Atlantic?
Or perhaps Simon Westeros always intended to buy Bell Atlantic and MCA was just a front?
That doesn't add up either.
To acquire MCA, Daenerys Entertainment offered a very generous agreement that pushed Matsushita out of the competitive field. It would be impossible for even Matsushita to agree to abandon the deal so easily.
Or...
Simon Westeros is running a double‑track operation?
Launching two acquisitions simultaneously?
Spectators are just watching the spectacle, but as each piece of news drops, Bell Atlantic and MCA's stock prices react directly: after the deal was essentially sealed, Bell Atlantic's share price, which had plummeted, rose only 8 %, while MCA's fell a full 11 %, sliding from a high of $69 to $61.
On the MCA side, some people don't care, indeed, they're even secretly pleased, hoping Daenerys Entertainment will simply abandon the purchase.
But many shareholders hoping to cash out at a high price are unwilling to let that happen.
Some shareholders have even threatened collective lawsuits if Daenerys Entertainment casually walks away from the deal.
Hollywood's three major unions, still confused, wonder how a single punch could produce a Bell Atlantic acquisition.
Before many could react, ABC Television Network suddenly aired a 1‑minute‑30‑second advertisement released by the Australian government promoting its film‑industry incentives, showcasing Australia's cities, grasslands, deserts, snow‑capped mountains, jungles, and more, while outlining generous policies for overseas producers.
In a coordinated move, Daenerys Entertainment promptly announced that it had signed six film‑production memoranda with the Victorian Government of Australia, worth a total of $300 million, and that Victoria would offer a uniform 20 % tax rebate.
In exchange, all six films will be produced in Australia over the next three years, including post‑production, with over 70 % of the crew hired locally, directly creating tens of thousands of jobs for the state.
Both parties also declared that even deeper and broader cooperation will follow.
The fundamental purpose of Hollywood's major unions is to safeguard a range of employment rights for their members.
Daenerys Entertainment's shift of film production overseas is essentially another act of undermining those rights.
Without work, there can be no protection of employment rights.
After the Australian promotional ad and the $300 million memorandum, news broke that Daenerys Entertainment CEO Amy Pascal and the company's TV‑division president Robert Iger would travel to Toronto, Canada after Thanksgiving to meet local officials and plan a new production hub for television programming.
After years of patient growth, Daenerys Entertainment has become a formidable TV‑content supplier. Shifting billions of dollars in annual TV production investment overseas will further erode domestic entertainment jobs in the United States.
Thus, this news is another heavy blow to the three major unions.