Chasing Stars in Hollywood

At the beginning of the year, projects are scouted and pilot episodes are prepared. By May, during the upfront season, these are pitched to networks for a fall premiere. This is the typical project operation flow for most American TV shows.

Simon, using his spare time, completed the story outline and rough script for the first season of "Desperate Housewives." Many details still needed revision, which conveniently allowed the credit to be assigned elsewhere.

It would be strange for Simon to be credited as the writer of such a female-centric show. He no longer needed to build his reputation with a TV series.

However, this didn't stop Hollywood from quickly spreading the news that Simon Westeros was personally developing a new project.

Though it was a TV show, the popularity of reality shows in recent years had already proven Simon's ability to create miracles in television just as he had in film.

Shows like "Survivor" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" not only generated billions in industry value but also made TV reality stars famous.

For instance, Regis Philbin, the host of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?," had an annual salary reaching tens of millions of dollars, on par with Hollywood A-listers.

Even "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," which had the lowest ratings among the initial four reality shows launched in 1988, made its stars household names.

Although their income from the show itself wasn't high, they achieved fame and fortune through other TV appearances, endorsements, and personal ventures. This was why Kris Jenner was so compliant in Simon's presence.

The more involved one was, the more they understood the true power and influence of those at the top of the pyramid, leading to respect and submission.

Now, with Simon personally creating a TV project, even if it would air on a cable network like USA, many Hollywood actresses on the brink of their careers would eagerly pursue it after learning the project's details.

In Hollywood, especially for actresses, failing to gain fame by thirty often meant either settling down as a homemaker or lingering on the fringes of the industry. Few broke through after thirty.

It's February 1992. The spring season is already underway, and "Desperate Housewives" is scheduled for the prime time this fall, allowing ample time for preparation and production.

Simon handed over the project's preliminary preparation to Robert Iger after completing the basic story and script. He had more pressing matters to handle.

On February 18th, after over a month of financial auditing, Daenerys Entertainment Group's 1991 financial report was finally completed.

In 1991, Daenerys Entertainment, having merged with MCA, achieved total revenue of $9.3 billion. Despite the need to allocate significant cash flow for debt repayment from the MCA acquisition, company downsizing, asset write-downs, and other expenses, the annual net profit was $270 million.

Moreover, with continued large-scale debt repayments, even after the $800 million acquisition of EA, Daenerys Entertainment Group's total debt amounted to $7.8 billion.

With "Toy Story's" huge success, the industry valued Daenerys Entertainment Group at $20 billion.

At this valuation, the $7.8 billion debt represented a 39% debt ratio.

Completing a multi-billion-dollar merger and maintaining a debt ratio below 40% was a remarkable achievement.

After several years of measures to reduce debt and the stock market's sustained rebound, Time Warner's current debt ratio still exceeded 70%.

Media moguls like Sumner Redstone and Rupert Murdoch had seen their assets shrink rapidly in recent years, mainly due to the drag of high corporate debt during the U.S. bond crisis.

This comparison further highlighted Daenerys Entertainment's excellent operational status.

Additionally, Daenerys Entertainment's $9.3 billion annual revenue placed it among the top 50 in the Fortune 500, comparable to established giants like Lockheed Martin and Coca-Cola.

In the media industry, Daenerys Entertainment's revenue scale was second only to Time Warner.

However, due to a mismanaged merger two years ago and prolonged internal management strife, Time Warner, despite its revenue exceeding $10 billion, was far less stable operationally than the still-thriving Daenerys Entertainment.

Since an IPO was planned, Daenerys Entertainment did not keep its financial data low-profile this time, actively contacting financial media to publicize the figures.

Most corporate giants typically incur huge losses in the initial years following a merger. Although Daenerys Entertainment's net profit margin was only 3% last year, the data clearly demonstrated its financial prowess.

Post-merger stabilization meant that the company could further reduce its debt ratio by leveraging its abundant cash flow.

As the media discussed Daenerys Entertainment's new annual financial report, Simon's 24th birthday approached.

February 22nd of this year happened to be a Saturday.

Although he didn't plan to celebrate extravagantly like his 20th birthday, it was challenging for Simon to keep his birthday low-key now.

From January, many had been inquiring about Simon's 24th birthday party, and though Janet wished everyone would forget her birthday, she took Simon's birthday seriously, beginning preparations a month in advance.

The party was once again held at the hillside mansion in Pacific Palisades.

Having been together for so long, most around Simon understood his primal territorial instincts and his dislike of having his private space invaded.

Thus, no one expected the party to be at the Malibu estate, and it was clear that few would ever access the top floors of Westeros Tower.

Still, the Pacific Palisades mansion party was exclusive.

Despite the high threshold, unlike past somewhat dull business parties, Janet ensured Simon's birthday party was lively, with singing, dancing, fine wine, and beautiful women.

The party lasted from 7 PM Saturday to 2 AM Sunday. Concerned about unpredictable issues with guests staying overnight, they avoided an all-nighter.

Once guests left, any outrageous behavior was no longer the Westeros household's concern.

The couple themselves didn't leave until midnight, catching a flight to Panama, leaving their baby temporarily with Catherine. Though Catherine lacked childcare experience, she only needed to supervise as the three ABD girls, personally trained by Janet, were the caretakers.

After three days in Panama, the couple returned to Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Simon dropped Janet at the airport and then flew directly to San Francisco.

After investing in the graphics card company ATI last year, ATI had recently completed its first consumer-grade graphics card for the PC market.

Westeros Company had purchased 25% of ATI for $50 million, and Simon had then suggested that Intel acquire ATI entirely and promote graphics cards aggressively.

However, while Intel accepted Simon's advice, ATI declined Intel's acquisition offer.

This was understandable.

With Westeros Company's strong backing, ATI didn't need to sell to Intel, at least not yet.

Any sensible person knows to hold out for a better deal.

However, recognizing Intel's influence in the semiconductor industry, ATI accepted a 10% investment from Intel instead of a full acquisition.

The semiconductor industry is capital-intensive, and ATI, constantly financing since its inception, couldn't have large shareholders.

Westeros Company and Intel jointly holding 35% of ATI essentially controlled the company.

With the graphics card completed, promotion was next.

Many PC users years later would find it hard to appreciate the value of a graphics card since, by then, most users were accustomed to its benefits. Except for professionals in graphic design and gaming enthusiasts, most users' daily needs were met by integrated graphics.

Of course, in the subsequent smartphone era, the importance of GPUs became evident.

Different price tiers of smartphones supported different games, largely due to GPU differences.

Currently, dedicated graphics cards for image processing replaced CPU-supported calculations, showing immediate display improvements.

Simon had already experienced the benefits of standalone graphics cards before arriving in San Francisco. PCs with similar configurations but equipped with graphics cards offered smoother web browsing and gaming experiences than those without.

A comprehensive evaluation revealed another point.

Once graphics cards were widely adopted, not only would they not increase consumer costs, but they could also reduce the overall PC cost.

Previously, for better internet and gaming experiences, users had to choose expensive models. Now, a few hundred dollars spent on a graphics card could save a thousand or two on the overall budget.

This change would undoubtedly accelerate the proliferation of personal computers.

Traditional PC manufacturers preferred maintaining high prices, but once this trend took hold, they couldn't stop it. They either adapted or got left behind.

Furthermore, the wider adoption of personal computers would naturally drive the internet industry's growth.

At this time, users typically purchased a complete PC set, including monitors.

Thus, promoting graphics cards required the cooperation of OEMs like IBM and Compaq.

ATI, already a supplier of professional graphics workstation chips to IBM, quickly gained IBM's cooperation for corresponding models after seeing the consumer-grade graphics card's performance.

Of course, pricing was still IBM's decision.

With IBM leading, Compaq and HP joined in.

As for Microsoft, pushed by Westeros Company, it had begun developing support programs for graphics cards last year. The upcoming Windows 3.1, releasing in March, would support graphics cards, and previous 3.0 versions would receive updates for this feature.

The Wintel alliance driving this change naturally excluded Apple.

Although secrets rarely stayed hidden in Silicon Valley, Apple displayed notable sluggishness in this matter. After surpassing $7 billion in market value last year, Apple's self-satisfaction was evident.

After attending meetings related to graphics card promotion at Intel headquarters, Simon stayed until Friday, mainly arranging matters for EA.

Graphics card promotion would significantly boost the gaming industry.

Currently, PC games were predominantly 2D, but with graphics cards, 3D games were on the horizon.

Daenerys Special Effects' expertise in 3D animation could support 3D game development. EA, originally a PC game company, also had sufficient experience in game development.

Given these advantages, EA missing this opportunity would

 be a management failure.

Simon wouldn't allow that.

After finalizing EA's 3D game strategy, Simon returned to Los Angeles on February 28th.

In the nearly two months of 1992, various film projects under Daenerys Entertainment were rapidly progressing through different production stages, and film distribution was equally active.

In this typically slow season, Daenerys Entertainment's three labels released a total of seven films, suggesting an annual release volume of 40 films.

Such a release volume would surpass any major Hollywood studio, but given Daenerys Entertainment's current strength, it wasn't excessive.

In the original timeline, Disney with Miramax and Warner Bros with New Line Cinema could reach a combined 40-film release at their peak.

However, Miramax was now a small third-tier studio, lacking distinction, while New Line, after losing the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series and declining "Nightmare on Elm Street" popularity, was in a similar slump.

Daenerys Entertainment's Highgate Pictures and New World Pictures effectively replaced New Line and Miramax's original positions in Hollywood.

Thus, a combined 40-film release across three labels might even be considered modest.

Highgate Pictures and New World Pictures had proven their capabilities in their respective fields, and other Hollywood studios naturally wouldn't ignore these markets.

Yet, in recent years, amid Daenerys Entertainment's aggressive expansion, other studios struggled with their main labels, making short-term competition with Highgate Pictures and New World Pictures in the arthouse and horror genres unlikely.

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