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Chapter 915 - Chapter 914: Hollywood is a Small Circle

As Michael Ovitz emerged from his office, David O'Connor, who had been chatting with Mia Sara, gave him a nod and then left, understanding that some matters were best handled by the boss himself.

Gesturing for Mia Sara and her agent, Mark Ferguson, to follow him back to his office, Ovitz handed them the script and said, "I'll just give you one piece of advice. This script was personally picked by Simon Westeros. Your audition is in three days. Even if you don't sleep, you both need to fully digest this script. Some people only get one chance in a lifetime, and if you mess it up, it's gone."

Although CAA operates on a shared representation system, where agents work in tandem and no one has complete control over a client, there is still a clear hierarchy among agents.

While Mark Ferguson and Mia Sara weren't at the very bottom, they were low enough that someone like Ovitz wouldn't usually pay attention to them. Hearing his words now, both were trembling with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.

A script personally selected by Simon Westeros. Everyone in Hollywood knew what that meant.

If Mia Sara secured the role, her career, which had been in a downward spiral, could be reignited, and for Mark Ferguson, now 37 years old, this could also be a stepping stone for him to climb higher.

Both of them fervently promised to do their best. Ovitz then turned his attention to Mia Sara, asking casually, "Mia, do you have a boyfriend right now?"

Caught off guard by the question, Mia Sara hesitated, her leg subtly nudged by her agent to give her a hint. Still uncertain about what Ovitz was getting at, she hesitated briefly before answering truthfully, "I'm currently dating Jason Connery, Sean Connery's son."

At the mention of Sean Connery, a formulaic smile appeared on Ovitz's face as he nodded. "Jason's a good guy. Alright, remember to prepare well for the audition."

With that, Ovitz stood and escorted them out.

As Mark Ferguson respectfully said goodbye to Ovitz and they left the office, he glanced at the smiling Mia Sara, clutching the script, and grew more frustrated. They walked in silence until they reached the underground parking lot of the CAA building, where Mark Ferguson, standing by his black Chevrolet, suddenly lost his composure. He unlocked the car, but before getting in, he kicked the door hard.

Bang!

The dull thud echoed in the garage, and a large dent appeared on the side of the car. Ferguson, a short, balding man nearing middle age, didn't calm down after the first kick. He delivered several more kicks, cursing under his breath as he did so.

Mia Sara, startled by her agent's sudden outburst, went from feeling joy to fear. Unsure of what was happening, she took a step back until Ferguson had finished venting and got into the car. Only then did she hesitantly open the door and slide into the passenger seat.

As the black Chevrolet pulled out of the garage, Mia Sara finally asked, "Mark, did I do something wrong?"

Her agent, now somewhat calmer, kept his eyes on the road. He instinctively pressed harder on the gas pedal but then slackened, sighing, "What do you think?"

"I... I don't understand," Mia stammered, confused.

Ferguson let out a sarcastic laugh, still not looking at her. His voice was hard. "Did you really think that by telling Ovitz you're dating Jason Connery, you'd get some special treatment?"

Mia Sara said nothing, but she had indeed been hoping for just that.

Sean Connery had been one of CAA's earliest big-name clients, and his status at the agency was almost legendary. It was Connery who had helped Michael Ovitz and his partners turn their fledgling agency into a powerhouse. Out of respect and gratitude, CAA had always kept an office for Connery at their headquarters.

Mia Sara had met Jason Connery last year while filming an HBO movie. After his persistent pursuit, they had started dating. Part of her motivation, of course, was to use Jason's connection to his famous father to help her career. Even if her acting career didn't recover, marrying Jason Connery seemed like a reasonable fallback plan.

After all, while Jason Connery had only managed to stay in Hollywood because of his father's influence and was considered one of the least successful second-generation actors, Sean Connery was incredibly wealthy, and that wealth would eventually pass to his son.

Seeing that Mia still hadn't fully grasped the situation, Ferguson couldn't help but prompt her. "Did it not occur to you to think why Ovitz asked about that?"

Mia hesitated, but with her agent's not-so-subtle hint, it finally dawned on her.

These things were commonplace in Hollywood.

The atmosphere in the car became thick with silence. After a while, Ferguson sneered. "Understand now? Simon Westeros, we're talking about Simon Westeros. Think about Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Valeria Golino, Famke Janssen... Now think about yourself, Mia. Do you realize what you just missed?"

"I…" Mia Sara was fully aware now. Her face flushed and then turned pale. She fumbled with the script in her lap and hastily said, "Mark, I have the script now, right? I… I'll break up with Jason tonight."

Ferguson wanted to laugh at her, but in the end, he just slumped, feeling defeated. Mia missing out on this opportunity meant he, as her agent, had also missed out. "That script was indeed intended for you, but if Simon Westeros were genuinely interested, Ovitz wouldn't have needed to ask you that question."

Mia Sara's expression wavered as the reality hit her.

The joy she had felt from receiving the script evaporated.

If The Frighteners script had come from Simon Westeros's office, it meant that the Hollywood mogul had taken notice of her. However, he hadn't shown any direct interest, like inviting her out for dinner.

Ovitz's question wasn't really about her being single; in Hollywood, even being married didn't matter. He was actually probing whether she was open to it.

If she had been open, Ovitz would have found a way to introduce her to Westeros.

Then, if she could secure his attention, even at 29, she could have a shot at joining the ranks of the stars Ferguson had mentioned. This would be far better than clinging to the son of Sean Connery, a man with no real prospects.

But she had ruined her chance.

Because of Sean Connery.

If she hadn't mentioned Jason Connery's name, if she hadn't brought up Sean Connery at all, even if she had claimed to be married, Ovitz might have delicately sidestepped it and still helped her meet Simon Westeros.

But it was Sean Connery.

Though Sean Connery's career, like many old Hollywood stars, had waned over the years as Hollywood's dynamics shifted, his relationship with CAA remained incredibly special.

Just like the permanent office CAA kept for Connery, he was a symbol for the agency—a living testament to their loyalty to their star clients.

As a result, Ovitz would never do anything that might jeopardize CAA's relationship with Connery. Introducing the girlfriend of Connery's son to another Hollywood mogul, even in private, could seriously damage CAA's reputation. People would start to wonder: Is this how Ovitz treats the man who helped build his empire?

Even if Mia had a chance to get close to Westeros through this project, Ovitz might have deliberately obstructed it for the sake of protecting CAA's relationship with Connery.

Thinking about how she had entered this industry at 17, struggling for so many years, now approaching 30 and still only a third-rate actress in decline, Mia Sara felt her heart grow emptier. Her nose stung, and her eyes began to water.

Los Angeles rush hour.

In the heavy traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard, some passing drivers noticed, for only a brief moment, a black-haired woman in the passenger seat of a Chevrolet, her face buried in her hands, clearly upset over something.

Hollywood is a small circle.

Compared to CAA, as the strongest figure at the center of this web, Simon had access to even more information.

By the end of the weekend, word about the potential Middle-earth Cinematic Universe had reached Simon's ears.

Both inside and outside the industry, many were directly or indirectly trying to get confirmation from him.

If Daenerys Entertainment really was planning to develop a Middle-earth Cinematic Universe, it would undoubtedly involve significant interests. The scale of the project would likely rival the DC Universe, not a smaller franchise like the Conjuring Universe.

For example, Warner Bros. would undoubtedly worry about whether the DC Universe, which was firmly controlled by Simon, might be marginalized or sacrificed for the sake of the Middle-earth films. Talent agencies would start thinking about how to secure roles in this massive new franchise. And other film studios? With the industry already in such tough competition, adding another behemoth would make survival even harder for them.

The truth was, Simon had long planned to bring the entire Middle-earth series to the big screen, but he had never considered creating a Middle-earth Cinematic Universe. It just didn't make sense.

Unlike the rich, long-established histories of Marvel and DC, or the decades of ghost-hunting adventures of the Warrens in the Conjuring Universe, Tolkien's Middle-earth series, while expansive, had a more straightforward narrative. Even in the original timeline, The Hobbit trilogy

 was widely acknowledged to have been artificially stretched out, with many believing the story could have been told in a single film.

Forcing it into a cinematic universe was possible, but it would turn The Lord of the Rings into just another assembly line product, losing the grandeur and depth that made it a timeless masterpiece in film history.

Simon had no intention of doing that.

At least, not before Peter Jackson's version of the Middle-earth epic was completed.

As for the future, that would be a problem for another time.

For now, aside from explaining things to a select few, Simon had no plans to clarify the misunderstanding about the Middle-earth Cinematic Universe. After all, the speculation wasn't necessarily a bad thing for the future of the films.

April 15.

Monday.

After a brief weekend, another busy week began.

Originally, the most anticipated event within the Westeros system this week was the April 19 IPO of Melisandre Company on the New York Stock Exchange. However, on Monday, a public disclosure from the Westeros Company caught widespread attention.

This was Simon's fulfillment of a promise he had made to Warren Buffett last year.

During the negotiations to acquire Metropolis-ABC Group, Simon and Buffett had come to an agreement: before Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting this year, Simon would increase his stake to become a 5% shareholder in the company. This would boost investor confidence in Buffett, leveraging the prestige of the Westeros system, and most importantly, alleviate the growing pressure Buffett faced for consistently refusing to invest in tech stocks.

In the late 1990s, as the tech sector entered a fever pitch, Berkshire Hathaway's stock had steadily declined. Many shareholders criticized Buffett for missing out on the best investment opportunities of the era. At one point, someone even threw eggs at Buffett during the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.

While Simon had led the charge into the new tech wave, Buffett's investment philosophy remained unchanged. His refusal to invest in tech stocks had only intensified the pressure in recent years.

Thankfully, last year's acquisition of Metropolis-ABC Group through Daenerys Entertainment made Berkshire Hathaway a shareholder in the now-booming Daenerys Group. Additionally, during the Tincobell IPO, Berkshire had subscribed to $60 million worth of new stock.

These moves, riding the wave of the Westeros system's popularity, had somewhat alleviated the pressure on Buffett.

Now, with the Westeros system increasing its stake in Berkshire Hathaway from 4.9% to 5.1% and making it public through an SEC filing, it was effectively Simon personally standing by Buffett's side, endorsing Berkshire Hathaway's business strategy.

On Monday, Berkshire Hathaway's stock surged by 3.5%, ensuring that at next month's 1996 annual meeting, no one would be throwing eggs at Buffett.

New York.

Simon had flown in on Sunday afternoon and spent all of Monday at ABC's Upper West Side headquarters.

The first season of American Idol had aired its final episode on March 28, with an average viewership of 33.6 million. Thanks to the heightened attention on the competition in the second half of the season, the 32 episodes averaged nearly 2 million more viewers than the first half, which had 31.7 million. The final episode had peaked at a staggering 51.3 million viewers—a true phenomenon.

With such explosive success, there was no question of ending things there.

While planning for the second season was already underway, four additional special episodes were added after the season finale, featuring behind-the-scenes footage, winner interviews, and more. These episodes, which aired last Thursday, averaged 23.9 million viewers.

Including these extra episodes, American Idol had generated $690 million in advertising revenue during the season. Other sponsorship deals, naming rights, and international production rights had brought in another $170 million.

In total, the American Idol project had earned $860 million so far. After deducting the $230 million spent on production and marketing, the first season had grossed an astonishing $630 million in profits, expected to account for over one-third of Daenerys Entertainment's television division profits for the 1996 fiscal year.

It was incredible.

Given such a golden goose, Simon wasn't taking any chances. He personally attended the morning meeting to review the first season and plan for the second season.

The afternoon schedule was just as important.

It was another meeting, this time bringing together teams from Daenerys Television and Igreat Portal, to discuss the upcoming Atlanta Olympics, which would open on July 19.

This year marked the centennial of the Olympics, making it a significant event.

However, Simon was a bit frustrated that NBC had secured the broadcasting rights for the 1996 Olympics for $456 million back in 1993, before he had control over ABC. At that time, both Tom Murphy and Warren Buffett had been conservative about sports spending, and NBC had outbid ABC for the rights.

This year was a lost cause, but with Daenerys Entertainment ramping up its investment in sports and bolstering ESPN, Simon wouldn't let such an opportunity slip through his fingers again.

But that was for the future.

Even without the broadcasting rights, Daenerys couldn't sit idly by.

While they couldn't broadcast the events, Daenerys could still cover the news extensively. In an effort to lower costs and improve collaboration, Daenerys and Igreat would be teaming up to provide both television and online coverage of the Olympics.

As the meeting began, Jeff Bezos, who had flown in for the meeting, started with some bad news. "In terms of online broadcast rights, NBC is putting up a lot of resistance. Initially, they demanded a six-month window, and after several rounds of negotiations, they're still insisting on a 45-day delay. That means we wouldn't be able to post the events on YouTube until 45 days after the Olympics end. If this were a movie or TV show, it wouldn't be an issue, but sports events are extremely time-sensitive. By then, the buzz around the Olympics would be long gone. On top of that, the IOC is asking for $120 million for the rights. I don't think it's worth continuing the negotiations."

Bezos was referring to Igreat's negotiations with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to acquire the online broadcasting rights for the Olympics—not live broadcasts, which weren't feasible with the current state of the internet, but the rights to post event footage on YouTube.

The core of the Olympics is, after all, the competition.

In the West, where the sports industry is a massive commercial enterprise, rights are everything. The broadcast rights for Olympic events are owned by the IOC, and networks like NBC only purchase the rights to air the events.

Having missed out on the broadcasting rights, Igreat had hoped to secure the online streaming rights to post the event footage as quickly as possible on YouTube.

Clearly, that wasn't going to happen.

Igreat wasn't expecting real-time access to the event videos but had been hoping for a reasonable delay. They could have accepted a short window of, say, three days, but NBC was adamant about a 45-day window. The difference was too great, and with the IOC's high asking price, there was little point in continuing the talks.

Simon, who was chairing the meeting, had been ready to move on from the issue. After a brief pause, however, he looked around the room and said, "Does anyone have any thoughts? Let's hear them."

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