Chasing Stars in Hollywood

As with many previous occasions, the results of the 64th Academy Awards once again sparked controversy in the media.

Given the politically correct atmosphere that had filled the past few months due to the simultaneous nominations of three female directors for the Best Director Oscar, no one doubted that the Best Director award should go to a woman this year.

However, in the eyes of many media outlets, the choice of Barbara Streisand compared to the other two nominated female directors was far from satisfactory.

It's important to note that "The Prince of Tides," which won six out of eight nominations at this year's Oscars, had a modest media rating of only 6.8. In contrast, "Thelma & Louise" had a rating of 7.4, and "The Piano" boasted an impressive 9.2.

While media ratings don't necessarily reflect the opinions of Oscar voters, and despite Barbara Streisand's longer tenure in Hollywood compared to the other two directors, winning both Best Director and Best Picture for "The Prince of Tides" seemed excessively unfair.

However, some savvy media outlets analyzed the situation from another angle.

They pointed out that both "Thelma & Louise" and "The Piano" were produced by Daenerys Entertainment, which was the key to understanding the Oscar results.

In the past few years:

- The 61st Academy Awards: Best Picture, "Rain Man," produced by Daenerys Entertainment.

- The 62nd Academy Awards: Best Picture, "Driving Miss Daisy," produced by Daenerys Entertainment.

- The 63rd Academy Awards: Best Picture, "Dances with Wolves," produced by Daenerys Entertainment.

For three consecutive years, Daenerys Entertainment had won the Best Picture Oscar. If this year, the Best Picture and other major awards were still given to Daenerys Entertainment, the Oscars would practically become exclusive to Daenerys Entertainment.

Even though "Rain Man," "Driving Miss Daisy," and "Dances with Wolves" deserved their Best Picture awards due to their outstanding quality, the Academy certainly didn't want the Oscars to become Daenerys Entertainment's private awards.

Thus, this time, despite Daenerys Entertainment securing 23 nominations with its films, excluding those released by other labels, they only won two awards. This outcome was entirely expected.

In simple terms, the Oscars were playing a balancing act.

The Academy naturally denied such balancing theories, but those aware that the "The Prince of Tides" campaign was run by Highgate PR felt mixed emotions.

Since it was still a self-engineered victory, Daenerys didn't manipulate the media to question the Oscars' fairness. They merely fanned the flames of controversy between the three films to boost their commercial potential.

Both "The Piano" and "The Prince of Tides" were released last December and were still in theaters.

As of last Friday, "The Piano," leveraging awards season buzz and small-scale long-term screenings, had grossed $36.32 million.

Compared to its $7 million production cost, the projected $40 million total gross for "The Piano" before it leaves theaters marked it as a definite success.

"The Prince of Tides," as of last Friday, had grossed $71.51 million in North America.

This mainstream film, directed and starred in by Barbara Streisand, was expected to surpass $80 million in North America by the time it left theaters, thanks to its multiple Oscar wins.

"Thelma & Louise" was released on September 6 last year and left theaters in early December, grossing $45.36 million in North America, also a success.

After a three-month gap, Daenerys Entertainment officially released the film on VHS in early March, before the Oscars.

Riding the awards season wave, "Thelma & Louise" sold 730,000 tapes in three weeks, with total sales expected to reach 1.5 to 2 million units.

At an average price of $30 per VHS tape, this film could earn up to $60 million from VHS sales, outperforming its box office revenue.

With the Oscars and the surrounding media controversy, all three films saw a significant boost in box office and VHS sales in the following week.

Ultimately, the Oscars were not just a hall of honor for Hollywood but also a grand commercial feast.

On March 30, the same day as the Oscars, KKR submitted a $2.15 billion bid for LTD, the parent company of Victoria's Secret, prompting Simon to fly to New York after leaving the four women in Los Angeles.

The Oscar results were largely within Simon's expectations.

In addition to Best Actress for "The Piano," Daenerys Entertainment also strategically secured the Best Foreign Language Film award, which was part of Simon's long-term plan.

Years later, the live-action "Transformers" movie would break box office records across the Pacific, thanks to Hasbro giving away the "Transformers" animated series to local TV stations in 1987, creating nationwide brand recognition.

Best Foreign Language Film was an easier category to campaign for, and with no standout contenders this year, Highgate PR easily secured the award for "Raise the Red Lantern."

While Hollywood was still basking in the Oscars afterglow, Simon dealt with some thank-you calls the next day and then moved on.

Following KKR's bid, Blackstone approached Circe Capital's Apollo Management team, proposing a joint bid for LTD.

If there were doubts about LTD's potential or insufficient funds, choosing a partner could be a good strategy.

However, unlike the previous partnership for acquiring Simmons Company, Circe Capital was confident in LTD's potential and had ample funds, so they didn't plan to split future profits with Blackstone.

With two private equity firms bidding and another eyeing the deal, many arbitrage capital firms bought LTD shares, pushing the stock price higher.

On the day KKR made its offer, LTD's market value surpassed $2 billion.

From $1.3 billion two months ago to $2 billion now, a 50% increase in market value left LTD's board and major shareholders with mixed feelings.

If LTD had such a market value before the acquisition rumors leaked, they could easily overcome their cash flow issues through stock issuance or bond financing.

Now, acquisition seemed inevitable.

If the acquisition failed, LTD's stock price would plummet as fast as it had risen. Even if shareholders recognized LTD's potential, they'd still prefer cashing out at a high point.

"KKR is still reeling from the Reynolds Nabisco acquisition. I believe Henry Kravis is aiming to boost KKR's morale with a successful acquisition or distract investors."

In Circe Capital's Midtown Manhattan office.

Leon Black, president of Circe Capital's Apollo Management, briefed on the acquisition process. "Given the negative impact of Reynolds Nabisco and the ongoing economic recovery, KKR won't bid excessively. $2.5 billion should be their limit."

The Reynolds Nabisco deal, driven by irrational bidding, had been disastrous.

Before the acquisition leak, LTD's market value was around $1.3 billion.

If KKR's bid exceeded $2.6 billion, a 100% premium would raise investor concerns about another Reynolds Nabisco scenario.

Thus, KKR was likely to keep the premium below 100%.

Circe Capital's limit was also set at $2.5 billion.

Even if they couldn't acquire LTD, Simon wouldn't let the price go up even a dollar more.

In the end, if bids were close, the deal would hinge on the specifics of the transaction.

Simon, considering this, asked Leon Black, "What about Blackstone?"

"Not clear yet. If Blackstone can't team up with us, they might join KKR. Both firms are following our interest in LTD. They lack confidence in LTD's future. If KKR rejects Blackstone, Steve Schwarzman might give up. He's cautious and conservative, especially given the current economy. Plus, fashion isn't Blackstone's expertise."

Playing with a pencil, Simon thought for a moment, then said, "Try to spread the word that KKR and Blackstone are blindly following Circe Capital. Create a bigger impact."

If a company was seen as blindly following others, it would lose investor trust.

Leon Black said, "Some media already say that. We can amplify it. But Simon, this could attract more bidders."

"Stick to the $2.5 billion limit," Simon said. "Even if we fail, we hold about 5% of LTD stock. What's the profit if we sell?"

"At least $50 million."

"So, let's do it. Now, let's discuss your acquisition plan."

Over the next hour, they reviewed the bid price, payment terms, management arrangements, and ways to ease LTD's cash flow issues.

Simon also agreed to the Wexner family retaining a 10% stake and Leslie Wexner remaining as chairman and CEO. Leslie Wexner was LTD's founder, and his family held about 30% of LTD's shares.

In the original timeline, Leslie Wexner controlled LTD for many years, proving his capabilities. Circe Capital's acquisition was more of an investment, with no intent to wrest control from Wexner.

The meeting ended after 5 PM.

Simon and Janet returned to their Fifth Avenue apartment, stopping by the Westeros Tower construction site.

Today was April 1, Wednesday.

April Fool's Day.

Since construction began in January, the old buildings had been demolished, and the foundation was being excavated.

The workers had left for the day, so the couple just took a quick look before leaving.

"We negotiated with the NYC Subway for a long time to add a station next to our building. We have to cover the $10 million cost. Also, a lot of Eastern European illegal workers are employed by Tishman. I discussed this with James, and he said it's not a big deal."

As Janet talked about the construction details, they soon arrived at the Fifth Avenue

 apartment.

Simon wasn't too concerned about the illegal workers. "No construction site in New York uses only legal workers; there aren't enough local workers. And if something goes wrong, Tishman's Speyer family, with a century in the business, can handle it."

Entering the apartment, they were greeted by Janet's yoga instructor, Arya Mukherjee, from India.

Months of training had left Janet's figure even better than before her pregnancy.

This skilled, attractive Indian woman had stayed on, with Simon jokingly asking if she planned to work in Hollywood.

Many stars started as trainers before transitioning to acting, like Steven Seagal, once Michael Ovitz's judo coach.

Arya seemed interested but patient and ambitious, so Simon let her stay.

After a bath with Janet, who went to the kitchen to arrange dinner, Simon changed into a wool sweater and slacks, then sat on the living room sofa, watching CNN news and sketching in a drawing book.

A special fragrance wafted in, and Simon paused his drawing, looking up to see Arya placing a cup of coffee before him. Smiling, he returned to his storyboards.

Moments later, the scent lingered, and a voice said, "Sir, your drawing is amazing."

Simon glanced at Arya, crouched beside him with arms resting on the sofa arm, her gaze filled with just the right amount of curiosity and admiration.

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