Chasing Stars in Hollywood

France, Euro Disneyland in the eastern suburbs of Paris.

After riding the Indiana Jones roller coaster, the couple, wearing matching Mickey and Minnie T-shirts, left the attraction and wandered around until they found a lawn, where they laid down together.

Pressing Simon to lie on the grass, Janet casually removed her sunglasses and comfortably lay on his chest.

Fully equipped with baseball caps and sunglasses, dressed like any ordinary couple, they had been playing in Disneyland all day. Though they encountered some curious glances, they were not recognized.

It was already evening.

The summer sunset bathed them in a perfectly warm light, inducing a sense of laziness.

Janet nuzzled against Simon like a cat and said, "How about we skip Cannes tonight?"

Simon wrapped his arm around her waist and nodded without hesitation, "Sure."

Today was Monday, May 18.

The 45th Cannes Film Festival had opened on May 7, and tonight was the closing ceremony.

Having not been to Europe for a long time, there were inevitably many things to handle here.

Taking advantage of the festival, Simon had flown over with Janet last Friday.

They spent Saturday in Florence, Italy, and flew to Helsinki, Finland, yesterday. With today being a relatively free Monday with fewer tourists, Simon brought Janet to the recently opened Euro Disneyland.

In fact, it was also a chance to personally experience the operation of Disneyland.

After six years of construction, costing $5 billion and covering nearly 20 square kilometers, Euro Disneyland had officially opened on April 12. In the past month, visitor numbers were only half of Disney's initial expectations, leading to significant losses and a heavy debt burden, embarrassing the ambitious Disney executives.

The poor start of Euro Disneyland had a very noticeable impact on the ongoing preparations for Universal Studios Osaka.

The most direct effect was that the Osaka city government had finally relented, no longer insisting on converting all the land into Universal Studios Osaka shares but instead opting for half cash and half stock. According to the nearly finalized plan in Japan, the Osaka city government's stake in Universal Studios Osaka would be compressed to about 5%.

For Simon, the failure of Euro Disneyland also brought many warnings.

The Disneyland in the suburbs of Paris was largely influenced by the great success of Tokyo Disneyland. Disney's management had blind confidence in the project, leading to aggressive planning and construction, with the initial $1 billion budget ballooning to $5 billion.

European countries had also fought hard to attract this theme park, which could positively impact the economy and employment.

This aggressiveness and blind optimism had very serious consequences.

The poor start was just the beginning.

In Simon's memory, Euro Disneyland, later renamed Disneyland Paris, never turned a profit in its decades of operation.

Continuous losses led to significant losses for all the investors involved.

Moreover, such a massive project couldn't simply declare bankruptcy due to the severe consequences, forcing Disney to continually subsidize its operation.

The lack of detailed market research, over-optimism leading to budget overruns, and failure to localize the operation to the market were significant mistakes in the planning and construction of Euro Disneyland. These were all critical issues that needed attention for the upcoming Universal Studios Osaka.

Pondering these thoughts, Simon suddenly remembered something else.

Originally, Disney, even during its downturn around the turn of the millennium, remained a Hollywood giant with enough capital to subsidize Euro Disneyland.

However, now with the rise of Daenerys Entertainment, Disney was clearly being suppressed.

For example, Pixar, the 3D animation studio that sustained Disney's long-standing dominance in animated films, had long been acquired by Simon, and "Toy Story" had become a significant IP for Daenerys Entertainment.

Additionally, some of Disney's blockbuster projects in the 1990s, like "Pretty Woman" and "The Lion King," had also been intercepted by Simon.

Even Miramax, originally an important Disney subsidiary, was now an obscure small workshop.

Even Disney's crucial 2D animation business was limited in scale due to Simon's early acquisition of Pixar, which prevented the shift from hand-drawn to digital animation.

Overall, Disney, although still in decent shape among Hollywood studios, could no longer afford to acquire a conglomerate like Capital Cities/ABC Group.

The wave of media consolidation in the USA had already begun.

If Disney couldn't expand to become a comprehensive media group, it would likely be swallowed by other large media conglomerates in the trend towards resource concentration in the US media industry.

Two or three decades later, the most powerful Hollywood studios, whether Disney, Warner Bros., or Universal, were all part of a larger media conglomerate.

Up-and-comers like Lionsgate, due to maintaining independence, could never truly compete with traditional major studios, experiencing brief success with one or two blockbuster series before fading.

Moreover, current Disney was already showing signs of internal instability in its management.

In the original timeline, Disney's slump around the turn of the millennium was due to internal power struggles.

Such internal strife would undoubtedly further hinder Disney's development.

Simon began to consider that perhaps one day he could also bring this venerable studio into his fold. Or, let it fade away like United Artists, RKO, and later MGM.

Euro Disneyland, as a significant burden, would undoubtedly play a role in Disney's decline.

Lost in thought, Simon was suddenly interrupted by a pair of small hands grabbing his face and kneading it.

Simon pretended to bite one of the hands, but the little paws fearlessly 'pounced' together, making him shut his mouth quickly.

After playfully pinching his face a few more times, Janet finally let him go. Propping herself on his chest, she looked into his eyes and said, "No more thinking about work. Think about where we should go tomorrow."

Simon wrapped his arms around her waist and said, "How about we visit the Château Latour winery?"

Janet nodded and then remembered something. "Dad reminded me to prepare some red wine for David's wedding at the end of the year."

Though the old man was never satisfied with David Johnston's fiancée, his pride remained intact.

Tickling her waist, Simon joked, "Just pick something decent. I'll feel the pinch if it's too good."

Janet gave him a threatening look, acting like a wife ready to side with her family.

However, after a moment of staring into his eyes, she became puzzled. "You really don't seem to mind at all?"

Simon pretended to be displeased. "Do you think I'm stingy?"

"Of course not."

Janet said this while tilting her head as if seriously pondering.

Simon tried to mimic her earlier face kneading but was suddenly bitten on the hand by Janet.

After a moment of playful fighting, Janet calmed down and said, "I understand now."

"Hmm?"

"You really consider the Johnstons as your own family."

Simon's heart skipped a beat, but he showed no change in expression and said naturally, "You are my family."

"No, no!"

Janet shook her head, as if bothered by a critical issue.

But Simon stood up, pulling her up with him, kissed her, and whispered in her ear, "Let's go back. I'll help you with your problem."

Janet's cheeks turned red.

Having given birth just last December, it had only been six months. Without breastfeeding since sending the baby to Australia, she often faced a particular problem.

As they walked out of the park, Janet gave Simon a reproachful look.

Such an obvious diversion was too clumsy.

However, the previous issue was truly perplexing.

Moreover, this feeling wasn't new; it had been a persistent, elusive thought.

After six years together, she knew him almost better than anyone else.

Deep down, he seemed like someone from another planet, carrying a near-indifferent detachment towards this world.

Over the years, only a few people had truly entered his heart.

Yet, she often felt that he treated all her family as his own.

The subtle differences were indiscernible to most, but she keenly sensed them.

For instance, with Patrick Johnston, she could feel he treated Patrick as if he were his own mischievous younger brother, showing the same disdain, reprimanding when necessary, and dismissing him when annoyed.

There was no formality between brothers-in-law, just like her as an older sister.

And there were other little things.

Putting aside the wisdom from his two lives and the experience of over a dozen people, Janet was definitely smarter than Simon, though she rarely showed it.

Sorting through the many details in her mind, she felt she was on the verge of grasping something but always just missed it.

What was missing?

Before she knew it, they were already in the car, heading back to their estate in the western suburbs of Paris.

Back home, Simon seemed to forget the mischievous thoughts from Disneyland, and Janet once again put aside the nagging question that had troubled her for so long.

The couple entered the villa, and Alison Norris, one of the A-girls, came over and handed Simon an invitation. It was from the Broccoli family, inviting him to a party in London tomorrow night.

Clearly, the Broccoli family wanted to discuss the 007 series with Simon.

After the fallout last time, Simon had decided to put the 007 series on hold for a few years. The Broccoli family's current retreat was a bit late, and Simon wasn't planning to change his mind.

Casually tossing the invitation aside, Janet began directing the staff to prepare dinner while Simon headed to his study to email his thoughts from Disneyland to Amy Pascal in Los Angeles and the executives in Japan overseeing Universal Studios Osaka.

The strategy for Disney might be a long-term plan spanning five to ten years, but Universal Studios Osaka was a crucial theme park project for Daenerys Entertainment.

The successful experience of Tokyo Disneyland and the lessons from Euro Disneyland's failure provided ample references for the upcoming theme park.

After sending the emails, Simon checked the weekend's North American box office report.

Mel

 Gibson's "Lethal Weapon 3" had opened last Friday, grossing $33.24 million over its first three days on 2,510 screens, with a projected first-week total of around $45 million.

Just a few years ago, a $45 million opening week would have broken some box office records. But with the rise of wide releases, this number now seemed ordinary for a major blockbuster. In fact, if the upcoming "Wonder Woman" opening on June 5 only grossed $45 million in its first week, it would be considered a failure.

Originally planning to fly to Cannes tonight for the closing ceremony parties, Simon canceled the trip because Janet didn't want to go.

However, Simon still got the festival results immediately.

The Palme d'Or at the 45th Cannes Film Festival went to "The Best Intentions," a screenplay by Swedish film master Ingmar Bergman based on his parents' experiences.

Ingmar Bergman's filmmaking talent was unquestionable.

However, this award seemed more like a recognition of the master's career achievements.

Daenerys Entertainment's entry this year was an adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel "Howards End," starring Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, and Helena Bonham Carter. The film received unanimous praise during its Cannes screening.

However, despite making it to the main competition, "Howards End" came away empty-handed.

The award for Ingmar Bergman's screenplay had been somewhat expected.

Daenerys Entertainment's high-profile presence at film festivals in recent years was currently in a phase of lying low, similar to the strategy during the Oscars in March.

Even though their film didn't win, Ira Deutchman, the head of Gaumont Pictures who attended Cannes, had already started acquiring the rights to several award-winning films like "The Best Intentions" and "A Little Thief's Spring."

Simon had planned for Gaumont Pictures to replace Miramax's former position in Hollywood, with an even greater effort to promote foreign films in North America.

In recent years, Hollywood's rise had made the world's film industries feel significantly threatened.

Daenerys Entertainment's strong support for foreign films entering North America aligned with its own interests and could greatly alleviate the resistance to Hollywood films in overseas markets, at least to those produced by Daenerys Entertainment.

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