Chasing Stars in Hollywood

"Simon, do you think I could try out for the role of Gabrielle in Daenerys' upcoming 'Desperate Housewives'?" Brooke Shields asked at the CK after-party.

Brooke Shields was well-known for her controversial CK jeans ad and had maintained a good relationship with CK. She came to show her support tonight.

A few years ago, after acquiring New World Entertainment, Simon personally removed Brooke Shields from the lead role in the comic adaptation film "Brenda Starr." He wasn't fond of this actress, who had won the first Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress.

When Brooke brought up the upcoming 'Desperate Housewives' and gave him a seductive glance, Simon was unmoved and shook his head with a smile. "I'm sorry, Brooke, but the role of Gabrielle is for a Latina."

Brooke Shields persisted. "I speak Spanish. Playing a Latina shouldn't be a problem. And Simon, if you wanted to, changing the script wouldn't be a big deal, right?"

"But," Simon shrugged, dispelling Brooke's hopes, "that role has already been cast."

"Alright," Brooke's expression showed a hint of disappointment. She glanced at Janet, who was chatting with Cindy Crawford and a few others not far away, and quickly slipped a card into Simon's jacket pocket. "But, Simon, if you have any suitable roles, you can always call me."

Simon looked at the corner of the card sticking out of his pocket and teased, "What if there's no opportunity, Brooke? Can I still call you?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow and quickly nodded. "Of course, I'm already looking forward to it."

As they chatted, CK founder Calvin Klein walked over. After some casual conversation, Brooke Shields tactfully left.

Once Brooke was gone, Calvin Klein asked, almost casually, "Simon, how did you find CK's show?"

Simon nodded. "The designs were quite nice."

"Well," Calvin Klein hesitated a bit but then got straight to the point. "CK is currently facing some financial difficulties. I was wondering if you might be interested in investing in my company?"

During the show, Janet had mentioned that Sophia had already set her sights on CK and might soon make contact.

Simon didn't expect Calvin Klein to bring up the matter directly.

Shaking his head, Simon said, "Calvin, the problem is, I don't know much about CK."

"If you're interested, Simon, I can send you some information tomorrow. The issues CK faces aren't major. Outside our main product lines, our recent men's underwear and fragrance lines are selling very well, but we are a bit tight on cash. If you're willing to invest in CK, I'm sure you'll see significant returns in the future."

Janet had just said that CK was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Now, Calvin Klein was downplaying the problems. Simon didn't believe him but understood why Klein was saying this. If he were in the same position, he'd try to reel in potential investors no matter what.

"No need for the information, Calvin," Simon thought for a moment and said, "I'll take some time to look into CK myself. If it's worth investing in, I'll have someone contact you."

Calvin Klein looked disappointed. He had been seeking financial support for CK to get through its current difficulties.

Providing information to Westeros could pique their interest. Even if they weren't interested, he could use their name to lure in other investors.

But it seemed Simon had seen through this little trick.

Without showing any change in his expression, Calvin Klein continued to introduce CK's situation before walking away.

After chatting with Klein, Simon walked over to Janet.

Janet wasn't particularly tall, but this was relative. Among a group of 'fairies' in high heels, all around six feet tall, she seemed 'petite.' However, her long-nurtured aristocratic demeanor and current status made her the center of any gathering.

Casually wrapping his arm around Janet's waist, Simon glanced at the surrounding 'fairies' and asked with a smile, "What are you all talking about?"

Cindy Crawford, with her eyes shining, looked at Simon and said, "When women gather, of course, we're talking about men."

Simon sighed. "Looks like I've missed a lot of exciting stories. Why don't you all continue and pretend I'm not here?"

Linda Evangelista, standing next to Cindy, boldly said, "But Simon, you're too dazzling. We can feel your presence even with our eyes closed."

Simon looked at the legendary supermodel next to Cindy and smiled. "Flattery like that really satisfies a man's vanity. Linda, let's hear more."

Having only seen him from afar at last year's Milan Fashion Week opening party, Linda was surprised that Simon could call her name directly and seemed familiar. She said, "Simon, you know me?"

Simon put on a faux-worried expression. "Oops, busted. Looks like Janet will have to question me thoroughly later."

Janet playfully rolled her eyes and made a 'you wait and see' face.

Everyone laughed.

They understood it was just a joke.

If there was to be questioning, the women thought Janet would be more curious about the 'waist spirit' and 'leg spirit' business, considering Yasmin Ghauri and Nadja Auermann were standing nearby.

However, from their interactions, the women sensed that Janet didn't mind her husband's various flings and didn't show the instinctive hostility common among wealthy wives.

Perhaps this was an opportunity.

After chatting for a while longer, Simon and Janet left the CK party.

The next day was Sunday.

Though no work was scheduled, their day was still full.

In the morning, the couple went to East Hampton, Long Island, to visit Steve Ross again. They returned in the afternoon, and in the evening attended a party at the Lauder family, with many top executives from the Westeros system's East Coast operations attending.

After the weekend, Simon returned to the West Coast while Janet stayed behind.

Besides the Victoria's Secret parent company LTD acquisition, Janet planned to review the finances and personnel of all Westeros system companies.

Recently, quarterly or annual financial reports of Westeros system's holdings, such as Verizon, AOL, Melisandre, Egret, Cersei Capital, Nokia, SUN, Oracle, Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, and others, had been released.

As the Westeros system grew, Simon lacked the energy and professional skills to handle all these matters, which Janet usually managed. She had an extraordinary talent for it.

After a year of pregnancy, Janet was picking up many things she had set aside.

Just last week, for various reasons, Janet had decisively fired over thirty people at Cersei Capital. In the coming weeks, similar purges were expected in other Westeros system companies where issues were found.

Due to the mountain of accumulated work, Janet would stay on the East Coast for the next few weeks, meaning Simon would have to fly over from the West Coast to spend weekends with her.

Back in Los Angeles, after another round of auditions, the four housewives for "Desperate Housewives" were finally cast.

Susan Mayer would be played by Connie Sellecca, Bree Van de Kamp by Sela Ward, Lynette Scavo by Patricia Wettig, and Gabrielle Solis by Laura Harring.

Simon, familiar or not with the actresses, found them all fitting the images of the housewives from his memory, and their acting credentials surpassed those of the original cast.

Three-time Emmy winner Patricia Wettig and Simon's direct pick Sela Ward were no-brainers. Connie Sellecca, at 37, was more mature and sensual than the original Teri Hatcher and had appeared in over twenty films and TV shows since the '70s, despite never gaining major fame.

Gabrielle's actress, Laura Harring, 26, born in Mexico, had moved to the U.S. and won the 'Miss USA' title in 1985, perfectly fitting Gabrielle's character. She had also appeared in David Lynch's 2001 film "Mulholland Drive" alongside Naomi Watts.

With the four housewives cast, auditions for the supporting roles began, and the Wisteria Lane set at Universal Studios was scheduled to start construction soon.

With most office departments moved to Malibu's Daenerys Studios, Universal Studios had plenty of free space, and the operations team was looking to use this space to add new attractions.

If "Desperate Housewives" became a hit, the Wisteria Lane set could become a new Universal Studios attraction.

Once all pre-production was completed, "Desperate Housewives" would start filming in July and premiere on USA Network in September.

Because March 13 was Janet's birthday, Simon worked only until Thursday that week before flying to New York again.

New York Fashion Week was still ongoing. Due to some brand events for Gucci and Van Cleef & Arpels, Sophia would also fly in this weekend and try to contact CK.

After attending CK's show and party last week, Simon had looked into the company's situation.

Unlike Calvin Klein's downplaying at the party, CK's problems were very serious.

Besides cash flow issues due to the economic downturn, Calvin Klein had excessively licensed the CK brand in the '80s to expand the company and chase more profits as the brand's fame grew.

Simply put, other manufacturers were allowed to use the CK brand.

While this increased revenue in the short term, any savvy businessperson knew this wasn't sustainable.

Calvin Klein had realized this and spent the past two years trying to revoke these licenses, leading to a series of disputes and lawsuits.

Combining this with information from his memory, Simon saw that these issues were temporary.

Once these hurdles were cleared, CK would have a bright future. Simon's memory confirmed CK remained a top luxury brand for many years, proving this point.

However, unlike Simon, who could see the future, most potential investors only saw a mess, ready to collapse at any moment. The economic downturn had affected many companies, making investors very cautious.

Overall, it

 was a great opportunity to buy at a discount.

Sophia Facci met with Calvin Klein on Saturday, March 14.

Melisandre did not intend to fully acquire CK or replace Calvin Klein as its head.

Though CK had many issues, Calvin Klein's ability to grow the brand over twenty years from scratch was undeniable.

However, Melisandre required at least 51% ownership for absolute control.

Calvin Klein, who had initially thought Simon was uninterested due to his silence, was taken aback by Sophia's contact, seeing a turn of fortune, but also felt the urge to hold out for a better deal.

Though Calvin Klein's own shares were limited, Melisandre's absolute control was something no founder liked.

Given Gucci's rapid rise and Van Cleef & Arpels' success post-acquisition, Melisandre had become a flagbearer in the luxury industry, backed by the giant Westeros system.

Thus, any company Melisandre wanted would attract other investors.

However, Sophia gave Calvin Klein no chance to hold out.

After their meeting, Sophia gave Klein only a day to decide: accept Melisandre's offer or the deal would be off.

This tactic was Simon's idea, learned from Warren Buffett.

Given Berkshire Hathaway's reputation, companies often held out for better offers after receiving interest from Buffett. To avoid this, Buffett often gave very limited consideration time, preventing the target from using Berkshire's interest to drive up the price.

Daenerys Entertainment had long used this tactic for acquiring script rights.

Simon, having built a vast business empire in just six years, now had a reputation far exceeding Berkshire Hathaway.

Thus, any acquisition interest from Westeros or its subsidiaries often attracted other investors' attention, necessitating a similar 'last offer' approach.

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