The term "vanity fair" is intriguing, placing fame before fortune. This order reflects the subconscious priorities of most people regarding the importance of fame and wealth.
However, for those who have climbed to the top of the societal pyramid, accumulating enough wealth is often a prerequisite for pursuing fame.
This is generally true regardless of cultural background, whether Eastern or Western.
For Simon, the desire to showcase oneself and attract attention is still a primal instinct buried deep in human genes, much like a peacock spreading its feathers.
The entertainment industry is undoubtedly one of the quickest ways to gain public attention, with Hollywood being at the very heart of this global industry.
As a result, from early on, capital and magnates from all over the world have been eager to make their mark in Hollywood.
In the past decade or so, people from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, Canada, and even Americans themselves have been setting up film companies in Hollywood, targeting the old big seven studios, or investing as independent producers. The scene has been bustling with activity.
Simon was also aware that, many years later, it would be the turn of the Chinese.
As for the outcomes, most ended up paying a hefty "tuition fee" to Hollywood natives before retreating.
Yet, despite numerous failures, the allure of the vanity fair continues to attract a constant stream of newcomers.
The latest "newcomer" to express interest in Disney was the French conglomerate Vivendi Group.
Vivendi, established in mid-19th century France, began as a monopoly water company responsible for urban water supply in major French cities like Paris and Lyon. Over time, it evolved into a diversified infrastructure giant encompassing water, energy, construction, and transportation.
In the 1980s, Vivendi also began its transformation toward the vanity fair, starting with the launch of France's first pay-TV channel, Canal+, and venturing into film investment. Apparently feeling it had gained sufficient experience, Vivendi naturally set its sights on Hollywood.
In recent years, during the turnover transactions of several major studios like MGM, Paramount, and MCA, Vivendi's presence had been noted.
However, none of these attempts were successful.
This time, Vivendi was well-prepared, directly targeting Disney.
In the original timeline, Disney, thanks to the success of blockbusters like "Pretty Woman," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and "The Lion King," was at the peak of its glory in the 1990s, with a market value of $20 billion, even surpassing Warner Bros, which was still grappling with debts from its merger with Time Inc.
Due to Simon's influence, Disney, which once flourished, was now heavily suppressed by Daenerys Entertainment. It not only lost many lucrative projects but also had underwhelming performances for several consecutive years, and recently faced a high-profile internal strife scandal, further impacting its stock price. Disney's current market value was less than $7 billion.
Moreover, Disney was the only and last major Hollywood studio that had not changed ownership since the 1980s merger wave. Even Warner Bros was initially acquired by Time Inc., with the resulting company later overtaken by Warner executives, giving the illusion of Warner acquiring Time.
Therefore, if Vivendi wanted to realize its Hollywood ambitions, Disney was both the best and only option in the short term.
Just a week after Daenerys Entertainment's IPO, Vivendi Group, likely motivated by Daenerys' soaring stock price, formally initiated contact with Disney's executives. For some reason, this news quickly appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
Moreover, the Los Angeles Times took a noticeably unfriendly stance towards the potential deal, mocking the French for initially resisting Disneyland's cultural invasion, only to turn around and try to invade American culture.
Vivendi's interest in acquiring Disney was partly due to the troubled Paris Disneyland.
This large theme park, which cost $5 billion, had been losing money since it opened in 1992 and was on the verge of bankruptcy, prompting the renaming from "Euro Disney" to "Disneyland Paris."
While French media continued to mock Disneyland Paris, the French government couldn't afford to let such a large theme park go bankrupt.
The massive Disneyland Paris provided over 40,000 jobs, both permanent and temporary, and created a commercial circle involving many more livelihoods.
The European Monetary Crisis two years ago plunged France into recession, with the current unemployment rate at 9.1%. If Disneyland Paris were to go bankrupt, it would not only leave a significant mess but could also further deteriorate the Paris regional economy.
The failure of Disneyland Paris was largely attributed to the blindness and arrogance of Disney's management.
Now, if Vivendi could acquire Disney, the French could directly control the operations of Disneyland Paris.
In Hollywood, the news of Vivendi's contact with Disney was leaked to the Los Angeles Times under Simon's direction.
Since Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures five years ago, U.S. media had been calling on the federal government to take action to prevent foreign capital from invading the U.S. cultural industry. The most widely accepted solution was to quickly lift the ban on media consolidation, allowing major Hollywood studios and large U.S. public television networks to merge to resist foreign takeovers.
The wave of public opinion that erupted in March caused a series of legislative initiatives related to the Westeros system to stall, including the near-final step to reopen the media consolidation ban.
The relationship between the United States and France has never been particularly warm.
Simon aimed to leverage public opinion to push Congress to vote on lifting the media consolidation ban quickly.
Otherwise, with another Hollywood giant being acquired by foreigners, half of Hollywood could fall into the hands of foreign capital, which would be unacceptable to Americans who are also proud of their culture. The congressional figures blocking the media consolidation ban would undoubtedly become targets of media criticism.
As for Daenerys Entertainment, lifting the media consolidation ban would allow the company to further expand into the traditional television industry.
Ohio.
It's Monday, July 11.
With the new box office week starting last Friday, two heavyweight films debuted in North American theaters: Arnold Schwarzenegger's "True Lies" and Julia Roberts' romantic comedy "I Love Trouble."
However, the most talked-about film these days was still "Forrest Gump."
After spending the weekend with his family in Los Angeles, Simon flew to Ohio early Monday morning.
The "Military Consulting and Security Services Company" (MCSA), a private military force directly reporting to Simon, had taken shape after a period of preparation. With the help of Leslie Wexner, the former owner of LTD Group (Victoria's Secret's parent company), Simon purchased 12,000 acres of land in the southern mountains of Ohio as MCSA's training base.
Located inland, Ohio provided a setting for the training base that was as discreet as possible from public scrutiny. The 50-square-kilometer training base was nestled in a valley surrounded by hills and included a meandering river within the private estate.
Unlike in Europe, Simon's expectation for MCSA was quality over quantity. Thus, in two months, under the management of Celia Miller, Dan Rubier, and Martin Stillman, MCSA had recruited only 150 permanent members, including 50 retired officers of various ranks from the U.S. military and 100 former U.S. Special Forces soldiers.
These members' initial tasks were to complete the training base's construction and operational setup and to train a group of female bodyguards for the Westeros family.
Besides the 150 already recruited MCSA employees, Celia Miller was also responsible for recruiting 100 young women with various athletic talents from universities across the United States, mostly aged 18 to 22, from freshmen to seniors.
The American perception of education credentials is not as strong as in China.
The generous treatment of the Westeros female attendants was well-known, so most girls were willing to drop out of their current studies upon receiving an interview invitation.
After a rigorous first-round selection, Celia picked 100 girls from over 2,000 candidates. These girls would undergo intensive training, with only 20 to 30 expected to remain. Most would still be eliminated. However, the Westeros company promised that those eliminated could return to school, with Westeros covering the relevant communication with their alma maters and providing a one-time scholarship of $50,000.
Around 2 PM, Simon arrived at the MCSA training base near Furlston City in southern Ohio and saw the group of girls undergoing training for the first time.
The training for bodyguards and soldiers differs significantly.
Thus, some MCSA instructors would only be responsible for these girls' firearms, physical fitness, and combat training. The professional skills needed by bodyguards, such as surveillance, communication, and counter-espionage, would be taught by former U.S. Secret Service instructors and CIA specialists hired by the Westeros company.
Standing on the edge of the firing range, Simon watched a line of tall, well-built girls in camouflage uniforms practicing shooting. He then looked around.
The open shooting range had at least four visible cameras, and the entire training ground was under surveillance.
Simon also knew that these cameras were linked to a monitoring center not within the training base but in Columbus, 100 kilometers away. The Los Angeles Dumay Peninsula Manor monitoring center could also access these surveillance feeds anytime.
The long-term plan was to maintain surveillance of the training base.
In the short term, however, it was to ensure the absolute safety of the 100 girls currently training at the shooting range.
These girls, standing between 175 cm and 180 cm tall, with athletic backgrounds in track and field, basketball, or martial arts, were generally more capable of self-defense than average women.
Unfortunately, this was a military camp.
The proportion of female soldiers experiencing sexual assault in the federal military is staggering. Even girls with above-average physical abilities would stand little chance against former special forces soldiers.
Simon didn't want the girls, destined to become the closest female guards
to the Westeros family, to suffer such harm.
Thus, in addition to strict monitoring of the training facilities, these girls did not live within the base but in the nearby town of Furlston. There was also a significant proportion of female instructors, and strict preventive training regulations were in place.
To further ensure safety, the girls were even forbidden from interacting with anyone outside their instructors.
Noticing Simon's gaze, Celia, dressed in her usual black OL suit, couldn't help but smile and say, "Simon, I think you're not training bodyguards, but rather raising daughters."
Simon withdrew his gaze, looked at the woman beside him, and smiled, "Is that your kind of play? We could try that sometime."
Celia, after a brief pause to understand the implication, blushed and gave him a playful glare. "I mean, your protective instincts towards the women around you are exceptionally strong."
Simon replied, "Actually, you're suggesting 'possessiveness,' right?"
Celia hesitated slightly but didn't deny it.
Simon didn't deny it either, saying, "Of course, it's possessiveness—a very pure, primal male possessiveness. Since these girls are within my domain, I naturally want to prevent them from becoming targets for other males."
Celia's eyes flickered as she asked a somewhat pointed question, "And what about you?"
Simon glanced at her with a mischievous smile, "I'm the exception. Everything within my domain belongs to me, including all of you."
Celia's eyes widened slightly, but she couldn't help avoiding his gaze. "You're like a lion on the savannah."
Simon didn't respond.
Celia wasn't the first woman to have that thought.
After a brief silence, Celia spoke again, "Boss, why aren't you saying anything?"
Simon asked, "What?"
Celia teasingly said, "Are you feeling embarrassed because I called you out?"
Simon watched as the girls, having completed a few sets of training, began gathering towards them under the instructor's direction. He said, "Celia, you're familiar with my upbringing."
The woman paused and nodded.
Simon continued, "For you, or rather, for most people in this world, from a young age, you've received very traditional human societal education. You believe this world is bright, beautiful, and orderly, at least to some extent. However, I don't see it that way."
Celia remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
Simon did not pause for long and quickly added, "For me, growing up at the bottom of society, my view of the world is harsh and brutal, where the strong prey on the weak. If you aren't strong enough, you will be eliminated. Later, as I ascended to my current position, I still see the top of the societal pyramid as brutal and competitive. So, I'm different from you all—I've always been different. My worldview has always been one of survival of the fittest. You asked if I felt embarrassed, but unfortunately, your moral standards don't apply to me. In my view, the strong have everything. And if you're weak and can't become strong, you should accept your place."
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