Chasing Stars in Hollywood

Starting from the week of April 4, the Westeros System initiated three major lawsuits against the Hearst Group on Monday. On Wednesday, Daenerys Entertainment Group officially submitted its IPO application. The buzz from these two significant news events had yet to die down when on Friday, April 8, the Westeros System created another explosive headline.

After a period of exposure and warm-up by various media, Egret Corporation officially announced that its most popular internet tool, the IE browser, would be free for public use.

At the Friday morning press conference, Egret CEO Tim Berners-Lee stated that this move aimed to further promote the openness of the World Wide Web platform.

For users, this meant that from now on, IE users worldwide would no longer be hindered by fees and could update to the latest version of the browser software promptly.

For enterprises, the latest technological advancements in the internet industry could thus be disseminated to users through the IE software platform without delay.

During the media Q&A session after the press conference, Tim Berners-Lee faced questions about whether the IE browser's free availability was a response to potential antitrust investigations against Egret Corporation. He firmly denied this and reiterated Egret's numerous efforts over the past few years to promote the openness of the World Wide Web. He also accused the recent improper lawsuits against various Westeros System tech companies of being driven by malicious media and opportunistic politicians seeking to stir up trouble.

Given the recent conflicts between the Westeros System and the Hearst Group, the target of Berners-Lee's accusations was clear.

The journalists present quickly realized that the Westeros System was also likely facing a 'lawsuit bombardment.' However, the plaintiffs suing the Westeros System tech companies were noticeably weaker, receiving only media support behind the scenes, unlike the millions of dollars in real money that Simon Westero had thrown at the three lawsuits he initiated on Monday.

Against a behemoth like the Westeros System, the chances of winning those lawsuits were slim. Even if some managed to eke out a victory, it was unlikely to cause substantial damage to the Westeros System.

Currently, only the federal authorities had the power to balance the Westeros System's continued rapid expansion.

However, the White House, rumored to have a close relationship with the Westeros System, had yet to take any action.

Although there were calls from both houses of Congress, reaching a consensus among the faction-ridden Senate and House of Representatives was challenging. Moreover, the majority of seats in both houses were held by Democrats, and the Westeros System was known as the Democrats' largest benefactor.

Egret suddenly giving up hundreds of millions of dollars annually by making IE free was likely driven by a mix of promoting internet openness, corporate self-interest, and addressing potential antitrust threats—details known only to Egret's core executives.

Certainly, one must also consider the influence of a particular young individual.

Egret's senior executives rarely communicated directly with the media. After addressing the free IE browser, the reporters did not forget to mention the increasingly popular "Happy Farm."

Although the Egret portal had not immediately released the player numbers for "Happy Farm" in its second week, resourceful media still obtained the data.

After rapidly accumulating 6.97 million players in the first week, "Happy Farm" saw a record increase to 8.29 million in the second week, bringing the total to a staggering 15.26 million players in just two weeks.

In terms of revenue, the second week brought in $4.37 million compared to the first week's $2.61 million, despite the significant increase in overseas players without fully developed payment channels. A 67% weekly revenue growth might not match the 118% player increase, but it still far exceeded the initial expectations of the operating team.

Some within Egret had proposed delaying the game's overseas release to maximize future earnings as global online payment tools became more widespread.

However, Jeff Bezos vetoed the suggestion before it even reached Simon.

Upon learning of the internal debate, Simon personally sent an email to the Egret management, expressing his support for Bezos's decision.

Firstly, the development difficulty of "Happy Farm" was very low, similar to how a Chinese studio launched the game in 2008, and the following year, an American counterpart produced an equally successful imitation.

Delaying the overseas release of "Happy Farm" could lead to a similar situation.

Furthermore, if it were just a game, it might not be a big deal. However, if the overseas market were preempted, it could enable other internet companies to rise using similar games, which Simon least wanted to see.

Egret's initial goal in developing Facebook was to create a massive social network connecting the globe.

Such efforts previously had to rely as much as possible on celebrity endorsements and other means.

Now, the phenomenon-level "Happy Farm" genuinely united thousands of players of different languages, nationalities, and races in a virtual social game.

In just two weeks, driven by the game's popularity, Facebook's global user base surged from 49 million to 53 million in the first week, and then to 61 million in the second week, a total increase of 12 million users in two weeks, with approximately 5 million coming from overseas. Prior to this, Facebook's user base of 49 million included only about 13 million overseas users.

The strong stimulus from "Happy Farm" on Facebook's user growth meant that even if the game didn't earn a penny, it would be worth it for Egret. Therefore, neither Simon nor the core Egret executives would short-sightedly sacrifice Facebook's overseas expansion opportunity for a single game's profit.

Few industry peers and media could discern the key points, focusing instead on whether Egret would continue to open its platform to other game developers.

After Simon made the decision last Friday, the Egret management spent the past week discussing and drafting the relevant terms.

At the IE free plan press conference, when asked by the media, Tim Berners-Lee also confirmed that Egret would maintain an open cooperative attitude in the online gaming field. Not only would it not close its platform to external game developers, but Egret also wouldn't set up its game development team, instead sourcing game content from external developers.

Even though Tim Berners-Lee added that Egret's venture capital department would establish a special fund of about $100 million to invest in online game development, such a response still excited many.

Egret not directly engaging in game development and entirely sourcing content externally meant handing over most of the massive profits from the online game market.

Was it a miracle from God, or an angel descending to earth?

IE's free availability would benefit billions of ordinary internet users, and the open gaming cooperation strategy would bring substantial benefits to numerous game developers worldwide.

News from Egret's headquarters in San Francisco quickly spread globally through various channels. Video game companies in North America, Europe, and Asia held special high-level meetings, with some companies eager to contact Egret management to secure a position in potential future collaborations.

On the same day, Hollywood officially announced the previously rumored "Jurassic Park 2" project.

Steven Spielberg's complete exit was expected.

However, the sudden emergence of new director Michael Bay drew strong media attention. Upon investigation, it was discovered that this filmmaker was previously just an MV director with only one unreleased film.

For a series with nearly a $1 billion global box office potential, Daenerys Entertainment's use of a relatively inexperienced director, even with Simon Westero's proven eye for talent on many successful projects, raised concerns and skepticism among the media.

Due to Daenerys Entertainment's tight-lipped approach, details were scarce, and attention turned to Michael Bay's debut film, "Stargate," set for release on May 13.

Leveraging the internet, particularly Facebook, traditional newspapers couldn't even report the news in time before it became a hot topic on social networks within hours.

Michael Bay's personal details were quickly dug up.

It was revealed that this talented MV director had won several top MV industry awards and directed the first "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show." Even though the show had only been held twice, the first show's recording had already become a classic among many men.

As for "Stargate," its background was also substantial.

The screenplay was written by Roland Emmerich, director of the DC film universe's "Superman" series, who also served as producer. Emmerich's "Superman" was not only a box office hit but also earned him the role of directing "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," a key crossover in the DC film universe.

With such a script, quality was assured.

Although media and public skepticism about Michael Bay directing "Jurassic Park 2" remained widespread, within a day, the May 13 release of "Stargate" had already achieved promotional effects worth millions.

Even many Hollywood peers had to admire Daenerys Entertainment's brilliant marketing.

Of course, many were waiting for the show to go on.

If "Stargate" failed to meet audience expectations or even flopped, it would undoubtedly impact fans' anticipation for "Jurassic Park 2." Daenerys Entertainment might have to replace the director, which would be difficult given the announced filming schedule, unless Simon Westero himself, who hadn't directed in years, stepped in.

On the same day, Daenerys Entertainment quietly released another new film during the second week of the Easter season: the Jim Carrey comedy "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective."

Compared to last week's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3" with a total investment of $60 million in production and marketing, "Ace Ventura" had a production budget of only $15 million and a marketing budget of $10 million. The film's opening on 1,837 screens was also far smaller than the 2,763 screens for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3."

Moreover, compared to the acceptable 6.3 composite media score for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 

3," critics, who typically dislike spoof comedies, gave Jim Carrey's new film a composite score of only 5.1.

With a mid-low budget, mediocre reviews, and a post-Easter release, all these factors seemed to point to "Ace Ventura" being a lukewarm box office dud.

Since confessing a certain matter to Janet after Easter, Simon had been facing severe domestic abuse.

Simon could sense that Janet wasn't truly angry or resistant but rather showed a strange excitement, likely feeling a special sense of 'you can never break up with me.' However, outwardly, she continued to haughtily scold Simon as a bastard, rogue, pervert, liar, and big cheat.

That was too much.

So, Simon was thoroughly thrashed.

Simon suffered even more.

Veronica, facing Janet in a small manic state, had directly fled to Europe under the pretext of a business trip.

After a few days, Simon finally decided to 'run away from home' in protest, flying to New York on Friday, April 8.

Well.

There were important matters to attend to.

As the TV upfront season approached in May, many affairs of Daenerys TV department on the East Coast required Simon's attention.

After acquiring the "Friends" project from ICM, Daenerys TV recently negotiated a TV series project with "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton called "ER."

Medical dramas have always been a major category in American television, and "ER" can be considered a pinnacle in the genre. Many popular medical dramas like "Grey's Anatomy" that followed in the new century clearly bear its influence.

Moreover, the character of Dr. Chen, played by Ming-Na Wen in "ER," unexpectedly ingrained the image of Asian doctors in the American psyche, leading many Asians to choose medical professions after the show.

Daenerys TV already launched the hit combination of "Seinfeld" and "Desperate Housewives" in addition to its popular reality shows. If "Friends" and "ER" achieve the same success as in the original timeline, Daenerys Entertainment will have two more aces in the TV field.

The American TV industry produces hundreds of series annually, not much fewer than Hollywood movies.

Thus, phenomenon-level popular TV series are rare and invaluable. Daenerys Entertainment's four aces each represent potential billions in revenue and further bolster its ongoing expansion into television.

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