After work, I met with Peter Butler, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and I chose the restaurant at noon.

Although we have met occasionally for more than a year and have been invited to attend the big birthday party at the beginning of the year, Peter Butler still feels like a world away from home when he sees Simon again.

His article about Simon in the Los Angeles Times earlier last year also caused controversy over his praise of an 18-year-old. But now, even the most conceited people, in the face of Simon's achievements in more than a year, can only be described as a miracle.

After casually ordering dinner, and after the waiter left, Peter Butler turned to the topic and asked, "Simon, how do you feel about ranking on the Forbes list?"

Simon smiled and said truthfully: "I've been too busy these days, and I haven't had time to feel much." ”

"I don't know how many people would envy you for being so busy," Peter Butler teased, and continued: "Recently, there has been a lot of controversy about the assessment of your personal net worth on the Forbes list, do you personally think that the figure of $3.1 billion is accurate?"

Simon didn't want to cause a series of related chain problems because of this, so he simply nodded and said, "Forbes is still very professional. ”

There's still a lot of time for dinner, and Peter Butler is not in a hurry to discuss this issue in depth, and instead says: "Speaking of which, I recently got a set of data, obviously influenced by your series of successes in Hollywood, the number of students applying for film and television professional colleges in North America this year has more than tripled compared to the past, do you want to give some advice to these young people?"

"Actually, I'm a young man, too," Simon smiled, "and I don't like to give advice to others, because I've always thought it didn't make much sense." ”

Peter Butler said: "It seems that you have not changed much from a year ago, and you are still a pessimist who is very alienated from the world at heart. ”

Simon was noncommittal: "Perhaps." ”

Peter Butler probed, "Do you mind if I put this judgment in my article?"

Simon said indifferently, "It's your freedom." ”

"It seems that you don't care much about the media," Peter Butler said, adding, "Well, let's talk about the movies, Simon." From "Lola Run" to the most recent "Instinct", you've led a total of six films in two years, and all of them have achieved amazing box office results, which has never happened in the entire history of Hollywood. So, can you tell us what is the key to the success of these films?"

Simon thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps, these films just cater to the needs of the audience. ”

Peter Butler asked, "It's no secret that moviegoers' tastes are always the hardest thing to guess, or the industry wouldn't be so risky. So, how do you know that the films you create and choose are just right for the audience?"

"It's a matter of personal talent," Simon said, shaking his head with a smile on his lips, "And, Peter, if there really is some kind of yardstick, do you think I'll tell you?"

Peter Butler also realized that his question was a bit silly.

In two years, all six movies were box office hits. If Simon really had some kind of knack for it, and none of Hollywood's studios would mind paying anything for it, how could he casually tell himself.

But.

After carefully considering the conversation just now, Peter Butler suddenly realized something, looked at Simon intently, and said, "Simon, so you really have some talent that can ensure the success of a film?"

"Peter, there are too many uncertainties for a film to go from script to finish. Even after the film is finished, the process of promoting a film can have an unpredictable impact on its market performance, so I just try to make sure that I make the best I can about a film from start to finish. ”

Peter Butler retorted, "But, Simon, there aren't many people in Hollywood who joke about tens of millions of dollars in investment, and everyone is trying to do the best they can with their projects." ”

The waiter happened to bring two appetizers at this time, Simon waited for a moment, pointed to the seafood salad on the plate, and said: "Actually, Hollywood is very similar to the catering industry, even if a Michelin-starred chef works hard, it is difficult to do better than a three-star chef." ”

Dinners, which were much richer than lunch, were served one after another, and the conversation between the two continued.

The controversy caused by "Vulgar" and "Instinct", the production progress of "Batman", the future development plan of Daenerys Entertainment, Westeros's investment in technology stocks, etc., although Simon cannot be unreserved, Peter Butler still has enough material to write an exclusive article compared to many media outlets that have no access to Simon at all.

It was already nine o'clock in the evening when dinner was over.

Sitting in the car, looking at the city lights passing by the waterfront road, Simon's mind was still stuck on the conversation with Peter Butler tonight.

In more than two years, from nothing to billions of dollars now, even with confidence in the future, Simon still didn't expect to be able to do this in such a short period of time. At the dinner just now, Simon was really speaking from the heart of Peter Butler's question, because the rise was so rapid and so sudden that he really didn't have time to feel much before he found himself standing at the top of the pyramid.

Maybe.

It's time to pause and think about tidying up.

Simon has always been very aware that the two major industries under his name, Westeros and Daenerys Entertainment, have unwittingly accumulated a lot of problems by expanding so rapidly.

Most obviously, he, the third super-rich man in the federal ranking, has no network and social influence to match. All he has is an empty personal fame and an eye-popping fortune, even like a child standing in the middle of the city with a gold nugget.

The United States is a very mature and developed capitalist country, and this is true, but this does not mean that with capital you have everything. After all, this is a world controlled by people, where humans make the rules, humans manipulate the rules, and humans break the rules.

If he continues to run blindfolded like this, Simon thinks that one day he will find that the business territory he has built up in a very short period of time may be as fragile as the house of the two lazy pigs in the story of "The Three Little Pigs".

Land Rover stopped in the courtyard of the mansion before Simon came back to his senses.

The lights were on in the living room of the villa, but Janet was nowhere to be seen. Simon casually untied his tie and went to the living room next to the living room, where he found Janet and Sophia Fercy watching TV on the couch together, each enjoying a glass of red wine.

Seeing Simon, Janet put down the goblet, got up and hugged him again, and said, "Sophia brought us the best red wine from France, would you like to try it?"

"Okay. ”

Simon nodded, stepped forward to shake Sophia Fessie's hand, exchanged a few pleasantries, and sat down on the single sofa next to him.

Sophia Fessie sat down again, watched Janet help Simon bring a glass of red wine, curled up in the man's arms, and took the initiative to find a topic: "This is the 1982 vintage red wine of Bordeaux Saint-Julien, the comprehensive score of climate, precipitation, light and other aspects of this region reached 98 points, and the world's major wine regions have not found such an outstanding vintage in the past 20 years, and it may be difficult to reappear in the future, and the red wine of that year will definitely become a classic worth collecting." ”

Janet waited for Sophia to finish speaking, and said, "I also discussed with Sophia to buy a winery during the day, Simon, what do you think?"

Simon took a sip of his goblet and said with a smile, "I don't know much about this, you can do it if you think it's okay." ”

"Then I'll let Sophia start looking," Janet helped Simon remove his tie and put it aside, and said, "Sophia has brought a total of sixteen properties this time, London, Paris, Rome, Venice...... Anyway, the big cities of Europe have all of them. I looked at it, and it was all very good houses. ”

As Janet spoke, Sophia Fesse noticed Simon's inquiring eyes and took the initiative to take a stack of materials under the coffee table and hand it to Simon. Simon took Janet's soft body and put the information on the woman's lap and flipped through it at will.