Chapter 23 Warren Beatty
In the busy summer season, several major Hollywood film companies are showing off their talents and competing with each other.
However, the big news in Hollywood now is that Japanese electronics giant Sony is acquiring Columbia TriStar Film Group, and the three-way fight between Time Inc., Warner Communications and Paramount's parent company Gulf & Western Industries!
Time Inc., which owns assets such as Time Cable, Time Magazine, and HBO Pay TV, and Warner Communications Group, which owns Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Cable, Warner Music, and Warner Publishing have been negotiating for nearly two years, when Time Inc. and Warner Communications announced that they were about to complete the merger, Gulf & Western Industries (Paramount's parent company) suddenly launched a hostile takeover of Time Inc.!
HBO, owned by Time, is the first company in the United States to transmit television signals via satellite and is famous for its high-quality dramas.
Aaron is no stranger to HBO. This profit model that completely abandons the advertising business and charges subscribers is definitely an innovation.
At CAA headquarters, Aaron was talking on the phone with Nicole Kidman in his office. They were going to the Wild at Heart crew in New York to meet with the film's director, David Lynch!
"Be at ease. It won't be a big problem. The investors of Wild at Heart are mainly from Europe, including France's Canal+ TV."
"I dealt with them before when I was in Cannes, and the relationship was pretty good.
I can just talk to David Lynch when the time comes." Aaron had previously recommended the TV rights of Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Cinema Paradiso to Canal+.
"Moreover, the main investor of Wild at Heart is PolyGram in the UK, and they have just entered the film industry recently."
"I am more attractive to them!"
Because Michael Kuhn, who is in charge of PolyGram's film business, has approached him and commissioned him to help find a cooperative North American distributor for Wild at Heart.
Everyone knows that American movies are exclusive, and it is difficult for foreign film companies to distribute their own films in the United States. PolyGram has a strong international record distribution market, but it is still a newcomer in the film industry, therefore, PolyGram's works must be mainly low-cost independent films, and North America needs to cooperate with distributors.
Aaron's "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" won the Cannes Palme d'Or, and this title is his biggest reliance now, by August, if "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" is well released, Aaron's title will be even more famous.
On the other side, Michael Ovitz had just finished a long-distance call with Japan, and soon, his assistant Susan Miller brought Warren Beatty into the office.
"Good afternoon, Michael!"
"Good afternoon, Warren, sit down," Michael Ovitz asked him to sit down, "Susan, bring in two cups of coffee."
Warren Beatty sat on the sofa, "I want to talk about Al's participation in the 'Dick Tracy' project;"
"Why would he refuse this big movie and participate in a stupid love movie?"
Michael Ovitz pressed his eyes, "We should respect his choice, Al is mainly preparing for the upcoming "Godfather 3";"
"Dick Tracy has you, Dustin Hoffman, and Madonna Ciccone. The attention is already high enough!"
"I heard that a young agent of your CAA played a big role in it?"
"Warren, this is all business..."
In the afternoon, Aaron just came to the CAA lobby and was about to leave the company.
"Are you Aaron Anderson?"
Warren Beatty walked towards the young man in front of him under the guidance of his assistant.
Aaron turned around, and the other party's eyes and tone made him very unhappy, "Well, I am, is there something wrong?"
"Young man, Hollywood is not as simple as it seems on the surface. You must have a sense of awe," Warren Beatty looked at Aaron and reminded him.
The 52-year-old Warren Beatty won the Oscar for Best Director in the early 1980s, and there have been no works in recent years, just two years ago, he directed and starred in a big bad movie "Flying Over the Puzzle" with Dustin Hoffman and French actress Isabelle Adjani!
Aaron smiled. Warren Beatty has countless scandals, basically all of which are romantic news. A few years ago, the threesome scandal with Isabelle Adjani was also exposed.
"Awe? Then what?"
For Aaron, Warren Beatty is just an old star who has passed his prime. If you are as good as Clint Eastwood, Aaron will indeed be cautious!
"I heard that you think Dick Tracy is a bad movie?"
Aaron sighed, "Is it because Al Pacino took on Pretty Woman?"
"That was the idea of Jeffrey Katzenberg, a senior executive of Disney, and the director is also optimistic about Mr. Pacino;"
"One is the male lead, and the other is the third male role. Mr. Pacino will choose it himself!"
"Boy, Hollywood depends on resources. You will be unable to move forward like this. Do you believe that you will not be able to sign a star in the future?" Warren Beatty smiled.
Aaron saw that there seemed to be many people watching the show around him, and the senior executives of CAA did not come to the rescue.
"Look at resources, and also look at ability. Hollywood is not what it used to be," Aaron stretched,
"You want me to be unable to sign a star?"
"Haha," Aaron laughed and approached him, "It's been almost ten years, and Director Warren Beatty, who directed and acted in a terrible movie, is going to ban me?"
Warren Beatty's face was livid, and he was determined. He must make him look bad in the future.
"Didn't you just ask me what I thought of "Dick Tracy"? "
Aaron took a few steps back, looked at the people around him, and shouted: "Everyone, please be my witness here, I am optimistic about "Pretty Woman" to be released next year;"
"Mr. Warren Beatty's "Dick Tracy" will compete with this movie in the box office, but I respect the veteran;"
"As long as the box office of "Dick Tracy" to be released next year surpasses of "Pretty Woman", even if I lose, I will leave CAA and no longer participate in the entertainment agency business;"
"If I win, if I win, you will have to leave the film industry!"
Aaron's earth-shattering scene directly shocked everyone present. A new agent and a veteran Hollywood star are just going to confront each other?
Both "Pretty Woman" and "Dick Tracy" were produced by CAA for Disney, but one was favored by Jeffrey Katzenberg and the other by Michael Eisner.
But the investment in "Pretty Woman" was only a little bit bigger, while "Dick Tracy" was a big movie with many stars.
Michael Ovitz upstairs saw this scene but did not stop it because this would greatly promote the promotion of the two movies.
Michael Ovitz did not care what the outcome of the bet would be. A newcomer and a veteran star, CAA, did not care!
END OF THE CHAPTER...
[Box Office Energy Absorbed: $237.1 million+ +22.6 million+ $118 million =$377.7 million.]
Box office increased because, as the distributor increased marketing budget, the box office of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade should be increased by another $45 million, but it only increased by $22.6 million as system is still swallowing.