Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 20 Al Pacino

At the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, Steven Reuther and Aaron Anderson met the returning Al Pacino.

"The script for 'Pretty Woman' is just too silly for me. Can anyone really like this kind of story?"

Al Pacino has performed in stage plays on Broadway in New York for four years. This time he officially returns to the stage, mainly for "The Godfather 3";
He was really not optimistic about the script of "Pretty Woman".

"Are you really not going to reconsider it?" Steven Ruther didn't expect the other party to say that.

Al Pacino shook his head, "This role isn't right for me, Steven!"

"Mr. Pacino," Aaron Anderson, who had been sitting silently on the side, spoke up, immediately attracting the attention of the two men.

Facing Al Pacino's gaze, Steven Reuther explained, "He's Aaron Anderson, a young agent from CAA. He was the one who convinced Jeffrey Katzenberg to make 'Pretty Woman'."

Al Pacino nodded. I originally thought he was Steven Reuther's assistant?

"Oh, what are you trying to say?"

Aaron looked at him, "Mr. Pacino, do you want to work with Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman in Dick Tracy?"

"If a movie could be successful just by throwing together a few stars, CAA would have become the film industry's holy grail long ago!"

"You don't like Dick Tracy?"

Aaron laughed, "The success of Rain Man is not so easy to replicate. A large part of the box office revenue is due to Tom Cruise;"

"Mr. Pacino was supposed to be in the sequel to 'The Godfather Part III,' but why did he join a gangster film and play a minor supporting role?"

"The success of a film is nothing more than box office or awards. Will the box office of 'Pretty Woman' really be worse than that of 'Dick Tracy'?"

Al Pacino laughed, and Steven Reuther took the opportunity to talk about Aaron Anderson's deeds at the Cannes Film Festival.

"Are you optimistic about 'Pretty Woman'?"

Aaron nodded. "If I had millions or tens of millions of dollars, I would invest it myself!"

"It's a pity that everyone says they are optimistic about the work they participated in." Al Pacino will not be convinced so easily.

Aaron sighed, "Mr. Pacino, you should listen to other people's opinions. Your agent also suggested that you star in this movie;"

"Mr. Pacino has just made a comeback. There's no need for him to join a crew full of big names. Wouldn't it be better to join a small crew to prove himself?"

Al Pacino was incredibly popular after he starred in The Godfather, but his vision for film selection was terrible.

He was the first choice for "Star Wars", "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull" and "Once Upon a Time in America", but unfortunately, he missed out on them all.

"Aaron Anderson, huh?"

Al Pacino looked at him and said, "Your strengths should be art films. Do you also understand these commercial films?"

Aaron, unfazed, spread his hands and said, "My experience is too limited. I can only discover new talents and new directors. How can I make commercial films?"

"My strength lies in the commercial field. What Mr. Pacino should do most now is to increase his influence. Then he will have no shortage of good scripts. "

“If ‘Pretty Woman’ is successful, it will be Mr. Pacino’s masterpiece, but if ‘Dick Tracy’ is successful, it will also be Warren Beatty’s masterpiece and credit!”

"Haha," Al Pacino laughed. "You're actually undermining Mr. Ovitz, the head of CAA."

Aaron glanced at Steven Reuther and said casually, "When the movie comes out next year, he will be happy to give me a bonus;"

"Dick Tracy is the same with or without Mr. Pacino, but with Mr. Pacino joining the cast of Pretty Woman, success is not far away..."

As the end of May came, good news finally came: Al Pacino had signed a contract with the crew of "Pretty Woman" to play the leading actor in the movie;

Aaron, who had been following the progress of the film, felt relieved.

CAA headquarters building.

Aaron got another script from Quentin Tarantino, "Natural Born Killers", and just gave it to the editorial department for revision.

When I came out, I ran into Richard Lovett again. "Aaron, you deserve all the credit for Julia Roberts being able to play opposite Al Pacino!"

Now, the leading men and women of Pretty Woman are Al Pacino and Julia Roberts;

Richard Lovett appears delighted as Julia Roberts' agent.

"It's okay, congratulations to you," Aaron nodded to the other party. The supporting role could be given to Nicole Kidman, but Aaron thought it was unnecessary!
Richard Lovett smiled and said, "I heard that you didn't think much of Dick Tracy. Mr. Warren Beatty seems a little unhappy."

Although Aaron did not disparage "Dick Tracy" when he was trying to persuade Al Pacino, it was still not a good thing to let Al Pacino, who was interested in the role, withdraw.

Aaron shook his head, not knowing what was going on with this gloating tone.

They are all newcomers to CAA. Isn't it a waste of time to focus on such trivial matters?

"Okay, let's go first." Aaron really didn't have the mood to talk too much with these minor characters, as he was going to meet Adam Sandler!
After leaving CAA, Aaron had just entered his own studio and was about to go home when he received a call from director Tony Scott's assistant.

"Has Mr. Scott taken a liking to the script for 'Fatal Romance'?"

"Okay, I'll bring the screenwriter to visit Mr. Scott then!"

After hanging up the phone, Aaron smiled. Quentin Tarantino's script was picked up, which was pretty fast.

Tony Scott is the director of "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise, and his brother is even more powerful, he is the famous Ridley Scott!

In the evening, Aaron met with Adam Sandler and signed an agency contract with him the next day.

However, Adam Sandler, who was previously a client of agent Ari Emanuel, terminated his contract with the Saturday Night Live production team after following him out of CAA.
Now, Aaron wants to get Adam Sandler back to "Saturday Night Live". After all, this show is really a good workout!
"Don't worry, Lorne Michaels, the producer of Saturday Night Live, is very optimistic about you. You can write and act, so signing a contract won't be a problem."

Outside the CAA building, Aaron Anderson tapped Adam Sandler on the shoulder.

Adam Sandler nodded with a sad look on his face, "But Mr. Ari Emanuel is a little unhappy that I'm not renewing my contract this time!"

Aaron didn't care. "It's good enough that ITA can survive peacefully. Agents like Ari Emanuel will definitely leave. Do you still expect these guys to live and die with ITA?"

You are all Jewish. Do you care about anything other than your own interests? Isn't Adam Sandler right here a good example?

Ditch Ari Emanuel immediately!

(End of this chapter)