Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 4 Saint Denis Film Festival

Park City, Utah, is a famous ski resort where you can enjoy skiing while attending the film festival!

Unfortunately, Aaron Anderson had no money and no mood to enjoy skiing and hot springs.

On the cold streets of Park City, Aaron tightened his scarf and coat, exhaled a breath of white hot air from his mouth, and his eyes kept searching for movies that he remembered on the posters at the entrances of various theaters!

"Come on, Bob, let's go back to the hotel and rest for a while, and then come out later."

"Harvey, did you call a woman in the hotel again?"

"Ah, hahaha, how can we come here without women!"

Two fat men came over and passed by Aaron...

For three consecutive days, Aaron visited almost every theater and open-air screening venue in Park City, but still didn't find any impressive works!
At noon that day, Aaron came to a newly opened cinema, holding a cup of Starbucks, and stood in front of a simple poster.

"Sex, Lies, and Videotape!" Aaron finally smiled. He didn't expect to finally get something before the closing ceremony.
This is a work that won the Cannes Palme d'Or and is one of the representative works of the rise of Hollywood independent films.

I immediately bought a ticket and went to the cinema to watch this independent film, a typical American art film that is very different from the Hollywood business model!

The film mainly tells the story of John Minelli, the owner of a middle-class family, who takes in his old friend Graham, who likes photography. Graham uses a camera to record some of the family's privacy, which causes a series of disturbances.
Cheating, desire, privacy, sex life, voyeurism and psychological defects, there is a lot of content involved!
There is "sex" in the movie title, but the plot does not use sex to attract attention. Sex may just be a gimmick.

The four main characters are a middle-class couple, the male protagonist's best friend, and the female protagonist's sister.

With seven or eight scenes and a lot of dialogues, the family, marriage and extramarital affairs of middle-aged people are expressed in a very personal way!
Director Steven Soderbergh, a young man of only 26 years old, has made a lot of headlines with his film Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
After all, this anti-Hollywood model is highly regarded in the independent film circle.

In the afternoon, Aaron met Steven Soderbergh in a cafe near the cinema!

"Hello, I'm Aaron Anderson, an agent at CAA," Aaron shook hands with the other party and handed him a business card.
“Yeah, good movie!”

"Thank you," Steven Soderbergh smiled and sat down. "Such a young agent is really surprising."

"A director as young as you is the most surprising thing!"

"Aaron, do you want to sign me?" Steven Soderbergh asked with a smile.

"Of course, I have that thought," Aaron admitted directly, "But with the emergence of 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape', you will definitely have no shortage of suitors;"

"So, instead of just talking big here, I think I still need to show some results. That way it will be more convincing!"

Steven Soderbergh was interested. "What do you mean?"

"Although this movie has received some good responses, there shouldn't be any distributors asking for the price right now, right?" Aaron asked.

Steven Soderbergh shrugged. "The closing ceremony is tomorrow, and the St. Denis Film Festival will announce some winning films then!" Aaron nodded. "Yes, winning films may indeed be seen and released in theaters."

"Two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand dollars? There haven't been any famous films released at the St. Denis Film Festival in recent years, so there aren't many distribution companies that can attract them."

Steven Soderbergh certainly understood, after all, he was also a young man, "Aaron, just tell me what you think, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" is a work that I spent two weeks writing the script, two weeks shooting, and three weeks editing;"

"It cost $120 million, and I knew it would be hard to attract distributors. There weren't any action scenes like car chases or love scenes."

Aaron laughed. Young people just can't keep their composure.

Then, he slowly said, "I am confident that I can help you sell "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" at a price you can't imagine!"

"Well, why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm CAA's agent, and this is a test for me to sign you," Aaron Anderson shrugged. "Anyway, you've only wasted two or three days. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone help you deal with those harsh publishers?"

"Even if I fail, it won't be a loss to you, right?"

Aaron Anderson, sitting on the chair, looks calm and confident. Doesn't he make Steven Soderbergh look helpless?
"You mean, help me sell it for free?"

Aaron looked up at the other person and said, "What are you thinking? I'm helping you for free. Do you dare to use it?"

"I will charge a 10% commission, which is also the amount that the company usually charges artists. Unless you are a big-name artist, the percentage will be less than this."

"You haven't signed with CAA yet, so I'm going to earn this commission!"

"I see," Steven Soderbergh breathed a sigh of relief. However, why was this guy so confident?
"I promised you, but the final decision is mine!"

Aaron nodded, "Of course, I'm just your representative. The movie is yours."

"Okay, I'll come see you tomorrow. If anyone comes to you to discuss film distribution rights, just refer them to me," Aaron said as he stood up and prepared to leave for the hotel.

"Okay, these negotiations are really not my strong point," Steven Soderbergh nodded. Having someone to handle these things would ultimately save him some trouble.
The only thing that worried him was that Aaron Anderson was too young, but his identity as a CAA agent could not be faked.

Aaron patted the other person's shoulder and said, "I'll give you a surprise when the time comes. Don't worry, just go to the closing ceremony of the St. Denis Film Festival. Robert Redford and others will be there!"

"Okay, thank you for your help," Steven Soderbergh was indeed going to attend the closing ceremony, hoping that the film would be recognized by the St. Denis Film Festival, which would also allow him to better promote the distribution rights.

Steven Soderbergh certainly doesn't fully trust Aaron Anderson, but the final decision is in his hands. He has the final say on how much to sell the film at.

After all, he was also worried that Aaron Anderson would be sold at a bargain price, right?
(End of this chapter)