Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 64 Is that too euphemistic?

At the end of June, Days of Thunder, a racing blockbuster starring Tom Cruise and directed by Tony Scott, opened in 2308 theaters in North America, with a box office of $3 million in the first three days of its weekend.
However, the reputation of "Days of Thunder" did not meet the audience's expectations.

At the Beverly Hotel in Los Angeles, Aaron Anderson, who came to attend the party, met Tom Cruise. Because of their previous relationship, the two knew each other!
"Aaron, you're so cool. You quietly founded a film company and produced your own movies."

"I saw 'Phone Booth' and it was very well made."

Tom Cruise smiled brightly and praised Aaron.

"Thanks, Tom!"

Tom Cruise, who previously chose arty dramas, has now made a big move towards commercial films;
After all, Tom Cruise's appeal is not just talk. Not to mention "Rain Man", "Born on the Fourth of July" released at the end of last year cost 1400 million US dollars to shoot, with a box office of 7000 million in North America, plus 9000 million in overseas markets, a total of 1.6 million US dollars worldwide!
As another commercial blockbuster after "Top Gun", "Days of Thunder" has a bottom line no matter how bad its reputation and performance are.

"What a shame! Your performance in 'Born on the Fourth of July' was completely worthy of the Best Actor Oscar!"

Unfortunately, Tom Cruise met Daniel Day-Lewis.

"Born on the Fourth of July" won the Best Director award.

"Really?" Tom Cruise appeared calm on the surface, but deep down, he couldn't fake his desire for an Oscar.

"Of course, the judges at the academy are always biased against certain people, and acting skills are only a part of the equation!"

Aaron raised his glass and clinked it with the other person.

After hearing this, Tom Cruise nodded in agreement. He also knew that the judges in the academy were biased against actors with outstanding looks.

As a top star, Tom Cruise was of course very busy. He chatted with Aaron for a while and then left.

A short while later, Aaron met his old boss Paula Wagner again.

He pointed to the side and asked, "What's going on over there? Why is Spielberg with the Sony people?"

It was none other than the great director Steven Spielberg, the head of Sony TriStar Pictures Mike Medvort, and Michael Ovitz of CAA;
Mike Medver was one of the founders of Orion and just joined Sony this year to manage Samsung Pictures!
Paula Wagner did not hide it, "Mr. Ovitz wants to sign Steven Spielberg and is preparing to push Spielberg to shoot "Hook", with TriStar Films to finance it;"

"Mike Medver was in charge of Spielberg's early agency contract. CAA packaged the Hook project and worked with Samsung.

"Sony Samsung gets the box office, CAA gets Spielberg's contract, and Spielberg will gain huge benefits. It's good for all three parties!"

As for Spielberg himself saying that he would not make films for companies other than Universal and Warner Bros.?

That's just because there wasn't enough money and benefits. After Sony acquired Columbia Samsung, there was plenty of money.

After a while, Aaron saw Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams joining the conversation.

Aaron laughed. "CAA really likes to play this game. How much profit does Samsung have to give up?"

The cost of getting Steven Spielberg to make a film was actually very high. Regardless of whether Amblin Pictures shared the copyright of the film, Amblin would not pay a penny for all the costs.
At the same time, Spielberg must own at least half of the box office revenue, and he must also receive a commission on advance payments, videotape and television copyright revenue.

"How much benefit?"

Paula Wagner smiled and said, "At least half of the revenue from Hook didn't go to Samsung." Aaron nodded and said, "It's a good thing Mr. Ovitz didn't succeed in convincing Sony. If Peter Guber and Jon Peters weren't in charge of Sony Pictures Entertainment, this wouldn't have happened!"

Paula Wagner looked at Aaron, “After Sony acquired Columbia TriStar, they released a lot more films;

"The films Sony produced, co-invested in, and commissioned for distribution are truly terrifying."

There is no way. The conditions offered by Sony are good, and many independent film companies have cooperated with Sony. Just look at Aaron and you will know. Now the first partner that comes to mind is Sony!
Aaron smiled and said, "They produce and sell electronic products. Music and movies are just media to expand their influence."

"The profits from the movie itself shouldn't be that important to them. The Japanese economy is booming right now!"

"By the way, how's your movie going? I heard from Jack that you invested in another multi-million dollar project?"

Paula Wagner inquired.

Aaron nodded, "It's a new director, a black man who just graduated, and the film is about the life of the black community in Los Angeles;"

"Ms. Wagner, do you have any black actors on hand?"

"Black?" Paula Wagner lost interest when she heard that. She didn't have any black artists.

Aaron glanced at the side of "Captain Hook" again and thought of something.

"Isn't there a female lead in that movie?"

Aaron remembered that the heroine of "Hook" seemed to be Julia Roberts.

However, now that Julia Roberts is an ICM artist, I wonder if they will still choose her to star in the film;
After all, the popularity of "Pretty Woman" directly made Julia Roberts the hottest female star at the moment!
"Actress?" Paula Wagner looked at Aaron and shook her head. "This matter really has something to do with you;"

"Julia Roberts followed Richard Lovett to ICM, and you were the trigger, causing CAA to lose a popular actress for nothing;"

"Julia Roberts is a perfect fit for Hook. The movie model of big investment, big stars and big publicity is Spielberg's usual way!"

"Hook" is still in preparation. Whether Julia Roberts will be the heroine will be decided after consultation between Steven Spielberg, Mike Medved and Michael Ovitz.

Aaron didn't worry about it. Remembering Quentin Tarantino's request, he asked, "Has anyone taken a liking to the script for 'Natural Born Killers' yet?"

"Why, do you want to develop it?"

Aaron shook his head. "The screenwriter, Quentin Tarantino, works at Dawn Pictures and asked me to ask about it."

"It's still in the archives. If there's any news, I'll definitely inform Quentin Tarantino. And Jack Wells will tell you too, right?"

"Uh, Quentin means that he hopes you will take the initiative to promote the script, just like I promoted the script of 'Fatal Romance'!"

Was I being too euphemistic? Didn't I know their script hadn't sold yet?

(End of this chapter)