Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 70: The cooperation was very pleasant
"You've really embarrassed Warren Beatty this time. If he gets the chance, he'll definitely make trouble for you!"

Al Pacino and Aaron Anderson at the bar at the Rose Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel.

Aaron smiled and said, "Warren Beatty, two blockbuster films have failed in a row, and there are constant scandals. Let's wait until he finds a distributor willing to invest in Bugsy!"

No matter how rich Sony is, the performance of its movies is linked to the income of its managers. Columbia Pictures has already rejected it, so it’s hard to say what TriStar Pictures is thinking.
After all, the North American box office of Dick Tracy was only over 5000 million U.S. dollars, and Disney paid 4700 million U.S. dollars for the production, plus more than 4000 million U.S. dollars for publicity and promotion, a large part of which was used to deal with the Warren Beatty scandal;
With this kind of investment, even with the overseas revenue of "Dick Tracy" plus the videotapes, it would be extremely difficult for Disney to make a profit!
"By the way, has the Frankie and Johnny project been finalized?"

Aaron felt that Garry Marshall and Al Pacino were too impatient and that the script for Pretty Woman would be difficult to replicate.

"Almost there! The director, actors, and distributor's funding are all in place!"

Al Pacino had just helped Paramount shoot "The Godfather Part III", so it was normal for him to shoot another romance film.

Aaron nodded, but it seemed, on second thought, Al Pacino hadn't won an Oscar for Best Actor yet?
The movie that the other party won the award for seems to be "Scent of a Woman"!

A low-cost literary drama, but it has good reputation and box office.

As Aaron left the Roosevelt Hotel and headed back to West Hollywood along Fountain Avenue, he saw a small theater on Gardner Street that was for sale!
Jack Wells had already left CAA, and Aaron felt he should find something for him to do first;

Aaron is quite experienced in running a cinema.

The next day, at a fast food restaurant near the Blues Brothers Theatre on Gardner Street, Jack Wells munched on a burger with a look of surprise on his face. "You want me to run a theater?"

Aaron nodded, took a sip of coffee and pointed to the Blues Brothers Theatre outside. "Although it's a bit old, it's still usable. I decided to buy it and run it, and then renovate it;"

“After Boyz n the Hood wrapped, you could manage the theater while figuring out how to start a security company?”

Jack Wells smiled and said, "I don't have that much money. If I want to buy this theater, it will probably cost millions of dollars!"

"Don't worry, I have the money. We'll split it in half. I don't have time to manage it, so you can just run it."

Aaron couldn't treat Jack Wells unfairly, as the other party solved the trouble of "Boyz on the Hood" cleanly and neatly.

Jack Wells was a little excited when he heard this. "I've never run a business before, so it shouldn't be a big problem, right?"

Aaron held his forehead with his hand. "You've already bought it. The biggest expense, rent, is gone. Even with that, how can you still make a loss?"

"I've seen it, there are about 300 seats inside, but the environment is a bit poor!"

300 people watching a movie together is too many people. It is definitely not possible. The theater should be divided into at least two halls.

Most of the current cinemas are of this single-room, single-hall model, unlike the cinemas of the future which have multiple halls, often more than ten.

"When the time comes, we can just do some simple renovations first, as we'll have to rebuild it later!"

In the future, the Blues Brothers Theatre can be demolished and a luxury cinema built.

Movies are evolving, cinemas are evolving, the early nickelodeons and drive-ins have disappeared;

Luxurious movie theaters are also difficult to develop. New multi-hall cinemas are the trend and there are already quite a few cinemas with three or five halls.

Reduce the number of moviegoers in each theater, provide audiences with a more comfortable viewing experience, and increase the sales of food and beverages such as cola, popcorn, and hot dogs!
"Okay, I think that's fine." Jack Wells didn't have any systematic ideas about security companies at the moment, but having a theater to work in was a good idea. "That's good. After the filming of 'Boyz on the Hood' is finished, you go find the boss, negotiate a price, and then do some simple modifications.

"First, we need to add a hall to separate the lobby. We need better sound equipment. Then we need to set up couples' seats, and arrange them in a stepped style..."

Jack Wells left with excitement!

As August approached, Jennifer Connelly's "The Rocketeer" officially started filming;

"Pretty Woman" became a global hit, with $1.7 million in North America and $2.8 million overseas, for a massive box office of $4.5 million!

Julia Roberts went from being an unknown to becoming America's sweetheart, a global sensation, overnight.

In Burbank, Disney headquarters, Aaron had his first formal meeting with the "King of Disney" Michael Eisner.

"Aaron Anderson, a high school graduate, is only 20 years old this year. He joined CAA and has been involved in the sales of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," "Cinema Paradiso," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

"After changing careers from an agent, he developed a low-budget suspense drama, 'Phone Booth,' which earned tens of millions of dollars in profit;"

"He persuaded Jeffrey Katzenberg to speed up the development of Pretty Woman and pushed hard for Al Pacino to play the leading role, which led to a huge conflict with Warren Beatty!"

Michael Eisner sat in a chair, looking at Aaron Anderson with a sense of authority.

"I heard you've developed two more works, one is a romance and the other is a black drama!"

Aaron nodded, "Yes, it's a collaboration with Sony Columbia."

Michael Eisner was surprised anyway. “Although what you have done in the past two years is difficult to understand, the results are amazing.”

"After the success of 'Phone Booth,' we should continue to look for similar low-cost thrillers and horror films. Wouldn't that be less risky?"

Who would directly use their own wealth to continue to independently produce movies and borrow more than 1000 million US dollars from the bank?

"How many movies worth tens of millions of dollars a year only gross one or two million? You're only 20 years old, aren't you worried about going bankrupt?"

Aaron shook his head. "Because I have confidence in myself. Even if I fail, I can still be my agent."

"Or, I could work as a buyer for a film company. I can turn things around at any time, and it won't affect my quality of life at all!"

Aaron had no idea why Michael Eisner met him, just to say these?
"There are many young talents in Hollywood, but most of them never make it to the big time. This kind of extravagant and glamorous world can easily lead young people astray!"

Michael Eisner looked at the other party and said, "Disney wants to sign a three-year distribution contract with your Dawn Pictures for three films;"

"Based on a 15% commission for distribution, what are your thoughts?"

Aaron smiled and said, "Mr. Eisner, I think we can wait until my film is released next year before discussing this. Right now, Sony and I are having a very pleasant cooperation..."

(End of this chapter)