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Chapter 14: Vision and Boldness
April in Los Angeles brought warm, sunlit days—the perfect spring weather.
In West Hollywood, Aaron suddenly opened his eyes while lying in bed. Nicole Kidman, beside him, was playfully twirling her long hair across his face.
"Up this early? Not sleeping?" Aaron groaned, flipping onto his stomach. Though the 22-year-old Nicole was undeniably stunning, morning grumpiness was unstoppable.
Nicole smiled, resting her chin on his shoulder. "What's the matter? Last night, you were like a lion—tireless!"
"Uh, thanks for the compliment," Aaron rubbed his eyes. "It's the weekend; nothing important today anyway."
Well, for an agent, weekends hardly existed—but Aaron wasn't exactly a conventional agent.
"You're heading to Cannes, right?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah, at the end of this month. I'm going early, and director Steven Soderbergh will be there too—his film is in the running for the Palme d'Or!"
He pulled Nicole close and kissed her on the forehead. "Want to come along?"
"Can I?" she asked.
"Of course. It's just the Cannes Film Festival—think of it as a vacation!"
Aaron's trip wasn't only to witness the success of Sex, Lies, and Videotape, but also to secure distribution deals for a few other films.
"Go back to sleep for a bit," Aaron said, patting her gently. Who knew if Nicole would ever cross paths with Tom Cruise again?
"Did we upset that Orion executive last night?" she asked cautiously.
Aaron shook his head. "Who knows if he even remembers us? Don't worry—just read my script Ghost a few more times. Then watch your man make a splash in Hollywood!"
"Make a splash?" Nicole laughed.
By noon, the two were at a nearby restaurant. Nicole's eyes widened at a newspaper headline.
Aaron glanced over. On the set of Total Recall in Mexico City, the entire crew had food poisoning—everyone except Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose meals were custom-prepared in the U.S.
"Arnold's salary for this movie is $11 million. He's catching up fast to Sylvester Stallone's level," Aaron explained.
Action stars were thriving—last year's Die Hard introduced Bruce Willis, alongside veterans like Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, and Mel Gibson. Their box-office value was undeniable.
"The pay gap between male and female stars is huge. Top actresses only make two or three million," Nicole shook her head.
Aaron smirked. "For now, making a few hundred thousand is enough—just get famous first."
He flipped through a financial paper, noting Japan's latest acquisitions of U.S. assets. According to Aaron, Sony's purchase of Columbia Pictures was almost finalized—only the official announcement remained. Since the Plaza Accord, Japanese investors had been aggressively acquiring overseas companies. Hollywood was their ultimate dream.
That evening, Nicole lay blushing in Aaron's arms. Her pale skin glowed with a healthy flush.
"Isn't it a bit soon to… you know?" Aaron murmured, stroking her gently.
Nicole's lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Then why didn't you say that when you were on top of me?"
Aaron chuckled. "We're staying here a few days. After that, we head to Cannes together."
"I know…" she whispered, leaning in to kiss him passionately.
By late April, Aaron would leave early for Cannes to handle arrangements for Steven Soderbergh, a rising director whose film had made the main competition lineup. CAA would also manage international sales for Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
Meanwhile, Nicole's film Dead Calm had already grossed $7 million at the box office.
This film only had a month-long run scheduled—hitting $8 million seemed out of reach.
Although his time with Nicole Kidman had been short, the upcoming trip to Cannes promised a chance to truly enjoy some leisure together.
At CAA headquarters, Paula Wagner looked at Aaron Anderson. "What are your thoughts on handling the international distribution for Sex, Lies, and Videotape?"
"Just sell the rights outright—that's what Steven Soderbergh wants too," Aaron replied. Being a newcomer, there weren't any extravagant demands.
"The main markets are Japan and Europe. I'll bundle the theatrical, home video, and TV broadcast rights for sale. As long as the film earns some recognition at Cannes, selling the distribution rights won't be difficult."
Miramax already held the North American rights. Considering North America was the world's largest entertainment market, its significance was obvious. Miramax wanted the film to gain a reputation at Cannes, which would further help its domestic release.
Last year, North American box office revenue exceeded $4 billion—a 15% increase over the previous year. After the economic downturn, domestic industries had slowed, which ironically helped the film business, as movie theaters remained an affordable entertainment option for Americans.
Paula Wagner nodded approvingly. "It's good that you have a plan. Selling distribution rights has always been part of an agent's role, but I didn't expect you could handle it on your own!"
Aaron smiled. "Independent distributors today mainly focus on horror and gore. Art films and foreign-language features don't get much attention—the competition is small."
Paula shook her head. "Small competition also means distributors don't prioritize them. The chance of making it into theaters is even lower."
Aaron agreed. Yet Harvey Weinstein of Miramax was ahead of the curve—many companies wouldn't touch these art films, but Miramax did. And he genuinely valued artistic works.
No wonder this man would later be called the king of independent cinema—a savior of art films. He certainly had boldness and vision.
"When's the trip to Cannes?"
"Tomorrow's flight," Aaron replied.