Chapter 17: Making a Splash
With the Cannes Film Festival successfully concluded, 26-year-old Steven Soderbergh became the youngest recipient of the Palme d'Or for Sex, Lies, and Videotape, earning the title of "Golden Boy of the Directors." Truly, Soderbergh had made a dazzling debut on the world stage.
At the same time, Aaron seized the opportunity to finalize the distribution deals for both Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Cinema Paradiso. The highly acclaimed Sex, Lies, and Videotape sold its European rights to UIP for $4.5 million, while the Japanese rights were sold to Daiei Film for $2.3 million.
On the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, Aaron and Nicole Kidman drove their convertible along the seaside boulevard, wind whipping through their hair.
"When are we going back to the States?" Nicole asked.
"Tomorrow. I need to report back to CAA," Aaron replied with a smile, giving her thigh a playful tap. "Have you enjoyed these past few days?"
"Yes, very much," she said.
By the time they returned to Los Angeles, it was mid-May, and the summer box-office war was already underway. Although Sex, Lies, and Videotape had won the Palme d'Or, Miramax didn't have the capacity to schedule a summer release; it was set for August, after the peak summer season.
Aaron had negotiated a $6.8 million deal at Cannes, boosting both CAA's immediate profits and its reputation. Naturally, CAA awarded him his well-deserved bonus of $200,000—and even gifted him a brand-new Lotus sports car.
Aaron Anderson had certainly made a big impression in front of Michael Ovitz. He also knew that Lotus had just signed a sponsorship deal with the Pretty Woman production team.
"Lotus—a recently acquired British sports car brand," Aaron said with a smile to Ovitz. "What about Lamborghini and Ferrari? They didn't want to sponsor?"
Michael Ovitz nodded. "They refused. They felt the lead character's profession wasn't suitable."
Understandable—after all, the lead was a call girl. High-end brands didn't want to be associated with that.
"So, any updates on the leads for Pretty Woman?" Aaron asked. "It's just a low-budget romantic comedy, right?"
"Christopher Reeve declined. We approached Al Pacino, and for the female lead, we invited Michelle Pfeiffer and Valeria Golino, but they all turned us down," Ovitz replied candidly.
Aaron had contributed significantly to the development of Pretty Woman, after all.
Michelle Pfeiffer, one of Hollywood's iconic beauties, had previously worked with Al Pacino in the remake of Scarface. Valeria Golino, Tom Cruise's co-star in Rain Man, was a glamorous Italian actress.
Rain Man, the Oscar-winning Best Picture, had grossed $170 million in North America, $180 million overseas—$350 million worldwide.
Though Al Pacino wasn't ultimately cast as the male lead, it didn't matter much. The female lead role had now opened for auditions, and as Aaron's girlfriend, Nicole Kidman would go straight to the final callback. There was no need for her to attend the earlier rounds.
"Aaron, since you have a real knack for marketing films, you might be interested in your next assignment," Michael Ovitz said with a smile.
"What assignment?"
"A Hong Kong-based film company invested in a live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in Hollywood. A commercial film with a production budget of $13.5 million. Their U.S. representative has asked CAA to find a North American distributor."
Hearing this, Aaron realized the project was backed by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest—a studio he knew well. They had previously invested in several Hollywood productions, trying to break their star Jackie Chan into the U.S. market, though unsuccessfully.
Michael Ovitz nodded. "Yes, that's the company. They're currently filming the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Los Angeles. You can go meet with their U.S. representative."
"No problem," Aaron replied enthusiastically. "I actually enjoy handling commercial films as well."
Aaron knew this Golden Harvest-backed live-action Ninja Turtles project had blockbuster potential, with North American box-office prospects exceeding $100 million. But first, he needed to check on the development of Pretty Woman, and also revisit his cherished script Ghost. The most likely source of investment for that project remained Japan, as Japanese studios were aggressively entering Hollywood.
CAA's contracted producer, Steven Ruther, was leading Pretty Woman, coordinating closely with Disney's executive producer Gary Goldstein. Over at Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg was keeping an eye on the film, while Disney chairman Michael Eisner focused on another CAA-packaged project: Dick Tracy.
For both CAA and Disney, Pretty Woman didn't carry the same weight as Dick Tracy.
That evening, Aaron arranged to meet Steven Ruther at a bar to catch up. "Has Al Pacino signed with the production yet?"
Steven shook his head. "Not yet. He's only been participating in scenes with auditioning actresses."
"The problem now," Steven continued, "is that Warren Beatty's self-directed Dick Tracy is also trying to get Al Pacino on board."
Aaron froze. "Wait… Didn't Dustin Hoffman already sign for that? With Beatty and Madonna, now they want Pacino too? Isn't that overkill? The budget must be over $50 million."
Steven shrugged. "Everyone's skeptical about Pretty Woman's prospects. The female lead auditions are nearly in the final round. You should bring Nicole Kidman over for a screen test—Director Garry Marshall and lead Al Pacino's opinions are critical."
Aaron nodded, though inwardly he rolled his eyes. Al Pacino had missed out on too many good roles since The Godfather series. In recent years, he'd become somewhat reclusive, taking a four-year break from acting. However, Francis Ford Coppola had agreed to help Paramount produce The Godfather Part III, bringing Pacino back into the public eye.
Before filming Godfather III, Pacino could star in a new film to regain his rhythm.
Aaron asked, "If Al Pacino refuses, who's the backup?"
"Veteran actor Richard Gere," Steven replied.
Aaron smiled. Everything was falling into place. With Nicole ready for the final callback, the next stage of Pretty Woman's development was set in motion.