Chapter 21: My Wild Heart
After meeting with Quentin Tarantino and director Tony Scott, Aaron successfully sold his script True Romance for $65,000.
However, when Tony Scott would actually adapt it remained unknown.
At the moment, Tony Scott was teaming up with Tom Cruise for a high-octane racing action blockbuster titled Top Gun—no, wait, in this context, it's Days of Thunder!
"Producers are Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, Tony Scott is directing, Tom Cruise is the lead, and Paramount is handling both production and distribution," Paula Wagner explained.
Aaron studied the details of Days of Thunder. This was basically the same team that made Top Gun a few years ago.
Paula nodded. "Exactly—the same cast and crew. Paramount is even offering a production budget of $60 million."
"Sixty million?" Aaron muttered, astonished.
For reference, the current sci-fi action spectacle Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and produced by Carolco Pictures, had a production cost of $65 million—surpassing Sylvester Stallone's Rambo III, which cost $63 million, making it the most expensive film to date.
Tom Cruise's market value hadn't yet reached the level of Stallone or Schwarzenegger, so a $60 million budget was massive—top-tier production territory.
Paula smiled. "Recently, Carolco spent $5 million to purchase the rights from Hemdale to make the sequel to The Terminator."
"They're planning to have James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger collaborate on Terminator 2, with a budget that's astronomical."
Originally, the rights to The Terminator were sold by James Cameron to independent producer Gale Anne Hurd's West Pacific Productions for just $1, so Cameron could direct it. Hurd then traded half the rights to Hemdale in exchange for production funding, and ultimately became Cameron's wife.
When The Terminator was first released, Hemdale had partnered with Orion Pictures for distribution. By the time Terminator 2 rolled around, the budget was far beyond what a small company like Hemdale could handle. Hemdale sold half its rights to Carolco, which partnered with Gale Anne Hurd to produce the sequel.
"Carolco Pictures," Aaron chuckled. "They've been making quite a name for themselves recently. They're very generous with their investments, much of the funding coming from Europe. The founders have strong connections there."
Looking at Total Recall, for instance, they had poached Paul Verhoeven, director of RoboCop, from Orion Pictures.
"Interesting," Aaron noted. "So the company invests and produces films but doesn't handle distribution?"
Paula gave him a knowing look. "Carolco focuses on blockbuster commercial films. If they handled distribution too, the costs would be enormous."
"True," Aaron agreed. Carolco wasn't on the scale of the Big Six, and they produced more than just one film a year.
"I heard they're casting a newcomer as the female lead for Days of Thunder," Paula continued.
Aaron recalled that, if not for him, Nicole Kidman would have met Tom Cruise through this very film—and eventually married him.
Just that, Nicole Kidman was Aaron's woman now, and he wondered if there was still any chance for her to star in a Tom Cruise film.
Paula Wagner smiled. "That's something you'll have to keep an eye on—look at the producers, directors, and the whole crew."
Aaron smiled faintly. "A movie like that… isn't it basically up to Tom Cruise to decide how it's made and who's in it?"
"But the actress you're managing might be a bit too tall," Paula reminded him.
Paula had, of course, met Nicole Kidman before. Aaron was one of her brightest young agents, and he had introduced Nicole to her at several social events.
"Most of your clients are newcomers. You should focus on smaller, low-budget projects first," Paula advised. The message was clear: for a high-profile blockbuster like this, competition was fierce—landing a role wouldn't be easy.
"Don't worry, I understand," Aaron replied.
Meanwhile, the sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, produced by Lucasfilm, directed by Steven Spielberg, and distributed by Paramount, had hit theaters, raking in $29.5 million in its opening weekend alone.
By June, Aaron had helped Adam Sandler return to Saturday Night Live and secured an independent film script for Nicole.
"Wild at Heart, directed by David Lynch!"
In her West Hollywood apartment, Nicole lay on the bed, flipping through the script.
"Hmm… David Lynch is a pillar of indie cinema, known for his dark, surrealist style. Not commercially minded, but highly respected among critics."
Aaron propped his head on his hand, lying beside her. "He directed Eraserhead and Blue Velvet—both surrealist works that were well-received. The male lead is a newcomer, Nicolas Cage. His original name was Nicolas Coppola; he changed it himself. Francis Ford Coppola is his uncle."
"I trust your judgment," Nicole said, leaning into Aaron and kissing him lightly. "I thought you mostly cared about commercial films?"
Wild at Heart was a darkly comedic crime drama. Despite being a 'normal' Lynch film, the investment was modest, there were no big-name stars, and its commercial prospects were limited.
Aaron smiled, holding the gorgeous Nicole close and kissing her again. "Now, Tony Scott and Tom Cruise are working on a racing action blockbuster, Days of Thunder. The budget is $60 million, and they need a beautiful female lead. I wanted you to audition, but the competition is just too fierce."
"Tom Cruise?"
Nicole shook her head. "He's about the same height as Al Pacino. I doubt we'd work well together."
Back when she auditioned for Pretty Woman, she'd felt that exact challenge firsthand.
"Not necessarily," Aaron teased. "If you can captivate Tom Cruise, the lead role could be his choice entirely. Who wouldn't listen to him on set?"
The selling point of Days of Thunder was Tom Cruise. In that crew, no one would dare contradict him.
"There are so many beautiful women in Hollywood. Why would Tom Cruise even notice me?" Nicole said, pointing at the script on the bed. "This one is fine enough."
Aaron nodded, rolled onto her, and pressed a kiss to her red lips.