Chapter 22: A Unique Hobby
Night had fallen over Hollywood, and a popular nightclub was buzzing with energy.
At Quentin Tarantino's invitation, Aaron had come along for a drink. Having just sold a script, he was feeling a little wealthier than usual.
"You can't keep selling Natural Born Killers scripts for such a low price," Quentin teased. "But I wonder… when will Tony Scott finally adapt True Romance?"
Aaron lounged on a sofa, sipping his drink casually. "Quentin, it's up to you. I didn't expect the script to sell so fast either."
As a fellow insider, Aaron knew Quentin's work well. He also knew the story itself was chaotic.
Aaron noticed Quentin's gaze lingering on the dancers' calves. "Hey, what are you looking at? There are plenty of women on the dance floor. Just have a few drinks and relax!"
Quentin chuckled. "I'm looking at their feet. Which pair is prettier?"
"Feet?" Aaron blinked, glancing at him again. Sure enough, Quentin's eyes were fixed downward.
"You're not checking if their faces are pretty, or if their bodies are sexy, or if their breasts or butts are appealing?" Quentin asked, smiling mysteriously. "You look at their feet!"
Aaron shook his head, conceding. Everyone had different tastes.
"By the way, if you have time, try drafting a low-budget script yourself. Shoot it if you can. We could test the waters at Film Festivals—if it gains some recognition, raising funds for future projects will be much easier."
Aaron ignored Quentin's unusual foot fascination and brought the conversation back to business.
Quentin paused thoughtfully, then shrugged. "But we're all newcomers. Who's going to invest?"
"To make a feature film the way I envision it, you'll need at least a couple million dollars," Aaron said, taking a sip of his drink. "Focus on polishing your script first. We'll figure out the rest together later."
Quentin nodded. He knew Aaron was now a rising star in front of Michael Ovitz at CAA, so perhaps there was a way.
Aaron's mindset was simple: he didn't want to spend the money himself, but he wanted to direct the film. With his current status, it was a challenge he relished.
Some time later, Quentin, arm in arm with a heavily made-up woman, headed off to a hotel room.
"Aren't you going to have some fun too?" he asked.
Aaron shook his head. "Go ahead. I've got work to handle."
"Alright then, see you later," Quentin said, planting a kiss on the woman's lips and leaving with a grin.
At present, Aaron's main focus was the distribution rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, commissioned by Golden Harvest. Hollywood's Big Six distributors didn't lack finished products, and the offer for this film wasn't high—just look at the example of 20th Century Fox.
So Aaron turned his attention to second-tier, but influential, distributors: Columbia's TriStar Pictures, New Line Cinema, Samuel Goldwyn Films, and Orion Pictures.
As for smaller outfits like New Century Films, New World Pictures, Miramax, and Trimark, they weren't even on Aaron's radar.
MGM United was initially a target, but after being acquired a second time by Nevada casino mogul Kirk Kerkorian, the company had become too unpredictable in the entertainment market.
Aaron began visiting each potential distributor for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but so far, he hadn't encountered any major decision-makers.
Especially with TriStar Pictures—Coca-Cola had just merged Columbia and TriStar to form the Columbia-TriStar Motion Picture Group, and now Sony was negotiating the final acquisition!
"Looks like TriStar isn't much of an option anymore," Aaron thought as he left the Columbia studio in Culver City and headed to his final hopeful, Orion Pictures.
"Ah, so it's you," said Pete Holman, an Orion executive Aaron had previously met in a hotel room, greeting him in the reception area.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Holman," Aaron replied, maintaining his professionalism.
"This is an action film—very much in line with current trends, perfect for Orion," he added.
Pete leaned back in his chair, sipping his coffee. "Perfect for Orion?" he asked skeptically.
"Do you know who Orion is currently collaborating with?" Aaron countered.
"Kevin Costner. And we're already handling plenty of releases. I don't see anything special about this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles project," Holman said bluntly.
Aaron smiled. "You mean Kevin Costner's self-directed Western, Dances with Wolves, right?"
How did Aaron know? Earlier this year, Michael Ovitz had successfully signed Kevin Costner and secured a $3 million fee for him. Even when Costner agreed to reduce it to $1 million, the remaining funds went directly into producing Dances with Wolves.
"Your CAA style of doing business—no wonder studios dislike it," Holman snapped. He still harbored resentment from the last time he couldn't "access" Nicole Kidman, and Aaron's presence only rubbed salt in the wound.
Ovitz's years of celebrity-driven dealmaking had indeed angered many: stacking stars and demanding high fees caused production costs to skyrocket. CAA had played a major role in this.
"Mr. Holman, CAA negotiates business, not box office numbers," Aaron replied calmly.
Pete tapped the table impatiently. "How about $2.4 million for the North American rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"
"Orion cares about profits, not the project itself."
…
When Aaron left Orion, he felt neither disappointed nor upset—the price simply didn't match his expectations.
At least New Line Cinema and Samuel Goldwyn Films showed some interest, though they would need to see a rough cut before making an offer.
By July, Golden Harvest could lock the film, produce a rough edit, and that would be the true moment to negotiate the price.
Orion's current focus remained Kevin Costner's self-directed debut Dances with Wolves and the sequel RoboCop 2.
Aaron shook his head. Dances with Wolves would likely face plenty of setbacks; a newcomer directing a large-scale production easily risks budget overruns.
Aside from RoboCop 2, most of Orion's projects didn't show much profit potential.