Chapter 38 – Young and Arrogant
After founding Dawnlight Films, Aaron immediately set to work on Phone Booth. With David Fincher and Propaganda on board, progress was rapid. The main reason? The film's locations were extremely simple.
In downtown Los Angeles, at a public phone booth across from the Central Market on Broadway, Aaron and David Fincher were scouting locations. Even Quentin Tarantino, who was still working at a video store, had tagged along.
"Across the street is the Bradbury Building. This spot works well," Fincher said. He'd been thinking about the script for days; the location needed tall buildings to give the right feel.
In LA, only the downtown area had enough skyscrapers.
Aaron scanned the surroundings. "If this doesn't work, we can always go to New York."
New York had plenty of skyscrapers, perfectly fitting the film's aesthetic.
The budget for Phone Booth ranged between $1.5 and $2 million. Fincher and Nicholas Cage would each receive $500,000. Aaron had $1 million himself and planned to raise the rest from European distributors. The script had already been sent to PolyGram, who seemed likely to participate.
Quentin Tarantino glanced around. "When we shoot, we should capture the extras' real reactions. It'll heighten the tension."
Tarantino's ideas were always creative.
Fincher agreed. "This minimizes the performance traces and makes everything feel more real."
Tarantino smiled. "What about letting me play the sniper? He's an observer, a voyeur, with a dark sense of humor—a true sadist."
Aaron considered it. "Sounds interesting."
"The phone booth killer only appears for two or three minutes visually. It's mostly the voice and tone—you comfortable doing that?"
Aaron wasn't concerned; the killer's voice could always be dubbed later.
Fincher laughed. "Sure, let Quentin give it a try."
Tarantino was officially the assistant director on set. Spending time with him always brought a few wild, unconventional ideas.
Aaron nodded. "Fine, you guys make the crew complete. Cage's side is sorted—I'll raise the remaining funds as soon as possible."
He knew Tarantino's mind was unusual, even a bit twisted. But this was helpful for him to experience the filmmaking process firsthand. Steven Soderbergh's style, by contrast, wasn't suited for this project.
Meanwhile, in New York, backstage at the premiere of Born on the Fourth of July, Paula Wagner chatted with director Oliver Stone and lead actor Tom Cruise. Michael Ovitz, attending the event, joined them.
"I heard Aaron Anderson left CAA and started his own production company?" Ovitz said. He often traveled between the U.S. and Japan and had heard the news.
Paula Wagner shrugged. "That's right. He's making a low-budget drama with a rookie director."
"A rookie director?" Ovitz smiled faintly. "What's Soderbergh up to these days?"
Since Aaron's departure, Paula had reassigned his clients, but Soderbergh remained the focus.
"Over in Europe, mostly France," she replied.
"Young people—impatient. Once they achieve a bit of success, they get cocky," Wagner sighed. "He's pouring all his CAA earnings into his new film."
Ovitz blinked. "Using his own money to make a movie?"
"Don't expect a random rookie film to become the next Sex, Lies, and Videotape," Wagner said.
"Who knows?" Ovitz mused.
"Young people like to test themselves. They oversimplify Hollywood and filmmaking."
Ovitz was a bit regretful but didn't see Aaron as irreplaceable yet.
"Let's not dwell on him," he added, aware of Aaron's past clashes with Beatty and others. Now that Aaron had left, even Dustin Hoffman seemed more comfortable.
Born on the Fourth of July had earned strong word-of-mouth from prior screenings, and Tom's transformative performance was widely praised.
"With the awards season coming, we need to plan carefully," Ovitz said.
Paula nodded. "We're hoping Tom takes home an award."
As December arrived and the year drew to a close, many films were pushing for award-season releases. At the same time, the lawsuit between Gulf & Western and Time Warner concluded, with the Supreme Court ruling that Time's acquisition of Warner Communications was lawful.
West Hollywood, Aaron's apartment.
Nicole Kidman lay sprawled across Aaron, her pale, delicate body pressed against his. "Now that you've left CAA, Paula Wagner assigned me a female agent. She probably doesn't have much influence either."
It wasn't just Nicole. Adam Sandler faced the same situation. Quentin Tarantino and Jennifer Connelly were even worse off—hardly anyone paid them attention.
Aaron's friend Jack Wells was the only one keeping an eye on them. Only Steven Soderbergh received real attention from Paula Wagner.
Aaron smiled. "CAA has signed a bunch of new actors and mostly practices hands-off management. With me around, what's there to worry about?"
"Look at Tarantino. After finishing at the video store, he came straight to my Dawnlight Films."
"Jennifer Connelly is focusing on her studies. Next year she's heading to Italy for a cameo. She probably won't have much happening for the next two or three years."
Nicole propped her head up. "You seem to think highly of Quentin Tarantino?"
Aaron nodded. "Yeah, he's got a certain genius. I have high hopes for his future."
Of course, Aaron had even greater confidence in the rookie director of Phone Booth, David Fincher.
"You're putting all your money into this film. Aren't you worried about losing it all?"
"Losing it all?" Aaron said casually. "Even though I left CAA, I still have Pretty Woman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coming out next year. I handled those projects."
"Especially Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If it performs well, Shaw Brothers will earn a good return, and I'll get my share of the residuals—CAA has to pay me too."
Pretty Woman wasn't closely tied to him, but if it became a hit, how could Disney not give him some reward?
Nicole smiled and kissed him, taking the initiative.
"Nicole, not going to sleep?" Aaron asked. He had a meeting with Michael Kuhn at PolyGram the next day.
"What, are you out of energy?" she teased.
Aaron chuckled. "Woman!" With a flip, he pinned Nicole beneath him. The storm had begun…