Chapter 300 — PolyGram Didn't Have the Nerve
Night had fallen as a BMW Z1 sped along Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu before finally pulling over near Little Dume Beach.
Inside the car, a man and woman were locked in a passionate kiss.
They were none other than Aaron Anderson and Cameron Diaz, fresh from the celebration party for The Mask.
"So?" Cameron asked teasingly, her clothes slightly disheveled as she sat across Aaron's lap with her arms wrapped around his neck, revealing a glimpse of pale skin at her chest.
"My performance in The Mask wasn't bad, right?"
Aaron held the blonde beauty close, his hands roaming casually across her body as he smiled.
"I already told you before—you were stunning."
"Now that the movie's out, your popularity is skyrocketing."
"I've got a luxury estate nearby at Point Dume. We can head there later."
Cameron nodded eagerly.
Then, twisting slightly against him, she slipped off her top before leaning in to kiss him again.
"I just accepted another script recently," she said between breaths. "Looks like I'll be starting production on my second movie very soon."
It was obvious that after her stunning breakout performance in The Mask, Cameron Diaz had officially caught Hollywood's attention.
"That's a good thing," Aaron said with a smile, his hand sliding over the blonde beauty's soft skin.
"You've officially made your debut in Hollywood now."
At the same time, Dawn Television's first original drama series, ER Season 1, had begun airing on AMC.
But compared to ER, what Aaron cared about even more was another Dawn-produced series set to premiere on NBC at the end of the month—
Friends Season 1.
---
Burbank — Dawn Headquarters
Sitting inside his office, Aaron listened as Evelyn Beckett delivered the latest company reports.
"Rumble in the Bronx has now crossed $32 million at the North American box office. It's been a major success."
"Jackie Chan has finally established real name recognition in Hollywood. That gives us a solid foundation for developing Rush Hour."
"Thirty-two million is definitely respectable," Aaron said as he leaned back in his chair.
"We also picked up the North American rights to Jackie Chan's older films, didn't we? Armour of God and Police Story?"
Evelyn nodded.
Aaron tapped the armrest thoughtfully.
"Let's find a chance to release them next year."
Then he suddenly remembered something.
"Universal's Waterworld… I heard the budget spiraled completely out of control."
"And after taking over directing duties, Kevin Costner personally invested another $22 million of his own money just to finish the film?"
"That's right," Evelyn replied.
"At this point, the production budget has reached an astonishing $175 million."
"And Carolco's Cutthroat Island is having similar problems. The studio kept increasing the budget after repeated overruns, and now production costs have climbed to $95 million."
"Two massive water-based productions running into disaster at the same time… Hollywood's practically treating them as industry jokes now."
Aaron drummed his fingers against the desk.
"What about James Cameron's True Lies from 20th Century Fox? How's it performing?"
"North America is at $140 million so far," Evelyn answered.
"It's currently second only to The Lion King and our own Forrest Gump."
"Internationally, it's already passed $200 million."
Still, True Lies carried a production budget of $115 million—far higher than Forrest Gump's $60 million or The Lion King's $45 million.
At present, The Lion King had already surpassed $280 million domestically and crossed $400 million overseas, while Forrest Gump stood at $260 million in North America with more than $300 million internationally.
"Has Fox revealed anything about James Cameron's next project yet?"
Aaron was still closely watching developments surrounding Titanic.
Evelyn shook her head.
"I heard James Cameron went diving in the Atlantic."
Aaron laughed softly.
"So that's what he's up to."
---
After leaving Dawn Headquarters, Aaron headed to Los Angeles International Airport to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones, who had just flown in from London.
Soon afterward, the two traveled together to Palm Springs for a short vacation.
Located in the Coachella Valley within the Colorado Desert, Palm Springs was famous as an oasis resort city known for its hot springs, ski resorts, and golf courses.
Inside a steaming hot spring pool, Catherine lay against Aaron's chest.
"Darling," she murmured, "what made you suddenly decide to celebrate my birthday with me?"
Aaron kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Isn't celebrating your woman's birthday perfectly normal?"
His hands moved teasingly along her body before he leaned close to her ear.
"Or don't you want a little private time with me?"
"Mmm…"
Catherine immediately silenced him with a passionate kiss.
Aaron wrapped his arms tightly around her, eagerly returning her affection.
After the kiss ended, Catherine rested against him with dreamy eyes.
"I saw reports saying Kevin Costner's Waterworld ballooned to a $175 million budget. Is that really true?"
The year before, the two had starred together in the blockbuster The Mask of Zorro, which had nearly turned Evelyn into an overnight sensation while further cementing Kevin Costner's superstar status.
Aaron nodded.
"It's true. Right now, almost everyone in Hollywood is pessimistic about the film."
"A $175 million budget is simply too insane."
Catherine clicked her tongue in disbelief.
Then she looked at Aaron again.
"The papers are also saying you want to acquire MCA Universal. Apparently PolyGram is interested too."
Aaron laughed.
"PolyGram?"
"Does their parent company Philips really have the nerve for a deal like that?"
Originally, PolyGram had been jointly owned by Philips and Siemens before Siemens sold its stake entirely to Philips.
PolyGram's core business was still music production and record distribution. In film, they were relative newcomers—mostly dabbling in independent productions and frequently collaborating with filmmakers like the Coen brothers and Tim Robbins.
"Their current project, Dead Man Walking—directed by Tim Robbins and starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn—is already being co-produced with Dawn's Crescent Moon Pictures."
"For PolyGram to swallow MCA whole? That's far too difficult."
In Aaron's opinion, PolyGram might have had a chance at acquiring MCA's music division—but the entire conglomerate was another matter entirely.
Catherine wrapped her arms affectionately around Aaron's neck.
"If you really acquire MCA Group, wouldn't that make you the owner of Universal?"
"One of the biggest entertainment empires in the world…"
Aaron was still so young, yet he had already achieved something most people could scarcely imagine.
Aaron brushed back his hair casually.
"At the end of the day, it's just another entertainment conglomerate."
His ambitions extended far beyond that.