Hollywood starts with a broker

In the morning, inside a hotel room.

Aaron woke up with Salma Hayek in his arms, "When you're learning to act, it's best to change your accent a bit. It's not easy for Latinas to get roles!"

"Yeah, I know," Salma Hayek leaned against the man's chest, "Remember to call me if you have time."

"Don't worry, you're so attractive, I can't bear to let you go. When Dawn has a suitable role, I'll consider you!"

Aaron said, patting the person in his arms.

Salma Hayek smiled, leaned close to the man's ear and said something, and Aaron immediately flipped her over and pinned her beneath him, silencing her lips with a kiss…

Aaron felt that the night with Salma Hayek was pretty good; at least her figure was really good.

However, Aaron didn't take it too seriously, he would recommend her if he came across a suitable role.

At Dawn Pictures, Aaron hired a head of the marketing department, Brad Grey, 33 years old, skilled in marketing!

"You understand the company's situation. 'Boyz n the Hood' will be released in March, 'The Silence of the Lambs' in April, and 'Ghost' in June."

"They are all collaborations with Sony. As for the co-produced 'My Own Private Idaho', the distributor is Legacy Entertainment. It's an art film, so the release scale shouldn't be very large."

Brad Grey's main job now is to focus on the distribution coordination of these films.

"Understood!"

In the afternoon, Aislinn Beckett came to Aaron's office.

"There's a novel published a few years ago that didn't sell well, called 'Forrest Gump'. Have the production department buy the film adaptation rights."

Aaron thought of this movie when he thought of "The Shawshank Redemption." The novel "Forrest Gump" was published five years ago, but because it only sold tens of thousands of copies, no one was interested in the adaptation rights.

This kind of good opportunity must not be missed!

"'Forrest Gump', okay," Aislinn Beckett said before leaving.

Afterward, Aaron leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table. As for "The Shawshank Redemption," it was adapted from Stephen King's novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption."

A work about prison, without any explosive action scenes or romance, the commercial appeal is very low!

However, Aaron knew that "The Shawshank Redemption" indeed had very low box office returns, and it only became famous later with the advent of DVDs.

But it cannot be denied that "The Shawshank Redemption" is a good movie, with strong themes such as humanity, redemption, and perseverance.

However, Stephen King's works are generally very popular, so the adaptation rights have mostly been sold!

Culver City, Sony Studios.

The crew of "The Silence of the Lambs" specially came to take a set of promotional photos. Director Jonathan Demme, actors Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn, and Ted Levine were all present.

Aaron stood with Jonathan Demme, looking at Anthony Hopkins not far away, and couldn't help but laugh, "Anthony's portrayal of Hannibal will definitely become a classic image in film history!"

"The elegance in the prison and the image with the mask, I really like it too much. Buying this movie was definitely one of the most correct decisions I've made!"

Jonathan Demme also echoed: "You young people seem to like this kind of horror movie character."

Aaron crossed his arms and reached out to touch his bald chin, "Hey, 'The Silence of the Lambs' is not a simple horror movie, it should be in the category of thriller suspense."

Jonathan Demme nodded, "Hopefully, it will do well!"

"It will," Aaron said, patting Jonathan Demme's shoulder.

"Orion will definitely regret this decision when it's released."

"Regret?" Jonathan Demme shook his head.

"Aaron, you don't know, Orion not only sold 'The Silence of the Lambs', but another film being shot, 'The Addams Family', is also being prepared for sale."

"Orion is in contact with Paramount, preparing to sell 'The Addams Family', which has not yet been completed, to Paramount!"

Aaron frowned, "I heard the budget is $30 million, is Orion really willing to part with it?"

"Yeah, it's Orion's most expensive movie. Mainly because 'Dances with Wolves' has a long-term screening, the return of funds is too slow, and selling 'The Silence of the Lambs' is not enough to cover the deficit."

"Since they could sell 'The Silence of the Lambs' before, they can certainly sell 'The Addams Family' now!"

There's no way around it. Orion doesn't have any valuable works on hand now. "The Silence of the Lambs" and "The Addams Family" are relatively high investments and worth some money.

"The Addams Family" is adapted from a 1930s comic strip. It is a dark family comedy. The director is newcomer Barry Sonnenfeld.

This is also his directorial debut. Barry Sonnenfeld was previously a cinematographer for the Coen brothers and has a lot of experience with dark styles. "The Addams Family" was originally intended to be directed by Tim Burton, but the two sides had disagreements.

"What a pity, 'The Addams Family' should be almost finished, right?"

If Aaron had money, he would also want to buy "The Addams Family."

"It's about three-quarters shot, Paramount's offer is good, $22 million to buy the North American distribution and production rights!"

Jonathan Demme explained, after all, the international distribution rights for "The Addams Family" are in the hands of Columbia TriStar.

$22 million to buy the North American distribution rights is about right.

Nothing is wrong, one first, one inside, one capacity, one at a glance!

Unsurprisingly, Sony's bid will definitely not be as high as Paramount's!

Orion was going to file for bankruptcy protection last year, and selling "The Silence of the Lambs" and "The Addams Family" one after another was also to overcome the crisis.

Not long after, when Aaron was about to go find Mike Medavoy, the head of TriStar Pictures, he ran into producer Gary Foster.

"Hey, Aaron, good afternoon!" Gary Foster is a CAA client and knows Aaron Anderson.

"Good afternoon, is there a new project?"

Aaron chatted with the other party in the hallway.

"There is, a romance film. TriStar Pictures bought the script in May last year, but they have been dissatisfied with the adaptation!"

Gary Foster said, with a look of helplessness.

Aaron shrugged, "The average preparation period for a movie is two to three years. Sony has many projects now."

"It's not easy to get investment from them for ordinary scripts."

Large-scale projects with big directors and big stars can still be found at Sony.

Of course, if you fund the filming yourself, it's easier to negotiate with them for distribution!

Gary Foster looked at Aaron and suddenly asked: "My script is a romance film, are you interested in taking a look?"

Dawn Pictures invested nearly $20 million last year to shoot the fantasy romance film "Ghost." Gary Foster's is a romantic love film, and that budget is about right.

Perhaps, Aaron Anderson would be interested?

"Romance film?"

Aaron nodded, "The production cost of a romance film is low, which is suitable for Dawn Pictures. You can send the script to Dawn first, and I'll take a look."

"Okay, I'll have someone send it to you as soon as possible!"