Don't Ask for Too Much

Burbank, Disney Studios.

Ever since Disney had nearly gone bankrupt a few years ago, and with the support of Walt Disney's nephew Roy Disney and major shareholder Sid Bass, had brought in former Paramount executives Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg from outside, Disney had begun its revival and leapt into the ranks of Hollywood's Big Six studios!

Touchstone Pictures, strongly advocated for by Michael Ovitz, was a production label specifically created to develop adult-oriented films;

Disney was no longer limited to children's films and animation.

Now, Disney had created another live-action film label, Hollywood Pictures, to compete internally with Touchstone Pictures;

Domestic distribution was handled under the Disney Films name, while international distribution was handled by Buena Vista International!

Jeffrey Katzenberg currently served as chairman of Disney Films, overseeing the production of Disney Animation and live-action films.

The director of "Pretty Woman," Garry Marshall, its producer Steven Reuther, and its screenwriter J.F. Lawton were all CAA clients!

In the hallway, Aaron was talking with Disney executive producer Gary Goldstein. "Are the actors still considering it?"

"Yes. For the male lead, Gary favored Christopher Reeve. For the female lead, we've also sent invitations to Karen Allen and Molly Ringwald;"

"So far, we haven't received any replies!"

Listening to Gary Goldstein, Aaron truly felt he had no standing at all, because he had absolutely no say in the matter;

All he could do was discuss script revisions with screenwriter J.F. Lawton.

Christopher Reeve, the lead of the four Superman films, went without saying. As for Karen Allen and Molly Ringwald, they were both experienced actresses;

And both were reasonably priced. The disastrous flop of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, released the year before last, had dealt Christopher Reeve quite a blow.

Aaron shook his head. "No news probably means they don't want to play this kind of role!"

Pretty Woman had originally been a low-budget romantic comedy, and to many male stars, the story was rather childish;

If they could get Tom Cruise, Disney would naturally be willing to increase the budget, but a script like this would be rejected before it ever reached Tom Cruise's hands.

"We'll keep sending out invitations. If that doesn't work, we'll select some young actresses from among the newcomers!"

Hearing Gary Goldstein's words, Aaron naturally understood. Touchstone Pictures' current target was definitely actresses with some established credits;

If no suitable one could be found, they would look among young newcomer actresses.

Nicole Kidman would then have to compete with other batches of newcomer actresses. Given Aaron Anderson's current position, there was naturally no way for him to decide whether the production team would choose her as the female lead;

After all, Aaron had merely sped up the progress of Pretty Woman. Producer Steven Reuther and project head Jeffrey Katzenberg had indeed been developing the script!

Afterward, Aaron exchanged a few more words with screenwriter J.F. Lawton and left. There were basically no problems left with the film's script;

As an agent, Aaron had no need to stay here and waste any more time.

At the beginning of April, Dead Calm, starring Nicole Kidman, began its theatrical run. It was a low-budget thriller, but Nicole Kidman's performance in it was passable!

At the same time, Quentin Tarantino sent Aaron a script, "True Romance";

Aaron also took the opportunity to sign Quentin Tarantino as both a screenwriter and director client.

"A strong postmodern dark comedy style!"

After receiving the first draft, Aaron had absolutely forced himself to read it to the end. The handwriting was sloppy, not to mention the grammatical errors in the sentences;

It was already impressive that Quentin Tarantino could spell some words correctly.

Still, Aaron truly could not expect too much from Quentin Tarantino, who had not even finished middle school!

"I'll find someone to proofread it first, then help you pitch it to Hollywood directors and producers," Aaron said to Quentin Tarantino over the phone.

"Thank you, Aaron!"

After returning to CAA, Aaron found a typist in the editorial department to proofread it.

After flipping through the manuscript, the female employee from the editorial department widened her eyes in surprise. "I just casually looked through a few pages, and I could find at least nine grammatical errors on every page."

"Uh, that's fine. This client's education level is a little low. Just spend more time proofreading it," Aaron said helplessly. Quentin Tarantino was not going to direct this script himself, otherwise there would have been no need to proofread it.

After sorting out the script, Aaron received another call from Miramax. They wanted him to visit their company to discuss Steven Soderbergh's plans for going to Cannes!

Aaron then drove his Chevrolet to Miramax's Los Angeles office and specifically called Steven Soderbergh.

"Steven, where are you?"

"Vacationing in Florida. Are you coming over?"

"Oh, no. I'm just letting you know that you'll probably be going to Cannes near the end of the month. I'm heading to Miramax now to discuss the plans for the Cannes trip!"

"The end of the month? All right, I'll arrange my schedule..."

After hanging up, Aaron let out a breath. He was busy running around, while Steven Soderbergh had actually gone to Florida for a vacation!

Miramax was also a small distributor at the time. They were going to Cannes to buy new films and bring them back for domestic release;

They also had high hopes for "Sex, Lies, and Videotape."

"Harvey, I heard your internal screening was quite satisfied with 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape'?"

Aaron chatted with him in his office.

"$1.2 million, plus all kinds of marketing and distribution costs. The investment in this film could end up exceeding $3 million," Harvey Weinstein said as he looked at Aaron.

"I hope neither you nor I was wrong!"

Aaron smiled. "If this film were mine, I would never have sold it at this price;"

"You should have confidence in Cannes. When 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' comes back covered in honors, you'll know just how wise that decision was!"

"All right, just remember to remind Steven Soderbergh to cooperate with us properly when he gets to Cannes," Harvey Weinstein emphasized.

"Don't worry. Newcomers are desperate for a platform!"

After leaving Miramax, Aaron received a call from Nicole Kidman. "A director asked me to go to the Culver Hotel tonight to discuss a script..."