Vision and Guts

Los Angeles in April was warm, a sunny season of spring!

In West Hollywood, Aaron suddenly opened his eyes in bed. Beside him, Nicole Kidman was teasing his face with her long hair.

"So early in the morning, and you're not sleeping?" Aaron said, rolling over and burying his face downward. Though the twenty-two-year-old Nicole Kidman was undeniably a sexy knockout, nothing could overcome his morning grumpiness.

Nicole Kidman smiled, climbed onto his back, and rested her chin on his shoulder. "What? Last night, you were like a lion—tireless!"

"Mm, thanks for the compliment." Aaron rubbed his eyes. "It's the weekend. There shouldn't be anything important going on!"

Well, agents were supposed to have no weekends, but then again, Aaron was hardly a proper agent.

"You're going to the Cannes Film Festival, right?" Nicole Kidman asked.

"Yeah, at the end of this month. I need to head over early. One of my directors, Steven Soderbergh, is going too."

"His film was nominated for the Palme d'Or!"

As he spoke, Aaron kissed Nicole Kidman in his arms. "Want to come and take a look?"

"Can I?"

"Of course. It's only the Cannes Film Festival. Just treat it like a vacation!"

Aaron was going to Cannes not only to witness the success of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," but also to take on distribution sales work for several films.

"All right, get some more sleep." Aaron patted the woman in his arms, wondering whether Nicole Kidman would still have a chance to meet Tom Cruise.

"Mm, did we offend that Orion Pictures executive last night?"

Aaron shook his head. "Who knows whether he'll even remember us? Relax, don't overthink it. If you have time, read through my script for 'Ghost' a few more times."

"When the time comes, watch your man make a name for himself in Hollywood!"

"Make a name for yourself?" Nicole Kidman laughed as well...

By noon, the two got up and went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Nicole Kidman saw a news item in the paper and let out a surprised gasp.

Aaron glanced at it too. The set of Carolco Pictures' "Total Recall," filming in Mexico City, Mexico, had suffered a sudden case of food poisoning among the entire crew. Only the male lead, Arnold Schwarzenegger, had emerged unscathed, because his food had been specially ordered from the United States!

"Arnold's salary for this movie is eleven million dollars. He's getting closer and closer to Sylvester Stallone," Aaron explained.

Among action stars, Bruce Willis had also risen to prominence last year with "Die Hard."

Along with Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, and Mel Gibson, action stars were indeed valuable these days!

"The gap between male and female stars is huge. Even top actresses only make two or three million dollars," Nicole Kidman said, shaking her head.

Aaron glanced at her. "For now, it's enough if you can make a hundred thousand or so. Make your name first!"

Afterward, Aaron flipped through the financial pages. They were full of news about Japan, about Japanese companies acquiring one American asset after another.

Based on what Aaron knew, Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures should have been finalized. All that remained was the official announcement.

Since the Plaza Accord, Japan had begun a wave of overseas acquisitions. Resources like Hollywood were a dream destination for Japanese investors!

That evening, Nicole Kidman lay in Aaron's arms with a rosy complexion. Her fair skin was tinged with pink, making her especially alluring.

"Isn't it a little inappropriate to sleep with your own client so quickly?" Aaron asked as he caressed the woman's body.

Nicole Kidman curled her lips. "Why didn't you say that while you were on top of me just now?"

"Mm, stay here for the next few days. Then we'll go to Cannes together." Aaron smiled. Nicole Kidman was quite captivating right now!

"Got it..." As she spoke, Nicole Kidman took the initiative to kiss Aaron again, fiery with passion.

At the end of April, Aaron would head to Cannes, France, in advance to arrange the relevant matters for Steven Soderbergh.

After all, he was a new director selected for the main competition. And handling the international rights sales for "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" was also part of CAA's work.

At the same time, Nicole Kidman's starring film "Dead Calm" had reached seven million dollars at the box office.

A movie like this only had a theatrical run of about a month. It seemed unlikely to reach eight million.

Although he had only been with Nicole Kidman for a short time, the upcoming trip to Cannes would allow them to enjoy themselves properly for a while!

At CAA headquarters, Paula Wagner looked at Aaron Anderson before her. "What are your plans for the international sales of 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape'?"

"Just sell the rights outright. Steven Soderbergh agrees," Aaron said. They were both newcomers, so neither had any wildly unrealistic ideas.

"The main markets are Japan and Europe. I'll package the theatrical rights, videotape rights, and television broadcast rights together for sale."

"As long as 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' can build some buzz at Cannes, selling the distribution rights won't be difficult!"

Moreover, Miramax held the North American theatrical rights. As the world's largest entertainment market, North America's importance went without saying.

No matter what, Miramax also hoped the film would make a name for itself at Cannes, which would make domestic distribution easier.

Over the past year, the North American theatrical market had surpassed four billion dollars in box office revenue, a fifteen percent increase over the previous year.

After the economic crisis, the slump in domestic industries had boosted the movie business. After all, going to the theater was a relatively cheap form of entertainment for Americans.

"Since you already have a plan, that's good. Agents underwriting distribution rights for films is part of an agency's business. I just didn't expect you to pull off something like this on your own!"

Aaron smiled. "Independent distributors nowadays mainly focus on horror and gore-heavy material."

"Not many people pay much attention to literary films or foreign art films like these, so there's less competition in the market."

Paula Wagner shook her head. "Less competition means distributors care less about them, and there are fewer chances of getting into theaters!"

Aaron agreed. Unfortunately, Harvey Weinstein at Miramax was indeed ahead of many others.

Other film companies did not dare distribute many such art films, but Miramax did. And Harvey truly placed considerable importance on artistic works.

No wonder he would later be called the king of independent film and the savior of art-house movies. He had guts!

"When are you leaving for Cannes?"

"Tomorrow's flight..."