Harvey Scissorhands

By October, Miramax's release of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" had already grossed more than $18 million.

The $1.2 million Harvey Weinstein had spent at the beginning of the year had been an absolute windfall!

A burst of shouting came from the Miramax offices in New York.

Giuseppe Tornatore, director of "Cinema Paradiso," and Harvey Weinstein were arguing in the office over the film's runtime.

On the sofa outside the office, Bob Weinstein adjusted his glasses, raised his champagne glass, and clinked it against Aaron Anderson's. "This sort of thing is common. You'll get used to it!"

Bob Weinstein was referring to directors and distributors arguing over a film's edit.

The director's cut of "Cinema Paradiso" ran 173 minutes, which was obviously unacceptable. When it had been released in Italy last year, it had already been cut down to 155 minutes.

Unfortunately, this time it had run into Harvey "Scissorhands," who had hacked it all the way down to 123 minutes.

Aaron shrugged. Honestly, most directors' cuts didn't work. The theatrical version still depended on the studio's touch.

After all, a film's runtime was directly tied to the number of screenings. If it ran too long, it simply wasn't profitable for theaters.

Director's cuts were mainly meant for inclusion on future DVDs!

"So, for 'Cinema Paradiso,' you're planning to campaign for Best Foreign Language Film?"

Aaron asked.

Bob Weinstein nodded. "It'll have a limited theatrical run in Los Angeles before the end of the year to qualify for the Oscars, then receive its official release after the new year!"

"By the way, does Steven Soderbergh have any new ideas?"

Bob Weinstein wore a lecherous grin as he asked Aaron about Steven Soderbergh's next project.

"No. He still wants to keep developing independent projects that fit his own vision. He hasn't got any leads for now!"

Steven Soderbergh was riding high these days, and he was getting a little carried away.

Judging by the box office performance of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," the film would probably bring Miramax profits of over $10 million.

Miramax had never encountered a success like this since its founding. No wonder Bob Weinstein was so eager to learn about Steven Soderbergh's next project.

"That's a shame." Naturally, Bob Weinstein hoped for another film like "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," one that brought both acclaim and profit.

After a while, Giuseppe Tornatore was the first to come out of the office, his face full of helplessness.

Clearly, he had been unable to stop Miramax from cutting his work.

As he left with Giuseppe Tornatore, Aaron heard him complaining in Italian. Though Aaron didn't understand Italian, he could certainly guess that Tornatore was cursing Harvey!

"All right, let's get something to eat." Aaron directly pulled him into an Italian restaurant.

When it came to food, France and Italy still did it best.

Giuseppe Tornatore looked dejected. "This film is like my own child. All told, nearly an hour has been cut from it."

"The studio has to consider commercial factors. Theaters don't like screening films that run too long."

Aaron smiled and comforted him. Giuseppe Tornatore was not yet important enough to have final cut.

If you were like Quentin Tarantino in the future, of course it wouldn't be a problem. His films had the box office to back it up!

Wasn't the 155-minute Italian version already proven to be a failed version?

A two-hour movie could be screened four times a day, but if it ran three hours, it could only manage three screenings at most!

"By the way, I came to the United States this time because I have a new script I'd like you to look at. I'm hoping to find an American distributor to work with."

Giuseppe Tornatore had originally wanted to work with Miramax, but after what had happened with "Cinema Paradiso," he had developed some resistance to the idea.

That was why he had specifically come to seek Aaron Anderson's help. Aaron had discovered works like "Cinema Paradiso" and "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," and he had a good attitude toward independent films as well as a good eye for them.

As Giuseppe Tornatore spoke, he handed Aaron a script. "It's about an elderly widower from Sicily, retired for many years, who travels to several major cities in Italy to visit his five children, each of whom has their own career."

"It mainly expresses the distant family relationships in modern industrial society. I've already spoken with the veteran Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni, and he's very willing to play the retired old man!"

As Giuseppe Tornatore explained, Aaron flipped through the script in his hands. Its title was "Everybody's Fine."

An old man went to the big cities to visit his five children. It was a warm family drama.

A very typical arthouse film, basically made for awards. It definitely had no market in the United States. Tearjerker family dramas like this had little commercial appeal in America.

Unless it was an inspirational film, then it might be worth trying in the United States. Still, this kind of movie was likely to earn praise from critics!

Aaron quickly offered his suggestion. "For this kind of project, we could try pitching it to Disney. They like warm family stories!"

Besides, Giuseppe Tornatore was the winner of this year's Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize, an award second only to the Palme d'Or.

"Thank you. I don't know anyone else in the United States. 'Everybody's Fine' has investment from an Italian film company, but it isn't enough."

"I hope to raise the production funding in France and the United States!"

Aaron nodded. "I'll get the script over to Disney as soon as possible."

Only director Giuseppe Tornatore had any real name recognition on "Everybody's Fine," but Aaron had previously been in contact with Jeffrey Katzenberg, since "Pretty Woman" had only just wrapped filming.

Besides, Aaron had just handled a project like "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," which had brought both fame and profit. It was completely worth a try.

Disney had originally been an animation company, making children's fare. After Michael Eisner took charge of Disney, he formed Touchstone Pictures and began producing films for adults.

But Disney had never been respected by Hollywood's mainstream. A film company that only made children's movies and comedies?

Whether it was Jeffrey Katzenberg or Michael Eisner, they surely wanted to establish Disney's name in the artistic sphere as well.

Disney could produce films with genuine artistic merit too.

Just think about it. In a few years, Disney would directly acquire the arthouse label Miramax. Wasn't that all for film art?

Comedy films had never been respected by Hollywood critics!

Awards—Oscar awards were the foundation of a film company. Back in the day, Hollywood's eight major film companies had been divided into five major and three minor studios, but all of them had Oscars backing them.

Disney had surged in prominence over the past few years, becoming one of Hollywood's Big Six in a single leap. MGM and United Artists had merged and nearly become a hotel company, while RKO Pictures had already disappeared.

Disney had filled the gap and become one of Hollywood's new Big Six. It also had to prove its pursuit of cinematic art!