Guns, Police, Phone Booth

Aaron did not wake up in the hotel bed until noon the next day, with Jennifer Connelly in his arms.

"Have I really fallen this far?"

Then Aaron ran into the bathroom for a shower!

After Jennifer Connelly woke up and the two had something to eat, he drove her home and told her to call him directly if she needed anything.

"Got it. I'll come keep you company again in a few days!"

Jennifer Connelly hugged Aaron and kissed him before getting out of the car.

When Aaron returned to the hotel, he received a call from Disney's production department. It was Jeffrey Katzenberg's assistant.

"Mr. Katzenberg believes the Everybody's Fine project has little commercial value. He hopes you can bring forward a script with commercial elements!"

"Commercial elements? I understand. There will be opportunities. Please thank Mr. Katzenberg for me."

"That won't be necessary, Aaron. Mr. Katzenberg thinks highly of you!"

After hanging up, Aaron wanted to slap himself. How had he dared hope Jewish people would support such an artsy project?

Afterward, Aaron Anderson headed to Legacy Entertainment's New York headquarters, located in an old Landmark Theatre near Times Square!

Landmark Theatres was a renowned American art-house theater chain that often screened independent and foreign films.

Because it owned Landmark Theatres, Legacy Entertainment frequently distributed foreign art films and also invested in some productions itself.

During the Reagan Era, Hollywood's Paramount Decree had begun to exist in name only. To protect their distribution advantages, Hollywood studios had started investing in theater chains again.

However, theaters were not yet the massive multiplexes of the future. Most still operated under the theater model, and there were countless theater companies in the United States!

In an office on the third floor of the Times Square Landmark Theatre.

Legacy Entertainment's head, Guy Martin, was leafing through the Everybody's Fine script in his hands.

Aaron sat on the sofa, observing the Times Square of this era. Sure enough, it was a complete mess.

Adult stores, strip clubs, sex-comedy bars, filthy surroundings, terrible public safety... the world-famous crossroads of the future would probably have to wait a few more years!

"Whew, the script is very warm, focusing on family and emotional bonds," Guy Martin said with a smile. No wonder director Francis Ford Coppola had given the script such a favorable assessment.

Aaron nodded as well. "Mr. Martin, the budget for Everybody's Fine will be around seven million dollars."

"Director Giuseppe Tornatore has already returned to Europe. We hope to secure two million dollars in funding from the United States!"

"Two million dollars?" Guy Martin shook his head. Although Giuseppe Tornatore had won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize, it was still too expensive for an art film like this.

"Legacy Entertainment can invest 1.2 million dollars in exchange for North American distribution rights to Everybody's Fine. Consider it our support for the arts."

Aaron thought for a moment before explaining, "Jennifer Connelly will also be joining the cast as the youngest daughter."

"Whatever else may be said, she is still America's youthful sweetheart of the eighties and has a certain level of popularity. She can always draw some viewers into theaters."

"Two million dollars is not much!"

Guy Martin smiled. "Aaron, 1.5 million dollars. That is my final offer."

"Mm, all right." Aaron stood and shook his hand. "Happy cooperation. I'm sure we'll have other opportunities to work together."

"Landmark Theatres screens art films, but we have never rejected commercial productions!"

Aaron nodded. "Understood."

After leaving the theater, Aaron walked onto Broadway Avenue when a sudden cry rang out.

"Robbery! Someone's being robbed!"

Across the street, an elderly woman was shouting that she had been robbed, pointing at a young Black man sprinting away ahead of her.

The young Black man was holding a woman's handbag, clearly the one he had just snatched.

Then a passerby entered a nearby phone booth to call the police for her!

Aaron shook his head. This part of Times Square was absolutely a paradise for criminals. "At least he didn't pull a gun!"

"Gun!" Aaron suddenly thought of something and turned to stare at the phone booth.

Guns, phone booths, police!

That classic low-budget Hollywood crime thriller from the future, Phone Booth: a man received a threatening call while inside a phone booth, warning him not to leave it or he would be shot.

A hidden sniper, the threatened man in the phone booth, the police officers who dared come to the scene, and the protagonist's wife inside the phone booth!

Few characters, simple settings, easy filming—it relied entirely on the uniqueness and novelty of the story.

Aaron had always wanted to develop the Ghost script he had on hand, but the film's cost would not be low enough for him to accept.

Pretty Woman had already carried a production budget of fifteen million dollars. Ghost also needed some ghostly special effects, so it would definitely cost more than Pretty Woman!

I need to put this idea into action as soon as possible. With that thought, Aaron quickened his pace and left.

He needed to find a screenwriter to turn this concept into a script as soon as possible...

However, after returning to the St. Regis Hotel on Fifth Avenue, Aaron first called director Giuseppe Tornatore, who was far away in Italy, to explain the situation with Everybody's Fine.

There was a five-hour time difference between the East Coast of the United States and Italy. New York was five hours behind, so it was already evening in Italy.

"Thank you, Aaron. I'll begin filming Everybody's Fine in Sicily next month, then head to Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, and other cities for location shooting."

"The role you mentioned for Jennifer Connelly is mainly in Milan. We should be able to finish filming in two weeks!"

Giuseppe Tornatore sounded rather cheerful over the phone, likely because the financing for Everybody's Fine had been progressing smoothly.

"All right. I'll bring Jennifer to Italy then!"

Since Jennifer Connelly also wanted to take on some roles, and Everybody's Fine would definitely be entering either Cannes or the Venice Film Festival, it would be nice to let her experience it.

After settling Everybody's Fine, Aaron took out pen and paper and began working out his concept for Phone Booth.

Aaron only needed to set up the script's outline. For everything else, he could hire a screenwriter to polish and flesh it out!

After all, even Quentin Tarantino, who could barely make sense of grammar and vocabulary, could write screenplays. If Aaron spent the time, he would not have much trouble either, though the details would certainly be weaker.

But there was no need at all, because the most valuable thing was this concept!

If Aaron remembered correctly, Phone Booth had earned nearly one hundred million dollars worldwide. But that had been after the millennium, when the film market was nearly twice what it was now.

North America's annual box office was only four billion dollars now, so it certainly could not compare. Still, at this point in time, it should be able to make forty or fifty million dollars worldwide, right?