Romance Film Director

As the awards ceremony continued, Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman won Best Actress and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, respectively, for "Driving Miss Daisy";

Meanwhile, the winners of Best Actor and Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama were Tom Cruise for "Born on the Fourth of July" and Michelle Pfeiffer for "The Fabulous Baker Boys"!

As expected, the Italian film "Cinema Paradiso" took Best Foreign Language Film.

Backstage at the awards ceremony, Aaron Anderson was drinking at the bar with Giuseppe Tornatore, who had just collected his award.

"I'm going back to Italy tomorrow!"

"So soon? Miramax will definitely have some celebrations coming up," Aaron reminded him.

Giuseppe Tornatore shook his head. "I need to get back to the set of 'Everybody's Fine' as soon as possible. I'll come back before the Oscar ceremony."

By then, "Everybody's Fine" would surely have finished filming.

"All right, the next time you come to Italy, I'll treat you properly," Giuseppe Tornatore said, patting Aaron on the shoulder.

Afterward, Giuseppe Tornatore returned to the awards banquet. Several of the major awards were about to be presented!

Aaron had little interest in attending awards ceremonies. They were far too boring, though the Golden Globe Awards were at least much livelier;

He had never personally experienced the Oscars, but from what he had seen on television and read in newspapers, sitting there for several hours certainly could not be pleasant.

Once the ceremony was over, he could simply go home with Nicole Kidman. With that in mind, Aaron headed to the restroom.

Along the way, he ran into Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. Like Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis was also an actor who had found success late in life;

After spending many years in theater and playing minor roles in films, "Die Hard" two years ago had made him famous overnight, turning him into one of Hollywood's tough guys!

Upon entering the restroom, Aaron wrinkled his nose. The strong smell of marijuana filled the air. There had to be some addict in one of the stalls who could not resist chasing a high.

After relieving himself, he was about to wash his hands when a stall door was pushed open and a somewhat unsteady figure emerged.

Their eyes met, and Aaron recognized him. "Good evening, Mr. Downey!"

That was right. The man coming out of the stall was none other than Hollywood second-generation star Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. rubbed his face and came back to his senses. "Yeah, good evening. Want one?"

As he spoke, Robert Downey Jr. pulled out a specially made cigarette.

Aaron shook his head with a smile. "Thanks, but I've got something to do later!"

Robert Downey Jr. said nothing. After gesturing casually, he walked away.

Aaron had no interest in befriending a Hollywood drug addict like that...

As the awards ceremony drew to a close, "Driving Miss Daisy" won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy;

"Born on the Fourth of July" won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director, making it the biggest winner;

Finally, veteran Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn received the Golden Globe Awards' lifetime achievement honor, the Cecil B. DeMille Award!

Outside the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Aaron and Nicole Kidman ran into Steven Soderbergh as they were preparing to leave.

"Aaron, did you really leave CAA?"

"Yeah, would I lie about that? What about you? What's with staying overseas all this time?"

Steven Soderbergh looked a little helpless. "I'm feeling somewhat lost right now. There aren't any suitable projects."

"Sex, Lies, and Videotape" would next attend the BAFTA Awards, the César Awards, and other ceremonies, all to build its reputation.

"You're still young. If you have a project, you can start preparing it first. It'll also help you build experience."

Nicole Kidman, standing beside him, smiled as well. "If you have a suitable role, you can come to me!"

Steven Soderbergh nodded. "I'll consider it. Don't worry."

"All right, we'll be leaving first," Aaron said, wrapping an arm around Nicole Kidman and waving goodbye to him;

"Sex, Lies, and Videotape" stood out among independent films and was quite good, but it would be hard for it to achieve much at the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars!

Independent film needed a work capable of breaking the rules. Box office was the most direct measure of a film's influence;

Independent films of the present had no capital to fight the major studios. They would have to wait until Disney acquired Miramax in the future, combining Disney's resources with Miramax's publicity methods.

After getting into the car, Nicole Kidman looked at Aaron Anderson beside her. "Does Steven Soderbergh really not have any projects?"

Aaron started the car and replied casually, "How could he not have any? He did win the Cannes Palme d'Or, after all;"

"I helped him negotiate several projects, but Steven's demands exceeded what the producers expected, so none of them worked out."

"That makes sense. He's the youngest winner of the Palme d'Or, so his terms probably aren't low," Nicole Kidman said, understanding.

"That's why. He can decide for himself what to do with his projects!"

Unfortunately, the success of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" could only be called decent. Hollywood was a commercial society, and box office mattered more than awards;

Although European art films had always looked down on Hollywood commercial films, Hollywood films were dismissive of all foreign films.

The United States possessed the largest film market and the most complete film industry. That was undeniable. If you could not break into Hollywood, you could not be considered internationally influential!

Steven Soderbergh thought that winning a Palme d'Or meant he could set conditions with Hollywood, not realizing that he was merely a newcomer. "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" had only grossed $24 million, so he did not have much say.

Young people still did not understand how cruel Hollywood was!

That night, Nicole Kidman lay drenched in fragrant sweat in Aaron's arms. "Darling, are you planning to invite Edward Zwick to direct your film 'Ghost'?"

Aaron rested both hands behind his head. "Yeah, he's a good fit for that kind of thing!"

Actually, Aaron had also considered Rob Reiner, the director of When Harry Met Sally..., and Garry Marshall, the director of Pretty Woman.

It was just that both were veteran directors and well suited to romantic dramas, but they were much more expensive.

Especially given the success of When Harry Met Sally...—and not to mention Pretty Woman, which was set to premiere in March. That was practically a masterpiece in the making.

Rob Reiner and Garry Marshall's rates would only rise further.

"Have you found investors yet?" Nicole Kidman was still anxious. She hoped to establish herself in Hollywood as quickly as possible!

"Mm, don't rush. Right now, I'm looking for a distributor for Phone Booth."

And once Pretty Woman was released and earned strong reviews and box office numbers, people would naturally start mentioning Aaron Anderson's name.

After all, last year he had used Warren Beatty to tie himself to that film.

If a romance like that could become a massive hit, who could say that another romance he had his eye on, Ghost, couldn't also be a huge success?

Come on, everyone, please support me and give your little brother some motivation...