Hollywood Craze

"The joy of a small gamble paying off big?"

Watching Steven Spielberg leave, Aaron shook his head. This sort of thing happened often with Dawn.

Now that DreamWorks' American Beauty had achieved such success, it was no wonder DreamWorks was so delighted.

Soon afterward, Aaron ran into Joe Roth, the former film president who had just left Disney. He seemed to have entered into a partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment.

With funding from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Joe Roth would establish an independent film company—Revolution Studios.

"Oh, I heard you brought Jerry Bruckheimer and Ridley Scott together for a new film. A war movie adapted from the real events that took place in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, in 1993?"

Aaron looked at Joe Roth. Ridley Scott had directed Gladiator for Universal last year, while producer Jerry Bruckheimer had long worked with Disney.

It was perfectly normal for Joe Roth to bring the two together to develop a new film for Sony Columbia.

Joe Roth smiled. "That's right. After Saving Private Ryan, everyone's expectations for war films have been quite high."

"Disney is also preparing the big-budget war film Pearl Harbor, again directed by Michael Bay. Even Gladiator, which Universal is releasing this summer, counts as a war film!"

Indeed, the Sony Columbia war epic spearheaded by Joe Roth was Black Hawk Down, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Ridley Scott.

Jerry Bruckheimer was indeed still developing the naval war epic Pearl Harbor, directed by Michael Bay, for Disney.

Aaron shrugged. "Hollywood really is the best at seizing on what audiences are interested in. And Ridley Scott and Michael Bay are both outstanding directors."

Both had worked with Dawn, especially Michael Bay, who had scored huge successes with three consecutive Dawn action films and become famous throughout Hollywood.

After his final 1998