Chapter Summaries

Aaron rejected Laurence Tisch’s proposal to merge CBS with Dawn, saying Dawn was focused on acquiring MCA and CBS should be sold for cash and stock instead. Later, Aaron and Sophie attended a private gathering where Hollywood Actors Guild figures prepared to establish their own award.

• Laurence Tisch proposed a one-to-one stock merger of CBS and Dawn that would give Loews Corporation half of the new company, but Aaron rejected the terms.
• Aaron told Laurence Tisch Dawn was prioritizing its acquisition of MCA and suggested Loews sell CBS for a combination of cash and stock.
• Laurence Tisch offered Aaron 51 percent of the merged company, but Aaron ended the discussion and suggested that Disney might be a better fit for Loews.
• Aaron concluded that Disney’s talks to acquire CBS had gone poorly and considered that Capital Cities/ABC might be Disney’s remaining target.
• Aaron and Sophie Marceau attended a private club gathering, where Aaron explained that the Actors Guild was preparing to launch its own award ceremony.

Aaron met with CAA president Ronald Meyer to learn about Seagram’s bid for MCA and other studio deals. Ronald revealed that Seagram had privately offered him the Universal Pictures presidency and that Michael Ovitz might turn to MGM/United Artists if Seagram failed to acquire MCA.

• Aaron asked Ronald Meyer for news about Michael Ovitz and Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s offer for MCA, and Ronald said it was expected to match Panasonic’s original purchase price.
• Ronald told Aaron that Edgar Bronfman Jr. had privately offered him the presidency of Universal Pictures if Seagram acquired MCA, while Michael Ovitz continued pursuing the deal and courting Michael Eisner at Disney.
• Ronald explained that Michael Ovitz had little confidence Seagram could outbid Dawn and was keeping Disney’s offer as a fallback.
• Ronald revealed that Crédit Lyonnais wanted to sell MGM and cash out after the studio’s value recovered, and that Michael Ovitz had discussed MGM’s future with him and Bill Haber.
• Ronald said Michael Ovitz might advise Edgar Bronfman Jr. to acquire MGM/United Artists if Seagram failed to buy MCA, and Aaron approved of the idea.

At Dawn’s Christmas party, Aaron discussed Monica Bellucci’s upcoming lead role in Twister and spoke with Brad Pitt about his supporting part in 12 Monkeys. Later, Monica told Aaron the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show had boosted the brand’s sales before they kissed.

• Aaron told Monica Bellucci that Jan de Bont would direct Twister and offered her the female lead as a meteorologist who studied tornadoes.
• Aaron praised Brad Pitt’s recent films and learned that he had joined Universal’s 12 Monkeys in a supporting role.
• Brad Pitt explained the film’s story and said Bruce Willis had accepted a lower salary to work with director Terry Gilliam.
• Aaron left Brad Pitt to enjoy the party and later spent the night with Monica Bellucci at Bel Air Estate.
• Monica told Aaron that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show had increased public interest and raised lingerie sales.

On New Year's Eve, Aaron discussed Dawn's success and the MCA acquisition with Peter Peterson before celebrating with Nicole Kidman at Universal Studios. They talked about her new film and a newcomer she recommended for The Rock, then discussed Casino on the drive back to Santa Monica.

• Aaron told Peter Peterson that Panasonic should receive no more than 10% of New Dawn Group's shares in the MCA negotiations.
• Peter Peterson praised Dawn's 1994 box-office performance and its leading Hollywood market share.
• Aaron met Nicole Kidman at Universal Studios, where they celebrated Dawn's success and discussed her upcoming film with Denzel Washington.
• Nicole Kidman told Aaron she had introduced a British blonde newcomer, who had made her debut in Australia, to The Rock crew.
• While driving home, Aaron and Nicole Kidman discussed Sharon Stone's role in Casino and Nicole's decision to turn down a part in the film.

Aaron discussed Hollywood’s growing use of foreign actors and overseas filming with Nicole Kidman, then continued Dawn’s bid for MCA as other bidders withdrew. After reading about CJ Group’s investment in DreamWorks SKG, Aaron agreed to meet Michael Ovitz, who had requested a meeting.

• Aaron and Nicole Kidman discussed why Hollywood hired British and Australian actors and the advantages of filming in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
• Dawn and Seagram continued bidding for MCA after Panasonic rejected their offers and Ronald Perelman, PolyGram, and Bertelsmann withdrew.
• Aaron read that South Korea’s CJ Group had invested $300 million in DreamWorks SKG for an 11% stake and Asian distribution rights outside Japan.
• Christiana Yeri told Aaron that Michael Ovitz wanted to meet, and Aaron agreed to hear what he had in mind.

Aaron Anderson met with Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Michael Ovitz, who tried to persuade Dawn to abandon its bid for MCA and pursue MGM instead. Aaron refused to give up MCA, and after he left, Edgar proposed that Seagram bid $6.6 billion for it.

• Aaron Anderson met Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Michael Ovitz at a reception and learned that Seagram had more than $10 billion available after arranging to sell its DuPont shares.
• Michael Ovitz urged Aaron to let Seagram pursue MCA while Dawn acquired MGM, but Aaron argued that MGM would suit Seagram better and that Dawn would not withdraw from the MCA bid.
• Aaron rebuked Michael Ovitz for advising him how to run Dawn and insisted that Dawn would acquire MCA if its price stayed within an acceptable range.
• Aaron and Christiana Yeri left the reception early after their meeting with Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Michael Ovitz ended without an agreement.
• Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Michael Ovitz discussed how Seagram could beat Dawn's bid, and Edgar proposed offering $6.6 billion for MCA.

Aaron weighed Panasonic’s terms and Wall Street’s backing as Dawn raised its bid for MCA to $6.8 billion, while Seagram reconsidered its position. Back in Los Angeles, Aaron discussed Dawn’s projects and offered Jennifer Aniston a role in Ace Ventura 2 as the Golden Globe Awards began.

• Sidney Sheinberg and Lew Wasserman discussed Seagram’s $6.6 billion offer for MCA and Dawn’s growing strength in Hollywood.
• Peter Peterson told Aaron that Panasonic would accept a stock swap giving it 10 percent of New Dawn in exchange for 20 percent of MCA, and that Wall Street banks would finance Dawn’s bid if Aaron remained closely tied to the company.
• Aaron told Peter to offer Panasonic 10 percent and said he wanted to split up MCA after the acquisition; Dawn then raised its bid to $6.8 billion.
• At Burbank, Aaron returned to Los Angeles and asked Christiana Yeri about the cast of Broken Arrow, which paired Christian Slater with John Travolta.
• Michael Ovitz told Edgar Bronfman Jr. that Dawn had bid $6.8 billion, and Edgar said he would consult the Seagram family and prepare to sell DuPont shares.
• At a private club on Golden Globe night, Aaron praised Jennifer Aniston’s Friends role and offered her a part in Jim Carrey’s Ace Ventura 2.

Aaron gave Panasonic a final offer for MCA Universal: $580 million in cash and 10% of the merged New Dawn, with a deadline before March. Panasonic’s executives considered the value of the deal and decided to return to Japan to convene a board meeting.

• After the Golden Globes, Aaron and Jennifer Aniston discussed the awards and her $40,000-per-episode salary for Friends Season 2 before spending the night together.
• Dawn’s Forrest Gump and Disney’s The Lion King led the Golden Globes and posted strong worldwide box-office totals, while Dawn’s Pulp Fiction and Legends of the Fall also earned significant revenue.
• By the end of January, Seagram raised its offer for MCA Universal to $7 billion, and Aaron told Jessica Parker to arrange a meeting with Tsūzō Murase.
• At Panasonic’s New York headquarters, Aaron offered $580 million in cash and 10% of New Dawn for MCA and gave Panasonic until March to accept or lose the deal.
• After Aaron and his team left, Yoichi Morishita and Tsūzō Murase discussed the offer and decided to return to Japan to convene a board meeting.

Aaron discussed the Rockets, NFL teams, and the Super Bowl with Jennifer Connelly before learning that Dawn’s bid for MCA had surpassed $7.2 billion. Michael Eisner dismissed Jeffrey Katzenberg’s demand and predicted Aaron would beat Edgar Bronfman Jr., then planned to meet Michael Ovitz, who had no way back without MCA Universal.

• Aaron and Jennifer Connelly discussed Clyde Drexler’s possible move from the Trail Blazers to the Rockets after watching Houston lose to the Knicks.
• Jennifer told Aaron that the Rams and Raiders were leaving Los Angeles and mentioned Stan Kroenke’s stake in the Rams and the Glazer family’s purchase of the Buccaneers.
• Panasonic found Dawn’s MCA valuation of more than $7.2 billion attractive, while Seagram’s Edgar Bronfman Jr. struggled to fund a competing bid.
• Michael Eisner refused to pay Jeffrey Katzenberg’s requested $60 million and sent the matter to Disney’s legal department.
• After hearing that Dawn had submitted a new offer for MCA, Michael Eisner said Aaron was likely to outbid Edgar Bronfman Jr. and arranged to meet Michael Ovitz in Los Angeles.

Aaron discussed the Rockets’ new roster and the progress of his MCA acquisition before spending the evening with Salma Hayek in Houston. Their nightclub encounter was interrupted by a would-be robber, whom Aaron frightened away with a gun.

• Jack Wells and Aaron discussed Clyde Drexler joining the Rockets and the possibility that Michael Jordan would return to the NBA.
• Aaron told Jack Wells that Panasonic might accept the MCA acquisition terms and that Michael Ovitz had made progress in talks with Disney.
• At a Houston nightclub, Salma Hayek told Aaron about her roles in Mexico Trilogy and Four Rooms and thanked him for helping her career.
• Aaron predicted Salma would gain more fame when Bad Boys was released, and the two became intimate in his car.
• A would-be robber demanded money from Aaron, who pointed a handgun at him and ordered him to leave.
• After the man ran off, Salma told Aaron that the interruption had frightened her and felt thrilling.

At an Oscar-nominations banquet, Aaron congratulated Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks on Forrest Gump’s success and discussed Hanks’s plans to direct That Thing You Do!. Dawn Steel then told Aaron that Tom Cruise’s new Mission: Impossible deal introduced a profit-sharing model that could reshape star compensation.

• Forrest Gump led the Oscar nominations with 13, while The Shawshank Redemption received seven.
• Aaron congratulated Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks, who credited Dawn’s support for Forrest Gump and praised their work together.
• Tom Hanks told Aaron he planned to write, direct, and star in That Thing You Do!, which 20th Century Fox would distribute.
• Dawn Steel told Aaron that Mission: Impossible would begin production next month, with Tom Cruise receiving profit shares as a producer instead of a salary.
• Aaron and Dawn Steel discussed how Cruise’s deal could change Hollywood compensation, including Jim Carrey’s reported demand for a 20-million-dollar salary.

Aaron discussed rising movie costs and the DVD market with Dawn Steel while she awaited news about Panasonic and MCA Universal. He later met Elizabeth Hurley, who had been offered the female lead in Men in Black, before Winona Ryder called him in tears after Mel Gibson made antisemitic remarks at a party.

• Aaron and Dawn Steel discussed escalating film costs and the potential growth of DVDs in the home entertainment market.
• Dawn Steel told Aaron that Panasonic had not yet answered her MCA Universal acquisition proposal and that Edgar Bronfman Jr. had also gone to Japan.
• Aaron met Elizabeth Hurley, who told him she had received a contract for Men in Black and discussed the film’s revised script.
• Winona Ryder called Aaron from her West Hollywood villa and said Mel Gibson had insulted her and her friends and declared that Jewish people should go into crematoriums.
• Aaron agreed to visit Winona Ryder after leaving Elizabeth Hurley.

After Mel Gibson insulted Winona Ryder at a party, Aaron promised to make him apologize and ICM executives decided to intervene before the dispute damaged their relationship with Dawn Pictures Group. Winona celebrated her Oscar nomination for Little Women, while Jeffrey Berg and Nancy Josephson headed to Mel Gibson’s house.

• Winona Ryder told Aaron that Mel Gibson had mocked her gay designer friend and her Jewish ancestry, and Aaron promised to make Gibson apologize.
• Winona congratulated herself on receiving an Oscar Best Actress nomination for Little Women and noted that Forrest Gump was likely to dominate the awards.
• Aaron called Jeffrey Berg and demanded that Mel Gibson apologize to Winona in person, warning that he would handle it himself if ICM did not.
• Jeffrey Berg and Nancy Josephson agreed that Gibson should apologize to protect ICM’s relationship with Aaron and Dawn Pictures Group.
• Nancy arranged a car, and Jeffrey and Nancy set off for Mel Gibson’s house.

Aaron helped Winona Ryder resolve Mel Gibson’s mistreatment of her, and Mel apologized after ICM intervened. Jeffrey Berg discussed Carolco Pictures’ looming bankruptcy and its valuable Terminator 3 rights with Aaron, while Nancy Josephson warned Mel that Aaron had the power to damage his career.

• Mel Gibson apologized to Winona Ryder in Aaron’s hotel suite, and Jeffrey Berg offered Winona possible roles in ICM package projects.
• Aaron and Jeffrey discussed rising star salaries and Carolco Pictures’ debts, with Aaron identifying the Terminator 3 rights as its most valuable asset and suggesting they might negotiate after bankruptcy.
• Winona thanked Aaron, and he urged her to choose commercial films after her Best Actress Oscar nomination before they became intimate.
• Mel complained to Nancy Josephson about having to apologize, and she warned him that Aaron’s influence made it dangerous to antagonize him.
• Nancy cautioned Mel about his drinking after they reached his Malibu villa, while Mel insisted he would control it and focused on negotiating a $20 million salary from Disney.

Aaron Anderson acquired MCA and began restructuring it into Universal Pictures Group and Universal Music Group, merging Dawn Pictures into Universal Pictures. As employees protested the layoffs and suspended projects, Aaron stayed away in New York while Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg discussed the upheaval and the Academy Awards.

• Aaron Anderson and Yoichi Morishita signed the agreement for Dawn to acquire MCA for $7.2 billion, with Panasonic receiving cash and shares in New Dawn.
• Aaron told MCA executives Lew Wasserman, Sidney Sheinberg, and Tom Pollock that MCA would be reorganized, and that Dawn Pictures would merge into Universal Pictures.
• Michael Eisner asked Michael Ovitz whether he would join Disney, and Ovitz said he would first finish handling CAA's loose ends.
• Dawn reorganized MCA's divisions, appointed Dawn Steel, Tom Rothman, and Brad Grey to lead Universal operations, suspended Universal's projects in development, and announced layoffs of more than 800 employees.
• Universal employees protested outside Universal City during the Academy Awards, while Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg discussed the layoffs, Aaron's absence, and Forrest Gump's likely advantage.

Aaron reviewed Universal Pictures’ projects and canceled or paused films he considered unworthy as he began reshaping the studio. After discussing the backlash to Dawn’s layoffs with Nicole Kidman, he considered expanding Dawn into television and acquiring a news network.

• Aaron canceled Universal’s Daylight project, rejecting its plot and Sylvester Stallone’s salary.
• Aaron put The Chamber on hold and told Ethelind Beckett to find a new director after Ron Howard and Brad Pitt left the project.
• Aaron and Nicole Kidman discussed the Academy Awards, Dawn’s layoffs, and protests against the merger and Universal’s project cuts.
• Aaron told Nicole Kidman that Dawn’s next expansion would be into television, noting that the company lacked its own news network.

Aaron celebrated the strong opening of Bad Boys with Michael Bay and helped finalize the cast of The Rock, including Nicolas Cage and Naomi Watts. Meanwhile, Aaron and Nicole Kidman reaffirmed their relationship, and Toy Story entered an intensive promotional campaign.

• Bad Boys opened to $15.5 million over its first three days, and Aaron praised Michael Bay’s work when they met at the Midtown Manhattan Club Hotel.
• Aaron recommended Nicolas Cage for The Rock, and Nicole Kidman recommended Naomi Watts, completing the main cast alongside Sean Connery and Ed Harris.
• Aaron met Naomi Watts and encouraged her as she began pursuing opportunities in Hollywood.
• Aaron and Nicole Kidman discussed his attraction to Naomi Watts, and Aaron assured Nicole that she was exclusively his.
• Dawn began an intensive promotional campaign for Toy Story, which also drew attention from Roy Disney, Peter Schneider, and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

“Toy Story” opened to strong reviews and a major box-office debut, while Hollywood executives assessed the growing threat posed by Dawn and its new ownership of Universal. Aaron considered expanding Universal Studios in Osaka as Disney and Fox prepared to respond to industry changes.

• Aaron told Jack Wells that protests over layoffs were minor and discussed Michael Jordan’s return, the Rockets, and the nearly completed Dawn Center in Houston.
• Aaron said Universal Studios could succeed in Osaka and compete with Tokyo Disneyland, despite Panasonic’s earlier lack of interest.
• Dawn Pixar’s “Toy Story” opened in 2,457 North American theaters and earned $29.14 million in its opening weekend, drawing acclaim from major newspapers.
• Michael Eisner discussed “Toy Story,” DreamWorks SKG’s recruitment of Disney animators, and Michael Ovitz’s expected arrival as Disney’s new president.
• Rupert Murdoch and Peter Chernin discussed Carolco’s bankruptcy, Fox’s plans to acquire its rights, and the need to control the budget for James Cameron’s “Titanic.”

Aaron defended his drastic cuts at Universal to Jack Valenti, arguing that inflated actor salaries and mounting losses made a major overhaul necessary. Back at Dawn Pictures, he focused on integrating Dawn Universal while reviewing Carolco’s film rights, upcoming productions, and Universal Music’s expansion.

• Aaron told Jack Valenti that Sony and other foreign-backed studios had disrupted Hollywood’s salary structure, and that Universal needed to be rebuilt after its losses.
• Aaron explained that he had withdrawn funding from some Universal projects so their crews could seek new investors, rather than having Dawn spend without restraint.
• Ethelind Beckett told Aaron that Carolco had filed for bankruptcy protection and that The Terminator and First Blood rights were attracting bidders.
• Aaron told Ethelind to prioritize Dawn Universal’s restructuring, distribution integration, and Universal Music’s overseas growth.
• Aaron discussed the $75 million budgets for The Rock and Independence Day, and learned that Keanu Reeves had been chosen to lead Independence Day.

Aaron met Catherine Zeta-Jones and Demi Moore at a West Hollywood club, where they discussed their film careers and upcoming releases. Meanwhile, Kirk Kerkorian reviewed MGM/United Artists’ recovery and asked his assistant to arrange a meeting with Crédit Lyonnais’s MGM representative.

• Aaron spoke with Catherine Zeta-Jones about her role in The Phantom, then kissed her at the club.
• Aaron and Catherine met Demi Moore, who discussed her record salary, Bruce Willis’s recent projects, and the upcoming clash between Die Hard with a Vengeance and Con Air.
• Aaron left the club with Catherine and drove back to Beverly Hills.
• Kirk Kerkorian’s assistant explained MGM/United Artists’ recent investments, partnership with CAA, and improving prospects.
• Kirk expressed interest in Aaron Anderson and MGM’s rising value, then told his assistant to arrange a meeting with Crédit Lyonnais’s representative.