Chapter Summaries

As the Florida election battle escalated through the courts, Aaron and Jack Wells discussed the recount, Thanksgiving, sports investments, and plans to meet two Victoria’s Secret supermodels. Aaron also offered Jack a stake in the Venetian Resort while explaining his greater interest in Macau’s casino market.

• The Republican Party appealed to the Federal Supreme Court over Florida’s recount rules and overseas ballots, while Miami-Dade County suspended its manual recount and Democrats challenged the decision.
• On Thanksgiving, the Florida Supreme Court rejected the Democrats’ appeal, and Al Gore’s camp threatened to take the Miami-Dade dispute to the Federal Supreme Court as Gore began assembling a transition government.
• At Jack Wells’s villa, Aaron and Jack discussed the election, California’s electricity crisis, and Stan Kroenke’s acquisitions of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche.
• Jack invited Aaron to a bar to meet Brazilian supermodels Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima, and Aaron agreed to consider visiting Brazil.
• Jack said he had acquired nearly $50 million in Venetian Resort debt, and Aaron offered to transfer him shares while expressing his interest in Macau’s casino business.

Aaron spent time with Alessandra Ambrosio in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas, where she agreed to stay by his side for several years. Meanwhile, the Florida recount and election appeals continued as new films opened and Aaron considered Christopher Nolan’s Memento.

• Aaron kissed Alessandra Ambrosio at a bar, then spent the night with her at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel.
• Aaron invited Alessandra Ambrosio to visit Las Vegas, and she agreed to the trip.
• On November 24, the U.S. Federal Supreme Court agreed to hear George Walker Bush’s appeal on December 1 while Florida counties continued manual recounts ahead of the November 26 deadline.
• Universal’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas passed $100 million, while Disney’s Unbreakable earned $28 million over the three-day Thanksgiving holiday.
• Aaron asked Alessandra Ambrosio to stay by his side for a few years, and she agreed.
• Aaron considered Christopher Nolan’s Memento, which had screened at film festivals but had not yet been released in the United States.

After buying a 5% stake in Las Vegas Sands, Aaron followed the unfolding Florida recount dispute and discussed the election’s legal and political stakes with Pete Wilson. Clinton publicly backed Al Gore, while both parties maneuvered to influence Florida’s vote before the deadline for appointing electors.

• Jack Wells told Aaron he had used cash, bonds, and proceeds from selling Microsoft and Cisco shares to buy 5% of Las Vegas Sands from Sheldon Adelson, then said he was returning to Texas while Aaron planned to go to Los Angeles.
• Florida Secretary of State Harris announced that George W. Bush had won the state by 537 votes, prompting Bush to declare victory and Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman to challenge the count in court.
• Aaron met California Public Employees' Retirement System head Valentin Rick, who planned to increase the fund's investment in Dawn after losses in technology stocks.
• Al Gore called for a complete manual recount in Florida, and President Clinton publicly emphasized the integrity of the vote count while backing Gore.
• Pete Wilson told Aaron that Clinton had now made his position public, and Aaron noted that recounts were still underway in three Democratic counties.
• Aaron and Pete Wilson discussed efforts by Democrats to extend the recounts and Republican plans to stall them until Florida's December 12 elector deadline, when Governor Jeb Bush could appoint the state's electors.

The Bush-Gore election dispute in Florida intensified as both campaigns fought over recounts, transition funds, and the state’s electors. The U.S. Federal Supreme Court intervened and scheduled a hearing for December 1, leaving the election’s outcome uncertain.

• Al Gore proposed recounting 14,000 disputed ballots within seven days, but the Republican camp rejected the plan and sought a hand recount of all 1.15 million ballots.
• The Leon County Circuit Court rejected Gore’s expedited recount request, while Bush’s transition team was denied federal offices and $5.3 million in funds.
• Aaron told Jack Wellstone that he had provided $5 million to support George W. Bush’s transition team, then spoke with Sophie Marceau about her film and Hollywood.
• The Leon County Circuit Court scheduled a December 2 hearing on Gore’s challenge, while the Justice Department and Florida’s State Legislature considered intervening in the dispute.
• The Democratic Party appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, and a Florida legislative committee recommended appointing the state’s 25 electors through a special session.
• The U.S. Federal Supreme Court scheduled a December 1 hearing on Florida’s recount and election procedures, marking its first intervention in a presidential election dispute in more than 200 years.

The Florida election dispute deepened as courts and lawmakers prepared for further battles, while public patience wore thin. Aaron arranged a secluded home for pregnant Christiana Yeri and discussed Universal's planned Bruce Almighty with Jennifer Aniston at a Hollywood party.

• The Florida Supreme Court rejected Albert Gore's request for a manual recount, while both candidates' legal teams argued before the Federal Supreme Court.
• Mike Fasano announced a special Florida legislative session to appoint the state's electors, and the Leon County Circuit Court of Appeals heard Gore's challenge to the election results.
• Aaron showed Christiana Yeri the secluded villa he had arranged for her in Westlake Village so she could await the birth in peace.
• Aaron told Jennifer Aniston that Universal had acquired Bruce Almighty and planned for her to star opposite Jim Carrey.
• Jennifer Aniston noted that Jim Carrey was expected to film Life is Beautiful, and Aaron said Bruce Almighty might begin shooting in the second half of the next year.

Aaron and Jennifer Aniston discussed Jim Carrey and Jennifer’s upcoming films before planning to launch Bruce Almighty, and Jennifer arranged a surprise visit from Kate Beckinsale. Meanwhile, the disputed 2000 US presidential election continued through court challenges and protests, with the outcome still awaiting the Federal Supreme Court’s ruling.

• Jennifer Aniston said she planned to star in The Catcher in the Rye, and Aaron said they could launch Bruce Almighty after her and Jim Carrey’s projects were finished.
• Aaron said he wanted Al Pacino to play God in Bruce Almighty, and Jennifer Aniston welcomed the chance to work with him again.
• Jennifer Aniston told Aaron she had invited Kate Beckinsale to visit, then kissed Aaron in the bathroom while they waited.
• On December 3, Al Gore said he would accept the election result if an orderly process showed George Walker Bush had won, while his camp rejected calls to concede.
• On December 4, the Leon County Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Al Gore’s challenge, and the Federal Supreme Court suspended Florida’s ruling allowing a manual recount and sent the case back for reconsideration.
• George Walker Bush and Al Gore supporters staged demonstrations as media outlets covered the dispute, and both camps awaited the Federal Supreme Court’s December 12 ruling.

Aaron Anderson attended George W. Bush’s victory celebration, warned him about the coming economic downturn and Dick Cheney’s political baggage, and was invited to advise the incoming administration. After the election dispute ended, Aaron turned back to business as the America Online-Time Warner merger was completed.

• The Florida Supreme Court continued the recount, but the U.S. Federal Supreme Court halted it, and Al Gore withdrew and congratulated George W. Bush.
• At a private celebration in Austin, George W. Bush discussed his transition and inauguration plans with Aaron Anderson and Jack Wells.
• Aaron cautioned George W. Bush against choosing Richard Cheney as more than Vice President and warned that the tech-stock bubble would damage the economy.
• Aaron pointed to the falling NASDAQ and urged George W. Bush’s economic team to consult Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.
• George W. Bush invited Aaron to share his views at future economic meetings.
• The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission approved the America Online-Time Warner merger, forming the world’s largest media and communications group.

At a Beverly Hills cocktail party, Aaron discussed Steven Spielberg’s projects and rejected DreamWorks’ offer to develop Memoirs of a Geisha, arguing that Western filmmakers could not authentically portray Eastern culture. He later spoke with Steven Soderbergh about Ocean’s Eleven and reunited with Winona Ryder.

• Aaron reviewed the box-office results of The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Final Destination, and Meet the Parents.
• Steven Spielberg told Aaron about his busy directing schedule and proposed that Dawn consider Memoirs of a Geisha.
• Aaron rejected the project, criticizing Western portrayals of Eastern culture and citing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as a stronger example.
• Aaron asked Steven Soderbergh about Ocean’s Eleven, and Soderbergh said filming would likely finish at the end of February.
• Aaron ran into Winona Ryder, learned she had stayed in San Francisco to care for her recovering parents, and invited her for a drink.

Aaron spent time with Winona Ryder as they discussed her recent film and Liv Tyler’s visit, while Traffic and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon received positive preview feedback. At Dawn Pictures, Aaron and Tom Rothman planned promotions for upcoming releases and Oscar campaigns.

• Winona Ryder told Aaron that Lost Souls had received poor reviews and underperformed at the box office.
• Liv Tyler called Winona Ryder and said she was in Los Angeles, so Winona invited her to join them at the bar.
• Aaron and Winona kissed and talked about her long hair and her role in Bram Stoker's Dracula while they waited for Liv.
• Traffic and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon received positive reactions at preview screenings.
• At Dawn Pictures, Aaron told Tom Rothman that Ang Lee’s wuxia film could surprise American audiences if promoted well.
• Tom Rothman said Universal would promote Traffic, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Gladiator, and Erin Brockovich, and noted that the home-video release window varied by film.

Aaron discussed DreamWorks’ struggle to secure theater release dates as Cast Away opened and Hollywood awards nominations highlighted Dawn Universal’s films. He also discussed funding George W. Bush’s inauguration, then Catherine Zeta-Jones arrived at his estate.

• Aaron and Tom Rothman discussed DreamWorks’ weak international box office and the obstacles it faced securing release dates from theater chains.
• Cast Away opened to $28 million over its first three days, while critics offered mixed reviews of the film.
• Erin Brockovich, Gladiator, and Traffic received Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
• George Walker Bush resigned as Governor of Texas, and Rick Perry was sworn in to replace him.
• Aaron told Jack Wellstone he would help fund George W. Bush’s inauguration celebration, though Jack said the organizers would likely accept no more than $20 million from many donors.
• After attending the Golden Globe nominations luncheon, Catherine Zeta-Jones arrived at Aaron’s Beverly Hills estate.