Chapter Summaries

Aaron used Dawn’s growing film revenues to expand his investments, including a major purchase of Microsoft stock, while preparing for upcoming productions. He joined the rehearsals for Bram Stoker's Dracula and promised Francis Ford Coppola that he would help oversee the London shoot.

• Ghost’s overseas earnings brought Dawn an $85 million profit, and its key creatives received nearly $12 million in bonuses.
• Aaron took Jack Wells to a car dealership, bought a Mazda RX–7, and encouraged Salma Hayek as she prepared to film her small role in Sleepless in Seattle.
• Aaron established Tianhai Fund and bought nearly 600,000 Microsoft shares for more than $50 million by late October.
• At Sony’s Culver City studio lot, Francis Ford Coppola told Aaron he would inspect the United Kingdom set construction, and Aaron agreed to join the crew in London.
• Aaron told Coppola that casting for Scent of a Woman was nearly complete and that Winona Ryder would make a cameo.

Aaron checked in with actors and auditions for Bram Stoker's Dracula and Scent of a Woman, then reunited with Sophie Marceau in New York. The chapter left Sophie settled at Aaron's East Hampton villa, with the two agreeing that she could stay in either New York or Los Angeles.

• Aaron warned Keanu Reeves to stay focused while filming Bram Stoker's Dracula and offered him a possible role in a Dawn action film.
• Aaron reassured Anthony Hopkins that The Silence of the Lambs had a chance at the Oscars and checked Winona Ryder's rehearsals for her cameo in Scent of a Woman.
• Aaron met Monica Bellucci, who had joined Bram Stoker's Dracula as one of its vampire brides, and reviewed Scent of a Woman auditions that included Matt Damon and other young actors.
• Aaron learned that My Own Private Idaho had earned just over three million dollars and told Ethelind Beckett to begin Scent of a Woman as soon as it was ready.
• Aaron brought Sophie Marceau to his East Hampton villa, where she explained that she wanted to live in New York for its arthouse-film opportunities and proximity to Quebec.

Aaron took Sophie Marceau to a New York party, where she began making Hollywood connections as she considered pursuing film roles in the United States. The chapter ended with Aaron planning to help her find suitable scripts while preparing to visit the London set of "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

• Aaron asked Sophie Marceau to travel with him to London for the start of filming on "Bram Stoker's Dracula," but she declined because she had only recently arrived in the United States.
• Aaron and Sophie went to a party at the Waldorf Astoria, where he met Castle Rock Entertainment president Alan Horn and discussed "A Few Good Men."
• Aaron introduced Sophie to people at the party, and she asked whether producers' interest in her could lead to Hollywood work.
• Aaron reassured Sophie that ICM could represent her well and promised to help her find roles while she improved her English and learned Hollywood's film industry.
• Aaron thought about Monica Bellucci and regretted that she probably would not join the London production soon.

Aaron visited the Bram Stoker's Dracula set in England, where Winona Ryder's dislike of Gary Oldman had disrupted filming, and discussed the production with her over drinks. He agreed to cover the increased cost of Spielberg's Schindler's List and left Winona with plans to walk around London.

• Aaron and Michael Apted noticed that Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman lacked chemistry, and Coppola paused filming to speak with Winona.
• Aaron learned that Al Pacino had delayed Scent of a Woman and that Spielberg had left Poland to arrange a concentration camp set after Jewish organizations objected to filming at Auschwitz.
• Aaron agreed that Dawn would cover the extra cost of building a set near Auschwitz, and Spielberg prepared to return to Poland.
• Winona asked Aaron to go for a drink, then explained that Gary's offensive joke and intense acting style made her avoid him during breaks.
• Aaron and Winona discussed her possible cameo in Scent of a Woman, his Thanksgiving plans, and the success of Beauty and the Beast and The Addams Family before setting out for a nearby square.

Aaron Anderson stayed in London after Thanksgiving, met industry figures and actresses at a Dorchester Hotel party, and left with Catherine Zeta-Jones. The chapter ended with Catherine taking him to a nearby bar.

• Aaron spent the morning with Winona Ryder, who asked whether he was returning to the United States.
• Aaron spoke with PolyGram Filmed Entertainment executive Michael Kuhn about their film collaborations at a Christmas party.
• Aaron met Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley, who introduced him to Catherine Zeta-Jones.
• Aaron told Catherine that Dawn had invested in Bram Stoker's Dracula and that he was producing the film.
• Aaron asked Catherine to show him a good bar, and she led him away from the party.

Aaron spent time with Catherine Zeta-Jones in London, discussed her acting prospects, and introduced her to PolyGram Filmed Entertainment executives. At a Golden Globe Awards banquet, he celebrated Ghost and The Silence of the Lambs’ nominations, caught up with Hollywood figures, and saw Paramount producer Sherry Lansing approach over Indecent Proposal’s international distribution rights.

• Aaron asked Catherine Zeta-Jones about Christopher Columbus: The Discovery and encouraged her to build her acting experience before pursuing Hollywood.
• Aaron stayed in London with Catherine Zeta-Jones for three more days and introduced her to PolyGram Filmed Entertainment executives.
• At a Golden Globe Awards banquet, Aaron spoke with Kevin Costner about The Bodyguard and congratulated Nicole Kidman on Ghost’s nominations.
• Aaron confirmed with Al Pacino that Scent of a Woman would begin filming after the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.
• Aaron discussed Beauty and the Beast’s nomination and Indecent Proposal’s filming progress with Demi Moore.
• Sherry Lansing approached Aaron because she wanted Paramount to obtain Indecent Proposal’s international distribution rights.

Aaron discussed Indecent Proposal's international distribution and Dawn Pictures' leadership before celebrating Christmas with the cast and crew of Ghost. At the party, David Fincher revealed he had been shut out of Alien 3's editing, and Aaron invited him to bring future projects to Dawn.

• Aaron learned that Sherry Lansing was being considered to lead Paramount and chose Columbia TriStar to handle Indecent Proposal's international distribution.
• Aaron rejected Ronald Meyer's suggestion that Jon Peters manage Dawn Pictures, saying he would take his time choosing a company leader.
• Aaron celebrated Christmas with the cast and crew of Ghost after the Golden Globe nominations banquet.
• Aaron learned that David Fincher had wrapped Alien 3 but was excluded from editing after clashes with producers David Giler and Walter Hill.
• Aaron encouraged David Fincher to bring future projects to Dawn and predicted that Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs would stun audiences at Sundance.

Aaron oversaw Reservoir Dogs’ path toward release and discussed Disney’s internal power struggle, but his attention shifted to Indecent Proposal after Robert Redford’s health threatened the production. He insisted the film be completed on schedule and awaited CAA’s response.

• Aaron praised Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and arranged for him and Lawrence Bender to take the film to Sundance before its planned theatrical release.
• Jack Wells told Aaron he had connected Salma Hayek with a WMA agent and showed him a leaked memo revealing tensions between Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner at Disney.
• Dawn Steel informed Aaron that Robert Redford had been in poor condition on the Indecent Proposal set for a week, so Aaron and Jack flew to Las Vegas.
• Aaron defended Dawn Steel for reporting the problem and told Steven Reuther that Indecent Proposal had to be finished on schedule despite its $25 million production cost.
• Steven Reuther said CAA’s Mr. Ovitz would arrive that night to speak with Robert Redford, and Aaron waited for an answer.

Aaron Anderson agreed to suspend Indecent Proposal for a week so Robert Redford could recover, but the disruption left Aaron with little goodwill toward CAA. He prepared to replace Redford with Al Pacino if necessary, while Dawn Pictures faced the prospect of costly reshoots and a cash shortage.

• Michael Ovitz asked Aaron Anderson to pause Indecent Proposal's filming so Robert Redford could take a vacation, and Aaron agreed on condition that the previous week's scenes be reshot and lost time made up.
• Michael Ovitz realized Aaron's goodwill toward CAA had run out, and the crew received notice that filming would stop for a week.
• Aaron told Dawn Steel to help manage Indecent Proposal when production resumed and to prepare for the possibility that Redford could not continue.
• Aaron put Scent of a Woman's production plans on hold and decided Al Pacino could replace Redford if needed, despite the likely cost and delay.
• Aaron and Jack Wells criticized CAA's growing belief that its package projects were valuable because of the agency, while Dawn faced having less than $10 million in cash.

Aaron attended Giancarlo Parretti’s lavish New Year’s Eve party, suspected the MGM owner was trying to draw him into a doomed partnership, and planned to visit the Indecent Proposal set in Las Vegas. After spending the night with Nicole Kidman, he avoided her question about when they would marry.

• Aaron watched news of the Soviet Union’s dissolution and called Al Pacino.
• Aaron and Nicole Kidman attended Giancarlo Parretti’s New Year’s Eve party, where Parretti tried to discuss working with MGM.
• Aaron took Nicole to Universal Studios Hollywood’s celebration and said he would visit Robert Redford on the Indecent Proposal set in Las Vegas.
• Aaron told Nicole that Al Pacino would replace Robert Redford if his recovery was delayed and asked whether Sleepless in Seattle was having production problems.
• Aaron and Nicole spent New Year’s Eve together, and Nicole asked when he planned to marry her.
• Aaron said they were too young to marry and told Nicole to go to sleep.

Aaron checked that Robert Redford was well enough for Indecent Proposal to keep filming, then visited a Las Vegas tech expo and decided to invest in America Online. Back in Los Angeles, he confirmed that Scent of a Woman would begin filming on schedule with Al Pacino.

• Aaron stayed in Las Vegas for several days to monitor Robert Redford and left Dawn Steel in charge of watching the dailies.
• Aaron spent time with Jennifer Connelly in Las Vegas and took her to the technology expo, where he learned that America Online was preparing to go public.
• Aaron arranged for 3 million US dollars to be transferred to Tianhai Fund to buy America Online stock after Jennifer Connelly returned to school.
• Aaron met Al Pacino in West Hollywood and confirmed that Scent of a Woman would begin filming on schedule in New York.

At the Sundance Film Festival, Aaron discussed Reservoir Dogs’ reception, Quentin Tarantino’s script, and Sophie Marceau’s possible role in True Romance. After the festival party, Aaron planned to travel to New York for Wall Street loans and the start of Scent of a Woman, and he spotted Harvey Weinstein.

• Aaron told Sophie Marceau that Reservoir Dogs had drawn attention at Sundance and that he had recommended her for the female lead in True Romance.
• At a Park City film party, Aaron met Robert Altman and learned from Quentin Tarantino that other screenwriters had revised True Romance.
• Brad Grey said Dawn would release Reservoir Dogs in theaters, while Aaron and Quentin agreed the festival had helped build the film’s following.
• Aaron told Sophie he was going to New York to seek loans and oversee Scent of a Woman, and Sophie decided to go with him.
• Aaron spotted Harvey Weinstein outside the hotel.

Aaron arranged financing for Dawn and discussed a proposed Zorro film with TriStar Pictures, while Scent of a Woman began filming. He left the Zorro project under consideration and checked on the progress of several other productions.

• Aaron told Jessica Parker that Dawn could use Sleepless in Seattle, Indecent Proposal, and Schindler's List as collateral for bank loans.
• At the Scent of a Woman launch banquet, Mike Medavoy proposed that Dawn and TriStar Pictures jointly develop and produce a Zorro film, with Dawn handling North American distribution and TriStar handling international distribution.
• Aaron agreed to think about the Zorro script after recognizing its potential as a project he could develop.
• Aaron asked Ethelind Beckett to tell Winona Ryder to prepare for her tango scene with Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman.
• Ethelind Beckett reported that Schindler's List had a $22 million budget and that Spielberg's work on Jurassic Park would not delay it.

Aaron secured new financing for Dawn and advanced several film projects, including Speed and Reality Bites. He left Winona Ryder set to produce Reality Bites, with Jennifer Connelly and Adam Sandler planned for the cast.

• Jessica Parker told Aaron that Merrill Lynch had offered Dawn a $150 million revolving credit line.
• Aaron asked Ethelind Beckett to approach directors Renny Harlin and John McTiernan about Speed, but both were committed to other films, so Dawn contacted Jan de Bont instead.
• Winona Ryder joined the Scent of a Woman set for a brief cameo, and Aaron discussed her Reality Bites script with her that night.
• Aaron agreed that Dawn would fund Reality Bites for a spring release and asked Winona Ryder to produce it.
• Aaron said he wanted Jennifer Connelly and Adam Sandler to join Reality Bites, and Winona Ryder teased him about giving Jennifer the female lead.

Winona Ryder finished filming her scenes with the Scent of a Woman crew, while Sleepless in Seattle completed its final scene as Aaron discussed awards, studio plans, and Hollywood power struggles. Aaron prioritized Speed, considered The Mask of Zorro, and proposed a genre label for lower-budget films.

• Winona Ryder asked Aaron about his Manhattan apartment and the Oscar nominations before leaving for London, where both planned to attend the BAFTA Awards.
• The 64th Academy Award nominations included The Silence of the Lambs, Ghost, and Beauty and the Beast for Best Picture, while Boyz n the Hood director John Singleton became the first African American nominated for Best Director.
• Aaron read that Barry Diller had resigned from 20th Century Fox and Gerald Levin had ousted N.J. Nicholas from Time Warner, and he suspected more upheaval would follow.
• Aaron told Dawn Steel to assemble a crew for Speed with Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly, aiming to release the film the following summer.
• Aaron asked Dawn Steel to prepare The Mask of Zorro for Ridley Scott to consider after 1492: Conquest of Paradise, while keeping Speed the priority.
• Aaron reassured Dawn Steel that Dawn Pictures would develop romantic comedies and said he wanted to establish a Genre Film Label for B-movies, including horror thrillers and violent films.

At the BAFTA Awards, Aaron congratulated The Silence of the Lambs stars and spoke with Winona Ryder and Catherine Zeta-Jones about their careers and future projects. At the Bram Stoker's Dracula set, he reassured Sidney Ganis about the film's schedule and rating, then declined an invitation to Berlin because he had a date.

• Aaron congratulated Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins on their BAFTA wins and discussed The Silence of the Lambs' success.
• Winona Ryder told Aaron she was under pressure, and he warned her about abusing medication and encouraged her to take romantic comedy roles.
• Aaron spoke with Catherine Zeta-Jones about The Mayflower, Dawn's plans for a United Kingdom branch, and her upcoming promotional trip to the United States.
• At the Bram Stoker's Dracula set, Aaron assured Sidney Ganis that filming would finish on time and the film would be released at Thanksgiving with an R rating.
• Sidney Ganis invited Aaron to the Berlin International Film Festival to consider films for Dawn, but Aaron declined because he had a date with one of the vampire brides.

Aaron spent a weekend with Monica Bellucci and offered to help her pursue Hollywood work through Dawn Pictures. Back in London, he arranged a home for Catherine Zeta-Jones and planned investments in the film Damage while organizing Dawn Pictures’ specialty labels.

• Aaron met Monica Bellucci in London, discussed her plans to pursue Hollywood, and invited her to contact him at Dawn Pictures.
• Aaron and Monica spent the weekend together, and Aaron bought a Thames-side villa for Catherine Zeta-Jones.
• Catherine told Aaron she had moved into the house and liked its minimalist style.
• Aaron told Ethelind Beckett to invest $2.5 million in Damage in exchange for North American distribution rights.
• Aaron ordered Crescent Moon Pictures and Twilight Pictures to begin operating as Dawn Pictures labels for foreign arthouse films and genre B-movies.

Aaron expanded Dawn UK Films’ distribution plans and developed a British romantic comedy project, Four Weddings and a Funeral, with Graham Broadstreet. The chapter ended with Catherine Zeta-Jones agreeing to a role and Aaron planning to meet Ridley Scott about another project.

• Aaron invested in a 40 percent stake in Electric Cinemas and explained to Michael Kuhn that Dawn needed its own distribution channels.
• Michael Kuhn proposed cooperation between PolyGram and Dawn, and Aaron agreed to consider supporting PolyGram projects.
• Aaron pitched Four Weddings and a Funeral to Graham Broadstreet, who planned to ask Richard Curtis to adapt the story.
• Aaron suggested Hugh Grant and Sophie Marceau for the film, and Catherine Zeta-Jones volunteered for a supporting role.
• Aaron invited Catherine Zeta-Jones to join him when he met Ridley Scott to discuss a project.

Aaron pitched The Mask of Zorro to Ridley Scott, who showed interest, and planned for Catherine Zeta-Jones to play the female lead. The chapter ended with Aaron and Catherine discussing Dawn's two Best Picture nominees, Ghost and The Silence of the Lambs.

• Aaron shared breakfast with Catherine Zeta-Jones, who asked him to let her stay by his side.
• Aaron pitched The Mask of Zorro to Ridley Scott, who liked the story but needed to finish work on 1492: Conquest of Paradise before discussing the script further.
• Aaron told Catherine Zeta-Jones that he planned for her to star opposite Kevin Costner in The Mask of Zorro and that they would film Four Weddings and a Funeral first.
• Aaron and Catherine met Samuel Goldwyn Jr. at the Savoy Hotel and learned that Samuel Goldwyn Films was developing Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing.
• Aaron and Catherine discussed whether Ghost or The Silence of the Lambs would win Best Picture at the Oscars.

Aaron monitored Tianhai Fund’s America Online investment, then vacationed in Miami Beach with Jennifer Connelly while discussing her upcoming film shoots. After two men harassed them at a bar, Aaron beat one badly and ordered the other to take him to the hospital.

• Tianhai Fund bought 220,000 America Online shares for $3 million, acquiring a 4.83% stake as the stock rose on its first day of trading.
• Aaron traveled to Miami Beach with Jennifer Connelly, who told him she had learned to drive a bus for Speed and would soon film Reality Bites in Houston.
• At a South Beach bar, two college students invited Aaron and Jennifer Connelly to a bonfire party and demanded that she dance with them.
• Aaron led the two men into the restroom, punched one in the stomach, and kneed the other in the head.
• Aaron told the frightened man to take his injured friend to a nearby hospital.