"Salomon Brothers pulled out?"
Inside his Upper East Side townhouse, Aaron had just received a call from Dawnlight's CFO, Jessica Parker.
He got out of bed and walked into the living room before settling onto the sofa.
"They don't believe in Dawnlight's future?"
"Not exactly," Jessica explained.
"Salomon Brothers is dealing with a major internal crisis."
"Several key executives have left the company—led by vice chairman John Meriwether."
"They've founded a new arbitrage-focused hedge fund called Long-Term Capital Management."
"They also recruited finance professors from places like Harvard University and Stanford University."
"This group of elite financial talents just completed fundraising and managed to raise $1.25 billion in an incredibly short period of time."
John Meriwether, one of Salomon Brothers' most important partners and widely regarded on Wall Street as the "father of arbitrage trading," had dealt a devastating blow to the firm by leaving.
Not only had Salomon lost key executives—
It had also lost a huge number of clients.
Many investors were already withdrawing their money from the bank.
Aaron's expression barely changed.
"That's not really a problem."
"I've met with plenty of investment firms lately."
"Most of them are still willing to provide financing for Dawnlight."
"The Carlyle Group, Vanguard Group, Fidelity Investments, and several others."
After hanging up, Aaron leaned back and shook his head slightly.
Ever since George Soros's Quantum Fund successfully attacked the British pound two years earlier, hedge funds had exploded in fame and influence.
Over the past few years, increasingly aggressive hedge funds had begun appearing everywhere.
Even Omega Advisors—one of Aaron's own investments—was a hedge fund.
"Long-Term Capital Management…"
"They really did gather an absurd number of top-tier minds."
Aaron couldn't help but feel a little sentimental about John Meriwether's departure.
After all, Meriwether's importance to Salomon Brothers had been immeasurable.
A short while later, Christiana Reali stepped out of the bedroom.
Her long hair draped loosely over her shoulders, and she wore nothing but an oversized white men's dress shirt.
Her long, fair legs were fully exposed, while her alluring figure remained half-hidden beneath the fabric, teasing the imagination.
"Aaron, you're awake already?"
She opened the refrigerator, took out a carton of milk, and sipped from it.
"Yeah," Aaron replied with a smile. "Couldn't sleep anymore."
Christiana walked over and stood in front of him.
"Hungry? What do you want to eat?"
Aaron grinned.
"You."
Before she could react, he scooped her into his arms.
With a startled cry from the beauty, the two disappeared back into the bedroom.
Soon enough, a passionate symphony of muffled moans and heated breaths echoed through the room…
---
Halloween night.
The streets of Greenwich Village on Manhattan's West Side were packed shoulder to shoulder with crowds of every kind imaginable—
Men and women, old and young, tall and short, thin and heavy, black and white.
The streets themselves were overflowing with parade performers wearing bizarre costumes, grotesque masks, and outrageous makeup.
The blare of marching bands filled the air as towering skeleton props marched forward alongside witches, devils, and every sort of supernatural creature imaginable.
"So? What do you think?"
Standing along Sixth Avenue, Aaron watched the parade with Sophie Marceau at his side.
Sophie kissed him lightly on the cheek while holding his arm.
"There are so many people. It's incredible!"
Aaron chuckled, though inwardly he found it rather dull.
Americans really lacked imagination sometimes.
Once the parade passed, Aaron led Sophie toward a bar on the intersecting South Houston Street, where a lively Halloween party was underway.
Seated together on a sofa inside the crowded bar, Aaron wrapped an arm around Sophie's waist.
"Looks like Clear and Present Danger is doing pretty well at the box office," he remarked. "Over $120 million in North America."
Its domestic box office had actually surpassed The Mask by several million dollars.
Still, internationally, it was nowhere close.
Clear and Present Danger had earned around $210 million worldwide, while The Mask had already crossed $350 million globally.
Sophie didn't seem surprised.
"That's mostly because Harrison Ford is so popular."
Then she looked at him curiously.
"By the way, have you been following Léon: The Professional? The collaboration between Gaumont and Columbia Pictures?"
Aaron nodded immediately.
"Of course. It's Luc Besson's first Hollywood production."
"It received fantastic reviews after premiering in France."
"It's about to release in the U.S., right?"
"Yeah," Sophie replied with a shrug. "But some scenes were cut."
"The parts involving the Lolita-style emotional undertones were removed."
Aaron patted her lightly.
"If they hadn't cut those scenes, it never would've secured an R rating."
"Hollywood's conservative side is notorious."
"Some of the themes in Léon would definitely have triggered backlash from the American media."
Honestly, the fact that the film could even secure a U.S. release was already impressive enough.
After all, the complicated emotional dynamic between an older man and a young girl touched directly on taboo territory.
A moment later, Aaron got up and headed for the restroom.
After washing his face, he stepped back out—
Only to unexpectedly run into Frank Darabont, the director of The Shawshank Redemption.
"Frank!"
Aaron immediately stepped forward enthusiastically.
"You made an absolutely incredible film. I genuinely love The Shawshank Redemption."
Frank Darabont froze in surprise.
"Mr. Anderson?"
Clearly, he hadn't expected someone as famous as Aaron Anderson to approach him personally.
"Thank you," Frank replied with a bitter smile.
The Shawshank Redemption had only earned around $16 million during its initial theatrical run.
Fortunately, critics loved it.
Now the studio could only hope the awards season would generate enough momentum for a successful re-release.
Aaron shook his head.
"Just call me Aaron."
"Even if the box office disappointed, critics absolutely recognize it as a great film."
"It's rich with themes—humanity, freedom, perseverance, redemption…"
"It's the kind of story that stays with people."
And Aaron truly meant it.
If Castle Rock Entertainment hadn't financed the film, Dawnlight would have.
He already knew the movie would lose money theatrically—
But just like the Chinese classic A Chinese Odyssey, its real legacy would emerge later through television syndication and the booming DVD market.
Eventually, The Shawshank Redemption would earn enormous profits through home media and TV broadcasts.
Frank finally smiled.
"Hearing praise like that honestly means a lot to me."
"Especially coming from Hollywood's golden boy."
As a first-time director, Frank Darabont's journey making The Shawshank Redemption had been anything but smooth.
Casting had been difficult from the start.
Once filming began, he had to stretch every dollar of the film's $25 million budget to its limit.
If he failed to complete the day's scheduled shots, he often couldn't sleep at night.
From pre-production to filming to marketing—
The pressure had followed him every step of the way.
And in the end, just as expected…
The Shawshank Redemption barely made a ripple at the box office.