Chapter 57: Wild Private Lives
"Aaron, this is River Phoenix—same age as you. You should know him; you used to be a CAA agent!"
Indeed, the guy Aaron had just steadied was River Phoenix. A Hollywood child star, he had gained some recognition in the arts scene a few years back with Rob Reiner's Stand by Me, adapted from a Stephen King novel.
"Of course I know you," Aaron said, clinking glasses with the group. "And this is Jack Wells—still a CAA agent."
"No problem earlier," River Phoenix smiled apologetically at Aaron.
"It's okay!" Aaron noticed the camaraderie between River Phoenix and Johnny Depp—both major party animals.
"By the way, your production Phone Booth was amazing. Cage's performance was astonishing!"
River Phoenix now mostly did indie films, appearing in many but with little impact.
"Thanks."
Aaron studied River Phoenix and couldn't help but warn, "Your acting's great, but… isn't this lifestyle a bit too wild?"
Collapsing from being high—he seemed even wilder than Depp. After all, as a teen idol, Johnny Depp maintained a good public image. Though Depp's good looks certainly helped.
River Phoenix took a sip of his drink. "Some roles… I need to get into this state to perform."
Jack Wells chimed in, "River's been in a lot of indie films."
"Don't worry, Aaron," Johnny Depp said, taking a sip of whiskey. "This kind of life is normal for us."
Aaron shrugged. "Fair enough. By the way, when's Edward Scissorhands coming out?"
"20th Century Fox is aiming for a Christmas release. Not that soon."
Depp's other movie, Cry-Baby, had released last month but barely got attention. Edward Scissorhands—his second lead film after leaving TV—was one he took seriously.
After a few more drinks, Aaron and Jack decided to leave.
"These actors… rock musicians at heart. Three things never missing: women, alcohol, and drugs. Their private lives? A total mess."
Jack drove, chatting with Aaron. "We've got some of that stuff in the car. Wanna try?"
Aaron rolled his eyes. "You really want me to end up like my father, driving off the Golden Gate Bridge?"
"And still no body to be found!"
Jack awkwardly scratched his nose. "Really, couldn't find him?"
"How do you? The Pacific Ocean is kind of big." Aaron didn't have much attachment to old Anderson anyway.
"Gamblers, drug addicts—you can't trust them. Hollywood's already low on morals and law. These two? Even worse."
Meanwhile, Jennifer Connelly arrived in Southern California for summer, bringing a script for Aaron's opinion.
West Hollywood.
"Rocket Man? Another Disney superhero adaptation?" Aaron flipped through the pages on the sofa.
"Not like Dick Tracy. Disney's aiming to sell merchandise and toys."
Warner Bros.' Batman had shown how lucrative tie-ins could be.
Jennifer Connelly sat in Aaron's lap, looping her arms around his neck. "The preliminary budget for Rocket Man is $25 million—not small."
Aaron smiled. "With that budget, no big stars. You're the female lead, but your screen time isn't huge. It's mainly an action film—your role's mostly decorative, a pure commercial venture."
Still, Aaron didn't seem impressed; he guessed it would flop.
"Summer's long. I think it'll work."
"ICM wants to sign me. This is what they prepared for me," Jennifer added. Her CAA contract had expired—no renewal. Being a minor player, CAA wouldn't bother.
"Fine. It's a commercial film. $25 million isn't small. It should boost your recognition."
Aaron didn't mind. After all, roles in commercial films were hard to secure, and even "decorative" parts had fierce competition.
Still, Jennifer Connelly's looks and figure gave her plenty of advantage—she had solid assets to work with.
"Rocket Man has been in preparation for two or three years," she explained. "It's only now officially going into production. Disney plans to make it a trilogy, so all of us signed contracts for three films."
"Next, I need to go for makeup tests, rehearsals, and then wait for the crew to start shooting!"
"A trilogy?" Aaron chuckled.
If the first film flopped at the box office, the sequels would naturally be canceled.
"Oh, by the way, Giuseppe Tornatore's A Journey Home is going to Cannes."
"Don't you need to help with the promotion?" Aaron asked.
Jennifer shook her head. "My role isn't significant. A Journey Home will go to the Toronto Film Festival in September. I'll attend then."
The North American distributor for A Journey Home was the indie-focused Legacy Entertainment, so it wasn't given much attention.
That evening, at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Beverly Hills, Aaron met with Michael Kuhn, head of Polygram Films.
Phone Booth had earned nearly $20 million in Europe, and Polygram was pleased.
"Aaron, does Dawnlight Films have any smaller projects in the works? Polygram can fully support you!"
"Fully support?" Aaron smiled.
"Projects worth a few million—mostly independent art films—aren't easy to find."
Dawnlight Films was primarily focused on making money now; awards and accolades weren't urgent.
Michael Kuhn knew that the best U.S. projects were largely controlled by a handful of major studios. Slightly better projects trickled down to secondary distributors. Foreign film companies entering Hollywood either acted as financial backers or participated in indie projects.
Investing heavily in a commercial film carried high risk—losses could be devastating for foreign studios.
Kuhn sipped his drink. "But even among independent films, there are good projects. You know this better than anyone."
"Polygram's main business is music, but for films with a production budget under $10 million, I can make decisions independently."
Aaron's brow twitched. Ten million dollars?