Chapter 104: The Honeymoon Period
Burbank, California — Warner Bros. Studios Headquarters.
Inside the sleek, glass-paneled office of Terry Semel, the studio's co-CEO, the atmosphere was brisk and businesslike.
Present at the meeting were Mark Canton, the head of production, and Barry Meyer, the studio's chief operating officer.
"Batman Returns is officially in pre-production," Mark reported crisply.
"Tim Burton's back in the director's chair, and Michael Keaton will reprise his role as Batman. Michelle Pfeiffer's been confirmed as Catwoman."
Terry Semel nodded approvingly. "Good. And that incident yesterday — what was that about? Some actress making a scene outside the gate?"
Mark sighed and shrugged. "That was Sean Young. She showed up in a cheap Catwoman costume, screaming at the top of her lungs. Said we 'owed' her the part."
"Why?" Terry frowned.
"She was originally cast as Vicki Vale in the first Batman," Mark explained. "Got injured during training. We replaced her with Kim Basinger, and, well… Basinger's career exploded after that. Sean never got over it. Thinks we ruined her life."
Terry waved a dismissive hand. "As long as it doesn't interfere with Batman Returns, let publicity deal with it."
Then, setting a report down on his desk, he turned to Barry Meyer.
"I was looking over last weekend's numbers. Sony's The Silence of the Lambs brought in another $12 million. Ten-day total: $31 million."
He paused. "Our film, Out for Justice, managed only $7 million in its second weekend — $21 million total."
His voice grew sharper.
"And that's not all. Sony's Boyz n the Hood has grossed $45 million so far, while our City of Hope barely hit $37 million.
Both of those films were produced by the same independent startup, weren't they?"
Barry nodded. "Yes. The company's called Dawnlight Films, run by a young producer — Aaron Anderson. He used to be a CAA agent. Made his debut last year with Phone Booth. Smart, ambitious guy. Knows how to spot talent."
He added, "He's got another film coming this June — a fantasy romance, also distributed by Sony. It's scheduled to open the same weekend as our Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."
Terry tapped a finger on the desk, thoughtful. "If there's a chance, try to lock him down. Warner Bros. can fully finance his next project if we get an exclusive deal."
Mark Canton gave a dry laugh. "I'll try — but right now, he and Sony are in their honeymoon phase. Hard to compete with their checkbook."
He wasn't wrong.
After Sony's acquisition of Columbia and TriStar, they'd been spending freely — waving around blank checks like candy.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. itself was feeling the internal strain of the Time-Warner merger.
The two co-CEOs of the parent company were locked in constant power struggles.
Though Warner's side — led by Steve Ross — currently held control, the Time Inc. faction, headed by N.J. Nicholas, openly opposed his vision.
As Warner's crown jewel, the film division couldn't avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Terry Semel and Bob Daly, who jointly managed Warner Bros., were under immense pressure to keep the studio stable while corporate politics swirled around them.
To make matters worse, Steve Ross had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Everyone knew his time was running out — and that when he passed, the entire Time-Warner empire would plunge into turmoil.
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By the third week of release, the box office told the story loud and clear.
The Silence of the Lambs earned another $10.6 million, while Out for Justice limped to just $4 million.
Critics and audiences alike hailed Silence as a masterpiece —
a terrifying, intelligent, genre-defining thriller that transcended horror.
It wasn't just a success.
It was a statement — a declaration that Hollywood's new era of bold, independent storytelling had arrived.
And at the center of it all stood that "young producer" everyone was now talking about — Aaron Anderson — the man who had quietly turned Sony's gamble into gold.
Throughout the spring release window, few films performed as strongly as those tied to Dawnlight Films.
Aside from New Line's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Sony's biggest successes came from Aaron Anderson's independent studio — while the rest of their lineup stumbled.
Titles like The Doors and Defending Your Life underperformed, leaving Boyz n the Hood and The Silence of the Lambs as Sony's defining hits of the season.
---
Evening — The Culver Hotel.
Columbia Pictures was hosting a lavish celebration dinner for Boyz n the Hood, which had officially crossed the $50 million mark at the box office.
Despite a modest production budget of $5.5 million, the film's cultural impact and financial success had exceeded every expectation.
Director John Singleton, along with cast members Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, and others, were all in attendance — their youthful energy filling the ballroom.
Among the guests were Sidney Ganis, president of Columbia Pictures, and Peter Guber, one of the co-chairmen of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Guber clinked glasses with Aaron and smiled warmly.
"Aaron, if you keep performing like this, Hollywood's going to carve out a spot for you faster than you think."
Aaron raised his glass with a small grin. "Maybe sooner than either of us expects."
Peter chuckled. "Summer's coming, and I can't lie — I'm really looking forward to Ghost."
He wasn't alone. The Silence of the Lambs had already earned over $45 million in just three weeks, backed by glowing reviews and growing word-of-mouth.
Ghost was Dawnlight's next big swing — a romantic fantasy with Kevin Costner in the lead. With its scale and star power, expectations were enormous.
---
From across the ballroom, Aaron spotted Guber chatting with John Singleton in a quiet corner, the two gesturing animatedly about future projects.
Before he could ponder that too long, Sidney Ganis approached him, beaming.
"Aaron, come on — have a drink with me!"
Aaron smiled, setting his glass down. "We're barely a month away from Ghost's release. Summer competition's going to be brutal, Sidney. You'll need to push hard on marketing."
Sidney waved a confident hand. "Don't worry. We've already set a $15 million promotional budget for Ghost — and if we need to, we'll go even higher."
Aaron raised a brow, impressed but unsurprised. Sony had already spent over $10 million marketing The Silence of the Lambs. For a high-concept love story starring Kevin Costner, $15 million was practically a statement of faith.
And Dawnlight deserved it.
"Good to hear," Aaron said lightly.
Behind the easy tone, though, his mind was calculating.
He had Brad Grey keeping a close watch on Sony's accounting and advertising expenditures.
Aaron didn't mind Sony making money — as long as it was clean. He wasn't about to repeat the messy, creative accounting disaster he'd faced with 20th Century Fox.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. might've had its own TV networks and newspapers to play shell games with, but Sony's American management had no such excuses.
And given Sony's disastrous losses the previous year — not to mention the constant tabloid scandals surrounding co-chairman Jon Peters — Aaron knew that Guber was quietly preparing to cut ties.
The clock was ticking for the so-called "Barber of Hollywood."
---
Sidney leaned in, lowering his voice. "By the way — I heard you've got another romance picture in development with TriStar?"
Aaron nodded faintly.
Sidney smiled, fishing.
"If you've got any other projects lined up, Columbia's ready to back you. Our script library and project vault are wide open — pick anything you like.
Or better yet, if you've got something of your own, Columbia will fast-track it. Full greenlight. Of course, we'd just want to come in as a co-investor."
Aaron returned a polite smile.
That was the Hollywood game — success attracted investors like moths to flame.
Columbia's eagerness made sense. After Boyz n the Hood and Ghost, Dawnlight was shaping up to be the next breakout indie studio.
But he also knew what came next — once the studio joined the funding pool, his producer fees would rise sharply.
"We'll talk after Ghost premieres," Aaron said evenly. "One thing at a time."
Sidney nodded, still smiling. "Of course."
Aaron finished his drink, his expression calm but his mind racing.
Dawnlight was on the rise. He no longer needed to chase studios — the studios were now chasing him.
Distribution? Not a problem. Funding? Easier by the day.
And beyond that — Aaron's eyes gleamed faintly — there was the bigger prize he'd been watching all along.
Legendary Pictures.
If Castle Rock and Carolco could operate without owning their own distribution arms and still thrive — then so could he.
But with the right timing, the right success…
He wouldn't just be renting the system.
He'd own it.
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