Chapter 198: To Love You Properly
Faced with Madonna Ciccone's overwhelming enthusiasm, Aaron honestly wanted no part of it. This was, after all, a woman even Dennis "the Worm" Rodman couldn't handle.
At thirty-five, Madonna was still strikingly glamorous—but it was obvious that she was exactly the kind of woman Aaron preferred to keep at a respectful distance.
After leaving the Bel-Air Hotel, Aaron drove straight to Santa Monica, to Nicole Kidman's villa in Pacific Palisades.
Inside the bathroom, Nicole leaned into his arms as they stood together beneath the warm spray of the shower.
"Did you just get back to Los Angeles?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," Aaron replied. "I came in from New York. Dawnlight is building a new headquarters and a production base."
Nicole turned her head and kissed his cheek.
"Have you heard of The Pelican Brief?"
"Of course," Aaron said. "John Grisham's novel. Tom Cruise just finished filming The Firm, which was adapted from another of his books."
He was well aware of Grisham's work—though he hadn't managed to secure the adaptation rights himself.
"So," he added with a smile, "did you get The Pelican Brief?"
Nicole nodded. "I was competing with Julia Roberts for the role, but Warner Bros. felt I was a better fit."
"I'll be starring opposite Denzel Washington."
Aaron smiled. "That's a strong project. Denzel just finished Philadelphia with Jonathan Demme, and his performance received a lot of praise."
"The Pelican Brief is a crime thriller—it's very different from the romantic films you've been doing these past few years."
As he spoke, his hands moved gently over her, drawing her closer.
Nicole let out a soft hum.
"That's exactly why I wanted it. I've been stuck in romantic roles for too long—I really want to try something different."
"Shh…" Aaron leaned close and whispered against her ear, his breath warm.
"Let's not talk about work tonight. I just want to love you properly."
Nicole smiled, resting her hand over his.
"I may be busy," she said softly, "but you seem even busier than I am these days."
Before long, the two of them moved from the bathroom to the bedroom…
The next morning, warm Pacific air drifted through Los Angeles, carried on sunlight and ocean breeze.
Aaron lay sprawled across the bed in the villa's bedroom, suddenly drawing in a deep breath. Moments later, Nicole Kidman emerged from beneath the covers and draped herself over him, breathing in great gulps of fresh air.
"Darling," she said softly, "The Pelican Brief will be filmed in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans, Louisiana."
"The shoot will last three months, and Warner Bros. has scheduled the release for the Christmas season at the end of the year."
Her long, slender fingers traced lazy circles across Aaron's chest.
"If you miss me, just come find me."
Aaron smiled, gently stroking her smooth, fair skin.
"Don't worry. When there's time, I'll go with you to Australia for a vacation—how does that sound?"
Nicole's eyes lit up.
"Mm. I'll take you to my family's ranch to go horseback riding. The scenery there is beautiful."
The Kidman family owned vast tracts of farmland and pasture across Australia. Though the family itself was large and the inheritance divided, Nicole's father still retained several ranches of his own.
---
At Dawnlight Pictures' office, Thomas Gray, president of Golden Harvest USA, delivered a martial-arts screenplay carefully crafted by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest Film Company specifically for Jackie Chan—Rumble in the Bronx.
The story followed a Hong Kong police officer, played by Jackie Chan, who travels to New York to attend his uncle's wedding after the uncle emigrates to the United States. Planning to enjoy his later years with his African-American wife, the uncle sells his long-owned supermarket to a Chinese-American woman.
However, the store is repeatedly harassed by a local biker gang, and the police seem powerless to help. After Jackie Chan's character intervenes to protect the woman, he becomes the gang's enemy. Following a series of conflicts and misunderstandings, the two sides reconcile—only to be unexpectedly drawn into a dangerous diamond heist involving organized crime.
Fearless and relentless, Jackie's character fights the gangsters head-on, saves the supermarket from destruction, and gains an unexpected reward alongside its new owner.
Aaron listened carefully before commenting.
"The creative team is largely from Hong Kong, which plays perfectly to Jackie Chan's strengths—that part is excellent," he said.
"But from what I've studied, Jackie's films rely heavily on comedy—meticulously choreographed action combined with physical humor and punchy jokes that make audiences laugh as much as they applaud."
Thomas Gray nodded.
"Asian audiences absolutely love that style."
Aaron spread his hands slightly.
"That's true—but we also have to consider that Chinese-style comedic timing doesn't always translate cleanly for Western audiences."
"So I think we should strengthen the dramatic scenes. Jackie's earlier films often had very little emphasis on character development. For Rumble in the Bronx, adding more story depth will give the characters real weight."
"Second, the story should feel grounded in everyday reality. The Chinese-American woman being bullied while running the supermarket—the helplessness, the police doing nothing—these moments need to be concrete and emotionally tangible. That's how we create real empathy with Western audiences."
Having worked smoothly with Aaron before on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles deal, Thomas Gray took his words seriously.
"Golden Harvest agrees," he replied.
"For the Western elements of the script, Dawnlight will take the lead. Our production team will fully cooperate to complete the film."
Rumble in the Bronx would be jointly financed by Golden Harvest and Dawnlight Pictures. Golden Harvest would hold distribution rights across Greater China, Japan, and South Korea, while Dawnlight would control distribution in Southeast Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Australia.
The film's budget was set at $8 million, with Dawnlight contributing $2.5 million.
Aaron nodded.
"I'll have the script revised first. We'll shoot in Canada—New York is simply too expensive."
"As for the female lead," he added thoughtfully, "the actress who won Best Actress at last year's Sitges Film Festival would be a good choice…"
---
That evening, Aaron attended the premiere of Reality Bites at the Landmark Theater in West Hollywood.
Director Ben Stiller, along with Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Connelly, and Adam Sandler, were all present.