Chapter 203 – Save It for Me to Admire
As the summer blockbuster season drew near, another bombshell shook Hollywood:
Media giant Viacom and QVC, the television shopping network led by former Paramount CEO Barry Diller, had both entered a bidding war for Paramount Communications.
Not long ago, Gulf+Western Industries had officially renamed itself Paramount Communications. Its holdings included Paramount Pictures, Simon & Schuster Publishing, a 50% stake in the USA Network, and the MSG (Madison Square Garden) Group.
The MSG Group controlled some of New York's most valuable assets: Madison Square Garden itself, the NHL's New York Rangers, the NBA's New York Knicks, Roosevelt Raceway on Long Island, and a range of associated media businesses.
---
That evening, at a cocktail reception in the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills, Aaron sat with Monica Bellucci in a quiet lounge area, one arm casually around her waist.
"Dawnlight and Geffen Pictures are co-producing Interview with the Vampire," he said.
"Shooting will start in the second half of the year. I want you to make a guest appearance—it should be filmed partly in Paris."
"Alright," Monica replied without hesitation.
She trusted Aaron's arrangements completely. Besides, after Bram Stoker's Dracula, another vampire film hardly surprised her.
Aaron kissed her cheek lightly.
"It's a proper role—not one designed to show off your body or just your looks."
Monica smiled softly.
"There's nothing wrong with being admired. Beautiful things are meant to be seen."
Hollywood favored blonde, slender women. Monica's voluptuous beauty—combined with language barriers—had always made it harder for her to secure major roles there.
Aaron tapped her gently on the arm.
"Let that kind of admiration stay with me. You should focus on improving your English for now."
With her Italian and French already fluent, English would come easily.
If circumstances allowed, Aaron could have even arranged a cameo for her in Pulp Fiction, but since Christiana Yeri was already cast, he let the idea go.
"For now, help Victoria's Secret with some lingerie campaigns," he added.
"I've just completed the acquisition. After that, I'll be heading to Cannes."
As a former model, Monica had no objections.
---
Soon, Aaron spotted Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, among the guests.
Born into a Jewish mob-connected family in Boston, Redstone had built his empire from a chain of movie theaters. Seven years earlier, his family holding company, National Amusements, had aggressively taken over Viacom.
At the time, Warner Communications, suffering heavy losses from its foray into video games, desperately needed cash and sold off MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, and other channels as a package—allowing Viacom to seize a golden opportunity.
Viacom already owned Lifetime and Showtime, and two years earlier had merged VH1 with Time Warner's comedy channel to form Comedy Central, each holding a 50% stake.
Today, Viacom controlled several powerful cable networks—especially MTV, whose massive profitability fueled the entire group.
"Good evening, Aaron."
Aaron turned to see Ted Turner, chairman of TBS, approaching him.
"Mr. Turner," Aaron said, raising his glass.
Turner's CNN was still the most-watched cable news network in America.
"I heard TBS has launched a new children's channel—Cartoon Network," Aaron added with a smile.
"Congratulations."
After acquiring Hanna-Barbera two years earlier, TBS had launched the Cartoon Network.
Hanna-Barbera had once been MGM's animation studio and was the legendary creator of Tom and Jerry.
Ted Turner shook his head lightly.
"In today's children's market, Disney and Nickelodeon still dominate."
After a brief pause, he asked,
"What's your take on Viacom and QVC competing for Paramount Communications?"
Aaron paused, then replied thoughtfully,
"In the end, it comes down to how determined Sumner Redstone and Barry Diller really are."
"Diller's advantage is his track record—he once ran Paramount Pictures successfully and later helped Rupert Murdoch build FOX. His Hollywood experience is unmatched."
"As for Redstone, his strength lies in scale. Viacom is simply too large for QVC to compete with head-on. MTV alone is enough to overwhelm them."
As he spoke, Aaron subtly glanced at Ted Turner.
Was Turner himself interested in Paramount Communications?
Given TBS's current financial condition, that seemed unlikely.
Ted Turner chuckled.
"This time, Barry Diller has backing—from the Roberts family at Comcast."
"Without them, Diller could never have raised that much capital."
"Comcast? The Roberts family?" Aaron mused.
Led by Ralph Roberts and Brian Roberts, Comcast was still primarily a telecommunications company at this point.
"So even telecom companies are shifting toward media and cable television now," Aaron remarked.
He knew that TCI, the largest cable operator in the U.S., was also preparing to sell itself to telecom giant Bell Atlantic.
TCI's chairman was none other than John Malone, the so-called father of cable television.
"Hollywood is a delicious piece of cake," Ted Turner said with a smile.
"Everyone wants a bite."
"And the merger of film studios and television networks is inevitable."
"Aaron, even Dawnlight may not escape that fate."
"Me?" Aaron shook his head.
"Dawnlight is still just a mid-sized distributor. We're nowhere near the scale of the Big Seven studios."
Their film libraries, global distribution systems, and industrial depth were still far beyond Dawnlight's reach.
"That problem solves itself," Turner said calmly.
"Future film companies will all become parts of broader media conglomerates—cable networks, home entertainment, publishing, advertising, consumer products."
"Film revenue will become increasingly diversified."
Ted Turner knew Aaron understood this perfectly.
TBS couldn't swallow one of the Big Seven—but an independent studio like Dawnlight was a different story.
Within Hollywood's current power structure, Dawnlight stood as the most dazzling studio beneath the Big Seven.
It wasn't just major studios that wanted Dawnlight.
External forces—media empires, cable giants, telecom companies—were watching closely.
Ted Turner was no exception.