Chapter 256: Playing the Savior
At Dawnlight's headquarters in Burbank, Aaron sat in his office as Don Steel placed a script in front of him.
Good Will Hunting.
Aaron raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Adapted by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck?"
He hadn't expected it. Damon had only recently starred in Dawnlight's Scent of a Woman—and now he'd already written a screenplay.
"Yeah," Don Steel nodded. "The script currently belongs to Castle Rock Entertainment. Director Rob Reiner has given quite a few revision notes."
"It's now looking for a new buyer."
Aaron paused.
"Castle Rock doesn't believe in it?"
"They do," Don Steel replied. "But Reiner isn't keen on letting the two writers star in it themselves."
---
The origins of Good Will Hunting were rather unusual.
Back in 1992, while studying at Harvard, Matt Damon had submitted an assignment for a screenwriting class. The requirement was simple—write a single scene.
Instead, Damon turned in a 40-page script.
After leaving Harvard to pursue acting full-time, he brought the script to his close friend Ben Affleck, and the two began refining it together.
Originally, the story leaned toward a crime thriller, centered on a genius protagonist being targeted by the U.S. government.
But when Castle Rock acquired the script last year, Rob Reiner suggested a major shift—focus on the emotional relationship between the protagonist and a psychology professor.
Taking that advice, Damon and Affleck reworked the entire structure, shaping it into the version now known as Good Will Hunting.
---
Following the release of Scent of a Woman, Matt Damon had gained some recognition, and Castle Rock began preparing the project for production.
However, Damon and Affleck insisted on starring in their own screenplay.
The studio—and several producers—preferred casting more established and marketable actors.
The disagreement led to negotiations.
Castle Rock gave them 30 days to find another studio willing to purchase the script—and agree to their conditions.
If they failed, Castle Rock would proceed with the project without them.
---
Don Steel shrugged.
"Castle Rock is asking for $1 million. Most studios lost interest immediately."
"Since Damon had a great experience working with Dawnlight, he sent the script to me. Honestly… it's pretty good."
Still, a million dollars for a script by relatively unknown writers was steep—especially considering Dawnlight had only paid $750,000 for Scream through competitive bidding.
Clearly, Castle Rock had intentionally raised the price.
---
Aaron flipped through the pages, a faint smile forming.
"Castle Rock definitely sees potential in this."
He closed the script decisively.
"Fine. Let's do it."
"We'll play the savior this time."
"Offer them the full $1 million—Dawnlight Pictures will take it."
He paused, then added:
"And make sure we agree to Damon and Affleck's terms—both of them will be involved as writers and lead actors."
Matt Damon was 24—about the same age as Aaron—and had already proven himself somewhat.
As for the 22-year-old Ben Affleck…
He was still a complete newcomer.
But sometimes, Aaron preferred it that way.
For Good Will Hunting, Aaron had no issue letting Matt Damon take the lead role.
As for Ben Affleck, he could be cast in an important supporting role—after all, the real core of the story lay in the relationship between the protagonist and the professor. Everyone else was secondary.
Don Steel nodded.
"Once we acquire the script, do we move straight into development?"
"Of course," Aaron replied, raising an eyebrow.
---
Mentioning Matt Damon naturally led Aaron to think of the actor's most iconic future franchise—The Bourne series.
Adapted from the novels of Robert Ludlum—The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum—it was a property with enormous potential.
Don Steel frowned slightly.
"Aaron, there was already a TV miniseries adaptation of The Bourne Identity in 1988 and 1989, starring Richard Chamberlain. It followed the original closely… but the results weren't great."
Aaron shook his head.
"That doesn't matter. Remember how Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner are planning to adapt Mission: Impossible into a film? That's also a spy story."
"The Bourne novels are strong material. The previous adaptation may have failed—but Dawnlight won't."
"Go talk to Robert Ludlum. Let's secure the film rights."
Since Aaron had made up his mind, Don Steel had no objections. He was already heading to Castle Rock to finalize Good Will Hunting—negotiating for the Bourne rights at the same time was only efficient.
"Understood. I'll handle it right away."
---
Sunset Marquis Hotel, West Hollywood.
Aaron met with Mario Kassar, chairman of Carolco Pictures.
"Develop Spider-Man?" Aaron repeated, slightly surprised.
From Kassar's tone, it was clear—Carolco wanted to partner with Dawnlight to adapt the Marvel property.
After all, the adaptation rights to Spider-Man were currently in Dawnlight's hands. There was no way around them.
Kassar nodded.
"We're planning to bring in James Cameron to write and direct."
"After finishing True Lies last year, he met with me—and he's very interested in directing Spider-Man."
Aaron's eyelid twitched slightly.
James Cameron?
That name alone meant one thing—a massive budget.
Just the previous year, Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger had pushed True Lies to a staggering $115 million, surpassing even Terminator 2.
And Carolco? Weren't they already struggling while preparing Cutthroat Island?
They had even shelved a major project—Crusade, which was supposed to pair Paul Verhoeven with Schwarzenegger.
Aaron looked at Kassar and asked a single, pointed question:
"If we bring in James Cameron, the budget won't be less than $120 million."
"So tell me—how much can Carolco actually put on the table?"
Dawnlight didn't lack money.
But if Carolco wanted in, they needed to offer more than just ambition.