Chapter 308 – Dawnlight's Biggest Problem
As Halloween approached, New York's annual Halloween Parade was once again set to take over Greenwich Village on Manhattan's West Side.
The streets of Manhattan had already been decorated with ghosts, pumpkins, and all kinds of spooky ornaments. Department stores filled their display windows with seasonal gifts and costumes, drawing crowds of curious pedestrians, while supermarkets and street markets stacked pumpkins of every size for sale.
That evening, Aaron and Christiana Reali visited a bar on Greenwich Street to relax.
"The second Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is about to start, right?" Aaron asked.
Lately, Christiana had been completely occupied with preparations for the event.
"Exactly," she replied with a smile.
"This year we came up with a fantastic gimmick—a million-dollar diamond bra is going to make its debut."
Aaron chuckled.
"That's definitely going to grab everyone's attention."
"You can say that again," Christiana said before kissing him lightly on the cheek.
"So? Want to come watch the show?"
Aaron took a sip of his drink.
"I may not have time."
"I might need to make another trip to Japan."
He had recently received word that Edgar Bronfman Jr., Michael Ovitz, and the others had gone to Matsushita headquarters in Osaka.
"Mhm. By the way, Forrest Gump has officially surpassed The Lion King at the North American box office," Christiana said excitedly as she climbed into Aaron's lap.
"It's crossed $300 million domestically now."
"And overseas revenue has passed another $300 million too. Worldwide gross is already over $600 million!"
Aaron kissed her softly before shaking his head.
"Too bad Disney's The Lion King is sitting at $290 million in North America already."
"And internationally it's gone beyond $400 million."
"When all is said and done, Forrest Gump still can't compare to The Lion King."
After all, The Lion King still had television broadcasting rights, VHS sales, merchandise licensing, and countless other downstream revenue streams ahead of it.
Its long-term profitability was on an entirely different level from Forrest Gump.
"But Dawnlight still has The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, Interview with the Vampire, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective."
"Dawnlight's performance this year has been practically flawless."
Not to mention Pulp Fiction, which was still in theaters and generating massive returns—and Christiana herself had a role in it.
Aaron gently stroked her thigh as he spoke.
"Dawnlight is currently preparing an action film called Broken Arrow."
"It'll probably start filming next year."
"The director is going to be Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo."
"The same director who made Hard Target."
"I want you to play the female lead—a police officer."
After all this time, Christiana had never really asked him for anything.
And now that her English had improved considerably, Aaron felt it was finally time to give her a truly significant role.
"Alright," she replied with a bright smile.
"I'll listen to you."
Then she leaned forward and sealed his lips with a passionate kiss.
---
Meanwhile, over in Burbank at The Walt Disney Company headquarters, the board of directors officially rejected Michael Eisner's proposal to acquire 49% of NBC.
The primary reason was opposition from Disney's major shareholder Sid Bass, who disliked General Electric's condition that it would retain operational control for at least two more years.
Although disappointed, Eisner quickly shifted his focus toward a new target.
"Disney's next move…"
"Will it be ABC?"
"Or perhaps CBS?"
Inside the office, Sid Bass sat on the sofa and looked toward Michael Eisner.
"CBS, probably," Eisner replied.
"After the merger between ABC and Capital Cities, the company became too large."
"If Disney wants to acquire Capital Cities/ABC, the price would be enormous."
Even though Capital Cities/ABC controlled 80% of ESPN, once Eisner shifted away from NBC, his first instinct was still to target CBS instead.
Sid Bass nodded thoughtfully.
"Have you decided on Disney's new president yet?"
"Michael Ovitz," Eisner answered.
"I'm still trying to persuade him to join Disney."
"But it'll take time."
Sid Bass frowned slightly.
"Would he really be willing to give up the agency business?"
After all, Creative Artists Agency had already become the most successful talent agency in Hollywood.
Would Michael Ovitz truly walk away from that?
"He's always wanted to move into the studio business," Eisner explained.
"No matter how successful CAA becomes, its future still can't compare to Disney."
"He's always dreamed of becoming the next Lew Wasserman—someone who rises from talent agent to the head of a major entertainment empire."
Eisner had known Ovitz for years and understood his ambitions better than most.
Part of him genuinely wanted Ovitz to join Disney and help run the company.
But another part feared that Ovitz might eventually threaten his own position within Disney.
It was a deeply conflicted feeling.
"Besides," Eisner continued, "Ovitz is currently helping Matsushita handle the MCA transaction."
"He's extremely busy, constantly flying back and forth to Japan."
"Maybe once Matsushita officially sells MCA, we'll finally know where Ovitz ends up."
Sid Bass nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"If Michael Ovitz joins Disney, that would certainly be a good thing."
Ovitz's network throughout Hollywood alone represented an enormous strategic asset.
Whether for Disney's film business, music division, or cable television expansion, his influence could provide tremendous advantages.
Then Sid Bass suddenly asked:
"What do you think about Dawnlight trying to acquire MCA?"
Eisner spread his hands helplessly.
"There's no questioning Aaron Anderson's talent or instincts."
"Dawnlight is already troublesome enough for the six major studios."
"If they acquire MCA Universal as well…"
"Then Dawnlight will truly become the dominant force in Hollywood."
At that point, Dawnlight would possess a fully developed global distribution network, a vastly expanded film and television library, music and publishing divisions, theme parks, consumer products, and countless other entertainment assets.
"Aaron's original strategy was clearly to expand into television," Eisner continued.
"You could already see that when he acquired AMC Networks and partnered with the BBC to expand internationally."
"Right now he's pursuing MCA because the opportunity presented itself."
"But in the future, he'll definitely continue pushing deeper into the television business."
Sid Bass immediately understood the implication.
If Disney wanted to contain Dawnlight's rise, it needed to secure its own television distribution network as quickly as possible and strengthen its entire media supply chain.
Because when it came to content production…
Dawnlight had already become the undisputed king.
Sid Bass sighed quietly.
If only Dawnlight had been willing to join Disney, then Aaron Anderson could have become Disney's next successor.
Unfortunately, that was never going to happen.
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