Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 298: Dawn's productions are always top-notch.

A landmark theater on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles is showing "The Shawshank Redemption".

Suddenly, the film's director, Frank Darabont, and producer, Niki Marvin, appeared on the street to attract viewers!
"Frank, our film is very good and has received a lot of praise from film critics. It just lacks commercial elements because of its subject matter and other reasons."

Nikki Marvin offered words of comfort, explaining that "The Shawshank Redemption" was Frank Darabont's first feature film, and he was under immense pressure during its production.

The film has been released, but the attendance rate is very low, which has increased his pressure.

Frank Darabont simply smiled after hearing his friend's words of comfort, saying, "Actually, I understand. Our 'The Shawshank Redemption' is a prison film; there's no romance between handsome men and beautiful women, nor any cool or exciting action scenes."

"The monotonous prison scenes, the slow-paced plot development, and the lack of attractive stars made me guess that this would be the result."

However, what Frank Darabont did not expect was that The Shawshank Redemption would have such a low attendance rate.

“Take it slow. Once word gets around, Columbia Pictures will increase the scale of screenings,” Nikki Marvin sighed.

Movies like "The Shawshank Redemption" don't have much to offer in terms of publicity, and the distributor, Columbia Pictures, didn't invest much in them either.

The opening was small-scale, and although it received praise from film critics, the low attendance rate was truly disappointing!

Santa Monica, the night was deep, a pleasant sea breeze was blowing, and in the seaside villa of Palisades on the Pacific Ocean, Aaron, lying on the bed, let out a muffled groan and exhaled.

A little while later, a panting Nicole Kidman climbed onto Aaron's chest, saying, "Darling, you're still so amazing!"

"By the way, you seem quite interested in tonight's 'The Shawshank Redemption'?"

Aaron smiled and stroked the woman's smooth, white body. "It's alright. Although this movie is a slow-burning prison film, it's still quite well-made."

"It's the story of a banker who was wrongfully imprisoned and then spent 19 years digging a tunnel to escape from Shawshank Prison."

"The Shawshank Redemption is a film about humanity. The cold, ruthless, and brutal Shawshank Prison is a dark and gray place, but the protagonist adds a touch of brilliance to this prison. He vividly interprets humanity by describing his faith in and pursuit of redemption, freedom, and hope!"

“Hmm,” Nicole Kidman snuggled closer to Aaron, “It seems you have high hopes for this movie. It should be a strong competitor for Forrest Gump at the Oscars, right?”

"Well, it's hard to say. Forrest Gump is a mainstream American film, just like Schindler's List before it."

"I'm not worried at all that Forrest Gump will flop at the Oscars!"

There's no way around it, that's just how confident we are. The "Forrest Gump" buff is too strong, and its influence is too great.

"Aaron, it seems like 'The Shawshank Redemption' didn't make much of a splash after its release?"

Nicole Kidman looked up, propped her head up with her hand, and stared at the man with a puzzled expression.
Aaron Anderson's vision has long been proven to be incredibly accurate. Since "The Shawshank Redemption" has won his approval, it shouldn't be performing like this!

“It’s just a matter of time,” Aaron said, running his hand through the woman’s blonde hair. “If you have the chance, you can go see this movie. You need to savor it carefully.” The Shawshank Redemption’s box office failure was indeed due to many reasons: a bad title, a lack of action, an unappealing subject matter, and weak acting appeal, among others.

But this film has indeed received high praise from many professionals:

The Chicago Tribune stated, "The Shawshank Redemption is more than just a movie; it's a spiritual cleansing. While it does contain some entertainment, it spends most of its time quietly discussing philosophical questions about life."

The New York Times: "This is a compelling yet simple and kind film, with enough darkness on the margins to provide contrast and relief for its beautiful view of humanity."

The following day, news of Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen, three Hollywood heavyweights, creating DreamWorks SKG Entertainment became a sensation throughout Hollywood!

Moreover, the ambitious trio did not solely focus on film and animation. In addition to DreamWorks Movies and DreamWorks Animation, they also established a series of businesses such as DreamWorks Television, DreamWorks Records, and DreamWorks Interactive Entertainment.

DreamWorks is building its own system!

In the morning, Nicole Kidman sat on Aaron's lap with a newspaper in hand. "Look," she said, "the founding of DreamWorks SKG. Everyone's saying that Dawn's biggest competitor is coming."

Dawn was undoubtedly the most successful Hollywood film company of the 1990s. Under the leadership of Aaron Anderson, it almost swept through the market, and its box office revenue soared. Even the traditional six major Hollywood distributors could not suppress Dawn.
The current saying in Hollywood is, "Anything produced by Dawn is bound to be a masterpiece."

Aaron shrugged. "What's there to be afraid of? Dawn's current performance is good enough for DreamWorks to catch up!"

Jeffrey Katzenberg is determined to replicate Disney's success and build his own animation empire, but it's not that easy.

"Bringing in investors and recruiting talent—DreamWorks has a lot to do," Aaron shook his head. Animated feature films are not like live-action movies; they require a lot of staff.
Unlike a live-action movie crew, which can be assembled at any time, it's not like a live-action movie crew.

Besides, David Geffen and Steven Spielberg are both shrewd Jews; their first priority would definitely be protecting their own interests.

DreamWorks will collapse very quickly if it encounters even the slightest problem!
As he spoke, Aaron reached into the woman's pajamas to feel their softness and laughed, "Don't forget, I'm Hollywood's golden boy. Those three musketeers won't have it so easy to beat me!"

Moreover, Pixar, a subsidiary of Dawning, will release its first 3D computer-animated film, "Toy Story," next year;

Jeffrey Katzenberg's first DreamWorks Animation feature film rarely gets released in less than three or four years.

“Mmm,” Nicole Kidman hugged the man and kissed him, “What, aren’t you satisfied after last night and this morning?”

Aaron rubbed his cheek against the woman's. "I haven't seen you, my sexy beauty, for a long time, have I?"

"I have some free time these next few days, so I can spend more time with you!"

“Hmm,” Nicole Kidman nodded, then patted Aaron’s chest and chuckled, “I bet if you went out, a ton of reporters would be asking you for your opinion on DreamWorks SKG…”

(End of this chapter)