Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 432 Hollywood Dream Factory
Glendale, Los Angeles, is located between Burbank and Hollywood, just outside the Fairland Valley. DreamWorks' headquarters campus is adjacent to Burbank and not far from the Burbank Dawn headquarters.

Several red buildings stand in the completed DreamWorks headquarters campus!

This grand ball, organized by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, and others, invited numerous Hollywood celebrities to participate.

Of course, there are also shareholders such as Paul Allen, an investor in DreamWorks SKG, and Lee Mi-kyung, a representative of South Korea's CJ Group.

Aaron, meanwhile, sat in a corner of the banquet hall with Edgar Bronfman Jr., holding a glass of wine and talking to him.

"Aaron, since you acquired Global, Dawn's performance has become even more astonishing."

"In today's Hollywood film market, Dawn's share exceeds 30%!"

Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s acquisition of MGM and its film rights library was initially ambitious, but compared to the dawn of a new era, the gap is too wide.

Aaron smiled. "This year is mainly due to the simultaneous release of two blockbuster films, *Independence Day* and *Twister*."

"In the future, this kind of situation will definitely be rare."

Hollywood now has seven major film studios, and with the addition of DreamWorks, the competition is becoming increasingly fierce.
The US box office market is currently worth over $50 billion. If Dawn takes a large share, other companies will naturally have less to go around!

Aaron's current concern is that the other film companies will unite against Dawn Universal, since Dawn took the biggest slice of the pie.

"Isn't MGM currently filming 'Tomorrow Never Dies'? The last one, 'GoldenEye,' was a critical and commercial success."

"MGM's revival of the 007 series is something to be envied!"

Upon hearing Aaron Anderson's praise, Edgar Bronfman Jr. smiled without saying a word; the 007 series is indeed MGM's most important cash cow.
However, some time ago, Albert Broccoli, the exclusive producer of the "007" series, finally passed away due to illness. Now, Albert Broccoli's adopted son, Michael Wilson, and daughter, Barbara Broccoli, have taken over Eon Productions.

Eon Productions is the production company behind the James Bond series. After Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli took over the company, "Tomorrow Is Another Day" became the first James Bond film without Albert Broccoli's involvement!
Edgar Bronfman Jr. spotted an acquaintance. "Alright, Aaron, please excuse me for a moment."

Aaron nodded and then walked away.

Soon after, Aaron encountered Michael Ovitz, the president of Disney, who was living a life of misery.

Disney's film division is led by Chairman Joe Roth, with David Vogel, president of production, and Dick Cook, president of distribution.

The Disney animation division is managed by Roy Disney and Peter Snyder, and the television division and ABC broadcasting network are also handled by dedicated personnel. The only place Michael Ovitz can currently intervene is Disney's Hollywood record company!

After losing several founders, including Michael Ovitz, Ronald Meyer, and Bill Haber, CAA also encountered a crisis.

Competitors like IMC and WMA didn't hesitate to launch a talent poaching war against CAA.

Michael Ovitz, of course, also saw Aaron Anderson, who was now at the height of his career, and he had mixed feelings about it.

A former assistant agent at CAA has now become a top Hollywood mogul, practically the richest man in California! "Hey, Tom!"

Aaron encountered Hollywood star Tom Hanks, who was attending the ball. Aaron had no time to waste on Michael Ovitz, that stray dog.

"Good evening, Aaron!"

Tom Hanks and Dawn have collaborated on films such as Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, and Forrest Gump.
They also collaborated with Universal on "Apollo 13".

"Your directorial debut, 'Unstoppable Miracle,' is about to be released, right?"

Tom Hanks nodded. "It will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada next month."

Aaron felt a little sorry to see Tom Hanks. After Forrest Gump became a hit, the original author Winston Groom wrote Forrest Gump: The Sequel the following year.
It's worth noting that Forrest Gump grossed $3.3 million in North America and $6.7 million worldwide, so its commercial success is beyond doubt.

But Tom Hanks himself was very firm on the sequel – he refused to make any sequel films, so Forrest Gump could not be made!
Tom Hanks isn't Jim Carrey; he can't convince the other party.

After talking with Tom Hanks, Aaron went to Catherine Zeta-Jones' side!

“There are so many important people here,” said Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was attending as Aaron’s date and seemed a little nervous about the occasion.

Aaron patted the woman on the waist. "Getting to know her better will be good for you!"

"Yes, I just chatted with director Michael Mann for a while."

Michael Mann, a renowned screenwriter and director in Hollywood, wrote and directed "Heat" last year, which achieved both commercial and critical success.
Based on the true story of career criminal Neil Macaulay, the film features stars such as Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer.

Heat was released during the Christmas season at the end of last year and grossed $1.8 million worldwide!

Empire magazine's review: "This flashy, high-tension film is a brilliant, stylish, violent, and realistic study of Los Angeles by director Michael Mann."

The Los Angeles Times commented: "This smooth and accomplished work of 'Heat' is meticulously controlled and fully immersive; there's nothing more captivating than the dark end of the streets!"

The Hollywood Reporter: "Heat is an epic, impactful cat-and-mouse story told in an elegant style, featuring two of the greatest actors in American history."

The success of "Heat" lies in putting excellent actors into an excellent script and having a visionary director helm it, which is how a great film is made!

Aaron then hugged and kissed Catherine Zeta-Jones, saying, "Michael Mann is quite capable; he has a lot of ideas in the thriller/action genre."

Catherine Zeta-Jones responded after a moment, "I understand, but thank you anyway, these kinds of opportunities are rare..."

(End of this chapter)