Chapter 49: Miramax Gains Fame
With the arrival of February came the announcement of the 62nd Academy Awards nominations. Driving Miss Daisy led the pack with nine nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Close behind, Born on the Fourth of July received eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
At the first-ever Producers Guild Awards, Driving Miss Daisy took home Best Picture, while the Directors Guild honored Oliver Stone for Born on the Fourth of July as Best Director.
As for Sex, Lies, and Videotape, a film closely connected to Aaron Anderson, it earned just one Oscar nomination—for Best Original Screenplay.
Driving Miss Daisy had opened in several Los Angeles theaters late last year. As word of mouth spread, the number of theaters showing it grew to over 900, and following the Oscar nominations, that number jumped to more than 1,300. Its box office had already exceeded $30 million.
Born on the Fourth of July, boosted by Tom Cruise's star power, had now grossed $53 million.
Every year, the awards season turned Los Angeles into a whirlwind of activity, with press parties, gala balls, and a continuous stream of star-studded film events.
At the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, the Independent Spirit Awards were underway. Nicole Kidman had earned a Best Actress nomination for Far and Away, and Aaron Anderson accompanied her to the ceremony.
The Independent Spirit Awards were created to honor small, independent film companies for their creative efforts, with a focus on indie cinema.
This year marked the fifth edition, and Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape was the evening's biggest winner, taking home Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress.
Miramax hosted a celebratory party at a nearby pier-side hotel. The film had brought the studio both prestige and profit.
"All three of Miramax's films received Oscar nominations, and My Left Foot was especially impressive—it won five major awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Truly remarkable!"
Nicole Kidman and Aaron relaxed on a sofa in the banquet hall, unable to hide their admiration.
Aaron gently touched Nicole's arm. "Biographical films like these have always been among the Academy's favorites. As long as the film isn't terrible, it's almost guaranteed to receive nominations."
With Miramax now establishing itself in the independent film scene, the Weinstein brothers were beginning to make a name for themselves.
"Hi, Aaron, Nicole," Harvey Weinstein approached and settled onto a nearby sofa.
"Good evening, Mr. Weinstein!" Nicole Kidman responded with a smile.
"Congratulations, Harvey," Aaron said calmly.
"Phone Booth—you've partnered with 20th Century Fox on it?" Harvey asked, looking at Aaron.
"Yep. It's opening next month. They needed a filler for their spring lineup," Aaron replied with a grin.
"Aaron, now that you have your own production company, and Miramax has strengthened its domestic distribution channels," Harvey continued, "I think we could enhance our collaboration going forward. What do you think?"
Harvey Weinstein had always been optimistic about Phone Booth, but Aaron wasn't confident in Miramax's scale.
Aaron smiled. "Harvey, I'm not very interested in indie art films. What I want to do is develop commercial films. Budgets for one movie can easily reach tens of millions of dollars—can Miramax handle that?"
Harvey shook his head. "We're an independent film company. The total cost to produce and market a commercial film is around $22 million. Even if we recoup half of that from overseas distribution rights, a loss of this magnitude would be crippling. Independent and foreign art films are much cheaper—we only need to spend a million or so to acquire an excellent project."
Aaron pressed a hand to his forehead. "Last year, 235 films were released in North America, grossing $4.08 billion, up 15.3% from the previous year. That's partly due to the financial crisis, but it also shows how rapidly the market is growing.
"The average box office per film was $17 million, and roughly 200 made-for-TV or direct-to-video films didn't even hit theaters. Of that $4.08 billion, over $3.6 billion came from the seven major studios—more than 90%. Outside of those seven, the highest-grossing indie film was Orion's, ranking 31st overall—the top-grossing independent film."
Though MGM no longer dominated, it remained one of the MPAA's seven official members.
Harvey sighed. "Aaron, what's your point?"
"My point," Aaron said, "is that concentrating resources on one influential commercial film is far better than producing many mediocre ones."
Aaron knew Miramax's current strategy was to aggressively acquire art films from festivals. If they stumbled upon another Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Cinema Paradiso, or My Left Foot, it would be a windfall. But such masterpieces were rare. Hollywood produces over 450 films annually, half never reach theaters, and of the remainder, fewer than 10% are profitable. Did Miramax really think they were some kind of divine force?
Harvey Weinstein laughed. "The prerequisite is that you can actually secure investments of that caliber."
Miramax was no longer content merely to buy films and edit them—they wanted a hand in production, getting involved in both investment and filmmaking.
After Harvey left, Nicole frowned. "Aaron, he makes a good point. Your plan is too radical."
"Don't worry," Aaron said, shaking his head. "Miramax has started overextending itself, buying up films aggressively. They don't have that much cash flow."
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been acquired by Disney to avoid bankruptcy. Independent art films almost always lose money—at least 90% of the time.
Harvey Weinstein would rely on Disney's funding to produce a few Oscar-winning films and claim the crown. In the future, whether it was Miramax or Weinstein Pictures, most films would lose money—but every so often, a high-quality, box office hit would emerge.
With his own Dawnlight Films, Aaron realized he could swoop in and secure those high-quality, high-grossing films before Miramax even had a chance.