Chapter 133 – Working With You Is a Better Fit
Aaron and Sophie Marceau stayed at the Sundance Film Festival for only a few days before heading straight back to New York.
As the premier platform for independent cinema, Sundance showcased countless films—but very few could truly catch Aaron's eye.
For most independent distributors, distribution was the core of their business:
buying completed films and releasing them themselves.
Revenue was limited, and risk had to be kept low.
But Dawnlight was different.
Dawnlight began as a production company and built its power through making movies, not merely distributing them.
---
East Hampton, Long Island — Aaron's Seaside Villa
Aaron lounged on the sofa, phone pressed to his ear.
"Sleepless in Seattle, Indecent Proposal, Schindler's List—we can use all of them as collateral for bank loans," he said.
On the line was Jessica Parker, Dawnlight's finance chief. She had experience handling these matters.
And with good reason—after Aaron withdrew another $3 million to have his broker acquire shares of America Online, Dawnlight's available cash had fallen to barely $5 million, after covering fixed operating costs.
"Understood," Jessica replied. "We're due to repay one of our loans soon. Five million won't cut it."
With the rights to those three films as collateral, Dawnlight could easily secure a $50 million loan.
Even Sleepless in Seattle alone had drawn intense industry interest; banks and investment firms were eager to put up cash.
Last year's Ghost had stunned them all—and they remembered.
---
Aaron hung up and leaned back, rubbing his temples.
He still held 600,000 shares of Microsoft, which he could mortgage at any time.
And ahead lay major expenses:
• The release campaigns for Indecent Proposal and Scent of a Woman
• Continued development of Speed and other new projects
Money would be flowing out fast.
---
The Golden Globes
When the Golden Globe Awards were held in Los Angeles, Dawnlight earned another honor:
Kathy Bates, from Ghost, won Best Supporting Actress.
Jodie Foster won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for The Silence of the Lambs.
But Aaron barely paid attention to the Golden Globes this year.
His mind was on something more important — Scent of a Woman had officially begun filming.
---
The Pierre Hotel, New York — Opening Reception for Scent of a Woman
To Aaron's surprise, Mike Medavoy, head of TriStar Pictures, showed up at the reception.
TriStar was distributing Sleepless in Seattle, and they had sold the screenplay to Dawnlight. The two sides had already finalized terms: TriStar would collect a 12% distribution fee from box-office revenue.
"Mr. Medavoy — welcome," Aaron said.
Honestly, he had no idea Medavoy would attend.
Medavoy grinned. "Congratulations. Another production underway."
Aaron shook his head lightly. "TriStar's Terminator 2: Judgment Day pulled in $510 million worldwide last year — over $200 million in North America alone!"
Medavoy chuckled.
"Still, Ghost beat it with $220 million domestic and $500 million worldwide."
Aaron's lips twitched. Ghost was distributed by Columbia.
Columbia belonged to Sony.
In the end, all that money flowed into Sony's pockets — not TriStar's.
Medavoy sighed. Terminator 2 and Ghost were financed by Carolco and Dawnlight respectively.
Sony earned from distribution but didn't invest directly — a frustrating situation for them.
Still, Medavoy remained optimistic.
This year, TriStar had Dawnlight's Sleepless in Seattle and Carolco's Basic Instinct. With luck, both would be hits.
"I came to find you," Medavoy said, lowering his voice, "because my lead actor wants to collaborate with you on a Zorro project."
Aaron blinked.
"Zorro? The masked vigilante Zorro? Do you already have a script?"
Medavoy shook his head.
"Just the concept for now. I want you to develop it. A co-production between Dawnlight and TriStar."
He laid out the arrangement:
Dawnlight – North American distribution
TriStar – International distribution
Aaron studied him.
Could this be the early spark that eventually becomes The Mask of Zorro?
"You don't need to answer immediately," Medavoy added. "I originally considered Spielberg's Amblin.
But… somehow, I get the feeling you're the better fit."
Aaron nodded slowly.
"All right. Let me think about the script."
He had already met Catherine Zeta-Jones in London last year — and The Mask of Zorro came to mind even then.
With TriStar willing to shoulder part of the budget, developing the project ahead of schedule wasn't a bad idea.
Medavoy's motives weren't difficult to read:
Sony invested heavily in Hook last year — nearly $70 million — yet the film's profits were eaten up by Spielberg and the producers, who collectively took 40% of the backend.
Meanwhile, Dawnlight and Carolco regularly delivered hits where Sony merely acted as distributor — low risk, low return.
This time, Sony wanted in on the production side… but with a safer partner.
Aaron wasn't bothered by any of that.
He wanted to make Zorro — and with TriStar covering international distribution, funding was no longer a concern.
___
Aaron took a sip of wine and beckoned his assistant, Evelyn Beckett.
"Contact Winona Ryder on the Bram Stoker's Dracula set.
Tell her that next month, she'll be filming the tango sequence with Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman. Tell her to be prepared."
Evelyn nodded.
"That film crew is still shooting in France. They return to the U.K. by the end of the month."
Aaron continued, "What about Spielberg's Schindler's List?"
"No issues," Evelyn reported.
"The budget has been increased to $22 million, which is enough for Spielberg to finish it.
And he's already preparing Universal's next blockbuster — Jurassic Park. Schindler's List won't be delayed."
It made sense.
On one hand, an unprofitable black-and-white Holocaust drama no one expected to succeed.
On the other — an adaptation of a bestselling sci-fi novel that the entire world was already buzzing about.
Spielberg knew where his priorities lay.