Chapter 291: A Powerful Alliance
That night, in a bedroom at a vacation villa in Ibiza, Aaron rested lazily against Joey Wong.
"By the way," he said, "is Jackie Chan planning to keep working in Hong Kong?"
Joey nodded.
"I'm not completely sure, but right now he's filming a racing action movie in Japan—Thunderbolt."
She added,
"The success of Rumble in the Bronx in North America has actually increased the investment for that film."
Aaron kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"That makes sense. With the yen appreciating, the exchange rate has dropped below 100 yen to the dollar—it's become more expensive to shoot in Japan."
After all, the Hong Kong dollar was pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Joey traced a hand along his arm.
"So Dawnlight still wants to keep working with him?"
"Of course," Aaron replied. "Action comedies like Rumble in the Bronx have a market in North America. And if we don't move, other studios—like New Line—will."
He had no intention of letting opportunities like Rush Hour-style projects slip away.
Joey smiled.
"Then why not come back to Hong Kong with me? Dawnlight's films are starting to expand into the Asian market too."
Aaron thought for a moment.
"I should go at some point—but not right now. I'll come find you later."
"Christmas?" she asked.
He shook his head with a faint smile.
"Sooner than that."
A few days later, after spending time together on Ibiza, Aaron returned to New York, while Joey flew back to Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the ongoing labor negotiations in Major League Baseball had collapsed, leading to a mid-season strike and the cancellation of the remainder of the season.
The shockwaves hit National Basketball Association negotiations as well. To avoid a similar shutdown, team owners and the players' union reached a temporary compromise.
"Basically a pause?" Aaron asked.
In Dawnlight's Lower Manhattan office, he stood by the window with a glass of wine. Beside him, Jack Wells nodded.
"It's just to make sure the 1994–95 season goes ahead smoothly."
Aaron sighed.
"If they can't reach a real agreement, the league could still shut down next season."
He shrugged.
"Still, we got our championship this year. If next season runs normally, that's already good enough."
The Houston Rockets had just won their first title—but repeating wouldn't be easy. Aaron knew that Michael Jordan's return was looming.
That afternoon, Aaron and Jack visited the construction site of Dawnlight's new headquarters in Times Square.
"Mayor Rudy Giuliani is really serious about cleaning up Times Square," Aaron remarked.
The adult shops and seedy venues along 42nd Street had largely disappeared, replaced by more upscale businesses. Police patrols were also noticeably heavier.
Jack shrugged.
"The papers say he's taking a zero-tolerance approach to crime—and that includes shutting down those places."
Aaron stretched slightly, gazing at the construction site.
"When this building is finished, it'll become one of Times Square's landmarks."
That evening, at The Pierre Hotel in the Upper East Side, Aaron attended a business reception with Christina Reali, who had just wrapped filming Scream.
"Is Jim Carrey still shooting Dumb and Dumber for New Line?" Aaron asked.
She smiled.
"It's already wrapped. They've scheduled it for a Christmas release."
That year, Jim Carrey had already delivered two back-to-back hits—Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask.
North American audiences were eating it up, and expectations for his future comedies were climbing fast.
"Yeah," Aaron said, taking a sip of his drink, "we should get Ace Ventura 2 into production as soon as possible—target a release the year after next."
Carrey's box office pull had now been fully proven.
A little later, Aaron finally struck up a conversation with his main target for the evening—Ted Turner. Ever since his meeting with Gerald Levin in Sun Valley, Aaron had begun seriously eyeing TBS.
"Hey, Aaron," Turner said with a grin, "Dawnlight's been making some big moves lately. AMC is rolling out original series while stacking up classic films."
Turner's newly launched Turner Classic Movies was, after all, a direct competitor to AMC.
TBS once had the advantage with the MGM library, but Dawnlight had recently acquired the Samuel Goldwyn and Orion catalogs—adding thousands of films almost overnight.
Aaron smiled.
"Turner Broadcasting isn't doing too badly either. Didn't you just bring New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment under your umbrella?"
Turner shook his head.
"When it comes to movies, who can really compete with you right now?"
His real strength, after all, lay in television and news.
Aaron shrugged.
"The integration of film studios and television networks is becoming inevitable. TBS has picked up companies like New Line and Castle Rock…"
He paused, then added meaningfully,
"But that's still relatively small-scale. Haven't you thought about going further?"
"Further?" Turner narrowed his eyes slightly. He understood exactly what Aaron was implying.
Dawnlight had already established itself as Hollywood's de facto seventh major studio—far surpassing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in momentum. Its only weakness was its short history.
"So," Turner said slowly, "you're talking about Dawnlight… and Turner Broadcasting?"
If TBS merged with Dawnlight, the result would be a true media powerhouse—one that could stand alongside giants like Time Warner, Viacom, and The Walt Disney Company.
Aaron raised his glass and clinked it lightly against Turner's.
"What do you think, Mr. Turner?"
Turner took a sip, clearly tempted. Dawnlight's explosive growth was undeniable—it was Hollywood's hottest rising force. Meanwhile, Turner Broadcasting owned CNN, the most-watched news network in the world.
If the two joined forces, it would truly be a merger of equals—a powerhouse alliance.
(KEEP SUPPORTING THE STORY 😭)
Want faster updates? Send those stones my way—the more, the merrier. Read early at [email protected]/A_divin5