Chapter 292: Reaching into Asia
Turner Broadcasting's major shareholders included not only Ted Turner himself, but also companies like Time Warner and Liberty Media.
So even if Aaron Anderson and Turner both entertained the idea of merging Dawnlight with Turner Broadcasting, it was far from simple.
More importantly, Turner Broadcasting was currently valued higher than Dawnlight. Yet Dawnlight, driven by Aaron, clearly had greater long-term potential. The real question was—who would ultimately absorb whom?
In a top-floor suite at the Pierre Hotel, Aaron stood by the window, holding the alluring Christiana Reali in his arms as they admired the Manhattan skyline.
"Pulp Fiction has already premiered in France," she said softly, kissing him. "It hits North America next month, then the rest of Europe."
Aaron smiled, his hand slipping beneath her silk robe.
"The buzz around it is incredible. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs."
Ever since its breakout success at the Cannes Film Festival, Pulp Fiction had become one of the most anticipated films of the year. Aaron knew Quentin Tarantino was about to deliver something that would shake audiences.
"Forrest Gump has already crossed $220 million domestically, and over $200 million overseas," she added. "It's basically the biggest film of the year."
"Without a doubt," Aaron replied, before pulling her into a deeper kiss.
By late August, Aaron finally returned to Hong Kong.
At the Mandarin Oriental, he met with Raymond Chow, the head of Golden Harvest, over afternoon tea.
"Developing a Hollywood action-comedy starring Jackie Chan?" Chow sounded hesitant.
Although Rumble in the Bronx had given Jackie Chan some visibility in North America, there were concerns. Hollywood directors often failed to understand the essence of his action-comedy style.
Aaron immediately caught on.
"You're worried Hollywood won't mesh well with Jackie Chan, right?"
Chow nodded.
"His style is built on high-risk, high-energy action blended with comedy. Without that, he's not Jackie Chan."
Past attempts to break into Hollywood hadn't gone well, largely due to creative clashes.
Aaron shook his head calmly.
"This time will be different. We'll let Jackie Chan's own team handle the action choreography. And any Hollywood director we bring in will respect his input—so his strengths can truly shine."
Chow studied him for a moment, then smiled.
"If that's the case, we'd be happy to push him into Hollywood again."
"Though right now, he's filming in Southeast Asia. He started in Japan, but with the yen rising, production costs got too high, so they moved."
"Once he finishes, we can sit down and discuss this properly."
Aaron raised his glass.
"Then here's to a box office hit."
With Rumble in the Bronx nearing $30 million in North America, it was already a success. Dawnlight also held North American distribution rights to Jackie Chan's Police Story 3: Super Cop and Armour of God II: Operation Condor.
Later that night, at a villa in Repulse Bay on Hong Kong Island, Aaron leaned back on the sofa and sighed.
"The real estate market here has gone insane."
It wasn't an exaggeration—his Haihua Fund alone owned seven luxury villas in Hong Kong, all of which had surged dramatically in value.
"Everyone's speculating on property now," Joey Wong said, straddling his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck with a soft kiss. "My own investments have gone up quite a bit too."
Clearly, her move into real estate over the past couple of years had paid off handsomely.
Aaron smiled, his hand sliding over the woman's smooth, pale thigh.
"Hong Kong's real estate market has gotten a bit too crazy."
There was no denying it. Just look at the city's wealthiest families—almost all of them controlled major property conglomerates.
"By the way," Joey asked, wrapping her arms around his neck, "how did the talks with Golden Harvest about Jackie Chan's new film go?"
"It's happening," Aaron replied. "Once he finishes Thunderbolt, Dawnlight will develop a new project tailored specifically for him."
"We'll make sure it fully showcases his strengths—both his action and his comedy."
The concept for the Rush Hour series had already been registered with the writers' guild. All that remained was refining the script. The only thing still undecided was the director—they needed someone who truly understood the rhythm of action-comedy.
"That sounds promising," Joey said softly. "Taipei has already opened up imports for Western films. Hollywood productions—with their superior technology and production values—are starting to sweep across the Asian market."
"I've also heard that even mainland China is considering loosening restrictions on importing Hollywood films."
Aaron nodded with a faint smile.
"Exactly. With Taipei—the biggest overseas market and a major source of funding—no longer exclusive, Hong Kong cinema is starting to lose its footing."
"Even an industry that once stood toe-to-toe with Hollywood is slowly getting dragged into the mud."
As for mainland China, Aaron wasn't overly concerned. Even if revenue-sharing imports were allowed, the quota—around ten films per year—and the different profit-sharing model meant Hollywood wouldn't make much money there anytime soon.
He pulled Joey closer and kissed her deeply.
At the same time, News Corporation, based in Australia, had acquired a majority stake in Hong Kong's satellite television company—originally founded three years earlier by Hutchison Whampoa.
After establishing strong footholds in Australia, North America, and Europe, News Corp was finally extending its reach into Asia.
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