Chapter 251: Hard to Refuse
With the arrival of 1994, Aaron found himself increasingly excited. Dawnlight had several major releases lined up—Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, and Interview with the Vampire were all set to hit theaters.
After sending Norika Fujiwara back to Japan, Aaron traveled with Joey Wong to Phuket, Thailand, for a vacation. As the largest island in Thailand, Phuket was often called the "Pearl of the Andaman Sea."
On Patong Beach, Aaron held Joey in his arms, enjoying the sun and the rolling waves.
"So," he asked casually, "when are you heading to the U.S. to start filming The Blood and Tears of Chinese Laborers?"
Joey thought for a moment. "In a few days, the team will go ahead to coordinate things in the U.S. If everything goes smoothly, filming probably won't start until March."
Aaron nodded. "That works. When the time comes, just head straight over—Crescent Pictures will handle the coordination."
With their prior co-production experience on Rumble in the Bronx, this project wouldn't pose much difficulty.
"Mm," Joey smiled, leaning in to kiss him. Her bikini accentuated her graceful figure, her fair skin glowing under the sunlight.
Aaron returned the kiss, his hand resting gently along her waist.
"Have you been enjoying these past few days?" he asked.
"Of course," she said, resting comfortably against him. "Though it's a pity—I still have another film to shoot soon."
She looked up at him. "If you could stay longer, we could spend more time together during the Chinese New Year."
Aaron smiled faintly. "I can't wait that long. I'll be leaving soon."
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After a few more days together in Phuket, Aaron returned to the United States, while Joey went back to Hong Kong.
In any case, they would meet again soon—whether for filming The Blood and Tears of Chinese Laborers in America, or perhaps during a quiet break in Vancouver.
As Philadelphia continued to gain strong word-of-mouth, its release expanded accordingly, pushing its North American box office past $30 million.
With the Golden Globes approaching, Hollywood's party scene grew increasingly lively—galas and receptions happening almost every night.
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Aaron, however, first flew to Dallas, Texas, to visit George W. Bush, offering full support for his campaign for Governor of Texas.
Afterward, he headed to Houston to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Rockets' new Dawnlight Arena.
Present at the event were:
Ray Patterson, General Manager
Rudy Tomjanovich, Head Coach
Hakeem Olajuwon, the team's star player
"Right now, the Rockets are performing well," Jack Wells commented, "but with Michael Jordan retired, the NBA's ratings and influence have dropped quite a bit."
He glanced at Aaron.
"Spending $250 million on this arena… are you sure you'll make that money back?"
Aaron smiled calmly. "Don't worry—it'll pay off."
Then he added, "By the way, the ranch I bought in Brenham—have a few lakeside villas built there. It'll be perfect for vacations."
Aaron had recently purchased a 5,000-acre ranch near Brenham, between Houston and Austin, for $4.5 million.
Jack nodded. "That place is beautiful—rolling hills, rivers, trees… perfect for relaxing."
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By the time Aaron returned to Los Angeles, it was mid-January, with just one week left before the Golden Globe Awards.
At the Montrose Hotel in West Hollywood, the team behind Farewell My Concubine—organized by Crescent Pictures—held a promotional event.
Attendees included:
Chen Kaige (director)
Xu Feng (producer)
Leslie Cheung
Gong Li
Zhang Fengyi
The film had been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and was considered a strong contender. However, Crescent's real focus was the upcoming Academy Awards in March.
Brad Grey had already emphasized to the team:
Awards weren't decided by quality alone—promotion, campaigning, and visibility were just as important.
Chen Kaige sighed as he spoke with Xu Feng.
"So now, the quality of a film isn't even the main factor anymore?"
Xu Feng shrugged.
"It can't be helped. As Mr. Grey said, the Academy has thousands of voters—many of them older, living in the suburbs of New York and Los Angeles. Without proper promotion, they might not even remember the film."
Chen smiled faintly.
"Well, we'll see."
After all, Farewell My Concubine had already won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival—the first Chinese-language film to achieve that honor.
If it could now win the Golden Globe—and possibly the Oscar—it would make history again.
"This year, there are two Chinese-language films nominated," Xu Feng added.
"The Wedding Banquet by Ang Lee is competing with us."
While Xu Feng knew Ang Lee, they had never worked together.
Interestingly, The Wedding Banquet had slightly higher global box office—$32 million compared to Farewell My Concubine's $30 million. In North America, it earned about $7 million, just edging out Farewell My Concubine's $6 million.
However, in terms of prestige and influence, it still fell short.
Winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival was significant—but it didn't carry the same weight as Cannes.
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Meanwhile, at the Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Aaron met with Paula Wagner and Jan de Bont to discuss the progress of Con Air.
Initially, Paula had approached John McTiernan—known for Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October—hoping he would direct.
However, McTiernan was still frustrated by the underperformance of Last Action Hero. Despite its $85 million budget, it had only grossed $50 million in North America and $137 million worldwide, along with poor reviews.
Persuaded by 20th Century Fox, he instead took on Die Hard 3, which would begin filming that year.
That left Dawnlight to turn back to Jan de Bont. After the success of Speed, he had initially wanted to take a break.
But Paula Wagner personally traveled to the Netherlands—his hometown—to persuade him.
Faced with such sincerity, and considering that Speed—his directorial debut—had been financed by Dawnlight, Jan de Bont ultimately found it hard to refuse.