Chapter 244 – Carolco's Predicament
Because Aaron had set his sights on the script for Scream, Twilight Pictures—under Dawnlight—ended up in a bidding war with Dimension Films, the genre label of Miramax.
Quite a few horror directors dismissed Scream, arguing it felt more like a comedy than a "serious" horror film. That skepticism, however, worked in Dawnlight's favor.
In the end, Twilight Pictures paid $750,000 to secure the script from first-time screenwriter Kevin Williamson.
"When Miramax loses Scream, they lose a future franchise," Aaron remarked with satisfaction after hearing the news. Snatching a potential hit away from Miramax was a victory in itself.
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Dawnlight Pictures – Aaron's Office
Aaron had just hung up the phone when Evelyn Beckett entered, carrying a folder.
"Paula Wagner sent this over," she said. "And there's some bad news."
Aaron looked up.
"Renny Harlin has committed to directing a pirate film for Carolco Pictures called Cutthroat Island. So he won't be available for Con Air."
Aaron flipped through the file. Inside was a shortlist of alternate action directors—Jan de Bont and John McTiernan among them.
Jan de Bont, of course, had just made his directorial debut with Speed—a major hit that year.
"Have them start negotiations," Aaron said calmly. "Con Air isn't an especially complex film to direct. The key is staging the action properly."
If Harlin didn't have the schedule, they would simply find someone else.
He paused, then asked, "Cutthroat Island—that's being distributed by MGM, right?"
Evelyn nodded. "Yes. After Carolco's distribution deal with Columbia TriStar expired, they signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer instead. CAA helped broker it."
"The production budget is $60 million. Current leads are Michael Douglas and Geena Davis."
Aaron smiled faintly.
Cutthroat Island was infamous—even legendary—for all the wrong reasons. It would later become synonymous with catastrophic box office failure.
And Geena Davis? She was Renny Harlin's wife—newly married that very year.
The pieces were already falling into place.
Aaron shook his head slightly. He remembered very clearly that the final male lead of Cutthroat Island had not been Michael Douglas at all, but a relatively unknown actor.
The reason was simple—Renny Harlin had rewritten the script into a full-fledged female-led spectacle centered entirely around Geena Davis. Douglas had no intention of playing second fiddle in what increasingly looked like a vanity project for the married director-actress duo, so he walked away.
Worse still, Harlin and Davis's creative "adjustments" sent the production spiraling. What began as a $60 million film ballooned relentlessly, eventually approaching a staggering $100 million budget.
---
"Carolco… they're an interesting case," Aaron remarked.
His interest in Carolco Pictures stemmed from their appetite for scale. They loved massive action and sci-fi productions—and they weren't shy about paying top dollar for A-list talent.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day was their first $100+ million production.
James Cameron earned $6 million.
Arnold Schwarzenegger earned $15 million.
Basic Instinct paid Michael Douglas $12 million.
Cliffhanger paid Sylvester Stallone $16 million.
Carolco didn't have its own distribution network. It financed productions and relied on partnerships—most notably with Columbia Pictures.
T2 had been financed largely through European loans. Despite grossing $200 million domestically and over $500 million worldwide, the heavy marketing spend and mounting interest payments meant Carolco couldn't recover liquidity quickly. Debt piled up. Restructuring followed.
The irony? As part of the restructuring, Carolco sold off future rights to upcoming films—only for several of those films to become box office hits.
Among them:
Basic Instinct
Universal Soldier, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren
Cliffhanger
They missed out on profits they desperately needed.
---
"They're trying to make a major comeback," Evelyn Beckett explained.
Carolco had discussed Terminator 3 with James Cameron, but he was tied to 20th Century Fox under a directing deal and developing other projects.
Another proposal had been Crusade, directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Schwarzenegger—certainly not a modestly budgeted project.
"So they chose Cutthroat Island," Evelyn concluded. "Probably because it looked like the cheapest option."
Aaron stroked his chin. "They must've already sunk several million into developing Crusade… and now it's shelved? Mario Kassar must really believe in Harlin."
Mario Kassar, Carolco's president, had always favored big directors and major stars for action and sci-fi spectacles. Backing Harlin wasn't surprising—after Die Hard 2 and this year's Cliffhanger, the Finnish director had real commercial credibility.
"Pirate films aren't unreasonable," Evelyn added. "Steven Spielberg's Hook did well for TriStar. Carolco betting on pirates isn't irrational."
Aaron said nothing.
If she knew that Cutthroat Island would later become synonymous with catastrophic losses—so severe it would chill the entire pirate genre in Hollywood for years—she might not sound so optimistic.
It would take more than a decade before pirates returned to mainstream viability—revived by Walt Disney Pictures's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
---
"By the way," Aaron asked, shifting focus, "how's The Silence of the Lambs: Red Dragon coming along?"
Evelyn nodded.
"The leads are locked in—Nicolas Cage, Anthony Hopkins, and Ralph Fiennes have all agreed. Supporting roles are being cast."
"The director is scouting locations. Once the crew is finalized, production can begin."
Aaron gave a small nod.
Compared to Carolco's gamble on pirate spectacle, Red Dragon was a calculated expansion—prestige, star power, and franchise leverage.
A far safer bet.