September 26th, 1978.
Fantasy Pictures.
"Greedy bastards."
James dropped Paramount's proposal onto his desk. He was just back from paramount to discuss distribution deal for footloose.
James dropped into his chair. He was seething inside. He picked up the phone and called recepetion downstairs to send a cup of coffee.
Five minutes later Linda came up with a coffee tray.
"Looking at your face, It seems meeting didn't go well ?"
James took the proposal file and slid it toward her.
"See for yourself, Insatiable greed."
Linda poured two cups of coffee and sat and opened the proposal, Linda looked through the pages.
"Wasn't Friday the 13th forty?"
"Forty."
James sipping his coffee trying to calm himself down.
"Fixed marketing expenses, fixed distribution fee, they recovered those first from the box office and took forty percent of our producer share, No copyright, That was the deal for Friday the 13th."
"And now?"
"Fifty percent of producer share, marketing and distribution expenses aren't fixed anymore."
Linda looked through the pages.
James pointed toward one of the marked sections.
"Keep going."
She turned another page.
Then stopped.
"Fifty percent copyright?"
"Now you understand why I'm in such a wonderful mood."
Linda read the clause again.
"Did they explain why?"
"Footloose is a bigger movie, bigger release, bigger marketing campaign, more commitment from Paramount."
James leaned back.
"Which would make sense if they were financing the damn thing."
"They aren't."
"Exactly."
Fantasy Pictures was putting up the production money.
Paramount's job was still distribution and marketing.
James could understand them asking for a better percentage after the success of Friday the 13th.
What he couldn't understand was why a successful partnership had somehow earned him worse terms everywhere else.
Linda put the proposal down.
"Did you agree to anything?"
"Of course not."
"What did Martha say?"
"Same thing. No reason to accept it."
James rubbed his face.
"I thought Friday the 13th would make the next deal easier."
"It did."
James looked at her.
"How?"
"They agreed to meet you."
James stared at her.
"Very funny."
Linda smiled.
"Sorry."
James picked up the proposal again.
"They made money from Friday the 13th. A lot of money. We didn't fight over anything, distribution worked, marketing worked, everyone got paid, Where the hell did this greed suddenly come from?"
Linda looked at him like a fool and started laughing.
"What so funny ?"
Linda looked at him playfully, "You boasted last time so much saying it's my trap, Now they trapped you with it."
"James you are so forgetful sometimes, Remberer what happened during the negotiations for distribution last time ?, Everyone rejected this type of distribution deal, Maybe that's their source of greed."
James put the coffee down and though about and it made sense this type of distribution deal was unique, Those bastards at paramount must have sufficient confidence that no one else will take this kind of deal and we will have to compromise to their demands if we want movie to be released.
James leaned back in his chair and looked towards the ceiling.
Linda sipped her coffee, "What now ?"
James looked toward the telephone.
"They aren't the only studio with theaters to book."
Linda nodded.
"Who are you looking for ?"
"Warner, Universal, Columbia, Fox, MGM."
"All of them?"
"Whoever wants to talk."
James pushed Paramount's proposal to the corner of his desk.
Linda took the proposal.
"I'll give this back to Martha."
"Please do. Looking at it is ruining my day."
Across town at Paramount, the same proposal was sitting on another desk.
David Picker finished reading through the notes from the meeting and placed them down.
"He didn't take it."
Frank Mancuso Sr was sitting across from him shook his head.
"Not even close."
Frank picked up the old Friday the 13th agreement lying beside him.
"We made good money on this."
"Which is why we're having this conversation."
David picked up the Footloose proposal.
"Friday the 13th was cheap, simple and already finished when we got involved."
"Footloose isn't."
"Five million before reserve. Musical, original songs, teenagers, choreography, multiple locations."
"And Rowan directing his second picture."
"Friday the 13th proved he can direct a little, It didn't prove he can make a musical, Especially one costing fifteen times as much."
Frank leaned back in his chair.
"So we're protecting the downside and improving the upside."
David smiled.
"If Footloose fails, I don't want Paramount carrying a large campaign while Rowan walks away having paid only a fixed distribution arrangement."
"And if it succeeds?"
"We own half the property."
Frank laughed.
"He's not going to like that, from what I have seen from him, He is arrogantly confident in his skill, Petty and very immature."
"He doesn't have to like it, That how this industry works."
"You think he'll come back."
"I think he'll shop it around."
"And?"
David shrugged.
"Then we'll see what everyone else thinks a not even twenty something director with one cheap horror hit should get for a five million dollar musical."
"If somebody gives him a better deal, good for him."
"And if they don't?"
"He'll call us."
September 27th, 1978.
Fantasy Pictures.
Connor McGinley opened the office door.
"Mr. Rowan, They're here."
James looked up.
"Send them in."
A moment later three men walked inside.
Connor introduced them.
"Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker."
James stood and shook hands with each of them.
"Thanks for coming."
"Thanks for calling," David replied.
James gestured toward the chairs.
The three sat down opposite him.
The copy of Airplane! James had read was already sitting on his desk.
"I'll save everyone some time. I like the script."
Jim looked at him.
"You want to buy the script?".
"I want to finance the movie with you directing it, off course there are certain conditions."
The three exchanged glances.
"What conditions?"
James opened the screenplay.
"First, I'm not making it in black and white."
David immediately retorted.
"The black and white is important, The whole thing is supposed to look serious, Like the disaster movies we're parodying."
James turned the page of screenplay.
"And color doesn't stop you from doing that."
"Audiences spent the last twenty years moving away from black and white. I'm not spending three million dollars making a new comedy look like an old television rerun."
David looked toward Jerry, then Jim.
"Three million?"
"That's the budget I'm willing to put behind it."
There was a brief exchange between them before Jim looked back at James.
"Color is fine."
James pointed toward the page.
"Second, The plane."
"You don't like the plane either."
"I like the joke. I don't want the propeller plane."
"It's part of the look."
"Use a jet."
"Then half the Zero Hour feeling disappears."
James looked at him.
"Keep the propeller sound, Modern jet on screen, Propeller engine on the soundtrack."
Jim and jerry started laughing at the thought.
"I like that."
"Then we're using a jet."
"Fine."
James turned several pages.
"Last thing."
"I don't want to rewrite the movie but there are some jokes here I don't want in the finished film, Some are insensitive, Others I just don't think are worth the trouble."
Jerry picked up the screenplay.
"How many?"
"Not many."
He flipped through the marked pages.
"Replace them with something better."
David looked up.
"You want us to remove jokes but you're not telling us what to replace them with."
"You're the writers."
James leaned forward.
"These are the things I wanted settled before we start talking contracts."
The three spoke quietly for a moment.
Eventually David turned back.
"We direct together, Nobody gets brought in over us later."
"Not unless all three of you mess up big time."
Creative control?"
"Within the screenplay we agree on, the budget and the production schedule."
David nodded.
"And the revisions?"
"You three do them."
"I can live with that."
James relieved congratulated them.
"Welcome aboard Gentlemen."