Now here’s where the story gets interesting. Even though he told me we had a deal, it was strictly verbal. Nothing was signed. Who could have imagined the following series of events?
Laddie had a big fight with the controlling interests of Twentieth Century Fox. Laddie had chosen to make Star Wars (1977), which made many millions for Fox. In return, Laddie wanted to reward the heads of the different departments with a big bonus. The people in New York who held Fox’s purse strings gave him an absolute “NO.” Instead of being grateful to Laddie for fattening the coffers of Fox, they seriously offended him. He threatened to leave if they didn’t say yes, and they didn’t believe him and came back with another resounding “NO.” So Laddie quit Fox at the peak of success, after a big string of hits, and eventually took over the helm of MGM.
I was flabbergasted. I didn’t know what to do. Not only was I heartbroken to lose Laddie as studio chief, but I also had this incredibly great deal for my next movie at Fox, History of the World, Part I, and nothing was signed.
But the good news was that Sandy Lieberson, who was in charge of the UK for Fox, was coming into the studio as president pro tem (the temporary president) of Fox until they found a new studio chief. I liked Sandy a lot, I knew him well, and I told him all about my arrangement with Fox and Laddie’s verbal agreement. I got my lawyer, the always-dependable Alan U. Schwartz, to quickly finish the contract on History of the World, Part I and brought it down to Sandy’s office for him to sign.
“Before I sign,” Sandy said, “I want to talk to Laddie to make sure that he agreed to this deal.”
He picked up the phone, spoke to Laddie, and after a few minutes he smiled and said, “You’re absolutely right. Laddie gave you his word. As far as I’m concerned you have a bona fide deal.”
And with a quick flourish of his fountain pen, he immediately signed the agreement with Brooksfilms on behalf of Fox. What a relief! So I continued making the necessary preparations to begin production on History of the World, Part I.
Then the ceiling fell in.
The new studio chief who replaced Sandy informed my attorneys that in no way would he agree to the deal. He said, “You can take me to court, but no judge would ever find against me for tearing up a contract that was such a bad deal for Fox.”
What to do, what to do? Again, Emile Buyse comes to the rescue. Emile says, “Invite him to the press conference you are going to have next week.”
I said, “What press conference?”
He said, “You’re going to tell them that you’re having a press conference next Tuesday with The Wall Street Journal.”
“What am I going to tell The Wall Street Journal?” I said.
“You’re not going to tell them anything. But you’re going to tell him that you’re going to tell The Wall Street Journal the following: You and your company, Brooksfilms, are leaving Twentieth Century Fox and you’re selling all your stock in the company.”
“Why am I leaving Twentieth Century Fox?” I said.
“You are leaving because you have no faith in the new administration, and you are worried about their ability to successfully distribute your films. And you’re selling all your stock because you are afraid the company is heading in the wrong direction.”
“But, Emile, I have no stock in Twentieth Century Fox.”
He said, “Only you know that!” Then he said, “Believe me, it’s the last thing any new administration of a movie studio wants to see in the financial section of the newspapers.”
So scrupulously listening to Emile, I made the call. I invited the new heads of the studio to this mythical press conference with The Wall Street Journal. When they asked why and I explained my reasons, the shit hit the fan. In no time, they were all up in my office—the new studio chief, the new head of business affairs, the new head of distribution, and a whole herd of lawyers.
They screamed, “We can sue you for blackmail!”
I countered with, “Sue me! Sue me! Shoot bullets through me!” from Abe Burrows and Frank Loesser’s Guys & Dolls. (It was wasted on them.)
Anyway, to make a long story short, they argued amongst themselves for a few minutes and came to the realization that publicity like that would doom not only the studio’s stock price, but also their own personal career reputations. So like Emile Buyse wisely predicted, they caved in and honored the contract. And thanks to Emile, Brooksfilms won the foreign distribution rights to History of the World, Part I.
* * *
—
Let me tell you a little bonus story vis-à-vis History of the World, Part I. I was in Europe with Emile Buyse doing publicity for the now Brooksfilms-owned foreign release of the film. When we came to Italy, I was scheduled to appear on a very popular TV show hosted by the Italian Johnny Carson, Ezio Greggio, who hosts the now-long-running program Striscia la Notizia which in English means something like “The Snakey News.” I loved working with Ezio from the first moment that I met him. I spoke a little Italian, he spoke a lot of heavily Italian-accented English, and we hit it off immediately. That was quite a while ago, and we’ve remained great friends to this day.
On that show, I did a comedy bit about the sound of various languages. Ezio would give me a word in English and ask me how it was pronounced in Italian, Spanish, French, and finally in German. Whatever the word was, it always sounded lovely in Italian, Spanish, and French. But when it came to German, I went crazy. For instance, Ezio would give me the word “handkerchief.” It sounded beautiful in Italian, fazzoletto, in Spanish, pa?uelo, and in French, mouchoir. But when it came to German, I left reality behind and went into a Hitlerian rage punctuated with a torrent of guttural explosions. My fake German translation of “handkerchief,” complete with gobs of spittle flying from my mouth sounded something like: “ARRANGA SCHUTZEN PLOTZIN KNOCK FLUGEN SCHNITTZZEL-BLOGENBOMB!” The audience roared with laughter! It brought down the house.
Chapter 18
Brooksfilms, Part II
In 1982 Eric Bergren and Christopher De Vore, the gifted screenwriters of The Elephant Man, came to me with an idea for another film. They wanted to do the life story of Frances Farmer, the beautiful actress who rose to fame in the 1930s and then suffered a nervous collapse and was in serious emotional distress. She was hospitalized in a psychiatric institution against her will, which only worsened her condition. It’s a tragic story that once again Christopher and Eric captured in a moving and unforgettable screenplay. Aiding Christopher and Eric in fashioning the script was the son of famed director Elia Kazan, Nicholas Kazan. I really loved their script and wanted Brooksfilms to make it.