European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Trim the budget but done to dare Cut the film by Nina j. Easton los Angeles times its not just big egos that make movie pro meets hard to Stop. Its also the big Bucks that go the cameras even Roll a studio might be committed to millions of dollars in contracts a that is a guarantee to the stars that they will receive their salaries regardless of whether a project goes Forward. A million or so has probably been invested in the script especially if it was bought on the speculation auction Market. Other costs arc incurred in scouting locations and designing sets. Sony a Columbia Tri a Star studio had invested $1 million in Hudson Hawks Gold machine a the opening scene joke a before cameras rolled often these costs arc incurred so a studio can figure out if it wants to go Forward but just spending that Money helps lock a project onto the release schedule. A the stakes Are so High that by the time the Deal is made and the package is put together the primary players can to afford to say no. They be invested too much a says Thomas Schatz author of the Genius of the system a Book that examines the studios during Hollywood a Golden Era. A the Deal gains so much momentum that it takes on a life of its own a Schatz adds. A it would take an my tank to Stop it a and in a not even sure that would even As Columbia Tri Star chief Peter Gubur moved cautiously Forward on Hudson Hawk during his first months in office the Price of killing it mushroomed to $12 million according to insiders. Compare that to the Cost of making it. All told Sony a studio will lose nearly $40 million even after revenues from foreign Heaters world wide video and to come in according to calculations by Lisbeth Barron entertainment Stock analyst with . Warburg amp co. Even for the. Japanese that san expensive introduction to the vagaries of Hollywood. There have been cases where studios s3val-Lowed those losses rather than go Forward with a production. On the first go around with the two Jukes for example Paramount chief Frank Man Cuso pulled the plug a couple of Days into production when the project bogged Down Over director Robert Townes refusal to a inject producer Robert Evans in a Lead role. Paramount wrote off 1 Between $3 million and $4 million and revived the project a without Evans acting services a three years later. _ those cases arc rare. Most of the time studio chiefs go Forward on expensive projects even if they re feeling a Little queasy by the time the camera Rolls. A you get in too deep so you done to want to write it off a explains a former studio executive. A you think a How bad can the thing be a a after filming starts studio executives might be better off staying in the office with their feet up on the desk. Ranting and raving about overspending is one thing getting any changes made is quite another. A once a camera turns no one has Power like the people in front of it a says Jarc Henshaw executive vice president of Cannon pictures. A every Day you photograph you dig yourself in another $100,000 to $200,000. So it becomes almost impossible psychologically and financially to fire actors. And if you whip out the Battle a it gets real ugly. From the studio executives Point of View its not supposed to be personal but from the actors Point of View it is so studios become slaves to the actor who wont come out of his trailer unless the script is rewritten again or the actress who decides she does no to like the camera Angle on her face. During the contentious filming of the marrying Man Kim Basinger wanted to leave the set to visit her guru in South America. Disney sent Legal papers threatening heavy financial penalties and she finally relented. But the studio paid a Price for its Battles in publicity Tours for the movie which flopped at the Box offic Basinger and co Star Alec Baldwin harshly criticized Disney. One top executive insists that studio executives have no Power during production unless they be willing to fire people including the filmmaker. But directors like stars arc rarely fired. Even the regime that runs Disney has fired a director Only once during its seven years in Power. Henry Winkler better known to to audiences As a the Fonz a was dumped from Turner and Hooch for what the studio vaguely described As a creative obviously Paramount executives fire Coppola when he decided to cast his daughter in godfather i. Coppola was the godfather and Paramount chief Frank Mancuso had spent 16 years trying to convince him to make a final instalment of what Many consider one of the greatest film stories Ever told. Besides Coppola is a name that critics and movie fans precede with a great so Mancuso and Paramount president Sidney Ganis tried Friendly persuasion. Each of them flew to Italy to try to talk Coppola out of his decision to hire Sofia Coppola after Winona Ryder a last minute exit for health reasons. Coppola Budge. The production went on and when the movie was released her performance was soundly flogged by critics. Analyst Barron says the film ultimately will be profitable but Paramount was disappointed in its Box office performance. Tri Slor pictures Stephen Vaughan Andie Macdowell and Bruce Willis air it out in Hudson Hawk the cat burglar movie which despite their stardom is diving toward $40 million in losses. August 18 1991sunday a
