The Hot Button by David Poland

Weekend, 9 May 1998

NEWS BY THE NUMBERS
10. OVITZ SIGHTING: After Mike Ovitz surfaced on Broadway last month (by way of an investment in a theatrical production company), he's now talking to the NFL about bringing professional football back to L.A. by 2002. Ovitz would own the team, the stadium and the immortal souls of any players who would sign onto his team. Seriously, Ovitz is stuck in the Barry Diller dilemma at the moment. How do you become "just a rich guy" after being seen as the most powerful man in Hollywood? Diller, in The New Yorker article about Universal and Edgar Bronfman Jr. (more on that below), said something fascinating regarding keeping his deal for Universal's TV holdings quiet until the deal was done. "I could not be involved in a transaction that I did not complete. If this got out, I would have to run Venezuela! In the image of the world, I had failed twice (losing bids for Paramount and CBS) and was now (with his purchase of Home Shopping Network) in a small-time venture." Ovitz only has the Disney debacle over his head, but uneasy lies the formerly crowned head.

9. SURPRISE!: MPAA chief Jack Valenti returned from China with word that three films ticked off the Chinese government and that there were subtle threats that these films could sour the movie trade with the last Big Red. The movies? Kundun, Seven Years in Tibet and Red Corner. Duh!

8. I'M THE LIZARD OF THE WORLD!: Godzilla is on his way, and the news stories continue to proliferate. Two stories this week. First, the film started screening for exhibitors this week. And while the reaction was good, the concern that Sony would squeeze a record percentage of the gross from exhibitors (THB 4/02/98) seems to have passed. The split will just be hugely in the studio's favor, as usual for mega-movies. Also, Sony is already working on a game plan for the Godzilla TV sale. Don't expect another Titanic-style debacle (THB 2/14/98) since, like The Lost World and Men In Black, no one will be surprised if Godzilla does mammoth numbers.

7. COLOR MY WORLD: Technicolor debuted a new version of one of its oldest film processing techniques this week. Dye transfer film printing, which was last seen in 1974's The Godfather, Part 2, is back. It will be seen on the big screen in Godzilla and Bulworth, to be followed by a re-release of Gone With The Wind on June 26. We saw a reel of film processed through the new and improved dye transfer system beside the now standard chemical process, and the difference was clear. Brighter whites, redder reds and more variations on black. Serious fans will notice the difference, while the average viewer will, frankly, not give a damn.

6. YOU DON'T BRING ME BULLETS ANYMORE: Charlton Heston, macho stud of the '60s and NRA vice-president-elect of the '90s, has declared war on Barbra Streisand, calling her the "Hanoi Jane" of the anti-gun movement. OK, Let's look at what brought on this attack. Streisand had the nerve to produce a TV movie that was pro- gun control. I don't think La Streisand need debate you on the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms), given that you still haven't gotten a handle on the First Amendment, Mr. H. Besides, you should know better. If there weren't so many guns around, the Apes never would have taken over the planet.

5. DON'T KEEP ON TREKKING: Paramount has become infamous for its aggressive defense of its Star Trek copyright. This week's victim was Sam Ramer of New York City, who wrote a book called Joy of Trek, a lighthearted dating guide for non-Trekkers (or Trekkies. Whatever!) who are trying to relate to their Trek-loving significant other. With 10,000 copies of the $10.95 (retail) book in print, Paramount is suing for $22 million. Seems illogical, doesn't it?

4. LOLITA LIVES: Showtime will premiere Adrian Lyne's Lolita this September. Finally a reason for Roman Polanski to buy that satellite dish.

3. MORE WARNER CUTS: Warner Bros. execs finally went public this week after, they hope, handing out the last of their pink slips. WB Chairman and CEO Terry Semel said that the studio will cut back its recent average of 28 films a year to 20. Also, they'll apparently cut back on the event movies, most likely sticking to summer and Thanksgiving/Christmas. Warner Bros. is the only studio without a legitimate "art" division, as New Line/Fine Line continues to chart its true independence. So, the studio will try to make some $20 million movies themselves. Maybe they should buy one of the few major indies left. Anyone thinking PolyGram? Go to the next story.

2. CORPORATE POLYGAMY: Yet another company is preparing to be swallowed up by the giants. This time it's PolyGram, the parent of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (The Usual Suspects, Fargo, Four Weddings and A Funeral). But the film division is only about 15 percent of the company. The riches are in their music division, which has about 17 percent of the global music market with a roster including U2, Elton John and Sting. (That makes it the top dog.) The cost of a purchase would be around $12 million. The buzz is that the inside track belongs to Disney and Universal. Disney, of course, is expected to engulf the planet (which reminds me of the Mel Brooks joke in Silent Movie in which he renamed then Paramount parent Gulf & Western, Engulf & Devour.) But why Universal? Go to the next story.

1. THE EDGAR FILES: The Hot Button had its way with Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s New Yorker article just days ago (THB 5/07, "U Ought To Know Better"), but I had only read excerpts at that point. It got better when I got a look at the whole article. With every word Bronfman had to say about how he was going to change the dynamic of Hollywood, I just kept thinking of the disastrous Columbia rein of producer David Puttnam. The only difference is that Puttnam actually had a sense of how and why to make a movie. Edgar's real obsession is with the music business. He's been angling to purchase EMI for about $9 billion, suggesting in The New Yorker article that he would be willing to overpay and face the jibes of the Hollywood intelligencia (that could be an oxymoron). So what's $12 million for PolyGram? Plus, he'd have another film company to mismanage. (Side story: I was at a party a little while ago and I got into a "What the hell is going on at Universal?" conversation with a Disney exec. As it happened, one person did spring to Bronfman's defense. A songwriter who was working with Bronfman under the pseudonym Sam Roman. Edgar was a good guy, he told us, and he'd never give the feature division to Imagine chief Brian Grazer. We'll see.) The goofiest thing in the article was actually from Edgar Sr. He said, "We could have taken over DuPont (the stock of which has skyrocketed since Seagrams sold its stake to raise cash for the Universal takeover), but what fun would it have been (for Edgar Jr.) to go to Wilmington, Del., and run that business?" Fun?!?! Seagrams missed out on $9 billion by selling its DuPont stock! FUN?!?! The rich are different.

BOX OFFICE CHALLENGE: Woo is the sponsor. The bonus gift for the top winner is a Deep Impact uniform polo shirt. All that's left to do is to enter.

READER OF THE DAY: Matt H. wrote, "No need to apologize for revealing that William Holden floats dead in a swimming pool in Sunset Boulevard. It happens at the beginning of the movie, and then we flashback to see how it happened."

E ME: Thanks for the reminder, Matt. I thought that we saw the body but didn't know that it was the narrator. Now, for the rest of you. Which Hollywood-type would you like to see floating face-down in a pool? Write me now or post you thoughts in the Dave's Green Room Discussion Forum.