:11:01
...than a pretty-boy actor transforming
himself into producer...
:11:05
...especially in those days.
:11:07
I realized that I had to own something
that nobody else could get.
:11:12
I met a guy named George Weiser
who worked for Publishers Weekly.
:11:16
He moonlighted for me
for about $ 150 a week.
:11:19
He comes to me and says, "I just finished
a book. It's called The Detective."
:11:23
This is one hot book. I read it,
put $5000 down on it as an option...
:11:29
...and go see David Brown,
a pal from 20th Century Fox...
:11:32
...who's a top producer there. I say,
David, I think I have the next big book.
:11:37
He reads it. In 48 hours, he says, "Bob,
we're in business." David, not so quick.
:11:43
I wanna know what kind
of business we're in.
:11:46
Now, these are my conditions.
I want a full spread of offices.
:11:50
I want a three-picture deal.
:11:52
To make a very long story short,
I get everything I ask for.
:11:58
They would've bought me
out for half a million.
:12:00
But I wanted my foot in the door,
and I got it in the door, but good.
:12:05
I learned a lot from that. When you
own the property, you're king.
:12:09
Without it, you're a peon.
:12:15
If the euphemism, "You live by
the press, and die by the press"...
:12:19
...ever fit anyone, it fit me.
:12:22
Who would've thought a journalist would
change the entire course of my life...
:12:26
...and also my career?
:12:27
On reflection, I don't know if
I should love him or hate him.
:12:31
Peter Bart, West Coast correspondent
for The New York Times...
:12:34
...wanted to write a story about me
in the Arts and Leisure section.
:12:38
Is this a joke, Peter? Come on.
He said, "This is not a joke.
:12:42
What's interesting about you,
and why you're worth writing about...
:12:45
...is you're beating these
big shots at their own game.
:12:49
You know, you could become the guy
you played, the next Thalberg."
:12:52
That's just what I want the audience
to see, Mr. Chaney...
:12:57
...the soul of a man that
God made different.