:15:03
There was, to put it mildly...
:15:06
...a great deal of skepticism
from people in the industry.
:15:09
After all, where does an ex-actor, and a
bad one at that, come off running a studio?
:15:14
From the day I arrived, the rumor mill
had me packing my bags.
:15:18
Time magazine ran a story
saying my firing was imminent.
:15:22
Friends, columnists, agents, all let me know
I wouldn't be there for Christmas.
:15:26
Then it happened. Front page of Variety:
"Evans tenure over by end of month."
:15:32
I called Charles Bluhdorn, chairman of
Gulf and Western, who bought Paramount.
:15:38
He was in Spain. I got him out of a board
of directors' meeting in Madrid and said:
:15:44
Charles, there's a story in Variety that
I'm gonna get fired. If it's true, tell me.
:15:49
- Tell me if it's true.
- I'll pick up my laundry.
:15:52
I'm ready to go. He says,
"Let me tell you something.
:15:55
When you're getting fired, I'll let
you know. Stop reading gossip.
:15:59
As long as I own Paramount, you'll be
where you are. Relax and do your job."
:16:03
And he hung the phone up.
:16:05
My first move was to hire Peter Bart
as my right-hand man.
:16:08
He's not Hollywood. He doesn't read
synopses, he reads the entire text.
:16:13
He can read six books over a weekend.
I'm hard-pressed to finish one in six.
:16:17
But even more important, it was his
article that got me into this mess.
:16:22
The two of us caucused
in Palm Springs for a full week.
:16:25
Strategizing how an actor and a journalist
could turn a white elephant into a contender.
:16:30
Patience was not a quality Bluhdorn or
Davis had, and the clock was ticking.
:16:36
With the little experience we had,
we knew one thing: The property is the star.
:16:41
Let's go back to basics, Peter.
You can have stars up the ass...
:16:46
...but if it's not on the page,
it's not on the screen.
:16:48
It's no mistake Paramount's
been in ninth place for five years.
:16:52
It's time to pick up new dice.
Now let's try and do it.