:33:01
"The board's already decided.
:33:03
They called an emergency meeting
a week from tomorrow.
:33:06
The studio will be closed
by the end of next week."
:33:08
Damn it. This couldn't be happening to me.
And we were just on a roll.
:33:13
Then it hit me.
:33:15
Give me a half-hour, Charlie,
with the board.
:33:18
Just one half-hour, that's all I need.
:33:20
"Evans, the one person they don't
wanna see is you. Are you crazy, Evans?"
:33:24
Yeah. But crazy good, Charlie.
:33:27
I've got one ace in my hand:
Love Story.
:33:30
And I'm gonna build a hand around it.
:33:33
"All right, Evans. You got a half-hour.
That's all, just a half-hour.
:33:37
Be in New York next Monday
at the board meeting.
:33:40
And buy a one-way ticket,
and don't be late."
:33:42
Peter Bart asked Mike Nichols
for an afternoon...
:33:45
...to film a reel for his boss
to deliver to the board of directors...
:33:49
...of Gulf and Western.
:33:51
Mike directed me in, I'm sure,
the best performance of my life.
:33:56
Where were you, Mike, when I needed
you 10 years ago, when I was an actor?
:34:02
That Sunday at 6 p.m.,
I caught the redeye into New York.
:34:05
No luggage, but a can
of film under my arm.
:34:08
This was our one and only chance.
:34:11
If the film didn't play, the board would
shut down the studio, effective immediately.
:34:17
As I walked into the Gulf
and Western building...
:34:20
...Bluhdorn handed me
my walking papers.
:34:23
"Well, Evans, at least we tried."
:34:25
I pushed him away.
:34:28
Hold these for another 20 minutes,
will you, Charlie?
:34:33
I walked into the boardroom,
a 100-to-1 shot.
:34:36
Before me sat 16
of America's finest non-smilers.
:34:41
Gentlemen, I apologize
for not being better dressed.
:34:44
When you've got
a one-way ticket and no hotel...
:34:47
...it ain't that easy to keep
up with the style of the room.
:34:50
No laugh. Not a crack.
Not even a white of a tooth in sight.
:34:55
Quickly, I stepped out of the room...
:34:58
...and handed the projectionist
Paramount's future.