:37:03
...which are the two biggest books
of the last decade.
:37:07
Paramount owns them both.
:37:08
But Paramount has more than
just owning them both.
:37:12
We didn't sit back in our plush
chairs and write a check...
:37:15
...for a million dollars for the books,
which happens so often in our industry.
:37:19
We developed both of these books.
:37:21
If it weren't for Paramount,
Love Story would never have been written...
:37:25
...The Godfather would
never have been written.
:37:28
We were in there in the beginning,
spurring the writers on...
:37:31
...working closely with them to make
these books the bestsellers they are...
:37:35
...and the great movies
they're going to be.
:37:38
We at Paramount don't look at ourselves
as passive backers of film.
:37:43
We look at ourselves as
a creative force unto ourself.
:37:47
And that is why Paramount is going to be
paramount in the industry in the '70s.
:37:52
I promise you that.
:37:55
Ten minutes later, Bluhdorn walked in.
:37:58
"Well, I'm fired, huh?
You're a bigger fraud than I thought.
:38:04
You're some showman, Evans.
You really pulled the wool over their eyes."
:38:09
No kiss on the lips, but a Bluhdorn hug.
:38:12
And that's more than an engagement ring.
It was the gold band itself.
:38:17
Then in typical Bluhdorn fashion,
"Go back to work. We need pictures.
:38:21
And you need plenty of mazel."
:38:33
On December 16, 1970...
:38:35
...Love Story had its world premiere
at the Loews State Theater in New York.
:38:40
The lights went down.
:38:42
Francis Lai's haunting
piano strings started up.
:38:46
Ryan O'Neal, alone and bereft in a snowy
Central Park, said in a voiceover:
:38:51
What can you say about
a 25-year-old girl who died?
:38:55
Love Story didn't open. It exploded.
:38:59
All over the world, boys and girls would walk
out of that theater in love for the night.