Chapter 6
Okay, so no comments on the last chapter or questions. That is cool, I hope you all enjoyed it. So, just a quick fyi, this chapter is mainly to give Samuel, the last member of the group, some background. Now I am not sure how you all will like it, but I hope you all enjoy it.
That said, I do have a few questions. Would you all like me to do POV sections for other characters? Like the actors that the MC uses and stuff. And how do you all feel about using fictional characters from other shows and movies as actual people? I mean, like Jenny Blake from The Rocketeer. Miriam "Midge" Maisel from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and so on. Honestly, up to you all, because this is fanfiction —I don't feel we need to stay within the bounds of history.
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"Before we go any further with this interview, I want to stop for a moment and just say a few words. I know my new book, Inside the Mob of Hollywood, comes off as controversial, and I have gotten scores of angry letters from people telling me that Ruth Luciano was no one's puppet. I just want to say I never said that, and nowhere in my book does it say that. So let me clarify a few things. First, I do not know whether or to what extent Ruth was associated with the Mob in Hollywood. Being the owner and top director of Lucky Pictures during its sudden rise to power, however, we can at least assume that the daughter of one of the most powerful Mob bosses in the country's history had some connection to them. That said, she was not a puppet of The Boys —aka Raimondo Carlin, Toby Madigan, and Samuel Aronthal. All I am saying is that behind every dollar earned and every cent spent, there was one man behind it all. And that man's name was Samuel Aronthal. He is often an overlooked figure in Hollywood history. Still, at the height of his power, nothing ever happened at Lucky Pictures without his direct approval." - Carl Milton Bernstein, Larry King Live, 1991 interview.
-1939-
-Samuel POV-
My grandfather once told me that life is made up of numbers. They give you one when you are born, and they give you one when you die. That is life, that is the universe. I am not sure how much I personally believe in that. It was too cold, dark, and very pragmatic for my liking. But it was times like today, when I was running the box-office numbers after Shane's 4-week release, that I had to admit he had a point. The numbers spoke loud and clear when I added them up to 4.1 million dollars in 4 weeks.
It was frankly unbelievable. Now I had expected we would at least break even, if not slightly above it, after all the planning we put behind our dreams. But this was beyond anything I had ever hoped to see in my lifetime. People can say what they want, but despite what some believed, Jews didn't shit gold. We had just as many poor people as any other group in the US—especially my family.
While my grandfather had been something of a scientist back in his homeland of Russia before he fled from the Cossacks who hunted their people down like dogs, he had never amounted to much. My grandfather's scientific theories were, in the words of some of his old colleagues, wildly baseless. With little to no evidence to back them up, and his mathematical equations being completely unfounded. The most he had been able to accomplish was teaching at a local school for very little pay. As for my father, he had fared no better. Having opened several small businesses in his lifetime and failing at each one, till the day he drank himself to death before I was old enough to remember him.
As for my mother, she had died of consumption when I was 4, leaving only my grandfather and grandmother to raise me. Overall, I think they did an alright job if you asked me. My grandfather taught me all about numbers and figures, and my grandma taught me how to dance. My childhood, despite the absence of both my parents, was a happy one. Especially when I met Ruth and the others, they were, after all, the ones who made me fall in love with this fool's game we called showbiz.
Watching movies, talking about dreams of changing the world, the films we would one day make. They got me through the hard times of the Depression and the death of my grandmother at 15. Yet honestly, I didn't think those dreams would ever go anywhere. I am, after all, a pragmatist by nature, unlike Ruth with her big dream and self-confidence—Raimondo's love of the game and the challenge, and Toby's brashness and thrill-seeking attitude. I was more grounded. It's not that I didn't believe we could do it. I just didn't think we would accomplish anything so soon. It was like a sudden whirlwind that hits you when you are not looking.
Even with Ruth's connections to the mob, I had run the number in my head over and over again. The chances of a major success with our first release were astronomical. Not only should it not have happened, but it bordered on impossible. Was it probable? Yes, just not likely to happen. But here I was, sitting down, rerunning the numbers, and seeing them for what they were. There could be no denying it now. We had done the near impossible. You would think that night, when we got the call that we had made $700 thousand in the first week, would have prepared me for something like this, but it didn't. It really, really didn't.
"Soooooo?" I hear my friend Ruth ask in a sing-song voice. The playful voice she used when she knew she was right and you were wrong.
Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I put down my pencil and said, "The numbers are correct. It will take some time for the small theaters to report their final tally, but no matter how I look at it, Ruth, we have made over 4.1 million dollars on this one film."
"Fuck yes," Ruth says with a smile, nearly jumping in joy.
"Language, please," I say to Ruth, who just rolls her eyes at me.
It still amazed me that such a beautiful woman could have such a foul mouth. Really, her mother should have washed it out with soap more often. But I had learned long ago that she got a kick out of it when people told her to watch her language and, therefore, would never stop using it.
So before she can start using even worse language, I say, "Before you start getting all excited, Ruth, don't forget we still have to pay our taxes, the overhead, and so on before we can start celebrating."
"Booo, you always know how to ruin a girl's fun." She says to me, but with a teasing smile. Showing she didn't mean anything by it.
Smiling back, I say, "Well, someone has to keep a level head here."
"You mean someone has to be a killjoy." She says it with a pout that honestly looks cute on her, but I shake it off, knowing she will use a moment of weakness to tease me to no end.
"Alright, so after taxes, what will be the final count. Lay it on me." Ruth says.
Taking a moment, I run the math in my head and say, "As it stands after taxes and without taking into account how the 2nd run goes. We can be looking at maybe just over 3.9 million dollars."
"That is still good. More than enough to pay for another movie." Ruth says.
"Yes, but we also owe your Godfather a not-so-small amount of money, in case you forgot. And we also have to give Miss Arthur her cut of the box office," I say to her.
While Mr. Lansky may have been willing to write off the studio itself as a gift to Ruth, the fact remained that he did pay an estimated 3 million dollars for it. That does not include the additional $ 1 million for their first film, which brought the total owed to the man to $ 4 million. A not-so-small amount for four kids with nothing to their names, except Ruth, who was the daughter of one of the most influential mob bosses in the country.
It was an amount I more than wished to pay off as soon as possible. If only to get the company as far away from the Mob as possible.
Though the fact that we were in so deep with the Mob didn't seem to worry Ruth at all, in fact, she says, "Let me worry about my Godfather. The fact of the matter is that once I call him and tell him what we have earned, that is, if he doesn't know about it already, I have a feeling he will want to reinvest."
I didn't like the sound of that. I may not have had anything against Mr. Lansky, but the fact of the matter was, I was hoping to use the success of Shane to pull away from them if we could. Yes, it would cost us nearly everything we had made on the movie, but it was better than staying under them. At least that is how I saw it.
"And if that is the case?" I ask Ruth, but I have a feeling I already know the answer.
She just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Then we lean into them."
"Ruth," I start to say, but she interrupts me.
"I know, I know, I know you don't like being this close to the Mob, but let's face it, we all knew what we were getting into when I went to my Godfather with this plan in the first place. Now that it has turned a profit… Well, I was never going to be able to pull away from the Mob completely in the first place. Now that we have proven that we can turn a profit, all we can do is try to stay out of it as much as possible. Besides, it's not like being the mob's princess doesn't come with its own perks."
I let out a sigh and think she wasn't wrong about that, unlike other mobsters' daughters, wives, or girlfriends. Ruth was far closer to life than most. Having taken the time to get to know her father's associates from a young age. From the bosses of the five families in New York to the current boss of the Dragna crime family, Jack Ignatius Dragna. She knew everyone there was to know, including many of the underbosses, captains, and more powerful soldiers. It was why they had so little trouble filming Shane.
While she wasn't part of that business, she knew the people and could talk to them even without her father's backing. Sure, it was her father's name that got her in the door, but that wasn't why she was so well-connected. The reason they had no real trouble was simply that they liked her. She got to know them on a personal level. At least she got to know those who mattered, and because they liked her, they were willing to leave her be for the most part. Well, so long as they paid a much smaller fee than anyone else. If she had called in her Godfather or Mr. Siegel, they wouldn't have had to pay at all, but Ruth believed it was better to build those connections herself, just in case they ever lost the support of those two.
"I guess that is true." I finally say. Accepting her point, if not begrudgingly.
"I will make the call to my Godfather. In the meantime, we still have Miss Arthur on contract till Shane finishes its run, right?" She asks me, knowing I handled all the contracts myself. The others just told me what they wanted in them.
"That is right?" I answer.
"Good, then tell me what you think of leaking what she has earned in royalties to the press?" Ruth asks me.
Taking a moment to think this over, I say, "Well, that depends. What is the aim here?"
"Well, the fact of the matter is, we can't sign her. Hell, we can't sign anyone with any real talent. Honestly, we got lucky with Jean, but as soon as the contract expires, her agent will no doubt move to sign her with Columbia and most likely for even more money than they planned to do to the success of Shane." Ruth says.
"Ah, I get it. Because we can't afford anyone like her, you wish to use the offer of percentages to entice top talent," I say, getting where she was going with this.
It wasn't that bad of a plan, mind you. As far as I knew, no other studio gave actors percentages. They didn't need to, as they had the money to buy them. Lucky Pictures didn't have that same luxury. They needed something to entice top-level talent.
"That is right. I may not be a Samuel, but even I know that Jean stands to make at least 50 thousand dollars in royalties alone off of Shane." Ruth starts to say, but I interrupt her.
"100 thousand," I say.
"Huh," She says back.
"Miss Arthur stands to make 100 thousand off her percentage of the box office," I answer her.
It was actually 94 thousand, but that was only for the first 4 weeks. After its second run, the total should be over 100,000. Considering that I had done some research and found that she had made just over 200 thousand for her role in Can't Take It with You. It was not a small amount.
"Okay, more than I thought, but the point is that it's a lot of money for one movie. Now Alan will most likely go the same route as Jean. Someone will try to snatch him up, but if we leak how much she made off us, we may be able to get some people who are not currently on contract with someone." Ruth says.
Again, she was not wrong. Alan had more or less turned into a star overnight, but there were plenty of people who were in between contacts with The Big Five. Those being MGM, Paramount, Fox Film, Warner Bros., and RKO. Plus, Hollywood was not lacking talent as movies grew larger and larger in mainstream America. So by offering a percentage of the box office, we may find some willing actors.
"If we are going to go that route, then I would suggest we give Mr. Lapp a bonus along with the rest of the crew. I don't think we'll be able to keep Miss Arthur, but Alan is a top-level talent as well, and Shane has made him a star." I say to Ruth.
"Exactly, and I already have my following script ready for him," Ruth says and tosses over a script called Boom Town.
Picking up the script, I open it up and start to read it, but I don't bother reading the story itself, as I knew nothing about how to write a script. Ruth was the storyteller, and I was just the guy who handled the money, who also happened to love watching movies. So instead, I go to the sections that detail the cost analysis. That was my area of expertise after all.
Not that Ruth wasn't good with numbers as well, but just not as good as I am. While she was able to ballpark now much Shane would cost to make it, it was me who hit it out of the park and came up with a flat number for her to keep to. A number she was easily able to stay within, thanks to my calculations with money to spare.
After doing a quick read and doing my own math, I look at her and say, "It says here you're expecting this film to cost at least 700 to 800 thousand to make, not including marketing."
"That is right." She says to me.
Standing up, I start to walk around the room. A habit I developed from my grandfather, who did the same thing when he was working on math problems. After a moment, I say, " That would put the total cost higher than Shane. Is there any way to lower it?"
"That will depend on several factors, including actors and how much you and the others can save us in the long run." She says, making it clear to me, that it was up to me to come up with a budget.
"Any ideas on the actors?" I ask her.
"Yes, I plan to use Alan again if I can. It would be much easier to work with him than someone new." Ruth answers.
"That is true," I say, having read the papers. While the critics, even the ones Raimondo hadn't paid off, had loved Shane, they had wasted little time in questioning the validity of Ruth being the actual director of the film.
To them, it was unthinkable that a woman could have directed it. Let alone written and edited a movie that was clearly aimed at a male audience. They even went so far as to claim, without saying it outright, that there was some ghost director that Ruth had paid off so she could take credit. It wasn't an unexpected reaction. In fact, they all knew that such accusations were going to come the moment Ruth refused to hyphenate her name to hide that she was, in fact, a woman. However, that didn't stop Toby from losing his temper and nearly rushing out the door to find the guy who wrote the article and teach him a lesson. They were lucky Jake was in the room and helped them hold him down till he calmed down.
Of course, all their accusations had done nothing and may even have helped Shane's success. Still, to avoid any problem using an actor she was used to was the way to go. If only to avoid any unnecessary conflicts with those who didn't wish to work with a woman.
"Hmmm, if we offer him more money and maybe a cut of the box office, I am sure he would be willing to work with you again. Though perhaps we should offer him a longer contract. If we strike now, I am sure we can convince him to sign with us for a lower price ." I say to Ruth.
"I will leave that to you. If you can, then do so, but make sure he gets a percentage for each movie he is in. That will be key to getting the best actors in Hollywood down the line." Ruth says to me.
"Very well," I say.
"Anyone else in mind. Miss Arthur may be willing to sign on if we up her pay and give her a bigger share of the box office." I say, though, I wasn't all for giving away shares of the box office if I could help it. But if it meant another success like Shane, I was willing to bend.
Taking a moment to think about it, Ruth answers, "Well, Clark Gable would be nice, but we are not going to get him."
"I would think not," I say, thinking Mr. Gable was too big a star for us to get. Studios were always willing to loan out their talent for a price, but the question was how much. Would someone like Mr Gable cost them? The answer is most likely too much.
"My roommate isn't currently signed with anyone, and she has done some stage work before. She may be able to play one of the leads. As for Jean, I will talk with her, but I doubt we can convince her to do the movie." Letting out a sigh, Ruth continues. "We will most likely just have to go with some unknowns."
Watching her closely, I see the look in her eyes and say, "You already have someone in mind for the other female lead, don't you?"
"Yes, but she will be hard to get, but I think she would be perfect," Ruth says to me.
I wait for a moment for her to tell me, but when she doesn't, I ask, "Well, who is she?"
"A woman by the name of Hedy Lamarr. She is currently signed with MGM, but I have a feeling they will let her work for us. At least for one movie." Ruth says, and suddenly I feel something. I don't know what, but that name just. It just means something, and I can't understand why.
"I will talk to Raimondo and see what he can do. For now, however, let's see what happens over the next couple of weeks. We are going to be busy enough as it is with hiring new people for the studio now that we can afford it. "I say to her.
"Of course. Let's get to work." Ruth says with a smile and sits down.