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NARRATOR: Cannon Films,
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00:00:10,174 --> 00:00:13,143
the home of
high-powered,
high-voltage
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00:00:13,210 --> 00:00:16,746
motion picture entertainment.
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00:00:16,813 --> 00:00:20,250
We're taking motion
picture excitement
over the edge,
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00:00:20,317 --> 00:00:24,154
and your box office
over the top.
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00:00:24,221 --> 00:00:25,589
Menahem Golan
and Yoram Globus
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00:00:25,655 --> 00:00:27,324
were the heavyweights.
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00:00:27,391 --> 00:00:29,893
They were the George Foremans
and the Muhammad Alis
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00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:31,061
of the indie market.
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00:00:31,128 --> 00:00:33,263
I hold them
in huge affection,
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(CHUCKLING) even though
they ruined our movie.
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00:00:34,931 --> 00:00:36,266
(ROARS)
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00:00:36,333 --> 00:00:38,635
It's hard to say
the words "Cannon Films"
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00:00:38,702 --> 00:00:40,004
without laughing.
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00:00:41,271 --> 00:00:43,407
Nuts. Just crazy, nuts.
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00:00:43,473 --> 00:00:44,674
(ROARS)
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00:00:45,909 --> 00:00:48,278
Slightly to the
sidelines of,
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00:00:48,345 --> 00:00:50,080
I don't know,
serious filmmaking.
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00:00:50,147 --> 00:00:51,815
(SNARLING)
Ugh!
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00:00:51,881 --> 00:00:54,985
The audience
wasn't prepared
for the craziness.
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00:00:55,986 --> 00:00:58,355
Looniness.
(CHAINSAW WHIRRING)
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00:00:58,422 --> 00:01:00,991
Guys, really?
I mean, that's insane.
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00:01:02,392 --> 00:01:03,693
I felt a little
stupid doing it.
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00:01:05,129 --> 00:01:07,731
They put a stamp
on pop culture.
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00:01:10,234 --> 00:01:12,436
You were rooting for them.
(SCREAMING)
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00:01:12,502 --> 00:01:14,038
We had no idea
what we were doing.
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00:01:14,104 --> 00:01:16,373
We were just making it up
as we went along.
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00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:17,241
(GROANING)
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How could it fail?
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(SONG PLAYING)
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(CAMERA CLICKING)
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(HORSE NEIGHING)
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00:01:50,074 --> 00:01:51,275
(GROWLING)
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(GUN COCKING)
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00:02:02,152 --> 00:02:03,753
(GUNSHOTS)
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00:02:18,335 --> 00:02:21,971
Menahem Golan is the father
of the Israeli cinema.
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00:02:22,038 --> 00:02:23,440
Every three movies out of four
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00:02:23,507 --> 00:02:25,275
were produced
by Menahem Golan,
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00:02:25,342 --> 00:02:26,843
some of them
directed by him.
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00:02:26,910 --> 00:02:29,379
He'd made something like
40 pictures before I met him.
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00:02:29,446 --> 00:02:31,648
As a kid, he was
in the theaters
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00:02:31,715 --> 00:02:32,749
watching the movies,
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00:02:32,816 --> 00:02:35,085
then he wanted to
see the projector,
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00:02:35,152 --> 00:02:36,720
then he wanted to
touch the film.
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00:02:36,786 --> 00:02:38,555
MENAHEM: This is where
I met for the first time
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the Hollywood
of Humphrey Bogart,
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00:02:40,056 --> 00:02:42,025
Gary Cooper,
Billy Wilder.
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00:02:42,092 --> 00:02:45,395
And I used to spend here
at least four times a week.
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00:02:45,462 --> 00:02:47,297
I fell in love with Hollywood,
right in this building.
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00:02:47,364 --> 00:02:49,433
He lived cinema.
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00:02:49,499 --> 00:02:51,935
He was shooting
movies in Israel,
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00:02:52,001 --> 00:02:53,637
and he didn't have
food at home.
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00:02:53,703 --> 00:02:55,272
ITZIK KOL: And he came
and said, "Look,
I don't have a car",
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00:02:55,339 --> 00:02:56,740
"I don't have a Frigidaire"
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00:02:56,806 --> 00:02:58,508
"and I don't have
even a house."
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00:02:58,575 --> 00:03:01,010
"The only thing what I have
is a wife and three daughters."
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00:03:01,077 --> 00:03:02,346
"If you can
put a mortgage"
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00:03:02,412 --> 00:03:04,681
"on my wife and
my three daughters,"
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00:03:04,748 --> 00:03:06,082
"it's okay with me."
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00:03:06,150 --> 00:03:09,018
Money was never a real issue
for Menahem. Filmmaking was.
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00:03:09,085 --> 00:03:12,356
Then he brought Yoram
into the business afterwards.
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00:03:12,422 --> 00:03:14,258
Yoram was a younger cousin.
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00:03:14,324 --> 00:03:16,826
Yoram Globus
was the businessman
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00:03:16,893 --> 00:03:18,128
behind the movie-making.
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00:03:18,195 --> 00:03:20,430
Menahem Golan
was the movie-maker.
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00:03:20,497 --> 00:03:23,933
They had
a distribution company,
a production company.
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00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:25,469
Menahem was directing.
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00:03:25,535 --> 00:03:27,804
And they were the industry.
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00:03:27,871 --> 00:03:29,939
They had a number of
certainly very successful
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00:03:30,006 --> 00:03:31,575
domestic Israeli films
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that threatened to break out.
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Tevye and His
Seven Daughters,
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00:03:35,379 --> 00:03:37,647
some kind of Fiddler
on the Roof knock-off.
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00:03:37,714 --> 00:03:39,048
WILLIAM STOUT:
Menahem's wife had brought
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00:03:39,115 --> 00:03:40,484
their new baby
to the set,
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00:03:40,550 --> 00:03:42,386
and Menahem sees the baby.
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"Oh, darling, the baby.
Give me the baby,
give me the baby."
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(IMITATING MENAHEM)
"Put the baby,
put the baby in the basket
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00:03:46,656 --> 00:03:47,857
"and the basket
in this wagon."
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00:03:47,924 --> 00:03:49,526
His wife is going like,
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00:03:49,593 --> 00:03:50,960
"Menahem, you know,
you just can't put..."
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00:03:51,027 --> 00:03:52,162
(IMIATING MENAHEM)
"Later, please, please."
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00:03:52,229 --> 00:03:53,597
"Not now."
"Action!"
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00:03:53,663 --> 00:03:55,131
Boom, everything takes off,
the horses go racing.
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00:03:55,199 --> 00:03:56,933
It looks like
the baby in the basket
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00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,101
is almost about
to fall off.
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00:03:58,168 --> 00:03:59,903
And his wife lunges
to catch the baby
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00:03:59,969 --> 00:04:01,471
and he grabs her
and he goes, "Darling..."
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00:04:01,538 --> 00:04:03,373
"Never in the middle
of the shot, please!"
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00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,275
And that's Golan.
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00:04:05,342 --> 00:04:07,477
MAN: They already
had their eye on an
international market.
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00:04:07,544 --> 00:04:09,813
The Raid on Entebbe was
a natural for them to do
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00:04:09,879 --> 00:04:12,216
because Israel
was at their feet.
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00:04:12,282 --> 00:04:13,350
Put your hands
on your head!
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00:04:13,417 --> 00:04:15,051
To the back!
Keep going!
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00:04:15,118 --> 00:04:18,888
Menahem and Yoram were the
kings of Hollywood in Israel.
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00:04:18,955 --> 00:04:21,991
This is a grenade,
and we can blow the plane up!
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00:04:22,058 --> 00:04:23,227
SYBIL: They got the military.
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00:04:23,293 --> 00:04:24,628
SAM: We are shooting a scene
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00:04:24,694 --> 00:04:26,630
and four Hercules
are in the background.
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00:04:26,696 --> 00:04:28,965
BOAZ: And the pilot was
taking off and landing,
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00:04:29,032 --> 00:04:30,700
taking off and landing.
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00:04:30,767 --> 00:04:33,169
And he said, "Listen,
I cannot work anymore.
I'm tired."
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00:04:33,237 --> 00:04:36,640
SAM: So Menahem,
he is very adamant
about shooting.
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00:04:36,706 --> 00:04:40,510
He cannot take it
that something will
stop his momentum.
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00:04:40,577 --> 00:04:42,379
So he just
picked up an Uzi...
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00:04:42,446 --> 00:04:44,481
Points it right at
the head of the pilot.
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00:04:44,548 --> 00:04:47,251
And said, "You better
go back to the cockpit"
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00:04:47,317 --> 00:04:48,652
"and do what
I'm telling you."
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00:04:50,354 --> 00:04:51,755
You can't stop him.
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00:04:51,821 --> 00:04:54,258
QUENTIN: One of
Menahem's young sidekicks
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00:04:54,324 --> 00:04:55,925
was a guy called
Boaz Davidson,
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00:04:55,992 --> 00:04:58,562
who came up with
the Lemon Popsicle
series of films.
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00:04:58,628 --> 00:05:02,399
BOAZ: Lemon Popsicle was
based on my escapades
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00:05:02,466 --> 00:05:04,067
and growing-up pains.
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00:05:04,133 --> 00:05:08,037
Since we were dealing
with discovering of sex,
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00:05:08,104 --> 00:05:10,940
we had to go where
people didn't go before.
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00:05:11,007 --> 00:05:13,377
Menahem didn't want to
make this kind of movie.
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00:05:13,443 --> 00:05:15,679
Yoram was a little
bit more daring
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00:05:15,745 --> 00:05:17,547
because he was
a little bit younger,
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00:05:17,614 --> 00:05:19,449
but both of them were
very conservative.
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00:05:19,516 --> 00:05:21,285
I think some of
the intelligentsia
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00:05:21,351 --> 00:05:24,788
saw it as something
which was very vulgar.
(MOANING)
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00:05:24,854 --> 00:05:26,756
BOAZ: A neighbor
told my mom that,
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00:05:26,823 --> 00:05:28,792
"Your son did
Lemon Popsicle?"
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00:05:28,858 --> 00:05:31,295
Steady. Keep it there.
It's growing.
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00:05:31,361 --> 00:05:33,330
She said, "Yes".
She spitted on the floor
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00:05:33,397 --> 00:05:36,833
and she said, "Wow.
This is horrible".
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00:05:36,900 --> 00:05:38,635
You all right?
Could be better.
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00:05:38,702 --> 00:05:39,803
"Horrible."
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00:05:39,869 --> 00:05:41,738
It was a population
of 3.5 million people,
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00:05:41,805 --> 00:05:43,973
and the first run
of the movie,
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00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:45,975
1.3 million people saw it.
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00:05:46,042 --> 00:05:49,279
BOAZ: The number one
box office success of Israel
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00:05:49,346 --> 00:05:50,714
until this very day.
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00:05:50,780 --> 00:05:53,149
So Menahem and Yoram
made huge amount of money.
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00:05:53,216 --> 00:05:55,952
They had a goal,
and it was a dream,
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00:05:56,019 --> 00:06:00,256
and the dream was
to be successful
all over the world,
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00:06:00,324 --> 00:06:01,725
and mainly in Hollywood.
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00:06:01,791 --> 00:06:04,494
It happens they bought
this small company
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00:06:04,561 --> 00:06:05,762
which was called Cannon.
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00:06:05,829 --> 00:06:07,797
We ran the company
for 13 years.
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00:06:07,864 --> 00:06:09,666
It created something
like 70 pictures.
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00:06:09,733 --> 00:06:12,201
JOHN G. AVILDSEN: They were
doing various skin flicks,
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00:06:12,268 --> 00:06:13,403
exploitation,
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00:06:13,470 --> 00:06:15,672
or buying Swiss skin
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00:06:15,739 --> 00:06:18,342
and adding some
extra scenes to it.
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00:06:18,408 --> 00:06:19,976
CHRISTOPHER: We made
Inga in Sweden,
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00:06:20,043 --> 00:06:21,445
and when you're shooting
in a foreign language,
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00:06:21,511 --> 00:06:22,979
in Swedish, in this case,
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00:06:23,046 --> 00:06:25,549
it becomes Bergmanesque,
it becomes an art film,
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00:06:25,615 --> 00:06:27,451
but our art film had
lots of nudity in it.
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00:06:27,517 --> 00:06:28,752
NARRATOR: Don't
bother to translate it.
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00:06:28,818 --> 00:06:31,721
It means the same
in any language.
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00:06:31,788 --> 00:06:33,590
Dewey said, "We've
raised some money"
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00:06:33,657 --> 00:06:34,924
"to make this other picture,"
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00:06:34,991 --> 00:06:37,293
"but we've realized
it's a terrible idea"
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00:06:37,361 --> 00:06:38,895
"and we've got
to make something"
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00:06:38,962 --> 00:06:40,564
"or otherwise we're going to
have to give the money back."
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00:06:40,630 --> 00:06:41,765
"Have you got any ideas?"
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00:06:41,831 --> 00:06:43,633
JOE: You goddamn
nigger-loving hippies
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00:06:43,700 --> 00:06:44,901
getting away with murder.
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00:06:44,968 --> 00:06:47,036
Sex, drugs,
pissing on America,
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00:06:47,103 --> 00:06:48,405
fucking up the music.
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00:06:48,472 --> 00:06:49,873
I'd like to kill one of them.
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00:06:49,939 --> 00:06:51,475
(GUNSHOT)
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00:06:51,541 --> 00:06:54,110
Joe turned out to be
one of the biggest
pictures of 1970.
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00:06:54,177 --> 00:06:55,512
It reflected
the headlines.
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00:06:55,579 --> 00:06:57,914
Hippies and hardhats
and the war,
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00:06:57,981 --> 00:07:00,584
and whether Nixon
was a good guy
or a bad guy.
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00:07:00,650 --> 00:07:02,852
People said,
"Gee, you've gotta
see this, Charlie.
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00:07:02,919 --> 00:07:03,987
"It's terrific."
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00:07:04,053 --> 00:07:05,221
JOE: All you gotta do
is act black
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00:07:05,288 --> 00:07:06,623
and the money rolls in.
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00:07:06,690 --> 00:07:08,358
I sweat my balls off
40 hours a week
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00:07:08,425 --> 00:07:09,659
in front of a fucking furnace.
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00:07:09,726 --> 00:07:11,327
They get as much
money as I do.
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00:07:11,395 --> 00:07:14,664
When we started
making movies,
Inga was $50,000.
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00:07:14,731 --> 00:07:17,667
Joe cost us $372,000.
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00:07:17,734 --> 00:07:20,404
And by the time we did
The Happy Hooker,
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00:07:20,470 --> 00:07:22,171
it was $1.2 million,
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00:07:22,238 --> 00:07:24,408
and that was just
a heck of a lot of money
to have to raise
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00:07:24,474 --> 00:07:25,842
from individuals.
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00:07:25,909 --> 00:07:27,811
And Menahem and Yoram
came along and said,
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00:07:27,877 --> 00:07:30,179
"We want to make movies now
in the United States."
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00:07:30,246 --> 00:07:31,848
They came to town,
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00:07:31,915 --> 00:07:33,550
for lack of
a better term.
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00:07:33,617 --> 00:07:34,851
MAN: They just wanted
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00:07:34,918 --> 00:07:37,687
to put together
an instant library
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00:07:37,754 --> 00:07:39,956
of films that had
their name on it.
191
00:07:40,023 --> 00:07:43,693
"Here's the thing,
it's 17 January today."
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00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,230
"You're shooting on 4 March
with Klaus Kinski."
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00:07:47,296 --> 00:07:49,265
NARRATOR: Sick with revenge.
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00:07:49,332 --> 00:07:51,267
Twisted with hate.
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00:07:51,334 --> 00:07:53,069
You make me sick.
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00:07:53,136 --> 00:07:55,439
Don't!
(SCREAMING) No!
197
00:07:56,506 --> 00:07:57,941
NARRATOR: Schizoid.
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00:07:58,007 --> 00:08:00,043
MAN: So at the beginning,
they started to do
199
00:08:00,109 --> 00:08:01,678
the same kind of movies.
200
00:08:01,745 --> 00:08:04,748
MAN 2: Low-budget movies
with a hint of sex.
201
00:08:04,814 --> 00:08:06,115
MAN 3: Horror movies.
202
00:08:08,452 --> 00:08:09,853
Help me!
203
00:08:11,488 --> 00:08:12,789
BOAZ: The movie X-Ray
204
00:08:12,856 --> 00:08:15,191
was one of those
slasher movies.
205
00:08:15,258 --> 00:08:16,726
Barbi Benton was the star
206
00:08:16,793 --> 00:08:19,362
and you couldn't do
a movie with Barbi Benton
207
00:08:19,429 --> 00:08:20,830
without showing her body.
208
00:08:20,897 --> 00:08:24,267
MARTINE BESWICK: Their
idea of films at that time
209
00:08:24,333 --> 00:08:25,569
had to have a lot of nudity,
210
00:08:25,635 --> 00:08:27,170
because that's what
the public wanted,
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00:08:27,236 --> 00:08:29,773
according to
their mentality,
their thinking.
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00:08:29,839 --> 00:08:30,940
MAN: When they were shooting.
213
00:08:31,007 --> 00:08:32,576
The Happy Hooker
Goes Hollywood
214
00:08:32,642 --> 00:08:34,110
I remember Martine saying
215
00:08:34,177 --> 00:08:35,745
that when she would
walk off the set
216
00:08:35,812 --> 00:08:37,614
they were bringing
fucking into the thing.
217
00:08:37,681 --> 00:08:38,882
BESWICK: There in the pool,
218
00:08:38,948 --> 00:08:41,217
they had all these
extras at it,
219
00:08:41,284 --> 00:08:43,653
and I was absolutely furious,
220
00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:45,755
because this is not
what I signed on for.
221
00:08:45,822 --> 00:08:48,825
What I want is a boffo socko,
kiss my grocer's movie.
222
00:08:48,892 --> 00:08:51,595
BESWICK: It was about
a conniving studio
223
00:08:51,661 --> 00:08:54,030
who were really
rotten and horrid,
224
00:08:54,097 --> 00:08:56,265
and, of course,
that's exactly what
I was dealing with
225
00:08:56,332 --> 00:08:57,834
with Golan and Globus.
226
00:08:57,901 --> 00:08:59,335
RUSTY LEMORANDE: They
either piled gifts on you
227
00:08:59,402 --> 00:09:01,638
and treated you
like a favorite child,
228
00:09:01,705 --> 00:09:03,072
or they were
mean and bullish
229
00:09:03,139 --> 00:09:05,575
and made you fear
for your career.
230
00:09:05,642 --> 00:09:08,044
They carry with them
the Israeli temperament.
231
00:09:08,111 --> 00:09:10,313
MAN: They would
go through walls
232
00:09:10,379 --> 00:09:11,548
in order to get
what they want.
233
00:09:11,615 --> 00:09:13,483
Menahem had no
trouble yelling.
234
00:09:13,550 --> 00:09:15,018
Up would come the hands,
235
00:09:15,084 --> 00:09:17,621
and the Israeli accent would
get thicker and thicker.
236
00:09:17,687 --> 00:09:19,288
They were screaming
at each other,
237
00:09:19,355 --> 00:09:20,557
just screaming.
238
00:09:20,624 --> 00:09:23,392
"(MUMBLING) Chris!
(MUMBLING) Chris!"
239
00:09:23,459 --> 00:09:25,662
You know, my name
kept coming up.
240
00:09:25,729 --> 00:09:26,796
I kept saying
to this reporter,
241
00:09:26,863 --> 00:09:27,831
"What are they
talking about?"
242
00:09:27,897 --> 00:09:29,465
"What are they talking..."
243
00:09:29,533 --> 00:09:31,835
And they were deciding which
deli to take me to lunch.
244
00:09:31,901 --> 00:09:36,506
It wasn't anger, it was just
fierceness and robustness
245
00:09:36,573 --> 00:09:38,041
and passion.
246
00:09:38,107 --> 00:09:39,308
MAN: They were extremely
fond of each other.
247
00:09:39,375 --> 00:09:40,844
Clearly they were family.
248
00:09:40,910 --> 00:09:42,812
MENAHEM: We are
unique partners, I think.
249
00:09:42,879 --> 00:09:44,280
It's more than brothers.
250
00:09:44,347 --> 00:09:47,183
We forge each other's
signatures on checks,
251
00:09:47,250 --> 00:09:48,585
if you understand...
252
00:09:48,652 --> 00:09:50,453
That is the maximum way
you can get to.
253
00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,422
You couldn't break that
relationship that they had.
254
00:09:53,489 --> 00:09:54,858
They trusted each
other completely.
255
00:09:54,924 --> 00:09:58,562
Yet there was a real
Yin and Yang quality.
256
00:09:58,628 --> 00:10:00,163
They seemed
to approach filmmaking
257
00:10:00,229 --> 00:10:01,565
entirely differently.
258
00:10:01,631 --> 00:10:05,835
Menahem is a dreamer
and he's a grown-up kid.
259
00:10:05,902 --> 00:10:08,037
And he's doing everything
he's always wanted to do.
260
00:10:08,104 --> 00:10:11,541
He would sit and
dream about projects
261
00:10:11,608 --> 00:10:13,843
and people and stories.
262
00:10:13,910 --> 00:10:16,846
And Yoram was a shrewd
businessperson
263
00:10:16,913 --> 00:10:19,148
who had to keep
everything tight
264
00:10:19,215 --> 00:10:20,349
so Menahem can work.
265
00:10:20,416 --> 00:10:23,787
He wasn't ebullient,
he wasn't loud,
266
00:10:23,853 --> 00:10:26,122
he wasn't
a center of attention.
267
00:10:26,189 --> 00:10:27,090
He stood in the shadows.
268
00:10:27,156 --> 00:10:30,326
Maybe the best
film salesman
269
00:10:30,393 --> 00:10:31,628
the world has
ever known.
270
00:10:31,695 --> 00:10:33,630
I'm Yoram Globus.
He's our president.
271
00:10:33,697 --> 00:10:35,732
Nice to meet you.
272
00:10:35,799 --> 00:10:38,034
Dour, watchful,
a little bit suspicious.
273
00:10:38,101 --> 00:10:39,736
Cold and hard
and tough.
274
00:10:39,803 --> 00:10:42,105
YORAM: It's Yoram.
Where is my money?
275
00:10:42,171 --> 00:10:45,141
You promise and promise
and promise and you are
not paying.
276
00:10:45,208 --> 00:10:48,645
They were opposite,
but together when they
went to banks,
277
00:10:48,712 --> 00:10:51,681
it was exactly
the combination you needed
278
00:10:51,748 --> 00:10:54,751
to raise money for this dream,
279
00:10:54,818 --> 00:10:56,119
and they did.
280
00:10:56,185 --> 00:10:58,254
We came to America
to make American movies
281
00:10:58,321 --> 00:11:01,057
that could be sold to
independent distributors
282
00:11:01,124 --> 00:11:01,925
around the world,
283
00:11:01,991 --> 00:11:03,526
with production values...
284
00:11:03,593 --> 00:11:04,761
(SCREAMING)
With a good story,
285
00:11:04,828 --> 00:11:06,730
with... call it star system,
286
00:11:06,796 --> 00:11:09,599
and bring it to the world,
not via the major companies.
(SCREAMING)
287
00:11:09,666 --> 00:11:13,269
They invented the way
the independent company
work today.
288
00:11:13,336 --> 00:11:14,437
They create a poster
289
00:11:14,503 --> 00:11:16,472
of a movie they
intend to make.
290
00:11:16,539 --> 00:11:19,175
They sell it to
foreign buyers.
291
00:11:19,242 --> 00:11:22,511
They take that money,
they make the picture
292
00:11:22,578 --> 00:11:24,247
and deliver it
the following season.
293
00:11:24,313 --> 00:11:26,049
NARRATOR: Now
a special experience
294
00:11:26,115 --> 00:11:28,151
in movie-going entertainment.
295
00:11:28,217 --> 00:11:29,919
The Apple.
(GRUNTS)
296
00:11:29,986 --> 00:11:33,356
The Apple,
the Mount Everest
of bad musicals,
297
00:11:33,422 --> 00:11:34,858
and Menahem directed it.
298
00:11:34,924 --> 00:11:37,861
* Magic Apple,
mystery Apple
299
00:11:37,927 --> 00:11:40,897
* Take a little ride
Let me be your guide
300
00:11:40,964 --> 00:11:42,531
* Through
the Apple paradise *
301
00:11:42,598 --> 00:11:45,268
The Apple was going to
be Menahem's Tommy.
302
00:11:45,334 --> 00:11:46,836
* Hey, hey, hey.
303
00:11:46,903 --> 00:11:49,372
DEL VALLE: It was his
attempt to be Ken Russell.
304
00:11:50,506 --> 00:11:53,209
"I'm better than Ken Russell!"
305
00:11:53,276 --> 00:11:55,979
He thought it was going to be
incredibly commercial,
306
00:11:56,045 --> 00:11:58,948
He thought it was incredibly
imaginative and creative.
307
00:11:59,015 --> 00:12:01,317
I can't explain, The Apple
to you. Can anybody?
308
00:12:01,384 --> 00:12:05,889
It's the story of creation,
according to Menahem.
309
00:12:05,955 --> 00:12:08,157
STEWART: A classic story
of good and evil
310
00:12:08,224 --> 00:12:11,227
set in the music industry
in the future.
311
00:12:11,294 --> 00:12:15,799
NARRATOR:
In 1994, the world
is controlled by one power.
312
00:12:15,865 --> 00:12:17,934
The Apple is success.
313
00:12:18,001 --> 00:12:19,769
DAVID:
Menahem's idea of the future
314
00:12:19,836 --> 00:12:21,705
is 2025, Tel Aviv.
315
00:12:21,771 --> 00:12:24,240
ALAIN JAKUBOWICZ:
He wanted to show
the world of the hippies,
316
00:12:24,307 --> 00:12:25,942
except Menahem
is not a hippie,
317
00:12:26,009 --> 00:12:29,312
so he didn't really know
how to approach it.
318
00:12:29,378 --> 00:12:30,513
ALL:
Peace.
319
00:12:30,579 --> 00:12:34,117
In every way, it is bold.
320
00:12:34,183 --> 00:12:36,485
It will have a song
called 'I'm Coming'.
321
00:12:36,552 --> 00:12:39,889
* Ooh, coming
322
00:12:39,956 --> 00:12:42,959
* Coming for you
323
00:12:43,793 --> 00:12:45,294
* Feel me coming.
324
00:12:45,361 --> 00:12:46,796
STEWART:
I was perfect for the role
of Bibi
325
00:12:46,863 --> 00:12:48,898
because I was so naive.
(LAUGHS)
326
00:12:48,965 --> 00:12:51,367
I was like, "Oh, he's coming
over here for me. Okay."
327
00:12:51,434 --> 00:12:55,638
That's how I read it, even
with the dance and everything.
328
00:12:55,705 --> 00:12:57,340
Pretty bad.
I know it's pathetic.
329
00:12:57,406 --> 00:13:01,377
He was so sure that the movie
is going to be a hit,
330
00:13:01,444 --> 00:13:02,846
a big hit.
331
00:13:02,912 --> 00:13:04,347
STEWART: So
when we were at the screening
332
00:13:04,413 --> 00:13:06,015
and the opposite happened,
333
00:13:06,082 --> 00:13:08,517
he was devastated.
(BOOING)
334
00:13:08,584 --> 00:13:10,153
They gave complimentary
soundtracks,
335
00:13:10,219 --> 00:13:13,056
and when the movie was over,
they threw them at the screen
336
00:13:13,122 --> 00:13:15,124
and they were embedded
in the screen.
337
00:13:15,191 --> 00:13:17,693
ALAIN:
I think he was in advance
of his time
338
00:13:17,761 --> 00:13:19,028
when he did The Apple.
339
00:13:19,095 --> 00:13:21,164
(LAUGHS)
340
00:13:21,230 --> 00:13:23,632
One of the great things
that we are all looking for
341
00:13:23,699 --> 00:13:25,468
is more life,
342
00:13:25,534 --> 00:13:27,170
life, another life,
343
00:13:27,236 --> 00:13:29,906
life beyond what
we are limited
344
00:13:29,973 --> 00:13:32,776
to on our earth,
345
00:13:33,576 --> 00:13:36,179
life beyond E.T.
346
00:13:37,246 --> 00:13:38,815
Life up there.
347
00:13:38,882 --> 00:13:41,717
And that's what
cinema provides us.
348
00:13:41,785 --> 00:13:44,020
They loved film more than any,
349
00:13:44,087 --> 00:13:46,655
like, executive or mogul
350
00:13:46,722 --> 00:13:48,457
that I'd ever talked to.
351
00:13:48,524 --> 00:13:50,259
You were talking with them
about something else,
352
00:13:50,326 --> 00:13:53,096
they'd say, "Listen,
talk with me about movies."
353
00:13:53,162 --> 00:13:55,832
They'd have four hours free,
they'd go to a movie,
354
00:13:55,899 --> 00:13:57,466
even though the film
was in German
355
00:13:57,533 --> 00:13:59,202
and they didn't speak German,
they would go to the movies.
356
00:13:59,268 --> 00:14:01,704
Cannon is the only company
who loves cinema.
357
00:14:01,771 --> 00:14:04,707
We don't have
other hobbies.
Cinema is our life.
358
00:14:04,774 --> 00:14:07,343
"When can you start?"
I said, "Well, I'm getting
married on Saturday."
359
00:14:07,410 --> 00:14:09,212
(MIMICKING MENAHEM)
"How long will that take?"
360
00:14:09,278 --> 00:14:10,914
NARRATOR:
They run their company
like a factory,
361
00:14:10,980 --> 00:14:12,348
a no-frills operation
362
00:14:12,415 --> 00:14:14,818
where long hours
and low pay are the norm,
363
00:14:14,884 --> 00:14:17,553
where every penny
ends up on the screen,
364
00:14:17,620 --> 00:14:19,022
not on an expense account.
365
00:14:19,088 --> 00:14:22,091
"Boys, we'll eat lunch
in the office."
366
00:14:22,158 --> 00:14:23,827
Menahem ran down
the hall,
367
00:14:23,893 --> 00:14:24,928
went to the assistant's room,
368
00:14:24,994 --> 00:14:26,562
grabbed his plate
of Chinese food,
369
00:14:26,629 --> 00:14:28,264
and said, "Give me that."
370
00:14:28,331 --> 00:14:30,867
And ran back and said,
"We got you
some Chinese food."
371
00:14:30,934 --> 00:14:32,368
The door would open
372
00:14:32,435 --> 00:14:35,271
and an assistant would
bring in some Styrofoam cups
373
00:14:35,338 --> 00:14:37,974
and a couple of those
Styrofoam carry-out trays.
374
00:14:38,041 --> 00:14:39,275
Meetings took place
375
00:14:39,342 --> 00:14:40,977
while he's shoving
pickles in his face.
376
00:14:41,044 --> 00:14:43,579
99% of the budget
of a picture
377
00:14:43,646 --> 00:14:45,048
is going to the screen,
378
00:14:45,114 --> 00:14:48,384
not with all
the limouisine-shmimousine,
379
00:14:48,451 --> 00:14:51,955
lunches-bunches
and all this nonsense.
380
00:14:52,021 --> 00:14:53,990
They're not about
the schmoozing,
381
00:14:54,057 --> 00:14:56,025
they're about
getting things done.
382
00:14:56,092 --> 00:14:58,261
We are not the kind of people
383
00:14:58,327 --> 00:15:01,097
of Ma Maison
or Jimmy's
in Hollywood,
384
00:15:01,164 --> 00:15:02,398
the restaurants, you know.
385
00:15:02,465 --> 00:15:04,100
We are not going
to Apollo Lounge.
386
00:15:04,167 --> 00:15:06,569
We do not play tennis.
Look at me.
387
00:15:06,635 --> 00:15:07,636
I don't, I'm sorry.
388
00:15:07,703 --> 00:15:09,105
"I don't go to tennis courts,"
389
00:15:09,172 --> 00:15:11,674
"I don't go to big, lavish
parties in Malibu."
390
00:15:11,740 --> 00:15:14,377
Well, the reason he didn't
was because he wasn't invited.
391
00:15:14,443 --> 00:15:18,447
I just had in my head
what a movie producer
should be
392
00:15:18,514 --> 00:15:21,885
and Menahem just didn't quite
fit that picture.
393
00:15:21,951 --> 00:15:23,186
(CAMERA CLICKING)
394
00:15:23,252 --> 00:15:24,854
The shirts were too tight.
395
00:15:24,921 --> 00:15:26,422
The end of the screening, he'd
be trying to button his pants.
396
00:15:26,489 --> 00:15:29,525
You know Jabba the Hutt?
Menahem Golan.
397
00:15:29,592 --> 00:15:32,295
If Jabba the Hutt
were on meth
or something.
398
00:15:32,361 --> 00:15:35,831
The only thing that motivated
and guided these two men
399
00:15:35,899 --> 00:15:37,300
was the love of movies,
400
00:15:37,366 --> 00:15:39,969
and this goes back to when
they were kids in Tel Aviv
401
00:15:40,036 --> 00:15:41,704
watching American movies.
402
00:15:41,770 --> 00:15:43,206
He wanted to remake
403
00:15:43,272 --> 00:15:46,409
the picture he had seen
as a young guy and loved.
404
00:15:46,475 --> 00:15:47,977
Menahem said,
"I have a wonderful idea."
405
00:15:48,044 --> 00:15:49,445
"I want all the monster men."
406
00:15:49,512 --> 00:15:51,514
"Boris Karloff
and Bela Lugosi."
407
00:15:51,580 --> 00:15:53,116
I said,
"But they're dead."
408
00:15:53,182 --> 00:15:55,919
VINCENT PRICE:
Welcome to
the House of the Long Shadows.
409
00:15:55,985 --> 00:15:58,154
The masters of horror
are moving in.
410
00:15:58,221 --> 00:15:59,956
Vincent Price, that's me.
411
00:16:00,023 --> 00:16:01,490
Peter Cushing.
Christopher Lee.
412
00:16:01,557 --> 00:16:03,526
You're not going to make
a movie with these guys
413
00:16:03,592 --> 00:16:05,328
that is going to
frighten anybody.
414
00:16:05,394 --> 00:16:08,297
(GIRL SCREAMING)
415
00:16:08,364 --> 00:16:09,832
It's not going to be
a horror movie.
416
00:16:09,899 --> 00:16:11,267
(BOTH SCREAMING)
(BAT SHRIEKING)
417
00:16:11,334 --> 00:16:13,702
It's going to have to be
a nostalgia piece.
418
00:16:13,769 --> 00:16:15,404
(OPERATIC SINGING)
419
00:16:15,471 --> 00:16:17,606
But I think they were happy
to send themselves up.
420
00:16:17,673 --> 00:16:20,343
Piano wire. He must have
heard her singing.
421
00:16:20,409 --> 00:16:23,446
I knew it wasn't going
to be successful
as a theatrical movie.
422
00:16:23,512 --> 00:16:26,849
With all those horror stars
and a kind of horror title,
423
00:16:26,916 --> 00:16:28,451
it got a PG rating.
424
00:16:28,517 --> 00:16:30,386
(SCREAMS)
425
00:16:30,453 --> 00:16:32,355
So you've got
a family horror movie.
426
00:16:32,421 --> 00:16:34,723
There were cinemas out there
that needed to be filled
427
00:16:34,790 --> 00:16:37,226
with something,
and that's what Cannon did.
428
00:16:37,293 --> 00:16:38,494
Really what they made
429
00:16:38,561 --> 00:16:40,229
was whatever they
could put together
430
00:16:40,296 --> 00:16:42,131
that had an actor in it,
that had a name
431
00:16:42,198 --> 00:16:43,466
that they could pre-sell.
432
00:16:43,532 --> 00:16:45,134
OLIVER:
Dutch, Sylvia Kristel.
433
00:16:45,201 --> 00:16:47,370
She was huge, and a big name.
434
00:16:47,436 --> 00:16:50,739
She exuded quiet,
erotic desire.
435
00:16:50,806 --> 00:16:52,375
"I'm horny, but stay away."
436
00:16:52,441 --> 00:16:55,378
She was famous for the
Just Jaeckin films.
437
00:17:01,750 --> 00:17:04,553
NARRATOR:
The first time since
the original Emmanuelle
438
00:17:04,620 --> 00:17:06,522
that these two
outstanding talents
439
00:17:06,589 --> 00:17:09,625
have been brought together
in Lady Chatterley's Lover.
440
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:42,125
They sold Sylvia Kristel
in a sexy picture.
That's what they'd sold.
441
00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,030
NARRATOR:
D.H. Lawrence's
classic masterpiece
442
00:17:47,096 --> 00:17:49,332
is now a major motion picture.
443
00:18:01,977 --> 00:18:03,346
They were blown away.
They liked it.
444
00:18:03,412 --> 00:18:04,647
They thought
it was a great picture.
445
00:18:09,785 --> 00:18:12,588
NARRATOR:
Sylvia Kristel
is Mata Hari.
446
00:18:12,655 --> 00:18:15,691
Dancer. Lover. Spy.
(GASPS)
447
00:18:15,758 --> 00:18:17,860
When I met her,
she was addicted
to cocaine.
448
00:18:17,926 --> 00:18:21,664
By the time she
got to Budapest,
she was addicted to booze.
449
00:18:21,730 --> 00:18:24,767
OLIVER: The Italian
hairdresser would go,
"Oh, Madonna,
450
00:18:24,833 --> 00:18:26,102
"look at the way she looks!"
451
00:18:26,169 --> 00:18:27,803
She came in looking
like a gargoyle.
452
00:18:27,870 --> 00:18:28,871
She couldn't act...
453
00:18:28,937 --> 00:18:30,306
Your friend Karl
454
00:18:30,373 --> 00:18:32,141
may have already engaged me
to seduce you.
455
00:18:32,208 --> 00:18:35,411
OLIVER:
It's an important role,
and she struggled.
456
00:18:37,613 --> 00:18:39,248
The commercial pushing
457
00:18:39,315 --> 00:18:42,251
of erotic scenes
in this film, ruined it.
458
00:18:42,318 --> 00:18:43,719
They called from LA saying,
459
00:18:43,786 --> 00:18:46,222
"Now she's got to get laid
in the trenches as well."
460
00:18:46,289 --> 00:18:47,623
She's getting laid enough.
461
00:18:52,561 --> 00:18:54,830
It's all to do with
taste in the end.
462
00:18:54,897 --> 00:18:57,100
That's sort of the Cannon way.
463
00:18:57,166 --> 00:18:59,302
It completely resembles
464
00:18:59,368 --> 00:19:02,138
something, minus good taste.
465
00:19:02,205 --> 00:19:04,740
I've taken the script,
you know, I'm opening
the first page,
466
00:19:04,807 --> 00:19:07,510
and then so I start
reading, and it says,
467
00:19:07,576 --> 00:19:09,445
"Na-na, na-na,
suck my banana."
468
00:19:09,512 --> 00:19:11,747
This was one of the first
lines of the film.
469
00:19:11,814 --> 00:19:15,351
What they didn't have
in taste, they made up
for in enthusiasm.
470
00:19:15,418 --> 00:19:17,220
Alright,
let's cut this shit,
471
00:19:17,286 --> 00:19:19,722
and now let's all
get serious.
472
00:19:19,788 --> 00:19:22,758
* Dance all night,
play all day
473
00:19:22,825 --> 00:19:24,127
* One, two, three
474
00:19:24,193 --> 00:19:26,429
* Don't let nothing
get in the way *
475
00:19:26,495 --> 00:19:28,597
Last American Virgin was a...
476
00:19:28,664 --> 00:19:32,101
Almost by-the-numbers
remake of Lemon Popsicle.
477
00:19:32,168 --> 00:19:33,469
They changed very little.
478
00:19:33,536 --> 00:19:35,504
They just brought the plot
to America.
479
00:19:35,571 --> 00:19:39,175
When I first
got the script, I thought,
"What is this film?"
480
00:19:39,242 --> 00:19:40,776
"It's... it's got
two different tones."
481
00:19:40,843 --> 00:19:44,847
On one hand there's this
sexploitation aspect to it,
482
00:19:44,913 --> 00:19:46,149
and then the other half of it
483
00:19:46,215 --> 00:19:48,584
was this really wonderful
love story.
484
00:19:48,651 --> 00:19:50,819
It had all these
controversial issues
485
00:19:50,886 --> 00:19:53,122
with the abortion
and the prostitution.
486
00:19:53,189 --> 00:19:54,823
Alright, cowboys,
who's gonna be first?
487
00:19:54,890 --> 00:19:56,392
I wanna get this over with.
488
00:19:56,459 --> 00:19:57,993
FRANKLIN:
Then the crabs,
there's cocaine
489
00:19:58,060 --> 00:20:00,696
and there's high-schoolers
doing all this stuff.
490
00:20:00,763 --> 00:20:02,898
Now,
you two have fun.
(SIGHS)
491
00:20:02,965 --> 00:20:05,100
WOMARK: The good guy
and his best friend
who's super good-looking
492
00:20:05,168 --> 00:20:08,304
who always is with
the young ladies.
Gets somebody pregnant.
493
00:20:08,371 --> 00:20:10,139
It's actually the girl
he gets pregnant
494
00:20:10,206 --> 00:20:12,141
is the girl that our hero
really loves
495
00:20:12,208 --> 00:20:14,577
and, of course,
the good-looking guy
bails on her
496
00:20:14,643 --> 00:20:16,945
and our hero has to basically
take her to the hospital
497
00:20:17,012 --> 00:20:18,281
the day of the abortion,
498
00:20:18,347 --> 00:20:20,115
and in order
to pay for the abortion,
499
00:20:20,183 --> 00:20:21,650
he's a pizza delivery guy.
500
00:20:21,717 --> 00:20:25,053
An abortion is being played
with U2 music under it,
501
00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,056
and you go from a doctor
performing an abortion
502
00:20:28,123 --> 00:20:30,493
to some guy cutting a pizza.
503
00:20:30,559 --> 00:20:34,330
Guys, really? I mean, that's
insane. That's just nuts.
504
00:20:34,397 --> 00:20:35,864
They had really high hopes
505
00:20:35,931 --> 00:20:38,434
that this movie would
kind of cross over,
506
00:20:38,501 --> 00:20:40,068
teenage movie,
this would be it.
507
00:20:40,135 --> 00:20:41,804
NARRATOR: The Last
American Virgin.
508
00:20:41,870 --> 00:20:43,606
See it or be it.
509
00:20:43,672 --> 00:20:44,673
ALL: Yeah!
510
00:20:44,740 --> 00:20:48,344
I thought it was an odd
script for America.
511
00:20:48,411 --> 00:20:49,745
Hi.
How's it going?
512
00:20:49,812 --> 00:20:51,547
Are you here to interview
me or to fuck me?
513
00:20:51,614 --> 00:20:54,883
I think a lot
of the traditions
or customs
514
00:20:54,950 --> 00:20:56,118
didn't translate so well.
515
00:20:56,185 --> 00:20:57,753
For instance,
after the abortion
516
00:20:57,820 --> 00:21:00,756
Gary brings her a Christmas
tree and a bag of oranges.
517
00:21:00,823 --> 00:21:03,326
It must have meant something
in Israel. I have no idea.
518
00:21:03,392 --> 00:21:06,295
DAVIDSON: My goal
was to do a real story,
519
00:21:06,362 --> 00:21:08,831
and I think it was
very dangerous,
520
00:21:08,897 --> 00:21:11,734
especially for the
American market,
521
00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:16,004
because in America,
everything has to end up
522
00:21:16,071 --> 00:21:17,240
really, really happy.
523
00:21:17,306 --> 00:21:19,174
American movies
are so American
524
00:21:19,242 --> 00:21:21,910
that when they're
not American,
everybody picks that up.
525
00:21:21,977 --> 00:21:26,382
We will always do films
that are a little different,
I think,
526
00:21:26,449 --> 00:21:29,151
because of our background
and mentality.
527
00:21:29,218 --> 00:21:30,919
They were foreigners,
528
00:21:30,986 --> 00:21:34,056
and I think we needed
some American element.
529
00:21:34,122 --> 00:21:35,991
They did bring over
a lot of Israelis,
530
00:21:36,058 --> 00:21:39,262
um, that were not gonna
help them
531
00:21:39,328 --> 00:21:41,129
infiltrate
the domestic market.
532
00:21:41,196 --> 00:21:42,665
They all spoke English,
533
00:21:42,731 --> 00:21:46,369
but they didn't really
understand the American idiom.
534
00:21:46,435 --> 00:21:48,704
I think that was a problem,
535
00:21:48,771 --> 00:21:51,274
you know,
judging the material.
536
00:21:51,340 --> 00:21:55,611
When they tapped into,
or stumbled into,
537
00:21:55,678 --> 00:21:57,513
the right idea, it worked.
538
00:21:57,580 --> 00:21:59,582
(MIMICKING MENAHEM)
"David, it's Menahem."
539
00:21:59,648 --> 00:22:02,818
And I said, "What?"
And he said, "I want to offer
you a great opportunity."
540
00:22:02,885 --> 00:22:06,422
He said, "We're going
to make a sequel"
541
00:22:06,489 --> 00:22:08,824
"to one of the great
movies of the 1970s."
542
00:22:08,891 --> 00:22:11,159
I said, "What,
are you going to do
Godfather III?"
543
00:22:11,226 --> 00:22:12,328
And he goes, "Close."
544
00:22:12,395 --> 00:22:13,762
NARRATOR: Death Wish II.
545
00:22:13,829 --> 00:22:15,864
He's doing it for you.
Aarggh!
546
00:22:15,931 --> 00:22:18,501
Death Wish II,
was the first legitimate,
547
00:22:18,567 --> 00:22:21,304
real Hollywood
film they made.
548
00:22:21,370 --> 00:22:24,172
An anticipated sequel
to a hit movie,
549
00:22:24,239 --> 00:22:25,941
with a movie star.
550
00:22:26,008 --> 00:22:28,110
MICHAEL WINNER: Death Wish,
was on many of the
10-best-of-the-year
551
00:22:28,176 --> 00:22:29,312
film lists in America,
552
00:22:29,378 --> 00:22:30,779
was treated very seriously,
553
00:22:30,846 --> 00:22:32,748
and I think society
has now changed enough,
554
00:22:32,815 --> 00:22:33,916
eight years later,
555
00:22:33,982 --> 00:22:35,451
which is a long time
to wait for a sequel,
556
00:22:35,518 --> 00:22:37,185
to make a story
of some relevance.
557
00:22:37,252 --> 00:22:38,821
I was trying to deal
with a character
558
00:22:38,887 --> 00:22:41,957
who did not want to go back
to where he had been.
559
00:22:42,024 --> 00:22:43,726
He had lost his wife,
560
00:22:43,792 --> 00:22:46,462
his daughter was
in a mental institution,
561
00:22:46,529 --> 00:22:48,030
he has his outing with her,
562
00:22:48,096 --> 00:22:49,432
he's harassed by these punks,
563
00:22:49,498 --> 00:22:51,567
they pickpocket him,
they come back,
564
00:22:51,634 --> 00:22:54,337
they ravage his maid,
his daughter dies,
565
00:22:54,403 --> 00:22:56,439
and because of her
mental illness,
566
00:22:56,505 --> 00:22:59,342
the police won't prosecute
as a homicide.
567
00:22:59,408 --> 00:23:01,377
The violence in
the second film was there
568
00:23:01,444 --> 00:23:02,911
so Bronson can get to work.
569
00:23:02,978 --> 00:23:05,648
NARRATOR: When murder
and rape are the crimes,
570
00:23:05,714 --> 00:23:08,684
Bronson
is the only punishment.
571
00:23:08,751 --> 00:23:10,686
Do you believe in Jesus?
572
00:23:10,753 --> 00:23:11,754
Yes, I do.
573
00:23:11,820 --> 00:23:13,756
Well, you're gonna meet him.
574
00:23:13,822 --> 00:23:15,591
DAVID: My script was
original, it was clever.
575
00:23:15,658 --> 00:23:17,626
It was much better
than the film itself,
576
00:23:17,693 --> 00:23:20,463
which I was somewhat appalled
by when I first saw it.
577
00:23:20,529 --> 00:23:23,732
I was upset about the amount
578
00:23:23,799 --> 00:23:26,469
of violence mixed with sex.
579
00:23:26,535 --> 00:23:29,405
It moved it into
a different type of film
580
00:23:29,472 --> 00:23:31,039
that I did not want to be in.
581
00:23:31,106 --> 00:23:34,610
Rape is a terrible thing,
but it does happen.
582
00:23:34,677 --> 00:23:36,612
It is very much on the minds
of the public,
583
00:23:36,679 --> 00:23:39,382
and I see no reason why
any subject
584
00:23:39,448 --> 00:23:41,249
should be excluded from drama.
585
00:23:41,316 --> 00:23:42,785
This was just
to get his rocks off.
586
00:23:42,851 --> 00:23:44,520
The script did not need it.
587
00:23:44,587 --> 00:23:46,355
The rape scenes
of the British version
588
00:23:46,422 --> 00:23:47,690
have been cut
by four minutes
589
00:23:47,756 --> 00:23:49,658
by the British film censor
James Firman,
590
00:23:49,725 --> 00:23:52,260
who had this to say,
"This is about
as irresponsible
591
00:23:52,327 --> 00:23:53,896
"as a filmmaker could be"
592
00:23:53,962 --> 00:23:55,598
"in the treatment of rape
for purely commercial ends."
593
00:23:55,664 --> 00:23:57,400
"This director
is simply trying to stir up"
594
00:23:57,466 --> 00:23:58,801
"as much controversy
as possible"
595
00:23:58,867 --> 00:24:00,469
"because he's in desperate
need of a hit."
596
00:24:00,536 --> 00:24:04,507
The critics really were
very, very outspoken
597
00:24:04,573 --> 00:24:08,343
about how they were
really upset about the film.
598
00:24:08,411 --> 00:24:10,846
WOMAN: It is obviously
very much on
Mr. Winner's mind
599
00:24:10,913 --> 00:24:11,714
to be sodomized.
600
00:24:11,780 --> 00:24:13,248
I hope it happens to him soon.
601
00:24:13,315 --> 00:24:15,851
He loved that.
He loved
to get people talking.
602
00:24:15,918 --> 00:24:17,720
Michael thrived
on controversy.
603
00:24:17,786 --> 00:24:19,422
HARTMAN: Menahem and Yoram,
604
00:24:19,488 --> 00:24:21,390
they gave him
the carte blanche
to do a lot of things.
605
00:24:21,457 --> 00:24:22,825
"You say you want
to shoot this film like that?
Fine."
606
00:24:22,891 --> 00:24:24,359
"You want to shoot
another one? Fine."
607
00:24:24,427 --> 00:24:26,228
Winner's films make money.
608
00:24:26,294 --> 00:24:28,864
NARRATOR: This is the lusty,
bawdy, epic story...
(CROWD CHEERING)
609
00:24:28,931 --> 00:24:32,635
Of England's most legendary
robber, the Wicked Lady.
610
00:24:32,701 --> 00:24:35,438
Wicked Lady
was his opportunity
611
00:24:35,504 --> 00:24:37,105
to go up a rung
612
00:24:37,172 --> 00:24:39,942
on the director's ladder
of respectability.
613
00:24:40,008 --> 00:24:42,411
They had Faye Dunaway,
they had Sir John Gielgud,
614
00:24:42,478 --> 00:24:43,679
they had Alan Bates,
615
00:24:43,746 --> 00:24:45,247
they had A-list names
in this movie.
616
00:24:45,313 --> 00:24:48,050
And yet he had to put
naked girls in there.
617
00:24:48,116 --> 00:24:50,719
It was almost like he was
sabotaging himself.
618
00:24:50,786 --> 00:24:53,321
Mike wanted to put a bit
of spice into the film
619
00:24:53,388 --> 00:24:56,258
and there was a scene where
they whipped one of the girls.
620
00:24:56,324 --> 00:24:58,694
MARINA SIRTIS: Michael came
up with a pair of scissors
621
00:24:58,761 --> 00:25:00,796
and literally just
cut my costume off,
622
00:25:00,863 --> 00:25:02,297
and said, "Get on with it."
623
00:25:02,364 --> 00:25:05,468
That was the scene that
the movie was sold on.
624
00:25:05,534 --> 00:25:07,135
It didn't really fit
in the film at all.
625
00:25:07,202 --> 00:25:10,405
ALEX WINTER: Michael was
a pathologically brutal,
626
00:25:10,473 --> 00:25:13,241
strange, sadistic, insecure,
627
00:25:13,308 --> 00:25:16,011
egotistical character.
628
00:25:16,078 --> 00:25:18,747
OLIVER:
He seems to have used
his job as a director
629
00:25:18,814 --> 00:25:20,583
to, frankly, abuse people.
630
00:25:20,649 --> 00:25:23,151
They always seem to
call for me if things
have to be blown up,
631
00:25:23,218 --> 00:25:25,153
people have to be killed,
raped or shot, you see?
632
00:25:25,220 --> 00:25:27,990
I don't know why they call for
a nice, charming chap like me.
633
00:25:28,056 --> 00:25:30,425
(SCREAMS)
634
00:25:30,493 --> 00:25:32,461
MARINA SIRTIS: We're shooting
in a leaky garage,
635
00:25:32,528 --> 00:25:33,629
the rain's coming in
through the roof,
636
00:25:33,696 --> 00:25:34,830
and I'm lying naked.
637
00:25:34,897 --> 00:25:36,364
He wouldn't even
let me get up.
638
00:25:36,431 --> 00:25:38,133
He wanted me to
lie there to be lit,
639
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,636
and I was freezing,
and the director
of photography
640
00:25:40,703 --> 00:25:42,871
came and put his coat on me
641
00:25:42,938 --> 00:25:45,841
and Winner screamed at him
to get the coat off,
642
00:25:45,908 --> 00:25:47,710
how was he supposed
to light me?
643
00:25:47,776 --> 00:25:49,645
Completely illegal,
by union standards,
644
00:25:49,712 --> 00:25:51,079
and total sadism.
645
00:25:51,146 --> 00:25:53,516
Mike would say
to the special effects man,
646
00:25:53,582 --> 00:25:55,884
"Where's a good place
for me to be, John?"
647
00:25:55,951 --> 00:25:59,822
And the crew used to say, "In
the back of the car, Michael."
648
00:25:59,888 --> 00:26:02,591
I think that he was in a way
the perfect Cannon director
649
00:26:02,658 --> 00:26:04,259
because Cannon was
this weird bubble
650
00:26:04,326 --> 00:26:05,494
and everybody in it
651
00:26:05,561 --> 00:26:07,095
had this, sort of,
wink and a nod,
652
00:26:07,162 --> 00:26:09,832
and we do love the movies,
but we want to make money,
653
00:26:09,898 --> 00:26:11,500
and we don't care
about your work conditions
654
00:26:11,567 --> 00:26:12,901
or the quality of the product,
655
00:26:12,968 --> 00:26:14,603
and it was kind of
a weird carnival.
656
00:26:14,670 --> 00:26:17,105
It was, like, movies are
an unreal environment
657
00:26:17,172 --> 00:26:18,373
at the best of times.
658
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,644
And the Cannon movies
were like that times 100.
659
00:26:21,710 --> 00:26:23,011
NARRATOR: The Cannon Group
660
00:26:23,078 --> 00:26:24,680
is proud to introduce
the practitioner
661
00:26:24,747 --> 00:26:26,882
of the oldest and ultimate
martial arts,
662
00:26:26,949 --> 00:26:27,750
the ninja.
663
00:26:27,816 --> 00:26:29,852
Before Menahem, I didn't,
664
00:26:29,918 --> 00:26:32,487
and I bet you
that millions of people
665
00:26:32,555 --> 00:26:34,623
never knew the word 'ninja'.
666
00:26:36,391 --> 00:26:37,560
Aarggh!
667
00:26:37,626 --> 00:26:41,429
He took a title from Bruce Lee
668
00:26:41,496 --> 00:26:43,966
and a director
was sent to do it.
669
00:26:44,032 --> 00:26:48,336
They sent a batch of the first
three days of dailies.
670
00:26:48,403 --> 00:26:50,038
I remember him saying,
671
00:26:50,105 --> 00:26:51,840
"It looks like
a hundred-year-old
television show."
672
00:26:51,907 --> 00:26:53,809
"This movie's a disaster."
673
00:26:53,876 --> 00:26:56,044
"Look how he's shooting this!
This guy can't...
He's a piece of wood."
674
00:26:56,111 --> 00:26:58,446
He decided to take the picture
over and direct it himself.
675
00:26:58,513 --> 00:26:59,948
He fired the main ninja.
676
00:27:00,015 --> 00:27:05,287
Don't worry. The Manila
Film Festival is on.
677
00:27:05,353 --> 00:27:08,757
There must be somebody
here we can go to.
678
00:27:08,824 --> 00:27:11,493
He said, "Listen,
Franco. We need you."
679
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,329
"You are to replace
Mike Stone,"
680
00:27:14,396 --> 00:27:17,700
"because he's a great athlete,
but he cannot act."
681
00:27:17,766 --> 00:27:19,501
GOLDBLATT:
Pretty good casting,
682
00:27:19,568 --> 00:27:21,503
considering he just happened
to be at a restaurant
in Manila.
683
00:27:21,570 --> 00:27:22,571
He is no ninja!
684
00:27:22,638 --> 00:27:23,639
He is a ninja!
685
00:27:23,706 --> 00:27:24,707
He is no ninja!
686
00:27:24,773 --> 00:27:27,209
He's so not ninja.
687
00:27:27,275 --> 00:27:29,177
I don't know.
I've never seen a ninja.
688
00:27:32,114 --> 00:27:33,148
Aarggh!
689
00:27:35,684 --> 00:27:37,519
His character's name was Cole
690
00:27:37,586 --> 00:27:39,421
and he was from Texas,
691
00:27:39,487 --> 00:27:41,289
and, of course,
Franco speaks...
(ITALIAN ACCENT) like this.
692
00:27:41,356 --> 00:27:43,291
Menahem says, "Don't worry.
He'll still be Cole."
693
00:27:43,358 --> 00:27:45,160
"I can't... I don't have time
to change that now."
694
00:27:45,227 --> 00:27:47,429
He re-dubbed me
with an American voice,
695
00:27:47,495 --> 00:27:50,132
but not my... a voice
that was similar to mine.
696
00:27:50,198 --> 00:27:52,034
(AMERICAN VOICE) A true ninja
doesn't kill.
697
00:27:52,100 --> 00:27:55,170
He eliminates, and only
for defensive purposes.
698
00:27:55,237 --> 00:27:58,907
He loved American actors,
he loves American accents.
699
00:27:58,974 --> 00:28:01,109
Maybe he wanted to be
an American.
700
00:28:01,176 --> 00:28:03,712
MARK GOLDBLATT: Enter, the
Ninja made money,
it was a hit,
701
00:28:03,779 --> 00:28:05,180
a popular
international success.
702
00:28:05,247 --> 00:28:07,282
Interesting outfit.
Who's your tailor?
703
00:28:07,349 --> 00:28:10,352
I think that movie made,
in a way, Cannon.
704
00:28:10,418 --> 00:28:11,720
Ninja is a big deal.
705
00:28:11,787 --> 00:28:14,456
And Menahem is the one
who did it.
706
00:28:14,522 --> 00:28:17,525
They wanted immediately to
cash in and to make a sequel.
707
00:28:17,592 --> 00:28:19,862
NARRATOR:
Revenge of the Ninja.
708
00:28:19,928 --> 00:28:21,363
WOMARK:
"Here's $700,000."
709
00:28:21,429 --> 00:28:23,666
"Come back in seven weeks
with a ninja movie."
710
00:28:23,732 --> 00:28:25,067
"By the way, the script's
not too good."
711
00:28:25,133 --> 00:28:28,203
This is no job
for the police.
712
00:28:28,270 --> 00:28:30,405
It's something
I'll have to do.
713
00:28:30,472 --> 00:28:32,574
Only a ninja can stop a ninja.
714
00:28:32,641 --> 00:28:34,509
The story's
kind of a loose story.
715
00:28:34,576 --> 00:28:37,379
It's not a heavy drama...
716
00:28:37,445 --> 00:28:40,048
With philosophical ideas...
717
00:28:40,816 --> 00:28:42,584
And character depth.
718
00:28:42,651 --> 00:28:43,952
(GIRL SCREAMS)
No!
719
00:28:44,019 --> 00:28:46,121
There was a script,
but once they shot it
720
00:28:46,188 --> 00:28:47,990
and we edited it together,
and we looked at it,
721
00:28:48,056 --> 00:28:49,825
it didn't make any sense.
722
00:28:49,892 --> 00:28:51,626
If you want to work out,
you forgot your pants.
723
00:28:51,694 --> 00:28:54,830
We had a screening of it.
It was a complete disaster.
724
00:28:54,897 --> 00:28:57,099
And we're all called
into Menahem's office,
725
00:28:57,165 --> 00:29:00,102
and he starts making up
a brand-new plot of the movie.
726
00:29:00,168 --> 00:29:02,204
"We have to shoot a beginning"
727
00:29:02,270 --> 00:29:05,240
"and, uh, the baby, uh,
is being held,"
728
00:29:05,307 --> 00:29:07,542
"and ninjas come,
surround, 100 ninjas,"
729
00:29:07,609 --> 00:29:11,113
"and they kill everybody
except the kid
and the father,"
730
00:29:11,179 --> 00:29:12,948
and he's just making this up,
731
00:29:13,015 --> 00:29:16,785
and he had this uncanny
ability to just make up shit
732
00:29:16,852 --> 00:29:18,053
and then we'd shoot it,
733
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:19,855
and it's the movie
that you see.
734
00:29:22,124 --> 00:29:24,492
Menahem Golan
is a very creative man.
735
00:29:24,559 --> 00:29:26,194
He said, "Let's make another",
736
00:29:26,261 --> 00:29:29,331
"but this time,
I want the hero
to be a female."
737
00:29:29,397 --> 00:29:30,866
Ninja III: The Domination,
738
00:29:30,933 --> 00:29:32,835
which starred Lucinda Dickey.
739
00:29:32,901 --> 00:29:34,369
She was hot for that year.
740
00:29:34,436 --> 00:29:36,705
She was the Cannon go-to girl.
741
00:29:36,772 --> 00:29:38,206
Ninja III: The Domination,
742
00:29:38,273 --> 00:29:41,877
managed to take,
The Exorcist, a ninja movie,
743
00:29:41,944 --> 00:29:43,411
and combine it
with Flashdance.
744
00:29:43,478 --> 00:29:45,113
SAM: We figured
that the only way
745
00:29:45,180 --> 00:29:47,649
that a woman will have
the ninja ability
746
00:29:47,716 --> 00:29:50,185
will be if she will
be possessed
747
00:29:50,252 --> 00:29:53,121
by a spirit
of a male dead ninja.
748
00:29:53,188 --> 00:29:54,322
(ROARS)
749
00:29:54,389 --> 00:29:56,624
DICKEY: I had to do
a possessed ninja scene,
750
00:29:56,691 --> 00:30:00,028
and I was like,
"I didn't learn how to do that
in acting class."
751
00:30:00,095 --> 00:30:01,864
(DEMONIC VOICE) You fool!
752
00:30:01,930 --> 00:30:04,666
You cannot stop me!
I am a ninja!
753
00:30:04,733 --> 00:30:07,903
Did my head spin around?
I think my whole body spun.
754
00:30:07,970 --> 00:30:11,106
(NORMAL VOICE) Help me,
I'm scared!
755
00:30:11,173 --> 00:30:12,775
(SHRIEKS)
756
00:30:12,841 --> 00:30:15,310
FIRSTENBERG:
In everyday life,
she is aerobics instructor.
757
00:30:15,377 --> 00:30:17,645
When the dead spirit
takes over,
758
00:30:17,712 --> 00:30:19,748
she goes out and she kills
759
00:30:20,849 --> 00:30:23,085
until the master, Sho Kosugi,
760
00:30:23,151 --> 00:30:27,022
comes into the scene
and he helps to free her.
761
00:30:27,089 --> 00:30:29,624
The result is
a very strange movie.
762
00:30:29,691 --> 00:30:31,827
NARRATOR: Where Revenge
of the Ninja left off,
763
00:30:31,894 --> 00:30:33,295
Ninja III begins.
764
00:30:33,361 --> 00:30:35,931
An epic struggle
of superhuman strength
765
00:30:35,998 --> 00:30:38,100
and supernatural forces.
766
00:30:38,166 --> 00:30:40,535
Ninja III: The Domination,
was quite a failure,
767
00:30:40,602 --> 00:30:45,607
because the audience did not
buy the idea of a woman ninja.
768
00:30:45,673 --> 00:30:47,209
It's over now.
769
00:30:49,711 --> 00:30:51,079
When I took over MGM
770
00:30:51,146 --> 00:30:53,215
it had just come out
of its roughest period.
771
00:30:53,281 --> 00:30:56,751
We had a cap on what we could
spend on any motion picture
772
00:30:56,819 --> 00:30:58,520
and we needed product.
773
00:30:58,586 --> 00:31:00,022
The day I heard
774
00:31:00,088 --> 00:31:03,358
that MGM was going to be
distributing Cannon films,
775
00:31:03,425 --> 00:31:06,829
I thought, "Okay, this
is the end of civilization
as we know it."
776
00:31:06,895 --> 00:31:08,496
"Did Nostradamus
predict this?"
777
00:31:08,563 --> 00:31:11,099
This changed the
playing field for Cannon.
778
00:31:11,166 --> 00:31:13,668
But pressure to deliver
big movies...
779
00:31:13,735 --> 00:31:14,769
NARRATOR: Sahara.
780
00:31:14,837 --> 00:31:16,238
ALL: Whoo-oo.
781
00:31:16,304 --> 00:31:19,474
NARRATOR: Only one girl
dares to drive it.
782
00:31:19,541 --> 00:31:21,043
The Sahara World Rally.
783
00:31:21,109 --> 00:31:23,812
I want to see the thing race
straight through hell.
784
00:31:23,879 --> 00:31:25,380
When Sahara was being made,
785
00:31:25,447 --> 00:31:29,151
we all thought,
"Hmm, this may be something."
786
00:31:29,217 --> 00:31:32,020
Brooke Shields was still
close to her stardom.
787
00:31:32,087 --> 00:31:33,956
ALEX: Menahem
started talking about
788
00:31:34,022 --> 00:31:35,223
how Brooke Shields
was going to win
789
00:31:35,290 --> 00:31:37,025
the Academy Award
for Sahara.
790
00:31:37,092 --> 00:31:40,128
I wish we could stay
here forever,
791
00:31:40,195 --> 00:31:42,197
but we risked our lives
taking this shortcut,
792
00:31:42,264 --> 00:31:44,232
and now we're losing
all that we've gained.
793
00:31:44,299 --> 00:31:47,002
The idea that that was going
to win an Oscar was so absurd,
794
00:31:47,069 --> 00:31:48,536
and I just was like, "Really?"
795
00:31:48,603 --> 00:31:51,273
"Where in your lexicon
do you honestly believe that?"
796
00:31:51,339 --> 00:31:56,011
Sahara is Menahem's attempt
to make Lawrence of Arabia
797
00:31:56,078 --> 00:31:59,147
and combine it
with Blue Lagoon
798
00:31:59,214 --> 00:32:01,683
meets The Great Race.
799
00:32:01,749 --> 00:32:04,019
(CANON FIRES)
800
00:32:04,086 --> 00:32:05,888
Menahem loved the intersection
801
00:32:05,954 --> 00:32:08,256
of ideas that should
never meet each other,
802
00:32:08,323 --> 00:32:10,558
so he assembles,
like Frankenstein,
803
00:32:10,625 --> 00:32:14,529
parts from other movies,
and creates a disaster.
804
00:32:14,596 --> 00:32:16,798
It was as dry
as the Saharan Desert.
805
00:32:16,865 --> 00:32:18,200
It was awful.
806
00:32:18,266 --> 00:32:20,368
It started the wheels
turning in my head
807
00:32:20,435 --> 00:32:22,504
that we just couldn't continue
with these people.
808
00:32:22,570 --> 00:32:24,606
We released it,
we did the best we could,
809
00:32:24,672 --> 00:32:26,942
we put on a campaign,
we spent a little money,
810
00:32:27,009 --> 00:32:28,510
and the film, of course, died,
811
00:32:28,576 --> 00:32:29,777
because it was a bad film.
812
00:32:29,844 --> 00:32:31,279
It was a shame
for the little girl
813
00:32:31,346 --> 00:32:33,415
because she deserved better.
814
00:32:33,481 --> 00:32:36,718
(MIMMICKING MENAHEM) "Brooke
Shields, Academy Award.
Sahara, Academy Award."
815
00:32:36,784 --> 00:32:38,186
Every picture that he does,
816
00:32:38,253 --> 00:32:40,222
he think that the picture's
going to make $100 million.
817
00:32:40,288 --> 00:32:42,524
(MIMMICKING MENAHEM)
"This will be an
epic of cinema."
818
00:32:42,590 --> 00:32:46,794
Menahem told me once that they
went to, on New Year's Eve,
819
00:32:46,861 --> 00:32:48,263
to Times Square,
820
00:32:48,330 --> 00:32:50,832
where the millions of people
are standing there,
821
00:32:50,899 --> 00:32:52,968
and they had tears
in their eyes
822
00:32:53,035 --> 00:32:55,203
and they hugged each
other, and they said,
823
00:32:55,270 --> 00:32:58,473
"Next year,
we're gonna get the Oscar."
824
00:32:58,540 --> 00:33:01,676
NARRATOR: The incredible
Lou Ferrigno is
825
00:33:01,743 --> 00:33:03,045
Hercules.
826
00:33:03,111 --> 00:33:04,646
SYBIL:
Lou spoke to Menahem
827
00:33:04,712 --> 00:33:07,349
and said he wanted to have it
be more of a family movie.
828
00:33:07,415 --> 00:33:09,251
I disagreed. I could have seen
829
00:33:09,317 --> 00:33:11,886
a version that would
have been more sexy.
830
00:33:11,954 --> 00:33:14,222
LUIGI COZZI: He had the script
in his hand, and he said,
831
00:33:14,289 --> 00:33:16,624
"This piece of shit!" Boom!
832
00:33:16,691 --> 00:33:20,262
And threw the script
in the basket and said,
833
00:33:20,328 --> 00:33:23,966
"I asked for a movie
for kids with Hercules"
834
00:33:24,032 --> 00:33:26,634
"and here is Hercules
getting blow jobs."
835
00:33:26,701 --> 00:33:29,204
You know, he was
crazy about that.
836
00:33:29,271 --> 00:33:32,807
I told, "I wanna do fantasy
Hercules, not realistic."
837
00:33:32,874 --> 00:33:35,477
It was kids' stuff.
I wanted to do kids' stuff.
838
00:33:38,546 --> 00:33:40,348
(ROARS)
839
00:33:40,415 --> 00:33:44,652
But it did have the bombshell
girl, like Sybil Danning.
840
00:33:44,719 --> 00:33:47,122
LUIGI COZZI: She was
gorgeous. Beautiful costumes.
841
00:33:47,189 --> 00:33:50,358
I was told,
"When you're in that costume,
it becomes dangerous."
842
00:33:51,093 --> 00:33:52,627
(GROANS)
843
00:33:52,694 --> 00:33:56,931
Luigi convinced everyone to do
a special effects Hercules
844
00:33:56,999 --> 00:33:59,467
with the most crude
special effects in the world.
845
00:33:59,534 --> 00:34:02,037
Done very simple because
they had to be done cheap.
846
00:34:04,139 --> 00:34:05,640
SYBIL:
Hercules on a budget.
847
00:34:05,707 --> 00:34:09,077
Maybe there are some special
effects which work better,
848
00:34:09,144 --> 00:34:11,546
and some special effects
which are worse.
849
00:34:11,613 --> 00:34:13,281
I wanted them
all to be perfect,
850
00:34:13,348 --> 00:34:15,350
but they could not be
all perfect.
851
00:34:15,417 --> 00:34:18,153
But if you have the sense
of wonder, who cares?
852
00:34:21,556 --> 00:34:25,827
MGM put a lot of marketing
money into that.
They believed in it.
853
00:34:25,893 --> 00:34:28,496
Hercules did very, very well
at the box office
854
00:34:28,563 --> 00:34:29,864
all over the world.
855
00:34:29,931 --> 00:34:31,433
FRANK YABLANS:
Maybe it was a hit
in comparison
856
00:34:31,499 --> 00:34:33,801
to all the other
garbage they gave us,
857
00:34:33,868 --> 00:34:36,171
but it was not
a major hit, no.
858
00:34:36,238 --> 00:34:38,040
The good thing about Menahem
859
00:34:38,106 --> 00:34:40,842
is he could hear
an idea from somebody,
860
00:34:40,908 --> 00:34:44,046
like his daughter seeing
a break-dancer
on Venice Beach,
861
00:34:44,112 --> 00:34:46,081
and in a relatively short
amount of time,
862
00:34:46,148 --> 00:34:47,849
there is a movie
being made about it.
863
00:34:47,915 --> 00:34:49,951
This, this is a new
dance, this will grab
the whole world.
864
00:34:50,018 --> 00:34:51,719
ALLEN DEBOISE:
He just said, "Okay,
we're making this movie",
865
00:34:51,786 --> 00:34:53,521
"we're going into production
in three weeks."
866
00:34:53,588 --> 00:34:55,123
We didn't have a script, a
cast, we didn't have anything.
867
00:34:55,190 --> 00:34:56,791
* Breakin'
and you just don't stop
868
00:34:56,858 --> 00:34:59,061
* Here comes the movie
that's fresh and hot
869
00:34:59,127 --> 00:35:00,962
* With high energy,
dancin' to the beat
870
00:35:01,029 --> 00:35:03,065
* With a scratch-mix sound
that comes from the street *
871
00:35:03,131 --> 00:35:06,468
Breakin' was like the Enter
the Dragon of hip-hop,
872
00:35:06,534 --> 00:35:08,636
'cause he had
the best of the best.
873
00:35:08,703 --> 00:35:11,539
There were no stuntmen,
and we weren't actors,
we were all green.
874
00:35:11,606 --> 00:35:14,209
They just said,
"Put 'em on camera."
875
00:35:16,544 --> 00:35:18,580
PIETER JAN BRUGGE: Boogaloo
Shrimp and Shabba-Doo.
876
00:35:18,646 --> 00:35:20,482
I don't even know
what their real names are.
877
00:35:20,548 --> 00:35:22,384
I played the leader,
the straight guy.
878
00:35:22,450 --> 00:35:23,751
I was the Dean Martin role
879
00:35:23,818 --> 00:35:26,754
and he was the funny little
sidekick, Jerry Lewis.
880
00:35:26,821 --> 00:35:28,923
The way people perceived me
in the neighborhood
881
00:35:28,990 --> 00:35:30,425
or just around the world,
882
00:35:30,492 --> 00:35:32,927
they perceived me as some
sort of urban superhero.
883
00:35:32,994 --> 00:35:35,430
We look up to him
because a lot
884
00:35:35,497 --> 00:35:37,699
of what has been invented
885
00:35:37,765 --> 00:35:39,000
has come from him.
886
00:35:39,067 --> 00:35:41,069
Boogaloo Shrimp
was a sensation.
887
00:35:41,136 --> 00:35:43,605
(HEAVY BREATHING)
888
00:35:43,671 --> 00:35:46,308
The whole place
would just stop
and just watch him.
889
00:35:46,374 --> 00:35:49,311
He would just start going
and going and going
and it was like...
890
00:35:49,377 --> 00:35:51,413
I don't even know where
he came up with that stuff.
891
00:35:51,479 --> 00:35:53,748
(HEAVY BREATHING)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
892
00:35:53,815 --> 00:35:56,684
Lucinda Dickey was
no more than a gymnast,
893
00:35:56,751 --> 00:35:58,153
but Menahem liked her.
894
00:35:58,220 --> 00:35:59,454
He called and he's like,
895
00:35:59,521 --> 00:36:01,856
"I'm gonna make you
my next big star."
896
00:36:01,923 --> 00:36:06,628
Lucinda Dickey didn't really
fit in the Breakin' film
from our point of view.
897
00:36:06,694 --> 00:36:08,029
We resented her.
898
00:36:08,096 --> 00:36:10,098
LUCINDA: It was hell at
times. I'm not gonna lie.
899
00:36:10,165 --> 00:36:11,699
He made it known
from the very first day
900
00:36:11,766 --> 00:36:14,969
that I walked into rehearsals
that he was superior.
901
00:36:15,036 --> 00:36:16,838
He couldn't do what I did,
902
00:36:16,904 --> 00:36:20,007
but it didn't matter
because the movie
wasn't about jazz dancing.
903
00:36:20,074 --> 00:36:21,409
It was about breakdancing.
904
00:36:21,476 --> 00:36:23,311
SAM: Obviously
she was an outsider,
905
00:36:23,378 --> 00:36:26,281
but I believe,
when you see the movie today,
906
00:36:26,348 --> 00:36:27,715
this element works
907
00:36:27,782 --> 00:36:29,484
because that's how
the story goes,
908
00:36:29,551 --> 00:36:32,019
that she's an outsider
that has to be accepted in.
909
00:36:32,086 --> 00:36:37,259
There are lines in
the movie that were just
so true and real.
910
00:36:37,325 --> 00:36:38,460
She ain't no street dancer.
911
00:36:38,526 --> 00:36:40,027
She knows nothing
about what we do.
912
00:36:40,094 --> 00:36:41,296
There was a high drama
913
00:36:41,363 --> 00:36:43,131
because Orion Pictures
914
00:36:43,198 --> 00:36:46,268
was making a movie
called Beat Street
at the same time.
915
00:36:46,334 --> 00:36:47,769
Menahem at the time
famously said...
916
00:36:47,835 --> 00:36:49,571
(MIMICKING MENAHEM)
"We must beat Beat Street!"
917
00:36:49,637 --> 00:36:53,175
This was the race to be
the first breakdance movie.
918
00:36:53,241 --> 00:36:55,210
Whatever could be assembled
919
00:36:55,277 --> 00:36:57,579
in enough time to make
the release date
920
00:36:57,645 --> 00:36:59,947
was what the movie
was going to end up being.
921
00:37:00,014 --> 00:37:04,186
That movie had to make it
in that year, in 1984,
it had to make it.
922
00:37:04,252 --> 00:37:07,189
If it didn't, we wouldn't know
hip-hop as we know it today.
923
00:37:07,255 --> 00:37:09,191
The rest is history
924
00:37:09,257 --> 00:37:11,259
because it became
one of their most popular
and highest-grossing films.
925
00:37:11,326 --> 00:37:13,261
It showed leadership
and it showed camaraderie
926
00:37:13,328 --> 00:37:15,096
between the different races,
927
00:37:15,163 --> 00:37:18,266
so it really did something
the United Nations was
unable to do so far,
928
00:37:18,333 --> 00:37:20,835
is bring nations
together under one groove.
929
00:37:20,902 --> 00:37:23,438
Our movie did better numbers
than Beat Street.
930
00:37:23,505 --> 00:37:27,475
NARRATOR: This year,
the big hit for Golan
and Globus is Breakin'.
931
00:37:27,542 --> 00:37:29,544
It cost just over
$1 million to make
932
00:37:29,611 --> 00:37:32,747
and has so far taken in
more than $56 million.
933
00:37:32,814 --> 00:37:36,418
Unfortunately, it led
to Menahem thinking,
934
00:37:36,484 --> 00:37:37,985
"I've figured it out."
935
00:37:38,052 --> 00:37:39,621
* This story's through
but wait till part two *
936
00:37:39,687 --> 00:37:41,423
Menahem comes in
and he says,
937
00:37:41,489 --> 00:37:43,558
"We're going to
do a sequel."
938
00:37:43,625 --> 00:37:46,561
"The name of the sequel
is Electric Boogaloo."
939
00:37:47,295 --> 00:37:48,730
And so it was.
940
00:37:48,796 --> 00:37:50,432
(MIMICKING MENAHEM)
"We will do what
Fred Astaire did.
941
00:37:50,498 --> 00:37:52,234
"Shrimpy will dance
on the ceiling."
942
00:37:52,300 --> 00:37:53,968
And he got it.
943
00:37:54,035 --> 00:37:56,170
* Take me high.
944
00:37:57,972 --> 00:38:00,408
Breakin' II was
more of a cartoon.
945
00:38:00,475 --> 00:38:03,345
The whole hospital scene,
it was silly.
946
00:38:09,617 --> 00:38:12,186
It missed the grittiness
that the first one had.
947
00:38:12,254 --> 00:38:15,156
MICHAEL: Were over
here at East LA with pastels.
948
00:38:15,223 --> 00:38:16,724
(CHUCKLING)
That was Cannon.
949
00:38:16,791 --> 00:38:21,128
"Let's really make LA clean
and beautiful like a rainbow."
950
00:38:21,195 --> 00:38:23,164
It really took away
from the authenticity.
951
00:38:23,231 --> 00:38:24,799
(RECORD SCRATCHING)
952
00:38:24,866 --> 00:38:25,900
I cried about it.
953
00:38:25,967 --> 00:38:27,569
We had lost sight
of the message.
954
00:38:27,635 --> 00:38:29,471
PIETER: I simply
thought it was a fad,
955
00:38:29,537 --> 00:38:32,307
it was over, but the movies
actually did make an impact
956
00:38:32,374 --> 00:38:34,208
upon the youthful audience
of its day.
957
00:38:34,276 --> 00:38:38,880
So they had their finger
on the pulse of something,
once in a while.
958
00:38:38,946 --> 00:38:40,348
But most of the time,
959
00:38:40,415 --> 00:38:43,318
the pulse was on something
that was so misguided.
960
00:38:43,385 --> 00:38:45,019
(MIMICKING MENAHEM)
"We are going to New York,"
961
00:38:45,086 --> 00:38:46,821
"we are making my movie,"
962
00:38:46,888 --> 00:38:48,055
"great, great title."
963
00:38:48,122 --> 00:38:49,424
And were all
sitting there,
964
00:38:49,491 --> 00:38:50,758
were all like,
"What's the title, Menahem?"
965
00:38:50,825 --> 00:38:51,826
"My Darling Shiksa."
966
00:38:51,893 --> 00:38:53,761
You can take
your darling shiksa
967
00:38:53,828 --> 00:38:56,163
and you can spend
the rest of your fakakta life
968
00:38:56,230 --> 00:38:58,132
in Brooklyn
in a candy store.
969
00:38:58,199 --> 00:38:59,767
You idiot!
970
00:38:59,834 --> 00:39:02,404
ELLIOTT: An audience
would say, "What's a shiksa?"
971
00:39:02,470 --> 00:39:05,106
A shiksa is a woman
that isn't Jewish,
972
00:39:05,172 --> 00:39:08,510
and the character is with
a woman who isn't Jewish,
973
00:39:08,576 --> 00:39:12,113
which causes great chagrin
to the family.
974
00:39:12,179 --> 00:39:13,448
The second day
we were working,
975
00:39:13,515 --> 00:39:14,916
Golan came up to Elliot
976
00:39:14,982 --> 00:39:16,618
and it was somewhat
of a critical scene.
977
00:39:16,684 --> 00:39:18,152
It was the point
in the movie
978
00:39:18,219 --> 00:39:21,323
where Elliot is going to
confess to Margaux Hemingway
979
00:39:21,389 --> 00:39:22,757
that he is
in love with her.
980
00:39:22,824 --> 00:39:24,659
How'd you like to spend
the rest of your life
981
00:39:24,726 --> 00:39:29,030
with a sloppy,
diabetic Jew
982
00:39:29,096 --> 00:39:32,434
who some day is going
to be a top restaurateur?
983
00:39:33,535 --> 00:39:34,636
I love you, sweetheart.
984
00:39:34,702 --> 00:39:36,237
After the
first rehearsal,
985
00:39:36,304 --> 00:39:38,873
Golan goes, "Elliot, Elliot,
Elliot, no, no, no, no, no."
986
00:39:38,940 --> 00:39:40,141
And the whole crew
we're standing there,
987
00:39:40,207 --> 00:39:41,476
we're going,
"Oh, boy."
988
00:39:41,543 --> 00:39:42,810
And he goes, "Watch,
watch, watch, watch."
989
00:39:42,877 --> 00:39:44,346
"Margaux, you
come here, come here."
990
00:39:44,412 --> 00:39:45,680
"Come. Come
to Menahem."
991
00:39:45,747 --> 00:39:48,750
"Okay. I love you.
I love you."
992
00:39:48,816 --> 00:39:50,251
You know, and you just
sit there and you go,
993
00:39:50,318 --> 00:39:51,653
"Oh, my God.
This is insane."
994
00:39:51,719 --> 00:39:55,623
We had an enormous fight,
an enormous fight
995
00:39:55,690 --> 00:39:59,126
and he closed down
the picture for a day or so.
996
00:39:59,193 --> 00:40:02,497
Menahem, you know,
I told him he was a cocksucker
997
00:40:02,564 --> 00:40:03,898
and he took me literally
998
00:40:03,965 --> 00:40:06,100
and I had to, in order
to get it going again,
999
00:40:06,167 --> 00:40:07,802
I said, "Oh, Menahem",
1000
00:40:07,869 --> 00:40:11,305
"I apologize for using
that kind of language."
1001
00:40:11,373 --> 00:40:13,575
"You're not
a cocksucker, okay?"
1002
00:40:13,641 --> 00:40:17,645
YABLANS: All you really want
when you're running a studio
is a hit movie,
1003
00:40:17,712 --> 00:40:20,648
but if you have films
like Cannon was supplying
1004
00:40:20,715 --> 00:40:23,585
it's an embarrassment
to the studio name.
1005
00:40:23,651 --> 00:40:25,387
Okay, we fucked up.
What's next?
1006
00:40:25,453 --> 00:40:27,622
John Derek
said one night,
1007
00:40:27,689 --> 00:40:29,657
"You know, what are we
doing all this for?"
1008
00:40:29,724 --> 00:40:31,493
"Why are we trying
to make good films?"
1009
00:40:31,559 --> 00:40:32,894
"You did 10."
1010
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,029
"All Hollywood ever
approaches you with"
1011
00:40:35,096 --> 00:40:36,798
"is to screw to Bolero."
1012
00:40:36,864 --> 00:40:38,833
NARRATOR:
Introducing Bo Derek.
1013
00:40:38,900 --> 00:40:40,835
Did you ever do it
to Ravels Bolero?
1014
00:40:41,769 --> 00:40:43,204
(COUGHS)
1015
00:40:43,270 --> 00:40:46,574
MAN: Bo, in a lot
of people's mind,
equaled sex.
1016
00:40:46,641 --> 00:40:48,843
MAN: She was the 10
of that period.
1017
00:40:48,910 --> 00:40:51,245
Everywhere we went,
she was recognized.
1018
00:40:51,312 --> 00:40:52,647
Our agent, Marty Baum, said,
1019
00:40:52,714 --> 00:40:55,216
"Look, if you guys wanna
just go make a film"
1020
00:40:55,282 --> 00:40:57,251
"and be totally
left alone,"
1021
00:40:57,318 --> 00:40:58,986
"there are two
new guys in town."
1022
00:40:59,053 --> 00:41:02,690
NARRATOR: Bo Derek,
in a John Derek film.
1023
00:41:02,757 --> 00:41:05,226
Bolero was a take-off
of Blood and Sand
1024
00:41:05,292 --> 00:41:08,229
and the old romantic
40s bullfight pictures.
1025
00:41:08,295 --> 00:41:10,197
(COUGHS)
1026
00:41:10,264 --> 00:41:14,802
WOMAN: Andrea Occhipinti
has been gored by a bull
in the balls.
1027
00:41:14,869 --> 00:41:17,038
And now he can't
do it anymore,
1028
00:41:17,104 --> 00:41:19,741
and so then the next
sort of half of the film
1029
00:41:19,807 --> 00:41:23,110
becomes about Bo taking
on bullfighting herself
1030
00:41:23,177 --> 00:41:26,180
and taking care
and nurturing her man.
1031
00:41:26,247 --> 00:41:27,482
Cut to,
she says...
1032
00:41:27,549 --> 00:41:28,916
That thing is
going to work.
1033
00:41:28,983 --> 00:41:30,852
One of my favorite
lines, by the way.
1034
00:41:30,918 --> 00:41:32,520
I guarantee
you this.
1035
00:41:32,587 --> 00:41:34,956
Then there's this
neon sign of ecstasy
1036
00:41:35,022 --> 00:41:37,425
as they're going for
a second round.
1037
00:41:38,826 --> 00:41:40,662
If you put Bo in
anything at that time
1038
00:41:40,728 --> 00:41:41,829
that John
was directing,
1039
00:41:41,896 --> 00:41:43,765
it was bound
to be erotica.
1040
00:41:43,831 --> 00:41:45,567
Her clothes would
always come off.
1041
00:41:45,633 --> 00:41:47,702
Riding a horse,
terribly erect,
1042
00:41:47,769 --> 00:41:51,038
and I suppose others might be
as well while watching her.
1043
00:41:51,105 --> 00:41:54,075
BO: All of sudden, we started
getting letters from Menahem
1044
00:41:54,141 --> 00:41:56,143
that the film
wasn't strong enough.
1045
00:41:56,210 --> 00:41:59,647
"Make this as explicit and
strong as you possibly can."
1046
00:41:59,714 --> 00:42:01,549
It was controversial enough.
1047
00:42:01,616 --> 00:42:03,350
Look at you.
1048
00:42:03,417 --> 00:42:07,188
I am woman.
Ready. Juicy too.
1049
00:42:07,254 --> 00:42:10,892
BO: It had enough love scenes,
it had plenty of nudity.
1050
00:42:10,958 --> 00:42:12,894
I remember taking
the work print down
1051
00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:14,729
and screening it
for Frank Yablans
1052
00:42:14,796 --> 00:42:17,632
and saying, "Look, we've got
all these fights going on."
1053
00:42:17,699 --> 00:42:18,966
"They want
it stronger."
1054
00:42:19,033 --> 00:42:20,968
"I think you'll see
it's strong enough."
1055
00:42:21,035 --> 00:42:22,904
YABLANS: I really
don't remember.
1056
00:42:22,970 --> 00:42:25,473
All I know is that it was
another failed movie.
1057
00:42:25,540 --> 00:42:30,678
Making motion picture is
practically being in a war,
1058
00:42:30,745 --> 00:42:34,549
and there is,
in a war, wounded.
1059
00:42:34,616 --> 00:42:37,652
Menahem would call a press
conference and say,
1060
00:42:37,719 --> 00:42:39,353
"Bo and John,
they live on a ranch,"
1061
00:42:39,420 --> 00:42:40,755
"they don't even
live in Hollywood."
1062
00:42:40,822 --> 00:42:42,223
"They love
that ranch."
1063
00:42:42,289 --> 00:42:43,991
"Were going to take
that ranch away from them,"
1064
00:42:44,058 --> 00:42:46,093
and just crazy,
outrageous stuff.
1065
00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:49,230
And that the film
was too sexy,
what are we gonna do?
1066
00:42:49,296 --> 00:42:51,332
Poor Cannon Films,
were a good company,
1067
00:42:51,398 --> 00:42:53,968
and the Dereks were trying
to ruin our reputation.
1068
00:42:54,035 --> 00:42:56,938
And they were just
manipulating the press
at our expense.
1069
00:42:57,004 --> 00:42:58,940
MGM at that point,
I do believe,
1070
00:42:59,006 --> 00:43:01,809
decided to discontinue
the relationship with Cannon
1071
00:43:01,876 --> 00:43:03,410
as far as distributing
all of their films.
1072
00:43:03,477 --> 00:43:06,447
I told em, "Were not going to
go forward with this deal."
1073
00:43:06,514 --> 00:43:08,482
"You've reneged
on your deal."
1074
00:43:08,550 --> 00:43:10,217
"You've given us
nothing but junk."
1075
00:43:10,284 --> 00:43:12,820
Maybe we were a little bit
of a pawn in this game,
1076
00:43:12,887 --> 00:43:15,156
and they were using
us as a piece
1077
00:43:15,222 --> 00:43:18,025
because they no longer wanted
to distribute Cannon films.
1078
00:43:18,092 --> 00:43:21,763
Cannon had sort
of a terrible reputation
in this town
1079
00:43:21,829 --> 00:43:26,400
as, you know, sort of down
and dirty, which we were.
1080
00:43:26,467 --> 00:43:27,902
You would
open up Variety,
1081
00:43:27,969 --> 00:43:30,104
and there, a big double-page
spread for Bolero.
1082
00:43:30,171 --> 00:43:32,239
And these photos
were in my suitcase.
1083
00:43:32,306 --> 00:43:33,908
While they were
in Cannon's office
1084
00:43:33,975 --> 00:43:35,677
as we were waiting
to get another plane,
1085
00:43:35,743 --> 00:43:38,813
they went through my bags,
stole my photos,
1086
00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:42,850
and now they shamelessly,
brazenly use them in ads.
1087
00:43:42,917 --> 00:43:46,621
They didn't work according
to the Hollywood rules.
1088
00:43:46,688 --> 00:43:49,691
They were outlaws,
reckless, had no scruples.
1089
00:43:49,757 --> 00:43:53,595
There were a lot of
provocative things
said about them.
1090
00:43:53,661 --> 00:43:55,429
Carpetbaggers.
Rug salesmen.
1091
00:43:55,496 --> 00:43:57,331
Hustlers.
Carnival salesmen.
1092
00:43:57,398 --> 00:43:58,700
Cheapskates.
Junk peddlers.
1093
00:43:58,766 --> 00:44:00,201
Wheeler-dealers.
1094
00:44:00,267 --> 00:44:01,969
They were starting to get
known as the Go-Go Boys.
1095
00:44:02,036 --> 00:44:04,672
The Bagel Brothers.
I came up with
Mayhem and Urine.
1096
00:44:04,739 --> 00:44:06,507
I called them
the Bad News Jews.
1097
00:44:06,574 --> 00:44:10,244
There was certainly that kind
of anti-immigrant sensibility
1098
00:44:10,311 --> 00:44:11,946
in these
nicknames for them.
1099
00:44:12,013 --> 00:44:14,415
They were down-to-earth people
1100
00:44:14,481 --> 00:44:18,019
who just did the movies
the same way
that they did it back home.
1101
00:44:18,085 --> 00:44:20,154
They weren't part of
the Hollywood bullshit.
1102
00:44:20,221 --> 00:44:24,525
Hollywood, 90% is talk and
10% is making motion pictures.
1103
00:44:24,592 --> 00:44:26,460
We are motion pictures makers
1104
00:44:26,527 --> 00:44:27,895
and the world know about it.
1105
00:44:27,962 --> 00:44:29,396
Sometimes we make
better films,
1106
00:44:29,463 --> 00:44:31,799
sometimes we don't make
such good films,
1107
00:44:31,866 --> 00:44:33,635
but we do make films.
1108
00:44:34,936 --> 00:44:37,504
NARRATOR: It is
900 years after the great nuke
1109
00:44:37,571 --> 00:44:40,742
and the roles of women
have changed dramatically,
1110
00:44:40,808 --> 00:44:44,411
much to the displeasure
of men and mutants.
1111
00:44:44,478 --> 00:44:46,413
America 3000.
1112
00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:48,182
DAVID: Tongue-in-cheek
adventure comedy
1113
00:44:48,249 --> 00:44:50,785
in which women ruled
and men were slaves,
1114
00:44:50,852 --> 00:44:52,720
which every time I would
explain that to actresses
1115
00:44:52,787 --> 00:44:55,022
they always went,
"Ooh, I like that."
1116
00:44:55,089 --> 00:44:59,060
My interaction with them
was extremely brief.
1117
00:44:59,126 --> 00:45:01,528
It was the day
that I quit the film.
1118
00:45:01,595 --> 00:45:02,997
A call sheet
comes under the door
1119
00:45:03,064 --> 00:45:05,633
and I just threw it back
and I screamed,
1120
00:45:05,700 --> 00:45:07,101
"Fuck you!
Pay the crew!"
1121
00:45:08,035 --> 00:45:09,704
(GROANING)
1122
00:45:09,771 --> 00:45:12,874
"You people have a cash
register where your
heart should be."
1123
00:45:14,275 --> 00:45:15,810
This is the only copy
that I have
1124
00:45:15,877 --> 00:45:17,912
and this is what I think
of Cannon Films.
1125
00:45:17,979 --> 00:45:21,015
There were so many bad movies
being made at Cannon
1126
00:45:21,082 --> 00:45:23,184
that if something
of quality came out,
1127
00:45:23,250 --> 00:45:25,687
it was like
a happy accident.
1128
00:45:25,753 --> 00:45:27,521
I got a phone call
out of the blue
1129
00:45:27,588 --> 00:45:29,123
and it was
from Chuck Norris.
1130
00:45:29,190 --> 00:45:30,825
MAN: Chuck Norris
was already established
1131
00:45:30,892 --> 00:45:32,526
in the world of
martial art movies,
1132
00:45:32,593 --> 00:45:34,128
what they used to call
karate movies.
1133
00:45:34,195 --> 00:45:36,831
He wanted to branch out more
into bigger action pictures.
1134
00:45:36,898 --> 00:45:38,232
MAN: And I talked
Menahem into it,
1135
00:45:38,299 --> 00:45:40,034
I said, "I think
this is the right guy."
1136
00:45:40,101 --> 00:45:42,436
"Ah, but he can't act."
I said, "Well make him act."
1137
00:45:42,503 --> 00:45:44,772
NARRATOR: Vietnam, 1972.
1138
00:45:44,839 --> 00:45:47,108
Captured in
a savage jungle war.
1139
00:45:47,174 --> 00:45:49,944
We wanted to bring in
all of his abilities.
1140
00:45:51,879 --> 00:45:53,347
JAMES: The first time
in a movie
1141
00:45:53,414 --> 00:45:56,483
that really is a war movie
with explosions and shootings.
1142
00:45:56,550 --> 00:45:59,987
There is actually martial
arts in an extensive way.
1143
00:46:00,054 --> 00:46:02,289
They thought before the film
had even come out
1144
00:46:02,356 --> 00:46:03,791
that it was going
to be successful.
1145
00:46:03,858 --> 00:46:05,392
They wanted to do
a sequel right away,
1146
00:46:05,459 --> 00:46:07,528
so they decided to make
that in the Philippines
1147
00:46:07,594 --> 00:46:08,930
with Joe Zito directing.
1148
00:46:08,996 --> 00:46:10,531
DANIEL: Joe had gone
to the Philippines
1149
00:46:10,597 --> 00:46:11,733
and he said,
"I've looked at."
1150
00:46:11,799 --> 00:46:13,701
"Lance Hool's
Missing in Action."
1151
00:46:13,768 --> 00:46:15,970
"It's a disaster.
Chuck is terrible."
1152
00:46:16,037 --> 00:46:17,304
"It's shot badly."
1153
00:46:17,371 --> 00:46:19,073
"What I'm telling
Menahem and Yoram"
1154
00:46:19,140 --> 00:46:21,608
"is that if we release
our Missing in Action first,"
1155
00:46:21,675 --> 00:46:24,712
"we will create
a marketplace for
Lance's film."
1156
00:46:24,779 --> 00:46:26,213
"If Lance's film comes out,"
1157
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,182
"he's gonna kill the
business for our film."
1158
00:46:28,249 --> 00:46:30,284
BRUGGE:
The second one was
the better movie of the two
1159
00:46:30,351 --> 00:46:32,820
and rather than
kill the franchise
right off the bat
1160
00:46:32,887 --> 00:46:34,255
by showing them
in order,
1161
00:46:34,321 --> 00:46:37,158
they basically released
number two first.
1162
00:46:37,224 --> 00:46:41,295
NARRATOR: James Braddock
declares war.
1163
00:46:41,362 --> 00:46:43,030
I think it was a good
vehicle for Chuck Norris.
1164
00:46:43,097 --> 00:46:44,766
It didn't ask him
to do too much,
1165
00:46:44,832 --> 00:46:46,100
it played to his strength,
1166
00:46:46,167 --> 00:46:48,803
and it kind of evolved
his on-screen persona.
1167
00:46:48,870 --> 00:46:51,773
Globus was screaming
at Menahem in Hebrew
1168
00:46:51,839 --> 00:46:54,108
and I asked somebody,
"What's he saying?"
1169
00:46:54,175 --> 00:46:55,442
And he's saying...
He says...
1170
00:46:55,509 --> 00:46:58,145
"They're talking
about some karate guy,"
1171
00:46:58,212 --> 00:46:59,546
and Yoram is
yelling at him
1172
00:46:59,613 --> 00:47:02,683
because he signed him
to a five-picture deal
1173
00:47:02,750 --> 00:47:05,319
for $5 million,
1174
00:47:05,386 --> 00:47:09,056
and he wants to kill Menahem,
and that was Chuck Norris.
1175
00:47:09,123 --> 00:47:10,892
In the golden era
of Hollywood,
1176
00:47:10,958 --> 00:47:13,928
every studio had
a stable of stars,
1177
00:47:13,995 --> 00:47:17,498
so Cannon started to adopt
this thinking.
1178
00:47:17,564 --> 00:47:21,969
"We need stars that will
work for us constantly."
1179
00:47:22,036 --> 00:47:23,370
NARRATOR: Chuck Norris.
1180
00:47:23,437 --> 00:47:24,505
Charles Bronson.
1181
00:47:24,571 --> 00:47:26,207
WINTER: For someone
like Bronson,
1182
00:47:26,273 --> 00:47:28,175
who was phasing out
of a Hollywood career
1183
00:47:28,242 --> 00:47:30,477
in a Hollywood that did not
recognize him anymore,
1184
00:47:30,544 --> 00:47:32,579
that was one of
the only places to go.
1185
00:47:32,646 --> 00:47:35,382
MAN: Bronson, I think,
has more actual charisma,
1186
00:47:35,449 --> 00:47:37,284
but neither one of
them were actors.
1187
00:47:37,351 --> 00:47:40,521
You're beginning
to irritate me.
1188
00:47:40,587 --> 00:47:42,756
DAVID:
When I was reading scripts
for this company,
1189
00:47:42,824 --> 00:47:44,425
we were told
very plainly
1190
00:47:44,491 --> 00:47:46,828
everything we got
would go in two piles,
1191
00:47:46,894 --> 00:47:49,864
one for the two Chucks,
Bronson and Norris.
1192
00:47:49,931 --> 00:47:51,465
It could have been
Wuthering Heights,
1193
00:47:51,532 --> 00:47:52,699
which one is for Chuck
1194
00:47:52,766 --> 00:47:54,168
and which one
is for the other Chuck?
1195
00:47:54,235 --> 00:47:57,304
It was offered to Chuck Norris
to do this movie,
1196
00:47:57,371 --> 00:47:58,572
American Ninja.
1197
00:47:58,639 --> 00:48:00,274
NARRATOR: For 2,000 years,
1198
00:48:00,341 --> 00:48:03,177
the sacred art of the ninja
has been guarded in the East.
1199
00:48:04,211 --> 00:48:06,147
Now it has come to the West.
1200
00:48:06,213 --> 00:48:10,017
When Chuck Norris learned
that he has to be covered,
he declined.
1201
00:48:10,084 --> 00:48:11,585
He said,
"I am not covering myself."
1202
00:48:11,652 --> 00:48:13,821
"If I am on the screen,
I am Chuck Norris."
1203
00:48:18,125 --> 00:48:20,127
Who will be
the American ninja?
1204
00:48:20,194 --> 00:48:23,397
We saw, I believe,
more than 400 candidates,
1205
00:48:23,464 --> 00:48:25,232
and when Michael Dudikoff
walked in,
1206
00:48:25,299 --> 00:48:28,269
it was like,
"Wow, I saw
the American ninja."
1207
00:48:28,335 --> 00:48:30,704
Menahem said,
"The Dudikoff kid."
1208
00:48:30,771 --> 00:48:32,206
"Get the Dudikoff kid."
1209
00:48:32,273 --> 00:48:33,374
Who is he?
1210
00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:34,708
I don't know.
He's a new recruit.
1211
00:48:34,775 --> 00:48:36,277
I don't even know his name.
1212
00:48:36,343 --> 00:48:38,579
He possess
great skills.
1213
00:48:39,613 --> 00:48:41,148
(SCREAMS)
1214
00:48:47,221 --> 00:48:50,257
When I got American Ninja,
I stepped it up.
1215
00:48:50,324 --> 00:48:54,161
Anything that I had to do,
being Joe, the American Ninja,
1216
00:48:54,228 --> 00:48:55,897
I really wanted
to do well.
1217
00:48:56,497 --> 00:48:58,099
(TIRES SQUEAL)
1218
00:49:00,567 --> 00:49:02,769
Even before the movie
was finished,
1219
00:49:02,836 --> 00:49:04,205
it was obvious
1220
00:49:04,271 --> 00:49:06,540
that Dudikoff has the charisma
to be on the screen.
1221
00:49:06,607 --> 00:49:09,710
I remember Menahem saying
that he is going to be
the next James Dean.
1222
00:49:09,776 --> 00:49:12,079
MICHAEL:
I was gonna be Superman.
There are so many...
1223
00:49:12,146 --> 00:49:14,181
I was going to do
so many different roles.
1224
00:49:14,248 --> 00:49:15,917
I was Spider-Man at one time.
1225
00:49:15,983 --> 00:49:18,152
SAM:
Cannon did not pay attention
1226
00:49:18,219 --> 00:49:20,454
to brand the name Dudikoff
1227
00:49:20,521 --> 00:49:22,823
and to make sure
that instead of making
1228
00:49:22,890 --> 00:49:24,225
smaller and smaller movies,
1229
00:49:24,291 --> 00:49:26,127
he should make
bigger and bigger movies.
1230
00:49:26,193 --> 00:49:29,230
"We will.
We will!"
1231
00:49:30,331 --> 00:49:35,302
"Don't worry, Michael.
No, don't worry."
1232
00:49:40,274 --> 00:49:42,176
"It's only the beginning."
1233
00:49:42,243 --> 00:49:44,946
NARRATOR: This is Cannes,
home of the prestigious
film festival
1234
00:49:45,012 --> 00:49:46,547
which is held
every year.
1235
00:49:46,613 --> 00:49:50,084
You know about the glamour,
the Riviera, the stars,
1236
00:49:50,151 --> 00:49:53,620
but there's another side,
a business side you don't see.
1237
00:49:53,687 --> 00:49:56,357
They were going there
to sell and to make deals.
1238
00:49:56,423 --> 00:49:57,992
This was the
jewel of the crown
1239
00:49:58,059 --> 00:50:01,428
and they decided
to take it by storm.
1240
00:50:01,495 --> 00:50:04,765
The money that
they spent in Cannes
would have financed a film.
1241
00:50:04,831 --> 00:50:06,233
We'd take over
the Carlton Hotel,
1242
00:50:06,300 --> 00:50:08,235
put up as much
advertising as we could.
1243
00:50:08,302 --> 00:50:10,371
Posters everywhere,
everywhere.
1244
00:50:10,437 --> 00:50:11,973
"Cannon Group
presents..."
1245
00:50:12,039 --> 00:50:13,407
Full-page ads
in Variety,
1246
00:50:13,474 --> 00:50:15,276
full-page ads
in all the trades.
1247
00:50:15,342 --> 00:50:17,844
It almost became a joke,
I think, in the business,
1248
00:50:17,911 --> 00:50:19,413
because nobody
could just work out
1249
00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:20,681
how they were paying
for all this,
1250
00:50:20,747 --> 00:50:21,748
how they were
doing all this,
1251
00:50:21,815 --> 00:50:23,484
what was going on?
1252
00:50:23,550 --> 00:50:26,253
This limo comes up
and out gets Menahem,
like the Queen.
1253
00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:28,022
The Cannes Film Festival
1254
00:50:28,089 --> 00:50:29,991
became the Cannon
Film Festival.
1255
00:50:30,057 --> 00:50:32,626
A line of distributors
getting a number,
1256
00:50:32,693 --> 00:50:35,196
like in a barber shop,
to meet Yoram and me.
1257
00:50:35,262 --> 00:50:37,664
People come with a check,
people come with cash money.
1258
00:50:37,731 --> 00:50:39,500
"This film will be ready,
don't worry.
1259
00:50:39,566 --> 00:50:41,635
"I'll get it to you on time."
"Give me this picture too."
1260
00:50:41,702 --> 00:50:43,537
"This is the piece of crap
you really want"
1261
00:50:43,604 --> 00:50:45,372
"because people are going
to love this shit."
1262
00:50:45,439 --> 00:50:46,740
"Okay, you'll
pay a million?"
1263
00:50:46,807 --> 00:50:48,142
"Okay, million and one.
Million and two."
1264
00:50:48,209 --> 00:50:49,776
It was like being at
the fish market.
1265
00:50:49,843 --> 00:50:51,245
MAN: They used to sell
their film by the kilo.
1266
00:50:51,312 --> 00:50:52,913
Selling, buying,
selling, buying.
1267
00:50:52,980 --> 00:50:56,017
You hear Golan constantly
going, "Gunga Din, epic."
1268
00:50:56,083 --> 00:50:58,419
"Epic, I tell you.
Epic of the cinema."
1269
00:50:58,485 --> 00:51:00,154
He loved it.
He was on a high.
1270
00:51:00,221 --> 00:51:01,888
You'd meet some
Greek distributor,
1271
00:51:01,955 --> 00:51:04,758
who didn't speak English,
couldn't read English,
1272
00:51:04,825 --> 00:51:06,060
certainly couldn't
read a script,
1273
00:51:06,127 --> 00:51:07,528
but you had to sell him
a picture,
1274
00:51:07,594 --> 00:51:08,962
so you just showed
him a poster.
1275
00:51:09,030 --> 00:51:11,298
Outlandish poster art
for movies,
1276
00:51:11,365 --> 00:51:13,134
most of which
they never made.
1277
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:14,801
The film could have been
about anything,
1278
00:51:14,868 --> 00:51:17,004
and they would have had
a machine gun in the poster.
1279
00:51:17,071 --> 00:51:20,574
He would invent a story on
the spot and sell it to them.
1280
00:51:20,641 --> 00:51:23,277
"Charles Bronson
is The Golem."
1281
00:51:23,344 --> 00:51:25,779
I was in charge
of writing press releases
1282
00:51:25,846 --> 00:51:27,914
for non-existent movies
1283
00:51:27,981 --> 00:51:30,051
with no cast
and no stars
1284
00:51:30,117 --> 00:51:31,452
and frequently
no scripts.
1285
00:51:31,518 --> 00:51:33,320
I don't know that there's
anyone out there today
1286
00:51:33,387 --> 00:51:35,356
that has the reputation
that Menahem and Yoram had
1287
00:51:35,422 --> 00:51:37,758
for being such
effective salesmen.
1288
00:51:37,824 --> 00:51:40,094
They were the best wheelers
and dealers of the 80s.
1289
00:51:40,161 --> 00:51:41,595
There was a great
celebration
1290
00:51:41,662 --> 00:51:43,530
of throwing spaghetti
against the wall,
1291
00:51:43,597 --> 00:51:48,302
and whichever crazy ideas
he could get presales for,
1292
00:51:48,369 --> 00:51:49,770
those became the movies
we made.
1293
00:51:49,836 --> 00:51:52,073
The result is those films
were never very good.
1294
00:51:52,139 --> 00:51:54,375
If you had Chuck Norris
on that poster,
1295
00:51:54,441 --> 00:51:57,078
you knew exactly the picture
you were buying.
1296
00:51:57,144 --> 00:52:00,147
So all presale films
were predictable.
1297
00:52:00,214 --> 00:52:03,350
MAN ON PHONE: I have
for you Chuck Norris's
picture for April.
1298
00:52:03,417 --> 00:52:05,886
Killing, shooting, maiming!
Fabulous story.
1299
00:52:05,952 --> 00:52:08,155
You're going to love it.
Absolutely love it.
1300
00:52:08,222 --> 00:52:09,823
Bring me the script.
1301
00:52:09,890 --> 00:52:11,892
NARRATOR: They are an army
of international terrorists.
1302
00:52:11,958 --> 00:52:13,694
Their target, America.
1303
00:52:13,760 --> 00:52:17,464
DANIEL: In a way, Invasion USA
was a very prescient film.
1304
00:52:17,531 --> 00:52:19,733
We didn't really think
about terrorism,
1305
00:52:19,800 --> 00:52:21,868
and terrorism was more
of an abstract idea.
1306
00:52:21,935 --> 00:52:25,172
NARRATOR: No one thought
it could ever happen...
1307
00:52:25,239 --> 00:52:26,707
Here.
(PEOPLE SCREAMING)
1308
00:52:28,809 --> 00:52:30,844
The idea of boatloads
full of terrorists
1309
00:52:30,911 --> 00:52:33,247
landing on a beach
somewhere in Florida,
1310
00:52:33,314 --> 00:52:34,715
being picked up
by trucks
1311
00:52:34,781 --> 00:52:37,118
and being driven all over
the United States
1312
00:52:37,184 --> 00:52:39,320
to create random
acts of terror
1313
00:52:39,386 --> 00:52:41,122
was a bit of a
stretch for me.
1314
00:52:41,188 --> 00:52:42,523
What we were trying to do
1315
00:52:42,589 --> 00:52:45,659
was come up with
some big action picture
1316
00:52:45,726 --> 00:52:49,530
that would be a lot of fun
and larger than life.
1317
00:52:49,596 --> 00:52:50,664
Didn't work, huh?
1318
00:52:51,865 --> 00:52:53,534
Now it will.
1319
00:52:53,600 --> 00:52:55,302
(EXPLODING)
(SCREAMING)
1320
00:52:55,369 --> 00:52:56,770
They made Chuck a star.
1321
00:52:56,837 --> 00:52:58,239
(GUNS FIRING)
1322
00:52:58,305 --> 00:53:00,141
Now they were putting him
in a big-budget movie.
1323
00:53:00,207 --> 00:53:02,476
(ENGINE REVVING)
1324
00:53:02,543 --> 00:53:04,778
CHUCK NORRIS: The
shopping mall, of course,
has been the hardest
1325
00:53:04,845 --> 00:53:06,813
and most hair-raising, most
dangerous thing I've done.
1326
00:53:06,880 --> 00:53:09,916
Probably the most
dangerous stunt
I've ever done on film.
1327
00:53:09,983 --> 00:53:12,353
JAMES: They were
going to completely
rebuild it, gut it,
1328
00:53:12,419 --> 00:53:16,123
so we were allowed to
destroy everything.
1329
00:53:19,426 --> 00:53:21,295
They were going to
literally bulldoze
1330
00:53:21,362 --> 00:53:22,729
an entire suburban
neighborhood
1331
00:53:22,796 --> 00:53:25,299
to extend the runway
of Atlanta Airport.
1332
00:53:25,366 --> 00:53:26,933
And they were able to
blow the houses up.
1333
00:53:27,000 --> 00:53:28,435
(ROCKET FIRING)
(EXPLODING)
1334
00:53:36,643 --> 00:53:39,680
We had some really
great stuntmen working
on that picture.
1335
00:53:42,249 --> 00:53:44,084
The helicopter
on top of helicopters,
1336
00:53:44,151 --> 00:53:46,153
the tanks, people firing.
1337
00:53:46,220 --> 00:53:47,754
No, there's some great
stuff in that film.
1338
00:53:47,821 --> 00:53:49,956
When we had a screening
of the rough cut,
1339
00:53:50,023 --> 00:53:51,458
it was heart-wrenching.
1340
00:53:51,525 --> 00:53:54,261
The story, basically,
was edited out.
1341
00:53:54,328 --> 00:53:56,930
It's time.
1342
00:53:56,997 --> 00:53:58,332
(YELLING)
1343
00:53:58,399 --> 00:54:01,335
(ROCKET FIRING)
(EXPLODING)
1344
00:54:01,402 --> 00:54:05,071
There's a lot of great scenes,
but it's disjointed.
1345
00:54:05,138 --> 00:54:07,741
GOLDBLATT: Menahem and Yoram
were not particularly precious
1346
00:54:07,808 --> 00:54:10,611
about the process of
editing a picture
1347
00:54:10,677 --> 00:54:13,347
and the process of getting
it into a final cut.
1348
00:54:13,414 --> 00:54:18,385
"Okay, rewind. Now, cut,
cut, cut, cut, cut!"
1349
00:54:18,452 --> 00:54:20,921
He would start the
morning in his office,
1350
00:54:20,987 --> 00:54:23,757
listen to a pitch meeting,
go back, edit a trailer.
1351
00:54:23,824 --> 00:54:26,327
All the time, keep
suspense and action.
1352
00:54:26,393 --> 00:54:28,229
(VOCALIZING)
The scene is their voices.
1353
00:54:28,295 --> 00:54:30,063
"No! Help! Help! Help!"
1354
00:54:30,130 --> 00:54:33,967
Go back, meet an
actor, director, give notes
on a script, go back,
1355
00:54:34,034 --> 00:54:35,402
change three cuts.
1356
00:54:35,469 --> 00:54:36,970
"That's terrific.
That's great, that's great."
1357
00:54:37,037 --> 00:54:39,406
"This is shit!
This is shit!"
"Trim that! Trim that!
1358
00:54:39,473 --> 00:54:41,542
"This is good!
This is good!"
"Cut negative!"
1359
00:54:41,608 --> 00:54:43,244
"It's the same shit
you looked at yesterday."
1360
00:54:43,310 --> 00:54:44,745
"No, no, no, it's
good shit today."
1361
00:54:44,811 --> 00:54:47,381
The problem is they loved
cinema in the abstract.
1362
00:54:47,448 --> 00:54:49,750
I don't think,
in my experience,
1363
00:54:49,816 --> 00:54:52,519
that they really knew
what it was like to love
something so much
1364
00:54:52,586 --> 00:54:56,557
that you were patient
and took the time
and went through the pain
1365
00:54:56,623 --> 00:54:59,560
of seeing it
through draft after
draft after draft,
1366
00:54:59,626 --> 00:55:01,995
admitting to yourself that
it might not be right yet.
1367
00:55:02,062 --> 00:55:07,133
You could take
150, 500 scripts,
put them in an office,
1368
00:55:07,200 --> 00:55:10,136
have a monkey go inside
and pick 70 of them,
1369
00:55:10,203 --> 00:55:12,339
and he'd be on par with
Golan and Globus.
1370
00:55:12,406 --> 00:55:14,308
NARRATOR: In the tail
of Halley's Comet,
1371
00:55:14,375 --> 00:55:16,410
there's something wrong,
1372
00:55:16,477 --> 00:55:18,279
something evil,
1373
00:55:18,345 --> 00:55:20,881
something hungry.
1374
00:55:20,947 --> 00:55:21,948
(NARRATOR READING)
1375
00:55:23,183 --> 00:55:24,685
(SCREAMING)
Whoa!
1376
00:55:24,751 --> 00:55:26,420
Did someone get the license
number of that movie?
1377
00:55:26,487 --> 00:55:28,589
This is the wildest thing
I've seen in ages.
1378
00:55:28,655 --> 00:55:30,357
It starts as an
outer-space movie,
1379
00:55:30,424 --> 00:55:32,058
then becomes a vampire movie,
1380
00:55:32,125 --> 00:55:34,160
then turns into an
end-of-the-world movie.
1381
00:55:34,227 --> 00:55:37,398
(SNARLING)
I think I know the word
to describe this film.
1382
00:55:37,464 --> 00:55:39,933
Berserk!
(SCREAMING)
1383
00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:41,535
Tobe Hooper's Ben-Hur.
1384
00:55:41,602 --> 00:55:43,870
At the time, it was
their biggest budget film.
1385
00:55:43,937 --> 00:55:48,875
It has something
major happening in terms
of grand spectacle
1386
00:55:48,942 --> 00:55:50,677
about every 60 seconds,
1387
00:55:50,744 --> 00:55:54,615
with incredible
mechanical effects,
physical and optical effects,
1388
00:55:54,681 --> 00:55:58,552
nudity, because the humanoid
creatures are found nude
1389
00:55:58,619 --> 00:56:00,521
in these crystal sarcophagi.
1390
00:56:00,587 --> 00:56:03,690
Finding Mathilda May was
an achievement, actually,
1391
00:56:03,757 --> 00:56:07,328
one of the most striking
young women I've ever seen.
1392
00:56:07,394 --> 00:56:09,363
When I saw the rushes,
I... I just died,
1393
00:56:09,430 --> 00:56:13,900
and knew that we would
never, ever get away with
the British censor.
1394
00:56:13,967 --> 00:56:17,270
Her private parts area
was like a bikini!
1395
00:56:17,338 --> 00:56:19,139
You'll never believe
what I'm looking at.
1396
00:56:19,205 --> 00:56:20,941
JOHN GROVER: And this was
supposed to be a mystery about
1397
00:56:21,007 --> 00:56:23,744
this beautiful woman that
was gonna destroy London.
1398
00:56:23,810 --> 00:56:25,779
MAN: That girl was no girl.
1399
00:56:25,846 --> 00:56:29,316
She's totally alien to this
planet and our life form,
1400
00:56:29,383 --> 00:56:30,951
and totally dangerous.
1401
00:56:35,389 --> 00:56:37,391
Golan and Globus
took a risk.
1402
00:56:37,458 --> 00:56:38,892
It was a big risk with this,
1403
00:56:38,959 --> 00:56:40,927
especially halfway
through the picture,
1404
00:56:40,994 --> 00:56:43,096
when we were
four months behind.
1405
00:56:43,163 --> 00:56:45,366
They weren't worried
about the amount of time
1406
00:56:45,432 --> 00:56:46,767
it was taking
to shoot the film.
1407
00:56:46,833 --> 00:56:49,169
It had to do with
watching the dailies
1408
00:56:49,235 --> 00:56:52,639
and loving the scope of
what they were producing.
1409
00:56:52,706 --> 00:56:55,476
They now were in another
level of filmmaking.
1410
00:56:55,542 --> 00:56:58,779
GROVER: They wanted
to make the biggest
picture of the year.
1411
00:56:58,845 --> 00:57:02,416
They were small fry
in a very big pond.
1412
00:57:02,483 --> 00:57:06,152
All these films that
they made were
bizarre, plot-wise.
1413
00:57:06,219 --> 00:57:08,689
I mean, they were made up
on the spot half the time.
1414
00:57:08,755 --> 00:57:11,157
"Marriage Venetian Style."
1415
00:57:11,224 --> 00:57:12,659
"A Holiday in Rome."
1416
00:57:12,726 --> 00:57:15,328
"Holiday in Rome."
"A Holiday in Venice."
1417
00:57:15,396 --> 00:57:16,730
(CHUCKLES)
1418
00:57:16,797 --> 00:57:18,331
"Marriage in Venice."
"Marriage in Venice."
1419
00:57:18,399 --> 00:57:19,866
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
1420
00:57:19,933 --> 00:57:22,102
Yeah?
Yeah. "Marriage in Venice."
In Venice.
1421
00:57:22,168 --> 00:57:24,070
Or... "Stop That Marriage."
1422
00:57:24,137 --> 00:57:27,140
Menahem had lots
of ideas. Too many ideas,
some people say.
1423
00:57:27,207 --> 00:57:30,377
He would say,
"I want music
like Poltergeist."
1424
00:57:30,444 --> 00:57:33,547
And I was like, "Poltergeist
is a 100-piece orchestra."
1425
00:57:33,614 --> 00:57:35,115
And he goes, "You idiot!"
1426
00:57:35,181 --> 00:57:38,552
"We get 50 musicians
and we have them
play the music twice!"
1427
00:57:38,619 --> 00:57:42,122
There was a series of books
that go on about a monkey,
1428
00:57:42,188 --> 00:57:45,225
kind of like Curious George,
but it was an Israeli
series of books.
1429
00:57:45,291 --> 00:57:47,761
Clyde the orangutan from
Every Which Way But Loose
1430
00:57:47,828 --> 00:57:50,697
came to the office
with his agent.
1431
00:57:50,764 --> 00:57:52,198
Clyde was very hot
at that point,
1432
00:57:52,265 --> 00:57:54,901
and he's here with
some Beverly Hills
lawyers in suits.
1433
00:57:54,968 --> 00:57:58,238
(LAUGHING) Menahem's
sitting next to an orangutan
1434
00:57:58,304 --> 00:58:02,709
and deciding whether
to sign the orangutan,
to put him under contract,
1435
00:58:02,776 --> 00:58:06,447
and he turns to the woman
who's head of publicity
1436
00:58:06,513 --> 00:58:09,315
and says, "Would you
fuck this monkey?"
1437
00:58:09,382 --> 00:58:10,617
(WHINES)
1438
00:58:10,684 --> 00:58:12,786
They go, "So, go on.
What's the story?"
1439
00:58:12,853 --> 00:58:15,656
And he said, "Look,
it's about this kid
who goes to Africa."
1440
00:58:15,722 --> 00:58:19,426
"He is without his parents,
but he has this guy
who takes care of him."
1441
00:58:19,493 --> 00:58:20,994
"And when they
come off the boat,"
1442
00:58:21,061 --> 00:58:24,330
"all of a sudden,
they see you!"
1443
00:58:24,397 --> 00:58:26,900
And he looked
at the monkey.
1444
00:58:26,967 --> 00:58:27,868
And from now on,
1445
00:58:27,934 --> 00:58:29,436
he kept talking
to the monkey.
1446
00:58:29,503 --> 00:58:32,005
"Okay, we're in the jungle.
There is a monkey."
1447
00:58:32,072 --> 00:58:33,674
"You, Clyde,
you're the monkey."
1448
00:58:33,740 --> 00:58:35,576
"And, you know,
there's a kid,"
1449
00:58:35,642 --> 00:58:37,711
"and the kid is being
attacked by the tribes,"
1450
00:58:37,778 --> 00:58:41,181
"but the monkey saves him,
but now he must go
on his uncle's ship."
1451
00:58:41,247 --> 00:58:43,083
"The monkey cannot
go with him,"
1452
00:58:43,149 --> 00:58:46,119
"so now the ship
is leaving and the kid,
his heart is broken."
1453
00:58:46,186 --> 00:58:47,320
"It's broken!"
1454
00:58:47,387 --> 00:58:49,389
"And you love the boy."
1455
00:58:49,456 --> 00:58:51,525
"You love the boy."
1456
00:58:51,592 --> 00:58:53,660
"And you feel that
the boy love you."
1457
00:58:53,727 --> 00:58:57,397
Golan gets on his desk,
and he's literally standing
on his desk at this point...
1458
00:58:57,464 --> 00:58:59,500
"And you cut back
and you see the monkey,"
1459
00:58:59,566 --> 00:59:02,368
"and he's going,
'Help me! Help me!'"
1460
00:59:02,435 --> 00:59:04,671
And... It was crazy.
1461
00:59:04,738 --> 00:59:06,039
Talking to a monkey.
1462
00:59:06,106 --> 00:59:07,908
I remember one of the
agents going, like,
1463
00:59:07,974 --> 00:59:09,976
"Will the monkey be
talking in the movie?"
1464
00:59:10,043 --> 00:59:12,613
"We don't know that yet,
but it doesn't matter.
It's the emotion."
1465
00:59:12,679 --> 00:59:14,180
We did some
tests and, uh,
1466
00:59:14,247 --> 00:59:17,718
and the monkey either
bit the boy or something.
1467
00:59:17,784 --> 00:59:19,653
Two days later,
Menahem showed up
1468
00:59:19,720 --> 00:59:21,622
with a little guy,
1469
00:59:21,688 --> 00:59:24,625
who was a... Midget.
1470
00:59:24,691 --> 00:59:28,595
You know?
And he said,
1471
00:59:28,662 --> 00:59:30,997
"This is your new monkey."
1472
00:59:31,064 --> 00:59:32,265
(CHATTERS)
1473
00:59:32,332 --> 00:59:34,200
And he said, "Does he look
like a monkey or not?"
1474
00:59:34,267 --> 00:59:36,436
Everybody said, "Yeah,
he looks like a monkey."
1475
00:59:36,503 --> 00:59:39,172
But the truth
is he didn't.
1476
00:59:39,239 --> 00:59:40,473
Not at all.
1477
00:59:40,541 --> 00:59:42,509
And I went with
them to Africa...
1478
00:59:42,576 --> 00:59:44,645
Oh! Ohh!
1479
00:59:44,711 --> 00:59:47,581
And I felt really,
really embarrassed.
1480
00:59:47,648 --> 00:59:51,317
When we were in the
jungle, on the tree,
there were real monkeys
1481
00:59:51,384 --> 00:59:53,654
and I had the feeling that
they are laughing at me.
1482
00:59:53,720 --> 00:59:55,689
KRAFT: Usually, a bad idea
1483
00:59:55,756 --> 00:59:57,958
only happens once or twice.
1484
00:59:58,024 --> 00:59:59,960
Oh!
1485
01:00:00,026 --> 01:00:03,296
Bonzo love Ben.
1486
01:00:03,363 --> 01:00:05,098
Oh!
1487
01:00:05,165 --> 01:00:07,500
These were bad ideas
on a regular basis.
1488
01:00:07,568 --> 01:00:09,269
(MAN READING)
1489
01:00:09,335 --> 01:00:12,105
I don't care what
anyone says. It's...
It's a masterpiece.
1490
01:00:12,172 --> 01:00:14,374
NARRATOR: In
a world gone mad,
1491
01:00:14,440 --> 01:00:17,377
there is only
one law, his.
1492
01:00:17,443 --> 01:00:18,945
What's the problem?
1493
01:00:19,012 --> 01:00:21,181
We're stealin'
a fucking car.
What's it to you?
1494
01:00:21,247 --> 01:00:22,282
It's my car!
1495
01:00:23,617 --> 01:00:24,885
(GUN FIRING)
1496
01:00:24,951 --> 01:00:26,753
Total dog-pile
piece of shit.
1497
01:00:26,820 --> 01:00:30,356
The first movie
that Michael Winner did
was somewhat compelling.
1498
01:00:30,423 --> 01:00:32,092
But this is a cartoon.
1499
01:00:32,158 --> 01:00:35,228
It's practically
World War III in the
streets of New York.
1500
01:00:36,529 --> 01:00:38,331
(ROCKET FIRING)
(EXPLODING)
1501
01:00:38,398 --> 01:00:41,334
ALEX: Winner took
pleasure out of
presenting this world...
1502
01:00:41,401 --> 01:00:46,973
Where these grimy,
mostly minority
ghetto characters...
1503
01:00:47,040 --> 01:00:48,709
Come on, bitch!
Come on!
1504
01:00:48,775 --> 01:00:50,877
Would be
summarily executed
1505
01:00:50,944 --> 01:00:55,048
by more refined, more middle
to upper-class characters.
1506
01:00:55,115 --> 01:00:58,785
And I think that he
felt that that stage
could only get bigger.
1507
01:01:00,186 --> 01:01:01,588
(GUN FIRING)
1508
01:01:06,727 --> 01:01:09,095
(GROANING)
1509
01:01:09,162 --> 01:01:10,496
(TIRES SCREECHING)
1510
01:01:10,563 --> 01:01:11,765
(EXPLODING)
1511
01:01:11,832 --> 01:01:13,634
Yeah! Power, man!
1512
01:01:13,700 --> 01:01:16,670
Each film, the police
force gets smaller and
smaller and smaller,
1513
01:01:16,737 --> 01:01:19,873
and Bronson's
persona gets bigger,
bigger and bigger.
1514
01:01:19,940 --> 01:01:23,710
NARRATOR: Now the trap
is set. The fuse is lit.
1515
01:01:23,777 --> 01:01:25,511
Bronson is unleashed.
1516
01:01:25,578 --> 01:01:27,981
(NARRATOR READING)
1517
01:01:28,048 --> 01:01:30,183
Three, four and five
are a different...
1518
01:01:30,250 --> 01:01:33,186
They're related by blood,
but they're the family
we don't talk to.
1519
01:01:33,253 --> 01:01:35,822
I know that Charlie wanted
to make better movies.
1520
01:01:35,889 --> 01:01:37,624
We had that
conversation many times.
1521
01:01:37,691 --> 01:01:40,927
He didn't want to make
Death Wish 2, 3, 4 and 5.
1522
01:01:40,994 --> 01:01:42,663
I don't know how
they talked him into it.
1523
01:01:42,729 --> 01:01:43,997
He didn't really have
to do very much.
1524
01:01:44,064 --> 01:01:45,565
He had a Jaguar
that would drive him
1525
01:01:45,632 --> 01:01:47,500
from his dressing
room to the set,
1526
01:01:47,567 --> 01:01:49,870
which was usually
about three feet from
his dressing room.
1527
01:01:49,936 --> 01:01:52,773
It was more like
watching a man
golf than act.
1528
01:01:52,839 --> 01:01:55,141
MAN: Charles Bronson
and Bronson's stunt double
1529
01:01:55,208 --> 01:01:56,910
discuss the seemingly
simple task
1530
01:01:56,977 --> 01:01:58,945
of throwing groceries
at a moving car.
1531
01:01:59,012 --> 01:02:00,881
This is turned over
to a stunt double
1532
01:02:00,947 --> 01:02:03,884
in order to ensure
the safety of the star.
1533
01:02:03,950 --> 01:02:06,352
Well, we became the
garbage of the industry.
1534
01:02:06,419 --> 01:02:08,655
A place of last resort
to get movies made.
1535
01:02:08,722 --> 01:02:10,623
They were considered
schlockmeisters.
1536
01:02:10,691 --> 01:02:11,825
Schlock.
Schlock.
1537
01:02:11,892 --> 01:02:13,093
Schlock.
It's schlock.
1538
01:02:13,159 --> 01:02:14,728
But they sure do
make a lot of it.
1539
01:02:14,795 --> 01:02:16,229
They knew what
their reputation was.
1540
01:02:16,296 --> 01:02:18,431
They knew that everyone
saw them as kind of,
1541
01:02:18,498 --> 01:02:20,466
"Yeah, you guys do a lot
of stuff, but where's the,
where's the quality?"
1542
01:02:20,533 --> 01:02:23,569
And I think that, uh, they
wanted to do some projects
1543
01:02:23,636 --> 01:02:26,807
that not only would
bankroll their company,
1544
01:02:26,873 --> 01:02:28,909
but would bring them
a little more respect.
1545
01:02:28,975 --> 01:02:32,378
MENAHEM: I want to
sign with Bogdanovich
to a three-picture deal.
1546
01:02:32,445 --> 01:02:34,881
MAN: (ON PHONE) If you want
to buy Peter Bogdanovich,
1547
01:02:34,948 --> 01:02:37,083
let's say that you had
a project called XYZ...
1548
01:02:37,150 --> 01:02:39,853
Yeah, I'm not buying people.
I'm giving them opportunities.
1549
01:02:39,920 --> 01:02:43,589
"He should work with me
because I'm giving him
this opportunity,"
1550
01:02:43,656 --> 01:02:45,125
"and if he doesn't,
he's an idiot."
1551
01:02:45,191 --> 01:02:48,394
He needs a family because
he's now without a family.
1552
01:02:48,461 --> 01:02:51,331
And he's a loser and
he needs to be with the
winning, with the winners.
1553
01:02:51,397 --> 01:02:54,600
The artists that were
attracted to Cannon
1554
01:02:54,667 --> 01:02:57,603
probably didn't want to be,
in the beginning.
1555
01:02:57,670 --> 01:03:00,006
But once they
got to know Golan,
1556
01:03:00,073 --> 01:03:01,808
they realized
they found a patron.
1557
01:03:01,875 --> 01:03:04,644
Menahem Golan is a director.
1558
01:03:04,711 --> 01:03:08,882
You're dealing with
someone who does the
same thing you do,
1559
01:03:08,949 --> 01:03:10,917
who understands
what your problems are.
1560
01:03:10,984 --> 01:03:14,821
You're dealing with guys
who know every element
of the film business.
1561
01:03:14,888 --> 01:03:16,757
That, to me,
is terribly refreshing.
1562
01:03:16,823 --> 01:03:19,926
NARRATOR: Cannon Films
proudly presents
a motion picture event,
1563
01:03:19,993 --> 01:03:24,731
directed by internationally
acclaimed master filmmaker
Franco Zeffirelli.
1564
01:03:24,798 --> 01:03:26,566
Menahem loved Zeffirelli.
1565
01:03:26,632 --> 01:03:28,434
MICHAEL: You tell him,
"Listen, you can
get the lottery
1566
01:03:28,501 --> 01:03:30,303
"or sit with Zeffirelli
and make a movie with him."
1567
01:03:30,370 --> 01:03:33,073
He will take Zeffirelli
making a movie with him.
1568
01:03:33,139 --> 01:03:36,943
The film opera event
of our century, Otello.
1569
01:03:37,010 --> 01:03:39,279
(SINGING IN OTHER LANGUAGE)
1570
01:03:39,345 --> 01:03:40,781
Zeffirelli, Cannon.
1571
01:03:40,847 --> 01:03:42,282
JOHN: Franco
probably started out
1572
01:03:42,348 --> 01:03:44,350
by thinking how crude
these guys were
1573
01:03:44,417 --> 01:03:46,853
and then ended up
really appreciating them.
1574
01:04:07,640 --> 01:04:09,910
MAN: There was one
telegram that said,
1575
01:04:09,976 --> 01:04:14,647
"We are looking at the daily
and they looked like
they were created by God."
1576
01:04:14,714 --> 01:04:16,282
(FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI SPEAKING)
1577
01:04:29,896 --> 01:04:31,364
Someone like John Cassavetes,
1578
01:04:31,431 --> 01:04:33,733
who could not get
financing from anybody,
1579
01:04:33,800 --> 01:04:35,135
Menahem would
give him funding.
1580
01:04:35,201 --> 01:04:37,437
I'm going to do
a John Cassavetes film,
1581
01:04:37,503 --> 01:04:41,207
and once I accepted
this fact...
1582
01:04:42,308 --> 01:04:44,277
I had to give John Cassavetes
1583
01:04:44,344 --> 01:04:46,980
the full freedom
to create his film.
1584
01:04:47,047 --> 01:04:48,915
We were never committed
to make a film
1585
01:04:48,982 --> 01:04:50,750
that would please
the audience.
1586
01:04:50,817 --> 01:04:52,385
Now, if you came
to see our films,
1587
01:04:52,452 --> 01:04:54,054
you had to suffer
through them.
1588
01:04:54,120 --> 01:04:56,789
Do you believe that love
is a continuous stream?
1589
01:04:56,857 --> 01:05:00,526
MENAHEM: John Cassavetes
brought me a two hours
and 15 minutes movie.
1590
01:05:00,593 --> 01:05:04,097
I told John, "Go and cut out
15 minutes in the middle"
1591
01:05:04,164 --> 01:05:06,399
"and you'll see we'll get
a much better movie."
1592
01:05:06,466 --> 01:05:08,902
He said, "Menahem,
it will be done in
the next two days."
1593
01:05:08,969 --> 01:05:12,472
Two days later, he came
and the movie was
two and a half hours.
1594
01:05:12,538 --> 01:05:15,375
And I said, "John,
you added 15 minutes."
1595
01:05:15,441 --> 01:05:18,044
He said, "But it's, but it's
shorter, nevertheless."
1596
01:05:18,111 --> 01:05:20,413
AL: I think Menahem
got the film that he wanted.
1597
01:05:20,480 --> 01:05:23,416
I think it served a purpose
for Cannon Films.
1598
01:05:23,483 --> 01:05:26,052
He could then go
to any other director
1599
01:05:26,119 --> 01:05:31,191
and say, "Hey, look,
we just made a film
with John Cassavetes."
1600
01:05:31,257 --> 01:05:33,960
You know? "And you know
how difficult he can be."
1601
01:05:34,027 --> 01:05:37,463
"But that just goes
to show you how,
you know, how far we'll go"
1602
01:05:37,530 --> 01:05:39,332
"with a, with
another director."
1603
01:05:39,399 --> 01:05:41,034
Menahem Golan
and Yoram Globus are...
1604
01:05:41,101 --> 01:05:42,936
Are kind of
wild characters.
1605
01:05:43,003 --> 01:05:45,838
They make impulsive
decisions like signing up
Godard on a napkin.
1606
01:05:45,906 --> 01:05:49,475
We didn't have paper
and this was on the
table of the bar.
1607
01:05:49,542 --> 01:05:52,312
And this is
Mr. Jean-Luc Godard.
1608
01:05:52,378 --> 01:05:54,580
I love this project.
I believe in it.
1609
01:05:54,647 --> 01:05:56,549
I think it'll be
a great movie.
1610
01:05:56,616 --> 01:06:00,786
Godard said that he
would do, uh, King Lear
only with Norman Mailer.
1611
01:06:00,853 --> 01:06:03,389
Mailer. Oh, yes.
1612
01:06:04,690 --> 01:06:06,592
That is a good way to begin.
1613
01:06:06,659 --> 01:06:09,762
Godard wanted Norman to play
a writer named Norman Mailer
1614
01:06:09,829 --> 01:06:14,167
and he wanted Kate to play
a daughter of that writer,
named Kate Mailer,
1615
01:06:14,234 --> 01:06:16,202
and there was
a suggestion of incest.
1616
01:06:16,269 --> 01:06:18,238
Part of me thinks
that Godard did that
1617
01:06:18,304 --> 01:06:20,240
in the hopes that
Norman would quit,
1618
01:06:20,306 --> 01:06:22,375
and that led to
the famous phone call
1619
01:06:22,442 --> 01:06:24,644
that Godard recorded
without our permission.
1620
01:06:24,710 --> 01:06:26,779
JEAN-LUC GODARD: I must insist
1621
01:06:26,846 --> 01:06:31,451
that this movie, as promised,
which was already put
forward so many times,
1622
01:06:31,517 --> 01:06:34,087
will reach the
Cannes Festival.
1623
01:06:34,154 --> 01:06:35,788
This is my main concern.
1624
01:06:35,855 --> 01:06:39,792
MAN: No script, no make-up,
no hair, no costumes, nothing.
1625
01:06:39,859 --> 01:06:43,263
MOLLY RINGWALD:
I was walking with a horse
and I think I'm Joan of Arc,
1626
01:06:43,329 --> 01:06:46,032
and then I think I'm dead
on the rocks or something.
1627
01:06:46,099 --> 01:06:49,970
And I think I asked
him, "Am I supposed
to be dead or alive?"
1628
01:06:50,036 --> 01:06:51,404
"Am I sleeping?"
1629
01:06:51,471 --> 01:06:52,738
You know,
"What am I doing?"
1630
01:06:52,805 --> 01:06:54,307
And he was like...
(EXHALES)
1631
01:06:54,374 --> 01:06:56,742
Like it was the stupidest
question ever, you know?
1632
01:06:56,809 --> 01:07:00,146
Like, "Oh! Dead!" Like,
you know, "Pff!" You know?
1633
01:07:00,213 --> 01:07:02,448
It was not even
worthy of a response
1634
01:07:02,515 --> 01:07:05,818
and I thought,
"All right, I'm gonna go
with dead." (LAUGHING)
1635
01:07:05,885 --> 01:07:10,256
I'm sure it absolutely
was not what Cannon
Pictures was expecting.
1636
01:07:10,323 --> 01:07:11,958
TOM: When the first
images come on,
1637
01:07:12,025 --> 01:07:13,726
Menahem started
whispering to me,
1638
01:07:13,793 --> 01:07:16,963
"Tom Luddy, I will
kill you! Tom Luddy,
I will strangle you!"
1639
01:07:17,030 --> 01:07:18,364
"You don't fuck with Sabras."
1640
01:07:18,431 --> 01:07:20,133
I think he was
a bit disappointed
1641
01:07:20,200 --> 01:07:23,803
because Godard didn't
take Menahem seriously.
1642
01:07:23,869 --> 01:07:26,506
Golan always wanted to
make interesting pictures.
1643
01:07:26,572 --> 01:07:29,275
I mean, we would make
what we would call
1644
01:07:29,342 --> 01:07:31,011
"the engine that
pulled the train".
1645
01:07:31,077 --> 01:07:34,214
We would make one
picture that we'd know
we could presell
1646
01:07:34,280 --> 01:07:36,249
and then sneak in a bunch
of little ones with it.
1647
01:07:36,316 --> 01:07:37,883
We say to the
local distributor,
1648
01:07:37,950 --> 01:07:41,654
"Sorry, man, you have to
take John Cassavetes first"
1649
01:07:41,721 --> 01:07:43,723
"or you don't get
Charles Bronson."
1650
01:07:43,789 --> 01:07:45,858
That's how films like
Barfly get funded.
1651
01:07:45,925 --> 01:07:48,561
NARRATOR: Mickey Rourke.
FAY DUNAWAY: Just one thing.
1652
01:07:48,628 --> 01:07:51,097
I don't ever want
to fall in love.
1653
01:07:51,164 --> 01:07:52,298
NARRATOR: Faye Dunaway.
1654
01:07:52,365 --> 01:07:55,168
Don't worry. Nobody's
ever loved me yet.
1655
01:07:55,235 --> 01:07:56,836
(NARRATOR READING)
1656
01:07:56,902 --> 01:08:00,773
Those were the Cannon
days where you had
a meeting with Menahem,
1657
01:08:00,840 --> 01:08:05,011
you had a 90% chances of
walking away with a deal.
1658
01:08:05,078 --> 01:08:06,579
TOM: When we were
in pre-production,
1659
01:08:06,646 --> 01:08:08,448
and we already had Mickey
and we already had Faye,
1660
01:08:08,514 --> 01:08:10,050
when they said,
"We're stopping the shooting"
1661
01:08:10,116 --> 01:08:12,585
"unless you cut the
budget, cut your fees."
1662
01:08:12,652 --> 01:08:16,189
So I had to find something
to replace the lawyer
1663
01:08:16,256 --> 01:08:19,859
and I found the firm
Black & Decker. (LAUGHS)
1664
01:08:19,925 --> 01:08:23,263
Barbet went into Menahem's
office with a chainsaw.
1665
01:08:23,329 --> 01:08:25,065
(IMITATES CHAINSAW REVVING)
1666
01:08:25,131 --> 01:08:28,334
"For every day
I don't get my movie made,"
1667
01:08:28,401 --> 01:08:30,970
"I'm gonna cut one finger
and send it to you."
1668
01:08:31,037 --> 01:08:34,006
MENAHEM: As a matter
of fact, I love it that he
is ready to cut his finger,
1669
01:08:34,074 --> 01:08:38,010
because I am ready
to cut anything, my balls,
to make a film.
1670
01:08:38,078 --> 01:08:40,146
PIETER: He outsmarted Menahem
1671
01:08:40,213 --> 01:08:42,182
and that's how
that movie got made.
1672
01:08:42,248 --> 01:08:45,485
The movie didn't explode
the way I wanted
1673
01:08:45,551 --> 01:08:48,654
because it was perceived as
a movie about alcoholics.
1674
01:08:48,721 --> 01:08:50,623
DUNAWAY: We're all
in some kind of hell
1675
01:08:50,690 --> 01:08:52,492
and the madhouses
are the only places
1676
01:08:52,558 --> 01:08:55,261
where people know
they're in hell.
1677
01:08:55,328 --> 01:08:57,230
They had this terrible
kind of dichotomy about
1678
01:08:57,297 --> 01:08:59,332
making what they thought
were important films
1679
01:08:59,399 --> 01:09:00,833
and then being
able to sell them.
1680
01:09:00,900 --> 01:09:03,436
ALAIN: Even if the
movie was not a B movie,
1681
01:09:03,503 --> 01:09:07,073
the moment the Cannon logo
was showing up on the screen,
1682
01:09:07,140 --> 01:09:08,808
"Oh! That's
a Cannon movie."
1683
01:09:08,874 --> 01:09:12,345
What people expected
from Cannon, the films
that we made,
1684
01:09:12,412 --> 01:09:15,181
were low-budget,
lowbrow, action pictures.
1685
01:09:15,248 --> 01:09:17,950
You'd come along
with something that
was more interesting,
1686
01:09:18,017 --> 01:09:19,519
no one could
take it seriously.
1687
01:09:19,585 --> 01:09:21,387
NARRATOR: They
escaped together.
1688
01:09:21,454 --> 01:09:23,589
They achieved the impossible.
1689
01:09:23,656 --> 01:09:27,627
But their train to freedom
was out of control.
1690
01:09:27,693 --> 01:09:30,230
JOHN: You're not gonna
hear anyone not say
1691
01:09:30,296 --> 01:09:34,066
that Runaway Train is one
of the most incredible
films they've ever seen.
1692
01:09:34,134 --> 01:09:35,601
Runaway Train
is, quite simply,
1693
01:09:35,668 --> 01:09:37,770
one of the best adventure
movies I've ever seen,
1694
01:09:37,837 --> 01:09:40,273
a combination of
action and suspense
and desperate characters
1695
01:09:40,340 --> 01:09:42,142
that never stopped
surprising me.
1696
01:09:42,208 --> 01:09:44,910
I don't know how
closely you can almost
associate it with Cannon.
1697
01:09:44,977 --> 01:09:46,746
It was a film unto itself,
1698
01:09:46,812 --> 01:09:49,014
I think, with a very
visionary director
in his own right,
1699
01:09:49,081 --> 01:09:50,983
Andrei Konchalovsky.
1700
01:09:51,050 --> 01:09:53,353
The fact it got made,
I suppose, is some
sort of tribute to them,
1701
01:09:53,419 --> 01:09:55,155
that they actually did
give it a green light.
1702
01:09:55,221 --> 01:09:56,822
JOHN: I believe
firmly today
1703
01:09:56,889 --> 01:09:59,259
that if a studio had
made Runaway Train,
1704
01:09:59,325 --> 01:10:01,761
it would be
a classic forever.
1705
01:10:01,827 --> 01:10:05,064
PEARCE: Made by Orion,
it would have got
great respect, I think.
1706
01:10:05,131 --> 01:10:08,334
You're as afraid to
die as anybody else!
1707
01:10:08,401 --> 01:10:10,170
And I never let you free.
1708
01:10:10,236 --> 01:10:12,438
I'm free, Rankin.
1709
01:10:13,773 --> 01:10:15,040
I am free.
1710
01:10:15,107 --> 01:10:16,409
Made by Cannon, no.
1711
01:10:20,146 --> 01:10:23,949
They came in so
quick and they did so
many films so fast,
1712
01:10:24,016 --> 01:10:26,085
and everyone was always
looking around, like,
1713
01:10:26,152 --> 01:10:27,553
"How are they doing this?"
1714
01:10:27,620 --> 01:10:31,457
Michael Milken, he was
called the Junk Bond King.
1715
01:10:31,524 --> 01:10:33,226
CHRISTOPHER: He created
something called
1716
01:10:33,293 --> 01:10:34,627
the high yield
or junk-bond business.
1717
01:10:34,694 --> 01:10:37,062
That went from financing
bankrupt companies
1718
01:10:37,129 --> 01:10:39,532
to financing small,
growing companies.
1719
01:10:39,599 --> 01:10:44,504
Michael Milken
raised $300 million
for Cannon Pictures.
1720
01:10:44,570 --> 01:10:46,872
It really took
Hollywood by surprise
1721
01:10:46,939 --> 01:10:50,843
that Cannon now had the
ability to make picture
after picture after picture.
1722
01:10:50,910 --> 01:10:56,081
Major studios were
making six, seven, maybe
eight films a year.
1723
01:10:56,148 --> 01:10:58,584
Nobody was making
20 films a year.
1724
01:10:58,651 --> 01:11:01,354
Forty films a year.
Forty two movies.
1725
01:11:01,421 --> 01:11:05,090
Forty seven films a year.
Fifty two in-house films.
1726
01:11:05,157 --> 01:11:06,826
Almost average one a week.
1727
01:11:06,892 --> 01:11:08,093
Eighty four.
1728
01:11:08,160 --> 01:11:10,230
That's an entire
career there.
1729
01:11:10,296 --> 01:11:12,064
It was almost like
a bowel movement.
1730
01:11:12,131 --> 01:11:14,667
(LAUGHING) You make
a movie, it comes out,
1731
01:11:14,734 --> 01:11:16,602
you flush it and you
move on to another one.
1732
01:11:16,669 --> 01:11:19,772
This company grew up
and mushroomed so fast
1733
01:11:19,839 --> 01:11:23,476
just because of the energy
and the personality
of Menahem Golan.
1734
01:11:23,543 --> 01:11:25,211
The name of the
game is to do!
1735
01:11:25,278 --> 01:11:28,180
Not just to "Blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah,"
talk about it.
1736
01:11:28,248 --> 01:11:29,915
I'd have meetings
with Yoram one day
1737
01:11:29,982 --> 01:11:35,087
and Golan comes in and
he starts talking about
something in Budapest.
1738
01:11:35,154 --> 01:11:36,922
And we say, "What
are you talking about?"
1739
01:11:36,989 --> 01:11:39,359
"Oh, I forgot to tell
you, we're making
this film in Budapest."
1740
01:11:39,425 --> 01:11:40,793
"We're in the second
week of shooting."
1741
01:11:40,860 --> 01:11:42,362
We didn't even know
it was being made.
1742
01:11:42,428 --> 01:11:47,099
If something excites you,
be brave and go
1743
01:11:47,166 --> 01:11:49,969
and try to do it
good, but do it.
1744
01:11:50,035 --> 01:11:53,873
In England, Cannon
became a real threat to
the British film industry.
1745
01:11:53,939 --> 01:11:56,208
NARRATOR: Cannon
gained a place in
Britain's film line-up
1746
01:11:56,276 --> 01:11:59,412
when it took over Thorn-EMI
Screen Entertainment.
1747
01:11:59,479 --> 01:12:01,847
Suddenly they owned
Elstree Studios,
1748
01:12:01,914 --> 01:12:03,349
the Pathe film library,
1749
01:12:03,416 --> 01:12:05,351
and the ABC Cinema circuit.
1750
01:12:05,418 --> 01:12:07,520
With their own
Classic and Star chain,
1751
01:12:07,587 --> 01:12:11,924
this gave Golan and Globus
command of almost 40% of
the British cinema market.
1752
01:12:11,991 --> 01:12:14,360
We owned the big chain
in London, in England.
1753
01:12:14,427 --> 01:12:16,896
We owned the
big chain in Italy,
1754
01:12:16,962 --> 01:12:18,230
all the theaters in Holland.
1755
01:12:18,298 --> 01:12:20,533
They bought everything,
short of Harrods.
1756
01:12:20,600 --> 01:12:23,436
Cannon had all this money
and was anxious to spend it,
1757
01:12:23,503 --> 01:12:25,405
and they wanted to
spend it on stars.
1758
01:12:25,471 --> 01:12:28,173
They were, and I hope
you don't mind me using
the word, star-fuckers.
1759
01:12:28,240 --> 01:12:30,976
How many films
a star does a year? One?
1760
01:12:31,043 --> 01:12:33,279
What does he do
the rest of the year?
1761
01:12:33,346 --> 01:12:35,415
Forty weeks,
what does he do?
1762
01:12:35,481 --> 01:12:38,584
He goes to psychoanalysts,
he get divorced.
1763
01:12:38,651 --> 01:12:40,953
What does he do?
Okay?
1764
01:12:41,020 --> 01:12:42,922
So, he wants to work!
1765
01:12:42,988 --> 01:12:46,091
He said, "I want...
for the leading lady",
1766
01:12:46,158 --> 01:12:48,394
"I want, uh, that, uh..."
1767
01:12:48,461 --> 01:12:50,963
"The movie, the Stone movie,
you know the one."
1768
01:12:51,030 --> 01:12:52,832
"That's the one
I want. Get her."
1769
01:12:52,898 --> 01:12:55,401
RICHARD: And they get back
the first week of dailies
1770
01:12:55,468 --> 01:12:57,303
and he goes,
"Who is this fucking bitch?"
1771
01:12:57,370 --> 01:12:59,238
"I said, I want
that Stone woman."
1772
01:12:59,305 --> 01:13:02,074
Well, everybody thought
he was talking about
Sharon Stone.
1773
01:13:02,141 --> 01:13:05,611
He was talking about
Romancing the Stone,
which was Kathleen Turner.
1774
01:13:05,678 --> 01:13:07,680
That's who he thought
he'd cast in the movie.
1775
01:13:07,747 --> 01:13:09,181
I've got it!
1776
01:13:09,248 --> 01:13:13,353
NARRATOR: Richard Chamberlain
is Allan Quartermain in...
1777
01:13:13,419 --> 01:13:15,421
(NARRATOR READING)
1778
01:13:15,488 --> 01:13:18,924
CASSANDRA PETERSON:
At the time, Richard was
just an incredibly hot star,
1779
01:13:18,991 --> 01:13:20,726
so that impressed me.
1780
01:13:20,793 --> 01:13:23,529
"Well, they're not doing
the same schlocky stuff
they used to do before."
1781
01:13:23,596 --> 01:13:25,097
You know, little did
I know. (LAUGHS)
1782
01:13:25,164 --> 01:13:27,767
It was a bit of a spoof of
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
1783
01:13:29,802 --> 01:13:31,070
(SCREAMING)
1784
01:13:32,805 --> 01:13:34,306
(SCREAMING)
1785
01:13:34,907 --> 01:13:36,542
(EXPLODING)
1786
01:13:36,609 --> 01:13:38,878
You had the sense that
if you could think of
something funny to do
1787
01:13:38,944 --> 01:13:41,814
that wasn't out
of character, do it.
1788
01:13:41,881 --> 01:13:43,115
Surprise!
1789
01:13:43,182 --> 01:13:45,451
Great reflexes, boys.
1790
01:13:45,518 --> 01:13:47,587
PETERSON: It slowly
became apparent to me,
1791
01:13:47,653 --> 01:13:49,589
not that slowly,
pretty quickly,
1792
01:13:49,655 --> 01:13:54,059
that this was definitely
not going to be of the
Indiana Jones caliber.
1793
01:13:56,962 --> 01:13:58,498
Quartermain!
1794
01:13:58,564 --> 01:14:00,800
DANIEL: Chamberlain
was not Harrison Ford.
(GUN FIRING)
1795
01:14:00,866 --> 01:14:02,535
And Sharon Stone,
nobody knew who she was.
1796
01:14:02,602 --> 01:14:05,538
AVI: It was a tough time
to work with Sharon,
1797
01:14:05,605 --> 01:14:07,973
to a level that
none of the crew,
1798
01:14:08,040 --> 01:14:10,175
none of the assistants,
none of the make-up,
1799
01:14:10,242 --> 01:14:14,279
none of the people that
she worked day-by-day,
wanted to work with her.
1800
01:14:14,346 --> 01:14:16,382
(GASPS) I wanna scream!
1801
01:14:16,449 --> 01:14:17,417
She was hated on the set.
1802
01:14:17,483 --> 01:14:19,552
(SCREAMING)
1803
01:14:20,520 --> 01:14:21,754
All the South
Africans hated her.
1804
01:14:23,088 --> 01:14:25,057
She took a milk bath,
they peed in the water.
1805
01:14:25,124 --> 01:14:28,060
And when she
got in the water,
she's like, "Ew! Ew!"
1806
01:14:28,127 --> 01:14:30,262
"This water smells so funny."
1807
01:14:30,329 --> 01:14:31,731
(SNICKERING)
1808
01:14:31,797 --> 01:14:35,000
Richard Chamberlain himself
could not stand her.
1809
01:14:35,067 --> 01:14:36,301
What's wrong?
1810
01:14:36,368 --> 01:14:40,239
(SIGHS) Sharon's a difficult
person to understand.
1811
01:14:40,305 --> 01:14:43,509
She was incredibly beautiful.
She's very, very smart,
1812
01:14:43,576 --> 01:14:45,845
and talks about
how smart she is a lot.
1813
01:14:45,911 --> 01:14:48,147
NELSON: She should have
never done the second movie
1814
01:14:48,213 --> 01:14:50,583
if she had such a bad
time on the first one.
1815
01:14:50,650 --> 01:14:52,652
NARRATOR: The odds
are against them
1816
01:14:52,718 --> 01:14:55,421
and that's the way
they like it!
1817
01:14:55,488 --> 01:14:58,758
(NARRATOR READING)
1818
01:14:58,824 --> 01:15:01,961
I don't know why they
would want to do King
Solomon's Mines twice,
1819
01:15:02,027 --> 01:15:04,096
'cause the first one wasn't
very good to begin with.
1820
01:15:04,163 --> 01:15:05,498
Hold on!
1821
01:15:05,565 --> 01:15:07,399
RICHARD:
Well, my first question was,
1822
01:15:07,467 --> 01:15:08,901
"How much money
do you think you'll
be spending on it?"
1823
01:15:08,968 --> 01:15:10,536
And they said,
"Oh, probably $10 million."
1824
01:15:10,603 --> 01:15:13,806
I think they ended up
spending about $3.75 on it.
1825
01:15:13,873 --> 01:15:15,875
(SNARLING)
(GUN FIRING)
1826
01:15:15,941 --> 01:15:19,411
I signed on as
the villainess, Sorais.
1827
01:15:19,479 --> 01:15:21,146
They actually had
me in a harness
1828
01:15:21,213 --> 01:15:23,282
and were swinging
me over this pit.
1829
01:15:23,348 --> 01:15:25,284
I remember being scared
out of my freaking brain,
1830
01:15:25,350 --> 01:15:29,154
thinking, "Why am I doing this
and not a stunt person?"
1831
01:15:29,221 --> 01:15:31,290
"Oh, wait a minute.
There is no stunt person."
1832
01:15:31,356 --> 01:15:32,424
(BLOWS)
1833
01:15:32,492 --> 01:15:34,527
(SCREAMING)
1834
01:15:34,594 --> 01:15:40,500
Never had contact ever
with either Menahem or Yoram
until the end of the movie,
1835
01:15:40,566 --> 01:15:43,636
until, um, it was...
Judgment day.
1836
01:15:43,703 --> 01:15:45,838
We'd screen
a version of the film
1837
01:15:45,905 --> 01:15:48,808
and everybody would turn
to the back of the room,
where Menahem and Yoram were,
1838
01:15:48,874 --> 01:15:51,010
and they'd wait to see which
way the wind was blowing.
1839
01:15:51,076 --> 01:15:53,513
Every once in a while,
I heard, "Fakakta director",
1840
01:15:53,579 --> 01:15:56,281
you know, as I figured,
you know, I'm the fucking
director, you know?
1841
01:15:56,348 --> 01:15:59,519
So, I'm... "That's me.
I'm sitting right
behind you, you know".
1842
01:15:59,585 --> 01:16:01,453
Then the English
would come out.
1843
01:16:01,521 --> 01:16:05,257
"Why are those people
all blonde, walking
with white pajamas?"
1844
01:16:05,324 --> 01:16:06,425
"What's going on?"
1845
01:16:06,492 --> 01:16:09,461
And, "Oh, my God!
Yoram, look!"
1846
01:16:09,529 --> 01:16:12,397
"The queens!
Look at those queens!"
1847
01:16:12,464 --> 01:16:14,199
"They're supposed
to be ugly!"
1848
01:16:14,266 --> 01:16:18,303
I come to find out that they
had gotten my movie confused
1849
01:16:18,370 --> 01:16:21,240
with one that Tobe Hooper
was making at the same time.
1850
01:16:21,306 --> 01:16:24,710
He never would admit
that he was confused.
1851
01:16:24,777 --> 01:16:27,046
He never said,
"Oh, I'm wrong," you know.
1852
01:16:27,112 --> 01:16:29,849
"I'll look at your picture
in a different light." No.
1853
01:16:31,150 --> 01:16:34,119
He said, "The picture
is un-releasable!"
1854
01:16:34,186 --> 01:16:36,055
I said, "Menahem, please."
1855
01:16:36,121 --> 01:16:39,458
I said, "As I came down
the halls to your office",
1856
01:16:39,525 --> 01:16:43,929
"on either side are posters
of films that you have done"
1857
01:16:43,996 --> 01:16:47,700
"that are totally
un-releasable that
you have released!"
1858
01:16:47,767 --> 01:16:49,835
"So don't tell me
it's un-releasable."
1859
01:16:49,902 --> 01:16:52,705
MAN: Golan's real dream
always was to be a studio.
1860
01:16:52,772 --> 01:16:54,774
They moved out of
low-class offices
1861
01:16:54,840 --> 01:16:56,776
and suddenly bought
an entire building.
1862
01:16:56,842 --> 01:17:00,379
And had to have
security guards with
Uzis at the front desk.
1863
01:17:00,445 --> 01:17:01,814
I think there had
been death threats.
1864
01:17:01,881 --> 01:17:03,282
"Menahem, there's
a bomb threat!"
1865
01:17:03,348 --> 01:17:05,685
"Somebody's gonna
blow up the building!"
1866
01:17:05,751 --> 01:17:07,452
(MIMICKING MENAHEM)
"Tell them to go
fuck themselves!"
1867
01:17:07,519 --> 01:17:10,222
The joke company wasn't
such a joke anymore.
1868
01:17:10,289 --> 01:17:12,792
REPORTER: Menahem Golan
took time off from his duties
1869
01:17:12,858 --> 01:17:15,294
as chairman of the board
of Hollywood's Cannon Films
1870
01:17:15,360 --> 01:17:18,764
to personally produce
and direct Delta Force.
1871
01:17:18,831 --> 01:17:20,866
This is a hijack!
1872
01:17:20,933 --> 01:17:25,905
NARRATOR: It's a new age
of terror that requires
a new breed of warrior.
1873
01:17:25,971 --> 01:17:31,276
MENAHEM: We worked on
a screenplay to tell a story
of new American heroes,
1874
01:17:31,343 --> 01:17:34,446
tell a story of the real
modern American drama.
1875
01:17:34,513 --> 01:17:41,120
This was absolutely
a fairytale reaction
to a real-life TWA hijacking.
1876
01:17:41,186 --> 01:17:43,155
JAMES: The hostages
hadn't been released,
1877
01:17:43,222 --> 01:17:46,692
so he got the idea
of sending me to Beirut.
1878
01:17:46,759 --> 01:17:48,293
He was gonna sneak me
across the border
1879
01:17:48,360 --> 01:17:50,262
and I was supposed to go
to the Beirut airport
1880
01:17:50,329 --> 01:17:52,364
and find out what
was going on and
report back to him
1881
01:17:52,431 --> 01:17:54,466
so he could come up with
an ending for the picture.
1882
01:17:54,533 --> 01:17:58,370
Everybody want to see
the American president
taking a firm state
1883
01:17:58,437 --> 01:18:03,976
and using whatever he
has in America, like the
Delta Force, for solutions.
1884
01:18:04,043 --> 01:18:05,778
It's a go. Take 'em down.
1885
01:18:05,845 --> 01:18:08,047
We don't move until
the women and children
are away and safe.
1886
01:18:08,113 --> 01:18:10,149
SHARON KAHN:
This was the happy ending
1887
01:18:10,215 --> 01:18:12,417
that a lot of people felt
should have happened.
1888
01:18:12,484 --> 01:18:14,854
(ROCKET FIRING)
(EXPLODING)
1889
01:18:14,920 --> 01:18:17,857
It was September in Israel.
1890
01:18:17,923 --> 01:18:20,459
It was the hottest
point of the year.
1891
01:18:20,525 --> 01:18:23,328
Way over 100 degrees
Fahrenheit in that airplane.
1892
01:18:23,395 --> 01:18:26,866
But Menahem, sweating
harder than anybody
else in that movie,
1893
01:18:26,932 --> 01:18:30,369
pushing, shoving,
making that movie happen
and getting his shots,
1894
01:18:30,435 --> 01:18:33,405
and as a director, he was
one of the best directors
I ever worked for.
1895
01:18:33,472 --> 01:18:37,076
He wasn't afraid to
grab the thing and say,
"Do it like this!"
1896
01:18:37,142 --> 01:18:40,646
Shelley Winters and Menahem
had some rip-roaring fights.
1897
01:18:40,713 --> 01:18:42,481
Sit down!
1898
01:18:42,547 --> 01:18:45,317
"Menahem, I cannot
do it! I'm dying!"
1899
01:18:45,384 --> 01:18:48,420
He said, you know,
"Do it and then die."
1900
01:18:48,487 --> 01:18:50,322
That's Menahem.
1901
01:18:50,389 --> 01:18:54,526
ALAIN: Every movie
he directed always
had a cartoonish side.
1902
01:18:54,593 --> 01:18:55,795
(ROCKET FIRING)
(EXPLODING)
1903
01:18:55,861 --> 01:18:58,097
Every time I was
trying to reduce it,
1904
01:18:58,163 --> 01:19:00,465
he was yelling that
I was killing his movie.
1905
01:19:00,532 --> 01:19:01,767
It's an action movie.
1906
01:19:04,269 --> 01:19:06,839
With apologies to
the guys who have
to play the bad guys,
1907
01:19:06,906 --> 01:19:08,741
somebody's got
to carry the flag.
1908
01:19:12,577 --> 01:19:14,847
(ROCKET FIRING)
(EXPLODING)
1909
01:19:14,914 --> 01:19:16,682
You cannot hide
your head in the sand
1910
01:19:16,749 --> 01:19:18,417
and say there is not
violence out there.
1911
01:19:18,483 --> 01:19:20,652
The key point is, how do
you deal with violence?
1912
01:19:20,720 --> 01:19:22,321
That's what's important,
1913
01:19:22,387 --> 01:19:23,923
and that's what
we try to demonstrate
on the screen.
1914
01:19:23,989 --> 01:19:26,525
This, I think, is
an exploitation movie
1915
01:19:26,591 --> 01:19:28,627
in the very worst
sense of the term,
1916
01:19:28,694 --> 01:19:30,529
blatantly and
brainlessly concocted
1917
01:19:30,595 --> 01:19:34,233
to inspire vengeful hatred
toward Arabs and Palestinians.
1918
01:19:34,299 --> 01:19:36,201
(ROCKET FIRING)
(EXPLODING)
1919
01:19:36,268 --> 01:19:40,205
If you kill Arabs, uh...
You have to be
politically correct.
1920
01:19:40,272 --> 01:19:42,007
(GUNS FIRING)
1921
01:19:45,577 --> 01:19:48,447
Menahem didn't care about
being politically correct.
1922
01:19:48,513 --> 01:19:50,249
(GUN FIRING)
1923
01:19:51,550 --> 01:19:53,719
Sleep tight, sucker.
1924
01:19:53,786 --> 01:19:56,355
REPORTER: To celebrate
the move to their
new headquarters
1925
01:19:56,421 --> 01:19:58,390
and the opening
of Delta Force,
1926
01:19:58,457 --> 01:20:01,126
Golem and Globus
invited Hollywood
to a black-tie party.
1927
01:20:01,193 --> 01:20:03,763
A black-tie opening for
a Chuck Norris film!
1928
01:20:03,829 --> 01:20:06,298
It's gonna be a blockbuster
of the century!
1929
01:20:06,365 --> 01:20:09,001
Delighted to see you.
Delighted to see you. Okay.
1930
01:20:09,068 --> 01:20:10,836
Dude, it's
a Chuck Norris film!
1931
01:20:10,903 --> 01:20:14,039
RUSTY: I remember
thinking there's
something really wrong
1932
01:20:14,106 --> 01:20:16,141
about putting a party
in a parking structure
1933
01:20:16,208 --> 01:20:17,743
where nobody
can ever stand up.
1934
01:20:17,810 --> 01:20:20,312
Everybody was kind of,
like, leaning.
1935
01:20:20,379 --> 01:20:23,548
And I thought,
"This is a bad omen
for this company."
1936
01:20:23,615 --> 01:20:28,220
It seemed from that
point on that things
started getting
1937
01:20:28,287 --> 01:20:29,989
a little, a little
dicey at the company.
1938
01:20:30,055 --> 01:20:33,592
Cannon expanded
too much too fast.
1939
01:20:33,658 --> 01:20:39,264
We had films going
in Asia, Africa,
Europe, the United States.
1940
01:20:39,331 --> 01:20:41,000
How can you control
it? It's a mess.
1941
01:20:41,066 --> 01:20:42,667
They didn't have the
money to make 50 films.
1942
01:20:42,734 --> 01:20:45,938
They're raising it on
the next 50 and the next 50.
1943
01:20:46,005 --> 01:20:49,074
They were busy selling
and making deals
1944
01:20:49,141 --> 01:20:51,743
in order to keep
the company afloat.
1945
01:20:51,811 --> 01:20:56,481
Every Friday,
Yoram needed $5 million
just to continue.
1946
01:20:56,548 --> 01:21:00,019
MENAHEM: I can't be worried
because I'm too busy
making the movies
1947
01:21:00,085 --> 01:21:02,788
and I'm so excited
and I'm so into it.
1948
01:21:02,855 --> 01:21:05,157
I believe that we know
what we are doing
1949
01:21:05,224 --> 01:21:07,827
and I believe that
our future is safe.
1950
01:21:07,893 --> 01:21:08,994
Roll camera.
1951
01:21:09,061 --> 01:21:10,562
MAN 1: Mark.
MAN 2: Marker!
1952
01:21:10,629 --> 01:21:13,765
Set.
And action!
1953
01:21:13,833 --> 01:21:19,839
NARRATOR: David Gardner
just woke up to a nightmare
in his own backyard.
1954
01:21:19,905 --> 01:21:21,373
But no one will listen.
1955
01:21:21,440 --> 01:21:24,743
And soon,
no one will be left.
1956
01:21:24,810 --> 01:21:25,845
Tobe Hooper's...
1957
01:21:25,911 --> 01:21:27,646
(NARRATOR READING)
1958
01:21:27,712 --> 01:21:31,350
TOBE: I wanted to capture,
or, I should say, recapture
1959
01:21:31,416 --> 01:21:35,520
those images that literally
burned holes in my mind,
1960
01:21:35,587 --> 01:21:38,257
in my imagination and
dreams when I was a child.
1961
01:21:38,323 --> 01:21:41,393
I liked the idea of being
uptight and paranoid
1962
01:21:41,460 --> 01:21:44,529
to the point where
finally you're afraid
of your parents
1963
01:21:44,596 --> 01:21:47,399
and where there is really
no safe place to go.
1964
01:21:47,466 --> 01:21:49,801
WILLIAM: The tone
of the film was off.
1965
01:21:49,869 --> 01:21:53,839
It wasn't as
serious as I think
it should have been.
1966
01:21:53,906 --> 01:21:55,274
It seemed
a little bit silly.
1967
01:21:55,340 --> 01:21:57,809
The film missed
really connecting with
1968
01:21:57,877 --> 01:22:01,280
the deep fears people
would have in
identifying with a child
1969
01:22:01,346 --> 01:22:03,215
who can no longer
trust his parents.
1970
01:22:03,282 --> 01:22:04,884
Menahem and Yoram
hated the film.
1971
01:22:04,950 --> 01:22:08,253
They really felt
personally wounded by
what Tobe had done,
1972
01:22:08,320 --> 01:22:12,157
that he had basically
sold them on his vision
and he didn't deliver on it.
1973
01:22:12,224 --> 01:22:13,959
And I think that
really hurt them.
1974
01:22:14,026 --> 01:22:17,429
What got everybody
excited about Tobe
with Texas Chainsaw,
1975
01:22:17,496 --> 01:22:20,032
which was really kind
of a raw experience.
1976
01:22:20,099 --> 01:22:22,301
TOBE: Chainsaw wasn't
just a horror film.
1977
01:22:22,367 --> 01:22:24,937
It had a lot of
reflection of society.
1978
01:22:25,004 --> 01:22:28,473
It totally changed
the genre of horror.
1979
01:22:28,540 --> 01:22:32,011
Cannon wanted Tobe to do
a sequel to Chainsaw.
1980
01:22:32,077 --> 01:22:33,645
They wanted it desperately.
1981
01:22:33,712 --> 01:22:37,482
NARRATOR: Now, after more
than a decade of silence,
1982
01:22:37,549 --> 01:22:39,184
the buzz is back.
1983
01:22:39,251 --> 01:22:41,186
(CHAINSAW WHIRRING)
(SCREAMING)
1984
01:22:42,054 --> 01:22:44,689
I amplified the dark humor.
1985
01:22:44,756 --> 01:22:47,192
I'd felt that that was
missed in the first film.
1986
01:22:47,259 --> 01:22:49,328
Bubba's
got a girlfriend!
1987
01:22:49,394 --> 01:22:51,030
(SINGSONG)
Bubba's got a girlfriend!
1988
01:22:51,096 --> 01:22:53,332
Bubba's got a girlfriend!
Bubba's got a girlfriend!
1989
01:22:53,398 --> 01:22:54,833
Bubba's got a girlfriend!
(GROWLING AND LAUGHING)
1990
01:22:54,900 --> 01:22:57,502
Some people had been
calling it as "red humor".
1991
01:23:00,405 --> 01:23:06,345
Because it also made
up for the lack of
gore in Chainsaw 1.
1992
01:23:06,411 --> 01:23:08,013
(CHAINSAW WHIRRING)
(SCREAMING)
1993
01:23:10,782 --> 01:23:14,053
So, they show it.
First time Cannon's seen it.
1994
01:23:15,154 --> 01:23:18,190
Boys, boys, boys.
1995
01:23:18,257 --> 01:23:21,526
It was not what
they expected.
1996
01:23:21,593 --> 01:23:24,529
For some reason,
Cannon didn't realize
it was a comedy.
1997
01:23:24,596 --> 01:23:27,332
The small business man that
1998
01:23:27,399 --> 01:23:30,302
always, always, always
gets it in the ass!
1999
01:23:30,369 --> 01:23:32,904
ALAIN: Menahem and
Yoram are not very flexible
2000
01:23:32,972 --> 01:23:37,342
and if you sell them
a horror picture,
they want horror.
2001
01:23:37,409 --> 01:23:41,046
It was a shocker
for them to not know
what the film was.
2002
01:23:41,113 --> 01:23:42,647
We took the Chainsaw family
2003
01:23:42,714 --> 01:23:46,986
and copied the same poster
from The Breakfast Club,
2004
01:23:47,052 --> 01:23:49,654
and it went up
on Sunset Boulevard.
2005
01:23:49,721 --> 01:23:52,191
And Cannon didn't
know it was a comedy?
2006
01:23:52,257 --> 01:23:55,327
The audience
wasn't prepared
for the craziness
2007
01:23:55,394 --> 01:23:58,063
or the loony-ness
of Chainsaw 2.
2008
01:23:58,830 --> 01:24:00,299
They just wanted a scream.
2009
01:24:00,365 --> 01:24:03,835
And Tobe didn't want to make
another screaming movie.
2010
01:24:03,902 --> 01:24:05,204
(CHAINSAW WHIRRING)
2011
01:24:05,270 --> 01:24:08,173
The end of Chainsaw
was almost really
2012
01:24:08,240 --> 01:24:10,809
the public beginning
of the end for Cannon.
2013
01:24:10,875 --> 01:24:13,878
In October, their
accounting practices
came under the scrutiny
2014
01:24:13,945 --> 01:24:16,215
of the American Securities
and Exchange Commission.
2015
01:24:16,281 --> 01:24:21,186
At this point, the company
is not able to continue
to operate profitably.
2016
01:24:21,253 --> 01:24:23,655
The movies are not doing
well at the box office.
2017
01:24:23,722 --> 01:24:26,058
They have a large amount
of what is called
2018
01:24:26,125 --> 01:24:28,060
a selling and
administrative expense,
2019
01:24:28,127 --> 01:24:31,296
and now a very heavy
interest payment annually
2020
01:24:31,363 --> 01:24:33,098
from all of the
bonds and the debt
2021
01:24:33,165 --> 01:24:34,966
that they have taken
on to fund themselves.
2022
01:24:35,034 --> 01:24:37,569
Menahem asked Yoram...
2023
01:24:37,636 --> 01:24:40,439
"Why are you so
depressed? What's wrong?"
2024
01:24:40,505 --> 01:24:44,209
And Yoram said,
"You know, we owe
the bank $5 million."
2025
01:24:44,276 --> 01:24:47,046
And Menahem said,
"You know why I'm depressed?"
2026
01:24:47,112 --> 01:24:49,181
"Why we owe them
only $5 million?"
2027
01:24:49,248 --> 01:24:51,183
"I want to owe
them $100 million."
2028
01:24:51,250 --> 01:24:54,986
NARRATOR: Now we're on
the horizon of our second
decade of success,
2029
01:24:55,054 --> 01:24:59,791
with promising new talent
and established
box office names.
2030
01:24:59,858 --> 01:25:01,793
We're charged for excitement
2031
01:25:01,860 --> 01:25:05,330
and looking forward
to another decade
of blockbusters.
2032
01:25:05,397 --> 01:25:07,766
So look to Cannon
for the future.
2033
01:25:07,832 --> 01:25:11,270
Cannon Entertainment.
We're moving forward.
2034
01:25:11,336 --> 01:25:13,372
When people think we're
in financial trouble,
2035
01:25:13,438 --> 01:25:18,143
let's sign a huge
actor and announce
three big movies,
2036
01:25:18,210 --> 01:25:20,479
and what are they
gonna say now?
2037
01:25:20,545 --> 01:25:23,515
Tell me, the Stallone deal,
is it completely signed?
2038
01:25:23,582 --> 01:25:28,320
NELSON: He said, "I'm going
to direct Sylvester Stallone
in this next movie."
2039
01:25:28,387 --> 01:25:29,854
I said, "You're
fucking nuts."
2040
01:25:29,921 --> 01:25:33,592
"My client would not work
for you for $10 million."
2041
01:25:34,793 --> 01:25:36,728
Menahem said,
"How about $12 million?"
2042
01:25:36,795 --> 01:25:41,100
Menahem paid him
an unprecedented
amount of money.
2043
01:25:41,166 --> 01:25:43,335
$13 million.
$15 million.
2044
01:25:43,402 --> 01:25:46,037
$20 million.
$25 million.
2045
01:25:46,105 --> 01:25:49,241
Before that, probably the
max he'd ever been paid
was $4 or $5 million.
2046
01:25:49,308 --> 01:25:52,544
Every other star said,
"Yeah. I want that deal."
2047
01:25:52,611 --> 01:25:55,880
Changed the marketplace
within the Hollywood
community.
2048
01:25:55,947 --> 01:25:58,317
JOHN: Menahem believed
that Over The Top
2049
01:25:58,383 --> 01:26:01,686
was gonna be as big
as any Rocky or Rambo.
2050
01:26:02,987 --> 01:26:04,556
ENGELBACH: My original
script was different
2051
01:26:04,623 --> 01:26:05,990
than the movie that
they eventually made.
2052
01:26:06,057 --> 01:26:07,859
It wasn't nearly as dumb.
2053
01:26:07,926 --> 01:26:11,763
NARRATOR: The world
has always bet
against Lincoln Hawks,
2054
01:26:11,830 --> 01:26:14,766
but a winner never
listens to the odds.
2055
01:26:14,833 --> 01:26:17,102
They made it more
about truck-driving
and arm-wrestling
2056
01:26:17,169 --> 01:26:18,503
than the film
should have been.
2057
01:26:18,570 --> 01:26:20,872
Arm-wrestling was
a very strange selection.
2058
01:26:20,939 --> 01:26:22,541
(GRUNTS) And it's over!
2059
01:26:22,607 --> 01:26:24,343
(GRUNTING)
2060
01:26:24,409 --> 01:26:25,977
How do you make something
like that interesting?
2061
01:26:26,044 --> 01:26:28,313
ROSENTHAL: We're gonna have
great action sequences
2062
01:26:28,380 --> 01:26:30,982
where there's
gonna be two arms.
2063
01:26:31,049 --> 01:26:33,252
You might as well have
somebody talking like this,
2064
01:26:33,318 --> 01:26:36,121
"Hi, Sylvester.
How are you?"
2065
01:26:36,188 --> 01:26:38,223
It was definitely unique.
And who knows?
2066
01:26:38,290 --> 01:26:42,194
You could have been
plagued with 100 arm-wrestling
movies after that. (LAUGHS)
2067
01:26:42,261 --> 01:26:44,763
(YELLING)
2068
01:26:44,829 --> 01:26:47,266
At the end of the movie,
I had tears in my eyes.
2069
01:26:49,201 --> 01:26:51,069
Menahem patted me
on this shoulder.
2070
01:26:51,136 --> 01:26:52,771
He says, "Aha! I got you!"
2071
01:26:52,837 --> 01:26:54,573
(CROWD CHEERING)
2072
01:26:54,639 --> 01:26:56,841
I was crying 'cause
I saw my career going
down the toilet
2073
01:26:56,908 --> 01:26:59,344
and I didn't know
what I was gonna do next.
2074
01:26:59,411 --> 01:27:01,846
ROSENTHAL: Menahem was
out of touch with the reality
of what was going to be a hit
2075
01:27:01,913 --> 01:27:03,515
and what the audience
was going to want.
2076
01:27:03,582 --> 01:27:06,117
Over The Top broadcast
this idea of...
2077
01:27:06,185 --> 01:27:09,053
He thinks this is
what American kids
are gonna love,
2078
01:27:09,120 --> 01:27:10,455
and it was so...
2079
01:27:10,522 --> 01:27:12,324
It was a... You know,
he had no ear for it.
2080
01:27:12,391 --> 01:27:16,261
Selling American films
to Americans was not, uh...
2081
01:27:16,328 --> 01:27:17,829
Their sweet spot.
2082
01:27:17,896 --> 01:27:21,866
They had certain instincts
of where they wanted to go,
2083
01:27:21,933 --> 01:27:24,102
but they didn't quite
know how to get there.
2084
01:27:24,169 --> 01:27:28,440
They started diving in
and renewing franchises
such as Superman.
2085
01:27:28,507 --> 01:27:32,477
Cannon was being touted as,
"Look what they did."
2086
01:27:32,544 --> 01:27:35,113
"These two guys have
made it to big time."
2087
01:27:35,180 --> 01:27:38,583
JOHN: There's no reason
why Superman IV
wouldn't do well.
2088
01:27:38,650 --> 01:27:41,019
Probably could
have saved Cannon.
2089
01:27:41,085 --> 01:27:42,887
Cured many of
the financial woes
2090
01:27:42,954 --> 01:27:45,357
and created
acceptance in Hollywood
2091
01:27:45,424 --> 01:27:47,559
that probably would
have made them leaders.
2092
01:27:47,626 --> 01:27:49,494
You were rooting for them.
2093
01:27:49,561 --> 01:27:51,396
HARRISON ELLENSHAW:
Christopher Reeve did
not want to come back,
2094
01:27:51,463 --> 01:27:53,765
but he was seduced
by the fact,
2095
01:27:53,832 --> 01:27:56,935
"Chris, what would
you like the fourth
one to be about?"
2096
01:27:57,001 --> 01:27:58,937
ROSENTHAL: He had this idea,
which was essentially,
2097
01:27:59,003 --> 01:28:01,005
what would happen
if Superman decided
2098
01:28:01,072 --> 01:28:04,142
he was actually gonna use
his powers to stop war?
2099
01:28:04,209 --> 01:28:05,810
Effective immediately,
2100
01:28:05,877 --> 01:28:08,380
I'm going to rid our planet
of all nuclear weapons.
2101
01:28:08,447 --> 01:28:10,915
How could it fail? It failed.
2102
01:28:10,982 --> 01:28:14,619
ROSENTHAL: Menahem promised
us that we were gonna rise
to the Warners' level,
2103
01:28:14,686 --> 01:28:16,688
not do it like
a Cannon movie.
2104
01:28:16,755 --> 01:28:18,657
(LAUGHING) And, of course,
in the end, we did it
like a Cannon movie.
2105
01:28:18,723 --> 01:28:22,527
There was Nuclear Man,
a He-Man equal to Superman.
2106
01:28:22,594 --> 01:28:24,463
Sidney Furie says to me,
2107
01:28:24,529 --> 01:28:27,932
"We've found him.
We've found Nuclear Man."
2108
01:28:27,999 --> 01:28:31,035
"And he's an
ex-Chippendale dancer."
2109
01:28:31,102 --> 01:28:33,071
(ROARING)
2110
01:28:33,137 --> 01:28:37,309
And I'm just trying
to behave as the
visual effects dweeb
2111
01:28:37,376 --> 01:28:41,012
and going, "Oh, God.
We are in so much trouble."
2112
01:28:41,079 --> 01:28:44,283
I, Lex Luthor,
the greatest criminal
mind of the modern era,
2113
01:28:44,349 --> 01:28:46,351
have discovered a way
to destroy Superman.
2114
01:28:46,418 --> 01:28:51,523
Last month, Cannon announced
a loss of $90 million
for the two years 1985-86.
2115
01:28:51,590 --> 01:28:56,728
REPORTER: By mid-December,
Cannon must raise $80 million
to pay off a debt in Britain.
2116
01:28:56,795 --> 01:28:59,764
By production
of Superman, they
were already in freefall.
2117
01:28:59,831 --> 01:29:01,933
All they could do was
start to cut the budget.
2118
01:29:02,000 --> 01:29:04,536
DEL VALLE: This was
a movie that was supposed
to be $30 million,
2119
01:29:04,603 --> 01:29:07,672
and when they
start shooting it,
it's dropped to 17,
2120
01:29:07,739 --> 01:29:09,674
and it's a special
effects movie.
2121
01:29:09,741 --> 01:29:12,176
ELLENSHAW: I said,
"Hey, you want him to look
like the first one?
2122
01:29:12,243 --> 01:29:13,412
"This is what
it's gonna cost."
2123
01:29:13,478 --> 01:29:15,347
(SNORTS) Well, no way!
2124
01:29:15,414 --> 01:29:18,182
It was so cheap and
so chintzy-looking and
it just didn't look good.
2125
01:29:18,249 --> 01:29:21,219
All the ragged edges
of the production
were visible.
2126
01:29:21,286 --> 01:29:23,488
ROSENTHAL: They'd
pad out the shots.
They duplicated.
2127
01:29:23,555 --> 01:29:26,291
It's everything that happens
when you don't have enough
money for the effects.
2128
01:29:26,358 --> 01:29:28,960
ELLENSHAW: "You're dreadful
at what you do, Harrison!"
2129
01:29:29,027 --> 01:29:32,297
"You are a big
frickin' failure!"
2130
01:29:33,131 --> 01:29:34,232
Guilty.
2131
01:29:34,299 --> 01:29:35,767
Everybody sort of
pointed the finger.
2132
01:29:35,834 --> 01:29:38,269
The finger was really
the demise of Cannon.
2133
01:29:38,337 --> 01:29:41,340
MATTHAU: They started
to do films with big
budgets and take big risks
2134
01:29:41,406 --> 01:29:44,376
and try and compete
with the Warner Brothers
of the world,
2135
01:29:44,443 --> 01:29:45,944
and that didn't
go so well.
2136
01:29:46,010 --> 01:29:47,679
(GROANING)
2137
01:29:47,746 --> 01:29:49,848
They couldn't take
on the studio system
and they knew it.
2138
01:29:49,914 --> 01:29:53,017
They were trying to get
out from underneath,
2139
01:29:53,084 --> 01:29:55,687
and they thought if they got
these big mega-pictures
2140
01:29:55,754 --> 01:29:58,857
that they could
somehow parlay it into
2141
01:29:58,923 --> 01:30:01,493
not being discovered
for the slobs they were.
2142
01:30:01,560 --> 01:30:03,662
If you kept
moving fast enough,
2143
01:30:03,728 --> 01:30:05,497
there was always the
next movie to be made,
2144
01:30:05,564 --> 01:30:08,266
and the next one
was going to be great.
2145
01:30:08,333 --> 01:30:12,371
I have the power!
2146
01:30:12,437 --> 01:30:13,938
Masters was their big shot.
2147
01:30:14,005 --> 01:30:16,040
WILLIAM: They were
so excited.
2148
01:30:16,107 --> 01:30:17,509
They could almost
taste the money.
2149
01:30:17,576 --> 01:30:19,411
They could almost
taste the success.
2150
01:30:19,478 --> 01:30:21,446
GARY: I was trying
everything I could
to try and make this
2151
01:30:21,513 --> 01:30:23,682
not look, feel, sound
like a Cannon movie.
2152
01:30:23,748 --> 01:30:25,784
NARRATOR: At the far
end of the universe,
2153
01:30:25,850 --> 01:30:29,388
there is a planet ruled
by a being of utter evil...
2154
01:30:29,454 --> 01:30:30,955
(SCREAMING)
2155
01:30:31,022 --> 01:30:34,626
And there is only one man
who dares challenge him.
2156
01:30:34,693 --> 01:30:36,528
DOLPH LUNDGREN: It was
kind of slightly embarrassing
2157
01:30:36,595 --> 01:30:38,463
to sign on
playing a toy, right?
2158
01:30:38,530 --> 01:30:40,899
For me, it was a bit
weird, all this stuff.
2159
01:30:40,965 --> 01:30:43,802
The little dwarf
with the little key
and all of that.
2160
01:30:45,336 --> 01:30:46,705
I felt a little
stupid doing it.
2161
01:30:49,474 --> 01:30:51,175
(WEAPON FIRING)
2162
01:30:51,242 --> 01:30:54,012
Sylvester Stallone showed up
and he pointed up to Dolph.
2163
01:30:54,078 --> 01:30:56,280
He goes, "You gave
that guy lines?"
2164
01:30:56,347 --> 01:30:57,982
This is our fight.
2165
01:30:58,049 --> 01:31:00,051
I don't want innocent
people to die.
2166
01:31:00,118 --> 01:31:02,220
The special effect
of Skeletor,
2167
01:31:02,286 --> 01:31:04,155
of creating a skeleton head,
2168
01:31:04,222 --> 01:31:06,958
was astronomical and
would take an enormous
amount of time,
2169
01:31:07,025 --> 01:31:07,959
and they knew that.
2170
01:31:08,026 --> 01:31:09,694
The solution that
Cannon came up with
2171
01:31:09,761 --> 01:31:11,930
was to paint a skeleton
on Frank Langella's face
2172
01:31:11,996 --> 01:31:13,732
that looked like
a Halloween costume
2173
01:31:13,798 --> 01:31:15,434
that a mother made
for her child.
2174
01:31:15,500 --> 01:31:17,001
I don't think so.
2175
01:31:17,068 --> 01:31:18,703
I remember just
being really happy
that we had
2176
01:31:18,770 --> 01:31:22,006
a beginning, a middle
and end! (LAUGHS)
2177
01:31:22,073 --> 01:31:23,508
Kneel!
2178
01:31:23,575 --> 01:31:27,579
'Cause at one point, it
looked like we weren't
gonna have the end.
2179
01:31:27,646 --> 01:31:28,880
GARY: They literally
shut me down.
2180
01:31:28,947 --> 01:31:30,882
And I said, "There's no
ending to this movie."
2181
01:31:34,453 --> 01:31:36,455
(LAUGHING) I made Frank
Langella, this great actor,
2182
01:31:36,521 --> 01:31:39,858
in this skeleton mask
get in this bubbling
vat of liquid
2183
01:31:39,924 --> 01:31:41,192
so he could
pop up and say...
2184
01:31:41,259 --> 01:31:42,561
I'll be back!
2185
01:31:42,627 --> 01:31:44,062
They thought that
that picture would play
2186
01:31:44,128 --> 01:31:47,265
to an adult audience,
you know, to grown-ups.
2187
01:31:47,331 --> 01:31:49,200
But it didn't.
2188
01:31:49,267 --> 01:31:51,436
Masters Of The Universe
was to blame for
Masters Of The Universe.
2189
01:31:51,503 --> 01:31:54,539
If it was a great story,
if it was funny and
moving and exciting,
2190
01:31:54,606 --> 01:31:56,240
people would have
flocked to it.
2191
01:31:56,307 --> 01:31:59,343
These pictures, Superman,
Masters and Over The Top,
2192
01:31:59,410 --> 01:32:01,112
went off their
business model.
2193
01:32:01,179 --> 01:32:04,015
ROSENTHAL: Make
low-budget films, wait for
one or two to hit big,
2194
01:32:04,082 --> 01:32:06,951
have a huge profit margin,
sell them a lot,
2195
01:32:07,018 --> 01:32:09,287
build a library,
sell them overseas.
2196
01:32:09,353 --> 01:32:13,892
And Superman is
exactly the thing you
don't want to do.
2197
01:32:13,958 --> 01:32:15,760
INTERVIEWER: Would you ever
make a $30 million movie?
2198
01:32:15,827 --> 01:32:18,763
Never. I don't know what
to do with 30 millions.
2199
01:32:18,830 --> 01:32:21,800
I can make 30 movies,
maybe, you know?
2200
01:32:21,866 --> 01:32:24,035
But I don't know what to
do with 30 millions.
2201
01:32:24,102 --> 01:32:27,205
I mean, I...
I'll feel... I'll feel
like I'm a criminal
2202
01:32:27,271 --> 01:32:31,242
spending this kind
of money on doing
one motion picture.
2203
01:32:31,309 --> 01:32:33,144
They were trying
to get a little bit
2204
01:32:33,211 --> 01:32:36,915
out of the assembly-line
factory process
and make better pictures.
2205
01:32:36,981 --> 01:32:39,317
But I think timing
and finances just
caught up with them.
2206
01:32:39,383 --> 01:32:42,621
REPORTER: The more
films Cannon produced,
the more its debt grew.
2207
01:32:42,687 --> 01:32:45,056
Cannon have been
dispossessing themselves
of their assets.
2208
01:32:45,123 --> 01:32:47,225
The Thorn-EMI cinemas,
Elstree Studios,
2209
01:32:47,291 --> 01:32:50,529
and a wonderful library
of 2,000 films, and
they sold those first.
2210
01:32:50,595 --> 01:32:51,796
And now they've
sold the studios
2211
01:32:51,863 --> 01:32:54,065
for what they realized
for property.
2212
01:32:54,132 --> 01:32:57,068
REPORTER: Plans to build up
movie chains, distribution
rights around the world
2213
01:32:57,135 --> 01:32:59,403
collapsed under mounting
interest payments.
2214
01:32:59,470 --> 01:33:02,607
Cannon are not in the film
production business as
far as Britain is concerned.
2215
01:33:02,674 --> 01:33:04,175
They're in the property
disposal business.
2216
01:33:04,242 --> 01:33:07,946
They didn't look
upon it as a reason
to stop and pause.
2217
01:33:08,012 --> 01:33:08,913
"Let's keep going."
2218
01:33:08,980 --> 01:33:11,449
They had problems
releasing pictures.
2219
01:33:11,516 --> 01:33:13,151
They had problems
finishing pictures.
2220
01:33:13,217 --> 01:33:15,954
I'd be on pictures
that were relatively
simple pictures
2221
01:33:16,020 --> 01:33:19,223
that would take six, eight
months to not get finished.
2222
01:33:19,290 --> 01:33:22,393
NARRATOR: An incredible
adventure awaits a young girl
2223
01:33:22,460 --> 01:33:25,229
and two brothers
with a taste for excitement.
2224
01:33:25,296 --> 01:33:29,067
They will take a journey
to a place they never
dreamed existed.
2225
01:33:29,133 --> 01:33:32,771
Cannon shutting down
almost overnight had
a disastrous effect.
2226
01:33:32,837 --> 01:33:35,139
They just basically said,
"You're finished."
2227
01:33:35,206 --> 01:33:36,474
Oh, my God.
2228
01:33:36,541 --> 01:33:37,976
RUSTY: The thing about
a special effects film
2229
01:33:38,042 --> 01:33:40,144
is that it's like
a jigsaw puzzle.
2230
01:33:40,211 --> 01:33:43,281
Imagine every third piece
of the puzzle doesn't exist.
2231
01:33:43,347 --> 01:33:45,884
So you end up having
a lot of blacks,
2232
01:33:45,950 --> 01:33:47,886
we call them "slugs".
2233
01:33:47,952 --> 01:33:50,989
So, there was all this
footage that didn't have
the special effects.
2234
01:33:51,055 --> 01:33:53,024
And it's just not
releasable without it.
2235
01:33:53,091 --> 01:33:57,495
They just needed to
have it finished and
delivered for a price.
2236
01:33:57,562 --> 01:34:00,264
They had already spent
the money on the advances,
2237
01:34:00,331 --> 01:34:02,400
so they had to deliver
a finished film.
2238
01:34:02,466 --> 01:34:05,937
(LAUGHING) "Can you
finish this film without
special effects?"
2239
01:34:06,671 --> 01:34:08,506
What a question.
2240
01:34:08,573 --> 01:34:10,575
ALBERT: We went in
and shot a pretty big
chunk of storyline.
2241
01:34:10,642 --> 01:34:13,745
I can't give you
words to tell you how
heartbreaking it was.
2242
01:34:13,812 --> 01:34:16,114
It was an awkward situation
2243
01:34:16,180 --> 01:34:20,484
that I was very quickly
the following year
run into with Cyborg.
2244
01:34:20,551 --> 01:34:22,453
(NARRATOR READING)
2245
01:34:22,520 --> 01:34:26,725
NARRATOR: A brutal gang
is reshaping the world
into their own vision of hell,
2246
01:34:26,791 --> 01:34:28,793
and only one man
can stop them.
2247
01:34:28,860 --> 01:34:34,232
I had this idea of
a futuristic action movie
that would feature Chuck.
2248
01:34:34,298 --> 01:34:36,200
Menahem and Yoram,
they talked
2249
01:34:36,267 --> 01:34:37,836
and they said,
"Well, you know,
we have this other guy
2250
01:34:37,902 --> 01:34:39,537
"that we think is
gonna be a big star."
2251
01:34:39,604 --> 01:34:41,105
"We'd like to see
him in that part."
2252
01:34:41,172 --> 01:34:43,174
And I said,
"Oh, yeah? Who's that?"
2253
01:34:43,241 --> 01:34:46,277
NARRATOR: Jean-Claude
Van Damme has
become the first hero
2254
01:34:46,344 --> 01:34:47,746
of the 21st century.
2255
01:34:47,812 --> 01:34:49,480
BOAZ: He used to
come to our company
2256
01:34:49,547 --> 01:34:51,115
and he used to
sit in the lobby.
2257
01:34:51,182 --> 01:34:53,918
He waited, and
when Menahem came
out of his office,
2258
01:34:53,985 --> 01:34:56,287
he ran up and did
a sweeping kick.
2259
01:34:56,354 --> 01:35:00,458
Spinning split kick
a quarter-inch from the
end of Menahem's nose.
2260
01:35:00,524 --> 01:35:02,526
The very next day,
he got a job.
2261
01:35:02,593 --> 01:35:06,397
ALBERT: I think Jean-Claude
was more enamored with
being a star on the ascent
2262
01:35:06,464 --> 01:35:08,499
than he was being an actor.
2263
01:35:08,566 --> 01:35:10,201
(GRUNTING)
2264
01:35:10,268 --> 01:35:12,103
I think he felt
more confident in
how he looked,
2265
01:35:12,170 --> 01:35:15,173
'cause as an actor, I don't
think he felt secure yet.
2266
01:35:15,239 --> 01:35:17,008
(YELLING)
2267
01:35:17,075 --> 01:35:21,312
My vision was very dark,
more of a war film than it was
an action-adventure movie.
2268
01:35:21,379 --> 01:35:23,715
(BOTH YELLING)
2269
01:35:23,782 --> 01:35:25,784
LETTICH: It was
very uncommercial.
2270
01:35:25,850 --> 01:35:29,688
They took a survey,
and out of 100 people
that were in the screening,
2271
01:35:29,754 --> 01:35:32,023
one person said that
he liked the movie.
2272
01:35:32,090 --> 01:35:33,858
Which is no big surprise,
'cause I don't think
2273
01:35:33,925 --> 01:35:37,762
I ever had a test screening
really go very well.
2274
01:35:37,829 --> 01:35:40,564
Yoram was saying, "Look,
we've already got this
booked in theaters."
2275
01:35:40,631 --> 01:35:41,900
"Just let us
release the movie."
2276
01:35:41,966 --> 01:35:44,002
"It's not gonna
kill your career."
2277
01:35:44,068 --> 01:35:46,404
And Jean-Claude was saying,
"Look, give me two months.
Let me recut the movie."
2278
01:35:47,105 --> 01:35:48,740
(GRUNTING)
2279
01:35:48,807 --> 01:35:52,410
We just turned it into
more of a conventional
action picture.
2280
01:35:52,476 --> 01:35:53,477
(GROANS)
2281
01:35:53,544 --> 01:35:55,213
And that movie worked.
2282
01:35:55,279 --> 01:35:57,716
So we had every
right to believe,
"I'll get through this.
2283
01:35:57,782 --> 01:35:59,784
"I'll sell this.
I'll make some money."
2284
01:35:59,851 --> 01:36:02,821
"I'll sell some
foreign rights, I'll
get to the next one,"
2285
01:36:02,887 --> 01:36:04,555
"and the next one,
we're gonna do right."
2286
01:36:04,622 --> 01:36:09,861
That's probably
the biggest reason for
the Cannon demise.
2287
01:36:09,928 --> 01:36:15,233
Not stopping licking
the wounds, getting healed,
2288
01:36:15,299 --> 01:36:17,501
and then starting out
with a new slate.
2289
01:36:17,568 --> 01:36:19,603
It just was too much.
2290
01:36:19,670 --> 01:36:22,040
It wasn't, "Is Cannon
gonna collapse?"
2291
01:36:22,106 --> 01:36:24,075
It was, "When is
Cannon gonna collapse?"
2292
01:36:24,142 --> 01:36:29,413
Globus was more practical
and said, you know,
"It's one thing to want it,
2293
01:36:29,480 --> 01:36:33,351
"it's another thing to pay
for it, even the way we pay,"
2294
01:36:33,417 --> 01:36:36,620
uh, and I think it
just became untenable.
2295
01:36:36,687 --> 01:36:38,823
Menahem was making
too many movies.
2296
01:36:38,890 --> 01:36:41,559
Yoram was buying
too many cinema chains.
2297
01:36:41,625 --> 01:36:45,596
And, uh... I don't
know where the balance
lied between them,
2298
01:36:45,663 --> 01:36:50,068
but I think each guy was
very critical of the other.
2299
01:36:50,134 --> 01:36:51,836
The banks didn't want to
give them any more money.
2300
01:36:51,903 --> 01:36:55,406
They couldn't repay the
money they took because
the movies all failed.
2301
01:36:55,473 --> 01:36:57,976
That's when
Giancarlo Parretti
came in.
2302
01:36:58,042 --> 01:37:00,244
Basically, overnight,
Credit Lyonnais said,
2303
01:37:00,311 --> 01:37:02,113
"You've go t
new partners."
2304
01:37:02,180 --> 01:37:03,681
CHARLES MATTHAU:
You could feel
Parretti come in.
2305
01:37:03,748 --> 01:37:05,016
You could feel
the company change.
2306
01:37:05,083 --> 01:37:06,517
(WHISPERS)
"That's Mr. Parretti."
2307
01:37:06,584 --> 01:37:08,119
"Be very careful around him."
2308
01:37:08,186 --> 01:37:10,288
Menahem and Yoram
just wanted to believe
2309
01:37:10,354 --> 01:37:12,490
that this was their
white knight savior,
2310
01:37:12,556 --> 01:37:16,027
and ignored all the signs
that he was really a raider.
2311
01:37:16,094 --> 01:37:17,762
Parretti was
an Italian con man.
2312
01:37:17,829 --> 01:37:20,331
They said that he was maybe
associated with the Mafia
or something.
2313
01:37:20,398 --> 01:37:22,200
AVI LERNER: Yoram
stayed with Parretti
2314
01:37:22,266 --> 01:37:27,005
and Menahem said he is not
happy to sell his...
2315
01:37:28,272 --> 01:37:30,341
His, as you say,
soul to the devil.
2316
01:37:30,408 --> 01:37:35,346
These two cousins, who worked
together for so many years,
2317
01:37:35,980 --> 01:37:38,950
Um... Splitted.
2318
01:37:39,017 --> 01:37:43,121
They had their success
and... it ended.
2319
01:37:43,187 --> 01:37:44,755
It was a sad split for us,
2320
01:37:44,823 --> 01:37:47,325
because for us, there was
Menahem and there was Yoram,
2321
01:37:47,391 --> 01:37:51,930
but what we all loved
about the two of them
was the two of them together.
2322
01:37:51,996 --> 01:37:53,131
I stayed with Yoram,
2323
01:37:53,197 --> 01:37:56,700
and I said to Menahem,
you know,
2324
01:37:56,767 --> 01:37:58,202
"You're just unmanageable."
2325
01:37:58,269 --> 01:38:01,005
"You know, you shouldn't be
running your company."
2326
01:38:01,072 --> 01:38:03,474
And he say, "Just give me
the films that I did."
2327
01:38:03,541 --> 01:38:05,009
"I don't want the money."
2328
01:38:05,076 --> 01:38:08,012
I created a new company
called the 21st Century.
2329
01:38:08,079 --> 01:38:11,049
I'm coming with new movies,
modern movies,
2330
01:38:11,115 --> 01:38:15,586
picture that everybody
in this coming decade
will want to see.
2331
01:38:15,653 --> 01:38:18,356
He said to me
he had just split with Yoram
2332
01:38:18,422 --> 01:38:20,058
and he went... (SPITS)
2333
01:38:20,124 --> 01:38:21,525
And he spit on the floor.
2334
01:38:21,592 --> 01:38:24,395
And they started making
these competing movies,
2335
01:38:24,462 --> 01:38:26,230
like two competing
lambada movies.
2336
01:38:26,297 --> 01:38:29,067
REPORTER: The lambada dance
originated in the 1930s,
2337
01:38:29,133 --> 01:38:30,935
where it was soon banned
by the government
2338
01:38:31,002 --> 01:38:32,703
for its sexual overtones.
2339
01:38:32,770 --> 01:38:34,939
What is that?
The lambada!
2340
01:38:35,006 --> 01:38:37,775
That was their next
great idea as a team,
2341
01:38:37,842 --> 01:38:39,110
and then when they split up,
2342
01:38:39,177 --> 01:38:40,811
it was, who could make
that movie faster?
2343
01:38:40,879 --> 01:38:42,413
SHELDON RENAN:
Yoram had a script
2344
01:38:42,480 --> 01:38:45,483
and was already into
pre-production.
2345
01:38:45,549 --> 01:38:47,651
NARRATOR: A teacher,
his student
2346
01:38:47,718 --> 01:38:50,288
and the dance
that changed their lives.
2347
01:38:50,354 --> 01:38:52,356
So they were way ahead
of Menahem,
2348
01:38:52,423 --> 01:38:54,092
who had to, like,
cobble something together.
2349
01:38:54,158 --> 01:38:56,360
We were brought in to write
Menahem's version
2350
01:38:56,427 --> 01:38:58,662
as fast as we could,
2351
01:38:58,729 --> 01:39:02,166
because the plan was to get it
to theaters before Yoram's.
2352
01:39:02,233 --> 01:39:03,601
(SPITS)
2353
01:39:03,667 --> 01:39:07,471
NARRATOR: Only one dance
can turn feeling into fury.
2354
01:39:07,538 --> 01:39:08,606
This crazy, crazy thing,
2355
01:39:08,672 --> 01:39:10,708
that an Indian princess
from Brazil
2356
01:39:10,774 --> 01:39:13,544
was going to stop the
destruction of the rainforest.
2357
01:39:14,378 --> 01:39:15,379
Stop!
2358
01:39:15,446 --> 01:39:17,315
Johns a particularly
fast writer, so I said,
2359
01:39:17,381 --> 01:39:19,717
"We can write
it in 10 days."
2360
01:39:19,783 --> 01:39:22,486
They shot in four weeks,
we shot in three weeks.
2361
01:39:22,553 --> 01:39:23,988
We were working like crazy
2362
01:39:24,055 --> 01:39:25,990
and they were trying to shoot
as much in order as possible
2363
01:39:26,057 --> 01:39:28,526
so they could finish the reels
and get the sound
effects cut in
2364
01:39:28,592 --> 01:39:30,061
and get them mixed
at the same time.
2365
01:39:30,128 --> 01:39:31,429
If we shot on a Monday,
2366
01:39:31,495 --> 01:39:34,232
by Wednesday,
we were locking the scenes.
2367
01:39:34,298 --> 01:39:36,300
There was no time
to, like, redo anything
2368
01:39:36,367 --> 01:39:39,103
and there was no time
to fine-tune anything.
2369
01:39:39,170 --> 01:39:43,207
Somehow, Yoram had managed
to get the word lambada.
2370
01:39:43,274 --> 01:39:48,046
We ended up calling it The
Forbidden Dance Is Lambada!
2371
01:39:48,112 --> 01:39:49,313
And put Lambada
in huge letters
2372
01:39:49,380 --> 01:39:51,082
and put Lambada
all over the poster,
2373
01:39:51,149 --> 01:39:54,818
but we had the Lambada song
and they didn't.
2374
01:39:54,885 --> 01:39:57,088
* Not so far away.
2375
01:39:57,155 --> 01:39:59,057
We stopped shooting
on a Thursday,
2376
01:39:59,123 --> 01:40:00,558
and Monday,
we had the answer print.
2377
01:40:00,624 --> 01:40:03,494
We finished shooting
Saturday morning at 2:45 a.m.,
2378
01:40:03,561 --> 01:40:05,396
and if you ever look
at the end of it,
2379
01:40:05,463 --> 01:40:07,365
nobody has any energy left,
there's a rainstorm going on,
2380
01:40:07,431 --> 01:40:08,899
and all they're doing
is just moving,
2381
01:40:08,967 --> 01:40:10,401
just trying to get
the movie done.
2382
01:40:10,468 --> 01:40:12,770
We screened the picture
for Columbia,
2383
01:40:12,836 --> 01:40:15,073
and I said, "So, were gonna
pick a nice freeze-frame
of the two young couple"
2384
01:40:15,139 --> 01:40:17,541
"and were gonna put on
a title that says..."
2385
01:40:21,479 --> 01:40:23,247
If you've got something
that isn't so good,
2386
01:40:23,314 --> 01:40:25,649
you tack on
green ecology to it,
2387
01:40:25,716 --> 01:40:28,352
and that improves the brand.
It's called greenwashing.
2388
01:40:28,419 --> 01:40:29,553
After all this,
2389
01:40:29,620 --> 01:40:32,523
the two pictures were released
at the same time.
2390
01:40:32,590 --> 01:40:35,193
Limousines from the two groups
came to the same theater.
2391
01:40:35,259 --> 01:40:36,794
I don't know that it
could happen anywhere.
2392
01:40:36,860 --> 01:40:40,431
It has a surreal quality
even for Los Angeles.
2393
01:40:40,498 --> 01:40:41,966
Because the two men
had broken up
2394
01:40:42,033 --> 01:40:43,601
and because they made
two movies
2395
01:40:43,667 --> 01:40:46,204
with the same title,
basically, same theme,
2396
01:40:46,270 --> 01:40:47,871
released on the same day,
2397
01:40:47,938 --> 01:40:49,907
they split the box
office in half.
2398
01:40:49,974 --> 01:40:52,543
They were really trying
to make this lambada craze
2399
01:40:52,610 --> 01:40:54,545
rather than waiting
for the craze
2400
01:40:54,612 --> 01:40:57,181
and then having a movie
that was a response to it,
2401
01:40:57,248 --> 01:40:58,449
like the Breakin ' movies.
2402
01:40:58,516 --> 01:41:00,051
Together, they were
very successful,
2403
01:41:00,118 --> 01:41:03,054
and alone,
it didn't happen the same way.
2404
01:41:03,121 --> 01:41:04,722
It seemed like
a lot of people were happy
2405
01:41:04,788 --> 01:41:06,557
to see them go down in flames.
2406
01:41:06,624 --> 01:41:08,926
I don't think
there were many grievers,
at the end of the day.
2407
01:41:08,993 --> 01:41:10,428
Next!
2408
01:41:10,494 --> 01:41:13,831
I see Miramax now and I think
that that's probably
2409
01:41:13,897 --> 01:41:15,133
when they came to the US,
2410
01:41:15,199 --> 01:41:16,634
that's probably
what they had in mind.
2411
01:41:16,700 --> 01:41:18,736
They were the forerunners
of the Weinstein's.
2412
01:41:18,802 --> 01:41:21,305
The difference is the
Weinstein's cared
about quality.
2413
01:41:21,372 --> 01:41:23,441
I think that they were
the victims of snobbery.
2414
01:41:24,942 --> 01:41:26,577
I think that
they were ostracized
2415
01:41:26,644 --> 01:41:29,313
because they didn't have
the proper manners.
2416
01:41:29,380 --> 01:41:33,317
There was always
that wheeling and dealing,
2417
01:41:33,384 --> 01:41:35,919
and that wheeling and dealing
was very much...
2418
01:41:35,986 --> 01:41:38,022
I mean, they were Israelis,
2419
01:41:38,089 --> 01:41:40,291
and they were defined
by that culture.
2420
01:41:40,358 --> 01:41:43,327
Menahem, I don't think,
was ever thought of
2421
01:41:43,394 --> 01:41:44,528
as a great filmmaker,
2422
01:41:44,595 --> 01:41:46,697
even though his ego
was as a filmmaker.
2423
01:41:46,764 --> 01:41:50,434
His spontaneity and flying,
you know, sort of blind...
2424
01:41:51,869 --> 01:41:54,038
It's what destroyed
the company,
2425
01:41:54,105 --> 01:41:55,406
because he did
not think ahead.
2426
01:41:55,473 --> 01:41:56,974
He really just thought
with his heart.
2427
01:41:57,041 --> 01:41:59,410
And you can't hate someone
who thinks with their heart.
2428
01:41:59,477 --> 01:42:05,249
YIFTACH KATZUR: When I look
at Menahem these days,
I feel sorry.
2429
01:42:05,316 --> 01:42:06,750
There's a certain
sadness about it,
2430
01:42:06,817 --> 01:42:09,620
because it was a man
who retreated in defeat.
2431
01:42:09,687 --> 01:42:12,656
I'm sure Menahem would like to
still be making movies today,
2432
01:42:12,723 --> 01:42:13,957
because he's a filmmaker.
2433
01:42:14,024 --> 01:42:17,961
It's in his blood. I mean,
you can't deny him that.
2434
01:42:18,028 --> 01:42:20,364
Menahem says,
"This is top-secret."
2435
01:42:21,565 --> 01:42:22,733
"Two words."
2436
01:42:23,634 --> 01:42:25,303
"Naked Lambada."
2437
01:42:25,369 --> 01:42:26,804
Yoram is probably
more comfortable
2438
01:42:26,870 --> 01:42:28,372
not being in that position,
2439
01:42:28,439 --> 01:42:31,041
but Menahem would still
be on the set.
2440
01:42:31,109 --> 01:42:33,211
Somebody comes up to
Menahem and says,
2441
01:42:33,277 --> 01:42:35,813
"Menahem, did you hear
that Yoram has cancer?"
2442
01:42:37,315 --> 01:42:39,183
And he goes...
2443
01:42:39,250 --> 01:42:41,652
"He should never
have left me!"
2444
01:42:41,719 --> 01:42:43,387
YIFTACH KATZUR:
Look at these guys.
2445
01:42:43,454 --> 01:42:48,159
They touch the sky, the stars,
and they are not anymore.
2446
01:42:49,293 --> 01:42:51,262
The legacy is there, but.
2447
01:42:51,329 --> 01:42:53,531
(MUSIC PLAYING)
2448
01:43:29,400 --> 01:43:32,970
And I don't think
we can say
they were failures.
2449
01:43:33,036 --> 01:43:37,575
Because for a decade plus,
they lived an incredible life.
2450
01:43:37,641 --> 01:43:40,211
If you've got all the guts
in the world
2451
01:43:40,278 --> 01:43:42,280
and you've got energy
and work hard,
2452
01:43:42,346 --> 01:43:44,148
you can make it work,
and that's what they did.
2453
01:43:44,215 --> 01:43:46,250
If you look at how many
B-movie companies
2454
01:43:46,317 --> 01:43:49,287
have been around
in the history of Hollywood,
2455
01:43:49,353 --> 01:43:51,789
almost none of them
got to where Menahem got.
2456
01:43:51,855 --> 01:43:54,958
If they had any influence on
the industry, it shook 'em up.
2457
01:43:55,025 --> 01:43:56,194
And that's not a bad thing.
2458
01:43:56,260 --> 01:43:57,795
We always said,
2459
01:43:57,861 --> 01:44:00,931
"The best school in the world
what not to do is Cannon."
2460
01:44:00,998 --> 01:44:02,566
Avi started
2461
01:44:02,633 --> 01:44:05,703
turning out
all these low-budget
Cannon-like movies
2462
01:44:05,769 --> 01:44:07,438
with a company
called Nu Image.
2463
01:44:07,505 --> 01:44:09,207
JOHN THOMPSON:
Nu Image was founded
2464
01:44:09,273 --> 01:44:11,575
by Danny Dimbort
and Avi Lerner,
2465
01:44:11,642 --> 01:44:15,413
both with great linkage
to the Cannon Group.
2466
01:44:15,479 --> 01:44:18,216
In many ways,
we use the Cannon model.
2467
01:44:18,282 --> 01:44:21,452
We learned not to
overextend our budgets,
2468
01:44:21,519 --> 01:44:26,224
not to overextend with
the acquisition of assets,
2469
01:44:26,290 --> 01:44:29,593
and how to make
action pictures.
2470
01:44:29,660 --> 01:44:33,264
The Expendables series.
Olympus Has Fallen.
2471
01:44:33,331 --> 01:44:34,898
We have ninja films
2472
01:44:34,965 --> 01:44:39,303
would fit perfectly into
the Cannon brochure.
2473
01:44:39,370 --> 01:44:43,173
I think Menahem probably
is very proud of this.
2474
01:44:43,241 --> 01:44:45,809
Hollywood today
is making Cannon movies,
2475
01:44:45,876 --> 01:44:49,179
bigger Cannon movies
with millions and millions,
2476
01:44:49,247 --> 01:44:51,349
but it's making
action movies.
2477
01:44:51,415 --> 01:44:54,452
We owe it to those guys.
They put a stamp on it.
2478
01:44:54,518 --> 01:44:57,521
The only way you can now
pretty much make a movie
2479
01:44:57,588 --> 01:45:00,758
is by having some calculation
of presales in them.
2480
01:45:00,824 --> 01:45:02,092
And Cannon did that.
2481
01:45:02,159 --> 01:45:05,062
Good, bad or indifferent,
they pioneered that idea.
2482
01:45:05,128 --> 01:45:09,233
KRAFT: Cannons legacy
will be the insane stories
2483
01:45:09,300 --> 01:45:11,402
of how that many
movies got made
2484
01:45:11,469 --> 01:45:13,604
during a very specific
period of time
2485
01:45:13,671 --> 01:45:17,140
by two guys who had
no business doing any of it.
2486
01:45:17,207 --> 01:45:19,377
They were
definitely leaders
2487
01:45:19,443 --> 01:45:22,380
in the foreign market,
in foreign sales
2488
01:45:23,414 --> 01:45:25,516
and in dreams,
for sure.
190139
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