This story appeared in the February 1996 issue of 'Zone 9', a print publication.
Bradley Marks, the 66-year-old president and CEO of Marks Media-Vision, snapped
off his wall monitor in disgust. "Well, I've got to hand it to you, Pete," he
said, turning to Peter Cromwell, one of his production company's most respected young
executives. "You have succeeded in developing the worst movie I've seen in a month of
Sundays." Bradley paused for effect, then looked his young protege straight in the
eye. "We expected more from you. Nine months in production with a thirty-one million
dollar budget and this is what we get? This is the best you can do?"
"C'mon Brad," whined the exec., "It isn't that bad."
"Then I'd hate to see what you'd call bad."
"Brad, the original version of 'Night Action' grossed over $235 million back in the
90s."
"The original version was a damn good film."
"Well, this version has all the same elements. The script is virtually identical; we
just updated it a bit for the modern audience. And this one's directed by Henry Chase;
he's only the hottest director around right now."
"Chase is overrated."
"Brad, believe me, this film has box office appeal. Just look at the star power we've
got. Susan Windemere in the lead role. . ."
"Susan Windemere is a no-talent airhead who just happens to look great in a string
bikini."
"What about John Hawkins as the love interest?"
"He's a wooden piece of beef-cake."
Cromwell continued, hoping to lose his boss' anger in a string of big names. "How
'bout the great supporting actors we hired? Jim Jenkins, Sally Flamba, Steve Hankey, Larry
Flynn and Charlie O'Leary as the old man?"
"Sally Flamba's a pretty good actress, that I'll grant you. But I wouldn't give you
two cents for any of the others. You see, that's the root of the problem, Pete. None of
the actors available today can act their way out of a paper bag." Brad lit a
cigarette, his first in weeks, and inhaled a relaxing puff of thick, carcinogenic smoke.
"Look what you've got me doing! I promised my doctor I'd quit."
"Brad, what am I supposed to do? The movie's in the can. You want me to trash
it?"
"No, release it. We've got little choice in the matter. But the next time you show me
a film this bad, you'll be looking for a new job. Find me some actors with charisma, like
they had in the old days. Find me the next John Stanford, the next Judy Boyle. Now they
had talent. When I was a kid, I was crazy about Judy Boyle. Her love scenes with Stanford
were incredible. You want to talk hot? Look at their early films." Bradley's eyes
took on a far away look. "Compared to Judy Boyle, Susan Windemere has as much sex
appeal as a sack of potatoes."
*Great*, thought Peter Cromwell. *He wants Judy Boyle. It's a shame the woman's
ninety-eight-years old. What am I supposed to do? Take a film crew to the nursing home?*
But Peter knew he had to do something. He knew Bradley was right. Today's actors couldn't
act. In fact, good acting was pretty much a lost art, except for the oldsters who did
voice-overs for their cartoon features. And not a one of them was under sixty-five years
of age. "I'll make you happy, boss. The next film you see from me will be a
knock-out."
"It had better be," Brad said simply. "For your sake."
#
Peter didn't know what to do. He had script approval and a respected director for the
company's next film, but he had no idea who to cast. He'd reviewed all the available
names. None had the range for the part of Madeline, a 1940s heroine who'd lost her husband
in the Second World War. And the prospects for finding the right 'General Jeremy Weathers'
seemed slim at best. "Get me new talent," he yelled. "Unknowns."
"You want to cast unknown actors in the lead roles?" asked Bill Newman, his
chief casting director. "That's a recipe for disaster."
"And I suppose you have a better idea?" Peter asked.
"Maybe I do."
"Well, tell me," Peter demanded. "Tell me something I want to hear."
"Give me a week, Pete. Let me talk to a few people."
"Take a week. Take two weeks if you have to. Just find me some decent actors.
Please."
Three days later, Bill Newman was back in Peter's office with Laura Steward, senior
animator at Media-Toons, one of their subsidiary companies.
"What's she doing here, Bill?" Peter asked. "Don't tell me you want to do
the movie as a cartoon."
"Mr. Cromwell, take a look at this VHS," said the outspoken animator, waving a
tape in Peter's face. "I think you'll be favorably impressed."
"It'd better not be Benny Bunny as Rhett Butler."
"Just watch the tape, Mr. Cromwell," Laura said as she turned on Peter's VCR.
So, hoping for a miracle, Peter watched the tape.
#
"What do I think? I think you've lost your mind, Peter," said Bradley.
"You've been working too hard."
"You told me that the actors around today couldn't compare to Judy Boyle and John
Stanford. Right?"
"Yes, Peter. Unfortunately Stanford's dead. And Boyle is an old woman, not far behind
him."
Rather than answering his boss, Peter turned on the tape machine and watched Brad's eyes
light up as Judy Boyle and John Stanford acted out a passionate love scene from the
prospective new film.
"Where'd you get this? 'The War Widow' is a brand new script. Are these people
look-alikes? If so, it's a mighty good impersonation."
"You're looking at animation, Brad. Brand new, state-of-the-art, computer generated
photo-animation," Peter announced. "The process was developed by Laura Steward
over at Media-Toons. Photos and recordings of Boyle and Stanford were digitally
transferred into the computer. Then, we had some of our better voice-over actors film the
scene. The computer substituted the image and voices of Boyle and Stanford for the
voice-over people to create this final product."
"Incredible. Absolutely incredible!"
"The whole film can be done this way," said Peter. "All for a lot less
money then it would cost to hire and film big-name actors like Susan Windemere."
Peter could almost see the cogs working in Bradley's mind. "Peter, I'm really
impressed. This could be a real gold mine; we'll make a fortune! We'll keep the whole
thing under wraps until the premier and then--Whammo." Bradley smacked his fist into
his hand so hard, it made Peter wince. "We'll set the industry on its ear!"
"That's what I thought," said Peter as Bradley began to pace back and forth in
his huge office.
"Of course, you'll need to discuss this with our legal department. We need to have
agreements in place with Boyle and the estate of John Stanford."
"I'm already having contracts drawn up," said Peter. "For the use of the
images and voices. Steve Ithor over at legal says the rights should be available for about
$150 thousand a piece. I told him to draw up contracts paying $300 thousand a piece. I
figured that ought to prevent Boyle and Stanford's people from poking their noses too
closely into our business."
"Great. Let them think we're using old movie clips or something," said Bradley.
"And don't you dare let anyone breathe a word of the truth. I mean it, Peter!"
"Even Ithor doesn't know what we're doing, Brad. He thinks I'm crazy for offering the
$300 thou."
"Good. Let's keep it that way."
#
'The War Widow' was a smash hit. Lines at the premier stretched for two city blocks.
"Newsweek" called it 'revolutionary.' "Time" magazine said it was a
'technological breakthrough, as impressive as the advent of sound in motion pictures.' And
even after the initial fervor died away, the movie continued to draw in the crowds, as
much for the inherent quality of the film as for the technical gimmickry.
"Boyle hasn't lost it," said Bradley. "She's still making men shiver!"
"I guess you could say 'the only good actor is a dead actor.' Right Brad?" asked
Peter.
"Pete, I've been saying that for years. It's about time someone listened to me.
Still, it's a shame poor Judy Boyle had to die before the premier. The old woman would
have enjoyed this new-found fame." Bradley wiped away a tear as he of his film
heroine--his first real love. Then he pulled out the corporate books and looked at his
most recent profit and loss statement. Within minutes, Brad was smiling through his tears.
#
Some months later, Peter Cromwell found himself face to face with a nasty looking lawyer
in a nicely tailored suit.
"Mr. Cromwell, my name is John Stevenson," said the lawyer. "I represent
David Boyle, the grandson and sole heir of Judy Boyle." "What can I do for
you?"
"Frankly, Mr. Cromwell, my client believes your company cheated his grandmother. The
fee you paid her for 'The War Widow' is well below the industry standard for actors of her
caliber."
"Mr. Stevenson, you and I both know that Judy Boyle did not actually act in 'The War
Widow.' And we have a signed contract from Ms. Boyle for the use of her voice and image in
the picture."
"That contract was fraudulently obtained, Mr. Cromwell. You didn't inform Miss Boyle
of your full intentions."
"We told Ms. Boyle everything we legally had to tell her." "That may be
true, Mr. Cromwell. But if you don't offer substantial restitution to my client, we're
going to have to let a judge decide on the legitimacy of his claims."
"Is that a threat, Mr. Stevenson?" Peter asked.
"I'm a lawyer, sir. I don't threaten. I sue."
"Well then, maybe we will be seeing you in court."
"Mr. Boyle will be speaking to the media about this matter, later in the week, Mr.
Cromwell."
"He can do whatever he likes," said Peter. "It won't affect our
position."
"Are you sure you can afford the bad publicity, Mr. Cromwell?" Peter thought
about it for a moment.
"Let me discuss the matter with Bradley Marks."
"I think that would be advisable, sir," the lawyer responded.
"Offer them an additional half a million," Bradley suggested. But Stevenson was
looking for more like $15 million. "That's out of the question," said Bradley.
"Absolutely out of the question."
#
David Boyle pleaded his case on national television the following Thursday.
"Mr. Boyle. What is the basis for your claims against Marks Media-Vision?" asked
the pert young newswoman.
"They robbed my grandma. It's that simple," said Boyle. "Wouldn't you be
mad if somebody robbed your grandma?"
"You are referring, of course, to the use of your grandmother's image . . . "
She turned from her interviewee to deliver the next few words directly into the camera.
"The likeness and voice of the famous Judy Boyle in the blockbuster hit, 'The War
Widow.'"
"That's right!" said Boyle, emphatically. "We were robbed blind!"
"But it has been reported that your grandmother signed a contract for the use of her
image before she died. And she was paid on that contract."
"The woman was close to 100 years old. She was going senile and didn't know what she
was signing. We didn't get our fair share." Boyle batted large brown eyes at the
camera. He gave one the impression of a basset hound that had been beaten by a cruel
master.
Peter Cromwell felt sick to his stomach as he watched the proceedings on his office
monitor. Bradley was going to hit the ceiling. No, Bradley was going to go through the
roof. Because Boyle appeared sympathetic and that meant Marks Media-Vision was going to
have to pay, pay, pay.
Peter's secretary buzzed on the office intercom at that moment. "Mr. Cromwell,"
she said. "Mr. Marks is on line two for you."
#
Bradley Marks paced back and forth behind his solid mahogany desk as he spoke to John
Stevenson.
"You don't quite see the full picture, Mr. Stevenson," he claimed.
"I'm just trying to ensure that my client gets what he deserves."
"We are not going to pay David Boyle $15 million dollars, or anything remotely close
to that figure."
"Considering the profits you made on 'The War Widow,' I don't think we're being
unreasonable," said Stevenson.
"I'm sorry. We can't afford to set a bad precedent for future pictures. We have plans
to do a sequel of 'The Wizard of Oz' with Judy Garland. We'd like to star Garbo in an
updated version of 'Ninotcka' set in a Third World country. And, of course, we want to
capitalize on Judy Boyle's new-found popularity. If we pay your client what he asks, we'd
be escalating fees across the board, for all personalities featured in our photo-animation
productions."
"That's your problem, Mr. Marks. Not ours."
"Mr. Stevenson, maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement, here. Something that
would benefit both of us. You and me." "I'm listening."
#
David Boyle appeared on national television for a second time, in an announcement
broadcast from what appeared to be the headquarters of Marks Media-Vision. A smiling
Bradley Marks stood next to him, hand around his shoulder.
"I am officially dropping all claims against Mr. Marks and his company," said
Boyle. "In return, Mr. Marks has named me as their spokesperson for all future
photo-animation films."
"Mr. Boyle will be appearing in short clips prior to each film. He'll highlight the
careers of the featured actors, give viewers a backstage view of the photo-animation
process and provide commentary for the films. As the grandson of Judy Boyle, we feel he is
uniquely qualified to fill this role." The camera zoomed in for a closeup of Boyle as
a smile appeared across the man's hound-like face.
#
Peter Cromwell was out of the loop, and he wasn't happy about it. Sure, Bradley allowed
him to oversee production of the new films, but he was denied involvement in the David
Boyle commentaries. It seemed that only Bradley, Laura Steward, Stevenson and Boyle
himself were involved in the production of those clips.
"David Boyle is a difficult personality, Peter. I want to handle him myself. You have
plenty of other things to do." "But he's commenting on my films, Bradley. And I
should have a say in what goes in those commentaries."
"First of all, they're not your films, Peter. They're Marks Media-Vision productions.
And the commentaries are trivial. We just don't need your input."
#
David Boyle performed rather well over the next several months. Bradley released two new
films for public consumption, one staring Judy Boyle and one featuring Fred Astaire.
Film critics praised Boyle's clips for the historical perspective they gave to the
features. And everyone enjoyed Boyle's frame by frame dissection of the new technology.
But Boyle himself had become a recluse. He seemed to spend all his time, locked behind the
steel gates of Judy Boyle's 20th century mansion.
"David Boyle, won't you come out to play?" chanted the national entertainment
critic. "You're one of the country's most eligible bachelors. So come out of that
mansion and greet your fans."
#
The fire at the Boyle mansion started at approximately 3 A.M. on a warm July evening.
Hilda Sandusky, an elderly neighbor of Boyle, saw the flames almost immediately and called
the local fire department. The firefighters had no trouble containing the blaze, which
caused only minor damage to David Boyle's expensive home.
"We're lucky you called us so quickly, Mrs. Sandusky," said the fireman.
"I couldn't sleep, so I was sitting on my patio, looking at the stars. That's when I
saw the flames."
"If we'd gotten here a half hour later," said the fireman, "the whole place
would probably have burnt to the ground."
#
Firefighters found David Boyle's body while inspecting the interior of the mansion. A
short time later, Detective Paul Bradford of the local police examined the badly
decomposed corpse.
"He looks like he's been dead for more than six months," said Bradford.
"The coroner will tell us for sure."
"But how is this possible?" asked his partner. "Boyle's been highly visible
over the last few months. I saw one of his commentaries last night."
"What you saw," said the detective, "was just another excellent example of
photo-animation."
end