Word: camerons
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Universal looked for some sort of sweetener--like the promise of a partnership on an upcoming Cameron project. None was offered. In August 1996, Paramount president John Goldwyn called Fox to inquire if Paramount might step in. Paramount had teamed with Fox on Braveheart, Mel Gibson's epic, with the happiest of results: good box office, Oscars. Paramount's tough but charming chairman, Sherry Lansing, had concerns. Could a young star like DiCaprio carry a film this big? And the $100 million budget seemed low. But that Sunday afternoon, Fox executive Tom Rothman eloquently persuaded Lansing that Titanic would...
...Cameron fretted over every soggy shot, Mechanic fought to trim scenes. "We tried to get it done for the least amount of money and still allow Jim to get his vision on the screen," he says. But Cameron isn't one to compromise. And firing him wasn't an option. Not only had he written the script; he might be one of the few directors alive who could orchestrate a project of this scope. "We were already in for a lot of money," Mechanic says. "There was only one way to get our money out, which was to make...
...budget. Paramount declined. "They never helped the movie," Mechanic says. "Anytime something could have made things better, it was 'That's your problem.' " Stymied, Fox offered to give Paramount its money back and take over. Paramount didn't take the offer seriously. Rather than lose scenes he deemed essential, Cameron gave up his fees in bits. He relinquished some, for example, to pay for Oscar winner Kathy Bates to play the "unsinkable" Molly Brown. Eventually he gave up his profit participation as well (but kept his scriptwriting...
...press scented trouble. Stories began to appear about budget overruns; about the schedule, which eventually stretched from 138 to 160 days; about the arduous working conditions, in which crew members complained of sweatshop-style practices that sometimes had them working as long as two weeks without a break; about Cameron's screaming tirades; and about a still unsolved food-poisoning incident in which chowder served to the cast and crew was laced with the drug PCP. Meanwhile, Fox and Paramount quarreled publicly over the release date. Finally, they settled on Dec. 19--after the early rush of holiday shopping...
...when another Cameron project comes along, will Mechanic slam the door? Will Paramount? Both studios say no. In fact, Mechanic says he's sure Fox will do Cameron's next picture. Surely Cameron won't smash the budget the way he did the time before. And the time before that. And the time before that. "It does not have to be this complex," Mechanic insists, with a showman's optimism. "I don't think this will happen again...