Word: deg
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...World, Kings Road -- have either passed into bankruptcy or deep financial trouble. But none have burned through as much money in so short a time -- without even a near hit -- as De Laurentiis. Worse still, few if any ventures contained such a web of insider-enriching transactions. Stockholders of DEG, who saw their shares plummet from a peak of $19 to less than 40 cents, have responded with fiery class-action lawsuits. At the same time, DEG is suing De Laurentiis for $50 million, accusing its founder of fraud, misrepresentation and self-dealing...
When he pitched DEG to investors, De Laurentiis promised he would make careful, modestly budgeted pictures. Yet once ensconced at DEG, he refused to share decision-making authority and showed a knack for picking up screenplays that other studios had wisely spurned. For an Old World producer accustomed to making budget-busting epics, the studio's ambitious production slate of twelve to 20 films a year was a script for disaster. One project, the 1986 film Tai- Pan, cost $25 million to make but brought in barely $2 million...
...aging filmmaker ran DEG like a private fiefdom, showering his family members and girlfriend with six-figure salaries or distribution deals. "So much money passed through that building, and I don't know where it all went," says Gary DeVore, DEG's former head of production. "I was one of the highest- placed executives and I didn't even know about the deals with Dino's family...
Even fewer people were aware of the myriad deals Dino had concocted for himself. Case in point: De Laurentiis sold the rights to the sequel King Kong Lives to DEG for $21 million shortly before it opened in 1986. When the picture died on impact (estimated receipts: $2 million), De Laurentiis tried to compensate by giving DEG the rights to even more dubious films, some of which hadn't been made...
Mothers and fathers of River City! I say watch for the telltale signs of your child's deg-re-day. Does he look like a glassy-eyed zombie? Are her little fingers forever twitching? Are those lunch-money quarters disappearing into the black hole of pleasure? Does he tell you he's going to zap you right into hyperspace? If so, friends, ya got trouble, right here in River City. Trouble with a capital T, and that rhymes with V, and that stands for video games...