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THE LAST TYCOONS
resignation, but with his successor sitting next to him and his employees all around (the resignation had then not yet taken effect) it proved impossible to do so. I contented myself with observing the scene. Zanuck's entrance had had an immediate effect. He looked rather like a humanised ferret in a Disney film.
The place where he sat down at once became the focal point of the room. I think he ordered an omelette — anyway, it was something minute. Though there was a good deal of generally disrespectful banter going on about producers and stars, any remark addressed to Zanuck contained an undertone of deference and respect. (He may have resigned his job, but he was still the principal stockholder of 20th Century-Fox.)
When he spoke everyone hung upon his words — with the exception of James Mason, who took no part in the general conversation but merely continued placidly to eat his lunch, addressing a few words from time to time to the person sitting next to him.
The table-talk was all shop talk: I do not think one sentence was spoken that did not have to do with films. The jokes were all Hollywood jokes, and the stories were about actors, producers, film editors, writers and a cinema projectionist. Zanuck told the story about the projectionist, who had been running a film through for him the other night. At about 1 a.m. Zanuck and the people with him went up to his office for a drink. When they returned, the projectionist had gone.
"The bum just up and left," cried Zanuck in a voice high-pitched with incredulity. "Now how d'you like that? He just up and left. There we all were — waiting for the film to start again, and the guy was gone. This bum he says to himself, ' If these guys want to watch movies at 1 a.m. in the morning, they can damned well project them themselves.' And he just up and goes home."
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