We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
176 Yes, Mr. DeMille The agent nodded agreement. "Her name does not mean very much in America now," the boss purred, "Her price is still $4,000 a week, plus expenses, with a minimum of eighteen weeks/* the agent said. "That adds up to a minimum guarantee of $72,000, plus expenses." "Not worth it," shouted the boss. "She's trying to make money off of DeMille, and DeMille only wants her if he can make money off of her. Good day, sir." When the agent was gone, the boss recalled he had paid Gloria Swanson only $75 a week "and she was with me for years" and, ever mindful of the infirmity of front-office men- tality, added, "Then Paramount took her over for $3,000 a week/* Another time a Ringling circus performer asked $500 for his stint in Greatest Show on Earth. We offered $200. This was rejected. We then offered $250, and stood firm. No deal was made* This brief encounter was typical of the outcome of negotiations that, unfortunately, began at a level reasonably near the performer's real worth. Were he alive to the boss's cut-the-price-in-half-and-argue-like-hell philosophy, he would have doubled his original offer, and settled at one half the figure. Prior to the filming of the Samson script, DeMille ran across an old book called Judge and Fool, by a deceased Russian author, that unlocked for us one of the plot puzzles in the Bible story. DeMille authorized Paramount to offer the widow the sum of $750 for the right to use the story twist. No word of the progress of the negotiation reached the bungalow, so one after- noon the boss called Paramount^ New York office, which was handling the matter. "We bought Judge and FooZ/* the voice announced. "What did you pay for it?" asked DeMille. "Five thousand dollars, sir/*