The Last Don - Mario Puzo [98]
Skippy Deere broke in, “Molly, Bobby, come on. We’re trying to save a picture here. Let’s talk this through at least. . . .”
Marrion had observed all this with a quiet smile but did not say anything. He would speak only to give a yes or no.
“I think it’s a reasonable question,” Bobby Bantz said. “What can this guy offer Athena to make her come back that we can’t?”
Cross sat there smiling. Molly had told him to let her answer whenever possible.
She said, “Mr. De Lena obviously has something special to offer. Why should he tell you? If you offer him ten million to give you that information I’ll confer with him. Ten million would be cheap.”
Even Bobby Bantz laughed at this.
Skippy Deere said, “They think Cross wouldn’t be risking all that money unless he had a sure thing. That makes them a little suspicious.”
“Skippy,” Molly said, “I’ve seen you lay out a million for a novel that you never made into a picture. How is this different?”
Bobby Bantz broke in. “Because Skippy gets our studio to put up the million.”
They all laughed. Cross wondered about this meeting. He was losing patience. Also, he knew he must not look too eager, so it wouldn’t hurt if he showed his irritation. He said in a low voice, “I’m going on a hunch. If it’s too complicated, we can just forget the whole thing.”
Bantz said angrily, “We are talking about a lot of money here. This picture could gross a half billion worldwide.”
“If you could get Athena back,” Molly shot in quickly. “I can tell you I talked with her this morning. She already cut off all her hair to show she’s serious.”
“We can wig her. Fucking actresses,” Bantz said. Now he was glowering at Cross, trying to read him. He was pondering something. He said, “If Athena does not come back and you lose your fifty million and can’t go on to finish the picture, who gets the footage already done?”
“I do,” Cross said.
“Aha,” Bantz said. “Then you just release it the way it is. Maybe as soft porn.”
“That’s a possibility,” Cross said.
Molly shook her head at Cross, warning him to keep quiet. “If you agree to this deal,” she said to Bantz, “everything can be negotiated on foreign, video, TV, and profit participation. There’s only one deal-breaker. The agreement must be secret. Mr. De Lena only wants credit as a coproducer.”
“That’s OK with me,” Skippy Deere said. “But my money deal with the Studio still stands.”
For the first time Marrion spoke. “That’s separate,” he said, meaning no. “Cross, do you give your lawyer full discretion on negotiations?”
“Yes,” Cross said.
“I want to go on record on this,” Marrion said. “You must know we planned to scrap the picture and take the loss. We are convinced Athena will not come back. We do not represent to you that she may come back. If you make this deal and pay us fifty million, we are not liable. You would have to sue Athena and she doesn’t have that kind of money.”
“I would never sue her,” Cross said. “I’d forgive and forget.”
Bantz said, “You don’t have to answer to your money people?”
Cross shrugged.
Marrion said, “That is a corruption. You can’t let your personal attitude betray the money people who trust you. Just because they’re rich.”
Cross said, straight-faced, “I never think it’s a good idea to get on the wrong side of rich people.”
Bantz said in exasperation, “This is some kind of trick.”
Masking his face with benign confidence, Cross said, “I’ve spent my whole life convincing people. In my Vegas hotel I have to convince very smart men to gamble their money against the odds. And I do that by making them happy. That means I give them what they really want. I’ll do that with Miss Aquitane.”
Bantz disliked the whole idea. He was sure his studio was being screwed. He said bluntly, “If we find out Athena