Business Deal
Synopsis/Details:
Hollywood, 1933. Gargantual studio head Eugene Klingspiel gets a haircut. Then, while reading the trade papers and smoking a cigar, he experiences some indigestion and takes a bicarbonate of soda, after which he lies down.
As this middle-aged studio head rests, he fantasizes about his hostile takeover of rival studios, only to be interrupted by a visit from an up-and-coming young screenwriter named Charlie Baer (whom Klingspiel had called for the previous day). Baer’s contract is up for renewal soon, and Eugene Klingspiel immediately—and confidently—lowballs him at $250 a week. Negotiations begin, but, along with lots of “attitude,” Baer has an ace up his sleeve: he has already been offered $425 by Metro, and he wants $500 a week from Gargantual or he’ll quit. Baer gets what he wants, then abruptly leaves for lunch.
Eugene Klingspiel belches, takes another bicarbonate of soda . . . and will probably have to lie down again.
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The Writer: R. J. Cardullo
A former university film teacher, I turned to screenwriting several years ago. I have also written film criticism for many publications. A New Yorker by birth, I grew up in Miami and was educated at the University of Florida, Tulane, and Yale. My last U.S. address was in Milford, Connecticut; I am now an expatriate residing in Scandinavia. Many of my scripts (both long and short) are adaptations of lesser-known works by well-known authors. I am happy to re-write, collaborate, or write on demand. Thanks kindly for any attention you can give my work. Go to bio
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