The Final Countdown
Walking through the halls of Lucasfilms, you shook your head and released a long sigh as you tried to formulate some sort of gameplan for how to convince George to let Rocky come before Star Wars. Earlier in the morning, you met with Sly and tried to convince him to go for a second release, promising that Rocky would be released around Thanksgiving while advocating for a 1977 release so that Rocky would have a chance to win multiple Oscars instead of being left barren from Star Wars. Sly still stood his ground, Oscars or optics be damned, so you decided to at least hear what Marcia had to say as well as Mike when he got back from Japan on why they were so gunho with a Rocky release.
You absolutely hated to do this to George, who you considered one of your closest friends as a major reason for founding Lucasfilms in the first place was because you wanted George's vision to be supported without meddling and business bullshit, and now despite owning the company, his passion project and magnum opus in Star Wars would come in second place.
Then again, the reason why you were doing this in the first place was because a small part of you had been frustrated for dutifully waiting so long to do Kung Fu Kid until Star Wars entered post. When you wrote the story you were 18, now you were 21 and happily married for more than a year. You sure as hell were no kid, and while actors in their 20's playing teens was certainly the norm in Hollywood, part of you felt a certain authenticity was lost. If you waited a few years then you'd have to pass it onto someone else. Hopefully you didn't share Gavin's aging genes who looked like he was in his mid 20's as a Senior in high school.
Approaching the editing room, you cautiously opened the door and watched Marcia scribbling on a wall filled with tons of storyboards while her team of editors were dutifully at work cutting film, low chatter and a quiet playing of an Elvis record adding to a calming ambiance.
Marcia turned to her right and noticed you, giving a slight nod and smile, "Hi Bruce, what brings the boss to our neck of the woods?"
You gave a slight wave, "Hey Marcia. Everything good on editing."
"Yeah, we just made a bunch of raw copies to prep for the "Extended Edition" that Mike is hoping to release in theaters five to six years and sell for hiked up VHS. With all of Yavin planned out, now I'm just trimming the fat of everything else. After that it's cleaning the ground and Death Star scenes, then I have to wait on George and the Magicians to get anything major done."
"You going to lead on Rocky or just sticking to Star Wars?" You asked.
"For now I'm the supervising editor on Rocky. I'll pop in once a week to check progress and give some direction, and if we're waiting on ILM I'll put in some work there. For the most part it's a simple film, just have to be careful with the training montages and fights."
You nod absently, glad that Rocky was in good hands even if Marica couldn't be as direct. It was a good segway into the purpose of your visit, but not wanting to reveal information to the subordinates and cause a rumor storm you opted for some privacy. "Marcia, do you mind if we speak in my office for a bit?"
Marcia looked a bit perplexed and unsure, but after a slight period of consideration she easily agreed and followed you to your office. "Is there a third film we need to look after?" She asked as she sat down.
You shook your head, "No, nothing like that. Yesterday I spoke with Sly at the after party, and he was pushing hard for Rocky to get a Memorial Day release, which we both now Star Wars won't be ready by. He said that he had your approval, and I wanted to know why."
Marcia bit her lip in slight tension, "It's not that I'm looking to undermine George or spite him."
"I never accused you of doing such." You stated truthfully, wondering where such a thought came from and if you showed any hostility.
Marcia scrutinized you for a few seconds then continued, "I wish more than anything that Star Wars could be our premiere film, but the past few months have made the timing terrible and we can't afford to wait any longer. It would be a hindrance to the company but George can't see because he still thinks Lucasfilms is Lucas' films."
"How so?" You asked, having a feeling where this was going.
"We already took the first step by helping Sly and producing Rocky, but now we've just doubled our film production with Steve and Brian, and Martin's either going to get his Taxi movie back or start another passion project. So many people lost their jobs to the strike and the first ones to the unemployment line are the dreamers or out of their luck starving artists who are never given a chance because they don't fit with the market. We're the only company who can provide a refuge for all of them but expanding the scope of our operations can only last so long off of Japanese imports and your fortune, not to mention that so many people are hesitant to do business with us because we're unproven with George just having two films and no releases in our first two years of operation."
You nodded in agreement, "So if we want to continue being a charitable home of the arts, we need more films to both prove ourselves and get the money necessary to act as such a home for the house of ideas?" You ventured, with Marcia nodding in return.
"I mean that's why you and George made the company in the first place isn't it, so you and George can make your own art with freedom and passion? Except I think George is having trouble remembering there's others like him."
"Yeah." You say blankly. Even after Rocky, George kind of tended to view the movie as the exception not the rule, and even his best friend Steve had to wait until Star Wars was well into post to begin his dream film. You were fairly intimate with the tale of the starving artist, your brother and sister having tried and failed their dreams at Hollywood while somehow all the Irish luck in the family got slapped onto you. Just how many more Steves and Brians were out there? How many had been denied their dreams and instead become Gavins and Cats?
"I'm sure Star Wars is going to make the company a lot of money and be considered a masterpiece of cinema, but the more we wait just because George doesn't like to share the more opportunities we lose from lack of money, prestige, and experience. Take for example Warner. We've got some of the greatest IPs in Hollywood up for auction soon, and we've got our film with THX trapped like Leia in the Death Star. Lots of great stories for you and George to work with, but even Mike might not be able to get anything with only a 10 to 20 budget versus Universal's hundreds of millions."
You groaned at the reminder that your most hated rival continued to find exponentially greater success than yours, and with a recent change in leadership towards more rational and strategic business and a very lauded collection that grew by the year, they truly were growing to become the Galactic Empire, and even a proton torpedo from Star Wars was unlikely to wipe Hollywood from their evil.
It was something that you were determined not to let happen, to let those bastards hold even more power over your career. Not only did you need to get THX back, but you needed to save the Looney Tunes from getting corrupted by Universal greed, give Clint total control of Dirty Harry, and make sure Superman and the other legends of comics stayed their inspiring selves and Bill Finger could finally rest in peace with his dream Batman comics being made.
"You think we can convince George with that, the needs of dreamers and the war effort against Universal?" You asked.
Marcia shrugged her shoulders, "Probably need to present a few other good arguments, but that'll at least get him to think considerably instead of dismissing outright."
You exhaled in frustration, if only you could use a Jedi mind trick.
The day after Mike's return from Japan, you decided to ask your studio president the same question. Having just come back from an 18 hour flight to Tokyo, you expected Mike to take the day off or at least take it easy. What you did not expect was for his normally pristine and well-organized office to become a cluttered mess as paper were everywhere and his walls became a mess of photos and red strings along with having a map of the greater Los Angeles area with those little green toy soldiers spread across. It appeared that Mike was very eager to go to war and push Lucasfilms to the winner of the War of Warner Succession.
"When you get right down to it, the money optics shows that Star Wars going second is going to lead to far greater profits for Lucasfilms in the long run."
"Mhm." You say. Honestly you should have expected profit to be Mike's primary motivation.
As if getting the subtext, Mike rolled his eyes at your deadpan attitude, "I'm serious, if we release Star Wars first we could lose hundreds of millions in potential box office, billions if you account for merchandise."
Now THAT made you intrigued, "How the hell is Star Wars going first going to set this studio to financial ruin?" You asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mike shook his head, "Not financial ruin, but set back our potential, making us a peer of Universal instead of its superior."
You chuckled at the confidence, "Can't believe this is coming from the same guy who first thought Star Wars was a kid's fantasy book."
Mike grinned at that, "Hey, I'll admit when I'm wrong, and with everything I've seen so far I think Star Wars can be the most successful film of all time, spawn a franchise that makes James Bond look like B-flick trash and make Some Nights look like a high school musical. No offense."
"None taken." The thought was actually kind of funny to you, if Star Wars truly did better than Some Nights then it would mean that Carrie starred in the two highest grossing films with Some Nights only being beaten by her second film. It made you wonder if Five Dates despite how simple it was would follow tradition and become the newest highest grossing, with Carrie blessed to shatter records with every appearence.
"So back to what I was saying, I think Star Wars has at the absolute minimum potential to make half a billion. When Some Nights and Jaws were released, you had all the other studios lose tens of millions each month because all of their movies no matter the quality didn't have any demand and why would a theater waste money propping them up when they can fill all of their seats with those two? I think Star Wars is going to be the same way and I want at least half a year where it doesn't have any competitors in-house and we can make Star Wars bleed the entire town dry. Only exception I'll make is if you and Carrie come up with something." Mike explained.
You started to nod as the train of logic was making its way into the station, "So you think if Star Wars comes out first, we either have to delay Rocky by several months or take a massive hit to the Rocky box office."
Mike nodded, "Exactly. Sly's got himself a real masterpiece and it's definitely going to land us nine figures, but if you have your average customer choose between Rocky and Star Wars, they'll choose Star Wars nine times out of ten. Rocky doesn't deserve it, and it's bad enough that Sly's so damn stubborn that he won't consider a 77 release or George a 76. We could have had Oscar sweeps back to back and now I gotta gamble in Steve's movie." Mike said with a frustrated groan and shake of the head. "Still, it's not just Rocky I want to pump out before Star Wars. Get Godzilla and some other Japanese blockbusters out on the market to take advantage of our new Toho alliance, get Carrie out in time for Halloween, hopefully scoop up some more diamonds in the rough for distribution. Plus you know, fill up the warchest with a Pentagon budget so we can make out like bandits in Universal. Get the Looney Tunes and your dream animation studio..." Mike said enticingly, like dangling a carrot in the hopes you would be fully on board with his plan, something which embarrassingly was kind of working.
"Wait what about the merchandising? Is Kenner not ready with their toys?" You ask in concern.
"Oh they're ready, not as much stock as I'd like but they're ready. It's actually pretty simple. You're a parent and you got little Joey and Sally wanting Luke and Leia action figures but it's not their birthdays so you hold in with willpower. But if you see Star Wars right around Christmas season then you're familially obligated to go and get some Star Wars toys." Mike says confidently.
"Christmas huh? If we get lines like Jaws, won't that cut into profits cause no one's going to stand hours in the snow and people will risk getting hypothermia?" You ask. You couldn't walk New York around that time without wearing a couple layers of clothes and while food stands would be sure to make a killing with coffee and hot chocolate, no sane New Yorker would willingly spend hours outside in the cold.
"If we release it in the summer then they'd trade hypothermia for heat stroke. Whatever money we lose in the North and Canada we'll make for a return in California and the South. Besides half the world's gonna be on vacation, no better time to fill theaters." Mike responds.
"Fine, but at the very least let's consider a July or August release, hopefully if worse comes to worse we can make happy with a quicker release."
After a few days of planning between the Rocky quartet as well as some time to get George to hopefully lower his guard and get into the Rocky spirit, you managed to shepherd George into the conference room where Sly, Marcia and Mike were waiting on one end, and before George could make for a speedy retreat, you swiftly hugged your back to the door, forcing George to face the music. "George, I think we're about to get that conversation we want to have."
Though, I do have to put forward a young Warwick Davis as Ronan though.