Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession Page #12

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Winston Churchill...

to do a short prologue.

Winston Churchill said,

"The situation...

"in South Africa is

the most important thing...

"in the world today,"

blah, blah, you know...

turning a globe or something,

very important.

The problems of East Africa

are the problems of the world.

This was true in 1907,

and it is true today.

But, you know, the studio

had said...

"Get rid

of the old fat guy," right?

It's like, " Get rid

of the old fat guy?

"It's Winston Churchill!"

So Winston Churchill got cut

out of the picture, right?

It's a small bit, but, you know,

Churchill had done him...

a huge favor, so it did

Richard Brooks' heart...

a lot of good to see that

put back in the picture.

There was a cause for hope

in about September 1987...

when the Rock Group

bought the Z Channel...

and they had very

ambitious plans.

They came to all the studios

and said...

"We're going to take it

national, we need your support.

"We're going to really grow

the subscriber base."

The vision was to do a sort of

national satellite channel...

that would compete

with HBO and Showtime.

Jerry was happy.

He felt like he'd found...

the right kind of wildcatters,

the right kind of cowboys...

that would understand

his temperament...

and it just...

the future looked golden.

What do they call this place?

Just go over the rise there, big

town, called Tombstone.

Fine town.

Tombstone? Yeah, I heard of it.

Well, me and my brothers might

ride in there tonight...

get ourselves a shave maybe.

Glass of beer.

Yeah, you would enjoy

yourselves.

Wide awake, wide open town,

Tombstone.

Get anything you want there.

Thank you.

Any children?

No.

They had agreed

not to have kids.

They were both content

with it...

And there was a point

when Jerry made...

an ironic remark late in '87.

He said, " Well, I could have

predicted this would happen."

You know, and I said,

"What do you mean?"

He said, " Well, I'm gonna

have to go in...

"and have my vasectomy undone."

I said, "Really? What's up?"

And, well, "Deri wants kids."

And, you know,

reverse vasectomies...

you know, usually don't work.

And so there was some

frustration going on there...

between Deri and Jerry.

Jerry had told the doctors...

"Look, I have a problem.

"I used to have

a drinking problem.

"Please don't give me

any painkillers...

"after the surgery is over.

"You know, that way

I can recover faster."

And they agreed.

He had the topical anesthetic...

but after that,

he was cold turkey...

just surviving it

with gritted teeth...

the pain of what followed.

Unfortunately,

an infection followed...

and this time,

the doctors told him...

"Look, we have to perform

the entire operation...

"all over again."

And he said, " All right.

"This time you use

painkillers though."

He had the binge

that he predicted...

but he was able to manage it

because he saw it coming...

and he and Deri went off

to Bora Bora...

and, you know,

within a week and a half...

he was back up on top.

And it was... he arrived

from Bora Bora...

pretty much in time

for the stock market crash.

Sadly, just after the Rock Group

bought the Z Channel...

the stock market went south in

a big way in October of 1987...

and all those ambitious plans

were back-burnered...

and unfortunately, they were

ultimately never realized.

I could see the stress,

but he really did...

he was more concerned

about his staff...

and that they not be worried

or afraid or what have you...

than he, you know,

seemed to be about himself.

One night in October of '87,

I go to the movies...

with Jerry and Deri,

and we watch "The Sicilian"...

directed by Michael Cimino.

It's about to come out

the next week.

It's a preview screening.

We're watching this film.

It's got very witty dialogue.

It's got tremendous

energy to it...

but, you know, the official

opinion on Cimino was...

he's a downer or something...

and Jerry said, " You know,

the 2 hour 25 minute cut...

"is actually opening

next week in Paris."

I said, "It is?"

He said, " Yeah,. I'm going.

You know, Deri and I...

have just made plans

to go over."

And I said, " Oh, well,

I'm there, too."

Oh, it was such a wonderful time

that we spent there...

in terms of getting

to know them both.

It was again to be,

you know, in Deri's company.

I mean, she just loved

being in Paris...

and it was just all positive...

and there was a special

screening for us...

because we'd come

all this way...

and my feeling was

that it was one...

of the 3 best films

of the year...

but the film was

getting clobbered...

back in the United States.

And when he came back,

he called me to tell me...

that he was back and relayed

to me how upset he was.

I mean, it almost went beyond...

you know, like you had to say...

"Jerry, Jerry, relax, calm down.

"It's you're making

yourself sick...

"over someone else's trials

and tribulations.

"You know, one has to worry

about themselves a little more.

"Stop killing yourself...

"worrying about other

filmmakers' problems."

Jerry had been receiving these

inquiries from Joe Cohen...

who was an executive

with Spectacor...

which owned Prism, which had

some success back east...

showing sports and movies,

combining them in one channel...

and it was Joe's idea...

that the same could be done

for Z Channel.

Given the conditions

of that month of October...

it made a lot of sense.

The way to salvage all of this

was to add sports programming...

and that was it.

And thus was born Z Plus,

which was everything you love...

about Z Channel

plus the Dodgers and Angels.

The movie "The Wild Bunch"...

had a pretty profound effect

upon my life.

It was about men

in a changing world...

where the values

were changing...

and they had kind of outlived

a different world.

March 17 of 1988,

we all went to Guido's...

and that was

another great evening.

That was like the Parisian trip

all over again.

This time, Michael Cimino

was there...

and because I had sort of

gone to the wall...

for "The Sicilian," you know...

he and I were now very

comfortable with each other...

and so, you know, we were all,

all of us there...

and there was a cake that

Deri had ordered...

from, like, this

really special bakery.

I mean, it was the most amazing

chocolate cake I've ever had...

and Michael had chosen

the inscription...

which comes from John Ford from

"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"...

which is "Lest we forget."

So that was on the cake.

And it was Michael's way

of thanking...

you know, me and Jerry both...

and, boy, you know, it's

so amazing how the fates work...

because this was the last time

we were all together...

and, you know, they could not

have been luminous as a pair...

we could not have

all been happier.

I mean, that night is now

surrounded by a strange aura...

for me because it was so happy

and we were all so together...

and the cake says,

"Lest we forget."

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