:20:01
Yes, right. Good thinking. You figure it out.
:20:05
I'm tired. I'm gonna take a little nap.
Wake me if there's a fire.
:20:10
Let's see if we add these we get, 10...
:20:15
...four...
:20:22
Amazing.
:20:24
It's absolutely amazing.
:20:27
Under the right circumstances...
:20:29
...a producer could make
more money with a flop...
:20:31
...than he could with a hit.
:20:36
Yes, it's quite possible.
:20:38
If he were certain that the show would fail,
a man could make a fortune!
:20:42
Yes?
:20:44
- Yes what?
- What you were saying? Keep talking.
:20:47
What was I saying?
:20:49
That under the right circumstances...
:20:51
...a producer could make
more money with a flop...
:20:54
...than he could with a hit.
:20:56
Yes, it's quite possible.
:20:58
You keep saying that, but you don't tell me how.
:21:01
How can a producer
make more money with a flop...
:21:04
...than he could with a hit?
:21:06
It's simply a matter of creative accounting.
:21:09
Let's assume, just for the moment,
that you are a dishonest man.
:21:13
- Assume away.
- It's very easy.
:21:15
You simply raise
more money than you really need.
:21:18
What do you mean?
:21:20
You did it yourself,
only you did it on a very small scale.
:21:23
What'd I do?
:21:24
You raised $2,000 more than you needed
to produce your last play.
:21:28
So? What did it get me?
I'm wearing a cardboard belt!
:21:31
That's where you made your mistake.
You didn't go all the way.
:21:34
You see, if you were really a bold criminal,
you could have raised $1 million.
:21:39
But the play only cost me $60,000 to produce.
:21:42
And how long did it run?
:21:44
- One night.
- You see?
:21:45
Do you see what I'm trying to say?
:21:47
You could have raised $1 million,
put on a $60,000 flop...
:21:50
...and kept the rest.
:21:52
- But what if the play was a hit?
- Then you'd go to jail.
:21:55
Once the play's a hit,
you have to pay the backers...
:21:58
...and with so many, there could never be
enough profits to go around. Get it?