Chapter 114: The Final Sprint
Holt walked down the long corridor, pushed open the door, and stepped directly out onto the balcony. He found his biggest client, the bespectacled Roger Ebert, enjoying afternoon tea at a small round table. Ebert gestured for him to sit and poured him a cup from the teapot.
"Any invitations?" Ebert asked his agent.
Just as they were for the rest of Hollywood, the summer season and the Thanksgiving-Christmas window tied to the awards season were peak earning periods for professional film critics. While their influence during the summer season was far weaker than during the awards season, studios still needed to borrow their names to beat the drums and build hype for big commercial blockbusters. For decades, the two industries had been closely linked—clashing yet cooperating—and had long since established an unwritten rule.
Massive commercial blockbusters, in particular, carried much higher PR and marketing costs and required the praises of top-tier critics. Sometimes, producers and distributors could offer up seven-figure PR budgets.
On the surface, a professional film critic's income came from columns, freelance reviews, and book deals. A select few at the very top also had television programs they were invited to host. These alone were enough to guarantee a handsome annual income.
Yet that was only their public income. Last year, Roger Ebert's columns and TV programs had brought in a little over $800,000, but in just one summer season, his under-the-table earnings soared into the seven figures!
Although he outwardly criticized the ever-inflating budgets of Hollywood commercial films and championed independent cinema, this was merely a posture to show he wasn't vulgar or pandering to the masses. These top critics had spent twenty years or more reaching their current status; they knew perfectly well that only big-budget commercial productions offered the opportunities for massive payouts.
Since last year, Roger Ebert had held a list of potential summer season releases. He had long set his sights on huge projects like The Lion King, Independence Day, and True Lies. According to past conventions, the producers and distributors would definitely invite him to their preview screenings.
With the dollar depreciating, Roger Ebert had already planned to raise his rates. Walt Disney proved to be quite accommodating—for The Lion King alone, he had pocketed a $300,000 check.