A Cast of Thousands [antikvár]

i The arctic blizzard howled through Manhattan's glass-and-steel canyons, reducing the morning rush hour to a slippery crawl. High above Sixth Avenue the huge tinted windows of the Gemstone Pictures building rattled ominously. The storm's eerie wail seeped through the cork-lined walls of the executive screening room where Frank Solish shifted uncomfortably in his cushioned chair. Gem-stone's chief of worldwide sales considered the moaning wind a fitting underscore to the grim picture he'd been watching for the past ninety-eight minutes. Seated a few rows behind Solish, the film's writer and its director whispered nervously. The youthful team had flown in from the coast on the fed-eye, dropped their bags at the hotel, and left immediately for the screening. The two filmmakers had^produced a highly successful TV series, but this was their first effort for the big screen. For them the picture represented three grueling years of outrageous story conferences, devious managers, vengeful ex-wives, and the star's unquenchable thirst for Stolichnaya. Against all prevailing wisdom they had brought the picture in on time and on budget. And now, in less than three minutes, their professional futures would be decided. All their aspirations were riding on Solish's approval. The di-