fourwalling
v.— «The example of “Billy Jack” is being studied by everyone in the industry. Tom Laughlin, the producer, director and star of the 1971 film, was dissatisfied with Warners’ distribution of the film, so he went out and dealt directly with the exhibitors. Under his careful strategy, the film was recently re-released by Warners to astonishing business.…John Rubel, vice president of Billy Jack Productions, explains Laughlin’s “four-walling” scheme that proved so successful on re-release: “Instead of the usual percentage deal, we rent the theater for a week so that we become in effect the exhibitor of the film.”» —“So You Make a Movie—Will the Public Ever See It?” by Stephen Farber in Los Angeles New York Times Feb. 24, 1974. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Trivia time! Where in the United States can you visit Soda City? If you answered Columbia, South Carolina, you’re right! This nickname apparently derives from an old practice of abbreviating Columbia as Cola. The locals then referred to the town as...
