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
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...