"Of course," I said. Movie magnates are always right.
"One thing more, Manny. I want you to see those steals again."
"I've seen those scenes of his about seven thousand times, Myron."
"So have I—so has the whole country—and between you and me I don't think they're as hot as they're cracked up to be. I'd have done it different. But I want you to see them just before you go to Kettering's party, to have 'em fresh in your mind. Get it?"
"Terrif idea!" I bellowed. "I didn't think of that!"
"That's why I'm president of Stupendous," said Myron.
Modest guy, Myron Ferdinand. "Right," I said, sliding toward the door.
"Remember," said Myron. "Anything you want—or on the other hand, the end of you in Hollywood."
On the way to the preview room I mulled it over. Nice simple assignment. Find out how Renn Kettering of PGP Studios had shot those startling sequences Mars Hazard, an international hit. It was super realism—the critics were calling it "Art's answer to the newsreel" and stuff like that. The scenes had been shot on Mars. Renn had fabulous influence. In this case he must have paid off the government itself, because the crew of the third ship to touch the new planet had been mostly his own actors and technicians and Renn himself was along. These factors were known to every hipster. But how had he managed to shoot those....
I was at the view room. I signaled the joker in the projection booth and sat down as the first famous sequences came on the screen.