"Norman Spinrad - Mouse" - читать интересную книгу автора (Spinrad Norman)

barbecued spare ribs--a disgruntled American reporter had complained
that this was the "B-list" screening, those privileged to enjoy "A-
list" prerogatives being treated to lobster, caviar, and champagne.
This mattered not to Xian Bai, since the film itself had quite
destroyed his appetite--being an animated cartoon version of the
heroic Long March of the Chinese Revolution, dripping with syrupy
music, festooned with Busby Berkley choreography, and featuring Chou
En Lai as a fox, Chiang Kai Shek as a mongoose, the People's Army as
happy ants, and starring Chairman Mao himself as a grinning and rather
overweight panda.
"You do realize that the premiere of this atrocity in the United
States will result in the immediate and permanent closure of the
Chinese market to all your enterprises," Xian Bai informed the Disney
Vice President as he was instructed to do.
"No problem, guy, you want us to premiere THE LONG MARCH in
China, you've got it."
"You cannot seriously expect to ever release this film in China!"
"Better inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent
pissing in, in the immortal words of Lyndon Johnson."
"This means what...?"
"It means that one way or the other, we will crack open the
Chinese market, but we don't need it to make the numbers golden. THE
LONG MARCH cost less than fifty million to make, negative and promo
costs still keep the total under a hundred, and we've already layed
off twice that on the merchandising rights! So the film's in the
money before we even release it. We figure Mao the stuffed Panda
alone will gross enough this Christmas to cover the whole production
budget!"
"You...you plan to market Chairman Mao as stuffed panda?" Xian
Bai considered himself an apolitical modern Chinese pragmatist, but
this was too much even for him.
"The kids we ran the marketing tests on loved it. Mao Tze Tung's
gonna be ten times more popular as a panda doll than he ever was in
the flesh."
The Disney Vice President leaned closer. "If I let you in on
something really hot, can you keep a secret?" he said
conspiratorially.
"I can make no such commitment...."
The Disney Vice President shrugged. "Well, what the hell, it's a
fait accompli anyway. We've decided to stop renting out our
characters to front other people's fast food franchises, and get into
the business ourselves. Mickey and Donald and the old gang are tied up
in long term contracts, but Mao the Panda--"
"You cannot be serious!"
"I know what you're thinking, dumb move, the market's
oversaturated with hamburger and pizza and taco and fried chicken
chains already. But...nobody's doing Chinese! Panda Pagodas in every
shopping mall in the world! Fronted by Mao the Panda himself! We'll
hang poor Ronald McDonald from his own Golden Arches!"
Even the edited and explicated version of this conversation was