Denise and her lawyer were left waiting in the outer office for over three quarters of an hour. Donald Fritz finally came out, told them he was tied up, his assistant would handle the signing and went back in his office. They waited fifteen minutes more before the assistant arrived. Denise started to protest the shoddy treatment to the assistant. The woman looked over her glasses. “I recommended he not offer you a contract. You are nothing but trouble. When he insisted we proceed my recommendation was to offer half what he is offering. You cost the studio too much with your drinking. He still wants you. I probably will never understand why. So I will sign. But he told me if you waste too much of my time I am to send you packing. Let me put it frankly. You have screwed up too many times. Nobody else in this town will give you work. It is either take our offer or go back to Minnesota.”

The contract was for $10,000 a month or $120,000 a year, less than one twentieth of what she was making just two years ago. There would be no agent’s fees and since it was salary Social Security was paid. There was a strict penalty for missing work. An hour late would cost $200. A missed day would cost her $1000. If she was sick unless she was in the hospital she should come in and the studio doctor would care for her. If the studio doctor said she was sick her pay was not docked up to fifteen days a year. She could be expected to work as much as twelve days on the set in a month.

The contract sounded awful. She started to protest and her lawyer held up his hand. “Before you protest, look at this.”

The contract had some provisions for additional monies to be paid for various other services. If she was not working on a day and they needed extras they would use her at a rate of $200 a day and the day counts as a day on the set. The lawyer asked about this. “Many of the people who have spare time make as much as a couple thousand dollars extra each month that way. And they get their name in the credits.”

“Big deal.”

“If you work one of these and the film makes money, you get a percentage. It isn’t much but some people who have been with us five years now get a significant amount from these profits. And there are other ways. If you can get a guest spot on a show and promote the studio and the networks we supply, you will get a bonus. If shooting schedules require that you work more than 12 days for assigned roles you will get $800 a day for the extra days and any month that you have no late time you get an extra $500.”

“This is like working in a fucking factory. It’s just like making oil filters every day like my dad did all his life.”

“It is a factory. We make more movies a year than any other studio. Our costs are less than one tenth of the big name studios. And we make money on nearly every film and over half of them are being done in both regular and HD formats. We make money by being efficient. We have a system that works. And you are right it’s just like working for Ford, Chrysler or GM except we don’t have a union to keep us from firing you. You have problems we try to help. If you repeatedly screw up the system, you go.”

Denise got up and walked out. She called all over town but nobody would even talk to her. A week later she called Fritz again. She left a message that she would sign the contract. The assistant told her Donald would meet with her that evening. She protested that she did not intend to have sex to get a job. The assistant laughed. “His wife died over a year ago. Don’t overrate yourself. There are a hundred good looking women who would be more attractive to him. He likes a full DD cup and broad hips. He isn’t interested in your skinny butt and your boobs aren’t even worth discussing. He isn’t even interested in me.”

“Thanks.” Denise remembered the woman. If Donald liked big boobs and butts and wasn’t interested in her he sure wasn’t interested in Denise.

Denise Chapter 01: Success in Hollywood

Denise Chapter 07: Denise, No Longer the Prima Dona

Denise Chapter 09: Fritz Offers a New and Not Better Contract