DEATH OF AN AMERICAN HUCKSTER: The long con of the late Michael Cimino:

By the time Bach arrived in Kalispell [Montana] to try to get a leash on Cimino, the total cost of [Heaven’s Gate] (including debt service) was projected to be $50 million, which was half of the studio’s entire production budget for 1979. (Cimino continued to insist that he would finish the movie for $25 million.) At this point, [UA senior vice-president Steven Bach] realized that United Artists’ continued existence hinged on the movie being completed and becoming a smash-hit. Anything short of that would kill the company.

And it did, killing the ‘70s movie brats’ industry autonomy along the way. Read the whole thing.