James Aubrey on filmmaking

Extract from a 1986 interview with James Aubrey. He talks about his time running MGM:

The thing that separates the men from the boys, in my opinion, the one thing in terms of leadership that stands out, is not intelligence or ability. Those who operate most effectively, those I respect most, simply are not afraid. And most people are afraid, they're scared of decisions. Bill Paley could be ruthless, but he was not afraid of decisions. Everybody has a fear level, when you've gone as far as you can go, but you do have to go that far. Your modus operandi can't be, `What if it doesn't work?' I never really analyzed this, but maybe it's why I've taken the blame for many things. I was willing to take that blame... 

[The studio was in] total disarray. Until you were in a position to lift up the rug, there was no way to know how much disarray. The crown jewel of studios had become a shambles... Kirk and I decided we'd get rid of everything else, and we did. The banks had extended credit to such a degree that we had to have a meeting to indicate our willingness to make good. We sold off acreage, European movie houses, whatever we could... 

[Without my changes] There would be no MGM today. But I was silhouetted against a garish horizon... The buck had to stop somewhere, and it was with me... Nostalgia runs strong out here, so we were criticized for selling Judy Garland's red shoes. To us they had no value, and they had no intrinsic value... In all honesty, I don't think anyone-Kirk, Greg, myself-knew just what it was going to take to save MGM. We really had to claw our way back...

The major difference about movie making is that everything here is manufactured from dreams. TV did not work that way. Movie producers and directors are told that every picture is going to be a smash, and get academy nominations. The moment a movie begins shooting, the dream machinery proclaims it a hit. I find that attitude unrealistic. Some movies are not going to turn out well. Yet very few directors will stand up and say, `I did my best, but it didn't work.' So the executive becomes the heavy....

[on his resignation] I just didn't want to do it anymore There are people who don't know when to walk away, or can't walk away, and it's painful to see that. I just no longer had interest in the machinery of a big studio." Was he gun-shy? "Maybe a little, but in all honesty I've never been afraid of failure. And I've never been afraid to admit failure.
 
From "Aubrey: A Lion in Winter" by Paul Rosenfield, Los Angeles Times, 27 April 1986 p Z1