Producer Freddie Fields ("Glory"), a top agent in the '70s and studio chief of MGM in the early '80s, believes the case has had some import, nevertheless. "The suit has opened up a keg of worms," he stated. "It makes everyone look at things from both angles. The judge has said that there's something wrong with our definition of profits. Unless studios can show that net participants can make money, they're inviting more gross participants--so it's in their interest to change, to scrutinize definitions of what constitutes 'profits.' "
Eddie Murphy's ex-manager Robert Wachs, for one, expects the net profit formula to endure. "If a studio elects to have a definition of profits that prevailed for 40-50 years, they'll continue to do so," he said. "It's about what you have to offer and how much the studio wants it--the American system of supply and demand. This is a rough playground. You do have to fight. But you can win . . . within the studio system."
