exciting mystery movie. Walsh has the final say on the development and production of movie scripts for major box-office release. This new movie idea, like so many others in the film industry, is risky. It could become a blockbuster hit, but it could also become a costly failure. Alternatively, Anderson could recommend that Walsh forgo production of the movie drama and use the studio's currently available resources to produce a film from another script for Home Box Office (HBO). Anderson has to determine the best use of the studio's current production resources. The HBO option would provide fairly certain profits. Conversely, a huge hit at the box office could put High Places on the map as a major contender among the Hollywood studios, but a flop could incur significant losses, which High Places could ill afford. See also the B case, UVA-QA-0547.

In the B case, a question arises concerning what type of contract to offer the film's star. Should the studio offer a standard fixed-fee contract, or should it offer a smaller fixed fee plus a percentage of the gross? Moreover, which alternative would the star prefer? See also the A case, UV6214.