Jeffrey Katzenberg Knows My Weakness Is Golf

It’s no secret I love golf. It’s also no secret I love golf far more than golf loves me. So, when Jeffrey Katzenberg called me and asked if I wanted to co-produce “The Legend of Bagger Vance” along with Dreamworks, of course I wanted to learn more. It had Robert Redford directing, Matt Damon, Will Smith and Charlize Theron starring and a reasonable budget. It also was based on one of my favorite books of all time, a book I wondered how in the world could be translated to film with its many complicated layers of war, redemption, depression and personal demons. Jeffrey’s smart, he knew Ron and Stacey would pass as they were not the sports fanatics I was. And, as passionate as I was for the title, I was also smart, having a fiduciary responsibility to my board. As much as I wanted to do it, I worried—to be done right, the film would have to be done in an epic fashion, meaning big expense. And, while Bagger Vance is so much more than a sports story, the golf aspect would hit conversation first meaning we just eliminated half the audience. Being golf is mostly of American and Western Europe interest, we’d also lose the foreign markets. So, I passed, the movie only made $31M domestic and $8M foreign, losing money in total. Turns out Jeffrey’s smart, but I’m not stupid. And I still love golf far more than golf loves me.