The seventy-fifth anniversary edition of Variety, dated 14 January 1981, split its financial page between two different stories: "For Screen or Tube Financing, the Buzz-Word Is Package" set beside "Loss of Control over Film Costs Stressed by HEAVEN'S GATE Fiasco." This match proved to be most prophetic: packaging and spiraling costs were indeed two of the most durable issues in the industry of the decade. While the HEAVEN'S GATE story placed the Michael Cimino film against other highbudget films from the majors (Universal's FLASH GORDON and Paramount's POPEYE), the statistical summary noted the much more obscure RAISE THE TITANic, also released in 1980 and budgeted at an identical level to HEAVEN'S GATE ($36 million). Produced by Lord Lew Grade's British company, ITC, RAISE THE TITANIC lacked media hooks such as an Oscar-winning auteur, year-long production schedule, and a...