Micr W6 DQ2

The concept of a credible threat figured prominently in the negotiations between Warner Brothers’ managers and Tony Bennett over the matter of Mr. Bennett’s fee for performing in Analyze This. Once most of the film had been shot, managers knew they couldn’t threaten credibly to refuse Mr. Bennett’s salary demand because at that point adapting the film to another singer would have been extremely costly. In contrast, a similar threat made before production of the movie had begun would have been credible.

Just as in some games credible threats are impossible to make, in others credible promises are impossible. A credible promise is one that is in the interests of the promiser to keep when the time comes to act. In the following example, both players suffer because of the inability to make a credible promise.

Question to answer: Why did Warner Brothers make a mistake by waiting until the filming of Analyze This was almost finished before negotiating with Tony Bennett to perform in the final scene?