Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1917 - Jun 1918)

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ira E X H B R H R D "United Theatres to Establish Big Open Market," Says Blumenthal Founder of New Organization Issues Statement Outlining Plan in Full— "Genuine Cooperative Society," He Declares Louis F. Blumenthal, founder of the United Picture Theatres of America, Inc., issued his first official statement last week since this exhibitors' cooperative organization started its activities at 1600 Broadway, New York, and sent representatives on the road to sign up 2,000 booking days preparatory to buying and releasing pictures. In order to challenge several widely circulated mis-statements and halftruths and to set forth the fundamentals of United Theatres policy, Mr. Blumenthal said: "In the face of reports from all over the United States of a growing friendly sentiment for our plan, the signing up of many exhibitors and the reasonable prospect of securing the booking days we desire, it is annoying to be attacked by innuendo or direct mis-statement that ■questions our motives and casts discredit by raising false issues. These are the facts: A Cooperative Plan "We, who incorporated the United Picture Theatres of America, do not control the capital stock. Control is vested in the general body of exhibitors who become members. In other words, this is a genuine cooperative society, exhibitor-controlled in every sense of the word. All but a small fraction of the stock belongs to the members who vote according to the amount of their holdings and who elect directors yearly. The plan is as democratic as the town meeting or popular suffrage or the cooperative building and loan association or the mutual insurance society. "We seek the establishment of a big open market for the purchase of films, being confident that our collective buying power will bring this about. We have no axes to grind, nor any entanglements with other branches of the trade. I challenge those who have launched other schemes to say whether the same statement can be made with truth concerning them. Were we affiliated with producers, we would be controlled to a certain extent by them. Were we dealing with only the first exhibitor in each important city, we would be making him the jobber and to that extent increasing the prices of films to the members. Did we derive our capital from outside sources instead of from the members, we would be financier-controlled and not exhibitor-controlled. But we have avoided all the above pitfalls and founded our organization with an eye to the interests of exhibitors, and therefore we sincerely believe that we shall be successful in making it practicable. Passing of Profiteers "All signs in the business world point to the coming of true cooperation in every line of industry during or soon after the war. The day has gone by for individual profiteers to make big fortunes out of the efforts of the many. Everybody is going to participate in the fruits of industry to the extent of the amount of wealth created by his earnings. This applies equally to the exhibitor as to the railroad worker, the farmer, the mechanic, the clerk or the storekeeper. Enormous salaries are going to be cut down, duplications of effort abolished, roundabout ways of doing business replaced by simple, economical ones. The average man will benefit. Instead of an economic peon he will be an independent, self-respecting cooperator. "I note here with pleasure that one of the largest film companies has adopted and advertises what is our announced plan of pictures at actual studio cost, plus producer's reasonable profit. This is only one of many reforms that cooperative buying will bring about. Among others that may be named are (1) selection of star, director and story in accordance with exhibitors' wishes; 02) the elimination of superfluous footage, waste or idle prints, and poorly balanced bills; (3) direct distribution from maker to exhibitor, with overhead and salesmanship charges sharply cut; (4) the wholesale purchase of theatre supplies as well as of pictures; (5) the distribution of profits not to a few favored insiders, .but to the whole membership, first, indirectly through reduced rentals, and secondly, directly in the shape of dividends. Only a real, genuine democrative organization can achieve these reforms, and I call upon critics of our enterprise, including the advocates of other plans, to specify one item in which we have not protected and guaranteed the exhibitors' interest and control all along the line." T David Belasco to Direct Screen Drama At Universal City Carl Laemmle Makes First Advance Which Noted Stage Craftsman Is Considering EDNA EMEKSON Appearing opposite Francis Ford in "Berlin via America" (Fordart F"ilms) 18 David Belasco, the wizard of the legiti mate stage, probably will direct a pictun at Universal City, Cal., immediately afte; he finishes the two stage production: upon which he now is working. For several years motion picture mag nates have dangled alluring offers befon Mr. Belasco to give the screen the ben efit of his directorial ability. Until th< present he has laughingly rejected al advances. It was left for President Carl Laemml of the Universal Company to make th first advance to be taken under consider ation by Mr. Belasco. Negotiations to ward the final closing of the matter ar now pending. Mr. Belasco will not g> to work, it is said, until he finishes th' two stage productions that he will pre sent early next fall. The offer made by President Laemml is in line with his policy of obtaining th best producers to supply pictures fo Universal exhibitors. Mr. Laemmle not only has placed th entire facilities of Universal City at th disposal of Mr. Belasco, but he also ha offered him the choice of players and wi obtain, it is said, any story Mr. Belasc may desire to visualize. Prominent motion picture producei and the big men in the legitimate fiel are a unit in declaring that any motio picture produced by Mr. Belasco will b a masterpiece. While they acknowledg that he may have to change some of h: ideas after he actually gets to work o the lot, all are of the opinion that h versatility is so great that where nece: sary he will change his present views c motion picture production immediate! upon finding that it is necessary t change his viewpoint. Men who know the motion pictui business since its birth also predict th; David Belasco is destined to become tl greatest moving picture director shoul he decide to devote all of his time to tr silent drama. (Note — Views of Mr. Belasco on how lie wou make a motion picture are contained in an arti on page ig.) Jack]Pickford Becomes U. S. Government Cense Jack Pickford last week became motion picture censor for the Unit< States government. Pickford's first woi as a censor for the government was doi in the projection room of the Univers Film Manufacturing Company, Ne York. He was given advance scree ings of all pictures scheduled to appe; on Universal's Screen Magazine at Universal's Current Events. Jack J cently enlisted in the navy, and owii to his knowledge of motion picture was immediately assigned to the Intel gence Department.