Photoplay (Feb-Sep 1917)

Enter — the Free Lance Writer THE GROWING NEED OF THE FILM PRODUCERS FOR THE WRITER WITH IDEAS IS DEMONSTRATED BY THE WELL KNOWN PHOTOPLAY EXPERT Capt. Leslie T. Peacocke OLD books, with complicated plots, and, for the most part, character studies ; and old, time-worn stage plays have had their day. Most of those with any semblance of plot worthy of film production have been produced. A number of these have made good film plays and have netted good returns to the producers, and, again, others proved heavy financial losses. For some time past there has been a rush en behalf of the manufacturers to secure the film rights of books and old stage plays, and fanciful prices have been paid for such rights. In many cases crass ignorance has been displayed in the buying. To quote a case in point. A few months ago an independent director filmed a version of one of Charles Dickens' novels. This was brought to the notice of the managing director of one of the large film producing companies and he was informed that there was likely to be a big demand for Charles Dickens' works as feature films. The film magnate immediately sat down and penned the following historic cablegram: To Charles Dickens, London. England. What is the lotvest price you ivill take for the motion picture rights of all your books? (Signed) President and General Manager. Film Corporation. This is not cited as a joke. It is an actual fact. And to make it better, when the film magnate was informed that the eminent author had been dead many years and that there was no copyright on any of his works, he merely shrugged his shoulders and expressed the opinion that they couldn't be of much account or the author would have reserved the motion-picture rights. 'T'HIS is the first of a new -* series of instructive articles by Captain Leslie T. Peacocke, well knc • d to Photoplay Magazine .^eaders because of his "Hints on Photoplay Writing" which appeared in this magazine last year. Times have changed since then, and are still changing; but Captain Peacocke is keeping abreast of the procession. Begin his new series now. have reading line. This will show you why there has been much at fault in the film busi-ness. It has been largely in the control of financial potentates with scant knowledge of literature, art or dramatic values, and to whom fiction is pure childishness. The Stock Exchange quotations and the scare heads in the daily newspapers satisfied their taste in the rhey had, for the most part, made their fortunes in commercial pursuits and invested part of their capital in the motion picture business when any sort of production was avidly seized by a public greedy to be amused by the new and cheap divertisement. But the public is more discerning now. It is becoming more difficult to please every day. It has been satiated with adaptations from plotless books and stage plays. It is becoming restless and bored at the similarity displayed in the plots of the stories. The old-time thrills — the falling over cliffs ; the automobile accidents ; tl;e fighting in barrooms and over stairs ; the impossible holding-up by one "bad man" of fifty armed men ; the sick child and the dying mother and drunken father; the overacting of heroes ; and the heavings of bosoms out of corsets by overwrought females have lost their powers to thrill. But, right now there is coming a vast change over the whole film industry. The big financial heads of the business are now mostly superior, educated men and they are delving more closely into matters ; they are discovering that the foundation of the business ; — namely, the stories, and their working out, has been largely in the hands of a limited number of writers. The public has long recognized this and many complaints have been made and much has been written on the subject. The business managers of the producing . 95