Variety (June 1919)

\ ." ^^^^P-^M^-^-::-"' i .'\ I ' ".HV-; t ; -■■■'■'■ '■■/," :V; : ; '.■■'' .■■.'» .'' '";■' -'^---^^^^^^^^^^^^TO^P^^^^^^KI moving iroroiuB DE^ "• ■ .'• ; ; " : ''.'."•... ,■ ■: ''*•■::-.ff^f^pW/ii •&'■;:!■ ■ '"'.■' : V .'.' : ' : ''•■'•■::■ . • - $ . ■-S- 1 Mi /-.■\'y. 3V-v ZUKOR GETS MARY MILES MINTER BY MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT $1,300,000 the Exact Amount Youthful Star Will Receive For - Her Three Years'Work. Said to Be Biggest Personal Contract Ever Made in Pictures. Arthur S. Kane and Realart to Handle Product. The biggest personal contract in the history of motion pictures was enter- ed into Tuesday last by Mary Miles : Minter, on the one hand, and Adolph Zukor on the other. \ By the terms of : - this agreement Miss Minter will re- ceive in three\ years tijie $1,300,000. For her first five pictures Miss Min- ter will get $250,000, or $50,000 a picture, for the second five $300,000, or $60,000 a picture, for the third five $350,000, or $70,000 a picture, and for the fourth five $400,000, or $80,000 a picture. Zukor is absolutely bound by the terms of this contract to carry out his share of the bargain. As for Miss Minter, who was represented in the transaction by O'Brien, Malevinsky ., and Driscoll, she is a minor arid her employer has to depend on her word. He has, however, so drawn his share of, the agreement that Miss Minter's every act.shall, by the terms of the arrangement, come under his supervis- ion. *■•'. >;■..:•>■ ■ The agreement is one of the kind made famous by the late Charles.Froh- man and by David Belasco. Miss Min- ter is bound to steer her personal be- havior according to a plan laid down /Sab Zukor. She is to lead the quietest .kind of a home life, rarely, if ever, be seen in public and never under any circumstances is she to be Seen with an actor or with stage people. She is to deny herself to interviewers and accept no offers of marriage. In short, she is so to regulate net conduct that the elaborate press campaign planned by Zukor and his aides may have full swing. Oa this campaign Zukor plans to spend at least another million. He in- tends to make the name of Mary Miles Minter a household word, a symbol for all that is admired in the young girl by Americans generally. It will take time, he realizes, to put his new star where he intends to put her, not only at the head of her profession, but in the place in public esteem so long oc- cupied by Mary Pickford. As told in Variety two weeks ago, Miss Pickford herself is under the im- pression that Zukor's arrangement ■ with Mary Miles Minter is part of a campaign on the part of the film mag- nate to "get even" with his former star ; for leaving his management. Wheri'Miss Minter arrived from the Coast a month or so ago she had little or no idea that she would be able to pull out of the fire any such ripe chest-, nut as a million three hundred thou- sand. Selznick first made her an offer, raised it and quit eventually when Zukor raised the ante to $900,000 or $300,000 a year. At this point Mrs. Shelby, mother of the little star, sensed that there was something worth while in the wind and on the advice of Her- bert Lubin, of Sawyer and Lubin, let it be known that she and her daughter were in no immediate hurry to sign up with anyone. Then Lubin took charge. He boosted Miss Minter's price $400,- 000, and expected as his reward con- siderably more than he will get. There was talk for a few days of a suit, but now he is reported by those interested in the little star's side of the case to have realized that his expectations were rather, higju For his remarkable firomotion' he. wift probably receive rom Miss Minter about $10,000: Shortly after the signing of the orig- inal, contract, acting for Miss Minter, Mrs. Charlotte Shelby, her mother, signed a contract with ^rthur S. Kane whereby Miss Minter's pictures will be released and sold under the Realart trademark. The Mary Miles Minter Productions Co. will supply Kane with six pictures yearly, or twenty pictures in all. The star will begin work June 30. She is the third to be added to Kane's list, the other two being Alice Brady and Constance Binney, both, like Miss Minter, being attached to the Famous Players list. Miss Minter and her mother are now in Atlantic City. CANT FIND STUDIO SPACE. Studio space in the vicinity of New York is at a premium at present. There are a number of companies waiting to go to work if they could only find room to do so. The Taylor Holmes company, which was to start on the next feature of that comedian this week, were forced to go to shooting out-of-doors because of the fact that there was no studio available for them. The Biograph studios are jammed to the doors with companies working there and all of their space is under lease for the balance of the summer. Other studios are likewise all signed weeks in advante. SOCIALISM AND FILM INDUSTRY. That the spread of Socialism is go- ing to have a marked effect on foreign exchange in pictures and on picture theatres as well as legitimate theatres in Europe was emphasized this week by the visit to New York City of Oscar Homburg. Mr. Homburg is a Swede. He represents the Film Renters' As- sociation of the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Denmark and Norway), and he is here to appeal to the National Association of the Picture Industry for help. Scandinavian picture people need help because the Socialist government of Norway has already confiscated mo- tion picture theatres in that kingdom and turned them over to the state for operation. Their profits will go into the government exchequer. Their former owners continue, on, but as managers paid the low salary decreed by the government. ; /-• ■ ._ That the governments of the related kingdoms, Sweden and Denmark, will do the same thing is Mr. Homburg's fear. When they have done so, the three governments will be the only agency in the field buying pictures. They will set their own price and film sellers will have to take that price or quit. Government ownership will mean a closed market. Nor is this the worst of it. The movement is spreading rapidly. Already there are signs that the larger countries will do the same as Norway. In France tobacco is a government mpnopolyr- Why not- the ^theatres, French Socialists demand^fe know? That they will become a monopoly in the Teutonic countries is practically assured, but leaving these qs:de as well as France, what of England? The British Labor Party, which will probably win in the coming general election, into which Premier Lloyd George will be forced as soon as peace is signed, is strongly in favor of ex- tending the government monopoly to all luxuries. Theatres will come under that heading if several of the more powerful of the labor leaders have their way. Their argument is that it is essential to lower the cost of neces- saries as far as possible, and that the best way to' do this is to wring an in- come for the state from every possible luxury. What the Scandinavian countries may do is, after all, a minor consid- eration to exchange men in this coun- try, but what England or her colonies may do is a matter of vital considera- tion. As a result Mr. Homburg^s visit has aroused considerable attention. $1,000 WEEKLY FOR EDDIE CLINE. - - Los Angeles, June 18. Eddie Cline, the comedy director, formerly with Mack Sennett, has been engaged to do comedy directing for the William Fox concern. According to report Mr. Cline's sal- ary with Fox is $1,000 weekly. GOLDWYN TRIES FOR MONOPOLY. Coming upon the heels of the Fam- ous Players-Lasky house activity, which is aimed at cornering a large number of big picture theatres, is a most am- bitious plan on the part of Goldwyn to tie up the. legitimate field for the pic- ture rights to plays produced on Broadway. The proposition which, is now well under way calls for the form- ation of a stock company with a cap- italization of more than $10,000,000. An offer understood to have, been i made to several big producers within the past' week outlines the Goldwyn plan. It'is that each of the big legitim- ate firms asked to come in will be given $50,000 worth of stock in the new Goldwyn company yearly for a period of ten years. This is to be con- sidered as a bonus; the stock carrying eight per cent, dividend. But in addi- tion each of the producers will be paid for each'play accepted for picturization, the cash consideration to be later de- termined. The Goldwyn plan therefore has the inducement of not alone paying the producers for the picture rights, but with the grant of stock, lays open a chance of reaping exceptional profits on the part of the producers. It is Understood the Shuberts are much in- terested in the plan and that one of the Shubert backers has placed $2,000,- 000 in the Goldwyn company. In film circles the Goldwyn plan is regarded in a measure to be a check- mate against the Famous Player-Las- key tie-iipo of theatres. ^Hv-is-.-. -ji^-»v - . NESBIT'S m^i^^K0f' Evelyn" Ni:sb»t ,>iio has recently completed her i w'.ract with William Fox, is to haw hev own producing or? ganization. Kenan Buell, who direct? ed her last Fox production, is to, be associated with her and Gene Strong is to be her leading man. JOHNSON TO DIRECT LEES. Tefft Johnson has been signed by Louis T. Rogers to direct the first production in which Jane and Kather- inc Lee are to appear tinder his man- agement. Carl Harbaugh was to have directed the first two pictures, but was taken ill. Rogers has opened- offices in the Capitol Theatre building. HOLMES TO BE A HERO. Stuart - Holmes, who has been one of the very best "menace men" on the screen, is to play a hero. Charles Miller has cast him for a heroic role in the new production in which he is to be co-starred with Ellen Cassidy. The shooting started yesterday at the Bacon-Backer studios, now renamed the Miller' Studios. William Gaxton in Pictures. William Gaxton has been signed by Joe Schenck for pictures. Gaxton is recently of vaudeville and was placed with Schenck by Irving Cooper. ■" . . **- m i ■ $ ' .: . Sari. 1