Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1940)

Records Accessible To Justice Dep'l (Continued from page 12) Stock ownership or otherwise, a financial interest of not less than 50 per cent. XVIII. For the purpose of securing compliance with this decree, and for no other purpose, duly authorized representatives of the Department of Justice shall, on the written request of the Attorney General or the Assistant Attorney General in charge of anti-trust matters, and on notice to any consenting defendant, reasonable as to time and subject matter, made to such defendant at its principal office, and subject to any legally recognized privilege. (1) be permitted reasonable access, during the office hours of such defendant, to all books, ledgers, accounts, correspondence, memoranda and other records and documents in the possession or under the control of such defendant, relating to any of the matters contained in this decree, and (2) subject to the reasonable convenience of such defendant, and without restraint or interference from it, be permitted to interview its officers or employees regarding any such matters, at which interview counsel for the office or employee interviewed and counsel for the company may be present. Without in any way limiting the rights granted in the foregoing provisions of this Section each of the distributor defendants shall keep at its principal office current records, which shall be accessibe for the purpose aforesaid, showing — (1) The dates when and the places where each of its features is trade-shown, the names of the trade publication wherein notice of each trade-showing was published, and the date of publication; the name and location (by town and exchange district) (Footnote No. 1) of each theatre in which each feature is licensed for exhibition, and the date of license thereof; (2) As to each license entered into by it, the date thereof and the names and location (by town and exchange district) (Footnote No. 1) of the theatres involved, the names of the parties thereto and of the distributor’s sales representative who negotiated the license, and the names of the features licensed for exhibition; (3) All arbitration awards rendered against the distributor with a statement showing what the distributor has done to comply therewith. Information obtained pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall not be divulged by any representative of the Department of Justice to any person other than a duly authorized representative of the Department of Justice except in the course of legal proceedings to which the United States is a party, or as otherwise required by law. XIX. Except as otherwise expressly and specifically provided in this decree, nothing herein shall be construed to limit the right of any distributor defendant to select its own customers, to bargain with them in accordance with law. or to negotiate with or to license to or to accept any offer from any exhibitor to license its motion pictures or any number thereof upon such terms and conditions as it deems advisable or to its best interests. XX. The provisions of Section III, of subdivision (a) of Section IV, of Section V and of Section X of this decree shall have application only with respect to features released in the United States after August 31, 1941. XXI. Petitioner, by its counsel, has represented to the Court that the public interest requires that the provisions of this decree shall operate for a trial period of three years from the date of entry hereof. Petitioner has further represented to the Court, and each of the consenting defendants has consented to the entry of this decree upon the condition, that Petitioner will not for a period of three years after the entry of this decree, either 35. In the ease of the distributor defendant Twentieth Century-Fox Film Cori>oration, or its successors, the defendant National Theatres Corporation, or its successors, shall be deemed to be such a company if said distributor defendant owned not less than 42 per cent of its common stock at the date of the decree and not less than 35 per cent of its common stock at the time of such license, provided not less than 42 per cent of its common stock is owned by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, or its successors, and by present or future officers or directors of National Theatres Corporation, or its successors. 36. See footnote 4 to Section III. Skouras Brothers Conier On Suit Settlement Los Angeles — Spyros Skouras, operating head of National Theatres, spent the weekend here conferring with his brother, Charles, head of Pox West Coast, on the settlement reached in New York with the government on the pending contempt proceedings against the circuit. He returned to New York via plane after three days. Charles A. Buckley, attorney for FWC, has returned from the east where he spent about a week on the contempt settlement and other circuit matters. Phillips Visits Chicago on B&K Suit Withdrawal Chicago — Louis Phillips, home office counsel for Paramount, was here Monday for the court postponement of the B&K contempt proceedings which are being settled as part of the all-industry suit in New York. From here he went to Madison, Wis., for the La Crosse Theatres anti-trust action against Paramount, UA and 20thFox, in addition to Minnesota Amusements and Welworth Theatres of Wisconsin. in this action or any other action or proceeding against any such defendant seek either the relief or any thereof prayed in paragraphs (4), (5) and (6) of Section VIII of the Petition filed herein July 20, 1938, or in paragraphs (5), (6) and (7) of Section VIII of the Amended and Supplemental Complaint filed herein 1940, or otherwise seek to divorce the production or distribution of motion pictures from their exhibition; or to dissolve any such defendant or any corporation in which any such defendant has, directly or indirectly, a substantial stock interest and which is engaged in the exhibition of motion pictures or holds directly or indirectly a substantial stock interest in any corporation so engaged, or to dissolve or break up any circuit of theatres of any such defendant or of any such corporation, or to require any such defendant, corporation or circuit to divest itself of its interests or any thereof, direct or indirect, in motion picture theatres in which it had an interest at the date of the entry of this decree. XXII. 1. The method and conditions of the arbitration which is referred to in this decree, and the procedure for such arbitration, shali be as specified in this Section and in the Kuies of Arbitration and Appeais which are provided for hereinafter. 2. An arbitration system for the arbitration of ciaims and controversies for which arbitration is provided in this decree shall be administered by an impartial Administrator. The Administrator shall establish and maintain an Arbitration Tribunal in each city in the United States in which three or more of the distributor defendants shall maintain exchanges. The Administrator shall establish and maintain a panel of not less than ten arbitrators for each Arbitration Tribunal and shall establish and maintain suitable offices and personnel, including a clerk, for each Arbitration Tribunal and for the Appeal Board provided for hereinafter. The Administrator shall have the power to appoint and remove members of the panels and personnel. 3. No person shall be appointed a member of any panel of arbitrators who has any financial interest in, or has or has had any connection with, the production, distribution or exhibition of motion pictures, or has or has had any interest in any motion picture theatre as landlord, lessor, or otherwise. 4. The American Arbitration Association is appointed Administrator of the arbitration system under this decree, and is authorized and directed to perform the duties and functions of such Administrator until further order of the Court. Any successor to the American Arbitration Association as Administrator shall be appointed by the Court on the joint application and recommendation of the Petitioner and of a majority of the distributor defendants, except that it the Petitioner and a majority of the distributor defendants fail to join in making such application and recommendation the successor Administrator shall be appointed by the Court. 5. There shall be a Budget Committee consisting of three members, one of whom shall be appointed by the Administrator, one of whom shall be appointed by the distributor defendants, and one of whom shall be the Chairman of the Appeal Board. The Budget Committee shall budget the cost of the maintenance and operation of the arbitration system. Such budget for the first Majors Musi Divulge Grosses Each Year twelve months of the operation of the arbitration system shall not exceed $ except with the consent of a majority of the distributor defendants. The budget for each succeeding twelve months’ period shall not exceed $ except with the consent of a majority of the distributor defendants, provided, however, that the Court may, on the application of the Petitioner, and for good cause shown, order an increase in the budget for any year to such amount, not exceeding $ as it may find necessary for the effective operation of the arbitration system. 6. Each arbitrator shall be selected and each arbitration proceeding shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by the Rules of Arbitration and Appeals which are filed herewith and are hereby approved. Such Rules may be amended or added to from time to time by the Administrator with the approval of a majority of the Appeal Board upon notice to the Petitioner and to the distributor defendants of such proposed amendments or additions and an opportunity for a hearing thereon. No amendment of or addition to such Rules shall change the qualifications, of arbitrators as set forth in Rule II of such rules or deny to any exhibitor or distributor defendant the right to intervene as a party in any proceeding by which it may be affected or deny to any party to an arbitration proceeding the right; to receive notice of all proceedings therein; to participate in the selection of arbitrators; to challenge the qualifications of arbitrators; to be represented by counsel or otherwise; to secure the production of witnesses and of evidence; to examine and cross-examine all witnesses; and to appeal to the Appeal Board from any adverse award. The Rules may provide for the arbitration of claims and controversies between distributor defendants and exhibitors for the arbitration of which no provision is made in this decree and wTiich by agreement between the parties thereto shall be submitted to the tribunals. 7. There shall be an Appeal Board which shall have jurisdiction to determine appeals from awards made by the Arbitration Tribunals. It shall consist of three members appointed by the Court, each of whom shall be a person of known impartiality and distinction. Each such member shall be appointed for a term of three years and shall serve during such term unless he shall be removed by order of the Court or shall resign. Each member of the Appeal Board shall be eligible for reappointment. One member of the Appeal Board shall be designated by the Court as the Chairman of the Board. The members of the Appeal Board shall be compensated on an annual basis. The Chairman of the Board shall be paid $ per annum, and each of the other members of the Board shall be paid $ per annum. The Appeal Board shall have its offices in New York, New York. 8. The expenses of the arbitration system shall be paid out of a fund administered by the Administrator. Such fund shall be established and maintained: by filing fees provided for by the Rules of Arbitration and Appeals; by penalties imposed in accordance with the provisions of Sections IV and V of this decree, and by such additional amounts, to be paid by the distributor defendants, as may be determined by the Budget Committee from time to time to be necessary. Such amounts shall be assessed by the Administrator to and shall be paid by the several distributor defendants in amounts proportionate to their respective gross receipts from licenses for the exhibition of motion pictures in the United States. The proportionate gross receipts of such defendants during the 1939-40 motion picture season shall be used in determining the amount to be paid by each such defendant for the expenses of establishing the arbitration system and of maintaining it during the first twelve months of its operation. Thereafter the gross receipts for the motion picture season ending on the August 31st immediately preceding the start of the particular twelve months' period shall be used in determining such amounts. Each distributor defendant shall inform the Administrator promptly after the end of each motion picture season of its total gross receipts during such motion picture season from licenses for the exhibition of motion pictures in the United States. Such information shall be treated by the Administrator as confidential and shall not be divulged except as required by law. 9. Any person who has the right to institute an arbitration proceeding under any provision of this decree, may institute and prosecute such proceeding in the manner and subject to the conditions specified in the Rules of Arbitration and Appeals, upon the condition that such person tile with the Clerk of the Arbitration Tribunal (Continued on page 17) 16 BOXOFFICE November 2, 1940