Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1962)

Col. Sees $60,000,000 Gross on 'Lawrence' NEW YORK — “Lawrence of Arabia” cost $13,000,000 to produce and Columbia expects it will gross more than $60,000,000, out-grossing all other pictures, stockholders were told at their annual meeting here Wednesday (19). All directors were re-elected. A proposal by John and Lewis Gilbert, holders of 26 shares each, calling for certain restrictions in the gi-anting of stock options to executives, was defeated although it received approximately 120,000 votes by shares. A. Schneider, president, said, in reply to a question regarding a flurry of stock purchases by an individual or a group, that he did not know who was buying the stock and that there was no way of learning of his or their identities. The stockholders were told that $100,000 owed to the company by Cuban distributors of Columbia product had been written off the books. They also were told that there were 87 antitrust suits on file against the company, but that the overall amount involved had not been tabulated. The re-elected directors were Schneider, Leo M. Blancke, Donald S. Stralem, Alfred Hart, Abraham Sonnabend, Mendel Silberberg, Leo Jaffee, Samuel J. Briskin and Jerome Hyams. Price Waterhouse & Co. was selected again as the independent public accountant and auditor of the corporation. Pries Is Elected to Board Of National Foundation PHILADELPHIA — Ralph W. Pries, vicepresident of Berio Vending Co. has been elected to the national board of trustees of the National Foundation-March of Dimes. His election was announced at a meeting of the executive board of the foundation’s Philadelphia Chapter by Basil O’Connor, foundation president. Long active in March of Dimes work. Pries joins a board whose members include W. Averell Harriman. Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs; Brig. Gen. David Sarnoff, chairman of the board of the Radio Corp. of America; Robert W. Woodruff, chairman of the finance committee, the CocaCola Co., and Dr. George Gallup, director of the American Institute of Public Opinion. Pries has been Pennsylvania state chairman of the March of Dimes for the past six years. He served two years as chairman of the Philadelphia chapter and two years as campaign chairman. He is second vicepresident of Variety Club International and is former treasurer of the international group and a former chief barker of the Philadelphia tent. Ben Thau to Morris Agency LOS ANGELEIS — Ben Thau, top executive at MGM for 32 years, has joined the William Morris agency to head the motion picture department. A TOKEN FOR THE CAPTAIN — Joseph R. Vogel, president of MetroGoldwyn-Mayer, is shown presenting a gold watch to Capt. Ellsworth Coggins, who skippered the ship throughout its world tour on behalf of “Mutiny on the Bounty.” The presentation was made at a recent luncheon in honor of the crew of H.M.S. Bounty. Directors Guild Approves Single Governing Body HOLLYWOOD — George Sidney, president of the Directors Guild of America, announced that the national board of directors at a meeting in Chicago unanimously approved the establishment of a single governing body for the DGA. Action by the national board followed a referendum in which the guild’s membership overwhelmingly approved constitutional and by-law changes which eliminate eastern and western regional boards and establish a single national board of directors comprised of members in all categories from all parts of the country. The new national board will headquarter in Hollywood. It is composed of 19 members, of which 13 are from the west and six from the east. Two-thirds of the membership are in the director category, with the balance made up of assistant directors, associate directors and stage managers. ’There are 12 alternate members with six coming from each region. Commenting on the action both by the board and the membership, Sidney said, “This is one of the most important and constructive moves in the history of our guild and it certainly reflects our growth into an important national organization.” Delbert Mann, who is directing a play in New York, flew in for the meeting, while Shieldes Dierkes came from Detroit and Larry Carl from Washington, D. C. Sidney, himself, flew in from San Diego. Five Chicago network executives accepted the guild’s invitation to attend the luncheon with the board. Those attending were: Bob Link, Charles Hinds and Hank Schaefer of CBS, Manny Fingerhut of ABC and Harry Trigg of NBC. Richard Zanuck Announces Change in His Schedule HOLLYWOOD — Upon his return from a week of New York conferences, Richard Zanuck, 20th-Fox liaison for his father, president Darryl F. Zanuck, announced a new operational policy. Hereafter Richard will spend three weeks of each month on the lot, the fourth week in New York, reporting on studio developments directly to the president. Lord Archibald Discusses British Industry Here NEW YORK — Lord George Archibald, chairman of the Federation of British Film Makers, met with the press here Tuesday evening (18) and discussed various aspects of the British industry. Lord Archibald is in the United States to visit his stepgrandchildren rather than on a business mission. Explaining the setup of his organization, Lord Archibald said it had been formed six years ago with five members and had increased to 60 members. It is strictly a production association and has no exhibitor members, as does the British Film Producers Ass’n, some of whose members have interests in theatres. Touching on the Common Market, Lord Archibald said the British film industry had remained neutral on the matter, taking no sides as of now, preferring to see what the terms might be before taking a position. He said he did not believe there would be opposition to the Eady Fund of subsidy under the Common Market. In regard to the Eady Fvmd, Lord Archibald said he saw no reason why such a plan would not be workable in the United States. He said that France and Italy had subsidy plans and that a similar formula could be worked out over here. Theatres are continuing to close in England, he said. Television has had an adverse effect on attendance. On the other hand, he noted an increase in art theatres. Paul Voudouris Appointed To New Post at Eprad Paul J. Voudouris has been appointed sales manager of Eprad, Inc.’s theatre products division, according to company president A1 Boudouris. Products marketed by the theatre division include sound systems, electric in-car heaters, speakers, junction boxes and car counters. Voudoui’is succeeds James P. McSorley who recently joined BeesonReichert, Inc., Eprad’s advertising agency. Voudouris joined Eprad in 1957, and has served as assistant sales manager for three years; prior to that he worked in various administrative, purchasing and production capacities. DGA Awards in Two Cities HOLLYWOOD — The bestowing of the Directors Guild of America annual awards for 1963 will be held simultaneously in Hollywood and New York on February 9, it was announced by George Sidney, president of the guild. The west coast affair will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and the eastern function at the WaldorfAstoria. Highlights of the evening will be the Outstanding Directorial Achievement award for motion pictures to be announced at the Hollywood dinner with similar awards for television at the eastern affair. Paul J. Voudouris 8 BOXOFFICE :: December 24, 1962