Canadian Film Digest (Dec 1972)

¥ te »? . The Canadian Film Digest TOWN HALL PANEL DISCUSSES CAN. FILM By SHIRLEY MORRIS TORONTO — Canada turns out the same proportion of good, bad and _ indifferent movies as any other film producing country but none has the promotion budget of an American film to sell it to audiences, people interested in Canadian film were told at a public forum here. Instead, Canada imports 800 films a year, about half of them from the U.S. Michael Spencer of the Canadian Film Development Corporation said that, using the rule of thumb that a movie must gross five times its budget costs before it shows a profit, then Wedding in White must gross more than $1 million before it returns any money. “Face-Off did $600,000 and we’re nowhere near getting our money back,”’’ he said. Mr. Spencer was one of seven panelists discussing Canadian films at St. Lawrence Centre, a Town Hall meeting. Others were DECEMBER 1972 George westounis, President of Famous Players; Sandra Gathercole of the Canadian Film Makers Co-Op; John Hofsess; movie critic for Maclean’s; film makers William Fruet and Allan King; and critic Gerald Pratley Director of the Ontario Film Theatre as moderator. Mr. Spencer said the CFDC has recovered roughly $850,000 in five years from successful films and has re-invested the money. He pointed out that tax laws are being tightened so it is not as easy to write off losses. ‘A Montrealer bought one film as a tax write-off but it made money,” he said. ‘‘Now he owes the government another $70-80,000.” John Hofsess said critics expect ‘‘one great and two or three very good films every year out of the 20 or 30 feature films made here.”’ Mr. Destounis was put in the position of answering for the entire industry for the poor distribution of Canadian films. He parried an attack from Sandra Gathercole who said that no Canadian film has the promotion of a U.S. film by saying that the distributor sets up the advertising campaign and the exhibitor can only argue about the amount in relation to returns. Moderator Pratley suggested the Canadian films might be by-passed because exhibitors are accustomed to taking film only from traditional sources and not looking elsewhere. Mr. Destounis said his company has ‘commitments for Christmas, is reasonably sure what we’ll have for Easter and an idea of what’s available in June. But I don’t know the release date of one Canadian feature film.” He pointed out that multiples in key cities will have the opportunity of showing Canadian films but they still have to‘be good. Shorts do not recover their costs even if they are played on the entire circuit, he said. Page 21 He drew strong applause from the audience when he said he strongly supports a quota although he was not speaking on behalf of the industry or his own company. Famous Players, which is 51 per cent American-owned, has advanced $114 million for Canadian films on an equity basis since 1969, he said. “One is so bad we won’t get the print cost back,”’ Mr. Destounis said. _ One of the 300-seat auditoriums in the new Imperial Theatre in Toronto is equipped for 16 mm film. The company has committed itself to five films from one Canadian film maker but he refused to name him. Mr. King said money must be found not only to launch film in Canada but also in the U.S. . where, as Mr. Hofsess pointed out, Canadian films were welcomed by the critics but not necessarily by the public. VISITORS Gordon Stulberg, President of Twentieth Century-Fox SEASON’S GREETINGS... Leatrice Joyce (left) and Lois ; a Da ee ee a 10 Be Wilson, in Toronto for a Student Showing of the 1922 de Mille film Manslaughter. Above are the two ladies at the height of their success in the early twenties. FROM THEATRE HOLDING C ORPORATION LIMITED The Innovative Circuit aa aR Bk SAR Bi PS EE HO BK RT ,