Canadian Film Digest (Feb 1973)

ACTRA ATT THE 195 CARLTON ST TORONTU 2 ONT MANAGER 21 04746090 THEGANADIAN (Tt DIGES| Serving the Canadian Film Industry since 1915, Feb, '13/35° TWINEX’S J.S. Kurk dies gy Fa On Thursday evening, January 25th, 1973, John Kurk, Manager of Theatre Operations for the Twentieth Century Theatres circuit died of a heart attack in the Toronto General Hospital. He was in his fifty-fourth year. The popular veteran showman was born in Winnipeg. He entered the motion picture industry in distribution of foreign films and theatre management in the Winnipeg area, while still in his teens. In 1942, John Kurk joined Nat Taylor's Twentieth Century Theatres circuit as assistant manager of the Regent Theatre in Sudbury and for the next seven years managed in North Bay, Sudbury, Ottawa, London and Toronto. In 1949, Kurk was appointed District Manager for the circuit and in 1963 became _ Manager of Theatre Operations. During the past twenty-four years he with Vice ‘becoming a recog authority on DriveIn construction and operations. Nat Taylor, President of Twentieth Century Theatres remarked that, ‘John Kurk had been in the employ of our company for over three decades. One might say that he literally started at the bottom of the ladder and worked himself up to a position of great importance and responsibility. His competence and fine knowledge of all aspects of theatre operations were immediately sensed by everyone who came in contact with him. More importantly, he was respected and liked by everyone with whom he did business, particularly by the managers COPNIZeC es John S. Kurk who were under his supervision. His passing must be considered not only as a great loss for our company but for the entire industry. He will be sorely missed by many people not only as a confrere and a friend but as a person of stature in our business.”’ John Kurk is survived by his wife Ida, daughter Candice, his mother and two sisters. Management shifts at Twinex due to Kurk’s passing As a result of the untimely passing of John Kurk, Myer Axler, Vice-President of Twentieth Century Theatres recently announced the following appointments: Martin Simpson becomes the new Manager of Theatre Operations; Dudley Dumond becomes the new Supervisor of Theatres in the Toronto area and assistant to Simpson, and Fern Marleau manager of the Capri has been transferred to the Yonge to replace Dumond. Martin Simpson began as an usher at the Capitol Theatre, Windsor under Dan Krendal in 1930. Simpson managed the Capitol Theatre, Halifax from 1946 to 1946. After a short stay at the Century in Hamilton he became the manager of the new flagship of the Twentieth Century chain, the Downtown, where he remained for fifteen years. In 1963 he was appointed Supervisor of Theatre Operations. Dudley Dumond joined the Twentieth Century circuit in 1948. After managing several Toronto houses he opened the new Deluxe Westwood Theatre, In 1963 he was transferred to the Midtown which was later renovated as the Capri. In 1969 upon the acquisition of Lowes theatres by Twinex, Dumond was transferred to the Yonge Theatre. REURRS -EE DOL te dian A : Se oe ae —_— Dudley Dumond ONTARIO GOVERNMENT REPORT URGES FILM POLICY CHANGES A Report has been submitted to the Ontario government calling for a provincial in ‘volvement in feature film production and exhibition with wide-ranging effects. The report was commissioned by former Ontario Minister of Industry and Tourism John White and has been presented to his successor Claude Bennett. The brief proposes that every Ontario theatre be required to exhibit Canadian Features for eight weeks of every two years. In the case of multiples 7.7 per cent of the’seating capacity is the quota. Special arrangements would be made in the case of hard-ticket runs, etc. The aim is to expose Canadian features to audiences who would never see _ them, especially in small towns. To encourage the theatres’ co-operation, the 10 per cent tax would be rebated from the Canadian run, with 5 per cent going to the theaire and 5 per cent to the producer of Ontario-made features. In legit theatre no tax is payable. F Another recommendation is abolition of the Theatres Branch and substituting an Ontario Film Office which would have a wide role. Besides encompassing the Theatre Branch’s . duties, it would administer the quota and’ review it every two years, especially the prerequisites for Canadian content. GFDC announces grants The Canadian Film Development Corporation announced that six of thirty projects submitted for consideration through its special investment program have been accepted. The projects came from across Canada, with Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Waterloo and Calgary offering entries. he budgets of the features did not exceed $100,000 each and CFDC investment came to no more than 60 percent of the total. The CFDC noted that this latest group of projects was. more realistic in that the film makers had kept in mind the budgetary restrictions. Furthermore, the directors intended to collaborate with producers and writers rather than assuming all of these roles themselves. The features accepted were: The Hard Part Begins. Produced by Odyssey Films, Toronto; Directed by Paul Lynch. ‘‘A few days in the life of a country and western singer.”’ To be filmed in southern Ontario. Killing Time. Produced by Morley Markson and Associates, Toronto. Directed by Morley Markson. ‘tA tragi-comedy of four persons.” Moss Tarts. Produced by Coquihala Films, Toronto. Directed by Robbie Malenfant. ‘‘Two teenage girls set out with a search party only to find themselves lost in the Ontario bush.” Blanc Noel. Produced by Association cooperative de productions audio-visuelles, Montreal. Directed by Michel Bouchard. ‘‘A study of Noel, an unusual mar who considers life differently from his fellow men.” On N’Engraisse Pas Les Cochons a l‘Eau Clair. Produced by Cinak Ltee and Les Productions Prisma Inc., Montreal. Directed by Jean-Pierre Lefebvre. ‘‘Portrait of an undercover policeman at work on a college campus." L’Ille Jaune. Produced by Cinak, Ltee., Montreal. Directed by Jean Cousineau. ‘‘The trials of a man and woman living on an island harrassed by the forces of law and order, They escape to the city.”’ The special program continues, Applications for the next considerationsession must be submitted by April Ist. Censorship should be abolished and a classification system substituted. No cutting would take place, but the Film Office would classify each film according to the following categories: General, parental guidance advised, restricted tothose 18 and over, and X. The latter group would be labelled such to indicate that they could be liable for prosecution, thus letting the courts act as a forum for the determination of obscenity. The licensing of projectionists Soild be abolished. The Ontario Film Theatre would be expanded to include more branches in small towns. An Ontario Film School should be established to train personnel. Co-operation from the industry would be hoped for. A script development fund of $250,000 should be created. Each applicant could receive a maximum of $12,500. A major international film festival, incorporating the Canadian Film Awards should be established. Acting on the premises that Film is an essential part of our cultural identity and that the ultimate goal is full film industry employment, plus exposure for Ontario outside the province, the committee accepted briefs from any party concerned and studied the methods of other countries. The committee consisted of Producer John F. Bassett, Film-makers Budge Crawley and Peter Rowe, Critic and Publicist Joan Fox, TV Personality Carole Taylor, Film Buff Dr. J.H. Walters, Lawyers Robert Macauley, Dick Roberts and Julien Porter. While praising present efforts, especially those of the CFDC, the committee feels that the present amount of feature activity, growing strong as it is, needs refinement and support t grow properly. A complete report is to follow this brief. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Departments Canadian Box Office Statistics Market Report Domestic Notes International Scenes Editorial Dollars and Sense Letters to the Editor Pre-View Classified Casting Books Digest Movie Quiz No. 4 Visitors Special Report on Feature Production, Part II Montreal Report Murray Markowitz Vancouver Report Filming in the Maritimes Famous Players Astral Communications