Canadian Film Weekly (Jan 17, 1968)

Pts oyu piety Ribtey Rre dhs FAIR RS mere e gee tats efor if FSA aie eA arte ala Oi a > ea ok . f ity ¥ 4 a. = ‘ our FFE Siotcrsiilie iss AE Hee Swe eD oa % he is RK p Se eae * sith ts a: ™ S ae Gels a oe J. J. Fitzgibbons, PICTURES CREDIT PLAN (Continued from Page 1) vice charge on each credit-card ticket handled by Shell, ranging from 16 to 24 cents per ticket according to the price scale. Cameron estimates the service charge as being two to three cents per ticket cheaper than the customary 10 per cent of the net charge exacted by Toronto ticket agents. Shell’s credit cards can be used for direct purchases at the boxoffices concerned or on a mailorder basis at any of the company’s service stations. Benefits for the oil company? Aside from ‘the service charge revenue, Shell is enthusiastic about the plan as an additional and unique service to its credit-card holders, amplifying the precedent it set in tying in similarly with Toronto’s O’Keefe Centre for legit’ attractions. Various promotional schemes of mutual benefit are under discussion between Famous and Shell, notably a “Shell Week,” during which credit customers might enjoy roadshow moviegoing at special prices. Ironically, the pact between the two companies is at least five years old conceptually. “The late president of Famous, started us talking about the possibilities of a credit-card tieup,” says Cameron, “but not one of the oil companies would touch it. The idea was shelved but a few months ago, when Grand Prix opened at the Glendale, Shell had some product display tie-ins which generated enthusiasm for a movie version of what they had going at O'Keefe. Now, in effect, we have 253 extra boxoffices (the number of Shell stations in Ontario).” BBG Appoints Rep’ For The Maritimes The Board of Broadcast Governors announces the appointment of Paschal O’Toole as its regional ‘representative for the Atlantic Provinces, with offices in Moncton, NB. On arrival in Canada from Ireland in 1956, O’Toole worked for a social agency in British Columbia. In 1959, he joined the staff of the National Film Board of Canada. NY CRITICS (Continued from Page 1) stars, Rod Steiger, was named best actor. Other picks: Best foreign film —tLa Guerre est finie (The War is Over); best director—Mike Nichols (Embassy’s The Graduate; best actress—Dame Edith Evans (The Whisperers); best screenwriting — Warner Bros. Seven Arts’ Bonnie and Clyde. January 17, 1968 Panorama wkiewvwiuvv & by Stan Helleur BAcs IN THE DAYS when we were reviewing motion pictures for Toronto dailies—in that medieval era before poisoned typewriter ribbons—we became a Stanley Kramer fan on the strength of his first production. We concluded that anybody who shared our enthusiasm for Ring Lardner’s classic story of a fighting heel—Champion—who could see its cinematic possibilities and then produce a film every bit as bitter and powerful as the original, well, here was a newcomer to watch. Since then Kramer hasn’t won ’em all but more than enough to confirm his stature as one of the world’s leading filmmakers—with provocatvie “message but no message” pictures like Home of the Brave, The Defiant Ones, On the Beach, Inherit the Wind, The Caine Mutiny and Judgement at Nuremberg. He also made a film which diluted Katherine Porter’s powerful novel, Ship of Fools. As we said, he didn’t win ’em all, but the same could be said for Ingmar Bergman * * * A few nights ago we came to appreciate another dimension of the man—as an articulate, intelligent, civilized and no-nonsense protagonist for Hollywood film-makers. For the hosting Directors Guild of Canada and its president, George Gorman, the scene was repeat of the open forum context in which Alfred Hitchcock last year addressed a gathering in the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall and answered questions from the floor. Kramer faced the same kind of audience, predominantly college students, hip and McLuhanized, predisposed to the fashionable Hollywood putdown like so many of their contemporaries who have gone on to form cine-clubs, film societies or become critics for Toronto newspapers * * * Kramer’s reverse put-down was beautiful—subtle, positive and complete. Those who expected him to rap the European wunderkind were deflated when he acknowledged admiration for the Bergmans, Truffauts and Fellinis. But most effective, from our own point of view, was his cogent and unassailable (judging from the lack of rebuttal from the floor) definition of the Hollywood “industry” context as contrasted to the European “art form” * * % “In Hollywood”, Kramer told his attentive audience, ‘“we’re part of an industry with a definite, inflexible machinery. Fundamentally, it begins with the distributor who accepts your property and agrees to finance and distribute it. Perhaps a year will go by while we assign and work with a writer and director and cast the picture, not without the boxoffice value of certain actors in mind, all of which takes time to negotiate. When comes time to shoot you're given a deadline and with all of the inescapable built-in costs of Hollywood production, it behooves you to bring your picture in within that deadline. The (Continued on Page 4) Stanley Kramer Speaks Out DIRECTORS GUILD OF CANADA played host recently in the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall to Hollywood producer-director Stanley Kramer (right) whe addressed a public audience of 400 (mostly university students) and fielded their questions for 90 minutes. The Toronto ‘‘bearpit’’ session was one of eight university-orientated gatherings for Kramer in conjunction with the opening of his latest film, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, a Columbia release, across North America. —Staff photo CANADIAN FILM-TV BI-WEEKLY AIP’s 3-Picture Deal With Commonwealth American International Pictures, represented in Canada by Astral Films, has signed a threepicture agreement with Commonwealth United Entertainment, with the first of the pictures involved — The Desperate Ones — scheduled for February release. Second film in the package— The Day the Hot Line Got Hot— has been set tentatively for release next summer, while distribution plans for Cervantes, drawing the largest advertising and promotion budget in AIP history, are being discussed and will be announced shortly. The Desperate Ones is a suspense drama about the escape two brothers from a Siberian labor camp and co-stars Maximi lian Schell, Raf Vallone, Irene Pappas and Theodore Bikel. International espionage is the theme of The Day the Hot Line Got Hot, set against Spanish backgrounds with Charles Boyer, Robert Taylor, George Chakiris and Marie Dubois starring. Cervantes also has a name cast made up of Horst Bucholz, Gina Lollobrigida, Jose Ferrer and Louis Jordan. Also produced in Spain, it’s based on Bruno Franck’s biography. Vincent Sherman directs. TAYLOR HONORED (Continued from Page 1) cial citation will be awarded Father Culkin “for his work in utilizing motion pictures for educational purposes among _ high school students in the parochial and public schools.” The Jesuit priest also serves as a trustee of the American Film Institute and as a consultant on educational media to the Ford Foundation. FOR SALE Complete 35 mm projection and sound equipment in tip top condition, consisting pair solid Simplex bases, Super Simplex mechanisms, one kilowatt lamps. Four Stray Sound system, Gaumont Kalee Anamorphic lenses and two sets back up lenses, automatic rewind, 75 amp. 3 phase rectifiers and many, many spare parts. No reasonable offer refused. Write to: GEM THEATRE, Box 580, Grand Forks, B.C. Page 3