Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1963)

No Middleman for Bronston First Runs Declaring himself as disturbed and very unhappy with the cost of distribution and with the lack of individual i z e d merchandising accorded his films by ma jor distribu bronston tors, Samuel Bronston is moving to eliminate the middleman. The prominent independent producer ("El Cid", "King of Kings", "55 Days at Peking") disclosed last week a plan to establish "a dramatic new form of domestic distribution", whereby his own organization, Bronston Distributions, Inc., will handle the first 2000 to 3000 bookings of all Bronston productions starting with "The Fall of the Roman Empire", which is slated for release in Spring, 1964. Paul N. Lazarus, Jr., executive vice president of the production unit, will head the distribution company, with Harold Roth as sales manager. The decision, Bronston declared, is based on his conviction that "pictures such as ours can only be properly handled by a small, hard-hitting, dedicated group of sales executives." The major companies, he believes, "are unable to custom-tailor their patterns to the individual needs of each picture." His company is losing money by distributing through the majors, the producer stated. Lazarus said that there is no immediate need to open branch offices or to add personnel. The first 2000 to 3000 dates on each picture will be given "roadshow launching", after which the films will be turned over to other companies to distribute. The plan also includes the possibility of having Bronston Distributions handle pictures of orher producers. ECA Folds. The Big Loser Is Exhibition The high hopes held by exhibition that it would have a fertile new source of product in Entertainment Corp. of America are shattered. ECA disbanded CAST & CREDITS ■ Report un the Industry's PEOPLE and EVENTS before a camera turned on its first production. The young, aggressive triumvirate of Max E. Youngstein and associates, Jerome Pickman and Charles Simonelli had made a strong move in lining up talent and properties, but the essential financing was hard to come by. A.C.E. Films, the exhibitor-sponsored production unit, finally agreed to advance some funds for the promising initial project, "Fail-Safe", from the bestseller. But then the axe fell. A plagiarism suit was filed against the authors of the novel and an injunction against YOUNGSTEIN the movie was sought by Stanley Kubrick, who is making "Dr. Strangelove: Or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb". A.C.E. refused to support the legally-hampered "FailSafe", withdrew its financial backing. Last week, Youngstein's outfit had to throw in the towel. Columbia Pictures, which is distributor for "Dr. Strangelove", took over "Fail-Safe". The other ECA projects were assigned elsewhere. ECA's personnel: Youngstein will serve as executive producer on "FailSafe" and on "The Winston Affair", which 2t0h-Fox will produce. He is being sought by several companies for important executive posts. Simonelli was named vice president of Technicolor and will be in charge of that company's New York operations. Pickman is expected shortly to announce a new association in the industry. The big loser: exhibition. READE Reade to Universal: Come in, Water's Fine Macy's compliments Gimbel's. And Walter Reade, Jr. welcomes Universal into the field of producers of films for specialized audiences. Reade, board chairman of Walter Reade-Sterling, Inc. and Continental Distributing, is both an operator of "art" theatres and a producer-distributor of films for the specialized market. Last week he lauded the announcement by Universal that it planned to set up a special unit for the development of new talent and the production of unusual low-budget pictures. "I welcome Universal", said Reade, "not as a competitor, but as the first major film company to join the ranks of those of us who are serving this large and constantly growing segment of our national audience ... It is tremendously encouraging to those of us who have pioneered for so many years in this field to at last see a major company undertake its own production in this area." Allied's 4 Big Days Allied States Association is holding out the promise of aggressive businessbuilding sessions and New York's gay night life to lure exhinbitors to its annual convention at Manhattan's Americana Hotel next Oct. 21-24. Convention chairman Irving Dollinger stated that the business meetings will concentrate on "increasing the profits of theatre operations", while the after-business activities will include Broadway plays and night clubs. Morton Sunshine, it was learned, would be in charge of the convention functions. Pearlman Joins Col. Gil Pearlman is the new advertising manager of Columbia Pictures, vice president Robert S. Ferguson announced. Pearlman had previously served in the same capacity for Buena Vista. Pdqo 8 Film BULLETIN April 15, 1963