Year book of motion pictures (1930)

OUTLOOK FOR 1930 ^^^^^^^^ Views of Leaders of Industry ~~ ll/f OTION PICTURE leaders are generally of the belief that, with sound pictures firmly settled in public favor, the industry may look forward to earnings in 1930 far in excess of those that established 1929 as the most prosperous in the history of motion pictures. With sound no longer offering the lure of novelty, film producers now turn to the laboratory more than ever before. At this time they are centering their efforts on the improvement of color in films and the expansion of the possibilities of the wide screen. Banner Year Ahead By ADOLPH ZUKOR President, Paramount Famous Lasky Corp. THE motion picture industry has just closed the most successful year in its history. Net earnings for the year have been far greater than even the most optimistic forecasts indicated at the beginning of 1929. The prospects for 1930 lead me to believe that it will be a banner year in every branch of the business. Never has the outlook been better. Our theaters are getting finer pictures for exhibition and they are presenting them in clean, comfortable surroundings. All of this builds for public confidence, which already has been shown in increased attendance. Just as 1929 was the greatest year in the history of Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation, so do we expect 1930 to be even greater. * * * Most Prosperous Ever By CARL LAEMMLE President, Universal Pictures Corp. THE year 1930 will be the most prosperous the industry1 has ever known. We are in the era of marvelous technicolor innovations — sound, color and new dimensions. These have brought to the motion picture a scope and an appeal unapproached by any other form of entertainment. As for Universal, we are in the finest position in our history. With such big productions as "King of Jazz," starring Paul Whiteman; Laura La Plante and John Boles in "La Marseillaise" : and "All Quiet on the Western Front," I am confident that production supremacy will come to Universal in 1930. * * * Greater Growth of Sound By DAVID SARNOFF Cliairman of tlte Board, Radio-Keitli-Orpheum Corporation IF the signposts of the past year are guides to future progress, 1930 promises greater opportunities for the visual and audible entertainment now combined in the talking pictures. The experience of the past twelve months has added much to the practical development of sound recording and sound-reproduction. Experience has refined and enlarged the new technique of picture production brought to the industry by the radio and electrical arts. It has taught exhibitors that every theater is a distinct engineering problem in relation to sound equipment. It has brought to the public new entertainment values. But opportunity is selective. Those will reap most who have learned best how to use the improved facilities of sound recording, who understand the relationship between engineering and service involved in sound-reproducing equipment, and who know how to create higher entertainment values that will reflect improved public taste. Perhaps the last point is vital. Public taste is never static and to reflect it properly, the entertainment industry must move apace with public progress. * * * A Landmark in Industry By NICHOLAS M. SCHENCK President, Loeu/s, Inc., and M-C-M EXHIBITORS and executives of the motion picture industry may join with each other in welcoming the new year as one that is certainly to De a landmark in the motion picture industry. -Never before were there so many opportunities contronting the makers of motion pictures. There have been more new developments during the past year than during any other year since the beginning of the industry. Sound and color have established themselves as Dastc tactors in the quality entertainments of the coming season and motion picture audiences put an unqualified stamp of approval on the great advances made during the past year in this direction. ine financial outlook was never better and most companies have gone through a period of expansion which enables them to utilize more resources than ever before m providing the public with the kind ot entertainment which it wishes. * * * Public Aiding Industry By H. M. WARNER President, Warner Bros. THE whole motion picture business should look forward to 1930 with the greatest optimism Ever since the introduction of Vitaphone in 1926, the public has been this indus 559