Hollywood Topics (Oct 1926-Feb 1927)

10 HOLLYWOOD TOPICS r ------------- SELLING MOTION PICTURES by Felix F. Feist In An Interview Mr. Feist Tells How Pictures Are Sold And Distributed FEW not directly connected with the sale and distribution of motion pictures ever give that phase of the industry a thought. They have no realization whatever of the enormous human machinery which must be set up by a distributor to handle a motion picture AFTER it is made, and to attend to its distribution in the thousands of theaters throughout the country and the securing through this distribution of the millions of dollars that are necessary to conduct our industry. The artists and players are just as ignorant of how the motion picture is put before the public as is the public itself. There is, of course, an obvious reason for this. Players, directors, scenario writers and others having to do with the actual production of pictures are taxed to their utmost with the immediate production or in the development of plans for the next one. The public is satisfied to occupy a chair in a theatre and either like or dislike what the manager offers. To the average lay person all the romance of the motion picture business is either contained in the plot of the story or in the lives, customs and habits of the players. It would not add any dollars to the boxoffice to publicize the fact that a film salesman convinced an exhibitor that it would be a good thing to buy a certain line of product. But it does mean something at the box-office to acquaint the public with the fact that John Gilbert has become engaged to Greta Garbo or that Norma Shearer has just imported nine trunkfuls of French gowns. So we find that the business of distributing motion pictures gets no popular recognition, though few artists or people in any profession or business feel a greater urge or enjoy a greater satisfaction than a sales representative who has satisfactorily negotiated and completed a deal. Each such conclusion is his masterpiece. Pictures released by our company for the most part are part of a program. For the purpose of this article we confine ourselves to sales and distribution for program pictures. The selling season usually starts about May. By this time policies have been determined and the product for the ensuing year is known. A national sales convention is held at some important center. It is attended by the home office executives, district and branch executives and the special sales representatives. These conventions last several days, during which time the producing organization’s studio representative acquaints the assemblage with the high spots of the stories, the players, the directors and any novelty attractions or points are brought out. The home office executives inform the field executives of the policies and sales obligations laid out for the year. National quotas are established for the pictures. These in turn are subdivided into regional or territorial rental obligations. FELIX F. FEIST General Manager of Sales and Distribution'for M-G-M. These are in turn sub-divided into individual rental figures (or prices) to be assigned for each and every picture for each and every prospective theatre — large and small — in the entire United States and Canada, in accordance with the potentialities of the account and the value of each picture as a box-office attraction in that particular situation. For the purpose of having centralized adequate facilities to not only properly direct sales effort but to subsequently see that the advertising, accessories and film reaches its destination, the theatre, in due time for the exhibition as announced by the exhibitor, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has 32 distributing branches located in the following cities: Atlanta Buffalo Charlotte Cincinnati Dallas Des Moines Indianapolis Los Angeles Milwaukee New Haven Albany Boston Butte Chicago Cleveland Denver Detroit Kansas City Memphis Minneapolis