The Independent Film Journal (1954)

Seeds and Fruits ( Continued from cover) groundwork has been carefully prepared by COMPO and sufficient time is being allowed for the Audience Awards Poll to capture the imagination of showmen and to take hold at the grass roots. That this is happening is quite evident from the series of regional meetings that have already been held. The Audience Awards Poll campaign is beginiining to gather steam, with each of these meetings generating tremendous enthusiasm for the project. The benefits of the Audience Awards Poll are not readily | apparent. Its many ramifications for industry good are not visible to the naked eye. Like planted seeds, they require industry nurturing if we are to reap the fruits. The poll must be placed in proper perspective. This is not just another exploitation stunt. This is big. If properly conducted, the Audience Awards Poll will inevitably become a national institution for industry public relations and furnish a boxoffice stimulant of considerably greater potency than the Academy Awards without detracting one iota from the latter’s effective¬ ness and value. COMPO and the exhibitor trade associations are going all out on this poll. The film companies and their publicity departments are doing likewise. They can and will do more as they warm up to the cam¬ paign. The trade papers are dramatizing the impor¬ tance of the Audience Awards and are lighting sparks of enthusiasm for this project among their readers. Preliminary efforts will soon be apparent. It takes a little time to get going, hut once we are, there is no stopping us. The meeting in New York City may well serve as a sample. It was attended by 150 exhibitors, represen¬ tatives of the largest circuits down to the smallest theatres. After hearing industry leaders detail the full meaning and purposes of the Audience Awards Poll and recognizing the chain reaction benefits to accrue from it, exhibitors went hack to their theatres to do a job. The truth of the matter is that the COMPO brochures were mailed to the theatres and, in some instances, suffered the same fate as do many other industry mailing pieces. The personal approach will accomplish results. It is therefore necessary for COMPO’s regional exchange committee chairmen to follow through and see that every exhibitor in the territory is approached and made to understand how important a saturation cam¬ paign is to the future welfare of the industry. Appro¬ priate sub-committees must be put to work to handle specialized assignments. This industry is in dire need of a new generation of stars to satisfy a new generation of patrons. The star roster is depleted and the birth rate is not keeping pace with the obituaries. Replacements are sorely needed if the business is to prosper and sufficient product is to he made to supply the need. There is a direct connection between a shortage of product and a dearth of stars. A build-up of potential star material will also de¬ flate the tremendous demands that production is being subjected to by a select list of name performers. At the present time, there are just too few to go around — thereby restricting studio output. However, with exhibition joining production in developing and exploiting new personalities, the in¬ dustry is once again on the right track. With the Audience Awards Poll campaign, the branches of the industry have realized a common viewpoint and each can expect major contributions from the other in the months ahead. The public makes stars but production has never had direct contact with the eyes and ears of the public. In this November’s movie election, the exhibitor will amplify this voice and newcomers will he elevated to stardom with continuity. Producers and distributors who were afraid to pre¬ pare trailers promoting new faces that were being given opportunities in new films because of potential exhibitor resistance to such subjects must allay their fears. They will find a welcome market for such mate¬ rial. Exhibitors will show these trailers as a regular part of the campaign to whet the public’s appetite. In fact, producers who had no intention of producing such reels should revise their thinking in the light of ( Continued on page 8) THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL. Published every other week on Saturday by ITOA Independent, Inc. Editorial Offices: 1515 Broadway, New York 36, N. Y. Telephone Circle 6-6460. Editor, Morton Sunshine; Business Manager, Herman Schleier; Associate Editor, Aaron Sloan; Editorial Associate, Robert M. Wendlinger; Circulation Manager, Charlotte Gross, Coast Bureau: Richard Bernstein, 8245 Bee man Ave., North Hollywood, Calif., Normandie 2-6494. Washington, D. C. Bureau: A1 Goldsmith, 1365 National Press Bldg., MEtropolitan 8-0001.