Kinematograph year book (1944)

144 The Kinematograph Year Book. SCHEDULES. ALTERATION OF THE MONETARY QUOTA BY S.R. AND O. NO. 2278 OF 1942. (NOVEMBER 11, 1942.) Under the arrangement made in 1940 (S.R. & O. 1940 No. 1382) each company adopting the scheme has to make, or acquire, the British rights of one film per 100,000 feet of imports ; odd amounts over 10,000 feet counting for this purpose as 100,000. These films must be at least 7,000 feet in length each and must each involve a payment of at least £21,000 to British labour. The company has also an over-all obligation to spend on British labour a number of pounds sterling equal to the number of feet of British film which they are liable to acquire under the footage quota. If, after they have made or acquired the requisite number of films as laid down above, they have not succeeded in spending the whole of their monetary obligation, they can work this off by spending it under the arrangement laid down in Section 3 of the Act. Under the new arrangement each company will have to make or acquire the British rights of only one film in all. (The conditions regarding length and labour cost remaining unchanged.) This will mean a total of six films to be made under the scheme by or for the American companies in any renters' quota year. The rest of their monetary obligations can be off -set by purchases of the American rights of British films ; but at least £20,000 must be paid for these rights if the transaction is to count for this purpose and only half of the purchase price will count towards the monetary obligation, since this obligation is in terms of labour costs and not total film cost. The purchase of the foreign rights of a film for this purpose will not prevent the British renter who sells these rights from counting the film towards his own footage quota ; but, if the British rights are counted for monetary quota, the purchase of the foreign rights will not count. If a company has not, at the end of the quota year, spent the amount of money for which it is liable, the balance remains as an obligation on it and will be added to its obligation for the following year, remaining, if necessary, until increased opportunities for production allow it to be worked off either on direct production or on the acquisition of foreign rights. Illustration: In a given renters' quota year company " A " imports 300,000 feet of American film. On a 20 per cent, quota its total monetary obligation under the present system is to spend £75,000 in British labour costs. Under the new arrangement it makes or acquires one film, the British labour costs in which amount to, say, £25,000, and it is left with a balance of £50,000 to be off -set by the purchase of foreign rights of British films. To satisfy this obligation, it acquires the foreign rights of films " X," " Y " and " Z." For film " X " it pays £50,000, counting £25,000 towards obligation; for film "Y" it pays £30,000, counting £15,000 towards obligation; and for film "Z" £20,000, counting £10,000 towards obligation. Alternatively, it can acquire the foreign rights of film " Q " for £100,000 and thereby satisfy the whole obligation in one transaction. On the basis of the foreign footage imported in 1941-42 by the six American companies using the monetary quota, if they each made one film costing £25,000 in British labour costs there would remain to be spent £700,000 on the foreign rights of British films. This sum would, of course, be smaller if the labour costs of the films were larger. Similarly it would still remain open to the Ameridan companies to make more than one film setting off British labour costs against their total obligarion. REVISED SCHEDULES. RENTERS' QUOTAS. By a Statutory Order presented to Parliament by the Board of Trade the following substitutions for the Quota proportions in the above original Schedules are made. Year Long Films. Short Films. For the year beginning with the 1st April, 1942 1943 1944 .. 20 per cent. ■• 20 „ .. 20 Year EXHIBITORS' QUOTAS. 15 per cent. 15 „ 15 „ For the year beginning with the 1st October, 1942... 1943 - 1944 Long Films. Short Films. 15 per cent 12^ per cent. 15 i2£ 15 „ i2£ ,, SECOND SCHEDULE. MAXIMUM FEES. Maximum Fee. On an application for the registration of a film On an application for a renter's licence On an application for an exhibitor's licence THIRD SCHEDULE. PROVISIONS REPEALED IN THE ACT OF 1927. Sections one to five. In section six, the proviso to sub-section (i). Sections ten and eleven. Sections twenty-nine and thirty. Subsection (4) of section thirty-three.