Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1957)

nesday, January 23, 1957 Motion Picture Daily 5 nit Complete Replies on APO Business Sponsorship ie Council of Motion Picture Orlations is not yet ready to ance that it will conduct the allitry business building programs r developed by the Motion PicAssociation of America and exar groups because "all of our bers have not let us know their on," according to a COMPO itive. 1 the member organizations who answered COMPO's query are ely in favor of co-operating in ll-industry promotional campaign having COMPO handle it. The bers who have not yet expressed view are all from the Theatre ers of America membership of (PO's executive board, the offi;aid. However, this is in no way ndication that they do not favor dea, the official stressed. National Theatre Ad Drive GM Shorts (Continued from page 1) the exception of the Tom and cartoons, which Loew's, Inc., las in theatrical distribution. A il signing of the agreement was ted as occurring yesterday, cording to an official of AAP, television distribution company nted its bid to Loew's for the 949 shorts library before last ksgiving, offering $5,000,000 for itright purchase. During the netions, Loew's pointed out that ?om and Jerry cartoons were to eluded from any agreement and antly, AAP cut its bid, it was The AAP executive said that his lization will try to have the M shorts presented on televisionon as possible. Confirmation Lacking confirmation on the sale of the c;; library was not available from it: 's here yesterday. |P is also currently in the market jquire the Paramount Pictures and i jrsal Pictures film libraries. The if any was reported recently as of l $40,000,000 to Universal for re1949 film library of close to I features, and $35,000,0000 to nount for its pre-1949 film liof some 850 features. fj iner, Salemson : ( Continued from page 1 ) ) Continental Distributing, Inc., lich the former was general sales ger and the latter sales promomanager. Weiner will head sales ties of Film Representations and ison will be in charge of pubadvertising and promotion-exition. ■anwhile Walter Reade, Jr., chairof the board of Continental Dis:ing, yesterday announced that ssors to the departing executives lot be appointed until after the i from Europe of Frank Kassler, lent of Continental. ( Continued slus^s, to be disseminated to all companies. A plan to invite a group of newspaper publishers to Hollywood for a conference and to be guests of the Academy Awards presentation ceremonies March 27 was abandoned, due to insurmountable difficulties," it was said. A second phase of the plan, calling for visits to newspaper editors throughout the country by Hollywood and New York advertising and publicity men, as well as Hollywood production personalities, and key exhibitors, is to be worked out by a committee composed of Ernest Emerling, Philip Gerard, Al Tamarin and Charles E. McCarthy. McCarthy reported on progress made so far by COMPO in organizing the Academy Awards Sweepstakes. Target date for the pressbook, he said, is Feb. 1, when it is expected that the book will be ready for distribution to 17,000 theatres through National Screen Service exchanges. Trailer Completed A trailer featuring Jane Russell has been completed on the coast and approved by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In advance of the pressbook's distribution, McCarthy reported, fact sheets giving details of the promotion will be sent to all exhibitor organizations for distribution to their members, to COMPO exhibitor committees in exchange cities, heads of 180 circuits and to 4,000 theatres that signed pledges in COMPO's Audience Awards campaign last year. The group agreed for the second time that the Audience Awards should be conducted next fall. At a previous meeting a similar decision was reached. The committee requested from page 1 ) Robert W. Coyne and McCarthy to plan at once for launching the project. A promotion listed as "a giant prize contest" in the COMPO-TOA overall business-building plan was deferred for later consideration. It was also decided that further exploration should be made of the COMPO-TOA suggestion that a multiple-reel product trailer be made for showing to civic groups at special free theatre performances during a week to be set aside as National Movie Week. The group recommended that a COMPO-TOA plan for a community trailer be merged with an MPAA project calling for the enlistment of Chambers of Commerce and other service and civic groups for the promotion of the importance of the theatre in the community. It was decided that Albert M. Pickus of Stratford, Conn., representing TOA, McCarthy, representing COMPO, and Arthur DeBra of MPAA should work out a plan merging the two projects for submission to the committee. Hollywood Tours Planned A committee of eight was named to consider plans for developing tours of Hollywood personalities. Those named were Rodney Bush, Jeff Livingston, George Kerasotes of Springfield, 111., Emerling, McCarthy, Jack Keiler of Paducah, Ky., Walter Reade, Jr., and James Harrison of Atlanta. Those present were Mandel, Goldberg, Emerling, McCarthy, Robert W. Coyne of COMPO, Alex Moss, Herman Levy, of TOA, Wilbur Snaper, representing Allied States, Taylor Mills, Tamarin, Seadler, Everett Callow, Charles Cohen, Bush and Livingston. The next meeting of the group will be held Monday night at the Park Sheraton Hotel. Says Japan Learned ( Continued from page 1 ) ed in 1956 to Japan, 104 were American, a ratio that has been maintained for several years, Okawa said. Technical knowledge as well as artistic "know-how" were transmitted to Japanese film makers from these pictures, he explained. Okawa also said that the progress of TV in America has been of interest to Japanese film makers. TV in Japan is about seven years behind the U.S., and the film industry hopes to avoid some of the problems that beset American motion pictures when TV blossomed here, he said, by seeing what has been done here. Toei officials have been negotiating with "an American producer" for a co-production feature based on "The Boyhood of Dr. Noguchi," a documentary short presented by Toei at the Film Week. The short was wellreceived at its showing, and the company was approached "shortly after its showing" about a co-production feature, according to Tomonori Imada, chief of Toei's Business and Foreign Department. 'Lost Audience'1 (Continued from page 1) J. Fitzgibbons, president and managing director of Famous Players Canadian Corp. He made the statement in a message to stockholders accompanying the circuit's financial report for the first 39 weeks of 1956. In his message Fitzgibbons also took note of "several policy changes" the circuit is making in the Toronto area. One such change in the booking of first-run films into suburban theatres, which, he believes, "should improve service in the Toronto area." Net profits for the 39-week period, excluding capital gains, amounted to $1,809,163, a drop of $275,273 from the $2,084,427 of the same period in the previous year. The sale of government bonds and capital assets brought the net profits up to $2,056,949, compared with $2,221,287 in 1955, a decrease of $164,317. Earnings after all charges, including depreciation, totalled $3,194,163 in the 39-weeks of 1956, as against $3,700,437 for the same period a year earlier. This was a drop of $506,273. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Sir: I just read in your current issue of the death of William C. Gehring. I am not in the motion picture industry, but I had the pleasure of producing the 1955 trade show in Los Angeles for TOA. It was during that time that I met Mr. Gehring. He was 20 minutes late for our appointment. He was so profuse in his apologies and so genuinely hurt to have inconvenienced me that he immediately went into my book as a kind and thoughtful human being. I can understand why his passing brought forth so many tributes. William S. Orkin Orkin Expositions Management Newsreel ( Continued from page 1 ) ducing and processing center, but this has not been confirmed. The reel has been headed for many years by A. J. Richard, general manager and editor. It has about 200 employes. The Paramount reel is the second to suspend within the past half year, Warner Bros, having discontinued the Warner Pathe News operation last summer. Commercial and educational operations of the Pathe reel were acquired by a group of employes and are being operated by them and financial associates. Three theatrical newsreels remain — 20th Century-Fox's Movietonews, Universal News and MGM's News of the Day. Television newscasts cut heavily into theatrical newsreel business in the past several years, making acute a condition already trying because of the earlier increase in double featuring which caused many theatres to cut down on newsreel bookings. Some trade sources expressed the opinion that with the theatrical newsreel field reduced from five to three, the remaining reels will find the going considerably easier. 15 Ask to Testify ( Continued from page 1 ) financed on the basis of contracts for the services of stars, producers, writer or other talent personnel who are also major stockholders in the company. The hearing, which will probably last all day, will take place before Bernard L. Payne, an I.R.S. section head. Among those who have said they would like to be heard are the Alliance of Television Film Producers, the Motion Picture Industry Council, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and a dozen law and accounting firms representing undesignated clients. All are expected to protest the regulations and especially the fact that they would be retroactive to 1954.