The Exhibitor (1959)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 17 July 15, 1959 Disney, ABC Conflict Over Trust Charges The NEW YORK Scene By Mel Konecoff PRODUCER-WRITER Carl Foreman, in town last week with a print of “The Mouse That Roared,” one of the smaller pictures made by his company, and to confer with Columbia president Abe Schneider, report¬ ed that he has instituted a plan to help develop new writers. He labeled it a scholarship apprentice scheme which will be used by his English production company and possibly by other producers in that country. Some of these were hoping to get the British Government to donate some of the tax monies collected from the industry to establish a British film school. His plan entails hiring a young and talented newcomer in the writing field to be present at the making of each of his pictures from here on starting with his “The Guns of Navarone.” They will learn the various phases of picturemaking first hand by being on the set each day, his theory being that you can’t learn to write a screenplay properly “locked” in an office. The apprentice will be paid a living wage with the only condition being that Foreman gets first refusal on the first script. The plan has aroused the interest of British filmakers. He hoped American hlmakers would join in the plan or possibly develop a practical film school embracing all phases of production. He called this a constructive way to look to the future. Foreman bemoaned the industry coming to a standstill in talent development during the so-called “panic” years, and as a result of this, the only source of young blood is coming from TV. He believed the industry should gamble on new people who can make pictures and particularly slant them for that large segment of the audience in the 16 to 23 age group. Stimulating younger audiences could be exciting and profitable for the industry. He noted that “The Mouse That Roared” was made by relative newcomers, and he hoped it would set an example for others to make similar films. He expected his company to turn out one or two smaller films per year. In the discussions Foreman has had with Abe Schneider, he reported that the Columbia prexy has great confidence in the future of the business and would like to see new “blood” come into the industry. Another Foreman opinion is that the industry suffers from too much sophistication. Foreman hopes to start the five million dollar “Guns of Navarone” in January, 1960, and to complete same by June. It will run about three hours and will probably be sold on a roadshow basis if it comes out as anticipated. Groundwork for public acceptance is in the process of being formulated from here on in. The Gregory Peck-Anthony Quinn starrer will probably be released in October of 1960 in 70mm. It will feature a prologue of 12 to 15 minutes of animation and live action to be made by United Productions of America. Universal Sales Meet Maps Release Plans NEW YORK — Roy Disney, president, Walt Disney Productions, declared last fort¬ night that the fact that the company lost money on all of its television programs pro¬ duced for ABC television network was not the key point in Disney’s suit filed in Federal District Court here recently. He declared that the company’s legal ad¬ visers hold that the Disney-ABC agreement signed in 1954 “violates the Federal AntiTrust Act.” Disney’s three-point suit against ABC asks the Court to decide if this is so; to solve the financial obligations on the part of Dis¬ ney, which are in dispute between the two parties; and recompense for an unstated amount under escalations in the agreement to cover increased union scales and other added production costs. Disney claimed that ABC’s offer to allow Disney to sell to other networks or stations the “Zorro” and “Mickey Mouse Club” pro¬ grams the network is dropping next year was “an 11th hour offer made the day the suit was filed.” According to Disney, ABC’s financial in¬ vestment in Disneyland Park is about 35 per cent. He said that in negotiations with ABC over the 1954 pact, Disney had offered a total of $6,750,000 to buy this interest, but that ABC had refused this offer. Disney said that the original agreement covered only programming by the network, with limited sales to the Canadian market and areas of Mexico close to the U.S. border; that residuals and foreign market sales were to be retained by Disney, and that his com¬ pany was to receive all revenues from net¬ work sales less time costs. ABC declared in a statement that “Walt Disney Productions and ABC entered an agreement in 1954 whereby in exchange for ABC’s financing Disneyland Park and agree¬ ing to buy the “Disneyland” program, now “Walt Disney Presents,” for seven years with very substantial minimum guarantee, Disney granted an exclusive on his TV programs to ABC.” It said ABC has lived up to its agreement in all respects, but despite this, Disney . Pro¬ ductions has been making efforts to change the conditions of the agreement and modify the exclusivity provisions. The statement added that if the financial obligations of Disney to ABC were met, “ABC, even though it is not contractually obligated to do so, would be willmg to permit Disney to release programs elsewhere. CHICAGO — Universal Pictures Company will hold a three-day sales executives con¬ ference at the Hotel Drake here starting today (July 15) to map releasing plans for the coming months, it was announced by Henry H. Martin, Universal general sales manager, who will preside. Milton R. Rackmil, president of Universal, will participate in the sessions. Distribution plans to be set include those on “Pillow Talk,” the Arwyn Production in Eastman Color and CinemaScope starring Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, and Thelma Ritter; the Granart Production “Operation Petticoat” in Eastman Color star¬ ring Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O’Brien, Dina Merrill, Arthur O’Connell, and Gene Evans; the $9,000,000 Bryna Production “Spartacus” in Technirama starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Ireland, Nina Foch, John Dali, and John McGraw; “The Snow Queen,” the full length animated feature in color based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale; and the Rank Organization production “Sap¬ phire” in Eastman Color, which is currently a smash in England. Attending from New York along with Mar¬ tin will be F. J. A. McCarthy, assistant gen¬ eral sales manager, and James J. Jordan, circuit sales manager. Regional sales man¬ agers participating will be Joseph B. Rosen from New York; Barney Rose from San Fran¬ cisco; P. F. Rosian from Cleveland; and R. N. Wilkinson from Dallas. Columbia Pictures recently held a three-day series of sales meetings in New York City to discuss merchandising policies on forthcoming product; and seen, left, left to right are Milton Goodman, home office sales executive; I. Harry Rogovin, New England division manager; Samuel A. Galanty, mideast division manager from Washington, D.C.; and Harry Weiner, Philadelphia district manager; center, left to right. Milton Goodman, home office sales executive; Carl Shalit, central divi¬ sion manager from Detroit; Jerome Safron, home office sales executive; and Ben Marcus, midwest division manager from Kansas City; and, right, left to right. Jack Judd, southwest division manager from Dallas; Saffron; L. E. Tillman, northwest division manager from San Francisco; and Norman Jackter, southern California and Rocky Mountain manager.