The Exhibitor (1959)

September 30, 1950 7 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 15 Countries Enter San Francisco Fete By MARK GIBBONS SAN FRANCISCO — Fifteen foreign motion picture producing countries — including four East Europe nations — have submitted entries in the third annual San Francisco Interna¬ tional Film Festival to be staged here Nov. 11-25 at the Metro. The Communist nations are Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. The others are Great Britain, Mexico, Holland, China (Hong Kong), Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Sweden and India. Meanwhile, Festival managing director Irv¬ ing M. Levin announced negotiations are still underway with Russia, Denmark, and Greece for participation in what Leven enthusiastic¬ ally predicts will be the greatest festival since its 1957 inauguration. Although a number of American independ¬ ent producers have offered films, Leven said, there still is no indication that any of the major Hollywood studios are ready to drop their boycott maintained during the past two festivals. Just back from a month in Europe where he attended the Venice Festival, Levin said he found enthusiasm among foreign pro¬ ducers for the only officially recognized Amer¬ ican festival. He also reported an interesting sidelight on the origin of the Berlin festival which started in 1950 and now is one of the “big four” in Europe, the others being Ven¬ ice, Cannes and San Sebastian, Spain. Dr. Alfred Bauer, who originated and still heads the annual Berlin affair, got his start with funds supplied by the United States government. At last year’s Berlin festival, every seat was sold for every performance in a 20,000-seat outdoor auditorium. “Dr. Bauer told me,” Levin said, “He per¬ suaded the U.S. army occupation officials to foot the bill for the first festival as a propa¬ ganda move to lure residents of East Berlin over to West Berlin and view films made in free countries. The 1950 festival was so suc¬ cessful that thereafter the West Berlin city officials and other organizations made sure we had enough money to make the festival an annual affair.” Rosso Quits Republic Post LOS ANGELES — Lewis T. Rosso, execu¬ tive production manager of Republic Studios, has tendered his resignation and checked off the lot. A 27-year veteran with the Republic or¬ ganization, Rosso rose from the ranks, having started with the company in New York in the Consolidated Film Industries subsidiary. In addition to serving in his production capacity, Rosso was also assistant secretary of Republic Productions, Inc. CONCILIATION ( Continued, from page 6) summit meetings must be continued and re¬ peated as often and as long as possible, for, from such negotiations and exchange of views, opinions and programs, may come progress towards a better self-regulated and prosper¬ ous industry. The Conciliation Plan as urged by ACE is only a beginning — the first step after a couple of short meetings. Efforts to¬ ward other stated objectives have not ceased and must not cease. I join with others in urging a redoubling of efforts. Who is the one to say that three months is enough time to overcome 40 years of suspicion and dis¬ trust? Who can put a time limit on these ne¬ gotiations and discussions? “Why should not the Allied board and How To Set The Machinery Of Conciliation Into Action SECTION 1. Controversies which an exhibitor has not been able to settle with a particular distributor, arising out of an existing or a proposed relationship between such exhibitor and distributor, including (but without limitation) controversies which are subject to arbitration under a proposed arbitration agreement, shall, if the exhibitor so desires, be submitted to conciliation in an endeavor to dispose of such controversies amicably, informally and quickly, and thei'eby to avoid arbitration or litigation wherever possible. SECTION 2. Conciliation shall be conducted as follows: (a) . An exhibitor desiring a meeting for the purpose of conciliation shall send to the branch manager of the distributor at the exchange from which the exhibitor’s theatre is served, a written request for such a meeting, and shall state in such request the controversy or con¬ troversies with such distributor to be conciliated, and may name therein one person not an attorney who will accompany him and assist in the efforts of conciliation. By mutual agreement of the exhibitor requesting conciliation and the distributor, third parties who may be affected by the matter to be conciliated may be invited to attend the conciliation meetings. The failure of either party to agree to the invitation of such third parties shall not reflect on the merit of the position taken by such party and the conciliation meeting shall proceed without such third party or parties. The exhibitor, in his request for conciliation, may name third parties who may be affected by the matter to be conciliated to be invited to the conciliation meeting. If the branch manager agrees that any such third parties should be invited, he shall promptly send a copy of the exhibitor’s request for conciliation to such third parties, specifying the time and place of the conciliation meeting. The branch manager may also name third parties who may be affected by the matter to be conciliated, and upon procuring the written assent of the exhibitor as to any of such third parties, shall promptly send a copy of the exhibitor’s request for conciliation to such third parties, specifying the time and place of the conciliation meeting. Each third party so invited may attend the conciliation meeting with one person not an at¬ torney. The conciliation meeting shall proceed on the scheduled date with the exhibitor and those third parties invited who elect to attend. (b) The meeting shall take place in the Exchange between the exhibitor, his associate if named, and the branch manager and one person not an attorney with the branch manager, on the first Monday or Friday, as specified by the distributor in advance, following the lapse of seven days, and if third parties are invited fourteen days, after the receipt of such request. (c) If a conclusion satisfactory to both parties is not reached at the conciliation meeting, the request of the exhibitor shall be deemed rejected unless the branch manager at the meet¬ ing requests additional time to consider the exhibitor’s request, in which even the branch man¬ ager shall notify the exhibitor as speedily as possible but not later than twenty-one days after the conciliation meeting of the conclusion reached by him on the exhibitor’s request. (d) If the exhibitor or any third party invited to and who did attend the conciliation meeting is dissatisfied with the disposition of the exhibitor’s request at the conciliation meet¬ ing by the branch manager or thereafter, as provided in (c) he may apply in writing to the general sales manager of the distributor for a further meeting with respect thereto. Such meeting shall be held at the distributor’s Home Office at a time to be fixed by the general sales manager on seven days’ written notice to the exhibitor, and shall be attended by the exhibitor or anyone designated by the exhibitor to represent him and not more than one other person (who may be an attorney), and the general sales manager or a sales manager designated by him, and not more than one other person of his selection (who may be an attorney). Third parties who were invited to and did attend the conciliation meeting shall be invited to attend the meeting at the distributor’s Home Office aforesaid. Each such third party or anyone designated by such party and not more than one other person (who may be an at¬ torney) may attend such meeting. (e) The exhibitor and the distributor may arrange the conciliation meetings with the branch manager or general sales manager, respectively, at any time or place and with such additional personnel mutually satisfactory, without regard to subdivisions (a) to (d) in¬ clusive of this Section. SECTION 3. The function of the associates of the exhibitor or third parties and the distrib¬ utor shall be limited to the endeavor to assist in the disposition of the controversies being conciliated. Neither the exhibitor nor the distributor shall be under any obligation to dis¬ pose of the controversy under conciliation in the manner proposed by the other party and the judgment and good faith of any party shall not be questioned by reason of the failure to dispose of any such controversy. SECTION 4. (a) The discussion in regard to conciliation shall be confidential and without prejudice, and the exhibitor and the distributor and third parties invited and who attend, and their respective associates, by participating in the conciliation meetings, agree that nothing said, written or done by any party in or in connection with the conciliation shall constitute an admission or statement against interest, or be used as such. (b) Conciliation hereunder is not intended to change, interfere, with or delay the usual negotiations between an exhibitor and a distributor for the licensing of pictures. (c) Conciliation hereunder shall not bar an exhibitor from resorting to arbitration or to litigation. Allied units wait for reports and meetings with ACE leaders before determining that ACE is a hoax, or that non-Allied men on ACE are insincere in their efforts to help the small exhibitor . . . Why not continue the meetings — it may prove to be faster and more beneficial in the long run in building up boxoffice receipts than the two year old White Paper. “The problems of high costs of production and distribution, high salaries for actors, harsh trade practices, research, lack of new stars, lack of product and prints, and delayed availabilities are on the agenda of ACE. Frankly, I want to go on record that I am skeptical about the prospects of ACE and the distributors coming up with a magic formula. I am just as skeptical about the White Paper campaign results. “But even if these are the futile hopes of men, they are the only ones we have at pres¬ ent, so we had better try to keep them alive.”