The Exhibitor (1965)

Literary Talent Search Attracts 16,000 Entries NEW YORK — At the half-way point of the literary talent search, 16..000 requests for en¬ try forms have been received for the $225,000 International Novel Award launched last July 1 by G. F. Putnam’s Sons, McCall’s mag¬ azine, Fawcett World Library, and Embassy Pictures. The four sponsoring organizations have also raised the minimum payment jointly guaran¬ teed the selected author with the addition of German publication rights to the magazine serialization, original book publication, paper¬ back reprint publication, and motion picture rights originally involved in the overall award. Issuing the progress report on the Interna¬ tional Novel Award were Walter J. Minton, president of G. P. Putnam’s Sons; Robert Stein, editor of McCall’s; Ralph Daigh, vicepresident of Fawcett; and Joseph E. Levine, president of Embassy Pictures. The sponsors now guarantee the author of a manuscript of an original novel in the English language, chosen as the best from among those submitted in accordance with the Award rules, a minimum of $225,000 in payments for: 1. First serial publication in McCall’s mag¬ azine. 2. Original book publication by G. P. Put¬ nam’s Sons. 3. Paperback reprint publication by Faw¬ cett World Library. 4. Book publication by Mosaik Verlag in West Germany. 5. A motion picture adaptation produced by Embassy Pictures. Anyone is eligible for the Award, whether or not the author has previously had works published. There is no restriction on subject matter or locale. Minimum manuscript length is 60,000 words. The Awards program extends through July 1, 1965. Announcement of the selection will be made before end of the year. Cohen To Film "Baker Street" NEW YORK — Broadway producer Alex¬ ander H. Cohen has been signed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer to produce the motion pic¬ ture version of his forthcoming musical, “Baker Street,” which premiered at the Broadway Theatre yesterday (Feb. 16). MGM.is the largest investor in this $650,000 stage production, having paid $250,000 as a down payment against a percentage of the film budget and gross receipts. MGM In Detroit Meet DETROIT — A two-day sales conference on MGM’s spring and summer releases was held at the Statler-Hilton Hotel here last week. It was headed by Morris E. Lefko, vicepresident and general sales manager. Also attending the meeting were Herman Ripps, assistant general sales manager; Irving Helfont, home office assistant to assistant gen¬ eral sales manager Lou Formato; and the com¬ pany’s six division managers, Saal Gottlieb, eastern; Lou Marks, central; Bill Madden, midwest; Herb Bennin, southern; Fred Hull, southwestern; and Bill Devaney, west coast. Discussions at the conference centered on distribution plans for such major films as “The Yellow Rolls-Royce,” “Operation Cross¬ bow,” “The Sandpiper,” and “Young Cassidy,” and on MGM’s numerous saturation releases, including “Girl Happy,” “Joy in the Morn¬ ing,” and “Zebra in the Kitchen.” Embassy Opens D. C. Office WASHINGTON — Representatives of private and governmental motion picture exhibitor organizations joined John A. Downing, Em¬ bassy vice-president, and other company ex¬ ecutives in inaugurating Embassy’s new, en¬ larged Washington, D. C., branch office lo¬ cated in the Warner Building. Those attending included from Stanley Warner, Charles Grimes, Washington, D. C., district manager; Merle Lewis; and Rodney Collier; from Lowe’s, Fred Earling; Lee Rigney, Neighborhood Theatres; William Hoyle, District Theatres; and from the Army and Air Force Motion Picture Service, Raymond Beaudry, deputy chief for Washington, D. C., and Harold Tcdd. Host for the festivities was H. P. Kimmel, Embassy’s Washington, D. C., branch man¬ ager. WB Elects Blau NEW YORK — Jack L. Warner, president of Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., has announced the election of Victor Blau as a vice-president of the company and president of its whollyowned subsidiary, Music Publishers Holding Corp. Blau succeeds the late Herman Starr in both offices. Blau had been executive vice-presi¬ dent and west coast head of Music Publishers Holding Corp., as well as head of the music department of the Warner Studios in Burbank, Calif. Commentator’s Libel Suit Dismissed In N. Y. Court NEW YORK — Justice Owen McGivern, New York State Supreme Court, dismissed the libel action brought by Martin Starr against Robert Ferguson, Roger Lewis, United Art¬ ists, and Columbia Pictures Corporation and found for the defendants. Starr, former radio commentator, claimed that two letters written by Lewis and Fer¬ guson in February, 1959, to Leonard Goldenson, president of ABC, were libelous and that he had lost his job at WABC as a result of the letters. The letters complained of Starr’s negative references to the motion pictui e industry. Justice McGivern dismissed the complaint at the end of plaintiff’s evidence, stating the letters were not actionable. He held the letters privileged under law since Ferguson and Lewis had a legitimate interest in writing to Goldenson and that there had been no show¬ ing of malice. Justice McGivern indicated that plaintiff had not shown any connection between the letters and his unemployment. Roger Lewis and United Artists were repre¬ sented by George Berger, Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin and Krim; Columbia Pictures and Robert Ferguson were represented by Law¬ rence C. Gibbs, Schwartz and Frohlich. Fer¬ guson also was represented by Barbara Scott, Motion Picture Association of America. Both Lewis and Ferguson stated that they never had and do not now have any animosity toward Martin Starr. Donnenfeld To Para. Studio HOLLYWOOD — Bernard Donnenfeld, who has served as assistant for production activi¬ ties to George Weltner, president of Para¬ mount Pictures Corporation, since last July, has been named to the newly-created posi¬ tion of associate head of the company’s studio activities, it was announced by Howard W. Koch, vice-president and studio and pro¬ duction head. Koch stated that the Donnenfeld move was “necessitated by Paramount’s greatly accel¬ erated production program, which is progress¬ ing at a pace far beyond our earlier ex¬ pectations. We have every indication that this increased activity will continue into the foreseeable future.” Donnenfeld, who is presently based in New York, will move to his studio post at the end of this month. Jonas Rosenfield, Jr., 20th-Fox vice-president in charge of advertising, publicity, and exploitation; Robert Wise, producer-director of "The Sound Of Music"; and Saul Chaplin, associate producer, are seen recently in New York at a discussion of the roadshow film. February 17, 1965 12 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR