The Exhibitor (1966)

EX-810 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR December 14, 1966 12-Hour Premiere Party Introduces Kansas City Four-In-One Theatre KANSAS CITY — A 12-hour showing of motion pictures from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thurs¬ day, Dec. 8, as a benefit for the Mayor’s Christmas Tree fund, opened Kansas City’s new Metro Plaza Theatres, the first complex in the world of four theatres under one roof. The occasion was designated as “Spotlight Premiere.” A number of events were held in the lobby and the shopping center in addition to the opening of the theatres. The Madrigal Singers and Renaissance Players of the Conservatory of Music of the University of Missouri at Kansas City under the direction of Dr. John Lee Swanay appeared in costume and presented selections from their repertory of medieval music. There were multiple ribbon-cutting ceremonies at 7 p.m., performances by high school bands, live radio coverage by stations KMBC and KMBR, more than 100 gifts from Metro Plaza mer¬ chants, and an all-night theatre party with live radio broadcast. The midwest premiere of “Hotel Paradiso,” with Alec Guinness and Gina Lollobrigida, was the attraction in Metro Plaza 1 and Metro Plaza 2. “The Glass Bottom Boat,” with Doris Day and Rod Taylor, played in Metro 3, and “A Patch of Blue,” with Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, and Sidney Poitier, in Metro Plaza 4. In a special arrangement with MetroGoldwyn-Mayer, distributor of all three motion pictures, all of the proceeds went to the Mayor’s fund, said Stanley H. Durwood, president of the company which built and will operate the theatres. Regular admission prices were in effect for the benefit per¬ formances. Mayor Ilus Davis and a delegation of councilmen formed the ribbon cutting brigade at 7 p.m., the Mayor at the main entrance, and a councilman at the door of each of the four theatres. Other city officials also attended along with representatives of Durwood The¬ atres, the center developer, the Metro Plaza merchants, and others. Performances were continuous in each theatre all evening, according to M. Robert Goodfriend, Durwood general manager. The David Andrews broadcast of “KMBC Night People” was direct from the Metro Plaza 3 beginning at midnight and continuing until 5 a.m. Len Dawson, sports director of KMBC, appeared during the benefit, along with air personalities Mark Foster, Dave Robinson, Don Burley, Jim Gammon, Johne Pearson, Steve Bell, and Stan Major. The manager of the theatre complex is Melvin L. Tull, who formerly was manager of the Empire Theatre. The assistant manager is Phillip Niemann, who formerly was assistant at the Roxy Theatre. The cluster of four theatres is unique in the motion picture industry, and gives Kansas City a'first in this development. Four theatres in one location enables the theatre company to provide an unusual degree of variety as a family film entertainment center, Durwood said. The company is now operating 15 the¬ atres in greater Kansas City. The Metros will seat about 1,200 persons, theatres number 2 and 3 being slightly larger than 1 and 4. Entrance is via a central lobby. Regular operation of the theatres began Friday, Dec. 9. Radio City Music Hall was represented, as always, in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The float has a revolving carousel and a singing ensemble. It traveled the length of the parade route to Herald Square, where it was joined by the Rockettes and Ballets Company for the nationwide telecast. Tate A Top Cover Girl NEW YORK — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is distributing 10 thousand copies of a four-page color brochure on Sharon Tate to exhibitors and press representatives throughout the coun¬ try. The brochure shows the enormous cover¬ age the young actress received in the inter¬ national press this year while filming “13” and “The Vampire Killers” in Europe. During the filming of both pictures at the Bordeaux and London production sites, scores of reporters and photographers were daily visitors on the sets. "Grand Prix" Merchandising Plans Disclosed At Meet NEW YORK — An intensive two-day “Grand Prix” merchandising meeting, attended by 80 members from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s adver¬ tising, publicity, and exploitation departments, was held at the Americana Hotel here. The purpose of the meeting was to present a comprehensive picture of the “Grand Prix’ campaign and to explore every merchandising outlet for the roadshow attraction, which has its world premiere on Dec. 21 at the Warner Cinerama here. The meeting was conducted by Emery Austin, assistant director of adver¬ tising, publicity and exploitation. MGM field press representatives and divi¬ sion managers from throughout the country arrived here for the meeting, which was also attended by many home office executives, rep¬ resenting the sales and music/record divisions, in addition to advertising, publicity and ex¬ ploitation personnel. Attention was focused on advertising/publicity aims, personal apeparance tours, music/ record/book tie-ins, and the special accessory and photographic material that has been pre¬ pared for “Grand Prix.” An in-depth report on the many promotions with leading manufactoring firms was also presented. The Georgian Ballroom at the Americana was decorated with colorful “Grand Prix” material for the occasion. One of champion driver Jo Bonnier’s Formula I racing cars was prominently displayed, and models showed the “Grand Prix” fashion ensemble. Interna¬ tional singing star Francoise Hardy, who makes her English-language film debut in “Grand Prix,” was one of one luncheon guests. During the meetings, merchandising cam¬ paigns for the following films were outlined: “Blow-Up,” “The Dirty Dozen,” “The 25th Hour,” “Don’t Make Waves,” “The Vampire ( Continued on next page ) MGM's "Grand Prix" float provided nationwide exposure for the John Frankenheimer film via the televised broadcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade over the NBC color network. Featured on the float are songstress Francoise Hardy, making her English-speaking debut in “Grand Prix" (she's on the highest platform), and 1966 Grand Prix World Champion Jack Brabham (standing between two championship cars he built and drove).