The Exhibitor (1966)

REA-7 Arts Film System In Boeing 747 Mock-Up NEW YORK — The REA Express — Seven Arts airborne motion picture entertainment system has been installed for demonstration purposes in the Boeing 747 full scate mockup i at Boeing's Commercial Division in Renton, Wash. The new aircraft is capable of carrying 350 to 490 passengers and is the largest and fastest jet-liner in production. The announce !ment was made by Robert C. Hendon, presidnt of R E A Express — Seven Arts Transvision, Inc. REA Express — Seven Arts Transvision, Inc. is a joint venture of R E A Express, the world¬ wide transportation company, and Seven Arts Productions, Ltd., international motion picture and television producers and distributors. The R E A — Seven Arts system, designated the “X-7,” was unveiled after several years of development and is currently in operation on Air-India. It utilizes a film-handling concept by which entertainment films are exhibited in full color on a large screen by direct projec¬ tion. Fully automatic, the equipment initiates a film showing at the touch of a button and then automatically shuts itself off at the film’s i conclusion; the system can project two fulllength feature films, a maximum of 4j4 hours of motion picture entertainment; no rewinding Is ever necessary between showings, th equip¬ ment operating on a continuous film-loop con¬ cept. Using the R E A — Seven Arts X-7 system, two feature films can be alternately or con¬ tinuously exhibited for an indefinite period of time until new titles are substituted, without the need for any maintenance or special per¬ sonnel. Additionally, the equipment incorpor¬ ates a, new projection light source developed by the General Electric Company which makes darkened cabins during film showings — even in daylight hours — a thing of the past. Another feature of the REA Express — Seven Arts equipment is its multilingual sound track capability for international audiences. Edwards Joins MGM Int. NEW YORK— MGM International has named Bill Edwards director of publicity and advertising for Continental Europe. Edwards succeeds Elias Lapinere, who resigned. MGM advertising director Emery Austin addresses the 50 theatre and publicity representatives attend¬ ing the recent "Dr. Zhivago" merchandising meeting at New York's Americana Hotel. j*miiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiinmiiiii> miiiiiiini> minimi mi | The NEW YO RK See no 1 By Mel KonecoPf WE WERE A PRISONER IN A CHINESE RESTAURANT THE OTHER DAY. Well, not really, but we did join several score exhibitors the day following our local blizzard at the Sun Luck Imperial restaurant to celebrate the Chinese New Year’s Eve by viewing the Warners adventure melodrama, “The Corrupt Ones,’ and the advertising-publicityexploitation campaign. Morey (Razz) Goldstein, vice-president in charge of sales, was in usual fine form as he categorized the film as a “damned good commercial picture.” The setting up of the projec¬ tion equipment and the screen prompted h:m to consider leaving the equipment standing and the restaurant to become another point of exhibition, but then he thought better of it, considering he might not understand a request in Chinese for an adjustment. The film is scheduled for a Feb. 22 opening on the RKO circuit and in other houses, and on hand to discuss the campaign was circuit president Matty Polon and advertisingpublicity director Fred Herkowitz. They reported that they stood ready to make their plans and material easily accessible to other interested exhibitors. Displayed was such material as a huge button for staff, a scene still display, a colorful canopy, Chinese lanterns, facsimiles of the Peking Medallion (which plays an important part in the plot), teaser cards, streamers, Chinese tinklers, a buddha, incense burners, a crown over the boxoffice, rubber stamps for supermarket bags, the Warners herald with the back page imprinted with an individual theatre message, contest gimmicks for passes, cooking recipes ala the Chinese food angle, cheesecake fotos passed out wherever men congregate, coolie hats for the staff, cocktail strips for bars, fortune cookies containing a message (such as “There’s excitement in your future. See ‘The Corrupt Ones’ ”), Hong Kong dress style tie-ins for the femmes, replicas of the medallion glued on the sidewalk in front of theatres, sidewalk stencils, bumper strips, rickshaws that can be rented with a model as a passenger, newspaper mats, a treasure hunt for a medallion backed by radio announcements, a manhunt via newspaper clues, etc. The Dusty Springfield record played behind the credits at the start and finish was also to be utilized. Polon gave credit to Herkowitz and his staff consisting of Blanche Livingston, Ernie Shapiro, and Pat Grosso for coming up with the impressive campaign. The RKO prexy was in charge of the arrangements. (Aside to Matty: You can order a Chinese meal for us any time you want. We really dug the goodies.) Richard Lederer, Warners vice president in charge of advertising and publicity, presented the company’s campaign, which included the basic ads, theatre trailer, radio spots, etc. He reported that they were aiming for a totally integrated campaign using all media, with the tv spots, in particular, stressing the total action look. The campaign will be backed by an all-out exploitation campaign. It is expected that the promotional and advertising effort for the New York bow will cost in excess of $50,000. Polon received the gratitude of the Warner organization for not only giving exhibitors a preview of the activities that will back the film but also for making the materials available and for masterminding the arrangements. UPCOMING PRODUCTION: GEORGE BREAKSTON, A FORMER CHILD STAR featured in such classics as “Great Expectations,” “It Happened One Night,” and “Grapes of Wrath,” and at 13 starred in “No Greater Glory,” has been signed by Ram Films, Inc., the production arm of Walter Manley Enterprises, to an exclusive contract under which he will write, produce, and direct approximately four features a year. Probably all will be made in Europe, with the first, “Night of the Tomahawk” to be filmed in Yugoslavia in May. His second will be “Year of the Wolf.” Exhibitors will most recently remember his “The Boy Cried Murder,” released by Universal not too long ago. According to Walter Manley, president, and Ivan Reiner, vice-president in charge of pro¬ duction for Ram, that company expects to produce eight features over the next 18 months, each budgeted in the area of $300,000 to $350,000, with approximately $2,500,000 being expended on this group of features, all to be in color. American principals will be utilized, or if these are not available, then players of international fame or stature. Other films will probably be acquired as well. The Manley organization has a pair of features scheduled for release by MGM probably in June, “The Wild, Wild Planet” and “The War of the Planets.” A feature was made by them in Japan, “Water Cyborg,” another science fiction film, and a series of others will probably be made there in the future. A pair are being worked on in Italy, “The Snow Devils” and “The Planet on the Prowl,” for which no distribution has been set as yet. The outfit has enough film in release either through regular channels or states righters for Manley to consider setting up his own distribution organization one of these days. THE METROPOLITAN SCENE: SOME 200,000 EXPECTED TO ATTEND THEatres and other arenas which will show the Daytona 500, classic sportscar race, on Feb. 26. It will be shown via closed circuit in theatres in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Asia, and Hawaii. One of the sponsors is the Pepsi-Cola Company. ... New York Bank for Savings had an exhibit, a retrospective of western movies from “The Great Train Robbery” to the release of “A Fistful of Dollars,” in connection with local openings of the latter UA release. . . . The department of film of the Museum of Modern Art inaugurated a new series, “Films in Search of an Audience,” which was to make available to the public films which have not been released commercially or which had unduly short runs. Film department director Willard Van Dyke thinks it’s the duty of such institutions to undertake such exhibi¬ tions, which offer the public a chance to see pictures which merit attention. Initial titles are “Raven’s End,” “Salvatore Giuliano,” and “All These Women.” Presumably, others will follow depending on the public reaction. February 15, 1967 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 13 .ufimsiHIIIMIIIIHI*'