Motion Picture News (Nov-Dec 1923)

2226 Motion Picture News iuliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliililiiiiiiiiiiimiitiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiinniniiiiii Minimi wiiiiiiiiiiiiii inn limiiiiiiiuiiiiiiui iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillliiiiliiiiliiiliini minim y ! Paramount Orders Shut-Down | 1 (Continued from page 2225) fiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii mimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiunuiiiniii^ niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinil son, President of Anderson Pictures Corporation, said : " The present situation in the motion picture industry is largely a mental condition. Actually, the dimes and quarters are coming into the box office windows of motion picture theatres just the same as they have been doing for months and years. Theatres are running full blast ; the exchanges are busy and there is nothing in the present situation to indicate a change of this condition. It is undoubtedly true that some producers have spent enormous sums for production and are now forced to stop, look and listen, until such time as the pictures can be put to work and a revenue received to replace these excessive production costs. At every turn we see a big effort being made to justify these costs. Some producers have been on a wild orgy of spending, a carnival of extravagant costs. There had to come a time when top-heavy production costs would tumble over of their own weight. We have now reached that point. " All the public and all the exhibitor have ever demanded is clean, appealing entertainment. As far back as June, 1921, the National Convention at Minneapolis of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America, passed out to producers a warning that production costs were too high, and again in May, 1922, at the national convention in Washington, the same statement was made. Yet the producers failed to heed the warning. Ridiculously high salaries of stars and executives continued. One unit pitted its resources against another, thinking to win favor by the lavishness of their productions. " Reference to the columns of Motion Picture News two years ago will show that a very similar condition existed at that time with exactly the same result. " Five months ago we predicted that this present condition would come to pass, not because we were prophetic, but because what goes up must come down." Up to the present time the Cosmopolitan Corporation has been making pictures in various studios located in different sections of New York City. This is in addition to its own studios at 127th street and Second avenue. Five of these, most utilized by Cosmopolitan, are the 44th street studio, the Pathe, the Jackson avenue, the TecArt and the Biograph. Cosmopolitan announced this week that they had acquired the necessary real estate and will immediately rush the building of three new studios, all in New York City, and one of them to have the greatest capacity of any eastern studio except that of the Famous Players on Long Island. The plans for this studio call for a structure 80 by 200 feet and 40 feet in the clear. In capacity and in its equipment and other permanent facilities for the makine: of the finest type of motion pictures, this plant, it is declared, will represent all that is best and most advanced in the architecture and other fundamentals entering into motion picture production. On another New York City location where land has been secured, work will begin immediately on the second of the new Cosmopolitan studios. Its dimensions are 60 by 200 feet and 30 feet in the clear. The third new structure — on which work also will be rushed — will be of these same dimensions. It will occupy part of the present Cosmopolitan studio lot. Both of these will share with the bigger one all of the advantages of the most modern practice in motion picture studio building and equipment. Productions at Cosmopolitan studio at Second avenue and 127th street will continue as heretofore. The Cosmopolitan Corporation is thoroughly convinced of the superior advantages held by New York City as picture making headquarters. On this point William Randolph Hearst, President of the company, in authorizing the above announcement, said : " There is an enormous advantage in making motion pictures in New York City. One of the most important of these is that New York is the centre of the stage play production. Consequently here is where famous actors and actresses of the stage are most immediately available for both stage and screen engagements. " Cosmopolitan decided some time ago to make all of its pictures in New York City. We prefer to produce our pictures in studios with artificial lighting rather than to depend on the uncertainty and varying degrees of sunlight, a condition from which no part of this country is at all seasons exempt." Famous Players Deny Rumors Regarding Cecil deMille and Moving Lasky Studios TWO rumors regarding Famous Players-Lasky Corporation which the "knowing" ones have been broadcasting recently, were branded as untrue this week by Jesse L. Lasky and Charles Eyton. "There is to be no change regarding Cecil B. deMille's identity with our company," Jesse Lasky said in denying the reports that Mr. deMille was leaving to make productions for United Artists or some other distributing organization. It was further brought out in the talk that such a report gains momentum each year; at least such reports have been in circulation almost annually for the past five or six years. Charles Eyton, general manager of the West Coast studios, said there is nothing to the report that the Lasky Hollywood studios are to be moved in the near future. ."It is a fact that we looked at property in the new town of Westwood, between Beverly Hills and Sawtelle, west of Los Angeles toward Ocean Park and Santa Monica. Nothing came of the deal. We own the ground on which the present studio is situated, have just completed a quarter million dollar laboratory, scores of new dressing rooms, and a thirty thousand dollar garage is now being built. It is possible," Mr. Eyton continued, "that we will be crowded out of Hollywood because of the high valuation of real estate here, but I am certain nothing of this kind will be done for the next! five or six years or more." Famous Closes Deal for Fenway in Boston FAMOUS Players-Lasky Corp. has negotiated a deal whereby they acquire a representative first run theatre in New England. This week representatives of that organization officially closed with the owners of the Fenway theatre in Boston, taking a lease on that house for a period of ten years. The house is now being altered, with S. Barrett McCormick in charge. McCormick is working under the supervision of Harold B. Franklin, who is in charge of Famous Players' theatre interests. The Fenway, which will open some time next month, will be used as a " demonstration nouse " by Famous Players. It will operate its programs along the lines of the Rivoli and Rialto in New York, with augmented orchestra and special numbers. For the past six months, Jack Colin and Joe Brandt of the C. B. C. Film Sales Corporation, have been collecting data as to the actual earning power of motion pictures, primarily with a view to bringing the cost of pictures to a level with the actual rental earning possibilities of productions. This data was secured for the object of eventually setting all the facts gathered before the directors and stars at the coast to show the fallacy of the policy of inequitable prices for salaried stars and indiscriminate expenditures on the part of directors, irrespective of the possible returns for the money they have spent. Mr. Cohn left for the coast last week, with this data in hand to confer with Harry Cohn. Mr. Cohn hopes to be able to convince his actor and director friends that their present attitude on salaries is responsible for the present uncertain situation in production. Marcus Loew gave his opinion as follows: " I predicted this would happen six months ago. We have only seen the beginning. But it is no different with pictures than any other young industry. It's simply a case of getting the industry where it belongs — on a business basis. Zukor has started something. We've all started, I believe. The overhead — the excessive cost of making pictures — has gotten away with us. The reason was that a few people started it a year ago on the Coast — and it takes only a few people to start a thing like this and to double the cost of pictures. The exhibitor has his own troubles. I know. You may be interested in this : My New York theatres did $46,000 more last week than a year ago; and the Loew circuit did $100,000 more than a year ago, due to increased admission prices. But we made $6,000 less than last year. And that's unhealthy. We don't dare go any higher in admissions. There is only one way to stop this extravagant waste of money; the terrible cost of selling, producing, everything that goes into pictures. It's far greater than any other business. Zukor deserves a lot of credit for taking the bull by the horns. I don't know that this will cure the situation, but it will help. We've got to watch the pennies — and that has never been done in this industry." Joseph I. Schnitzer of F. B. O. said : " Mr. Zukor is to be congratulated on the wisdom of his move and the courage that prompted him to take the step. It's fine and certainly a long step in the right direction. I have nothing but commendation for this decision. So far as F. B. O. is concerned we have been operating on a minimum production schedule for some time past."