Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1921)

> b er 2 2, I 9 2 I Wid^* Gunning Announces Control of F. B. Warren Corporation ws Followed by Statement of Corporation's Policies in Independent Distributing Field C. GL'XXIXG, better known as '■ Wid," this week announced his • activities in the distributing of inident productions. The announcein addition to telling of Mr. Guncontrol of the F. B. Warren Corp., ■~ed the position of this distributing i/.ation in the industn,' and recounted ipments in " Wid's " career leading his present association. Gunning retired from his publicaknown as Wid's Daily about three ago, turning over control of this ation to J. D. Dannenberg and John licoate, who had been associated with or some years. Since that time Mr. ing has not written anything for pubm, although the name Wid's Daily t en continued in use by the publica Gunning was actively associated the late George Loane Tucker, and een living in California for several acting in an advisory capacity with indent producers with whom he has ubstantial interests. Wid's to Have No Change of Policy or Management THE following statement, signed by Joseph Dannenberg, president and editor of Wid's Daily, and John W. Alicoate, treasurer and business manager, has been issued to the trade press: " Many of our friends have long known that F. C. (Wid) Gunning withdrew from participation in the management of Wid's Daily several years ago, leaving the control of the publication in the hands o,f the undersigned. " At that time he went to California to devote himself to production affairs in which he was interested. More recently he has become identified with the F. B. Warren Corporation, a distributing organization which he controls. In view of • this it is deemed advisable that this statement be made: " Wid Gunning has no participation whatsoever in the management or operation of Wid's Daily. Its policy will remain unchanged. In his new endeavor we extend to Wid our hearty good wishes." cause ot the tremendous success oi Miracle Man," it became rather Known that Mr. Gunning was asso 1 with Mr. Tucker, although no effort ver made by Mr. Gunning to bring :;to prominence, this information first into print at the time of a court 1 brought by Mr. Tucker regarding r credit for himself in the advertising cted with " The Miracle Man." Aas also generally known by many in ade that Mr. Gunning was an imit factor in the organization of Asso 1 Producers. ■ new distributing corporation aned to the trade as the F. B. Warren 'ration this Summer was built for airpose of providing an absolutely cndnt sales-service organization, desolely to provide a direct contact en the independent producer and the iter. '. Gunning, in discussing this oration, pointed out particularly that production is sold strictly on its S and each production is sold sep'y, it being a definite policy that at no -hall various productions be grouped !ier and listed under the heading of orporate name. '. Gunning, in analyzing the distinciifference between the contract given idependent producer by this corporaand the custoamry contract given in ast, emphasized the fact that his cortion is not in any case giving to the producer advances of any character or guarantee or financial committments of any sort. In explaining why this was so essentially sound, Mr. Gunning pointed out that if a producer-distributor corporation were guaranteeing to a producer the cost of his negative upon delivery, that there must be something fundamenally unsound about the distributor's reasoning and knowledge of production, since the distributor was actually, by that guarantee, financing the production. If the distributor intended financing the production, it would be ridiculous for him not to make his own productions, providing, of course, he knew how, because then when selling them he would have one hundred per cent of the proceeds instead of a much smaller percentage. Mr. Gunning pointed out that while many contracts have been made in the past wherein various distributors have guaranteed certain amounts as an advance upon the delivery of negative by the independent producer, that invariably difficulty has arisen later on in the matter of the selling of the product, either as to the gross amount of sales accomplished or as to the proper disbursement of the moneys taken in from the theatres in the form of rentals. Mr. Gunning made it very clear that he had discovered many times the amount of product he had expected to be available in the first year for such an independent organization, and stated that he considered that which had been accepted for distribution of higher quality than any product ever held by a new company in the history of the film industry. He emphasized the fact that in selecting product for distribution only one consideration entered into the negotiations at any time, and that was the quality of the product submitted, the only requirement being that the product be worthy the efforts of a high-powered organization. Another decidedly unusual innovation which has been developed in a truly extensive form in this new organization is the elaborate plan of profit-sharing evolved for the branch managers and salesmen, whereby the entire organization is really a partnership of a score or more of men, with the earnings of those men entirely depending upon their individual efforts, which means for the first time in the film industry the absolute elimination of unnecessary and unearned profits, leaving the three real factors, the actual creator of the film, the actual salesman of the film and the exhibitor as the only three people entering into the negotiation between camera and screen. ''Innocence*' Is Given Trial by Jury in St. Louis Audrey Munson's motion-picture, "Innocence," was shown to a jury in St. Louis, following the arrest of Miss Munson at the instigation of the Church Federation which charged that certain scenes of the picture were "lewd and obscene." After viewing the picture, the jury recornmended that Miss Munson be discharged from custody but advised that the film be given no further exhibition locally. "Innocence" was booked for showing at the Royal Theatre in St. Louis, and on the very first exhibition of the picture the Church Federation caused the arrest of Miss Munson and all connected with the showing of the picture on the charge that its scenes were "lewd and obscene." It was further alleged that the same might apply to poses by Miss Munson during the course of the performance.