Moving Picture World (Feb 1917)

824 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD February 10, 1917 about 1891, and showed a six-round boxing contest He said that he had also taken part in the making of the first successful picture made under artificial light. That was about 1897 or 1898, he said, and showed the prize fight between Jeffriesand Sharkey. "The industry is wide open now," said Mr. Brady. "There are no patents that prevent any one from making pictures." "There are many things that need correction, are there not?" was asked. An affirmative answer was given. "And the tendency is toward improvement?" "Yes, I think that tendency is becoming more and more apparent It is a matter of business. Pictures must always improve. There has been, since the beginning of the industry, a tremendous advance in the class and character of motion picture productions." For a time the questions asked by Mr. Hinman drew close to the "regulation" of motion pictures, and the witness emphatically declared that he was opposed to any form of "regulation" from without the industry. He took occasion to say: "Any man who produces a dirty picture — a picture he wouldn't want his mother, his wife, or his daughter to see — should be sent to prison." Much verbal fencing as to whether it was public demand that brought the stars into motion pictures or whether it was the producers who had induced the actors to sign contracts, took place. The witness finally stated that the public in the end decides. Of stars he said: "Stars are worth all they can get but many of them do not render the services their salaries warrant There are many actors and actresses who were getting $40 or $50 a week on the legitimate stage who now draw ten times that amount and as a consequence their heads are turned. "Charlie Chaplin earns all he gets. He is just as popular in Siam as he is here, and is probably better known than President Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt or Kaiser Wilhelm." He said that Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and several others are worth all the money being paid them. "Interest in motion pictures on the part of the public has decreased within the past year and a half," he said. "Hasn't there been a tendency to increase admission prices during that period?" "I think the tendency has been toward an increase." The drift of the investigation then turned toward waste in the industry. "The distribution of motion pictures in this country today is a joke," Mr. Brady said. "The system is absolutely ridiculous. Why, there are a score or more exchanges where one or two could do the work as well. There are too many chains of selling offices. The only money being wasted now except in the studio and on actors' salaries is in distribution." "What is the basis of selling pictures?" he was asked. "What you can get When a real business man comes along, who knows how to cut waste, he will make money." The recent growth in the number of corporations headed by the stars themselves was touched upon, as was also the matter of press agent claims of large capitalizations, etc. "Speaking as the representative of every branch of the motion picture industry," Mr. Brady said, "I want to say to you gentlemen that this is a very inopportune and unfortunate time to place any further burden on an already overladen camel's back." Mr. Brady's testimony concluded the morning session. The witness at the afternoon session was Adolf Zukor, president of the Famous Players-Lasky company. He was lepresented by counsel. He told the committee that he had been in the motion picture business for about twelve years, starting as an exhibitor on Fourteenth street, New York. Previous to that, he said, he had been in the fur business. Most of the time consumed in Mr. Zukor^s examination was taken up by questions regarding the details of incorporation and capitalization of the concerns with which he is connected. Tie said his corporation is a holding company for four or five concerns, and was formed last summer so the other companies would not go out of business, as they were duplicating many films. Asked if there was any connection between the Mary Pickford Film Company and his, he said he knew of none. "Do you know the terms Mary Pickford has with her company?" Mr. Hinman asked. Mr. Zukor's reply was that he did not nor did he know of anyone who did. He stated that there was no new money coming into the motion picture business at the present time. "It did for the last two years," he said, "but it has been disastrous, and the industry is pot at present attractive to big men." He declared that the tendency in New York was to build larger theaters, and that the larger theaters put the smaller ones out of business. He stated that this would hurt the producers because of a decreasing demand for their product Mr. Zukor said that the business of the concerns with which he is connected is not in a flourishing condition, but that he hopes it will be. Big feature pictures again came under discussion. Questions brought from Mr. Zukor the testimony that large pictures are costing more money — that this money must be spent to save that already invested. He said that the public is becoming more critical every day, and that more money than ever be fore must be spent on each individual production, without a commensurate return. He said that the income on pictures was less now than it had been when less money was spent on production. "At present the industry is going through a transformation," he declared. "We make pictures that should bring $50, but the exhibitor cannot afford to pay that much. We are ahead of the theaters. We are ahead of ourselves. There are more pictures being produced now than the theaters can digest" Friday's Session. P. A. Powers was again a witness on Friday. During his examination Mr. Hinman questioned him regarding several articles purporting to have been written by Carl Laemmle, president of the Universal, and printed in the Moving Picture Weekly, the Universal house organ. In one of these articles was a refutation of a story to the effect that the Spreckels sugar interests were interested in Universal, which had appeared in a theatrical publication. The witness said that absolutely no outside interest or industry was interested in Universal. He said that the Universal^ own earnings had paid for all of its improvements. The witness also said: "Every sugar interest and munitions manufacturer who is putting money into motion pictures — and there are some being promoted to do so — is losing money. They have to have some other business to be able to indulge in morion pictures, and while they are losing their $3,000,000 or $5,000,000 we in the business can't make any money. I know of concerns where from $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 has already been put in, and where more is being put in. They make and sell pictures at less than cost, and we have to compete with them. "Last year I had a record of motion picture corporations formed with capitalizations of $100,000. They averaged one a week for fifty-two weeks, and they have all fallen by the wayside." Of the star Mr. Powers at this session said: "A star is worth what you can get him for. Any star will pay as an investment if you stay within reasonable bounds in your offer to him." The deposit arrangement between Universal exchanges and exhibitors was also touched upon, Mr. Powers stating that certain contracts require deposits. "If an exhibitor's credit is not good and if his reputation is poor we ask for a deposit" he said. "We do this in order to protect ourselves from summary cancellations. The average term of credit is from a week to ten days." Mr. Powers informed the legislators that the Universal almost at all times has "about a million dollars" tied np in unreleased negative — that is, pictures ready for the market, but which have to be exploited for some time before thenrelease date. Mr. Powers told of his connection with and investments in the Powers company. Then it was brought out by Mr. Hinman that Universal program pictures cost about $2.50 a foot to produce. "That figure," added Mr. Powers, "is only for our regular program releases. That does not take into consideration the special features." As to the future of the business, Mr. Powers said: "There is a solid foundation for the business and I think that eventually it will be all right; otherwise I would get omit tomorrow. Sooner or later, I feel, the mam who doesn't belong in the business will become tired of sinking his money in it and then a well-established business will make money." At the conclusion of Mr. Powers' testimony the hearings were adjourned until Wednesday, January 31. REELS STOLEN AT CLIFTON, ARIZ. Emile Brutinel, manager of the Princess and Empire theaters at Clifton, Ariz., reports that there was stolen from the depot at Clifton a box of reels— the sixth episode of "The Shielding Shadow." He will , pay a reward for a -return of the lost property.