Trade News North (Nov 1977)

SOL tai mt TORONTO — ACTRA is keeping the heat on the CBC. The most recent target is the CBC decision to buy 6 variety specials highlighting non-Canadian talent but produced in Montreal. Don Parrish, president of AC TRA, wrote a blistering letter to CBC president A.W. Johnson on Nov. 7, berating the decision to use the shows which star Michel Legrand, Petula Clark, Paul Anka, Jerry Lewis Jr. and Neil Sedaka and others. Parrish said that CBC spokesmen had argued that there had been a choice between specials from foreign sources altogether, or specials highlighting non-Canadian talent, but made in Canada. Parrish rejected this argument. He claimed that the reported purchase price of more than $75,000 per special was more than the CBC had recently paid to produce some of its own specials starring Canadian performers. Parrish charged that the CBC’s variety department, by committing itself to foreign talent instead of taking advantage of this opportunity to develop truly alternative Canadian variety programming, had betrayed CBC President Johnson’s own call, in “Touchstone for the CBC,” for the ‘“canadianization” of CBC programming. ACTRA and CAMPP On Oct. 21, CAMPP finally responded to ACTRA’s decision, taken in early September, to issue only 2 work permits to non-Cana dian actors for any given production unless special discussions take place to justify additional permits. (This decision involves only Canadian films.) The members of CAMPP state in a press release that this decision should have been part of the regular contract _ negotiations which CAMPP, the Canadian Film and Television Association and the NFB have recently completed with ACTRA. Says CAMPP president, David Permutter, “ACTRA has never been obliged to issue us work permits. It always could decide on the wisdom of using non-ACTRA actors in productions. CAMPP doesn’t believe that fixing an arbitrary number of 2 is appropriate because each production is individual and the needs change.” Perlmutter went on to state that ACTRA has accorded three films (and maybe more) permission to use more than 2 non-Canadians since the Sept. 1 decision. CAMPP states in a letter to ACTRA, “In any case... the use of ACTRA members in the films produced by members of CAMPP has been extensive, widespread and responsible. If there have been specific cases where ACTRA has been unhappy with the manner in which the relationship between a particular producer and ACTRA evolved... CAMPP would be only too happy to meet with representative of ACTRA and resolve such disputes...’’ 0X office grosse Title Cathy’s Curse Darby O’Gill Origin Fre/Can USA La Grande Bourgeoise J.A. Martin photographe Ilsa la tigresse de Sibérie I Never Promised You a Rose Garden It’s Alive Love at First Sight Madame Claude “Oh God”. Outrageous! Panique _A Piece of the Action Rituals Ils étaient cing Can Can USA USA Can Fre USA Can Can USA L’une chante l’autre pas The Uncanny Brrr.... UK/Can Why Shoot the Teacher Young Lady Chatterley led ACTRA READY TO FIGHT What is vexing to CAMPP is that the unilateral decision was taken without consultation. The Association considers its own relationship with ACTRA to be one of mutual trust; that relationship was not respected by the nature of the decision-making process at AC TRA. : Stephen Waddell, the assistant general secretary of ACTRA said, in late October, that he felt the ACTRA announcement had been misunderstood. In a conversation with Trade News North, Waddell underlined the fact that ACTRA was ready to make justifiable exceptions. Waddell considers awarding 2 permits without any question a reasonable decision. ACTRA is aware that foreign talent helps market a film. ‘The only problem comes with the third permit. Are we going to talk about have three Robert Deniro’s in one film?’ he asked, rhetorically. As for all the commotion caused by producer Julian Melzack when he had a press conference in Toronto in Sept., ACTRA is not unduly concerned. Waddell continues, “Mr. Melzack has claimed that the ACTRA ruling has prevented him from producing some of his films in Canada but we do not believe this is true. He’s finding an excuse for his own problems.” Waddell did not wish to be more precise about the nature of these “problems.” Distributor Cinepix Bellevue Frontier New Cinema Cinepix Dabara Ambassador Films Mutuels ’ Warner Bros New Cinema Films Mutuels _ Warner Bros Astral Cinepix Astral Ambassador Frontier Period Covered 21 Oct-4Nov. 7 Oct-21 Oct. 29 Apr-28 Oct. 16 Sept-14 Oct. 80 Sept-28 Oct. Internation Film Dist. 16 Sept-21 Oct. 9 Sept-21 Oct. 17 June-29 Sept. BC-Ont-Que 7 Oct-4 Nov. 7 Oct-28 Oct. 30 Sept-27 Oct. 16 Sept-4 Nov. 7 Oct-28 Oct. 21 July-22 Oct. 26 Aug-22 Sept. 7 Oct-4 Nov. 7 Oct-20 Oct. 16 Sept-13 Oct. 24 June-20 Oct. 24 June-28 Oct. hesley at randor David Cronenberg’s The Brood, a co-production between Elgin and Cinepix, has been postponed to winter because the CFDC postponed its fall meeting, thus preventing funds from being assigned until it was too late for a Fall shoot... Elgin sees a Spring shoot for Evil Eye, a horror pic by Dennis Zahoruk... Joseph Strick says he plans to film Never Cry Wolf, based on the Farly Mowat book... British producer Michael Klinger planned to make both the Chilean Club and Green Beach as productions with British Government funds. That fell through so an Anglo-Canadian route was planned, most likely through Julian Melzack. Now that’s stalled... Canada’s four-man Bethune delegation met with little success on its October visit to China. They ' gaw the sites where Bethune worked, but they also saw the Chinese Government, who weren’t agreeable to shooting the epic in China. Group consisted of CFDC’s Michael Spencer, producer John Kemeny, director Norman Jewison and writer Ted Allen... A Ted Allen story to be filmed in New York was moved to Montreal at the last minute. Set in the 1940’s it stars Elliott Gould, and is about to begin shooting... Ringo of Beatles fame will probably make a feature in Canada, either this fall or next year. Project was brought to Zealot Films (Dan Weinzweigand Gerry Arbeid) by Ringo’s people, and at our press time negotiations were continuing apace... Danton will distribute the Harlequin feature in Canada, and Roger Corman’s New World in the U.S. Pic is Leopard in the Snow... Norman McLaren received a honorary degree from Queen’s University on October 29, but instead of reciting a prepared speech, he sent a compilation film of his work... Nick Langston, longtime United Artists public relations man in Canada, has resigned to join a real estate development company... Both Claude Wagner and Peter Lougheed have sued the CBC, over Connections and The Tar Sands respectively, so anything involved in the show, from scripts to publicity photos, is incommunicado... From October 3-15 The National Film Board Still Photo Division and York University sponsored a photo exhibit in the University’s McLaughlin Hall. Photographers William Cupit, Rodney Werden, Shun Sasabuchi, Arnaud Maggs, and Jennifer Dickson were contributors to the display. After a recent CBC publicity staff meeting, a summary document was circulated to those present advising caution against releasing the first week of the season Nielson ratings. Seems they are very good for the CBC and, rather than build up media expectations, the Corporation decided to hold back. That’s Canadian modesty for you... The Ontario Censor Board gave Joseph Strick’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man a Restricted rating. Now the under-eighteens will not get to see the one bare breast and will just have to read the book in school. The distributor may well regret the loss of the school group bookings to beef up the box-office... Places Played Total Gross Weeks Toronto 4 57,000 BC-Alb-Que 2 154,000 BC-Alb-Sask-Man-Ont-NS 26 84,000 Toronto 11,000 Que 208,000 Canada 450,000 Sask-Man-Ont. 6 835,000 49,650 4 312,300 158,000 153,000 479,387 106,000 361,469 81,686 Montreal Canada 3 BC-Alb-Ont Que Toronto Canada Que Que Alb-Man-Ont-NB Que Canada Canada 18 1,036,275 285,000 11