Universal Filmlexikon (1933)

political or other tendency. In that case it will he well to eiijoiii a eertain reserve on the artist when he talks ahoul his art, for his enthusiasin may cause hiiii lo oveilook. the possibility of his Statements heiiifr niis<()nstiiie<l. Also, it is easy to inia<:ine film themes that present extraordinary possihilities from the artistic point of view, yet involve the lisk of hein«;; regarded as tendencious by the public. The makers of films are out to present some «ireat human destiny, whereas people helon<iin<i in real life to the profession to whieh the actor bclonfis on th«' screen may think that it is the object of the film to cast obloquy on that profession. For it is clear that a big film costing i)erhaps t 50 000 would suffer very eonsiderably if. in spite of its higli artistic (jualitv. professional circles suspected a tendency behind it. Attendances would diniinish, and box office takings slump, so that the profilableness of the film, if not the capital invested in it, might he endangered. Add to this the consideration that a thoughtless Publicity Statement, no matter where it conies from, may also seriously affect the popularity of the actor creating the part concerned, and you have a eomplete picture of how much depends on the Publicity agent's sense of responsibility. Finally, one niore thing. The Journalist acting as Publicity agenl for an established or rising Star or for a great work of art, must, in his relationship with the Press, play the part of the giver. He must give the Press ideas that could only emanate from himself, as he is dosest to the Personality of the artist or the work of art he represents. He is a specialist in the Performance of his task, with facts and information before bim that are not available to anyone eise, and if he presents all this in the right form to the Press which, in a sense, is waiting for it, then it may almost be said that he is playing the part of a verv welcome special correspondent to the Press. The true publicity chief is an expert Publicity man with a great artistic task, and he must at the same time enjoy the confidence not only of the Press and the artist, but also of the concern in whose interests it lies to combine artistic merit with economic success. However, when the great day, the day of the premiere, arrives, the star steps into the limelight by himself. No inteimediary is then able to help him. It is now the critics' turn. However there is an established artistic Standard, determined by time and individual Performance, which even the severest critic — and this is only human — cannot overlook. It is a Standard to which Publicity men, whether as press managers or in any other capacity, have contributed niany an item. In a word, during their careers artists are faithfully, if not always affectionately, served by the Press. HENRI PFEIFFER, le chef de la presse de l'ufa LA VEDETTE ET LA PRESSE Chaque artiste, meme commenijant, doit tächer d'entrer en contact avec la presse, de se bien penetrer de I'idee que ce contact est de la premiere importance pour lui, surtout en ce qui regarde ses achevements presents ou futurs qui ne seront que mieux apprecies s'il se trouve une personne voulant bien se charger de faire I'intermediaire entre lui, — l'artiste, — l'Etoile qui monte — et la presse. II y a bien de particularites qui, une fois portees devant l'opinion publique, montrent ces achevements sous l'eclairage d un eertain jour. Cette publicite, en tout cas, ne peut qu'augmenter Tinteret du public ä l'egard de l'artiste, avec, toutefois, la condition prealable, que la pi'esse veuille s'occuper de la future vedette. II s'etablit alors un champs d'influence reciproque. Que le journaliste ou l'editeur ait la conviction tpi'un futur artiste ou une vedette <lejä arrivee ( qne ce soit pour son jeu artistique ou pour d'autres raisons d'ordre prive), que cet artiste ou vedette suscite Tinteret du public, il y va tout simplement de son devoir professionnel de s'y interesser, lui aussi, et dans ce cas, il ne fait que s'acquitter de son Service, aupres de son Journal, aupres de ses abonnes et aupres d'autres cercles de lecteurs. Bien entendu, pour le hon succes de l'affaire, les rapports entre la vedette et la presse doivent tenir dans de certaines limites determinees par l'ethique du Journalisme. Aussi, la condition essentielle ä remplir pour le Journaliste qui veut s'employer ä la cause de la vedette dejä arrivee ou a Celle de la vedette future, c'est de se rendre compte de sa responsabilite non seulement envers le public, mais encore et sui-tout envers la vedette elle-meme, qu'on va presenter au public comme teile. Si Ton n'a pas devant soi les indices d'un vrai talent, si l'on ne peut mettre sur l'artiste le pronostic d'un grand avenir artistique, le journaliste (ou le protagoniste ) consciencieux ne doit pas dutout s'atteler ä cette besogne: quand on a sur les bras une mauvaise marchandise, rien XVII