Variety (December 1958)

Wednegday, December S« 1958 P^IEff PICTVItES s TV ‘FEES’ FOR FILM PLUGOLA Kenneth More Sees British Features Crimped By Faint-Hearted Bankers Par Calms Hands At Famous Players Toronto, Dec. 2. In a move apparently designed to bolster morale among members of Famous Players Canadian, Para¬ mount has sent the message that management of this exhibition¬ broadcasting company will remain unchanged upon Par’s sale of a substantial portion of its stock in¬ terests. Canadian personnel had no hint of the new Par disposition of shares in FPC until a report on a projected deal appeared in Variety last week. American film company now holds 51% of the outstanding com¬ mon issue and intends to reduce these holdings to 24%. Price of $15,000,000 already has been of¬ fered by an unidentified group but no decisions yet on whether Par will sell at that figure or hold out for more. In any event, J. J. Fitzgibbons, president of FPC, and his manage¬ ment team will slay on. Par has assured, presumably with this to be a stipulation in whatever kind of deal is entered^ SCREEN ACTORS FAVOR FUSION WITH AIRCASTER Hollywood, Dec. 2. By a “substantial majority,” membership of Screen Actors Guild approved a board recom¬ mendation to explore the possibil¬ ity of merger with American Fed¬ eration of Television-Radio Actors and any other actors’ unions with¬ in, the umbrella of the Four A’s. Action was taken at a membership session held on Tuesday night (Nov. 25). At the same meeting a motion to limit the board’s move to in¬ vestigation of merger with AFTRA only was beaten. It’s known SAG board actually was presenting the move solely with the idea of a potential merger with AFTRA in mind, and actually had broadened its motion to en¬ compass other, actor guilds mainly as a courtesy. San Francisco’s Mayor In Festival Bid to IFFPA San Francisco, Dec. 2. Mayor George Christopher, on eve of International Federation of Film Producers’ Paris meeting, cabled that body urging that it endorse San Francisco as fourth “A” film festival city, following Cannes, Venice and Berlin. “San Francisco is keen to host another film festival,” wrote the mayor, indicating that an “A” rat¬ ing would mean city funds would be forthcoming for 1959 festival. Christopher’s message followed cabled endorsement sent Federa¬ tion by TOA President George Kerasotes, who “strongly urged” that Frisco be named fourth site for an “A” fete. Frisco Not Sanctioned Paris, Dec. 2. The Federation of International Associations of Film Producers completed its meeting here Fri. (28). Of the 14 demands for in¬ ternational film festival participa¬ tion, only four were recognized for full-scale FIAFP backing as com¬ petitive fests: Cannes—^May 1-15 ’59. Berlin—June 26-July 7. San Sebastien—June 5-14. Venice—^Aug. 23-Sept. 6.. Federation will meet again In eary ’59 to discuss other requests. No others were given the nod due to insufficient data and clarity in their demands. The Commie bids, Karlo\ v Vary and Moscow Film Fests, where nixed. Harry Belafohte has a cross- collateralized six-picture deal with United Artists. “Odds Against Tomorrow” will be the first film under that deal. By FRED HIFT I The deterioration of the British industry is due in large part to a lack of faith among the money men, British actor Kenneth More said in N. Y. last week. It was clear, he added, that “we just can’t af¬ ford a purely native industry.” In Manhattan to help plug the Rank Organization's “A Night to Remember,” in which he stars and which is opening at the Criterion on Broadway, More said “We should have a better opportunity than before, but unfortunately we’ve lost the trust of the bankers. That’s the first thing which we’ll have to reestablish.” The difficulty of finding financ¬ ing was cited by More as-discour¬ aging to the independents in Brit¬ ain. “They’ve been hounded out of the industry,” he said. “With attendance slipping, there just isn’t the money around these days. A lot of our ace producers have drifted away. There was a time when we had freedom in Britain to make all sorts of pictures. This isn’t true any more. . International Success “It’s comparatively easy to make films that win artistic accolades. It’s quite a different thing to pro¬ duce pictures which not only have quality, but are also internationally successful. Television killed our ‘small’ films, which were typically British and were enjoyed by an awful lot of people.. Today it’s only international stories and casts that make the grade,” More himself won’t appear in any film in which he doesn’t have an American costar. Apart from “Night to Remember,” he’s also in the upcoming “Sheriff of Frac¬ tured Jaw,” playing opposite Jayne Mansfield. The comedy stands to make £400,000 (about $1,100,000) in Britain alone. Produced by Danny Angel, it’s released by 20th- Fox. “It’ll be a goldmine for us,” said More, who gets 5% of the profits. Actor Is under contract to Rank to make seven films in five years on straight salary (“John Davis doesn’t believe in giving percent age deals,” he explained). So far, he’s made “Night to Remember” and “The 38 Steps” under that ar¬ rangement. More also is due to make three in five years for Angel and 20th. “Sheriff” was the first one; under that contract. His next picture will be “Northwest Front¬ ier” for Rank. Lauren Bacall will costar. Not Good at Business More said he could easily get a production deal of his Own, releas¬ ing through British-Lion, but “I've got what I want, and I’ve never been lucky in business anywas'. I think too many actors also try to be their own administrators these days, and I see them walking around with worried faces. Some people have the flair for it, of course. I don’t.” Television has absorbed many of Britain’s unemployed actors, More said. “As a matter of fact, it’s very hard to cast a film in Britain today;” he observed. But he him¬ self won’t go on television. “If I do, it’ll kill the theatre business that night.. That’s true of any big actor in Britmn today. It was ter¬ rible what happened to the theatres the night Laurence Olivier went on. : Nobody went. So people like myself stay off television, though they offer fantastic sums. I was offered £123,000 (about $640,000) to appear in one tv series; and most of that money would have been taxfree in one way or another.” More said “Night to Remember,” which tells the story of the Titanic sinking based on the Walter Lord book, for the first time showed British studios meeting the sup¬ posed technical superiority of Hol¬ lywood. “It’s absolutely authen¬ tic,” he said. “As realistic as they come. They built one 40-foot working model of the Titanic. It cost £7,000 (about $19,000) and it was sunk later on. -The picture has British character acting at its very best. It, should be a smasher in the States.” DISmiBSMING. ilONGEillOED By HY HOLLINGER Ever since the film industry has recognized television as a potent medium for so-called “free” plugs on current and upcoming pictures, there have been numerous policy conflicts between the filmites and the videoites. First the tv pro¬ grams wooed the picture people, for anything connected with the .“movies” during the early stages of television was considered likely to bolster-the new medium. As tv mushroomed and became the all- powerful outlet it now is, the pic¬ ture business suddenly found it¬ self in the position of the wooer rather than the benefactor. At present, the competition among the film companies to obtain plugs on some of the high-rated shows has become so keen that the tv shows can be selective to the point of only doing business with those companies w-illing to pay a “fee” for this service. The tv-ites regard the word “fee” as a mis¬ nomer and maintain that the only charges involved are those over and above the normal production costs of a particular program. ‘Payoff’ Scale However, according to one pub- ad executive, “no one is as blatant as tv. They come right out and ask for money.” The exec, w'ho under the circumstances prefers to re¬ main anonymous, declared that the payoffs can run from $25 to $20,- 000. The latter, of course, is the exception and involved the cost of filming a special tv sequence on a foreign location. In addition to the cost of transporting special repre¬ sentative ^ of the tv show to the lo¬ cation and the cost of filming and editing the tv spot, the stars of the picture, in return for allowing themselves to be shown on televi¬ sion, demanded as payment a “sam¬ ple” of the tv sponsor’s product. In this particular case, it was a $4,0C0 automobile. Since it w'cis the film company and nof the tv show which was anxious to get the filmed sequence on the coaxial cable, the film company was forced to go out and buy three cars. In other, cases, the film .compa¬ nies have had to pay $25 for a spe¬ cial makeup man, $50 for a men¬ tion when they give away free tickets to a Broadway opening or a regular Main Stem run of a pic¬ ture, $500 for models for special fashion spots. $1,000 for dancers for the introduction of a song from a picture, and various other fees for merchandise on giyeaway shows when a picture is mentioned in the course of a program. In all cases, the tv shows refer to these charges as “incidental costs” above the usual budget of a particular program. Rationale While the picture industry may complain and, at the same time, continue to pay these fees, the tv-ites justify these charges on the ground that if the film companies wanted to go out and buy the time, it would cost considerably more. In addition, they maintain that the film companies, in essence, are get¬ ting a free ride on programs paid for by sponsors and that the in¬ tegration of special film spots in¬ volves extra production effort. So, they state, why shouldn’t the film companies pay for these services? Not all the film companies con¬ sider the money wasted. In addi¬ tion to the national exposure the title of a picture receives, many of the filmed sequences can be used again for the film company’s own exploitation efforts. Some of the material is sent abroad for use In trailers. Moreover, it Is edited down and employed for special tv commercials. Marvin Fails, for 12 years ex¬ ecutive secretary of the Society of Independent Motion Picture Pro¬ ducers until org cut its activities several months ago, checked into William Morris Agenr/ in Holly¬ wood as a member af its legal department. ABied Artists’ ‘Want to Live’ There’s been an awakening among exhibitors about the neces¬ sity of keeping Allied Artists in business, according to Maurice “Razz” Goldstein, sales manager of the film company. Goldstein, W’ho has been making a tour of exchange territories for luncheon meetings with theatremen, said he has found exhibitors receptive to AA’s situation and that bookings are beginning to come in for W’hat Goldstein termed “good exploitable product.” Goldstein pointed out that Allied Artists is now in a transition period and in order for the company to bridge that gap and em¬ bark on the big picture policy it now has on its drawing board, it must be able to corral as many dates as possible for its current program. The new attitude toward AA and its position in the industry stems from Goldstein’s appearance at the recent Miami Beach convention of Theatre Owners of America, Goldstein made such a strong impression for AA’s case at the session that prexy Steve Broidy thought that it might be a good idea for Goldstein to con¬ tinue to deliver the company’s message in person. As a result, the sales chief is scheduled to cover the whole country for a series of meetings w'ith local exhibitors. He’s already been to the northwest,, hitting five cities in five days. This week he’ll hit Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Cleveland. As part of the general aw'akening, Broidy has designated the 13-week period starting Jan. 1 as “Razz” Goldstein Appreciation Drive. That’s the stanza set aside for the company’s sales drive. OUT SOON! The 53rd Anniversary Number Of Forms Closing Shortly Usual Advertising Rates Prevail Special Exploitation Advantages Copy and space reservations may be sent to any Variety office NEW YORK 34 HOLLYWOOD 21 CHICAGO M LONDON. W, C. 2 154 W. 44Hi St. 4404 S«Hi«t Ilvd. 412 N. MlehlfaH Ave. t St. Mertle't Piece Trefelger Sqeere