Boxoffice-September.1997

More documents

Recommendations

Info

iie IGia Picture In calling his dark period novel on '50s movieland corruption "L.A. Confidential," mystery writer James Ellroy got it right. Back in the supposedly placid 1 950s, Confidential Magazine was eveiry studio publicist's worst nightmare—the tinseltown tattler, ready to go to any sleazy extreme to tell the trashy truth about the sacred cows and tinhorn idols of the movie elite. For decades, the Hollywood powers that be had kept a Ud on the often scandalous off-screen antics of the glamorous young millionaires who made up the movie colony. Mindful of the destructive controversies of the '20s (the Fatty Arbuckle manslaughter case, the death by overdose of "all-American" actor Wallace Reid, the kinky revelations accompanying the unsolved murder of director William Desmond Taylor), the film bosses had taken steps by the early '30s to control every aspect of their top stars' public images. The founding of the Hayes Office and the institution of Hollywood's first production code kept movie content from offending the tender sensibilities of the American public, while a complex and powerful network of industry flacks orchestrated carefully stage-managed public appearances for the Hollywood talent pool, calculated to make some of the most notorious hedonists in American history seem like nothing more nor less than exemplars of the mainstream Middle American value system who got lucky and made good. Confidential changed all that. The brainchild of Robert Harrison, a former adman for the now-defunct Motion Picture Daily, and A.R Govoni, a sometime editor for the National PoUce Gazette, Confidential took the Hearstian "yellow journalism" approach pioneered in such outlets as The New York Graphic and The Los Angeles Mirror and applied it in full-throttle, lunge-for-the-jugular fashion against the cream of the Filmtown crop. Journalistic ethics were loose at best: In addition to "sourcing" the usual crowd of industry hangerson with an ax to grind. Confidential deployed its own network of private detectives, including the notorious Fred Otash, a former L.A. cop who became legendary within the Hollywood community for his implacable exposure of the most iiltimate details of celebrity misbehavior, both public and private. Pay-offs to movietown hookers were commonplace, and Confidential wasn't shy about running the most intimate details culled from these less-than-reputable sources. "I'm a Hollywood call girl," ran the lead to one article published in March of 1957. "For a price, I've been up against the best of the movieland wolves. But for sheer novelty, give me Danny Kaye every time." public lapped it up. At the height of its power. Confidential Theracked up a whopping four million monthly nsaders, with more copies sold of each issue than the circulation of such emblems of ' 50s Americana as Look or The Saturday Evening Post. "Everyone [in Hollywood] reads Confidential," Humphrey Bogart once said. "But they deny it They say the cook brought it into the house." But not everyone, as it turned out, read it with pleasure. In 1955, under pressure from the film industry, the U.S. government took steps to suppress Confidential. The Postal Service ruled that sexy stories about Sammy Davis Jr, Guy Madison and Walter Pidgeon, among others, were demonstrably obscene, and ordered Confidential's publishers to submit advance copies to the Solicitor General's office, which would rule (presumably very harshly) on their suitabiUty to be distributed through the mail. It was a naked violation of the First Amendment, and with the help of ace attorney Edward Bennett WiUiams, Confidential beat back the challenge. After that came the deluge. In 1957, a California state senator launched an investigation into whether Confidential was encouraging Cahfomia-based private detectives into selling out their clients. When that tactic failed, California governor Goodwin Knight directed state attorney general Edmund G. Brown to mount a full-scale investigation of Confidential and its scores of imitators. In a star-packed trial that included testimony from the likes of Dorothy Dandridge, Maureen O'Hara and Liberace, Confidential fought the state of Cahfomia to a draw. After 15 days of deUberations, the jury hung, and a mistrial was declared. With legal costs mounting, Harrison accepted a plea bargain that included a guilty plea to one obscenity charge and a binding agreement to lay off Hollywood, h took Harrison just three issues to realize that a defanged Confidential was finished; he sold out, and though the magazine continued to publish well into the 1960s, its era of notoriety and influence was over Though its hyped-up tabloid style makes it a period piece today, the ghost of Confidential looms large over American celebrity journalism. Stories that would have rocked the public back in the Eisenhower era are now considered so commonplace that they are fit cover subjects for the likes of People and TV Guide. The more errant stars have themselves gotten into the act, often collaborating on their own carefully orchestrated "triumph ofa survivor" publicity campaigns in which the most intimate and sordid details are passed out like ftiee beer, accompanied by a "but that's all behind me now" chaser. Meanwhile, the hold stardom has on the American consciousness has in many ways become its defining characteristic. Broadcast at us 24 hours a day, screaming at us from every supermarket checkout line, as close as the nearest moviehouse and as far away as the latest satellite transmi.ssion, celebrity has become pervasive, omnipresent. Proud of its outsider status, it's doubtful Confidential could survive in such a star-obses.sed world. In America as well as all over the worid, there simply no longer seems to be an outside. Ray Greene —
^C Professional Amplifiers supply power to the hottest screens in the country, In fact, QSC/Aucf/o is the largest supplier of professional annplifiers and accessories to the cinema industiy, Legendary reliabilrty, awesonne perfomnance, versatile features and outstanding value have made QSC the industiy standard, Fourteen amplifier models are currently approved for THX® cinema installations, with more on the way! Each model carries a commercial UL listing, as well as TUV and CSA approval for safety. Optional QSC plug-in accessories ore available to meet the specific signal processing requirements of digital cinema sound systems, Optional aaessaycapcbilityoplimiiamfs rar bhamplkation olsaeen channek, pnilecls smouna speakers and equalizes ihe response ofpapular cinema subwoafm. Audiences demand the most powerful presentation of everything that digital soundtracks have to offer. Because power amplifiers are critical to the digital sound chain, QSC powers todays biggest Screen Stars, Stars demand the best. Shouldn't you? Call 714-754-6175 for valuable details, Afew ol riie other theater chains featuring QSC Power Amplifiers: Allen Theatres, Associoled Theatres, Budget Cinemas, Central States Theat'es, Cinemo World, Cineplex Odeon Theatres, ClDssi( Cinemas, Ditkinson Theotres, Douglas Theatres, Edwords Cinemas, General Cinemas, GKC Theotres, GTI Theatres, Horkness Cinemas, Loews Theatres, Molto Theotres, Mann Theatres, Monos Theatres, Mortus Theaters, Mulone Theatres, Muvim Theatres, Nationol Theatres, Neighborhood Cinemos, Pacific Theotres, Plitt Theatres, Rh^n Theatres, SoCal Qnemos, U.CI. Theotres, Warner International Theatres, Western HTS Qnemns, and mony, mony more... The Power Behind Ihe Pictufes, Lucasfiim and THX are itBdemarks o( Lucasfilm, Lid. The Power Behind The Pictures' is a trademark of QSC Audio Products, Irx:.. "QSC" and the QSC logo are registered with the U.S. Patent Office. QSC Audio Products. Inc. 1675 MacArlhur Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92626-1466 PH (714) 754-6175 FAX (714) 754-6174 E-mail: info©q8caud(o.com QSC WohdGroup BBS: (600) 656-6003 or (714) 668-7569
Page 1 and 2:
REVEALED! THE 1998 BUYERS DIRECTORY
Page 3 and 4:
SEPTEMBER, 1997 VOL. 133 NO. 9 ABOU
Page 5 and 6:
Response No. 473 "ûr projected inc
Page 7 and 8:
JAU smtdxf DAll-^ &^P JBL Cinema So
Page 9 and 10:
• Over 1000' Dolby Digital titles
Page 11 and 12:
! m Junior & Dot Together At Last T
Page 13 and 14:
Spntpmhpr 10Q7 I"? BoxoFFiCE asked
Page 15 and 16:
K ^>^ I E DISGUSTINGLY LARGE COLLEC
Page 17 and 18:
Remarkable. Reliable Reasonable. (S
Page 19 and 20:
Obviously. Ellroy is a man of stron
Page 21 and 22:
— society for making me who I was
Page 23 and 24:
NOTHING ELSE IS A PEPSI. Response N
Page 25 and 26:
mStereo System for about $12,000?
Page 27 and 28:
I We'll Show You o-one can show you
Page 29 and 30:
CONTACT YOUR^MERICAN LICORICE SUPPL
Page 31 and 32:
Response No. 103 C? 4„.»K lOOT 1
Page 33 and 34:
|: room ^"«SBgr WE'RE KEEPING THE
Page 35 and 36:
LUCK (It's good business management
Page 37 and 38:
— ftesh salads, appetizers and th
Page 39 and 40:
ORG X'^ WHEN YOU NEED THE BEST AND
Page 41 and 42:
Oacr-\r\r\ca KL^ ^Q FOR YEARS, OUR
Page 43 and 44:
. ULTIMATE DUAL STEP LIGHT LF 1800
Page 45 and 46:
Every Day Millions of People Look D
Page 47 and 48:
98 Park Avenue • P.O. Box 159 •
Page 49 and 50:
.. 1^ D Wî
Page 51 and 52:
, i?ft> Response No 1 76 ^. Highest
Page 53 and 54:
7 JkiJBs.lJLH.1. 't^ 1^1 » \uu»~c
Page 55 and 56:
1 Innovation Is Our NIsslon t V •
Page 57 and 58:
ighten Up! Projection System Analyz
Page 59 and 60:
Another Outstanding Performance. .^
Page 61 and 62:
A new Technology 6-Channet Stereo P
Page 63 and 64:
I Tempe, September, 1997 63 t AVL S
Page 65 and 66:
REYNOLDS & REYNOLDS INC. INSURANCE
Page 67 and 68:
ipmemjmmmjmmipjmjpmjmjmmmmmmmhmmjmm
Page 69 and 70:
I KARMA, INC. 500 Milford St. P.O.
Page 71 and 72:
OMNECTED \X/ITH THE YSSEY FAMILY PR
Page 73 and 74:
, systems, Contoinhoi- 1007 71 ROUN
Page 75 and 76:
WISTA!( SCHttN fÂMIS International
Page 78 and 79:
Dealers Of Equipment and Supplies i
Page 80 and 81:
........ 3 JON BAJON INC. 2ol i N.
Page 82 and 83:
Eighth CAPITAL CITY SUPPLY 421 Gree
Page 84 and 85:
Allied Goods and Services Alphabeti
Page 86 and 87:
BOOKERS (continued) NCN(NAT'L CONSU
Page 88 and 89:
' OT^Q A I CONSTRUCTION (continued)
Page 90 and 91:
. Hmoonse No. 237 C0NSULTANTS/DGSK3
Page 92 and 93:
I MISCELLANEOUS (continued) BOSTON
Page 94 and 95:
RENTALS (continued) CHARTER FINANCI
Page 96 and 97: Exhibitor's Phonebool( A Directory
Page 98 and 99: Nonresponding Companies Assembled b
Page 101 and 102: STAR MANUFACTURING INTL. 10 Suniu-n
Page 103 and 104: TO: NONRESPONDING COMPANIES RE: YOU
Page 105 and 106: the dynamic range, power handling a
Page 107 and 108: ' FEST REVIEWS FESTIVITIES BOXOFFIC
Page 109 and 110: s — " û^^ 100-7 /'!> i'yi\ FESTI
Page 111 and 112: — — — — — .Spntpmher. 199
Page 113 and 114: — — — — — — FESTIVAL RE
Page 115 and 116: — — ; . mm. REVIEWS task. From
Page 117 and 118: — — REVIEWS Navy's elite Seals.
Page 119: — — — — REVIEWS The Buyers
Page 122 and 123: . advance — COMPLETE AUDITORIUM I
Page 124 and 125: Now appearing on theatres internati
Page 126 and 127: i Chances " — — 1:>cC[^ Theatri
Page 128 and 129: — " ROBERT L. POTTS ENTERPRISES n
Page 130 and 131: no rR.144) Rfivnmrr —" — PROJEC
Page 132 and 133: 1W Rnvnnnrxr — EXHIBITION BRIEFIN
Page 134 and 135: 1.14 BnxnmrK a INTERNATIONAL NEWS B
Page 136 and 137: INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS NORTHERN
Page 138 and 139: , ^ BOXOFFICE June August SEPTEMBER
Page 140 and 141: BOXOFFICE Independent Feature Chart
Page 142 and 143: HOME RELEASE CHART SEPTEMBER 1997 H
Page 144 and 145: lAA Kiwiwvu'V San . . . CLASSIFIED
Page 148: ;% '^ \V ^ iX A y .^J iVc wfll cus
show all

Boxoffice-September.1997

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?