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rV Acting Pact Ratified
5y Huge SAG Majority
HOLLYWOOD—A 96 per cent majority
vote by members of the Screen Actors
Guild approved a new collective bargaining
agreement covering actors in television
films. Ballots ratifying the pact numbered
5,362. with 207 opposing ratification. Some
14.000 ballots were mailed to SAG members.
The overwhelming majority in favor of
the contract was registered despite the
opposition of the guild's New York branch
council, which sent a special letter to all
Gotham members of the guild declaring
the contract was "unsatisfactory when
taken in its entirety."
The guild's national board of directors
and negotiating committee had unanimously
recommended that the contracts
be approved.
Fox Denied Right to Use
King of Kingdom' Title
NE'W YORK — Twentieth Century-Fox
was denied the right to use the title "King of
the Kingdom" Tuesday (23) at a meeting
of the Arbitration Committee of the Title
Registration Bureau of the Motion Picture
Assn of America. It had been registered
about two months ago in connection with
a Roman Catholic film, "The 15 Mysteries
of the Rosary." and protested by Samuel
Bronston, producer, who argued that he
had previously registered the title.
Bronston is working on "King of Kings"
for MOM release. His right to that title
has been questioned by Cinema Corp. of
America, distributor of the original DeMille
film. "King of Kings." He had registered
it and it was said that Cinema had not
done so.
High Asking Price Asked
For 'Lion Pit' Rights
HOLLY'WOOD—One of the highest asking
prices for a literary property has been
;put on the film rights to "The Lion Pit,"
; first novel by Frank Harvey. All Hollywood
studios have been quoted a price of
against 4 per cent of the gross,
and as part of the deal sought, the buyer
must make the picture within three years;
otherwise, a $20,000-a-year penalty is
: levied for a maximum of five years, all to
be applied against the gross.
Meanwhile, a payment of $150,000
against a percentage of the profits was
paid by MGM for the purchase of "All
[Fall Down," a new novel by James Leo
Herlihy. The story calls for a cast of
younger stars.
|Next Sinatra Start
— Frank Sinatra's next
production. "X-15. Time of
Departure." is dated to start January 16.
story, revolving around the U. S. Air
Force's outer space program, was acquired
Sinatra from scripter Tony Lazzarino.
'Guadalupe' on Fox Slate
HOLLYWOOD—Film rights to "Miracle
of Guadalupe," James O'Hanlon screenplay,
have been purchased by 20th-Fox
chief Robert Goldstein. Henry
has been assigned to direct. No producer
has been named.
vj ARE, indeed, the observer of the mo-
[^
tion picture scene who has failed
to comment upon the understandable
decision of the directorate of the Motion
Picture Ass'n of America not to finance
196rs telecast of the Awards Event
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences.
In most instances, the verdict was
termed "regrettable," as it undoubtedly is.
No commentator, however, seems to have
touched upon what might well have been
the principal reason why the magi of distribution
elected to stop picking up the
tab for Oscar's big night—an annual chit
that adds up to more than a half million
dnllars—and that ain't bagels, even when
business is good. Such possible prime motive
might have found genesis in the inescapable
fact that during recent years
the bestov.-ing of awards on pictures and
those who staiTed in them has not been
productive of the additional boxoffice revenue
that once obtained. There was a time
when selecting a photoplay as the best of
the year or comparable recognition of
toplining mummers could mean hundreds
of thousands of dollars, via the reissue
route, to distributors and exhibitors.
But the growing tendency toward avalanching
a dominant percentage of the
vearly kudos upon one outstanding, highbudget
photoplay which was of necessity
being shown on a reserved-seats basis
and would continue to be exhibited under
such policy for many months to come
cut materially into the chances of both
distributors and theatre operators to garner
reissue dollars. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's
mighty "Ben-Hur," which is still going
strong as a hard-ticket attraction, and
the late Michael Todd's "Around the World
in 80 Days" are classical examples. Moreover,
with the pending advent of such
mastodons as Bryna-Universal-Intemational's
"Spartacus," and John Wayne-
United Artists' "The Alamo," there appears
to be little chance that road shows
will cease making a concerted bid lor
Academy honors. No one is to be blamed
for this situation. It stems from an unavoidable
evolutionary process within the
trade.
Be that as it may, Oscar will have to
backslide to playing fiscal footsies with
motors or medicines, bras, detergents or
deodorants, etc., and thereby will be lost
another round in the industry's battle for
continued dignity and prestige.
Probably the economy master-minds
would attribute it to cause and effect, but,
regardless of the reasons, the trend toward
decentralization of production is apparently
spreading to the levels of publicity—much
to the advantage of the freelance flackeries
which are expanding in size and importance
while studio press departments
In most cases remain at the skeleton status
to which they were reduced during the
actors' strike. The drift toward independent
space-snatchers has even reached television.
Screen Gems, which at one time
maintained a sizeable publicity department,
has farmed out four of its shows. One
will be handled by the silkstocking prais-
?ry of Rogers and Cowan (Handsome
Henry and Winsome Warren need it—you
should live so long) and still another goes
to McFadden and Eddy, etc.
Whether this migration to the unaffiliated
tub-thumpers is good or bad for
the studios, the pictures and stars they
ostensibly publicize is a matter of personal
belief. In this opinion it is not salubrious.
It is doubted that an independent pressagentry
with several accounts to service
can or will do as good a job as a department
or individual with a sole goal to
attain. What's more, there can be little
doubt that the trend is hardly conducive
to bolstering the morale of the limited
number of men who remain on studio
publicity department payrolls.
Perhaps nothing better illustrates the
above-described situation than the recent
experiences of Marty Weiser, veteran movie
publicist and exploiteer. For many years,
Marty was a salaried employe of Warner
Bros., where he specialized in merchandising
pictures. Then he became associated
with producer-distributor-exhibitor Robert
Lippert in a similar capacity. Still later,
he decided to hang out his own shingle as
a freelance publicist, retaining Lippert as
his bellwether account. Came an offer from
Colimibia studio to do a special selling
job on that outfit's current "Strangers
When We Meet," which proffered proposition
was so fiscally flattering that Weiser
could not afford to pass it up. So. he
disposed of his business and for the next
several months devoted his full time to
"Strangers." The job—and it goes without
saying that he did an outstanding one
completed, he was retained by the Cleary-
Strauss & Irwin flackery to perform a
similar chore for an NBC-TV special
starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Recently, it became known that Weiser's
always-effective services were again available.
He was virtually deluged with offers.
Out of it all, he decided to return to
C. S. & I. as, what Madison Avenue would
call, an account executive. He has already
assumed the stewardship and responsibility
for three important assignments, to
wit:
Serving as special coordinator of all promotional
activities in connection with the
hard-ticket engagements in Los Angeles
and San Francisco of "Sunrise at Campobello,"
the Dore Schary production.
Handling publicity for producer William
Claxton, who has returned to the fabrication
of theatrical film fare after a hiatus
bout with television. Claxton's upcoming
picture is "Desire in the Dust," which will
be distributed by 20th Century-Fox and
was made for Associated Producers, Inc.,
the 20th-Fox affiliate impresarioed by
Lippert.
Doing some special exploitation work on
all of the forthcoming features under the
aegis of the same Lippert.
, BOXOFFICE August 29, 1960 W-3