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United Artists Acquires
'The Last Wave' Rights
NEW YORK Ernsl Goldschmidt, United
Artists vice-president and foreign manager,
has announced the acquisition of Peter
Wen's Australian film "The Last Wave."
stalling Richard Chamberlain, tor distribution
in the following countries: Australia,
New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South
Africa and 1 asl Africa and related territories.
film is being produced by Jim and
Hal McHlrov. who also prodneed Weir's
previous film, "Picnic at Hanging Rock,"
which has grossed more than $5 million and
is the most successful Australian production
of all time.
The picture, which began shooting Febni.iiA
24 on Adelaide and Sydney locations,
represents I'A's first such commitment to
the Australian film industry. The deal was
arranged by co-presenter Derek Power. UA
previously was involved in two pictures
made with Australian backgrounds.
Horror and Sci-Fi Awards
To 'Omen/ 'Futureworld'
HOLLYWOOD — "The Omen," from
20th Century-Fox, has been named the best
horror film of 1976 and "Futureworld,"
from AIP. has won the best science-fiction
film award from the International Society
of Science-Fiction, Horror and Fantasy.
The two pictures were honored at the
annual awards banquet Sunday (10) at the
Los Angeles Marriott Hotel. The organization
also honored the following individuals
for their contributions to the field:
Actress, Bette Davis and Fay Wray; actor.
Vincent Price; supporting actress, Elsa Lanehester;
supporting actor, John Carradine;
director. Alfred Hitchcock; producer. Gene
Roddenberry: writer. Ray Bradbury; music
composer, Miklos Rosza: special visual effects.
Roy Harryhousen; animation, Ralph
Bakshi; sound achievement. Louis and Bebe
Barron; makeup. William Tuttle: stunts.
Yakima Canutte; voices in animation, Mel
Blanc; film criticism, Kevin Thomas;
graphic artist. Jack Kirby. and publisher.
James Warren.
Nunnally Johnson, Famed
Filmmaker, Dead at 79
HOLLYWOOD — Nunnally
Johnson,
producer, director and screenwriter, with
77 films to his credit, died March 25 of
pneumonia at Good Samaritan Hospital.
He was 79.
A native of Georgia. Johnson worked as
a reporter on local newspapers and in the
metropolitan New York area during the
1920s. In the 1930s he began writing short
stories and articles for the Saturday Evening
Post and other prestigious magazines.
He moved to Hollywood in 1932 after meeting
Herman Mankiewicz of Paramount Pictures.
"Bedtime Story," which starred Maurice
Chevalier, was his first credited screenplay.
Johnson later teamed with Darryl F.
Zanuck at 20th Centurv-Fox and also
Fima Noveck Says Skillful Editing
Is Vital for Successful Product
NEW YORK Editing is the last link in
the chain before a film is shown to the
public, stales lima Noveck. who believes
it is one ol the most vital links. A man who
has edited mans foreign features for U.S.
consumption, he has restructured and titled
imports to such a successful degree that
main producers specifically request him to
work on their product, l.ina Wertmuller is
one satisfied customer and currently Noveck
is handling the editing on producer
Raymond R. Homer's "A Long Returning,"
"The Inheritance" and "Shadow of a Killer."
Pacing Is Important
A picture moves or doesn't and that has
nothing to do with its length, says Noveck.
Pacing is most important and can ruin a
potentially good film. Since foreign editors
don't really know the U.S. market that
well, it is up to editors such as Noveck to
cut a film for acceptance here. Although
his work is considered to be both fun and
completely gratifying to him, Noveck takes
each task seriously and talks to the director,
studies the script and looks at outtakes
whenever possible. On "A Long Returning,"
he journeyed to Spain to look at the
original assembly of the film and discovered
how much more he had to work with, instead
of what he was initially given.
New Subtitling
System
"A Long Returning" stars Mark Burns
as a man who puts his fatally ill sweetheart
Lynne Frederick into "deep freeze" until
a cure can be found for her. The futuristic
second half of the fantasy details how she
is unfrozen and deals with her now elderly
worked for United Artists and MGM during
his career.
The pictures on which he worked as a
writer, producer or both included "Grapes
of Wrath." "How to Marry a Millionaire."
"The House of Rothschild," "The Man in the
Gray Flannel Suit," "Three Faces of Eve."
"The Dirty Dozen" and "Tobacco Road."
He leaves his wife Dorris; a son, Scott;
four daughters. Mrs. Gene Fowler jr., Mrs.
Nora Milici, Mrs. Roxanne Lanergan and
Christie Johnson, and three grandchildren.
Levy and Wise to Produce
'French Quarter' for WB
BURBANK. CALIF.—Frank Levy and
Mike Wise have made arrangements with
Warner Bros, for the production of "French
Quarter." a murder suspense story with a
New Orleans background.
The deal was announced by Martin Elf.uul.
vice-president in charge of production
for Warner Bros., who said that Levy and
Wise will produce the film starting near the
end of this year.
The original screenplay for "French
Quarter" is being written by Steve Brown.
lover, Anthony Quinn and Dominique Sanda.
winnei of the best actress award at
Cannes, are starred in "The inheritance,"
foi which Noveck has devised a new svstem
ol subtitling: the titles are placed undei
each character as he or she speaks rather
than across the screen as is customary.
"Shadow ol a Killer," espionage thriller
made in New York and Italy, has Yul
Brynner, Martin Balsam and Barbara Bouchet
in the leads.
Ideally, an editor should be on the set
while a film is being shot. Compared to
the budget on a production, the cost of an
editor is small and Noveck feels more care
should be exercised in this field. A believer
in ballyhoo, Noveck says that one of his
recent projects, "The Last Circus Show,"
a drama with James Whitmore, Cyril Cusack
and the late Lee J. Cobb, can make
a fortune if properly sold. However, he
thinks that distributors lack in courage and
may not take a chance when necessary.
Would Like to Make Film
Another Homer production in the woiks
is "The Pawn," an action drama about the
struggle for power in an independent African
country controlled by Western industrial
interests. On future projects such as
this, Noveck will use cassettes as examples
of his progress to send to producers. Assisted
by a very small staff. Noveck does much
of the work himself. While considering
directing a drudgery, he eventually would
like to make his own film but isn't sure
how he would function under another's
artistic control. He has one script for eventual
filming, a science-fiction tale he wrote
titled "Planet 1445."
Crown's 'Van' Reporting
Lofty Initial Grosses
HOLLYWOOD—The initial
opening engagements
in an eight-theatre orbit in Sioux
Falls, S.D.. of Ciown International's "I he
Van" has produced boxoffice grosses 25
per cent ahead of "The Pom Pom Girls."
according to George M. Josephs, general
sales manager.
"The Pom Pom Girls" opened in the same
theatres at this same time last year and
established record grosses in all situations.
"The Van." a Marimark production, stars
Stuart Getz, Harry Moses, Deborah White
and Marcie Barkin. Marilyn J. Tenser was
executive producer, with music b\ Michael
I hud and Sammj Johns.
Walter McGinn. 38, Dies
HOI IA WOOD—Walter McGinn, who
played a major role in "The Parallax View,"
died March 31 of injuries received in a
traffic accident. The 38-year-old McGinn
was starring in the film version ol Joseph
Wambaugh's "The Choirboys." Photography
on the motion picture, in its fourth day,
was suspended.
BOXOFFICE ::
April
1977