o_1997ofqor1r1t4up1q001q301bgea.pdf

i
I he
Texas NATO Consents
To Alter 2 Tariffs
D\ll \S—The NATO ol lexas trans
ortation committee mei with members ol
if l ilm Carriers Vss'n May 10 Numerous
omplaints were cited hy the N\IO comlittec,
mostly about film being picked up
not often enough.
uc ot
I lie Carriers suggested the sine way to
ojve the problem was for the exhibitoi to
all the local agent handling film and ask
lim to pick up the print. In the case ot
iberty-Tex-Pack, exhibitors should call the
jberty oil ice in Dallas.
s \ I D
1 he Carriers asked for .tn^\ received
ol rexas approval to altei tariffs 16
md ?l. Under the proposed change, which
nusi have approval of the Railroad Comnission,
I anil 16 will cover only film and
iccessories, while booth supplies under 45
xuinds will be transferred into Tariff 31,
which has always been the tarifl
for concession
supplies.
To offset any increase, the Carriers propose
to change booth supplies over 45
pounds from the common carrier tariff to
[Tariff 31. The mixing of items caused inadvertent
errors in levying the proper tariff,
which had brought on violation notices from
•
the Railroad Commission.
I he Carriers also asked the NATO of
Texas committee to agree to an 8 per cent
hike in film delivery rates. The NATO committee
promised a decision alter the NATO
Board meets in July. Meanwhile, they urged
the Carriers to improve their service before
increasing the tariff.
NATO of Texas Fair Competition Act
Approved by State Senate Committee
ol
I exas
DALl \s Senate Bill 1299, the NATO
I aii ( ompetition \ct quoted in
the \pnl issue oi the NATO ol rexas Bui
letm. was passed favorably bj the Senate
economic -m^ development committee Mon
day, Maj 2 L in Austin, NATO ol rexas
headquarters here announced
bill would ban blind bidding and
guarantees foi a minimum payment, etc., to
the distributor, loo. the bill would require
distributors to specif) the date and houi a
bid expires and the location within the
slate where bids will he opened.
Another provision requires distributors to
allow examination ot opened bids by ex
hibitors; il a distributoi does not accept any
of the bids submitted, he must re-bid the
picture.
Identical bills have been introduced by
NATO organizations in Louisiana and Illinois.
Several other slate units arc in the process
of trying to get similar legislation filed.
In Illinois, the measure was voted favorably
on the House floor.
Spokesmen for the NATO of Texas legislative
committee said state exhibitor committees
will be working at an accelerated
pace to get the bill through the Texas Senate
and House before they adjourn tor this session.
On other Texas bills related to the motion
picture industry, here's the latest
progress report:
HB 150— the minimum proposal intro-
duced hv Representative Hudson ol Dallas.
passed out ol the ealendai committee and is
awaiting a date loi a House thiol vote. II
passed In the House and Senate, this hill
would raise the minimum hourly state
from >i 40 to $2.30, equal to the federal
n. but the student exemption would
remain,
MB ISs A minimum wage bill reported
favorably out ot the House labor committee.
HB 1153—A minimum wage hill tabled
in lavoi ol HB 150.
HB 1273—A bill to allow the state to
regulate cable IV remains in the State \I
tans
sub-committee,
HB 1262—A bill repealing the sales lax
on film rental received a l06-tO-34 vote ot
approval on the House floor Monday. May
Id. and was sent to the Senate finance committee,
where it passed bv 2\S to I. It is now
awaiting the governor's signature and will
become law immediately alter the goveinoi
signs it.
HB 1264—A bill proposing that advance
film rentals he placed in interest-bearing accounts
by film distributors, with the interest
accruing to the exhibitor until the film deal
is consummated, received an almost unanimous
vote of approval on the House
Friday, May 13. It came out ot the Senate
affairs committee with a favorable 9-tO-O
vote and now noes to the Senate floor.
George Roscoe New Member
Of NATO of Texas Board
DM. LAS—George Roscoe. independent
exhibitor from Seguin. was elected by the
\ I of
Texas Board of Directors to fill
the vacancy created by the resignation of
long-time director Dale Stewart, who has
been promoted to vice-president and general
manager of Commonwealth Theatres and
will headquarter in the company's home
office in Kansas City, Mo. Board members
expressed regret at losing Stewart, who had
served on the hoard for ten years and as
vice-president of the association for half ot
that time, as well as serving as chairman of
TEXPO 72.
Roscoe will bring a lot of association
know-how to the board, since he was director
of exhibitor relations for Theatre Owners
of America and for the National Ass'n
of Theatre Owners for more than 30 years
before becoming an exhibitor in this state
three
years ago.
Critic Jerry Fitzgerald Was
Right About WB Picture
TYLER. TEX.—The recent rerelease of
Warner Bros.' "All the President's Men.'
which won lour Oscars at the Academy
Award presentation ceremonies last March,
recalls that local film critic Jerry Fitzgerald
listed that picture in the No. 1 spot on his
BOXOFFICE :: June 6, 1977
-ten best" lor 1976. Picked as No. 2 by
Fitzgerald was "Network" (MGM/UA),
which also garnered lour Dscars, including
those lor Best Actor and Best Actress.
Other 1976 releases listed I in order of
preference) hv Fitzgerald included "The
Omen" ("a work of art"), which won an
award lor Best Original Score; "Marathon
Man" ("beautiful performances"); "Voyage
of the Damned." termed "a grand achievement
hy Stuart Rosenberg"; "A Star Is
Born" (WB), winner of an Oscar for Best
Original Song: "The Shootist," called "John
Wayne's best job since 'True Grit' "; "Silent
Movie" ("most innovative film of 1976");
"The Seven-Pcr-Cent Solution." selected for
"verv good acting." and "Logan's Run"
(MGM/UA). given a Special Visual Effects
Oscar by the Academy.
Fitzgerald in early 1977 had praised "Loaan's
Run" as follows: "Awesome backdrops
and breathtaking photography turned
this into a colossal show of color and magnificent
construction."
In retrospect, it appears that Fitzgerald's
choices weie lemaikablv close to the evaluations
later made official hv the \eademv
oi Motion Picture ^rts and Sciences.
John I rankenheimcr will direct "Big Suck
it
Bunks" from a screenplay bv David
/ Goodman and Bruce Nicolaysen.
Fred Biersdorf Wins
OC Variety Tourney
OKLAHOMA CITY— Fred Biersdorf ol
Dal Art Films won the championship flight
the annual Variety Club golf tournament,
in
which was played here Mav 22 and May
23. Other flight winners: Jim Crump.
Crump Distributors. Dallas, first flight; Jim
Ellis, Oklahoma City, second flight, and
Audie Adwell. Video Theatres, third flight.
lake Guiles was the touinev medalist.
Finishing behind Biersdorf in the
championship flight were lake Guiles. Continental
Film Distributing. Dallas, second.
and Dale Chappell. I nited Artists Theatres,
Dallas, thud. Don I ulluis. Oklahoma
City, won second place honors in flight one
and Bates Farley. Mountain States Distributors.
Denver, took third. In the second
flight, runner-up honors went to Vern Reed
of Oklahoma City, with Bill Meyers, Oklahoma
City, third. Second place in flight
three went to Jim Campbell. Pioneer Supply;
third, to George i aporal, Caporal I hcatres.
NORWOOD. MASS.—The Norwood
t inemas 2 are advertising scheduling ot
Saturdav and Sunday 2 p.m. matinees during
bad weather only.
SVV-1