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. . The
VANCOUVER
Congratulations Edmonton! That was a
magniliccnt job you did on the Commonwealth
Games— particularly the nice
ethnic touch with the choice of Diane Jones
Konohowski as the torch bearer. It was
too bad pioneer Alberta exhibitor-merchant
Fred Kereluk, who has gone to his reward,
could not have met Queen Elizabeth in
a decade.
Vegreville, where he worked to hard to
make that Ukrainian community a part of
Canada, culturally, musically and in every
other facet of day-to-day living.
The big fish are running in the coastal
saltchuck and, as usual. John Wayne was
here to enjoy the sport. Clint Eastwood,
lured by the tales he had heard during an
earlier visit, and veteran angler Lee Marvin
also tried their luck at Knight and Jervis
inlets and sojourned at the Bayshore in the
interim.
Donald Sutherland, in town to start his
long-delayed motion picture, had lunch with
Provincial Secretary-Minister of Tourism
Grace McCarthy and her husband Ray at
the Four Seasons . . . Also noticed was
Elizabeth Montgomery, who was just visiting
and enjoying a pwolside luncheon at the
Bayshore.
Onal Fruitman arrived from Toronto for
a booking session but left early as business
was at a standstill due to the projectionists"
strike . . . lATSE president Walter Diehl
came to town to discuss the strike situation
with the local officials but left with the
issue still in limbo as of Friday (11).
Meanwhile, the hot weather continued to
draw crowds to the out-of-doors but no less
than eight legitimate stage attractions were
doing okay . . . The British Columbia Day
holiday did not draw many merrymakers
to Washington state, or movie patrons
either, as Bellingham business was just normal
. shortage of beer in 5.500
British Columbia outlets, however, was another
matter. There were long lines going
both ways at the border as the thirsty hastened
to fill up via the ten-case ration of
milder U.S. suds.
While most of the theatres just shut off
the lights and turned the key in the lock,
Don Barnes of the Varsity was closed in
the middle of the most successful International
Film Festival yet. "Children of the
Theatre." "In the Realm of the Senses" and
"Madame Rosa" already had played and,
in spite of the intense heat, there were few
empty seats when the strike started. Before
going on holidays, Barnes and his cashier
made refunds on approximately 10.000 admissions.
Many patrons, however, decided
to retain their tickets, hopeful that the
series would resume.
Victoria Film Service and the
distributors
also had their problems, as many prints
needed elsewhere were caught on house reels
in locked projection booths and could not
be moved.
Michael Spencer Intends to Remain
Affiliated With the Film Industry
MONTREAL—Taking note of Michael
Spencer's imminent departure from the Canadian
Film Development Corp.. John Fitzgerald
of the Gazette interviewed the man
who has headed the government agency for
In his article, which was headlined "Film
Man Keeps That Stiff Upper Lip," Fitzgerald
said:
Michael Spencer's words are couched in
that diplomatic stiff-upper-lip way that gentlemen
react when the rug has been pulled
out from under them. Spencer finds himself
in an uncharacteristic lame duck position
nowadays, as he waits out the few remaining
weeks before leaving the Canadian
Film Development Corp. he has headed for
a decade.
Advisor to McCabe
Since his surprise "resignation" was announced
last March, Spencer's job has been
chiefly to act as adviser to his successor
Michael McCabe, a 40-year-old former assistant
deputy minister in the consumer
department.
affairs
"Ten years on the same job is long
enough for anyone," Spencer said. "It's a
very subjective kind of job and I think it's
a good idea to shuffle the pack, bring in
new people."
Spencer says he had informed Secretary
of State John Roberts, the man responsible
for the CFDC—which offers financial aid
to Canadian-made films—some time ago
that he intended to step down, but was surprised
by the speed in which he was replaced.
(Spencer learned of his departure
from a newspaper story—and later received
an apology from Roberts.)
But all this is water under the bridge and
Spencer is looking forward to a six-month
trip to Europe, the Middle East and India.
'No Regrets'
About Job
"I don't have any regrets about the job
but I guess I would have been happier if
the films the CFDC invested in had been
better," he said. "Of the 200-odd films we
assisted, I'd say about 40 or 50 were worthy
of consideration. But you have to remember
we created an industry out of nothing.
Where I think we have fallen down badly
is in our inability to develop good scriptwriters.
Without them, you can't hope to
make good films."
Spencer thinks it may be too late for this
country to develop a truly competitive feature
film industry—but the future looks
bright in the lucrative market of movies
made for TV.
"We should have started something like
the CFDC in 1946, not wait until ten years
ago when so much of the market was tied
up by other countries. Feature films are a
shrinking industry and TV is moving into
the gap. Where we can do a job is marketing
our films for TV." he observed.
.Aside from "The Apprenticeship of Duddy
Kravitz," "Lies My Father Told Me"
and a smattering of others, very few Canadian
films have been as commercially
successful as the foreign imports.
"We don't have the huge publicity machine
that the Americans have to promote
our films," he says, "and if the people
making films here in Canada are any good,
there is always the lure for them to go
elsewhere where the pastures are greener."
With a current $5,000,000 annual budget,
the CFDC invests in approximately 15 to
20 films a year.
"Yoir just never know whether you have
a hit or not. I thought 'Fortune and Men's
Eyes' was an excellent film but it didn't do
well at the boxoffice. But that shouldn't
stop us. The trend more and more around
the world is for government to subsidize
film industries. What I'd like to set is government
assistance of an automatic and regulatory
nature. Through the CFDC, the
industry here in Canada has gone from
nothing to being taken seriously now around
the world," he asserted.
37 Years With Government
British-born Spencer has spent 37 years
working in some facet of the federal government
and his ten years with the CFDC
are actually the longest term he has ever
spent in one job.
Now in his 50s, he came to Canada when
he was 20 to visit two aunts in British Columbia.
World War II broke out and he
remained in Canada, joining the Canadian
Army Film Unit through which he was
assigned to duty in London making newsreels
for the troops.
Back in Canada in 1945. he went to work
for the National Film Board in Ottawa
where the bulk of his backgroimd lay until
he joined the CFDC.
"I was given a movie camera when I
was 12 years old and I was always interested
in pictures and always will be." Spencer
explained.
He is mulling over several offers he has
received for the future and he intends to
remain in the Canadian film industry, hopefully
in a producer or associate producer
capacity.
"I guess I'll take the six months to make
up my mind about what I want to do. .And
relax." Spencer commented.
.An inveterate traveler. Spencer says he
would like to return to Montreal, the city
which has been his home for the past 18
years. "But who knows." he says with a
wink, knowing he's bound to head wherever
the action is and of course where they're
making movies.
Gerald Danis Dead at 68
MONTREAL — Gerald Danis. onetime
entertainment editor for two French-language
Montreal tabloids, died at his home
here in
late July. He was 68 years of age.
BOXOFFICE :: August 21, 1978 K-1