NOVELIST AND JOURNALIST.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1544, 13 September 1912, Page 5

NOVELIST AND JOURNALIST.

MR. EDMUND MITCIIBLL IN WELLINGTON. Mr. Edmund Mitchell, a well-known novelist and journalist, arrived from San Francisco, via Tahiti, yesterday, by.tho Aorangi, in company with Mr. Gaston Melies, a moving-picturo manufacturer, with a full dramatic picture company and equipment, with the intention of working out new story pictures under novel surroundings. Mr. Mitchell has been engaged to write the scenario of these playlets— an all-important department of the pic-ture-ranking business. Mr. Mitchell is an old Australian journalist. He was froin 1887 to 1902 on tho fitoff of the Melbourne "Age," and was tho first editor and part . proprietor of tho "Pnstoralisls , Review." Ho represented a syndicate of Australian and New Zealand papers, at Iho Chicago Exhibition, and on that occasion spent n year in America writing a series of articles on American industries for the colonial papers. In 18(15 ho was commissioned by the London "Times" to eomp out to write articles on tho Coolgnrdie mines, and die next year made another trip from England to write articles on tho mining industry of Western Australia. IVjr some time past he has been resident at Los Angeles, in California, where Ins wife and family still reside. Mr. Mitchell has written several books, and expects to receive a cony of his latest, "Talcs'of Destiny" (miblished by Constable, of London), on W* arrival in Sydney. He admits to a certain fascination for the work in whioh. ho is at prosent employed. "The old way, you know," said Mr. j Mitchell,' "was to go to a conn-1 try nnd photograph it? scenery ; and natives, but that is all past— the picture business moves with rapid strides. Xow it is found necessary to embody the. scenery and natives (with their costumes nnd customs) in a story, and that's what Mr. Melies is doing on this trip. v He is n gentleman of great enterprise, and one of the leaders of tho picture-manufacturing business in America. The pictures are acted in Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia. They are then developed nnd the negatives forwarded to the factory in New York. Some of the pictures are acted by native?, assisted by Mr. Mclies's company, ami others may be acted by the company only —it all depends on the subject and conditions. . i "We secured some good pictures at Tahiti—n notable one of a great fishing festival or drive at Bnro-bnrn. in the Leewnrd Islands. There we had from (iflfl to 800 natives in ISO canoes marshalled in perfect order, who fanned an ore nut from the reef, and gradually npproacVd the rocks with one wnn in the bow of each canoe 'bentim;' flir> water with the aid of f n stnnn attached lo a length of rope. The drive was a went snecefi. and as a special honour. Mr. Gallon Melies was invited to spear the first fish as they lay thick in the shallow water. It's a grpnt business altogether , , and the picturo of it should be very interesting." After a week in Wellington it is intended to proceed to ltatnrua, lo (here, tako some legendarv pictures fincludin , ' that of llineinoa and TutanekaP. Native hnkns. etc., and later on Australia and the. East are to be visited. Tlie expedition involves a r-nst of .C 10.000. Mr. Scott accompanies (lie Mvlies parly of seventeen people as the director and nrran&pr of pictures of the Industrie- of the. count net visiiM. nnd Mr. Bertram Bracken It the stnere direotor»