U.S.A. SALARIES

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 September 1934, Page 3

U.S.A. SALARIES

MEN WHO ECLIPSE PRESIDENT. The highest paid motion picture star receives more than four times as much as the President of the United States, says the “Christian Science Monitor.” One hundred and ten members of the film industry are paid salaries that equal or exceed the 75,000 dollars received by the Chief Executive. Included in this number are fiftyone actors, twenty-eight directors, twenty-two executives, nine producers, two writers, and one counsel. These excessive salaries, skyrocketing as high as 315,000 dollars, were disclosed in a six-month study made by Mr Sol. A. Rosenblatt, division administrator of the National Recovery Administration. The investigation was ordered by President Roosevelt at the time he suspended the salary and “star raiding” sections of the motion picture code. Declaring that the “industry has made no material progress in setting the pendulum side of its house in order,” Mr Rosenblatt now recommends the continued indefinite suspension of these provisions. Convinced that “rationalisation of production costs remain the essence of the problems in the financial rehabilitation” of the motion picture production industry w’hich showed a loss of more than 19,000,000 dollars last year, Mr Rosenblatt suggested the establishment of a committee to study the question Whether actors and directors could be put on a minimum salary base and allowed a percentage of receipts On their pictures. The committee would also determine the advisability of setting up a commission to pass upon offers of employment and regulate salaries in proper cases.

Directors and production company officials are not far behind the “stars” themselves when it comes to salaries, Mr Rosenblatt’s investigation reveals. His records show’ two officials —an “executive” and a “general manager” receiving 273,000 dollars and 272,000 dollars respectively. Another executive was listed at 126,000 dollars and a vice-president at 122,000 dollars, while the president of the same company received only 76,000 dollars.

Actors received 16,932.1'28 dollars of the total pay roll of 72.515,878 dollars in 1933. The pay roll was a little over 40 per cent of the gross receipts, while companies were showing losses. Of the five largest companies in the field, one is in bankruptcy, one is operating in receivership and bankruptcy; one undertook capital reorganisation to meet an indebtedness of 42,000,000 dollars; one showed a loss of more than 16,000,000 dollars for the year 1932, and the cardings of one were reduced from a net income of 1.5,000,000 dollars in 1931 to a net income of 7,000,000 dollars in 1932. Mr Rosenblatt says in his report that public popularity of a star or director is the dominating element in selling pictures, but he points to the many difficulties that lie in determining the extent of the contribution made to a successful picture by the author, director, the actor, scenic artist, photographed, or publicity agent. In building up a limited number of so-called stars and executives, pro-

ducers have brought about “a condition of inflated values which,sin turn, created a- vicious circle of bidding for their services.”

Producers, he says, have used every means at their disposal to, entice away from other producers those individuals of proved boxf-office value who are under contract to another producer. Mere offers of increased compensation made to stars during their present employment make the stars “unhappy” and practically worthless unless their salaries are increased in accord • with the competing offer. Most of the major producers have made efforts to correct these abuses, blit their efforts have been ineffective. _ To accept the weekly wages of motion picture stars as barometers of their annual earnings is a mistake, it is pointed out. Oiie • actor received 25,000 dollars a week during 1933 but his annual earnihgs totalled only 76,666 dollars. In other Words, he was employed fdr oilly about three weeks during the year. One actor on a 1200 dollars a week basis earned only 400 dollars during tlie year.