WAR ON HIGH PRICES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17182, 27 October 1923, Page 1 (Supplement)

WAR ON HIGH PRICES.

EXHIBITORS FORM CORPORATION. The ‘‘ San Francisco Chronicle ” publishes the following New York telegram dated, August 20 : A drive to whip into line the motion picture interests which are demanding higher film rentals and higher movie prices—prices with a “ top” of 2 dollars —was reported to-day to lie behind the announcement of the Theatre Owners’ Distributing Corporation that it would start Nation wide distribution of pictures in October. Theatre Owners representing an investment of more than 20,000.000 dollars ami scattered throughout the country were said to be interested in the distributing company, which was organized last December and which opposed the upward trend of prices in raoviedom at recent conventions of producers in Minneapolis and Washington. Discussing the owners’ plans to distribute their own pictures, Mr True, president of the New Corporation, sa.id to-day : “ The exhibitors protest against the folly of the 2 dollars admission charge and the attitude of many of the National Distributors who are trying to secure more than the business can legj itima.telv bear. We believe that our J success holds on the fundamental policy of healthy entertainment at small prices. I he exhibitors are frequently unable to supply the public with what it wants under the present system of distri bution. whereby we are frequently forced to book pictures sight unseen six months in advance of their actual showing. We have been forced to buy pictures before they were made. *• The whole system has tended to disregard the public’s wishes. Bad pictures have not been wholly the fault of the exhibitor. This we will correct. Under our plan we will accept those

thoughts back to the studios, secure for the public the kind of attraction is desires. “We are opposed t-o the outrageeously high salaries paid to stars, while tremendously high costs are passed on to the public. "We are opposed to the misleading stories about the quality of pictures. We are prepared to fight the cause of the independent producer, who is at the mercies of the big companies under the present system.”