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Spacewarp, v. 4, issue 2, November 1948
Page 5
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English film from an H.G.Wells story and was a prediction of the second World War. It was a good picture, but not much of a financial success. "The Lost World" was the most successful science fiction picture both from a financial and production point of view. The prehistoric animals looked quite real and the whole production was tip top. This movie was a good example of what the movies can do in presenting the imagination of science fiction authors. There have been a number of pictures produced that might be called semi-science fiction such as "The Invisible Man," filmed from an H?G.Wells story; the famous classic, "Dr Jekel and Mr. Hyde," and a number of others. At the present time no studios are contemplating filming science fiction. It would seem that the time is ripe for this type of picture. The movie patrons laughed at "Just Imagine" because it was too unusual. Now after the atomic bomb and the V-2 rocket and with better story and production would they laugh? Science fiction is a treasure trove of untouched material that could provide the motion pictures with many exciting films. The producers are retrenching on costs and it would seem that science fiction stories could be bought for a fraction of the cost of best selling novels and stage plays. And yet the listing of future films in "Variety" gives no science fiction stories filmed or about to be filmed. What gives? The answer to that question lies in the economic muddle which most motion picture producers now find themselves. During the war the motion picture companies made the biggest profits ever made by any type of entertainment. Employment and wages were high, prices fixed and commodities scarce. The over-excited public spent their money on entertainment. A large share of the swag went to the movies. Today employment and wages are still high, but commodities are not so scarce and prices are not fixed and are sky high. The share of the swag to the motion pictures is way down. Of course, Hollywood is still taking bigger grosses per picture than they did before the war, but the cost of production is much higher than prewar and still rising. As the line between gross receipts and costs continues to narrow the producers sweat. Several other factors have entered the picture. Before the war a picture producer figured on making his production cost on domestic sales and his profit on foreign sales. Now foreign countries have a tendency to tax American pictures for all they are worth to save their dollar exchange. The British tax 'em 75% no less. The French may do the same. Many countries under Russian domination won't admit American pictures at all. In the future the American picture may do well to meet distribution costs on the foreign market. The movies are meeting more competition than ever before from big time sports, liquor and that fast-growing baby, television. Just how much business they will lose to television is the biggest headache to the motion picture producer right now. The movies are meeting more censorship than ever before. Every organization that ever had a beef at the movies are hitting them now. The old practice of Hollywood of giving in on the slightest complaint 5 [[image text]]EMC[[end image text]]
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English film from an H.G.Wells story and was a prediction of the second World War. It was a good picture, but not much of a financial success. "The Lost World" was the most successful science fiction picture both from a financial and production point of view. The prehistoric animals looked quite real and the whole production was tip top. This movie was a good example of what the movies can do in presenting the imagination of science fiction authors. There have been a number of pictures produced that might be called semi-science fiction such as "The Invisible Man," filmed from an H?G.Wells story; the famous classic, "Dr Jekel and Mr. Hyde," and a number of others. At the present time no studios are contemplating filming science fiction. It would seem that the time is ripe for this type of picture. The movie patrons laughed at "Just Imagine" because it was too unusual. Now after the atomic bomb and the V-2 rocket and with better story and production would they laugh? Science fiction is a treasure trove of untouched material that could provide the motion pictures with many exciting films. The producers are retrenching on costs and it would seem that science fiction stories could be bought for a fraction of the cost of best selling novels and stage plays. And yet the listing of future films in "Variety" gives no science fiction stories filmed or about to be filmed. What gives? The answer to that question lies in the economic muddle which most motion picture producers now find themselves. During the war the motion picture companies made the biggest profits ever made by any type of entertainment. Employment and wages were high, prices fixed and commodities scarce. The over-excited public spent their money on entertainment. A large share of the swag went to the movies. Today employment and wages are still high, but commodities are not so scarce and prices are not fixed and are sky high. The share of the swag to the motion pictures is way down. Of course, Hollywood is still taking bigger grosses per picture than they did before the war, but the cost of production is much higher than prewar and still rising. As the line between gross receipts and costs continues to narrow the producers sweat. Several other factors have entered the picture. Before the war a picture producer figured on making his production cost on domestic sales and his profit on foreign sales. Now foreign countries have a tendency to tax American pictures for all they are worth to save their dollar exchange. The British tax 'em 75% no less. The French may do the same. Many countries under Russian domination won't admit American pictures at all. In the future the American picture may do well to meet distribution costs on the foreign market. The movies are meeting more competition than ever before from big time sports, liquor and that fast-growing baby, television. Just how much business they will lose to television is the biggest headache to the motion picture producer right now. The movies are meeting more censorship than ever before. Every organization that ever had a beef at the movies are hitting them now. The old practice of Hollywood of giving in on the slightest complaint 5 [[image text]]EMC[[end image text]]
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