| Reference Type |
Sun Herald
newspaper
|
| Title |
Movie war threatens to shut little cinemas |
| Author(s) | Denis Gregory |
| Publication Date |
23-05-1999 |
| Page Number |
38 |
| Comments |
Gregory explores the harsh conditions major distributors enforce on small independent theartes to screen new releases. |
| Synopsis |
Gregory provides the example of Vladeo Maric and his small 250-seat single cinema The Savoy, Cowra, in country New South Wales. Maric is forced by the major distributor (20th Century Fox in this case with 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace') to fill 26,250 seats in a town with a population of 8,500. The draconic "distributor-required season" is made worse by the fact that small independants don't receive prints of new releases until months after their Australian premieres (16 weeks as it was with Titanic). Furthermore, the distributors take an average of "50 per cent of ticket sales and cinemas have to pay all expenses." Gregory reports that the ACCC have recently set down a new code of conduct for film distributors and exhibitors which aims to provide fairer conditions with first-release movies. Unfortunately, as the writer highlights, due to a smaller number of prints being available of new release films, this does not gaurantee smaller operators access to first releases. |
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