32 INTERNATIONAL ktoutih Wednesday, October 28,1981

INTERNATIONAL SOUNCI TRAck ^(Continued from page 31)»

performed, will now be a feature film. Writer-directors Henrik Stangerup and Claus Weeke have acquired its film rights and received a Film In­stitute grant to prepare a script... Leif Sylvester Petersen, actor, and Erik Clausen, actor-writer-director, will follow up on their "Circus Casablanca" hit with still another off-beat comedy "Felix" about an old lady's imaginary cat. The Film Institute is with a production guarantee of $290,000. Tove Maes and Poul Bundgaard will be the featured players:

Paris Yves Boisset wrapped principal lensing on his "Espion Leve-Toi" cloak

and dagger pic, headlining Lino Ventura, Michel Piccoli and Bruno Cre-mer and featuring Bernard Fresson, Heinz Bennent and Krystyna Janda ... Canadian singer Fabienne Thibault cut the theme song for Jean-Charles Tacchella's new pic, "Croque Ta Vie," with Bernard Giraudeau, Carole Laure and Brigitte Fossey ... Marcel Dassault production of "Un Peu, Beaucoup, Pass^onement" now called "Jamais Avant Le Mar-iage." Actor Daniel Ceccaldi helming Marcel Julliah's screenplay from an original story idea by Dassault. Mireille Dare and Jean-Pierre Mar-ielle topline ... Daniel Auteuil, Catherine Alric, Anne Jousset, Philippe Khorsant and Tanya Lopert featured in "T'Empeche Tout Le Monde De Dormir," marking the comic strip satirist-turned-scriptwriter's helming debut.

Songwriter Pierre Barouh did a live two-week singing engage­ment on the stage of the Escurial cinema as part of a festival which in­cluded screenings of films he has directed including "Saravah" (1969) and "Family Album" (1976), both unreleased commercially, and "Ca Va, Ca Vient" and "Le Divorcement" (1979). The nightly four hour "cine-show" was an idea of the young group of film buffs who last year took over the Escurial, one of the city's oldest film houses... The Rivoli theatre, another venerable cinema now being programmed by a team of young film lovers, has a 20-pic homage to Jean-Pierre Mocky ... Frederic Mitter-and's Olympic indie rep circuit ran all-night screenings of the old "Buck Rogers" serial at its Saint-Germain-des-Pres site.:. Paris-based Ameri­can Jonathan Guntar this month brought out new weekly mag, "Cinephi-lia," which provides complete film house listings and timetables as well as feature articles on current releases and personalities.

Sydney Film Festival topper David Stratton in town last week to film footage on the Champs-Elysees for the first anni fete of Australia's Chan­nel 0/28. Stratton is feature films acquisitions consultant for the net­work's "Whole World of Movies" foreign films program.

A Chinese Cinema Week was held in Paris, Lille, Lyon and Pottier un­der the aegis of Claude Cheysson, minister of exterior relations and cul­ture minister Jack Lang. A Chinese delegation, headed by Chen Bo, man­aging director of the cinema sector of the Chinese culture ministry, and composed of director Wang Hao Wei and actors Sun Daolin and Lu Lan-quin presented the four features at inaugural screenings in each city. Pics presented were Xie Jin's "Sisters of the Stage" (1964), Wang Hao Wei's "Look at This Family" (1980), Xie Tieli's "Early Spring" (1963) and Zheng Junli's "The Opium War" (1959), presented earlier this summer as part of a homage to late Chinese star Zhao Dan at the La Rochelle arts fest. »

Sydney Story on "The Pirate Movie" in the Oct. 14 issue of Variety incorrectlj

credited Trevor Fan-ant as the writer for new songs for the Aussie musi cal adaptation of "The Pirates of Penzance." While Farrantis the pic's Aussie-based scripter, songwriter is actually Terry Britten, who now lives in England, but returned to Australia to toil on the film's score.

With world preem of "Roar" last Monday (19) in Sydney via Hoyts, Filmways Distributors topper Robert Ward hosted five of the pic's stars Down Under to tubthump. In were producer-director Noel Marshall, wife and coproducer Tippi Hedren, daughter Melanie Griffith, son John and Kenya-born actor Kyalo Mativo ... Also skedded in on the p.a. circuit are Chaim Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson and Cassandra Harris for United Ar­tists' ballyhoo for the latest Bondrama, "For Your Eyes Only" set to preem Nov. 17 in the Hoyts Sydney seven-plex ... Now Marvin Davis-owned, Hoyts is going ahead with plans to redevelop the Collins and Murray Streets site in Hobart, Tasmania, per managing director Terry Jackman. Plans are for a 428-seater to up-curtain in late 1982.

Film Australia series of seven shorts, "A Fair Go," dealing with the dis­abled, screened at the Sydney Town Hall with Social Security Minister Fred Chaney frontlining. Produced by Liz Knight (former Robert Altman aide) and directed in the main by James Ricketson, skein was made with assistance from the International Year of Disabled Persons Unit in the Dept. of Social Security... National Film Theatre of Australia screening a tribute to Jean-Luc Godard around the country through mid-November.

Buenos Aires Shooting has concluded on "Vision de un Asesino" (Sight of a

Murderer), directed by Reynaldo Mattar, a thriller set in, and shot en­tirely on location in, the province of San Juan, dealing with a series of crimes which follow a major archeological find ... Anibal Di Salvo, veteran cameraman, is co-directing (with Miguel Angel Matarazzi, a psychiatrist and author of the script) "Matias y los Otros" (Matthew and the Others), shot on videocassettes, a pioneering venture in Argentina; story deals with a true pathological case involving drugs, sex and un­hinged family and social relationships ... Filming was postponed of "Usurpacion" (Usurpation), to be directed by Fernando Ayala; adduced are production reasons and prior theatrical commitments of star Thelma Biral. Instead, Ayala will direct "Abierto Dia y'Noche" (Open Day and Night), an updated remake of "Hotel Alojamiento" (Assignations Hotel), the greatest commercial success in the 66-film history of the Aries pro­duction company, which has just turned 25, and of which Ayala was a co-founder.

Federal judge Jose Dibur threw out of court the criminal charges raised against the distributors of "The House on Garibaldi Street," a ver­sion of the kidnapping of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina (and charged with being "an apology of crime") and against the officials of the Censorship

Board, for failing to ban it; the nine confiscated copies of Peter Collin-son's film were returned ... Guillermo Fernandez Jurado, hitherto presi­dent of the (private) Argentine Cinematheque, was appointed head of the (government-run) Buenos Aires Municipal Museum of the Cinema ... "The Films of Armando Bo with Isabel Sarli" is the title of a new book by Jorge Abel Martin, currently the premier chronicler of Argentine re­leases, who recorded the views of the much-persecuted soft-porn director ... The government has given a lifetime pension to actress Mecha Ortiz.

Also suspended: the filming of "La Invitacion" (The Invitation), with Manuel Antin at the helm, and beset by financial problems... EMI execu­tives Richard Milnes and Timothy Sellens visited Buenos Aires, as did Unif ranee vice-president Bertr and Bagge and Gaumont director of inter­national distribution Yannik Piel.. .Exhibitors have agreed to charge half-price tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; meanwhile, front-line movie theatres raised their tickets from 18,000 pesos to 20,000 (and now, of course, 10,000 pesos on Tuesdays and Wednesdays), 20,000 pesos now be­ing equivalent to approximately $2.50 ... Silvia Garcia Serrail is the new United Artists press chief here ... Director Carlos Christensen is filming "Somos?" (Are We?) ... Roberto Bernardis has been appointed com­mercial manager of the Alex laboratories.

New Delhi Young director Randhir Khare was hauled out of his taxi and beaten up

by hoodlums in the Worli area of Bombay for directing a play with and about spastic children that had political overtones. Play was staged at the Birla Kreeda Kendra Sept. 26 in a competition for handicapped children which was well appreciated, and the audience had a good laugh. But one person in the audience apparently took offense at the political pokes and verbally abused Khare, demanding an apology from him. Khare subse­quently received a number of telephone calls asking him to make a public apology, thebeating resulting from his refusal to do so. Khare is an employee of the Spastics Society of India... The Monopolies and Restric­tive Trade^Practices Commission has begun its investigation into trade practices in the exhibition sector to determine factors behind the increas­ing theatre rentals demanded for the release of films. Commission has al­ready served notices on a number of cinemas in Bombay to supply infor­mation ... While presiding over the inaugural function at screenings of award-winning Malaylam films here, the Minister for Communica­tions CM. Stephen suggested that the Central Board of Film Censors be decentralized and that one censor board should not judge films produced in different language. He suggested that there should be regional censor boards to censor pics produced in various languages and that board members should be well versed with the language and culture of films.

Information Minister of the Tamilnadu Government, R.M. Veerappan notes the government would be willing to okay construction of mini thea­tres in residential areas, to seat 300 to 400 persons. Licensing procedures would be liberalized to enable more theatres to be built... The Maharash­tra State Government is constructing a theatre in the Worli area of Bom­bay which will screen only Marathi language films, in an effort to develop the Marathi language industry. The theatre will be ready early next March... Pranlal K. Doshi has been reelected prez of the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Assn. of India for 1981-82... The Supreme Court has ruled that employees of Bombay's Metro Theatre are eligible for a better scheme of gratuities than what is laid down in the Gratuity Act. Ruling was a result of a complaint filed by the Theatre Employees' Union on the ground that the financial position of Metro Management was sound. The Labor Tribunal had the powers to grant a better scheme under the Act. Under the new ruling, management will have to give gratuity even for one year's service if the employee's services with the theatre were to be terminated, against the minimum of five years service required by the Act. Similarly, the employee can claim gratuity on three years of service instead of five years. There would also be no ceiling on the salary earned to qualify for gratuity... The Rajasthan State Government earned revenues of $9,020,-000 during 1980-81 from the entertainment tax. Officials estimate that the entertainment tax revenue for the 1981-82 year would be well over $12,-500,000.

Hindustan Photofilm Manufacturing Co. in Madras set to begin an ex­pansion and diversification program involving an outlay of $31,250,000. A proposal to set up a separate color plant costing some $93,750,000 awaits clearance from the Central Cabinet. Managing director P.R.S. Rao said the company is now 98% self-sufficient and has been able to bring down the silver content in X-ray film to 35%, on par with global levels. Rao also claimed the total deficit of $16,250,000 has been cut to $8,750,000 and hopes that amount will be wiped out during the current fiscal year ... Indian Government has set aside a total of $312,500 for prominent native film­makers to produce films exclusively for tv here. Half hour in black and white nabs $18,750, color gets $31,250. Satyajit Ray, Amiya Gupta, Uma Shankar and Buddhadev Das Gupta have already been assigned films on different subjects; Ray'shourpicontheHarijanwillcost$56,250... Direc­torate of film festivals is hopeful that at least 70 foreign pics will be screened in the major section of the forthcoming Int'l Film Festival of In­dia, bowing in Calcutta Jan. 3,1982. Invites have been sent to 144 nations.

To curb black market trafficking in cinema tickets, Gulshan Rai, out­going prez of the Indian Motion Picture Distributors Assn. has suggested that exhibitors be permitted to charge higher admission prices during ini­tial release of firstrun pics as long as demand for tix at the inflated rates persisted... India's Doordarshan (TV) has earmarked $6,000 per episode for a 36-seg, three-year light entertainment series by various film­makers. I.S. Johar and Atmaram will crank out the first dozen segs for 1981-82 ... Film Writers Assn. honored scripters Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, Ramanand Sagar and C.L. Kavish last month for their "dedicated and selfless service'.' ... Scripter Gulshan Nanda's novel "Kati Patang" has sold 170,000-plus copies in its Chinese version. Hindi tome was lensed un­der the same title in 1972 with Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parek in the lead roles under Shakti Samanta's direction... Film and TV Institute of Tamil­nadu in association with the Federation of Film Societies of India (South­ern Region) conducting a nine-day film appreciation course, which bowed Octofeer 14. Included are a lecture series by film historians, critics and directors, and screening of nine English-lingo pics, some Tamil-lingo films, and a number of shorts.

It's Remakes Again (Or Still); Adjusting To Changing Mores

By JACK PITMAN London, Oct. 27.

Motion picture remakes, the in­dustry's necrophilic habit of feeding off its past successes, seem excep­tionally fashionable at the moment on the basis of both currently-shooting and planned projects. Ap­parent factors include the increas­ing importance of ancillary media and the attractive economics in­herent in most remakes at a time of runaway production-marketing charges.

"Psycho," "Treasure of Sierra Madre," "Dodsworth," "Romeo and Juliet," "Anna Karenina," "Boston Blackie" and "Bridge of San Luis Rey" are some of the diverse old titles reportedly in various phases of reactivation or being pushed for same. How many will actually roll remains to be seen, but the mere fact that so many re­makes are contemplated says something.

Those who chart screen cycles also put the itch down to a sign of the times, part of the current market­place flight from the realities of economic turbulence and jittery international affairs. It's noted that the depression '30s and wartime '40s, from whence many of the pro­posed remakes emanate incident­ally, constituted probably the last equivalent period of stress when es­cape was the big cinema turn on.

'Gunga Din' The recycling kick includes a

Cannon Group plan to remake Rud-yard Kipling's "Gunga Din," while Sandy Howard is preparing a new edition of Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Also noted are the "classic library" remakes from producer Norman Rosemont — "Les Miserables," "Little Lord Fauntleroy," the now-lensing "Ivanhoe" and the upcoming "Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Other producers are also mining the classic lode, with pending remakes Of "The Scarlet Pimper­nel" and "Oliver Twist," the latter with Clive Donner at the helm. "Twist" is just underway in Eng­land.

Wilbur Stark Bundle Among a host of properties up for

remake grabs is a bundle of 20 RKO titles now controlled by Wilbur Stark, two of which, "The Thing" and "Curse of the Cat People," are in the process of being re-shot by Universal, "Cat People" on a bud­get of $12,000,000. Among other vaulties available from Stark but not yet spoken for are "Suspicion," "Enchanted Cottage" and "Cross­fire."

The remake advantages that commend themselves are-fairly evident — a known property with an already-mapped plot and char­acter relationships, for which up­dating figures to be significantly cheaper than developing an origi­nal script or adapting from another medium.

Changes Of Taste? In recycling old plots, it's said to

be crucial to make adjustments in line with changes in filmgoer taste and demographics. An insuffic­iency, or total absence of, femme identification, for instance, is now generally figured to cost a film (remake or original) 30-40% of its potential audience.

An example praised by Stark for conforming to the new demo­graphics was Warren Beatty's "Heaven Can Wait" remake of the early '40s "Here Comes Mr. Jordan."