Today, he might consider celluloid a better investment. PolyGram, the Anglo-Dutch entertainment group, certainly does. PolyGram, which already owned 500 films, now has one of the world's largest cinema catalogues. Credit Lyonnais cobbled together the impressive collection, which included The Graduate and such audiencepleasers as Platoon, Fabulous Baker Boys and City Slickers, during a disastrous stint in Hollywood a few years ago. But the film division has so far been a money loser, despite producing such hits as Bean and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Libraries are important to studios because they provide cash flow from video and television sales.
The European Union last week ended a decade of huffing and puffing and agreed to ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship within four years. Britain had pressed for a 10-year exemption for Formula One, but said it was happy with the compromise. Brussels' efforts to get Grand Prix racing to kick its addiction to tobacco money were shrugged off by British American Tobacco, which last week went beyond sponsorship to ownership. The Euro is a monetary marriage. In a marriage, those who are married do not want others in the bedroom.