The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1916-06-22
]. A, BERST TALKS OF
PROPOSED AUTHORS uNioN

The latest attempt to pilfer iron
the motion picture industry poi.io.
q. some of the vast profits which II Is
popularly supposed TO be getting ""'
indicated in the New York papers Oh
recent date. According to the story
the Authors League OF America Oh
which Winston Churchill is the presi'
dent. and Theodore Roosevelt the
vice-uresident, is considering the al
visibility of joining the American
Federation OF Labor with the express
purpose OF bringing the moving PIC
t,,re men to time" by holding them up
for ten per cent. OF the prohts OF .
picture. this ten per cent TO be paia
the author of the story, idea or seem
ario from which the picture is made
THOMPSON Buchanan, secretary of the
Executive Committee, is reported 10
have said that any picture which nets
the producer or distributor S3o,0co,
should pay the author at least S3,oUo.
One of the arguments advanced Is
that IAN author gets from $500 TO
81 500 for an idea or scenario which
costs the producer not more than sl5.-
600 to prepare for use and from which
he reaps not less than $4,000"
AS a lever for their arguments the
disgruntled scribes plan TO make use
of the cameramen and mechanicians
who are now aftiliating with the Am
If oh Thr-e
the picture manufacturer does not ac-
cede to their terms they expect to
call out their fellow union men-the I
camera men ct al and tie up the plant |
as tight as drum.
Mr. ]. A. Berst, vice-pre3ident and
general manager OF Pathe, when the
above statements were called TO his
attention, refused 10 be alarmed.
I'm the first place" he said, the
authors argument rests upon a false
premise. They take no account of
the picture which does not pay its
way and which represents loss an6
not a profit. We would be only too +
glad to buy at high price any and
every idea fo- a picture TO cost not
more than $4,000 that would posi- .
lively give TO US net profits OF s35, +
600, but il can't be done. The value
of story for picture purposes is a
gamble. Who takes the risk. the au-
thor or the producer? The author
spends the time OF one man, himself,
for a week or so. The producer
spends six or seven weeks or more (.
upon a feature pic.Iro, with high I
priced players and with extras, cam
eramen. property men, all drawing
salaries and fattening the overhead .
upon that picture. 1t costs about
thirty per cent. to market featu
in addition TO the producing cost
which is never as low as $4,000, for /
a good production with first class
players. In view Of this cost the au-
thor receiving ten per cent OF the
profits would earn less money than
he does on the basis OF the present
plan, and as many features actually
lose money, on such pictures he
would get nothing for his wo.k. Il.
strikes me that $500 is an exces-
sive price for the idea for one fea.
ture picture. We have frequently paid
nigh prices for the picture rights TO
some well-known book or play, but ia
those instances we were also buyinp
the publicity which naturally is a
part Of such work through its popu.
!arity with many persons.
1T is stated that the Authors
League now numbers 1900 members.
and that it is expected by the end
OF the year there will be 5000. which
number is supposed to include practi-
cally all the scenario writer's. The
motion picture business has reared
up its own school of dramatists. and
] fail to see where the business wouId
have to be dependent upon any an.
thor's association. There neither is
nor can be any monopoly Of writing
talent-that is field of human en-.
deavor that is open to any one. The
famous writer frequently falls down
when he writes for the screen. for
the requirements OF the art differ
from those OF the stage, the short
story or the novel.
Finally, let me reassure the Au.
thor's League as TO the fabulous pro.
fits in the motion picture business.
They don't exist, press reports to the
contrary"