The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-07-18
!. A. BERST TALKS OF
PROPOSED AUTHORS UNION

The latest attempt to pilfer from
the motion picture industry portion
of some Of the vast profits which II Is
popularly supposed to be getting was
indicated in the New York papers OF
recent date. According TO the story
the Authors League OF America oil
which Winston Churchill is the presi
don't and Theodore Roosevelt the
vice-nresident, is considering the ad
visibility Of joining the American
Federation of Labor with the express
purpose OF bringing the moving pic
ture men to time" by holding them up
for ten per cent. OF the prohts OF a
nicture. this ten per cent. to be paid
the author of the story, idea or seen
srio from which the picture is made
Thompson Buchanan, secretary or the
Executive Committee, IS reported &c
have said that any picture which nets
the producer or distributor $4,000
should pay the author at least $4,000
One of the arguments advanced Is
that IAN author gets from $500 to
$1,000 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 aifiliating with the Am
erican Federation of Labor. Thus
the picture manufacturer does not ac'
cede to their terms they expect to
call out their fellow union men-the
camera men ct al and tie up the plant
as tight as drum.
Mr.. ]. A. Berst, vice-president and
general manager of Pathe, when the
above statements were called to his
attention, refused to be alarmed.
in the first place." he said, 1.-The
authors argument rests upon false
premise. They take no account OF
the picture which does not pay its
way and which represents a loss and
not a profit, We would be only too
glad to buy at high price any and
every idea for a picture to cost not
more than $4,000 that would posi-
lively give to us net profits of $780,
900, but it can't be done. The value
of a story for picture purposes is
gamble, and the picture itself is
gamble. Who takes the risk, the au'
spends the time of one man, himself,
for week or so. The producer
spends six or seven weeks or more
upon a feature picture, with high
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 feature
in addition to the producing cost
which Is never as low as $4,000, fol
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
pan, and as many features actually
lose money, on such pictures he
would get nothing for his wo.k. 1t
strikes me that $4,000 is an exces.
sive price for the idea for one fea.
ture picture. We have frequently paid
high prices for the picture rights to
some well-known book or play, but in
those instances we were also buying
the publicity which naturally is
part of such a work through its popu.
larity with many persons.
ut 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 would
have to be dependent upon any au-
thor'S association. There neither is
nor can be any monopoly Of writing
talent-that is a field of human en-.
deavor that is open to any one. The
famous writer frequently falls down
when he writes for the screen, fer
the requirements Of the art differ
from those of the stage, the short
story or the novel.
."Finally, let me reassure the Au-
thors League as to the fabulous pro.
fits in the motion picture business
They don't exist, press reports to the
contrary"