The Washington times., 1916-03-29
Formation Of Gigantic Combl-
nation Of Motion Picture In
terests Based on Them.
DOLLAR DOTTED STRUCTURE
Salaries to Be Paid Actor and
Actress More Than a Mil
lion Per Annum.

Mary Pickford and Charhe Nhap
I'm turn out to be the heroine anu
hero. respectively. Of a motion pic
furo romance which some future loa
M Tarbell will find as prolific
source of interesting literature on
business manipulation as has been
the Standard OIL or the Steel trust.
The dramatic construction or THIS
romance IL emphasized by doilar
marks and the size OF the salaries
Maid the hero and heroine had really
more to do with the final act than
the personality of either.
The romance will result in the
formal announcement In day or
two OF the actual formation OF
motion picture corporation OF glgan-
tic financial proportions and pros
poets from what have been known as
The Paramount, the Mutual. the "
l.. s. r. and the Metro companies
The plans have not yet been apso-
iutely perfected. But they have
beer given premature publicity py
what might be considered the mad
yertent divulgence of the name or
the lady in the case.
How Deal Was Engineered.
The deal has been engineered on
the one hand by b. b. Hampton.
former magazine publisher ana
newspaper man. On the other were
the film companies. The signing OF
the contract with Charlie Chaplin by
the Mutual Corporation was the hrst
steI. in the deal.
With Chaplin in the hands of the
Mutual It became necessary to get
some other star to offset him. Mr.
Hampton thereupon set out on the
trail of Miss Pickford with the re-
suit that on the day after st.
Patrick's day he signed her name
to q contract calling for a salary
and perquisites of $6OO,OOO per annum
Just $4,000 less than the amount to
be paid Charlie Chaplin.
There's a Reason.
The big reason for the amalgama-
ton Of the big concerns. is just
this:
The production of artistic pictures,
which is supposed to be the princi-
pal aim of the motion picture in
dustry, has sunk into a small thing
as compared with the matter OF dis
tributing the pictures. With ire
mendously big agencies OF distribu-
ton built up at great expense, the
been able to pre-empt 1t, to a large
extent, and make 1t exceedingly
difficult for the new man to enter.
AS there were several of these dis
tributing agencies and as 1t was to
their interest to promote only the
were Interested, the only way left
To get the use OF the agency was to
combine with 1t.
That is practically what has hap
rened to most OF the largest film
producers in the country and the
fnrnnafinn nf the C0mnnnV.
which has been guardedly an
nounced from New York, really
means the distribution of larger
number of the very best of film pro-
auctions through a single agency.
Another Deal in Prospect.
There is one other big corporation
left-outside of the Universal COM
pany-which is known as the World
Film Corporation. This company
has recently undergone a complete
change of officers and a revolution
in management. 1t Is understood
that the Shuberts' and william A.
Brady's theatrical interests are
closely bound up in the World Film
project. 1t is stated on good author
ity that the Shuberts and Brady own
most OF the World Film stock.
To this company, 1t Is understood.
will be added the Triangle Film Cor
poration, the company launched
about a year ago by the Athens,
formerly the Mutual magnates, to
market the films made by David w.
Griffith. Thomas II. Ince and Mack
Sonnet.
While the amalgamations that
make these two big comprehensive
new concern and the World Film
place n great mass of the pro-
ducers' better class of films in one
or the other OF the two companies,
there will remain in the field a num-
OF these, like the Pathe company and
the Fox Film company. have dis
tributing agencies of their own. In
fact the Pathe company Is almost
combining itself to the business or
being a distributing agent, produce
ing very few films of its own.
Films Are Profitable.
In light of the statements being
made that the film producing COM
panies are losing money. the fol-
lowing statement from the New
York Morning Telegraph:
Elm the course of their investiga-
tions the capitalists who were in
terested in getting the costs of pro-
auctions and making economies in
the cost of extravagant productions,
have audited the books of many OF
the larger companies. These books.
contrary to reports, indicate that
the motion picture business is in an
withstanding high salaries. The
competition has reduced the great
profits that were common a few
years back, but the business still
shows an excellent percentage on the
money invested"