The New York herald., 1922-10-15
ND GOSSIP OF THE SCREEN
First National
Is Going Into
Film Producing
TO Start -Four Companies Max
ing Pictures and Raise Up
New Stars.
BY FRANK vREELAND.


TIRST NATIONAL, it is now re-
r. ported. is going into the pro
a ducins game on its own, instead
OF being as hitherto the sieve through
which the photoplays Of other pro-
ducers were filtered to the public. The
organization will start four companies
directly under its own thumb. II Is
said. with Richard A. Rowland for
mer president Of Metro, ringing the
starting gong and acting as umpire.
This radical change in policy is
ascribed to the fact that First Ma
tional is in need of stars. and is hop
ing to flush some from cover bS
going on the trail itself. After" his
next picture Charlie Chaplin leaves
them and moves his feet over 20
United Artists. Regardless OF whether
Charles Ray was still an asset, he
LETT q hole in the First National line
up when he decided himself over to
United Artists. George Arliss has also
thrown in his lot and his lock of hair
with the Big Four. Norma and Con-
stance Talmadge constitute a formid-
able first line of offense, but First
National cannot keep charging on the
box office with this heavy artillery
alone. There are other stars. but. ex-
cept for Jackie Coogan, they are USE
full chiefly as ballast.
So now the hunt is up, with Rowland
as master of the hounds. Obviously
First National was seeking new car
load of stars from Goldwyn until the
contemplated merger with that company
fell through. and it is also evident that
First National held so tenaciously to
Thomas H. Ince because he could bring
his platoon of starlings to bear.
The shifts in the First National line
UP are attributed to difficulties over
film rentals under the present franchise
system. which was intended initiaily to
save the wear and tear of an elaborate
exchange system for independent stars
who wanted to make pictures OF them
selves but weren't so sure that thou
sands of houses throughout the country
would want TO see them. Now First
National is expected to pursue the same
policy, to a limited degree, as Famous
Players-Lasky. by supplying their own
stars for their own theatcrs, thus re-
vertipg to the very method which 1t was
originally intended to hurl into the
scrap heap.
Miss Hope Hampton Continues to up
hold her reputation as an actress who
will pay large prices for stories, though
film yarns generally are no longer
fetching the prices that used to make
screen authors an object of tender So
licitude for burglars. For Lawful
Larceny" which Miss Hampton has
just purchased, she is reported to have
laid down $4,000 before Samuel Ship
man. who lost no time in gathering
Il UP.
Lewis j. Selznicks forces are expect
I'd 10 be back in the East again IN
couple Of months. once more. exchang-
ing burning glances at the Fort Lee
studios. Myron Seznick. son of the
producer. who had charge OF the. ex-
odus. is back in town. and the rest of
the company in Hollywood are getting
ready to respond 10 the call of Broad
way This means that the SelZnick
company will have been gone only about
six months. whereas 1t was originally
announced that II would make Los An
geles look slippy for at least a year
More advantageous renting terms are
figured to have formed the lure which
out Of their orbit Perhaps Selznick in.
tends to develop into a studio the tract
of land which he took close to the
Famous Players-Lasky studio in Long
Island City as soon as Adolph Zukof
began the migration to this locality
but then, it's usually hard to say what
Selznick's next move will be, because he
rarely informs any one. even himself.
---
II Is generally anticipated in the film
industry that business will turn over a
new leaf and boom tremendously after
thc first OF pext year. and all Hollywood
is now working furiouslly and facially
toward that end.
Every once In so often, whenever
some OF the amusement trtiue journals
have nothing else with which to fabri-
te a startling headline. they rumor an
break between Adolph Kukor
end Jesse L. Lasky. Such report eX-
ploded with a faint pop in our midst
recently. But almost before he was
asked Lasky 3bliglngly came through
with a full and complete denial. stating
that there were no negotiations with any
other company. such as Metro---which
ought to settle the matter until news
becomes slack in the trade again.
So far the drive OF the Actors Equity
Association to obtain a standard con-
tract for movies actors, which has been
nut up TO Will II. Hays and LaslSy. has
eventuated IN nothing but talk ana
striking descriptions of bombs bursting
in air through the Vaccinations OF WHY
directors and almost soaring the gold
teeth out of players in the interests OF
realism. 1t is not regarded as likely
that such a demand would lead up TO
strike. such as the walkout which was
when the Equity asked for a
uniform contract three years ago ana
gave Broadway n free show for weeks
VIII Rogers. the noted smile special
ist was in rare form last week at
luncheon of motion picture press agents
and advertising men. who get so few
chances TO laugh IN the faces Of ordinary
nlni stars. Rogers remarked that IL was
uuitc a remarkable treat for an actor 20
Get anything from a press agent. ana
before he left he expected he would be
handed a check. In order 70 get ma
feriai for his topical talks in the Zieg-
field "Follies" be has to sit UP lato o
nights reading the papers rsvenously.
That means that his breakfast Is
usually very late the next day--yet per-
eons would insist on inviting him TO
ltincheons right after he'd eaten. No
body" nc said. ever thinks OF inviting
me 20 dinner ] haven't eaten anything
here this afternoon. so IL my talk isn't
very good ! don't owe you folks any
thing"
what Interested him most profoundly