38 INTERNATIONAL MkRIETY Wednesday, August 18,1976

INTERNATIONAL SOUNCI TuAck London

Hoping to dispel some apparent confusion, indie producer James Drax is on a campaign to alert the trade that his Dragon International produc­tion unit is in no way affiliated with EMI Films simply because it happens to base at the EMI studios in suburban Elstree. Supposedly the confusion traces to recent reports of embryonic film projects ... Ben Fisz, prepping his true life spy epic' 'Philby," pitching the title role to such notable British talents as Albert Finney, Michael Caine, Peter OToole and Alan Bates ... Admissions to theatres in the U.K. down to L2,210,000 ($3,955,900) in April from L2,740,000 ($4,904,600) for the same period last year...

The Carl Foreman Fund, set up last year and supported by royalties from the sales of the paperback book about the making of Foreman's film "Young Winston," has so far given 40 students loans. Foreman, currently in Hollywood working on the screenplay of "The Day The World Ended" for Irwin Allen, began the Fund, which is administered by the directors of the National Film School, remembering that a loan he received while a student from Dore Senary enabled him to finish school.

Geoffrey Lane joined the local office of Rogers & Cowan in new post as director of the motion picture dept. He was most recently publicity manager with Columbia here ... The oldest theatre in Britain is to close Sept. 4. The Haven in Stourport, Worcestershire county opened as the Electric in 1904 and the 368-seater has been used ever since... On its first overseas date, "The Slipper And the Rose" took $102,513 in its fifth week at the Lyceum in Sydney, Australia. Pic, out via BEF there, opens next in Brisbane at the end of the month... Lew Small upped to assistant manag­ing director at Rank Leisure Services. He takes over from George Magnus who is moving to a Singapore-based company.

Jeanette Charles, the Elizabeth II look-alike, finally got her Equity card and is cast in "Queen Kong" shooting at Twickenham studios ... Bill Ingram, managing director of Technicolor, also takes on the vice-presidency of Technicolor Cinema Systems ... Changes at Arthur Davis Org. (Japan), the Tokyo-based distrib and producer's rep: Miyako Ejiri is now firm's prexy, Mack Kawamura is head of their sister-company, Nan Enterprises, while Arthur Davis becomes Board Chairman of both outfits.

Mike Batt, who created a veritable industry out of "Wombles" music which sparked with his score of the Wombles' kiddie tv series, is cleffing the animated "Watership Down" feature currently producing here ... Elizabeth Taylor in town cutting songs for "A Little Night Music," filming in Austria ... The Rainbow, until last year a key London concert spot but latterly dark and in need of extensive refurbishing, is due to relight at the end of the year, per Allan Schaverien, a director of the Struthworth com­pany which has apparently taken a seven-year lease on the hall... John Pope is the new repertoire manager within EMI's pop division ... Mike Everett turning in his RCA badge/as manager of international repertoire. He quits New York to become general manager of Charisma Records, a leading British indie label.... Elektra/Asylum joining the rush to reissue as the new generation disk buyer hereabouts discovers the music of the '50s and '60s. The U.S. labels are reactivating 50 singles in a special promo ... British and American major diskeries will be hypoing their classical catalogs in and around Edinburgh during the festival (Aug. 22-Sept. 11) in a drumbeat worthy of Barnum... Black Oak Arkansas set to headline the three-day rock fest at Reading later this month ... British Phonographic Industry, trade org which is torpedoing local disk and tape pirates, notes with some surprise that many pirate tapes and disks retail at nearly the cost of the originals... Elton John says he's dumping concert tours after his present American trek to concentrate on the charimanship of local soc­cer Club, Watford FC. Skeptics think he's nursing an ambition to get into films and wants a clear schedule in anticipation of offers ... Indicative of the decline in sellpower of local acts, this week's five top selling albums, representing about 30% of the total business, are by foreign artists... Fast-comers (singles) here include: "You Don't Have To Go" (Brunswick) by the Chi-Lites; "16 Bars" (H&L) Stylistics; "Morning Glory" (Mercury) James & Bobby Purify; "Afternoon Delight" (RCA) (Starland Vocal Band; "Nice And Slow" (EMI) Jesse Green ... Twiggy's debut single for Mercury, "Here I Go Again," just made the top 50 sellers... Dizzy Gillespie in for three weeks at Ronnie Scott's Sohd jazzejub, while Loudon Wain-wright is hitting the folksy spots.

Paris After Switzerland and Italy, the Sydney Pollack film "Bobby Deerfield"

is now shooting at Le Mans race circuit where actor Al Pacini), in title role, takes the wheel of a Formula 1 Martini Brabham car. He has picked up driving tips from Ferrari racer Clay Regazzoni and ex-world champ Jackie Stewart. Driver Carlos Pace, disguised as "Bobby Deerfield", has been filmed while competing in real life Grand Prix races this season, doubling for Pacino in the pic.

The liner Mermoz, cruising off Greece, will unreel Sept 25 to Oct 9' 'first festival of films about art." Jury including painters, gallery directors and critics will see 150 pics. France's third tv web will screen winners... Alain Cohen, who was boy actor opposite the late Michel Simon in "The Old Man and the Child", now working again under direction of Claude Bern, as a grown up actor in "The First Time."

Jean-Claude Brialy's new pic "Barocco" due out in fall. He is preparing stage role of "Richard II" at the Theatre de Chaillot... Hungarian Alain Miklos Beregi has finished his first short "The Socio-Dollars", which Roman Polanski helped to get into production. Beregi planning a feature telling tale of refugee in Paris trying to raise finance for a film, on lines of his experience.

Jack Nicholson cruising the Riviera on Sam Spiegel's yacht Malahne... Pierre Lary, former Luis Bunuel assistant, directing his first pic "Le Diable dans la Boite", with Jean Rochefort... Organizer Jacques Robert showed 150 films at the Avignon theatre festival cinema meet. Japanese director Nagisa Oshima was there with 15 of his pics. Fred Wiseman from the U.S. was present with nine films. Also from the States, John Baker brought along his collection of jazz pics.

Rome Only 70% of films slated to enter production last season reached first run

screen time in key cities according to market expert Alexander Ferrau. The 70% is a general average ior- Italian and foreign production. Milan leads with 75% in 66 preem and moveover houses followed by Rome wjth

71.65% for 70 cinemas; Turin with 73.40% (32 cinemas); Naples 66% (34) — descending to 44% in Trieste, a regional capital with only seven show­cases.

Films now being groomed for release and for censor battles the early months of the 1976-77 season include the U.S. fellatio money-maker "Deep Throat" (the original, probably in title only), Nagisa Oshima's "Empire Of The Senses," Marco Ferreri's "The Last Woman" and Miklos Jancso's "Vice And Pleasures." ... Also noteworthy in the upcoming marathon is Roberto Rossellini's "The Messiah" — entering distribution but in a specialized circuit only under the banner of the New Communications co­operative. This is the second Rossellini work failing to get normal distrib sponsorship in the Italian market (other was biopic on Alcide DeGasperi).

Fred Haynes is writing the script for "Salamander" — a William Foreman production that Richard Fleischer is signed to direct in Italy next spring. Peter Rawley, producer of upcoming "St. Petersburg-Cannes Express" and also rep of the Irish Film Studios has a handshake deal with producer Edmondo Amati to bring "Leave It To Harry" (starr­ing Tony Musante) to Irleand... Irving Shapiro of New York still believes the Via Veneto is a deal-making Street if many are completed in other parts of the film world. Around the Cafe de Paris table with Shapiro were Peter Rawley who is filming "St. Persburg" across Europe, Zey Braun with a project for Canada, and Rawley again with his Amati studio deal for Ireland.... Columbia production topper here Roger Beaumont is in Holly­wood advancing sundry packages of Roman concoction.

Berlin Berlin filmer Rosa von Praunheim has just returned from New York,

where he prepared a pic for the autumn Berliner Festwochen titled "Underground and Emigrants." It's a cross section of the cultural scene over the past 30 years, with interviews made with film and theatre per­sonalities Andy Warhol, Lotte Lenya, and Grete Mosheim, among others ... Jean Seberg is in Hans C. Geissendoerfer's "The Wild Duck," due for release shortly. Pic also presents Bruno Ganz, Peter Kern, and Anne Ben-nent... The idea for Klaus Kirschner's' 'Mozart: A Childhood Chronicle'' is credited to Helmut Dotterweich, head of the "History and Musical Program" of Bayerischer Rundfunk ... German State Film Aid in 1975 amounted to $24,000,000, an increase of $2,500,000 over 1974.

Volker Schloendorff is here directing the new Henze opera at the Deutsche Oper ... Peter Lilienthal is putting the finishing touches on his screenplay "Otto Lilienthal," a story of Berlin's earliest aviator who flew over the city in a primitive flight... Wolf Gremm has begun shooting "The Brothers'' in Mannheim; other locations are Heidelberg, a Hannover sub­urb, and Wilhelmshafen in the psycho thriller about two brothers who are really father and son and the love that haunts them for the woman in between. Cast includes Erika Pluhar, Doris Kunstmann, Klaus Loewitsch, Georges Wilson, Peter Sattmann, and Peter Fitz. It's a Regina Ziegler production. Hans C. Blumenberg has been named to succeed Wolf Donner as film editor of "Die Zeit": he made his rep as tv critic and reporter for Cologne newspapers ...Berlin's newest star is Sylvia Heidemann, who appears in Lothar Lambert's "Faux Pas de Deux"; she plays an aging actress in love with a young worker (thus the title), and is bruited now as an "Underground Star."

Kve Betts, widow of British critic Ernest Betts, spent an afternoon talk­ing about her husband's literary estate, a collection of writing as critic, screenplay writer, and public relations man that covers over 40 years

Mexico City "La Casta Divina" which wraps principal photography in Merida,

Yucatan, soon, will be a four hour feature split in two parts by director Julian Pastor. In the cast are Jorge Martinez de Hoyos, Ignacio Lopez Tarso, Ana Luisa Peluff o and Tina Romero.... Mexico continues policy of emphasis on social and political themes. Example is "Cananea" about a miner's strike in northern Mexico which helped launch the Mexican Revolution of 1911 against Porfiro Diaz.

Churubusco Studios newest addition is $720,000 worth of the latest sound recording equipment.... Mex industry's most costly film, "Foxtrot" with Peter O'Toole, Charlotte Rampling, Jorge Luke, Max Von Sydow and Claudio Brook, is getting special recouping treatment with simultaneous screening in six hardtops at 25 pesos ($2) admission. ... Director Felipe Cazals had to find new locations for his feature which just started shooting because original choice of picturesque Guanajuato had to be discarded because of heavy rainfalls which inundated the city;

Former producer Jesus Sotomayor, named as supervisor and coor­dinator for production, exhibition and distribution over the entire film in­dustry at the beginning of this year, resigned his post last week. National Film Bank gen. manager Salvador Robles Quintero, accompanied by Pel-Mex chief Eduardo Lopez Latorre and Operadora de Teatros programm­ing director Enrique Molina headed for Madrid on relations-improving biz and to eye hardtop acquisition.

Conacine expects to make at least seven more features this year, per Max Vega Tato who heads the state film production company.... Juan Lo­pez MoctezumaVMary, Bloody Mary, "withdrawn from the Horror Film Festival in Sitges last year when Mexico broke relations with Spain, will participate in this year's edition. ... The Society of Screen, Radio and Television Writers has only 10 entries, with closing date only five weeks away. ... Deeply involved in shooting "Tintorera" (and still lacking an American woman lead) Rene Cardona Jr., is already prepping his next feature ... "The Bermuda Triangle" ... a science fictioner about lost ships and planes.

In its first six days on screens in the capital, "Celestina" chalked up close to 1,500,000 pesos ($120,000 U.S.) at the boxoffice ... Filming "Tin­torera" — a Mex takeoff on "Jaws" — off the coast of Isla Mujeres was delayed when actor Andres Garcia was attacked by a shark (but not harmed) during underwater sequences by lenser Ramon Bravo.

The Polish and Mexican film industries will encourage coproductions, distribution, artistic cooperation, etc. with an official agreement due to be inked in Warsaw. ... A delegation of Red China filmmakers visited National Film Bank's Rodolfo Echeverria and the Churubusco Studios screening pix for acquisition, as earlier from Canada ... Back from the Berlin Film Fest where he was a member of the jury, Conacite I chief Fer-naiido^Macotelaroported that IsiafL'was. interested.in possible coproduc-tions with, Mexico* Ditto Germany;. l a

Canadian Cap's Fest Now Ottawa 1976;

Lots Of Cartoons By PAUL A. GARDNER

Ottawa, Aug. 17. Respecting Los Angeles Film Ex­

position's mild objections to Cana­dian Film Institute's use of term ' 'Filmexpo,'' but more, says festival director Wayne Clarkson, because it was felt this capital's name should be in the title, in line with the prac­tice of most film fests — the film festival here is now to be dubbed Ot­tawa 76.

Incidentally, Filmex of Los Ange­les is sending a rep to Ottawa 76. Chicago Film Festival's Susan Mc-Cormick will also attend, as will Ken Wlaschin, director of Britain's London Film Festival. (Frank Taylor, assistant director of Ottawa 76, will be a delegate to Edinburgh Film Festival late this month.)

Ottawa will present an 11-feature series with a World premiere and three North American preems, segueing into an Animated Film Festival, the latter held in a dif­ferent land each year with sanction of Assn. Internationale du Film d'Animation.

Unlike Ottawa's unreeling of features, animation event is compe­titive. Jury comprises Lillian Schwartz, N. Jersey computer-animator; Peter Brouwer, Dutch animation producer; Borivoj Dovnikhovic, animator with Zag­reb Film, Yugoslavia; Andre Martin, animator and Canadian Radio-Television & Communica­tions Commission research direc­tor, Ottawa; Grant Munro, National Film Board of Canada animation director, Montreal.

'Far Shore' Opener Feature fest's world preem last

Thursday (5) was "The Far Shore," directed by Canadian artist Joyce Wieland and based on the mys­terious drowning of painter Tom Thomson years ago.

North American preems are: Sohrab Shahid-Saless' "Time of Maturity" (West Germany 76); Rainer Werner Fassbinder 's "Game Pass" (West Germany '72); Andrzezj Wajda's "The Shadow Line" (Poland '75J.

The other, mostly Canadian preems are: Akira Kurosawa's "Dersu Uzala" (USSR-Japan 75); Lina Wertmuller's "Let's Talk About Men" (Italy '68); Werner Herzog's "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser" (W. Germany 75); Alan Parker's "Bugsy Malone" (Britain 76); Kung Hu's "A Touch of Zen" (Hong Kong 75); Jean Pierre Lefebvre's "L'Amour Blesse" (Canada 75-); Andre Forcier's "L'Eau Chaude l'Eau Frette' (Canada 76).

All screenings will be in National Arts Centre's 950-seat Theatre, ex­cept the finale (15) in its 2,000-seat Opera. »

There'll be world preem of an animated feature, "Allegro no Troppo," by Italy's Bruno Boz-zetto, with music by Herbert von Karajan & Berlin Philharmonic. Also retros of "development material" by the late Oskar Fis-chinger, German-born , who worked for years in Hollywood, with Disney among others. CFI p.r. director Harris Kirshenbaum credits Louis Beaudet of Cine­matheque Quebecoise, Montreal, with contacting Mrs. Fischinger, who dug up the material and lent it. Since it's all on nitrate, screening permission had to be obtained from Dominion Fire Commissioner and Ontario Theatres Branch.

John Cameron, who scored "A Touch Of Class" for Brut, will score Brutes .upcoming Glenda Jackson