Boxoffice-August.11.1975

Seaberg Setting Premiere
Dates for 'Lucky Pierre'
BEVERLY HILLS—Seaberg Film Distributing,
Beverly Hills-based distributor, is
setting American premiere engagements for
Claude Zidi's English-speaking comedy,
"Lucky Pierre," it was announced by
George Roth, executive vice-president and
sales
chief. The fourth highest grossing film
in France in the past year and a major hit
elsewhere in Europe, it will be dated in
at least SOO theatres and probably more
in September. The comedy stars Pierre
Richard, who won raves for "The Tall
Blonde Man With One Black Shoe," and
Jane Birkin and is about a young math
teacher who finds himself publicized as a
famous movie star's official lover.
Another Seaberg release, Rauni Mollberg's
"The Earth Is a Sinful Song," is
breaking all records at San Francisco's 294-
seat Lumiere art house in its American premiere
engagement. The English-dubbed
Finnish film deals with Laplanders and will
play dates in August at the Elmwood,
Two From Galilee' Slated
For Shooting in April 76
BALTIMORE — In 1965 Marjorie
Holmes of Manassas. Va., completed a
book titled "Two From Galilee" after a
four-year effort and succeeded in having it
published in 1972 after 60 publishers had
turned it down. Fleming H. Revell Co., an
obscure religious publishing house, decided
to gamble on the work.
The book sold a half-million hardcover
copies, made the New York Times bestseller
list and now it is to be made into
a major film. It could end up as a Broadway
musical, according to some sources.
American Video Cinema is making the
film and, according to producer Cal Habern,
shooting is expected to start next April on
location in Israel.
"The film," says Ms. Holmes, "will be a
full-length feature that will be shown in
regular theatres to regular theatregoers,
not specialized religious groups."
Suspend Importing Rights
Of Film Firm in Brazil
BRASILIA—Brazil's National Cinema
Institute has suspended the importing rights
of 1 1 film distributors, including the subsidiaries
of some foreign companies.
The suspension, which will be for an indefinite
period, was ordered because the
companies didn't comply with a requirement
that at least 80 per cent of the copies of
foreign films be made in Brazil, according
to spokesmen for the institute. Among the
companies affected are Columbia Pictures
do Basil, a Columbia Pictures Industries
subsidiary; Fox Film do Brasil, a unit of
20th Century-Fox, and Warner Bros. South,
a unit of Warner Communications.
Bill Sargent Seeks Presley
For Stage and Film Role
LOS ANGELES— Elvis
Presley has been
offered a record-breaking $2.5 million b\
Bill Sargent, the flamboyant, special-event,
producer-cntrcpeneur, to star on stage for
four weeks at the Radio City Music Hall
in the American adaptation of the Italian
hit musical "Ciao Rudy," the story of
Rudolph Valentino. This marks the first
time in its 42-year history that the Music
Hall would play a legitimate theatre attraction
exclusively.
Sargent's current TheatroVision presentation,
"Give 'Em Hell, Harry!", starring
James Whitmore as President Harry S Truman,
opens in 1,500 theatres throughout
the country for a three-day engagement
September 24-26.
"Ciao Rudy," which opened on the stage
in Rome starring Marcello Mastroianni, was
a runaway hit for several years.
The $2.5 million figure is the largest
ever offered an entertainer for a combination
of a four-week stage performance and
Berkeley, Calif.; Broadview H, Atlanta, Ga.; film appearance. If Presley accepts the
Stage Door, Madison, Wis., and Downer, offer, it is contemplated that the production
Milwaukee. It will be booked nationwide would go into rehearsal shortly after the
of the year with the limited run scheduled
first
in key cities in September.
to begin Feb. 1, 1976 for eight per-
formances a week.
At the Music Hall, the production would
be shot in front of a live, paid audience and
would subsequently be released to 3,000
theatres worldwide following the release
pattern set by "Give "Em Hell, Harry!"
Producers Garinei and Giovannini coauthored
the script which was written by
Magni. Trovaioli wrote the music.
William Tennant Is V-P,
Production, for Columbia
HOLLYWOOD—William Tennant has
joined Columbia Pictures in the capacity of
vice-president-production, it was announced
by Peter Guber, executive vice-president in
charge of worldwide production of Columbia
Pictures. He will be headquartered
at the Burbank Studios.
Most recently, Tennant produced "Cleopatra
Jones" for Warner Bros, and followed
that with his writing and producing of the
sequel, "Cleopatra and the Casino of Gold."
Tennant was formerly a partner in the
literary agency of Ziegler, Ross, and Tennant.
Among his clients were Roman Polanski,
William Goldman, John Schlesinger.
Robert Towne, Alan Arkin, Ray Bradbury
and Ira Levin.
Universal's 'Sunshine' Is
Lofty Grosser in Japan
UNIVERSAL CllY— Llnivcrsals "Sunshine"
has opened powerfully in Japan,
reports Cinema International Corp., overseas
distributor of Universal Pictures, grossing
an excellent $.37,747 in its first week
and a strong $28,817 in its second stanza
at Tokyo's new 600-seat Togeky Theatre
and a healthy $28,234 in two theatres in
Osaka.
Christina Raines, Cliff De Young. Meg
Foster and Brenda Vaccaro star in the film.
Bicentennial Festival
Is Set by Hemisfilm
SAN ANKJNIO — Hcmislilm 76, the
tenth annual international film festival to
be held in the bicentennial city of San Antonio,
is scheduled to be held Feb. 9-11,
1976, with awards to film entries in seven
classes: best feature film, best short film,
best animation, best cinematography, best
director, best actor and best actress.
The competition is open to filmmakers
from around the world and selected films
submitted to the '76 festival will be screened
for the general public in the campus auditorium
of St. Mary's University during the
three-day event.
Sponsored jointly by the International
Fine Arts Center of the Southwest (IFACS)
and St. Mary's University, Hemisfilm has
been held in San Antonio since 1967.
A panel of judges will be announced at
a later date, according to the Rev. Louis
Reile, S.M., founder of Hemisfilm and director
of fine arts at the university.
Entry forms, rules and regulations, as well
as other pertinent information may be obtained
from IFACS, 2700 Cincinnati Ave.,
San Antonio, Tex. 78284.
'Eiger Sanction' Strong
In Overseas Openings
NEW YORK -Universal's "The Eiger
Sanction," starring Clint Eastwood, is scoring
strongly in first openings abroad, with
a standout $16,303 first-week gross at the
950-seat Barclay Theatre in Melbourne,
Australia, despite a crippling transport
strike, and an excellent $131,035 (40,000
admissions) for the same period at 15
situations in Paris, France, reports Cinema
International Corp., distributor of Universal
product overseas.
The Malpaso Co. film was produced by
Robert Daley and directed by Clint Eastwood
in Technicolor and Panavision, with
Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown as
executive producers. Co-starred in the
screenplay by Hal Dresner, Warren B.
Murphy and Rod Whitaker, based on Trevanian's
best-seller, are George Kennedy,
Vonetta McGee, Jack Cassidy, Heidi Bruhl.
Thayer David and Gregory Walcott.
European Locales Scouted
For 'Seven-Per-Cent'
NEW YORK—European location sites
for Universal's forthcoming "The Seven-
Per-Cent Solution" is being scouted, with
an initial survey of proposed British backgrounds,
by producer-director Herbert Ross,
and Nicholas Me>er, who wrote the screenplay
from his number one best seller that
continues the adventures of Sherlock
Holmes.
The Herbert Ross production is scheduled
to begin overseas filming October 2
with an international all-stellar cast headed
by Nicol Williamson, .Man Arkin. Laurence
Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Duvall,
Samantha Eggar, Georgia Brown and
Rcgine.
BOXOFHCE :: August 11, 1975