"TV devours films," it had been said, "so you get a vast quantity of mediocre material. But in the same way, there's some incredibly good stuff in there." By 1969, Jack Valenti enthused, "This world will never be the same again. In movies for the first time there is an exploration of human aberrations – homosexuality, lesbianism, and even sodomy...Some of this is being done by genuine artists eager to explore what was previously forbidden and others are just out to hike up the box office. After a time, the measure of a picture will be its quality and not its excess."
Lyndon B. Johnson, it was noted, "wasn't terribly concerned with film content. He spent little time in Hollywood and knew few of the movie makers. His job was largely international." As such, "Jack Valenti's first job (will be) dealing with the censors and classifiers. He'll have his hands full."
By 1970, Robert Redford sounded off, "Hollywood is dying...Young people who had ideas, who were much more in tune with what was happening in the world were not given a chance to express themselves...The system has been led by people who never ventured beyond their Beverly Hills mansions and swimming pools to see what was going on in the world. Sure, they traveled – but only to New York or Paris. They had no idea of what was happening in Nebraska or Utah." It was pointed out at the time, "The 3 major film-making countries in Europe – England, Italy and France – all have subsidies that make it attractive to shoot over there. In fact, every film-making country does it – except the United States." However of American films, it was made known, "Theater business in Cairo, Alexandria and other big cities (in the Arab world) has been miserable since our pictures were taken off (after the Six-Day War). And the Arabs are among the most rabid movie fans in the world. Especially (Gamal Abdel) Nasser. His home is equipped with a Cinemascope screen, and he usually sees 2 movies a night. When he went to see President Tito of Yugoslavia, he took 17 films with him."
Robert Redford maintained, "The film business will eventually narrow itself down to a hard core of people who know something about a camera, about what's happening around the country..."
Darryl F. Zanuck added, "There will be an increased amount of location filming - audiences (in the '70s) demand reality – but much of this will be under the supervision of the studios...The prime consideration today is subject matter, for the greatest cast in the world cannot make people go to see a subject that does not interest them. Only when a project passes the subject matter test do we evaluate the other elements. Budget is a strong determinant, perhaps the 2nd most important. Then, because film is a director's medium, the choice of director is also vital."
Darryl emphasized, "The most marked change is the increased importance of the subject and the decreased importance of the star...But while a star is no longer a box-office guarantee, a star in a good film can add immeasurably to the gross. In addition, many stars arrived at their prominence because of great talent and talent is always in great demand and short supply." It was mentioned, "To attract stars you need directors and to attract directors you need a script. The solution is a matter of experience and trial and error."
'The Killing of Sister George', Robert Aldrich recalled, "Because of the subject matter, most film companies wouldn't touch it. They aren't interested in something that obviously could never play television." One other movie which sparked off protests was Moustapha Akkad's 1977 film, 'The Message' starring Anthony Quinn and Irene Pappas (of 'Zorba the Greek' fame). At the time of filming, Johnny Sekka recounted, "There was an air of uncertainty on the set...Akkad left the set one day to visit the King of Morocco. When he returned, he told us, 'This film will be made; nothing will stop us.' But one day the soldiers arrived and production was shut down." Anthony remembered, "I've never been involved in a picture in which everyone bent over backward as we did because of the delicateness of the situation. The filming took a year, and we had 6 high priests with us constantly as advisers." Eventually Colonel Muammar Gaddafi allowed Moustapha to film near the desert town of Sebha. After filming had completed, Johnny expressed, "On the last day of shooting I cried. I had lived the part more than any other, because of its closeness to my own experience. For 14 months I had played it without an audience. Only now will I be able to determine if I succeeded." Moustapha shot 2 versions of the movie. The Arabic version starred Abdullah Ghaith.
