24 (Continued from Page 22) April 2023 L.A. Screenings at 60 tainment, and now Entertainment Studios, remembers that in the early days the L.A. Screenings were “crazy expensive for the studios. But”, he said, “that was when American content was in great demand.” Michael J. Solomon, former president of distribution at Warner Bros., who was a pioneer of the L.A. Screenings while at MCA (now NBCUni), recalled that, “No one has been able to organize [what he still refers to as] the May Screenings because there isn’t one edifice in L.A. that can hold the screenings like the Palais in Cannes. [Plus,] every studio wants to screen at their facility where they can wine and dine their clients, and the screening facilities are first-class as opposed to a hotel suite or a booth. “The Screenings”, he added, “have changed because it used to be showing pilots that the four [U.S.] networks picked up for September broadcast. Now there are the streaming platforms that have totally changed the industry. The way all of us screened no longer exists. Too bad because those two weeks in May were not only productive for all but also a lot of fun.” George McGhee sent the following recollection: “My first Screenings was in May 1995 when I worked for Carlton Television as head of Acquisitions. The last Screenings I attended was in 2008 (the year before I retired), when I was controller of Program Acquisitions for the BBC. [When] I was at the BBC there was definitely more pressure and competition for the best programming. The parties [at the Screenings] had become more subdued and the studios were also under more scrutiny to make business happen. [But] it was always fun and I enjoyed the whole circus.” June Dromgoole, formerly in charge of acquisitions for several U.K. broadcasters, recalled, “My first L.A. Screenings was in 1975, although it was not organized as an official event as such, but was the first opportunity to screen the pilots for the upcoming season. I was director of Sales at Anthony Morris (London) and we represented Metromedia in Europe. Metromedia had the rights to all the Aaron Spelling productions and Starsky and Hutch was the main offering that year. “My last Screenings was in 2007 as a consultant for Channel 5, but the last one I was really active at was in 2005 just before I retired from Channel 4. I also attended for five or six years up until 1997 as head of Purchased Programs for the BBC.” She also commented: “Over the years the screenings became much more of an organized event and dominated by the studios. The parties also became bigger as the studios competed!” This is an abridged story; a complete history of the L.A. Screenings can be found at: http:// videoageinternational.com/articles/2013/05/lascreenings.html 1983... a new name! CONTACTS Isabella Marquez for Century Plaza exhibition imarquez@eventstm.com Dom Sera ni for VideoAge domsera ni1@aol.com WEBSITE UPDATES www.videoageinternational.net/new-us-tv-season-guide/ L.A. Screenings: Basic Info Indie Screenings May 17-19 Century Plaza Hotel Studio Screenings May 20-24 Various Studio Lots Parties CP & Studio Lots By invitation only VideoAge Issue Out May 17 Printed and PDF
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