Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 23, 1994 TAG: 9403240003
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Unlike premium services such as HBO and Showtime, you don't have to pay a 10-spot or so to get AMC. And unlike most other cable services, AMC is commercial free and airs its movies unedited.
Come April 14, however, AMC won't be the only such player in the field. That's the date Turner Broadcasting launches its Turner Classic Movies, which also will air movies without commercials. It will draw on Turner's vast movie holdings as well as leasing films from other studios.
But if the folks at AMC are fretting about the competition from TCM, they aren't letting on.
"That's because we honestly don't see it as competition," said Jayne Wallace, AMC director of public relations. "We think we are using the word `classic' in a different mode than Turner. To them, any good film from any good time will classify as a classic.
"We emphasize the films from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. We feel like we've built up a loyal following over the years."
And TCM's huge library doesn't seem to worry AMC, either.
"We've got contracts with several studios that run well into the next century," Wallace said. Ironically, one of those contracts is for the RKO library, which is owned by Turner.
Wallace said the big problem facing TCM is the lack of channel space on most cable systems around the country.
That's the main reason AMC has put on hold its plans for Romance Classics channel, originally scheduled to begin on Valentine's Day. The new service would have aired not only movies devoted to falling in love, but also several old romantic television shows. Uncut, of course.
"We did a survey in December and based on what the [cable] operators told us, we decided not to launch Romance," Wallace said. "We plan to do another survey either this month or next. Right now, we're looking at October or maybe longer."
Wallace said the latest FCC cable ruling, which is supposed to cut consumer prices, might negatively affect the startup of new cable channels.
"We're all waiting to see what it (the new ruling) means," Wallace said.
Meanwhile, AMC will concentrate its energies on producing new documentaries about film as well as continue their excellent showcasing of our movie heritage.
Coming up this month is a salute to actress/singer Deanna Durbin featuring several of her films as well as a short special on her life. And April 4, the official Opening Day of Major League Baseball, AMC will present its documentary "Diamonds On The Silver Screen" as well as four baseball movies - "Ladies Day," "The Kid from Left Field," "The Pride of the Yankees" and "It Happens Every Spring."
One of AMC's most successful and praised ventures last year was its "Film Preservation Festival," a three-day event that raised awareness that many old films are in danger of being lost through decay and neglect. During the festival, the cable service aired several feature films that either had been restored or preserved or both.
This year the second festival will be held in October, which will mark the beginning of AMC's 11th year of operation. The festival's theme will be the western film.
"During this one, we'll also do a tribute to Gene Autry much like the one we did to Roy Rogers (in December 1992)," Wallace said. "We'll have several of his movies as well as other westerns."
Wallace said AMC is hoping to make this second one even better than the first.
"We learned a lot from the first one," Wallace said. "For one thing, I don't think we gave it enough advance publicity. We waited until the festival was almost on us."
Wallace said to help raise money for film preservation, AMC is thinking about doing a project called "Adopt A Movie."
The cable service will have a list of several films that are in danger and viewers will be able to "adopt one of them" with contributions. The donation will go to the preservation of that film.
by CNB