Page 43 - RICHERT VS. SORKIN THEFT OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT AND THE WEST WING

LENGTH:467 words BYLINE: Monica Roman BODY:
Copyright 1995 BPI Communications, Inc. The Hollywood Reporter
October 19, 199 5, Thursday
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The primary reason many exhibitors are in attendance at the l lth annual ShowEast convention at the Trurrp Taj Mahal in Atlantic City is to see movies.
And after a number of screenings drew mixed reactions, the movie watchers showed real enthusiasm on Wednesday following the showing of "The American President," Castle Rock Entertainment's film about a widowed president who falls in love with an environmental lobbyist.
Starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox, "The American President" won praise for Rob Reiner's direction and Aaron Sorkin's screenplay.
"It's one of the best movies of the year," said John Ellison Jr., president of CinemaStar, an Oceanside, Calif.-based chain of luxury theaters with 30 screens. "It hooks you right from the beginning."
Roger Lubs, vice president theater operations for Jack Loeks Theatres Inc., added, "The dialogue and the plot are wonderful. I didn't know Armette Bening could act."
The morning screening of "The American President" warmed the crowd up for a lunchtime tribute to Castle Rock Entertainment sponsored by its distributor, Sony Pictures Releasing.
Castle Rock is owned by Turner Broadcasting System Inc., which on Sept. 22 agreed to merge with Time Warner Inc. Despite the pending ownership change, the company's mission remains the same -- to make eight pictwes a year that are both high-quality and commercial -- according to Martin Shafer, president of Castle Rock Pichres.
The close ties between Shafer and other members of the Castle Rock executive team and the Sony Pictures Releasing managernent was showcased during lunch, which included a reel of clips from such Castle Rock films as "When Harry Met Sally," "Misery," "Shawshank Redemption" and "City Slickers II."
But this relationship may come to an end following Time Warner's acquisition of TBS. When its distribution contract with Sony expires after 1997, Castle Rock is expected to either form its own distribution operation, or go through one of its sister companies -- New Line Cinema or Warner Bros.
Exhibitors said that Shafer and other Castle Rock execs have told them, "I don't know what's going to happen in the future but you couldn't ask for a better partner than Sony."
On the strength of the reception for "The American President," Schafer asked theater oryn€rs to take a close look at "Othello," the film adaptation of the Shakespeare play that Castle Rock is releasing later this year. "Othello" stars Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh.
"Exhibitors hate Shakespeare but this is his most accessible play," Shafer said. He also told ShowEast attendees that Castle Rock will release 10 films in 1996, including the Al Pacino starrer "City Hall" and "Striptease" featuring Demi
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LOAD-DATE: October 19, 1995
BEFORE THE CREDIT ARBITRATION IS RESOLVED THE MOVIE OPENS WITH SORKIN'S NAME ON IT
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Even as the WGA is still "considering" the credit arbitration -- Alan Horn's Castle Rock is merging with Warner Brothers, where THE WEST WING is to be produced by the WGA's President, John Wells -- and Alan Horn is to become head of production.