A FILM MAGNATE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 35, 5 November 1920, Page 7

A FILM MAGNATE

MR. JAMES V. BRYSON IN 'WELLINGTON. Among those to arrive hero Yesterday from America, by way of Australia, was Mr. James V. Bryson, world's representative for the Universal Film Manufactimng. Company, odo of tho bipßest concerns of its kind. In' tho course of a brief chat soon after the arrival of the Moaua, Mr. Bryson said that he had managed whilst in Australia to get a pretty "close-up" view of New Zealand, and as the result of his discoveries- he had cabled to headquarters his views on certain subjects, but from the replies he had' received it seemed that his people had thought' he had lost his mental equilibrium. What was the real trouble was a lack of knowledge that New Zealand existed at all. "You are not known over there as you should be— you don't advertise!" he said. "Without advertisement anything would fail. Now you haven't quito failed as far aS ono can judge in the ten minutes I have been here, but you havo only garnered a littlo bit of tho crop that might be yours. Tho State of Victoria, I found, has a kinematographer, and I went into tho office to find thousands of feet of good film descriptive of the State lying there idle. Why, what's the use of that? So I'm fixing up to let us havo o few miles of it to play with in America. ■These countries oyer here are fine, and the world should know they ate fine."

As to his own corporation, Mr. Bryson said that iliey employed about 3000 people on an average in Universal City, just outside Los Angeles, and turned out an average of 17,000 feet of film every week—including super-features, serials, comedies, scenies, and educational pictures. Just before he left.America, one complete company had returned from England and South America, -where it had been engaged on making big serials, and another was on its why back from Japan and the Philippines. Then in Universal City they had a marvollous plant, capable of depicting street scenes in London. Paris, Rome, and other cities, all built up accurately from actual photographs on-such a scale'as-to deceive even'those who had an every-day ■ acquaintance with them. The cost was enormous, no ono worked for nothing in America, but the picture business was so wonderful; it had the entire world for a market—the pictures spoke every language under the sun, and therein lay the justification for doing things on a gigantic scale. "Mr. Bryson has established Ilia business firmly in Australia and he intends to see that Now Zealand shall s know all about the Universal Company's products before anyone is 'much older. \