I do not understand whence the sense of shock and outrage about the AFI's top 100 American movies arises. The purpose of the show seems to have been to generate ratings for CBS and to polish its tarnished image--I hope people noted the focus on the former annual screenings of _The Wizard of Oz_ on CBS. The strong ties between the program and various sponsors made it clear that one of the purposes was to reinforce current video rental habits and so to encourage consumption along familiar patterns. (The press release I've attached below makes this clear.) Are people surprised that the purpose was not to expand people's tastes? Or to affect them politically? Are people surprised that the results of what was apparently some kind of survey ended up being aesthetically conservative? Sincerely, Edward R. O'Neill -------------------------- Thursday, March 12, 1998 AFI AND MAJOR HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS JOIN FORCES TO PROMOTE 100 GREATEST MOVIES ON HOME VIDEO -AFI Unveils Unprecedented Studio Collaboration In Support of its Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of American Movies- LOS ANGELES Calif., Thursday, March 12, 1998 - The American Film Institute (AFI), in conjunction with an unprecedented coalition of the home video divisions of 13 film studios, today announced an extraordinary multi-million dollar video promotion to support its historic 100 Years...100 Movies celebration. This is the first time in the history of the home video industry that the major studios have joined together for a joint marketing effort. Supported by a wide range of promotional components totaling more than $30 million, the centerpiece of AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies is the definitive selection of the 100 greatest American movies of all time by a blue-ribbon panel of more than 1,500 leaders from the film community. The 100 greatest films will be revealed June 16 during a three-hour primetime CBS special, followed by 10 one-hour specials on TNT, which will reveal in greater depth why these 100 movies are the greatest of all time. Also planned, is a film festival on Turner Classic Movies of many of the 100 movies. AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies home video promotion is being supported by Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Columbia/TriStar, MGM/UA, Paramount, Universal, Polygram, HBO, Republic Pictures, LIVE Entertainment and Orion. As a result of this first-time cooperative effort, the studios are predicting significant incremental sales of the video cassettes of these 100 greatest movies from their film libraries. The videos will be released for sale and rental in stores immediately following the June 16 CBS broadcast. "It is a remarkable achievement to have so many studios join together in support of a program of this scope," said AFI Board Chairman Tom Pollock. "That such an unprecedented coalition has been successfully organized speaks to the role that AFI plays within the entertainment community and on behalf of this nation's film arts. This is the most ambitious program in AFI's 30 years and we are most excited about it because it will give America the opportunity to discover and rediscover its greatest movies." The extensive marketing campaign for the 100 Years...100 Movies celebration includes the highly promoted CBS and TNT network television specials, major print and electronic advertising, corporate tie-ins, in-store promotions, as well as a special collector's issue of Newsweek dedicated to the centennial of movie-making with an emphasis on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies. IN-STORE MERCHANDISING SUPPORT Art: Themed artwork featuring visuals from the CBS and TNT specials will carry over into point-of-sale elements to enhance visibility of the 100 Years...100 Movies home video campaign with consumers. Point-of-sale elements: Elements will include video box stickers (pre-affixed to sell-through titles and additional stickers in merchandising kits available directly from studio sales representatives), banners, window clings, posters, in-store loops, counter cards and shelf talkers. After the June 16 announcement on CBS of America's greatest 100 movies, counter cards with tearsheets will be placed in video stores listing the top 100 movies. This allows the consumers to take home and review the list of these films, generating interest in the 100 Years...100 Movies celebration and driving increased rentals of these titles. DEDICATED CONSUMER ADVERTISING An aggressive multi-million dollar advertising campaign will be launched in support of the 100 Years...100 Movies video promotion. The multi-faceted campaign will reach consumers through extensive print advertising that will include several two page spreads purchased in magazines such as Newsweek, Premiere, People, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. Just as extensive will be the support from television advertising, which will air over a two month period, June and July. On behalf of the participating studios, AFI has retained Simon Marketing, a division of Cyrk Inc., to act as its agency to create and coordinate a promotional plan as well as to design and produce point of sale materials for use by video retail stores in support AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies video promotion. In addition, Gene Silverman, the former President and CEO of Polygram Video USA, is serving as main consultant to AFI on this program. Celebrating its milestone 30th anniversary, AFI is the national arts organization dedicated to advancing and preserving the art of film, television and other forms of the moving image. As part of its mission, AFI trains the next generation of storytellers, focuses attention on the need to preserve America's film heritage, explores new technologies impacting the movies of tomorrow, and presents the best of the film arts through its annual film festival in Hollywood and its prestigious Life Achievement Award, the highest honor given for a career in film. For Press Information, contact: Seth Oster at 213-856-7667 ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite