A FOTS repost from Tom Kiefabers FB page: Perhaps the legion of Wonderful Life lovers who packed into The Senator Theatre for those annual December screenings for over 20 years should weigh in with a petition, imploring Hollywood not to cannibalize and make hamburger patties from the exhumed remains of its classic, exalted ancestors. Particularly this beloved film, which was elevated by the public to its present exalted position by the public domain status it fell into when Liberty Films let the copy-write go. The subsequent flurry of TV screenings for years around the holidays by whoever had low-contrast, 16mm TV prints triggered its *discovery* by the public, and the *Wonderful Life* lore began to rise, late in the game for Capras feature film. Its a tragedy that the MPAA stooges in Washington screwed the citizens, as usual, and allowed Republic to essentially re-copy-write *Wonderful Life* long after the issue was settled, fueled by its dramatic value increase after the public embraced it on TV and owned it. We all owned the film, yet supposedly Republic/Paramount now re-owns it through the ruse of the music copy write for portions of the soundtrack. Total, we-have- bigger-law-firms-than you do, targeted, intimidation, ours-is-bigger, injustice bullshit, yet no one wanted to fight that with us a decade ago, the TV stations all just rolled over when Republic sent them all threatening letters , and they and all stopped running their own copies. They now assert public screenings have to be licensed by Republic/Paramount. Corporate lawyered-up intimidation nonsense and following that unjust indignity to the public, we have a modern sequel in thee works? Once the lovely Donna Reed passed, that tempting notion should have gone along with her into American film history. A cultural atrocity may be in the works, one should be protested, yet it wont be as our money dominated cultures crass decline continues, unabated. :-(
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 16:58:42 +0000
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