Atlanta Daily World

Jesse Lasky Changes Speech After Viewing His Audience

HOUSTON, Tex. -(ANP)- Jesse Lasky, moving picture magnate, came here to address a convention of the Theatre Owners of America last week. Mr. Lasky had written a fine speech representing the more than 100 members of the newly organized Screen Producers' Guild.

He did not deliver certain parts of the talk after he got up and looked into the eye of his audience.

Among the things he was going to say according to the speech Lasky distributed to newspapers before the meeting were such fine phrases as these:

"We, like you, realize that the public attends our theatres to seek entertainment first ...but the occasional message picture, pictures that say something, pictures with a spiritual uplift, are necessary to vary the week to week film fare and to add to the dignity of the screen."

"It is true," he continued, in the prepared speech, "that films that discuss social problems like injustice to Negroes, anti-Semitism, sex education, etc. have probably experienced more failure than success at the box office but aren't we obligated to inform the public, just as we are trying all the time to give the public what it wants?

"Motion pictures have never been much ahead or behind our audience at any time, so, having given the audience what it wants, we think it now wants more thought-provoking pictures."

Those were brave words but the finale was startling. Mr. Lasky glanced at his audience, evidently measured it and then publicly tore up his speech. He proceeded to talk off the cuff and never once touched on the liberal sentiments he had written prior to arrival.