May 2013 32 L.A. Screenings’ History ( Co n t i n u e d ) moved to the studios’ lots and carefully scheduled so as not to conflict with each other. By 1983, in addition to the six studios, on the buyers’ schedules were other indie companies such as D.L. Taffner, ITC, Viacom and Embassy. In 1990 the indies at the L.A. Screenings numbered 34 with such distributors as New World (screening at the Westwood Marquis Hotel — now The W), Ledafilms (at the Marriott Hotel), Westinghouse (at the Century Plaza) and Worldvision (screening at the Warner-Hollywood Studios), all serving some 200 buyers, including “100 broadcasters from 16 Latin countries.” Four years later, VideoAge registered “450 program buyers from 55 countries and 80 distribution companies.” Last year there were some 1,500 buyers, while the number of sellers was still 80 (including the studios). In 1983 VideoAge wrote, “The Los Angeles Screenings inearlyMay are increasinglypopular.” At that time, MIP-TV was held April 22-28. Interestingly, the ups and downs of MIP-TV have been closely linked to the L.A. Screenings. When the U.S. TV networks announced their schedule in late February in the ’60s and ’70s, the U.S. studios went to Cannes in April with plenty of new product to sell. Furthermore, MIPTV increased its importance to the studios in the ’70s because, as indicated in a TV/RadioAge article, “in February and March 1977 [alone] the U.S. TV networks introduced 10 new series.” MIP continued to be viable when it was held in early April and the L.A. Screenings took most of the month of June. However, starting in 2001, the Screenings moved back completely to May and that’s when rambling about MIP started to surface again, especially when MIP’s dates began heading toward the middle of April. (By Dom Serafini) Pictured on the cover DMNLA at L.A. Screenings 2011. From left: Henri Ringel, Fabiola Bovino, Jack Morera, Fernando Barbosa, Leonardo Aranguibel, Gustavo Sorotski L.A. Screenings 1997: David Ellender and Chris Philip, then at PolyGram The Venevision team at L.A. Screenings 1994: (l. to r.) Benjamin Perez, Rafael Vazquez and Cesar Diaz; in the center are buyers from Arvisco TV, Indonesia In 1993, the L.A. Screenings’ studios extravaganzamoved from the top executives’ homes to the studio lots. Here at the Warner Bros. party areMichael J. Solomon and Jack Singer L.A. Screenings 1998: (l. to r.) Comarex’s Alejandro and Marcel Vinay, Jr., unknown, Ernesto Ramirez, Rene Lee Ledafilms’s Pedro Leda at the L.A. Screenings in 1998 The Sony Pictures team in 2000: Alexander Marin, Octavio Peixoto da Silva, John Cuddihy At a football (soccer) match at the Beverly Hills High School field, concluding the L.A. Screenings 2001. 16 buyers and one intruder (VideoAge’s Dom Serafini) won over an outnumbered 11 sellers Marcos Santana has been a constant presence at the L.A. Screenings since 1995 with Tepuy (now Telemundo Internacional). Here’s Santana at the L.A. Screenings 2008, announcing a co-production with GloboTV 2013 marks the Eighth Annual L.A. Screenings Veteran Luncheon, now renamed in memory of JimMarrinan. It was started by Gary Marenzi, Tony Friscia, Dom Serafini and Marrinan In 1962, ABC — then the weakest network — came up with the idea of premiering all of its programs in a single week following the Labor Day holiday
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