For Hollywood, the 1960s and early 1970s were grim years. Theater attendance dropped to half of what it had been ten years before. In 1963 only 121 features were released. This was an all-time low. Prestige productions such as Cleopatra (1963) and Paint Your Wagon (1969) bombed at the box office. In the studios, chaos reigned. They were devastated and demoralized by the advent of television. The divestiture of their theaters and the challenge of European art films also caused concern. As a result, management was at a loss about where to turn. The old-time movie moguls who had ruled their empires with iron fists for so many years had died, retired, or been forced out. A series of sell-offs to large conglomerates made the studios part of much larger corporate entities. They were now answerable to financial wizards who had little background in the movie business. In 1969 Kinney National Services purchased Warner Bros. They were a company that owned parking lots and funeral homes. The once great and powerful Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was sold to financier Kirk Kerkorian. He wanted the studio’s logo to put on his Las Vegas hotel. M-G-M went out of business entirely for almost a decade, beginning in 1973. This corporate instability led to much inefficiency, not the least of which was a revolving-door system for top executives. Each new regime was, quite naturally, inclined to ignore the films made under the auspices of the last group in its quest to make its own mark; thus, many worthy productions got dumped or shelved.

Which of the following statements is true?

a)Theater attendance was 50 percent lower in the 60s than it was in the 50s.

b)The early 70s were a glamorous time for Hollywood.

c)Most studio management positions were stable in the 60s and early 70s.

d)Kirk Kerkorian purchased Warner Bros. in 1969.