See Olivia Live Competition
Grease The Movie With The Midas Touch
By David Gibson
Take a simple story of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl in the end, add John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John-and what do you get?
“Grease” The fastest-earning movie eve….what the bedazzled movie industry is calling “the world’s record-breaking grosser.
Not that it’s going to make more money in the end than films like “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters”
But it is pulling the cash across the box offices counters at a greater rate than any film before it. In fact, Britain has “Grease” mania and it began here in Scotland.
Suddenly, Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta became household names. They have topped the charts for weeks and their “Grease” fashions bang in vogue.
Said an executive at the London office of Cinema International Corporation, the distributors of the movie - “In the first four weeks of its showing, it took £2.5m at the box offices”.
“In its first three weeks at the ABC Glasgow, it pulled in £45,521.”
“In fact, Scotland was way ahead of much of England in seeing Grease because we decided to spread it across the major cinemas up there first of all, because Scotland is still a cinema going country and we knew there would be a big demand.”
Meantime, Back at the ABC in Glasgow, “Grease” continues to run unabated. “We had a lot of big movies here,” said general manager Alan Dale “but rarely have I ever seen such enthusiasm among an audience for a picture”.
“And it’s not a restricted audience - not just youngsters. People of all ages are coming to see “Grease” and enjoying it.”
And it’s not only a record breaker at the box office. Only 18 singles in the history of pop have sold more than a million copies, and two of them are “Grease” - “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights”.
The “Grease” soundtrack, which is contained in a double album of LPs, has scored what they call a “double platinum” on sales in Britain alone - sales in excess of £2m.
Even Travolta’s image sells well. Factors Etc. (Europe), the Glasgow marketing company who sell gimmicks like tee-shirts and badges connected with the film, say they are outselling their last big one, “Star Wars” by a long way.
“Grease” may have set a new pattern for movie makers. In the past, they have aimed at getting not only quick returns on their “hit” films but also long runs to bring in more and more box office receipts.
With “Grease”, however, the whole marketing exercise has been aimed at getting the most money in the soonest possibly time from the film, the records, and all the gimmicks that go with it.
And then get on with the next one.
See Livvy Live
“Grease” is the word - but it’s the stars who make the movie and the Evening Times in this fabulous contest, is offering readers a chance to see one of the stars LIVE at the Apollo in Manchester.
We will make the arrangement - right down to overnight accommodation.
Olivia Newton-John will be appearing in her own show at the Manchester venue on Friday December 1 and the Evening Times has secured TWO PAIRS of seats for the show. It’s sure to be a fantastic night.
For the long list of runners-up the prize list is terrific.
12 pairs of seats to see “Grease” at Glasgow’s ABC Film Centre, where you will be given the full VIP treatment by the cinema.
12 copies of the super “Grease” album.
6 copies of Olivia Newton-John’s, yet to be released album “Totally Hot”.
24 “Grease” T shirts.
All you have to do is answer these three simple questions:
- In what country was Olivia Newton-John born?
- What other musical has John Travolta starred in?
- Who sings the title song of “Grease”?
Fill in the coupon provided and send it to “Grease” Evening Times, PO Box 62, Mitchell Street, Glasgow, G1 3LZ
Closing date for the competition is Monday, October 23, and the first all-correct entries drawn out will be announced on Friday October 27.
The editor’s decision will be final.