“The Oscar” Presskit
A ‘presskit’ is a motion picture marketing tool targeted to the needs of journalists (as contrasted with a ‘pressbook’ which is targeted to exhibitors). It often came in a custom folder with the logo of the film or the studio on it, but it may also have been delivered in a plain manila envelope (as below). The presskit contains mimeographed background information useful for critics and other journalists who will be writing their own articles, and includes such things as production information, a synopsis of the screenplay, cast and production staff biographies, and interesting trivia about the film. Usually, it also includes a collection of 8" x 10" black-and-white photographs (often called ‘scene sets’) to be used to illustrate the articles. Based on the postmark and the codes on the photographs (e.g. osc-ny-01), the presskit shown below was likely sent out after the New York premiere of “The Oscar,” held on March 3, 1966. (Note: Today, presskits have gone digital; journalists receive all of this information on a CD-ROM or DVD disk.)
Click on a link below to see the complete text of the item, or click on an image to display a larger version of it.
| The Presskit | |||
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 25 pages |
Production Information Manual |
Cast Biographies Among the Creators |
 3 pages |
 2 pages |
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| The “Scene Set” Photographs | ||||
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