ABC, ITALIAN NETWORK SIGN FILM DEAL

ABC and RAI Radiotelevisione Italian have entered into a production agreement whereby the U.S. network will acquire rights to broadcast three motion pictures from RAI in the United States.

The agreement, arranged by the Creative Artists Agency and announced Monday by ABC Entertainment vice president Ted Harbert and Emmanuele Milano, deputy general manager of RAI’s three television networks, was said to be the first such venture between an American and a foreign television network.

Harbert said the agreement would allow ABC to acquire motion pictures with budgets as high as $10 million to $12 million for prices comparable to the average license fee usually paid for domestically produced television movies.

The movies, which will feature American stars and creative talent, will air on ABC concurrent with their theatrical release abroad, where they will be dubbed into other languages. The movies may later become available in American theaters or through home video or cable releases.

The first two co-produced movies will be the $10-million “The Primitive,” the story of an American couple who become the targets of an extraterrestrial hunting party in the jungles of South America, and “Danger Adrift,” a $12-million adventure tale about four New Englanders on a fishing trip off the coast of Rio de Janeiro who become involved in “a harrowing treasure hunt.” The third film is as yet undecided.