Movie Press Kit Collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS-402

Scope and Content Note

The Movie Press Kit Collection contains over 2,000 press kits released from 1962 to 2003 for mostly American films, with about five percent listed as foreign films. A press kit is a collection of publicity materials specifically sent out to members of the media to better promote a film. Included is publicity for films categorized as comedies, independents, documentaries, some television, some re-releases, sequels, horror, action, musicals, adaptations, children's entertainment, animated, and dramas. Most contain a list of cast and crew, biographies/profiles, interviews with actors and directors, black and white publicity photographs, synopses, production notes, and announcement stories. Some have newspaper articles, reviews, screening invitations, original artwork, and film critics' handwritten notes added by the donor.

Dates

Creation: Majority of material found within 1962, 1966-1967, 1971, 1973, 1975-1994, 1996-1998, 2001, 2003

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own copyright to this collection. Distinctive Collections recognizes that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Biographical Note

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University professor and administrator, author, and film critic Nicholas A. Salerno was born on June 21, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois. His family moved to Arizona where he attended Phoenix Union High School, graduating in 1953. He graduated from Arizona State College, later named Arizona State University (ASU), with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Journalism and History in 1957 and a Master of Arts in 1959. In 1962, he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Victorian Literature with a minor in Latin Language and Literature from Stanford University. Salerno started his teaching career at ASU in 1958. In 1983, he was appointed Chair of the Department of English. At ASU, Salerno taught classes in 19th century literature, composition, Latin, undergraduate and graduate literature survey courses, and film history. He retired from ASU in 1991 as a Professor Emeritus. Salerno is a noted film scholar and critic, with hundreds of articles appearing in journals, magazines and newspapers, including American Film Institute Report, Film History, Moviegoer, Phoenix Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and the Scottsdale Progress. Salerno hosted the KAET Phoenix PBS television channel program Cinema Classics for ten years (1973-1983). Salerno started the film program in the ASU Department of English and hosted screenings of classic and foreign films in Neeb Hall. He also sponsored a student film club that regularly attended film screenings in the Valley and collected a wide variety of manuscript materials that document the production, publicity, exhibition and importance of film. He passed away on March 15, 2016.

Full extent

78.5 Linear Feet

Full extent

158 Box(es)

Language of materials

English

Additional description

Abstract

The Movie Press Kit Collection contains over 2,000 press kits for films released from 1962 to 2003 for mostly American films; about five percent are foreign films re-released in America. A press kit is a collection of publicity materials specifically sent out to members of the media to better promote a film. Included is publicity for films categorized as comedies, independents, documentaries, some re-releases, sequels, horror, action, musicals, adaptations, children's entertainment, animated, and dramas. Most contain a list of cast and crew, biographies/profiles, interviews with actors and directors, black and white publicity photographs, synopses, production notes, and announcement stories. Some have newspaper and journal articles and reviews, screening invitations, original artwork, and film critics' handwritten notes that were added by the donor. The collection is divided into two series.

Arrangement

This collection consists of one hundred and fifty-eight boxes divided into two series:

Series I: Press Kits by Title
Series II: Press Kits by Call Number

Arrangement within series is random.

Provenance

Nicolas A. Salerno donated most of the press kits in this collection (Accession #2003-03054, #2003-03017, #2004-03785, #2003-02980, #2003-02765, and #2003-02893). There were also donations by Troy Fuss (#2003-02978 and #2003-02986), Bill Orovan (#2003-02873) and David Pundt (#2003-02935).

Related Materials

Interested researchers may also wish to consult:

MSS-364: Nicholas A. Salerno Star Wars Collection contains press kits for the first two trilogies of ths franchise (guide available at http://azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/asu/salerno_star_wars.xml).
The Nicholas A. Salerno Film Collection includes television press kits for individual shows, series, and broadcasting network seasons; and movie publicity materials, including oversize press kits, invitations to screenings, three-dimensional specialty press kits with objects, calendars, masks, buttons, fliers, and reel-to-reel film previews. To access these materials, contact the Special Collections Curator regarding the oversized Special Collections press materials.

Processing Note

Items in the Movie Press Kit Collection were originally accessed via titles and Z call numbers typed on index cards; these cards were arranged alphabetically by movie title and stored in boxes. The ArchivesSpace processing project was initiated by Kathleen Kennedy, Arizona State University West and then Downtown Library Information Specialist, as a summer project; Kennedy concentrated on entering data for film titles beginning with A, as listed in the index card files. Sean Mayer, senior film student in the Herberger Institute, began working on the project during spring semester 2017 as a School of Film, Dance, and Theatre independent study project. Mayer entered data for press kits housed in Press Kit Boxes 1 through 81. Thereafter, student Rielly Smith, under the direction of Curator Katherine Krzys, entered titles and integrated Kathleen Kennedy's entries into boxes 82 through 110. Series II press kits can be located by checking the original index cards, which are arranged alphabetically by movie title. These items are catalogued using Z call numbers.

Descriptions of press kits housed in boxes 1 through 16 include film title; year released; list of all materials included; decade released; country of origin; language; director; production company; distributor; and genre subject headings. Descriptions of press kits housed in boxes 17 through 81 include title, language, year released, and director. In some cases, a note was added for certain press kits that had unusual content, such as original artwork, unique layout, and cultural significance (multiple awards, high box office receipts, or other notable factors). Descriptions of press kits housed in boxes 82 through 110 include title and date released. Press kits in boxes 111 through 158 are assigned call numbers Z-104 to Z-154 and are arranged numerically by these call numbers. There is no description entered for these boxes at this time. To determine if a title is included, contact the Special Collections Curator.