Screen
03 July 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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The Future Is Wild for John Adams, Vanguard and Warner Bros
John Adams has partnered with John Williams’ Vanguard Films and struck a deal with Warner Bros to render a live-action and animated feature of Adams’ documentary series and intellectual property The Future Is Wild. -
A Prophet arrives in France, Germany is Laughing Out Loud
ScreenDaily’s weekly round-up of the local and independent releases in key markets this weekend. -
Alec Baldwin, Jon Robin Baitz to wrap Stonybrook Southampton conference
Stonybrook Southampton, in New York, will host its second screenwriting conference from July 29-August 2. -
And then there were 10...
The Academy Awards’ bold decision to double the field to ten picture nominees instead of five was a surprise. Yet whether the move will succeed and benefit the film industry as a whole remains to be seen, writes Conor Dignam, editor of Screen International. -
British doc Mugabe selected for Oscar-qualifying showcase
Mugabe And The White African, the British-made documentary, has been selected for an Oscar-qualifying screening at the International Documentary Association’s (IDA) 13th Annual Documentary Showcase in Los Angeles and New York. -
Dance and Chandler appointed as new Screen South Interim CEOs
Screen South, a Regional Screen Agency for the South East, announced the appointment of joint new interim CEOs on Thursday, leading Arts consultant Sarah Dance and film cultural advisor Chris Chandler. -
De Menezes film sees strong opening in Brazil
Henrique Goldman’s Jean Charles has taken $416,121 in its opening weekend in Brazil, catapulting it into Screen’s International top 40 chart, despite only opening in the one territory. -
Demi Moore, Scarlett Johansson to present films at LA Shorts Fest
LA Shorts Fest 2009 (July 23-31) promises to be particularly star-studded, with Courteney Cox, Demi Moore and Scarlett Johansson all expected to attend. -
Departures lands in Spain, Germany dabbles in Small Crimes
ScreenDaily’s weekly round-up of the local and independent releases this week. -
Doctor Who star David Tennant joins St Trinian's II
David Tennant, the star of hit UK TV show Doctor Who, and British popstar Sarah Harding have joined the cast of St Trinian’s II: The Legend Of Fritton’s Gold, which began principal photography in London today (July 6). -
EM Media appoints Lisa Opie as chair
Lisa Opie, the former managing director of content at UK broadcaster Five, has taken over as chair of regional screen agency EM Media. -
Endgame duo join Gale Anne Hurd's Valhalla Motion Pictures
Valhalla Motion Pictures chief Gale Anne Hurd has hired the Endgame Entertainment executives Wendy Japhet as president and Anne Teixeira as creative executive. -
Europe gives green light to French tax break
The European Commission has given the go-ahead to a French tax break that aims to encourage big-budget foreign films to shoot in the country. -
Farewell (L'Affaire Farewell)
Dir: Christian Carion. France. 2009. 114 mins. -
Film London announces local film competition winners
Film London’s Best of Borough Film Awards awarded East London film-maker Alex Taylor the jury award on July 6 for his short film, Kids Might Fly. -
Film Movement takes US rights to Israeli thriller For My Father
Film Movement will release Dror Zahavi’s For My Father this winter after acquiring US rights to the Israeli Academy Awards nominee. -
Film4 Frightfest celebrates 10th anniversary with 11 world premieres
Film4 Frightfest is celebrating its 10th anniversary with 11 world premieres, including Jon Harris’s The Descent: Part Two, Rupert Glasson’s Coffin Rock and Andrew Miles’s Fragment. -
Films Boutique picks up Dancing Dreams
Films Boutique has taken international rights to documentary Dancing Dreams, which has its world premiere in Berlin this weekend (February 14). -
Fox's Ice Age 3 dawns in 68 territories day-and-date
20th Century Fox International launches its animated blockbuster-in-waiting Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosuars this weekend on 11,370 prints in 68 territories day-and-date with North America in a bid to knock megahit Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen off the top spot. -
Fox's Ice Age 3 sets opening record for animated film
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs crushed all before it as an estimated $148m haul from 101 markets through Fox delivered the sixth biggest international launch ever and the biggest animated debut in history. -
France reduces film release windows
The Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français and the government have agreed to reduce the window between theatrical film releases and their debut on other platforms. -
Freakdog
Dir. Paddy Breathnach.US.2009 -
Gil Cates, Ed Zwick in Academy governors board run-off
Voting in the Academy’s annual board of governors elections has resulted in a possibly unprecedented tie between directors branch candidates Gil Cates and Ed Zwick. -
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Dir. David Yates. US/UK 2009. 153mins. -
Hindi releases, Ice Age 3 revive India’s box office
Three recent releases – Ice Age 3 and Hindi films New York and Kambakkht Ishq – have all had record-breaking openings in India indicating a revival at the local box office. -
Hipsters (Stiljagi)
Dir: Valery Todorovsky. Russia, 2008. 125 min -
Hollywood dominates Italian box office over first half of 2009
American films dominated the Italian box office over the first half of the year taking 65% of the box office earnings. -
Hong Kong’s TVB set to take control of pay-TV unit
Hong Kong’s leading broadcaster, Television Broadcasts (TVB), is set to regain control of its pay-TV unit, TVB Pay Vision, after agreeing to buy a 31% stake from local content producer See Corp. -
Honorary doctorate for Raindance founder Elliot Grove
Elliot Grove, the founder of the Raindance Film Festival, will be awarded an honorary doctorate by Plymouth College of Art on July 16 -
How the West can win in Asia
Mainstream films face increasing local competition in China and India, but as both markets grow, there will still be room for strong stories and speciality product, writes Liz Shackleton, Asia Pacific editor, Screen International. -
I Hate Valentine's Day
Dir Nia Vardalos.US.2009 -
I Love You, Man
Dir: John Hamburg. US. 2009. -
Imagenation Abu Dhabi promotes Brunner to COO
Imagenation Abu Dhabi has promoted Stefan Brunner to the position of chief operating officer, responsible for all operational activities of the company, at the same time as continuing in his present role of chief financial officer. -
In times of crisis, film must make itself heard
Producer and policymaker Lord Puttnam’s full speech from the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival -
In times of crisis, film must make itself heard
Producer and policy-maker Lord Puttnam called for a stronger political voice from film-makers, when he delivered the keynote at last week’s Edinburgh International Film Festival -
Indian Film Festival LA unveils fund for universal stories with Indian themes
The Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles (IFFLA) has launched the IFFLA Film Fund for film-makers with narrative and documentary features reflecting universal themes inherent in Indian culture. -
Industry gathers for Czech extravaganza
The Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has a reputation as a meeting place where industry professionals can discuss deals away from the pressure of the major markets. -
ING Belgium withdraws from film financing
Financial services company ING Belgium has scrapped its film financing activities to concentrate on its core business. -
Jaime Winstone to star in first British 3D horror film
British actress Jaime Winstone has been lined up to star in Elfie Hopkins And The Gammons, the first British horror film to be shot in 3D. -
Kang resigns as chairman of Korean Film Council
South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Yoo In-chon, has announced that he has accepted the resignation of Korean Film Council (KOFIC) chairman Kang Han-sup. -
Karlovy Vary world premieres
The lowdown on selected world premieres at Karlovy Vary -
Kisses
Dir. Lance Daly.Ireland.2009 -
Korea’s CJ CGV joins ticket price increases
Following Korea’s other exhibitors Megabox, Lotte Cinema and Cinus, leading multiplex chain CJ CGV has announced today that it will also raise ticket prices for the first time in eight years. -
Korean box office surges in first half of 2009
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has announced that South Korean box office receipts reached a record $375.68m (KW476.8bn) in the first half of 2009. -
Live events bring new dimension
New technology systems for watching live events in 3D enthused European exhibitors at CineExpo, writes Jack Warner -
Metrodome to release Thirst in the UK
UK distributor Metrodome is to release Park Chan Wook’s Cannes Jury prize winner Thirst in the UK, as part of a deal with Palisades Tartan. -
Moon
Dir. Duncan Jones.UK.2009 -
Motherland
Dir. Doris Yeung.US.2009 -
Napoleon invades Spain, Germany receives Broken Embraces
ScreenDaily’s weekly round up of the local and independent openings in key markets. -
National Theatre Live attracts 14,000 for first cinema screening
The London National Theatre’s live cinema broadcast of Phedre, starring Helen Mirren and Dominic Cooper, pulled in an audience of 14,000 from 73 screens across the UK. It was the first performance in the National Theatre Live season. -
North by North West
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock.US.1959. -
Notting Hill Film Festival opens with Bananaz, Telstar
The Notting Hill Film Festival will kick off on July 10 with the Gorrillaz docu-film Bananaz, directed by Ceri Levy, followed by Nick Moran’s directorial debut Telstar. -
O’Sullivan to relocate from the UK to head Ausfilm
Jackie O’Sullivan, who has divided her time between the Australian and UK film industries for many years, will take up the role of chief executive of marketing body Ausfilm from August 10. -
Pasolini’s Machan wins Golden Iris in Brussels
Uberto Pasolini’s directorial debut Machan won the Golden Iris Award at the 7th Brussels Film Festival, which closed on Sunday (July 5). -
Paul Andrew Williams gears up for summer shoot on third feature
London To Brighton director Paul Andrew Williams will begin principal photography on his third feature, Cherry Tree Lane, on July 16 in North London. -
Power to the Pixel seeks cross-media projects for first competition
Filmmakers involved in cross-media projects are being invited to pitch for a $10,000 (£6,223) cash prize at this year’s Power to the Pixel event during The Times BFI London Film Festival. -
Puttnam urges UK film industry to be bold online
Lord David Puttnam this week urged the British film industry to be bolder in engaging with audiences online – or risk losing out on many of the opportunities being created by the digital revolution. -
Qadhafi, Beckerman start $100m production fund Natural Selection
Libya’s Major General Engineer Al-Saadi Qadhafi has come on board as the major financier behind Natural Selection LLC, a new $100m+ private equity funded production company. Matty Beckerman formed Natural Selection, and will serve as CEO, based in Los Angeles. -
Ram Bergman, producer, Bunraku
The $25m action-adventure film starring Demi Moore and Josh Hartnett shot at Media Pro Studios in Romania for 12 weeks in summer 2008. The film is produced by director Guy Moshe’s Los Angeles-based Picturesque Films, Los Angeles-based Ram Bergman Productions and is fully financed by Keith Calder’s Los Angeles-based Snoot Entertainment. -
Regional German funds support Alex Winter's horror remake
Frankfurt’s HessenInvestFilm and Stuttgart-based MFG Baden-Württemberg have allocated $1.9m (€1.35m) to Germany’s first 3D live action film, Alex Winter’s The Gate. -
Relativity prepares August shoot on SNL comedy MacGruber
Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Media is preparing an August start on the comedy MacGruber, based on the Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketch about an inept spy. -
Romania's Golden Age to open Sarajevo
Romanian portmanteau film Tales From The Golden Age, which had its world premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, has been selected as the opening night film of the 15th annual Sarajevo Film Festival which takes place from August 12-20. -
Screen Media snaps up US rights to The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee
Screen Media Films is believed to have paid roughly $1m for US rights to Rebecca Miller’s ensemble drama The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee. -
SFC awards funds to co-production projects
The Seoul Film Commission has announced the six winners of its first international co-production grant, which awards up to $15,600 in development funding to projects that will partly shoot in Seoul. -
Sleep Furiously
Dir. Gideon Koppel.UK.2009 -
Soul Power
Dir. Jeffrey Levy-Hinte.US.2008 -
Spain reveals new regional $835,000 film fund
Rodrigo Cortes’ drama Buried is one of the first films to benefit from a new $835,487 (€600,000) regional Spanish fund. -
Star unveils slate of Chinese movie acquisitions
Star Chinese Movies, owned by pan-Asian broadcaster Star, has unveiled a slate of acquisitions that it will screen over the coming year. -
State of Play
Dir: Kevin Macdonald.US.2009 -
Sundance, Cinereach launch $1.5m support for socially conscious cinema
The Sundance Institute and film support body Cinereach have launched a three-year grant to form The Cinereach Project At Sundance Institute. -
Sunshine Cleaning
Dir: Christine Jeffs.US.2009. -
Take 12: Film Export UK
Charlie Bloye, CEO of Film Export UK, one of the 12 organisations taking part in Nesta and the UKFC’s digital innovation programme, explains the challenges facing sales companies in the digital age -
Tales from the script
The hotshot Hollywood duo Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman explain how they learned the key elements of screenwriting and applied them to some of the biggest pictures in the business. -
The 6th Glasgow Film Festival calls for submissions
The Glasgow Film Festival is calling for submissions for next year’s event, which will run from February 18 – 28. -
The ascent of Mount Olympus
Basil Iwanyk tells Matt Mueller how his Warner Bros-based Thunder Road Pictures arrived at its first studio tentpole Clash Of The Titans, which is shooting in the UK. -
The end of the Russian gold rush?
The days when Russian buyers would pay big money for small films are over (for now) as the Russian market adjusts to a weak ruble and declining box office. Geoffrey Macnab looks at what this means for international sales agents and producers -
The Girlfriend Experience
Dir. Steven Soderbergh.US.2009 -
The Hedgehog (Le Hérisson)
Dir. Mona Achache.France.2009 -
The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee
Dir. Rebecca Miller.UK.2009 -
The Tipping Point Film Fund launches in UK
A not-for-profit film fund that aims to raise money to support independent film-makers through donations launched in the UK today (July 8). -
TIFF announces eight world premieres across Visions and CWC sections
Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is one of eight additional world premieres showing in the avant-guarde Visions and the Contemporary World Cinema sections. -
Transformers noses past Ice Age in box office photo finish
Paramount/DreamWorks’ Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen narrowly held on to the number one spot over the Independence Day holiday period as roughly $42.4m beat Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaur’s $41.6m debut. -
Tribeca Film Institute CEO Brian Newman steps down
Tribeca Film Institute, the non-profit branch of Tribeca Enterprises, has lost its popular CEO Brian Newman. -
UK Brit List topped by George Kay's Good Luck Anthony Belcher
The 2009 Brit List, a list of the most liked and recommended unproduced screenplays in the UK and Irish film communities, has started circulating in London with Ruby Films’ Good Luck Anthony Belcher written by George Kay coming out on top. -
UKFC launches £1.2m rural cinema scheme
The UK Film Council has allocated £1.2m of Lottery funding to a new scheme that aims to bring the latest digital cinema equipment to film fans in remote communities in the UK. -
Vue appoints Daniel Heale as head of marketing
Vue Entertainment, the UK multiplex operator, has appointed Daniel Heale to the new role of head of marketing. The move aims to strengthen the chain’s marketing team and expand its portfolio of products and services. -
Weinstein and Kavanaugh to attend Ischia production summit
Harvey Weinstein and Relativity Media’s Ryan Kavanaugh are among the heavy hitters attending the Global Production Summit at this year’s Ischia Global Film & Music Festival. -
Whatever Works
Dir. Woody Allen.US.2009 -
Whisky With Vodka
Dir. Andreas Dresen. Germany, 2009. 108 min. -
Will cheap deals tempt the bargain hunters?
Shooting in Eastern Europe could become cheaper than ever as facilities compete for international business to reverse the slowdown caused by the credit crunch and exchange-rate fluctuations. -
Wim Wenders halts production of 3D dance feature Pina
German director Wim Wenders has halted production of his planned 3D dance film with legendary choreographer Pina Bausch following her unexpected death earlier week. -
Wolfgang Braun joins Kinowelt as chief executive
German film industry veteran Wolfgang Braun has been appointed as CEO of sales and distribution company, Kinowelt. He replaces Jan-Pelgrom de Haas, who left the company at the end of last month. -
Wolfy (Volchok)
Directed by Valery Sigarev. Russia, 2009. 86 min. -
Wong launches Hong Kong production outfit Pegasus
Veteran Hong Kong producer Raymond Wong is launching a new production outfit, Pegasus Films, as a vehicle for his son Edmond Wong who has scripted hits such as Dragon Tiger Gate and Ip Man. -
Woo set to direct Flying Tigers project in China
John Woo is planning to direct a film about the Flying Tigers – a US volunteer group that trained the Chinese Air Force to fly fighter planes during World War II. -
Year One
Dir: Harold Ramis.US.2009 -
Yoda, Kinoshita reach agreement for Gaga buy-out
Gaga Communications chairman Tom Yoda has reached an agreement to finalise a management buy-out of the indie distributor from Japanese media and telecoms conglomerate Usen.
