Screen
08 January 2010
View all stories from this issue.
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Probst aims to be flexible in run up to EFM
Flexibility has been the key to preparing the 2010 edition of the European Film Market (EFM), according to market director Beki Probst. -
Wild Bunch seals raft of deals for Medem’s Room In Rome
Wild Bunch has sold Julio Medem’s $4.5m romantic drama Room In Rome to several territories across Europe, Asia and Latin America. -
A kind of homecoming
Best DirectorScott Hicks, The Boys are BackThe latest film from director Scott Hicks, The Boys Are Back starring Clive Owen, tug hard at the heart strings but without too much sentiment and manipulation. The tale about a man learning to be a better dad after the death of his wife, does not try to turn on the tears with music, for example, and has considerable authenticity, -
Alta Films picks up Oskar Santos’ El Mal Ajeno for Spain
Leading distributor Alta Films has taken Spanish theatrical rights to Oskar Santos’ hotly anticipated feature debut El Mal Ajeno, produced by director Alejandro Amenabar (pictured). -
Awards countdown: Profiles
ScreenDaily profiles Bright Star’s Abbie Cornish, The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner and Scott Hicks, director of The Boys Are Back -
BAFTA reveals nominees for the Orange Rising Star Award
Carey Mulligan, Tahar Rahim, Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg and Nicholas Hoult have been named as the five nominees for the 2010 BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award. -
Belgium's XDC acquires cinema equipment firm FTT
XDC, the Belgium-based digital cinema services company, has acquired Dusseldorf-based cinema equipment firm FTT. -
Berlinale unveils Generation sidebar line-up
Bran Nue Dae and Yuki & Nina (pictured) are among the films selected for the Generation sidebar for the 60th edition of the Berlin Film Festival. -
Best Director: The storytellers
Some of the movie world’s biggest names as well as relative newcomers and a fashion designer-turned-film-maker are among the chief contenders for this year’s best director awards. Mike Goodridge assesses the field -
Digital Cinema Media launches ad campaign to boost attendance
Digital Cinema Media (DCM) has teamed up with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) to create a new advertising campaign aimed at increasing attendance. -
Filmax takes sales rights to Oskar Santos’ El Mal Ajeno
Spanish studio Filmax has picked up international sales rights to Oskar Santos’ hotly anticipated debut feature, El Mal Ajeno. -
Fox takes Spanish rights to $20m action adventure Lope
20th Century Fox has picked up Spanish theatrical rights to Andrucha Waddington’s $20m Spanish-Brazilian historical epic Lope. -
French box office hit decade high in 2009
The French box office hit a high in 2009 with admissions rising by 5.7% on the previous year to 199.7m. It is a record for the decade, just ahead of 2004’s 195.5m admissions. -
Greece takes over European Audiovisual Observatory presidency
The European Audiovisual Observatory has announced that Greece will hold its presidency for 2010. -
High Point boards Czech war movie Protektor
High Point Films has snapped up world sales for Marek Najbrt’s Second World War movie Protektor. -
Hinduja Group to invest $55m in content over next three years
The Hinduja Group, the banking group with media interests, has announced plans to invest $55m (Rs 2.5bn) in the content business over the next two to three years. -
Hitting a Homerun
Daniel Yun is galvanising the Singapore film community with his latest venture — Homerun Pictures. He tell Liz Shackleton how he is setting up film funds with China and Australia and launching an international sales outfit -
Hong Kong Asia financing forum selects 25 projects for 8th edition
Projects by veteran Japanese film-maker Suzuki Seijin and Leon Dai (pictured), the Taiwanese director, among those selected for the 8th Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) 2010. -
Hong Kong box office rises by 6.5% in 2009
Hong Kong’s box office grew by around 6.5% to $151.93m (HK$1.18bn) in 2009, according to figures from Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association (MPIA). -
Icelandic cinema admissions rise by 7%
Cinema admissions in Iceland rose by 7% to 1.7m during 2009, with total box office receipts up 12% to $12m (ISK1.5bn). -
Icelandic comedy denies Avatar the top spot
Icelandic comedy Mr Bjarnfredarson has topped the local box office forcing James Cameron’s epic Avatar into second place for two weeks running. -
Icon appoints Erica Motley as acquisitions consultant
Icon Entertainment International has appointed Erica Motley as international acquisitions consultant. She will report to the company’s new chief executive Stewart Till (pictured). -
Ido Abram leaves Binger Filmlab to join new Dutch film body
Ido Abram, the director for training and development centre Binger Filmlab, is leaving to join Eye, the new national film agency for the Netherlands. -
Jodie Whittaker joins cast of thriller Harmony
Jodie Whittaker has joined the cast of psychological thriller Harmony (previously known as The Veil Of Maya), which starts shooting in London on January 18. -
Jose Gonzalez, Brotherhood among Nordic Film Prize nominees
Fredrik Egerstand and Mikel Cee Karlsson’s The Extraordinary Life of Jose Gonzalez, Nicolo Donator’s Brotherhood (pictured) and Sara Johnsen’s Upperdog are among the eight contender for this year’s Nordic Film Prize. -
Kevin Spacey joins Chinese black comedy Inseparable
Kevin Spacey has signed up to star in Chinese-American director Dayyan Eng’s black comedy, Inseparable. -
Lessons from Avatar
Mega-blockbusters such as Avatar may be extreme rarities but it serves to remind the industry that while there are big problems yet to be solved; great entertainment and storytelling remain key winning over audiences. -
Letters To Father Jacob scores nine Jussi nominations
Klaus Haro’s Letters To Father Jacob (Postia Pappi Jaakobille) has scored nine nominations, including best film and best direction, for Finland’s Jussi Awards 2009. -
LevelK picks up Ounpuu's The Temptation Of St Tony
Tine Klint’s new sales outfit LevelK has picked up Estonian director Veiko Öunpuu’s The Temptation Of St Tony (Püha Tonu Kiusamine). It is the Copenhagen-based company’s first acquisition. -
Local films drove 4.8% box office rise in South Korea, says CJ CGV
South Korea’s 2009 box office admissions rose by 4.8% year-on-year to 156,319,224 tickets, according to estimates by leading local exhibitor CJ CGV. -
Miklós Jancsó's So Much For Justice! to open 41st Hungarian Film Week
Sixteen new feature films will compete for the Golden Reel Award at the 41st Hungarian Film Week (Feburary 2–8) in Budapest. -
Moviemed reveals six projects for inaugural project market
Six projects have been selected to take part in MovieMed, a two-day event which aims to bring together the film and tourism industries (January 18 -19). -
NZFC promotes James Thompson to marketing chief
James Thompson has been promoted to head of sales and marketing at New Zealand Film, the sales division of the NZ Film Commission, effective immediately. He was previously business affairs executive in the same division. -
Ondine, The Eclipse dominate nominations for IFTAs
Neil Jordan’s Ondine (pictured) and Conor McPherson’s The Eclipse have each picked up eight nominations, including best feature and best director, for the 7th Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTA), which take place on February 20 in Dublin. -
Passion burns Bright
Best ActressAbbie Cornish, Bright Star“I never trained as an actor and I feel I’m always learning about myself as an actor, because each film is different and you bring what you know and adapt,” says Australia-born Abbie Cornish. Filming Bright Star for writer-director Jane Campion, Cornish says she learned to enjoy rehearsals. “There were three weeks of them, but I think Jane would have done it for three more months if she could.”As Fanny -
Polanski asks to be sentenced in absentia
Roman Polanski has asked a US judge to sentence him in absentia over the 32 year old sexual assault case that led the director to flee the US in 1978. -
Punk's poet lives again
Mat Whitecross’s sex&drugs&rock&rollis the latest UK film to draw on the territory’s musical heritage for inspiration. Sarah Cooper looks at how the project came together -
Regency Films relaunches as Raw Production London
Production company Regency Films is relaunching as Raw Production London. The company says the new name aims to reflect its “gritty, truthful films”. -
Rotterdam reveals 15 contenders for 2010 Tiger awards
The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has announced the line-up for the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition. The festival’s 39th edition runs January 27 – February 7. -
Shorter windows reverse slump
Tighter windows and a piracy crackdown have given France’s home-entertainment market a boost, reports Tim Murray -
Sidus to launch sales for Busan omnibus at Berlin
Korea-based Sidus FNH will launch sales for the Pusan International Film Festival’s omnibus Busan Project (working title) at next month’s European Film Market in Berlin. -
The Match Factory boards Epstein and Friedman's Howl
Cologne-based The Match Factory has picked up international sales for Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Howl, which will be the narrative world premiere on the first night of the Sundance Film Festival. -
The White Ribbon, Storm lead nominations for German film critics' awards
Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon and Hans-Christian Schmid’s Storm have each scored four nominations for the German Film Critics’ Association’s (VDFK) awards. -
UK enjoys Sex&Drugs; Capitalism woos Spain
ScreenDaily takes a look at the local and independent openings in key markets this week. -
US judge sets date for Polanski hearing
Roman Polanski’s 32 year old criminal case will return to a Los Angeles court this week. It comes weeks after a California court rejected the director’s bid to have the case dismissed. -
Weekly international box office - January 1
ScreenDaily brings you the weekly international box-office news. -
Working under high pressure
Best ActorJeremy Renner, The Hurt LockerTo understand what it is like to serve as a bomb-disposal technician in Iraq, The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner spent a week at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California. Encased within the 100lb protective suit, a simple task such as transferring piles of paper clips became almost herculean.“I wanted to pass out,” R
