All Screen articles in 16 March 2004

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  • News

    Chen starts high-profile Promise

    2004-03-16T21:00:00Z

    Acclaimed Chinese director Chen Kaige has started shooting The Promise (Wu Ji), a big-budget fantasy epic that brings together some of Asia's top talent both in front of and behind the camera.Heading the cast of the film - which cranked up at the Beijing Film Studio on Monday - is ...

  • News

    Friedlander leaves Fine Line for Warner Independent

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Steven Friedlander hasjoined the fledgling specialty distributor Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) asexecutive vice president of distribution.Friedlander will directlyhandle domestic theatrical distribution and will shepherd the pictures as theymove into other media through Warner Bros Entertainment's divisions, includinginternational, home video and television."Steven is not only abrilliant theatrical distribution executive but also ...

  • News

    Henning Mankell readies Wallander film series

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Internationally best-selling Swedish author Henning Mankell's popular police commissioner Kurt Wallander is heading for the big and the small screen in no less than 13 feature length episodes.Three will be theatrically released, the first Wallander: Before The Frost in time for Christmas. The remaining episodes will be shown on TV.The ...

  • News

    Thunderbirds are go at Tribeca Film Festival

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Organisers behind the thirdannual Tribeca Film Festival have confirmed that Working Titles' live-actionversion of Thunderbirds willreceive its world premiere at the New York City event in May.A spokesperson for thepicture's US distributor Universal Pictures neither confirmed nor denied thepremiere status, adding that it was conceivable there may be a public ...

  • News

    Markoe promoted to post-production executive vp at MGM

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    MGM Pictures has promoted BruceMarkoe to executive vice president of feature post production, where he willoversee all aspects of budgeting and post production and source economical newfilm-making technologies.Markoe will report directlyto Andy Davis, the studio's executive vice president of physical production."Bruce has become a vitalpart of MGM since he joined ...

  • News

    De Luca lands in production deal at Sony

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Mike De Luca, who leaves hisjob as DreamWorks head of production in June, is in final talks to set up athree-year production deal with Columbia Pictures.Once the contracts aresigned De Luca and his Michael De Luca Productions will move on to the Sony lotin Culver City in July."Mike is a ...

  • News

    Romania hosts Seed Of Chucky shoot

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Seed Of Chucky, the fifth picture in the Child's Play franchise about berserk homicidal dolls, beganproduction in Romania yesterday (Mar 15).It joins a growing list ofhorror pictures which are shooting in the country including the completed TheMethod and Blessed and upcoming productions Man With A Movie Camera directed by Bernard ...

  • News

    Disney to launch TV channel into India

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Walt Disney is to launch a satellite TV channel in India next year.Andy Bird, president Walt Disney International met Indian Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ravi Shanker Prasad in Mumbai yesterday (Mar 15) to discuss investment plans for the service.The station has been given the government go-ahead.Disney plans to spend ...

  • News

    Dukakis, McCarthy, others, join Serenade's Wonderful cast

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Olympia Dukakis, JimGaffigan, Thomas McCarthy (writer/director of The Station Agent), and Naseeruddin Shah (Monsoon Wedding, TheLeague Of Extraordinary Gentlemen) havejoined Edie Falco, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Tony Shalhoub in the cast of TheGreat New Wonderful, the first projectfrom low-budget production house Serenade Films.The picture weaves togetherfive stories set against the backdrop ...

  • News

    Irish box office shock: Starsky & Hutch vs The Passion

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    BVI's Starsky & Hutch squared up to Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ and took the round one opening weekend in cinemas in the Republic of Ireland.Given the reported demand for The Passion in the territory - Irish distribution company Eclipse Pictures, which is handling the local release of ...

  • News

    Shore to kick off Rings symphony tour in Belgium

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Veteran composer HowardShore is launching the European tour of his Oscar winning The Lord Of TheRings score with a concert in theBelgian city of Antwerp on Apr 16.The Lord Of The Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra and Chorus isbeing organised by the Flanders International Film Festival, a longtimesupporter of ...

  • News

    Oz's Aurora script programme selects Caesar's Prime Mover

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Writer/director David Caesar's Prime Mover is one of four projects chosen for Australia's third Aurora intensive scriptwriting programme.The director of Dirty Deeds, Mullet and Idiot Box is working with producer Vincent Sheehan on what is billed as a diesel-fuelled love triangle between Thomas, his wife Melissa, and his truck. Caesar ...

  • News

    Germany, UK step up anti-piracy operations

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Anti-piracy operations in both Germany and the UK say they are making increasing inroads against DVD and video pirates.In its annual report for 2003, the German Federation Against Copyright Theft (GVU) revealed that the fines German courts imposed in copyright cases increased to more than Euros 500,000.Even though proceedings were ...

  • News

    Angrisani joins Miramax as vp, international publicity

    2004-03-16T04:00:00Z

    Larry Angrisanihas joined Miramax Films as New York-based vice president of internationalpublicity.Angrisani willliaise with distributors and festivals around the world and play a role inimplementing the company's strategic initiatives.Reporting toAmanda Lundberg, executive vice president of worldwide publicity, and RickSands, chief operating officer, he will also work closely with Miramax'sUK-based international ...

  • News

    NORWAY

    2004-03-16T00:00:00Z

    Spykids 3D: Game Over zoomed into the top spot of the Norwegian chart with a strong 822 admission screen average on its 32 prints.it rocked the winning combination of the other family flicks Brother Bear and The Young Olsen Gang Rocks pushing them to second and third.But otherwise there was ...

  • News

    JAPAN

    2004-03-16T00:00:00Z

    With Spring Break about to start, Japanese distributors rolled out more new releases on March 13.The biggest in terms of screen average, $46,002, was Hotel Venus, a heavily promoted ensemble drama starring a member of the popular boy band SMAP and filmed entirely in Korean -- a first for a ...

  • News

    ITALY

    2004-03-16T00:00:00Z

    Italian films continued to perform strongly at the box office last weekend. New opener Don't Move burst into the local box office at number three, scoring the biggest per screen average of any film and a huge gross of $1,512,205.Distributed by Medusa, Don't Move stars Penelope Cruz and was adapted ...

  • News

    GERMANY

    2004-03-16T00:00:00Z

    Scary Movie 3's reign at the German box office came to an end last weekend after it swapped positions with Along Came Polly which has been seen by over 800,000 cinema-goers in its two weeks of release.The Top 10 saw no less than six new entries, led by Mathieu Kassovitz's ...

  • News

    EU renews subsidy regime for three more years

    2004-03-16T00:00:00Z

    The European Commission has decided to extend for three more years the structures under which European governments are allowed to financially support their local film industries.The ruling, announced today (16 March), follows some six months of consultation with governments and film-makers ahead of the expiry in June 2004 of the ...

  • News

    ScreenSelect predicts massive DVD growth

    2004-03-16T00:00:00Z

    Online DVD rental company ScreenSelect will send out more than 160,000 DVDs this month, the UK concern said this week.Launched six months ago, the company charges £14.99 a month for an 'all you can watch' subscription. Chairman Alex Chesterman said that the company expects turnover in films to more than ...