All Screen articles in 2 October 2002
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News
Vivendi's Telepiu sale delayed again
Vivendi Universal was forced into retreat again today when chairman and chief executive Jean-Rene Fourtou had to admit that the sale of Italian pay-TV operation Telepiu to News Corp had been delayed.Only yesterday, as part of a major strategy announcement, Fourtou had proclaimed the sale for Euros1bn, a price already ...
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Asterix on a Mission at international box office
Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra continued its triumphant international run this week, opening in Italy for a three-day gross of $1.18m (Eu1.2m). Playing on 280 screens the film, which features Italian-born actress Monica Bellucci as Cleopatra, scored a good average of $4,221 for distributor BVI. However the film did have ...
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Hamburg festival cheers on Beckham
Josef Wutz's final outing as director of the Filmfest Hamburg (Sept 23-29) was kicked off in fine form on Monday (Sept 23) with the world premiere of local filmmaker Fatih Akin's Italian immigrant family drama Solino, plus a gala screening of Mike Leigh's All Or Nothing.The real highlight of the ...
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News
Brett Ratner moves from Hannibal Lecter to Superman
Brett Ratner has signed on to direct the new live action feature film version of Superman for Warner Bros Pictures, the studio announced yesterday. The new version, long in gestation with McG, Tim Burton attached to direct at various times, comes 25 years after Richard Donner's blockbuster version Superman - ...
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Reviews
Cabin Fever
Dir: Eli Roth. US. 2002 94 min.This is not the next Blair Witch Project, nor does it aim to be. Cabin Fever is a throwback to the minimalism and stasis of a George Romero zombie movie. Indeed, the film says more about first-time filmmaker Eli Roth's attentive viewing of ...
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News
Germany's Neuer Markt to close
Once home to a dozen upstart media companies which brazenly thought they could challenge the might of Hollywood, Germany's Neuer Markt is to close next year. The closure decision is part of a wider re-organisation of Germany's stockmarkets and comes too late to make much difference to anyone. The stockmarket ...
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News
Creative Financing For European Films
Lobby group, the European Film Companies Alliance (EFCA) this week published Creative Financing For European Films, a booklet containing papers and conclusions from its high-level conference on European cinema funding which took place in Cannes this year. The conference was partially-funded by the European Commission. Screen International ...
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Reviews
Whale Rider
Dir: Niki Caro New Zealand-Germany 2002 105min.Whale Rider deftly melds in a spirited package a portrait of contemporary rural Maori life with a tale from its rich mythology. Avoiding the overt sentimentality that often mars coming-of-age tales, this New Zealand-Germany co-production offers something for every age group without pandering to ...
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News
French loyalty cards plateau at 6% market share
The market for France's various cinema loyalty card schemes has reached a plateau just two and a half years after their introduction.Loyalty passes have seen little growth in the French exhibition market last year, accounting for 11 million admissions (5.9%) out of a total 186 million tickets sold, according to ...
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News
Russia's Three T announces plans for new national cinema chain
Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov has announced plans for a new $40m chain of cinemas backed by Russian metals and banking mogul Vladimir Potanin. Potanin, one of Russia's richest men, heads the financial conglomerate Interros group, and already has interests in cinema via his company Profmedia. The new national chain ...
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News
Norwegian film fund banks on Elling prequel
The Norwegian Film Fund is to back Maipo Film's follow-up to last year's local box office phenomenon Elling. The new film, Mother's Elling is a prequel, dealing with the title character's adventures at a Spanish holiday resort with his elderly mother. As with the first film, the script is by ...
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News
Vivendi Universal outlines debt reduction strategy
Vivendi Universal aims to reduce its debt by at least Euros12bn within 18 months through a drastic asset disposal plan which includes Canal Plus group's activities outside of France as well the sale of several non-core businesses. "The Board has noted with satisfaction the decisive progress made during the past ...
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News
Sun shines at San Sebastian
Monday night's applause-filled screening of Spanish director Fernando Leon de Aranoa's competition entry Mondays In The Sun (Los Lunes Al Sol) marked the halfway point of Spain's San Sebastian International Film Festival, which runs September 19 to 28.But in some ways the screening represented a climax for the festival, even ...
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News
Bodrov Jr and film crew still missing after Russian avalanche
Sergei Bodrov Junior (pictured) and 49 members of his film crew are still missing, one week after a major avalanche hit a valley in Southern Russia where he was directing his latest film.Rescue workers are continuing to search for survivors from the avalanche which may have claimed as many as ...
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News
Beyond, MBP relationship sours
The partnership between German investor MBP (Medienbeteiligungs-und-Produktions Gesellschaft MBH & Co KG of Munich) and Australia's Beyond International, parent company of sales agent Beyond Films, seems to have soured. Beyond has asked the Supreme Court of New South Wales to make a judgement on whether MBP Medien AG is obliged ...
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Reviews
Minimal Stories (Historias Minimas)
Dir: Carlos Sorin. Arg. 2002. 93 mins.The title says it all: set in the remote Patagonian steppes of Southern Argentina, Minimal Stories is a comedy of great warmth and sweetness whose charm lies above all in its unpretentious ambitions. Careful marketing and critical support will be essential to nurture this ...
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News
Alain Chabat launches US company, signs with Endeavor
French actor, writer,producer and director Alain Chabat has signed with Los Angeles talent agencyEndeavor for all areas of representation in the US. Chabat, along with partnersAlex Berger of Content Participations and Amandine Billot who works with Chabatin his French company Chez Wam, has recently launched a US company Wamericaheaded by ...
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First Look takes North America to Czech favourite Autumn Spring
First Look Pictures hasacquired North American rights to Vladimir Michalek's Czech drama AutumnSpring, which recently screened atthe 2002 Toronto and Montreal film festivals. The deal was negotiated betweenMJ Peckos, president of First Look, with Neil Friedman of MenemshaEntertainment with a price tag in the mid-six figure range.First Look plans to ...
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UK's Civilian Content 'cautiously positive' about half-year results
Civilian Content, the UK media concern currently bidding to extend its National Lottery franchise: The Film Consortium, is inching towards profitability after posting a pre-tax loss of $390,000 (£250,000) for the first half of the year.The loss marks an improvement of 68% on the first half of last year, when ...
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Norwegian animated feature gets blockbuster treatment
Distributor Svensk Filmindustri is giving Vibeke Idsoe's $7.7m feature animation Karlsson On The Roof a blockbuster opening this weekend. It will be released on 173 screens across Norway and Sweden.It marks the biggest ever simultaneous opening in the two countries for a local production. Even most studio titles are released ...