All Screen articles in 29 May 2006
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Ledger, Weisz set to make Dirt Music with Noyce
Heath Ledger and RachelWeisz have agreed to play the star-crossed lovers in an adaptation of the TimWinton novel Dirt Music, to bedirected by Phillip Noyce on home soil from March 2007.Weisz won the Academy Award forbest actress this year for The ConstantGardener - and had her first childyesterday - while ...
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Nic Roeg to present masterclass at Screenwriters Festival
The first InternationalScreenwriters Festival, scheduled for June 27-30 in Cheltenham, has added a masterclass with Nicolas Roeg and Allan Scott, director and screenwriter of classic Don't Look Now. The pair will screen theirfilm Cold Heaven and discuss their collaborativerelationship. Other speakers confirmed forthe inaugural event include producer Kevin Loader and ...
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UKFC, Pathe and BBC start new development fund
Pathe and BBC Films areworking with the UK Film Council's Development Fund to launch a new fund todevelop film projects. The parties have committed aminimum of $560,000 (£300,000) for the fund's first 12 months - $280,000 (£150,000)from the UK Film Council and $140,000 (£75,000) each from BBC Films and Pathe. ...
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Cinema Expo award goes to Francis Veber
CinemaExpo International will present this year's lifetime achievement award toFrench director, producer and writer Francis Veber. Veber will be presented with his award at theconference's awards ceremony on June 29. Gaumontchairman Nicolas Seydoux will present him with theaward."CinemaExpo is honoured to pay tribute to such a well-known figure of both ...
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Magnolia strikes US deal for Severance
Magnolia Pictures has takenUS rights for Severance, sold by HanWay Films during the Cannes Market. The horror-comedy isdirected by Creep's Christopher Smithand stars Danny Dyer and Laura Harris.The plot follows an armscompany that sends its sales division to a weekend retreat in Eastern Europe, where they are attacked by war-crazed ...
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Toei reports record-breaking Cannes sales figures
Japanese major Toei hasreported that it closed around $650,000 (Y73.4m) in sales during Cannes, marking the highest sales figures from a singlemarket in the company's 55-year history.The company, which had astrong slate featuring talent such as Ken Watanabe and director Kenta Fukasaku,expects to close a further $440,000 (Y50m) in sales ...
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Volver tops Screen's Cannes critics poll
Ken Loach'sThe Wind That Shakes TheBarley may have captured the Palme d'Or, but by a notable margin Screen International's juryof critics voted Pedro Almodovar's Volver as thebest film in Cannes competition. Volver lead the pack of 20 competition titles with a 3.4 average (out of amaximum 4), followed by Alejandro ...
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EEAP signs licensing deal with The Weinstein Company
Berlin-based licensing and distribution company EasternEuropean Acquisition Pool (EEAP) has struck a licensing agreement with TheWeinstein Company for exclusive rights to distribute a group of 15 WeinsteinCompany films in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria. EEAP will also represent selected titles from thatgroup of 15 films in the ...
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Sweden shuts down file swappers The Pirate Bay
Swedish authorities haveshut down The Pirate Bay, a file-swapping site that had been used for onlinepiracy of films, music, software and games. The Pirate Bayhas more than one million users as a BitTorrent "tracker"site. The film industry had filed a criminal complaint in Sweden against the site in November 2004. ...
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IFP Market adds cash documentary prizes
IFP has announced the first cash prizes for the IFP Market.IFP and The Fledgling Fund are presenting $20,000 in new cash awards to documentaryfilmmakers during the 28th annual IFP Market in New York from September17-21. The two juried awards of $10,000 will go to filmmakers withprojects in the Spotlight on ...
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MGM splits with Sony for home video business
Aspart of ongoing business changes, MGM is severing some of itsties with Sony. MGM will no longer split itshome entertainment business between Sony Pictures Entertainment and 20th CenturyFox and will instead only work with Fox. The move is especially notable because Sony led the consortium that acquired MGM in 2005.It'snot ...
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Universal plans new VeggieTales film
UniversalPictures is planning an early 2008 worldwide launch for the next VeggieTales film. CG animated feature The Pirates Who Don'tDo Anything - A VeggieTales Movie is being developedwith family media company Big Idea and the franchise's creative team of Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. Nawrocki will direct based on a ...
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Miramax acquires Waititi's Eagle vs. Shark
MiramaxFilms has acquired the North American rights to comedy Eagle vs. Shark, the debut feature from TaikaWaititi, previously nominated for an Oscar for his shortTwo Cars One Night.Eagle vs. Shark stars New Zealand actors LorenHorsley and Jemaine Clement in the story of two misfitssearching for acceptance. It was shot on ...
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Brian Robertson named chair of FACT
The Federation Again Copyright Theft (FACT) in the UK has appointed Brian Robertson as its chairman, effective immediately.He replaces Marek Antoniak of Sony Pictures, who recently resigned from the post after serving for 11 years. Robertson has held senior UK and European finance positions at Sony Pictures Entertainment and is ...
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IMG to buy UK production company Tiger Aspect
IMG Media has struck a deal to acquire London-based production company TigerAspect Group, including its subsidiaries Tigress, US-based TTP and film division TigerAspect Pictures. Termsof the deal weren't released, but IMG Media will finance theacquisition with capital from its US-based parent company IMG. Thisdeal follows IMG unit TWI's recent acquisition ...
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Poseidon starts major-market international cruise
Poseidon, United 93 and RV all maketheir major-market international debuts this weekend in the relative quietafter the successive worldwide launches of The Da Vinci Code and X-Men:The Last Stand. Unlike the two blockbusters that have dominated theinternational marketplace since mid-May, the new entrants - each with somethingto prove outside North ...
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IFTA conference to discuss new platforms & formats
The introduction of newdistribution technologies and content formats will be subject of the 8thannual Production Conference to be hosted by The Independent Film &Television Alliance (IFTA) on June 16 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.Opening with a keynote from ByronAllen, the chairman and CEO of Entertainment Studios, the event will revolvearound ...
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Huayi Brothers' Matrimony wraps in Shanghai
Teng Hua-tao's The Matrimony (working title), producedby Beijing-based Huayi Brothers Film Investment, has wrapped after a two-monthshoot in Shanghai.Starring Leon Lai (Seven Swords) and Rene Liu (A World Without Thieves), the $2.5m filmis a supernatural thriller set in 1930s Shanghai. The story follows a recently-wed couple whosemarriage is in trouble ...
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Outfest to open with Puccini For Beginners
Outfest 2006, which runs in nine venues in Los Angeles from July 6-17, will screen 207 shortsand features from 25 countries during its 24th event. The opening nightgala film is Puccini ForBeginners and the Spanish musical 20Centimeters (20 Centimetros) will close thefestival. The awards nightfilm is Allan Brocka's Boy Culture. ...
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Santa Barbara festival starts Kirk Douglas award
TheSanta Barbara International Film Festival has announced plans to inaugurate itsnew Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film with a presentation to Douglasthis summer.Thefestival will present Douglaswith the new award at a black-tie gala on July 30. The award is expected to begiven to other honourees in subsequent years. Theaward ...