All articles by Agnes Poirier

  • Features

    United Kingdom - Making film history

    2008-01-18T00:00:00Z

    He has been awake since 5.30am and is now, six hours later, roaring his lines for the 11th time in the marble-columned ballroom of Kedleston Hall in rural Derbyshire. Yet the delivery of his political monologue is flawless. UK actor Simon McBurney is the kind of supporting actor that big-budget ...

  • News

    Producer tells Toronto 'to get a lid' on SARS

    2003-06-13T00:00:00Z

    Toronto's production industry is reaching a crisis point as the beleaguered city contemplates an ongoing battle against SARS. Producer Don Carmody, who is scheduled to begin production of Resident Evil: Apocalypse on Aug. 11, told Screen International that if the city can't "get a lid on" its SARS situation, "they ...

  • Reviews

    The Italian Job

    2003-06-04T00:00:00Z

    Dir: F Gary Gray. US. 2003. 111 mins.A stylish, well-paced caper film always find a home, and The Italian Job fits the billing. Certainly in the US it has proved itself at the box office, opening to a strong $19.3m from 2,633 sites for a robust average of $7,330. Given ...

  • News

    Film Movement takes Shum's Long Life

    2003-06-03T04:05:00Z

    New York-based Film Movement has taken all US rights to Mina Shum's Long Life, Happiness And Prosperity. The film is set for limited theatrical release in the autumn and through Film Movement's subscription-based DVD film club.Produced by Christina Jennings and Scott Garvie of Toronto's Shaftesbury Films and Raymond Massey's Vancouver-based ...

  • News

    Canadian cinema to enjoy worldwide roadshow

    2003-05-30T04:05:00Z

    The Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG) is expanding its Film Circuit initiative beyond Canada, backing events in Europe, Egypt and Mexico and three events in the US. Launched in 1992, the Film Circuit is an alternative distribution system for Canadian and international independent films in over 120 communities across ...

  • News

    Imax, CAA extend project hunting agreement

    2003-05-30T04:05:00Z

    Imax Corp. said it is extending its March 2002 agreement with CAA. The large-format leader retained the talent agency to assist in securing major studio pictures for re-engineering as large-format product and attracting A-list talent to appear in Imax original productions. The company says CAA was integral in landing Star ...

  • News

    Montreal festival deprived of 'A-list' status

    2003-05-30T00:00:00Z

    The Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF) has lost its prestigious Category 1 (colloquially referred to as "A-list") accreditation from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). The Paris-based body is effectively punishing MWFF director Serge Losique for changing the dates of the 2003 event without consultation. Montreal's new dates ...

  • News

    MGM, Rogers sign VOD pact

    2003-05-29T00:00:00Z

    MGM Home Entertainment and Rogers Cable have signed an agreement that will see some of the studio's pictures on the Canadian cable company's VOD service. Rogers says it's the first Canadian company to sign a VOD content agreement with a Hollywood major. Rogers and competitors Calgary-based Shaw Cable and Carleton-based ...

  • News

    Alliance Atlantis plans Foolproof Canadian release

    2003-05-22T04:05:00Z

    Alliance Atlantis plans to release its fully-financed caper picture Foolproof on 225 screens on Oct. 3, the widest-ever release for an English-Canadian film. The company distributed current record-holder Men With Brooms, which was released on 207 screens in 2002, backed by a P&A spend of more than C$1mDescribing the Foolproof ...

  • News

    Film Council, BBC, NFB team for $2.6m feature doc fund

    2003-05-21T04:05:00Z

    The UK's Film Council and the BBC have partnered with Canada's National Film Board (NFB) to create a $2.6m (Euros 2.1m) fund dedicated to the production of feature-length documentaries for theatrical release. The World Documentary Fund (WDF), unveiled in Cannes, will finance three to four feature documentaries over a period ...

  • Reviews

    The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions Barbares)

    2003-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Dir. Denys Arcand. Canada-France. 2003. 111mins.On paper, The Barbarian Invasions is a conventional drama about a dying man's reconciliation with his son and his acceptance of impending non-existence. In the hands of writer-director Denys Arcand, the result is an intensely personal exploration of life as a fifty-something Quebecois intellectual.. Ostensibly ...

  • News

    3D films enter new box office dimension

    2003-05-09T00:00:00Z

    TwoImax large-format 3D films, T-Rex: Back To The Cretaceous and Space Station, passed box office milestones this week, havingearned $75m and $50m respectively. Releasedin 1998, T-Rex remains thehighest grossing 3D film while Space Station, released in 2002, continues its position as thefastest-growing 3D film.WhileSpace Station's 55 weeks at thebox office ...

  • News

    Toronto Festival puts Brazil in spotlight

    2003-05-07T00:00:00Z

    The cinema of Brazil has been selected for the NationalCinema programme at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, Sept.4-13. Programmer Diana Sanchez will select between eight and ten titles.The announcement is a strong indication that Toronto will be presenting newworks from two of Brazil's leading auteurs, Hector Babenco and Walter ...

  • News

    Nordic films dominate Toronto children's festival

    2003-05-06T00:00:00Z

    Finnish filmmakerKlaus Haro's Elina continued its winning ways, taking theYoung People's Jury Award at the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festivalfor Children, which wrapped this weekend. Elina, from Sweden, won theCrystal Bear at the Berlinale's Kinderfilmfest in February, and top prizes atthe Montreal International Children's Film Festival and Sweden's BUFF, a ...

  • News

    CanWest dumps Firestone as Fireworks fizzles

    2003-05-06T00:00:00Z

    Money-losing Fireworks Entertainment has a new leader,following the departure Monday of founding president and CEO Jay Firestone fromparent company CanWest Global Communications. CanWest has invested considerably more than $100m in thefilm and television production company since acquiring it in 1998. Firestone'sfive-year contract was up for renewal on May 4, 2003. ...

  • News

    Toronto breathes again after WHO warning rescinded

    2003-04-30T04:00:00Z

    The World HealthOrganisation yesterday lifted its travel advice against non-essential travel toToronto, effective today. It is a welcome relief for Canada'slargest production centre, which was bracing for a collapse of US productions.The city suffered an instantaneous downturn in tourism and convention businesswhen WHO posted the advice April 23. As of ...

  • Reviews

    Ghosts Of The Abyss

    2003-04-25T00:00:00Z

    Dir: James Cameron. US. 2003. 59mins.For his first film since 1997's Titanic, Oscar-winning director James Cameron has chosen to return to the vessel that made him king of the world, this time with the large format 3-D cameras of Imax. It probably sounded like a money-spinner when this film was ...

  • News

    Matrix sequels get domestic IMAX releases

    2003-04-24T04:00:00Z

    Upcoming Warner Brosblockbuster Matrix Reloaded andNovember release The Matrix Revolutions, the second and third films in the Wachowski Brothers' trilogy,will be released in large-format Imax cinemas in North America and, potentially,internationally. An Imax version of Reloaded will open shortly after the May 15 release of the35mm version while an Imax ...

  • News

    Toronto Film Festival announces 'Festival Centre' complex

    2003-04-02T04:00:00Z

    The Toronto InternationalFilm Festival Group (TIFFG) today (Tues) launched its new initiative to createFestival Centre, a film complex in Toronto located on the corner of King andJohn Streets which will consist of a five-storey podium building and aresidential condominium development.Announced withmuch fanfare, the new facility will be housed on property ...

  • News

    Alliance Atlantis renews pact with Miramax till 2006

    2003-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Toronto-based AllianceAtlantis and has renewed its long-standing sub-distribution pact with MiramaxFilms. The all-rights, all-media deal encompasses all Miramax and Dimensionproduct through December 2006.Since AAC's precursorAlliance Communications first signed the deal in 1994, the arrangement hasproven lucrative to the Canadian company, which enjoys an overwhelmingmarketshare amongst indigenous distributors and more than ...