All articles by Nick Hunt
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Reviews
X-Men: The Last Stand
Dir: Brett Ratner. US. 2006. 105mins.Brett Ratner perfunctorily signs off on one of current cinema'smost credible comic-book series with X-Men:The Last Stand, a pulpy action ride that will satisfy teenage audiences butfails to stand up to its immediate predecessor in terms of dramatic cohesion.Compensationcomes in the form of fiery pyrotechnics ...
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News
Bond serves up Haggis for Casino Royale polish
The screenwriting teambehind the new James Bond feature have confirmed that Oscar-nominatedscreenwriter Paul Haggis has been brought on board.Robert Wade told ScreenDaily.comthat Haggis,who adapted Million Dollar Babyas well aswriting and directing Crash,will do a three-week polishonthe second draft of Sony/MGM's Casino Royale, originally penned byhimself and co-writer Neal Purvis."What I ...
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News
Gilliam, Tanovic set for Toronto world premieres
World premieres from TerryGilliam and Danis Tanovic are among nine new titles unveiled for the 30th TorontoInternational Film Festival (Sept 8-17).Tideland (Can-UK), Terry Gilliam's second feature this yearafter Brothers Grimm, is scheduled to play in the Masters section.Janet McTeer, BrendanFletcher, Jeff Bridges, and Jennifer Tilly star in the tale of ...
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News
UK drives European DVD bonanza
When it comes to the success of DVD in Europe, sales andpenetration are being driven by the UK - but the continent's Easterncountries are still playing catch up.Speaking at Screen International's LearningLessons: Europe And The US seminar, JeanPaul Commin, president of industry body the International Video Federation,said that in 2003, ...
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News
August embarks on Bond writers' Return
Danish film-maker Billie August has begun filming Moviefan Scandinavia's Return To Sender, the long gestating project from Bond screenwriters Robert Wade and Neal Purvis, in Denmark.The $7m Danish-UK thriller, which is being produced by Michael Lunkerskov and executive produced by Stephen Woolley, stars Aidan Quinn, Connie Nielsen and Kelly Preston.The ...
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News
Calendar Girls set for US Christmas date
Last month it took the international press at Cannes by storm. This week it was the turn of attendees at Cinema Expo in Amsterdam to fall under the spell of the Calendar Girls.Constant guffaws, frequent applause and stifled bouts of tearful sniffing punctuated the morning screening of the gentle comedy-drama, ...
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News
IMAX screens touted as remedy for over-screening
Cinema exhibitors with excess capacity following the multiplex building boom of the last decade should consider refitting theatres with IMAX screens, a seminar at Cine Expo in Amsterdam has heard. Two new systems unveiled earlier this year by IMAX Corporation mean it is now feasible for IMAX screens to be ...
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News
Cinema Expo warned: piracy 'ain't getting better'
Pirated DVD copies of Hulk went on sale in a small Scottish market two weeks ahead of the film's US June 20-22 opening weekend.A copy of Hulk DVD was brandished by Spencer Mott, director of operations for anti-piracy body FACT at a Cinema Expo seminar this week titled Piracy: It ...
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News
Loyalty schemes, local production assessed at Cinema Expo
The Media Salles Forum at Cine Expo in Amsterdam presented evidence of a link between the increase in box office in some European territories and an increase in home-made films.Its Focus On Europe seminar : 'A Panorama of Cinemagoing in Europe in 2002: Marketing Strategies by Exhibition Companies for building ...
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News
Vive La Difference at Dinard
The contrast between French and UK film-making has been highlighted via a short film experiment screened at the 13th Festival Of British Film in Dinard.The joint programme for making short films, known as The Short Channel/Manche Courte, was launched by the two nation's public support bodies, the UK's Film Council ...
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News
Bruce Willis cancels London for 'family reasons'
Bruce Willis has bowed out of appearing at this month's London Film Festival, citing "family reasons".The star was due to attend a gala screening of MGM crime ensemble Bandits on November 15, as well as take part in a public interview with festival director Adrian Wootton at the National Film ...
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News
How unlucky was UK's Lucky Break'
The hottest national holiday weekend Saturday since 1871 may have contributed to it, but Lucky Break pitiful UK opening weekend box office of (£348,613) from 270 sites nationwide suggests a . Screen International's Nick Hunt tracks the development of the movie that everyone expected to be a hot hit.1998-99In the ...
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News
Taylor to host new amFAR benefit at Venice
Cinema legend Elizabeth Taylor will once again be hosting the Cinema AIDS Venice gala dinner during the Venice film festival later this month.The charity events, which include auctions of luxury items in support of the American Foundation For AIDS Research (amFAR), have been a regular feature of film festivals during ...
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News
Danny Boyle calls for digital support
Director Danny Boyle has joined the growing number of mainstream film-makers keen to support the development of digital technology at grassroots level.Speaking to Screen International editor-in-chief Colin Brown during an on-stage Q&A at the Production Show in London on March 14, the director of Trainspotting and The Beach urged the ...