All Screen articles in 11 February 2000 – Page 2

  • News

    Ellipse, Expand set to tie the knot

    2000-02-10T16:39:00Z

    France's two leading television production outfits - Canal Plus subsidiary Ellipse Programme and the Expand group - plan to merge their production labels and libraries to create a new entity with annual revenues of $212m (FFR1.4bn). The new group, which will operate under the Expand banner, will control a library ...

  • News

    Naumann opens new bag of funding measures

    2000-02-10T16:36:00Z

    German culture minister Michael Naumann has unveiled a package of measures to strengthen the federal government's culturally-oriented film funding programme.Naumann, whose film funding budget was raised this year from $7.75m (DM15.5m) to $9m (DM18m), is directing more money at script development with sums of up to $50,800 to be paid ...

  • News

    Germany, Spain to renew co-production treaty

    2000-02-10T16:35:00Z

    Spain's culture secretary, Miguel Angel Cortes, and German culture minister, Michael Naumann, have announced that they will sign a German-Spanish co-production agreement tomorrow (Feb 11) at the Berlin Film Festival.The accord replaces and expands on an existing agreement which the two countries signed in 1956. It aims to encourage German-Spanish ...

  • News

    Newcomers split prize at Hungarian Film Week

    2000-02-10T16:33:00Z

    Two films from relative newcomers - Frigyes Godros's Glamour and Gergely Fonyo's Johnny Famous - shared the best film prize at this year's Hungarian Film Week (Feb 3-8).The 31st edition of the Budapest event presented a programme of 24 features and 31 non-fiction films made in Hungary over the past ...

  • News

    Alliance, Canal Plus confirm UK distribution pact

    2000-02-10T16:32:00Z

    Alliance Atlantis and France's Le Studio Canal Plus have confirmed a deal for Alliance to handle UK distribution on a slate of Le Studio's high-profile English-language titles (Screendaily, Feb 3).The deal covers all UK rights to Simpatico, starring Sharon Stone and Jeff Bridges; Kathryn Bigelow's Weight Of Water, with Sean ...

  • News

    Lisowsky jumps from DreamWorks to Universal

    2000-02-10T16:31:00Z

    Dirk Lisowsky has been appointed managing director of Universal Pictures Video Germany, replacing Haig Balian who headed up both theatrical and video operations for Universal in Germany before the decision to channel theatrical product through UIP.Lisowsky previously managed DreamWorks' operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Prior to that he held ...

  • News

    MTM to shoot biopic of student leader Dutschke

    2000-02-10T16:28:00Z

    Munich-based production outfit MTM cineteve has successfully bid for the film rights to the biography of legendary student movement leader Rudi Dutschke.The biography - entitled Dutschke: We Had A Barbarically Lovely Life - was published by his widow Gretchen Dutschke in 1996. Urs Egger, whose credits include Opera Ball, will ...

  • Reviews

    The Broken Hearts Club

    2000-02-10T12:34:00Z

    Dir: Greg Berlanti. US. 2000. 91 mins.Prod co: Meanwhile Films. US dist: Screen Gems. Int'l dist: Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International. Prods: Mickey Liddell, Joseph Middleton. Co-prods: Julie Plec, Sam Irvin. Scr: Berlanti. DoP: Paul Elliott. Prod des: Charlie Daboub. Ed: Todd Busch. Mus: Julianne Kelley, Joe Guthrie. Main cast: ...

  • News

    Oz studio plans fail to attract cash

    2000-02-10T12:08:00Z

    The ambitious plan to build a third major film studio in Australia - with the backing of US giant Viacom - is floundering because of a complete lack of interest from institutional investors.The public float has now been abandoned and the retail precinct shaved off the development to bring the ...

  • News

    La Sept-Arte, Sundance partner for movie channel

    2000-02-10T10:38:00Z

    Robert Redford's Sundance Channel and French public broadcaster La Sept-Arte are linking up to create a cable and satellite movie channel in France.La Sept-Arte, the French end of French-German cultural channel Arte, was already developing a channel, dedicated to independent film from all over the world, before approaching the Sundance ...

  • News

    Rotterdam's CineMart sows seeds for Berlin

    2000-02-10T10:35:00Z

    The Berlin International Film Festival and market may only have unfolded this week, but the mating game for development and production finance partners is already in full swing.It kicked off in earnest earlier this month at the International Film Festival, Rotterdam which staged the 17th CineMart gathering for financiers, talent ...

  • News

    Oscar frontrunner Swank logs onto Porchlight slate

    2000-02-10T00:46:00Z

    Porchlight Entertainment, the LA-based sales and production outfit specialising in family programming, has acquired international theatrical, TV and video rights to Heartwood, a coming of age story starring Hilary Swank and Jason Robards.Swank, who is frontrunner to win this year's Best Actress Academy Award for Boys Don't Cry, plays the ...

  • News

    Miramax stages Broadway version of Stoppard play

    2000-02-10T00:28:00Z

    First it was magazine publishing, now Miramax Films has extended its tentacles onto The Great White Way. The New York-based Disney-offshoot has signed a deal to co-finance the Broadway run of the hit London stage revival of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing.The London cast which is currently in the middle ...

  • News

    Valenti enlists moguls to improve trade with China

    2000-02-10T00:15:00Z

    Jack Valenti, chairman and CEO of The Motion Picture Association, has enlisted a who's who of Hollywood's most influential power-brokers to pressure the US Congress into bolster trade relations with China.Valenti, who will head up a new committee comprised of leading media tycoons and studio bosses, said the lobby group ...

  • News

    Dudley-Smith expands WBITD role

    2000-02-10T00:06:00Z

    Malcolm Dudley-Smith has been promoted to senior vice president, sales and business development, at Warner Bros International Television Distribution where he will now oversee all sales activities in Latin America, Asia and Canada including pay, cable and free TV.Dudley-Smith will also continue to be responsible for identifying equity investments, strategic ...

  • News

    Livingstone to steer specialist fare for UIP

    2000-02-09T18:55:00Z

    Universal has finalised the appointment of David Livingstone, formerly president of marketing at Universal Pictures International, to oversee the release of specialist films through the studio's international outlet, United International Pictures. Livingstone's brief will include titles from the UK's Working Title Films and DNA Films as well as projects from ...

  • News

    Finland's Restless knocks down Beauty, Joan

    2000-02-09T18:22:00Z

    Finnish production Restless (Levottomat) has attracted 54,125 admissions in its first week on release, beating American Beauty to the number one slot with a box office gross of $372,337. The impressive opening is the biggest in Finland for a local film since the 1989 release of The Winter War which ...

  • News

    Genies grant Sunshine box office boost

    2000-02-09T16:52:00Z

    Genie awards publicity translated into a box office boom for Istvan Szabo's Sunshine last weekend, as the film notched up its strongest sales to date since its release in Canada on December 16.Earning an impressive C$85,000 ($59,000) on 42 screens across Canada for the weekend Feb 4-6, the film now ...

  • News

    Relph takes BAFTA chair as membership surges

    2000-02-09T16:51:00Z

    UK producer Simon Relph is replacing Tim Angel as chairman of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).Relph will take up the position on July 1. Angel has been chairman for three years after the traditional two-year post was renewed for an additional year.Relph assumes chairmanship as BAFTA ...

  • News

    Carlton, United merger hits competition snag

    2000-02-09T16:49:00Z

    The proposed merger between UK media congloms Carlton Communications and United News & Media has hit a setback after being referred to the Competition Commission.The widely-expected decision by trade and industry secretary Stephen Byers comes after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) raised concerns regarding both TV programming and advertising. ...