All Screen articles in 12 December 2001 – Page 2

  • News

    Effects expert Pilgrim joins LA-based CFX

    2001-12-11T03:45:00Z

    Jamie Pilgrim, who recently served as creature technical director on The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, has been named research and development technical director at LA-based visual effects facility CFX.Pilgrim's work as creature technical director on The Lord Of The Rings included writing proprietary software for muscle systems, tree and ...

  • News

    Sylvia Rothblum joins WBITD from EM-TV

    2001-12-11T03:43:00Z

    Sylvia Rothblum has been named managing director, German-speaking territories, for Warner Bros International Television Distribution (WBITD). Based in Munich. she will be responsible for the licensing of WBITD TV and film product to broadcast, pay, video-on-demand, satellite and cable TV clients in German-speaking territories.She will report to Joshua A Berger, ...

  • News

    Melanie Griffith to star in Almost Japanese

    2001-12-11T02:37:00Z

    Melanie Griffith has been cast to play the lead in Robert Allan Ackermann's provocative comedy Almost Japanese which is set to be backed by the Potsdam-based producer fund Vif International Films.Shooting on the love story between a lonely and inept American teenager and a Japanese conductor (to be played by ...

  • News

    Powell re-elected chairman of Euro Film Academy

    2001-12-10T19:20:00Z

    UK producer Nik Powell has been re-elected by the general assembly of the European Film Academy (EFA) as the institution's chairman for another two years, with Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick and French producer Humbert Balsan also confirmed in their posts as deputy chairmen.The 15-person EFA board also welcomed three new ...

  • News

    Indian superstar Kumar dies, aged 90

    2001-12-10T19:16:00Z

    Veteran film actor and the first Indian superstar Ashok Kumar died in Mumbai on Monday (Dec 10) aged 90. Ashok Kumar, born Kumudlal Kanjilal Ganguly, made his debut in the film Jeevan Naiya, before becoming the face of the 40's and 50's. Adding to his charisma was the meaningful roles ...

  • News

    Kirch's mixed messages about News Corp bid

    2001-12-10T19:15:00Z

    Germany's Kirch Group is sending out mixed messages about a possible takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. But the fact that it is sending out any signals already suggests that the threat is real (Screendaily, Dec 5).According to some sources Kirch held crisis meetings over the weekend in order ...

  • News

    Canal Plus, UPC to merge Polish pay-TV platforms

    2001-12-10T19:12:00Z

    In a move that comes quicker than expected, Canal Plus and UPC have agreed to merge their pay-TV platforms in Poland (Screendaily Aug 12).Only four months after the ceasing of hostilities between former rivals Cyrfa+ and Wizja TV, the two parent companies have decided to go ahead with a ...

  • News

    India's biggest ever movie set for release

    2001-12-10T18:55:00Z

    Indian film producer Yash Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam (Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow), the most expensive Indian film ever made at a cost of $10m, is set for its world premiere on 14th December. Directed by Indian cinema wonder-kid Karan Johar, whose debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai smashed local ...

  • News

    Asif Kapadia considering gunslinger project

    2001-12-10T18:52:00Z

    Having transplanted the spaghetti Western to India with Miramax Films pick-up The Warrior, UK director Asif Kapadia is considering swapping the deserts of Rajasthan for the real Wild West on St Agnes' Stand.Kapadia is being wooed to direct the story of an injured gunslinger on the run for Nik Powell's ...

  • News

    Canada sees launch of two new distributors

    2001-12-10T18:01:00Z

    Two new Canadian distribution outfits - one based in Montreal, one in Toronto - are emerging from the executive suites, libraries and deals of two old companies: an ailing TVA International and the defunct Blackwatch Releasing.Launched this week, Montreal-based Incendo Media begins life with several significant TV distribution deals, including ...

  • News

    Total, Titan to re-make Sex, Shame & Tears

    2001-12-10T17:58:00Z

    Brazil's Total Entertainment and Mexico's Titan Prods, which signed a co-production pact in September, are poised to make a Brazilian version of the highest grossing Mexican film of all time, Sex, Shame And Tears (Sexo, Pudor Y Lagrimas) . The battle-of-the-sexes comedy grossed $12.4m in Mexico. Fox Film Brazil will ...

  • News

    Spain's box office heads towards world record

    2001-12-10T14:19:00Z

    Spain looks set to break the world record for sustained admissions growth if predictions come true and cumulative ticket sales rise for the thirteenth year in a row.Spain had posted over 123 million admissions as of November 25, still trailing the 2000's total of 135 million, but not yet incorporating ...

  • News

    Ocean's Eleven pays off, steals $39.3m opening

    2001-12-10T02:16:00Z

    As expected, Warner Bros dominated the box office over the weekend with the release of star-packed Ocean's Eleven and the continued run of Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone. Ocean's Eleven opened in the top spot with a massive estimated $39.26m on 3,075 screens, while Harry Potter took $14.8m to ...

  • News

    AMC buys insolvent General

    2001-12-10T01:44:00Z

    Consolidation in the North American exhibition sector continues apace as AMC Entertainment acquired ailing General Cinemas out of bankruptcy court. Under the agreement, AMC, the second-largest exhibitor by screens, will pay the creditors of General's parent GC Companies valued at more than $175m in cash and AMC stock . ...

  • News

    Scorsese-backed one shot feature to film on Dec 23

    2001-12-10T00:40:00Z

    December 23 has been set as the date for Alexander Sokurov's one-shot, 90-minute film Waterloo - The Russian Ark which will be filmed at original locations in the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, tracing.key events in the former Tsarist Empire from Catherine the Great to Nicolas II.German steady-cam ...

  • News

    RTL issues fourth profit warning of 2001

    2001-12-09T23:46:00Z

    RTL, the pan-European broadcast giant, has issued its fourth profit warning of the year.It said that in the current year advertising revenues will show a drop averaging 10% and that its own earnings will fall by 35%-40%, from the EBIT figure of Euros 55m it recorded last year."Advertising markets across ...

  • News

    Movie TV to launch on Japan's Jasdaq

    2001-12-09T23:39:00Z

    Movie Television, a leading seller of Hollywood films and TV programs to Japanese television, will list its shares on the Jasdaq over-the-counter market on December 13. Launched in 1984 by current president Kenichi Morohashi, the company has output deals with 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Warner, MGM and Universal. It earns ...

  • News

    Vivendi in advanced talks over Telepiu, Stream

    2001-12-09T23:38:00Z

    Vivendi Universal said on Friday (Dec 7) that it was in advanced talks with News Corp concerning its Italian pay-TV platforms, Telepiu and Stream.In a statement Vivendi Universal said the discussions "would result in the acquisition of Stream by Telpiu" and would replace the current offer, which is being contested ...

  • News

    Murdoch considering Kirch Group takeover

    2001-12-09T23:36:00Z

    Rupert Murdoch is reported to be eyeing up a full takeover of Germany's Kirch group.According to the Financial Times the two companies have discussed such a move, which would give Murdoch the position in central Europe he has long craved. Kirch denied that discussions are taking place.Murdoch joins another US ...

  • News

    Ralph Kamp embarks on sales Odyssey

    2001-12-09T23:29:00Z

    Ralph Kamp, the former chief executive of Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey's London-based sales operation Icon Entertainment International, is understood to be setting up a new independent sales operation under the banner Odyssey.Amongst the first titles Kamp is expected to represent is the tentatively titled Great War project, starring Billy ...