All Screen articles in 14 April 2005 – Page 3

  • News

    Frugone named as new Valladolid fest director

    2005-04-11T04:00:00Z

    Spain's Valladolid International Film Festival hasnamed Juan Carlos Frugone as the new director of the event, which this yearcelebrates its 50th anniversary edition (Oct 21-29). A native of Argentina and an experienced film critic,Frugone was deputy director of Valladolid from 1984 to 1992. He has worked forother festivals including Mar ...

  • News

    Oscar winning short film director cranks up debut feature

    2005-04-11T04:00:00Z

    Danishdirector Martin Strange-Hansen, who won the 2002 Oscar best short film award,has started shooting his feature debut, True Spirit.TrueSpirit isbilled as a comedy about a disaster prone magician (Ken Vedsegaard) who teamsup with an insurance agent Arne (Jesper Asholt) to become ghost busters. Accordingto producer Mie Andreasen, Strange-Hansen has a ...

  • News

    Malaga festival unveils Spanish competition line-up

    2005-04-11T04:00:00Z

    The Spanish Film Festival of Malaga has finalised itsline-up for this year's eighth annual edition (April 22-30), unveilingthe final titles competing in its official selection.New films joining the six previously announced competitorsinclude: Ramon Salazar's transvestite musical 20 Centimetres (20Centimetros); Cuban comedian AlexisValdes' directorial debut A King In Havana (Un Rey ...

  • News

    Int'l buyers stock up on Pope documentaries

    2005-04-11T04:00:00Z

    In the wake of Pope JohnPaul II's death, Rai Trade, the sales arm of Italianpublic broadcaster RAI, has witnessed a flurry of demand for its latestdocumentaries on the pontiff and extensive stock footage.Vatican expert FabioZavattaro's A Quarter of a Century With Pope John Paul II, which focuses on the Pope's ...

  • News

    Spain's Avalon partners with Fnac on DVD label

    2005-04-11T04:00:00Z

    Spanishproducer-distributor Avalon Pictures has launched a new DVD sell-through labelin Spain with entertainment megastore Fnac handling classic internationalauteur titles.The label, Filmoteca Fnac, will handle an initial 20 to 25films per year from auteur directors like Fellini, Cassavetes, Jarmusch andKitano.Titles will be released on anywhere from 1500-4000 copies.Avalon founder Stefan Schmitz ...

  • News

    European box office on the slide in 2005

    2005-04-11T04:00:00Z

    The UKmarket appears to be the only major European territory showing box office oradmissions growth this year, according to the latest first quarter figures.Frenchadmissions figures are down nearly 13%, German figures have slipped 11% whilethe Spanish box office has leveled off compared to the first three months of2004. Figures for ...

  • News

    Ring 2 leads international pack with $14.8m weekend

    2005-04-11T04:00:00Z

    DreamWorks International'shorror sequel The Ring 2 added anestimated $14.8m through UIP in 4,245 sites in 46 territories at the weekend,raising the international running total to $55m.The picture opened top inItaly on $1.9m and approximately 30% market share, a remarkable result giventhat theatres were closed on Friday for the Pope's funeral. ...

  • Sahara
    Reviews

    Sahara

    2005-04-11T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Breck Eisner. US. 2005. 124 mins.Sahara is a brave attempt by an independent company - Phillip Anschutz’s Anschutz Film Group - to launch a new action hero franchise, this one modeled on Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt character. The film is a lavishly mounted, old-fashioned adventure picture which pitches Pitt ...

  • News

    Ghobadi's Turtles flies off with NatFilm prize

    2005-04-11T00:00:00Z

    Bahman Ghobadi's Turtles Can Fly won theaudience prize at the 16th NATfilm festival in Denmark.The film, which is set in an Iraqi refugee camp priorto the US led invasion, is a follow up to Ghobadi's arthouse hit A Time ForDrunken Horses.The Critics Award went to the only documentary runningin competition, ...

  • News

    Cognac toasts Iglesia's El Crimen Ferpecto

    2005-04-11T00:00:00Z

    Alex de la Iglesia's blackcomedy El Crimen Ferpecto was the big winner at the 23rdannual Cognac Thriller Festival which wrapped on Sunday night. The film was a crowd favoritetaking the Premiere magazine audience award as well as the Grand Prize from thejury headed up by American director Joel Schumacher.The Jury ...

  • News

    Sahara tops US box office for Anschutz, Paramount

    2005-04-11T00:00:00Z

    Paramount'saction-adventure Saharaopened top of the North American charts at the weekend, drawing mixed reviewsbut an estimated $18.5m in ticket sales.The picture,which stars Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz as environmental adventurers,averaged $5,865 on 3,154 screens. It was directed by Breck Eisner, the son ofdeparting Disney chief Michael Eisner, and financed by ...

  • News

    Arts Alliance names Kiedaisch as chief financial officer

    2005-04-11T00:00:00Z

    Arts Alliance Media, which was recently appointed to runthe UK Film Council's digital cinema network, has appointed Howard Kiedaisch aschief financial officer. Kiedaisch joins Arts Alliance Media from UniversalPictures International (UPI) where he was senior vice president of businessoperations and chief financial officer.In addition to his six years at UPI, ...

  • News

    Paramount tops box office with action adventure Sahara

    2005-04-11T00:00:00Z

    Paramount'saction-adventure Saharaopened top of the North American charts at the weekend, drawing mixed reviewsbut an estimated $18.5m in ticket sales.The picture,which stars Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz as environmental adventurers,averaged $5,865 on 3,154 screens. It was directed by Breck Eisner, the son ofdeparting Disney chief Michael Eisner, and financed by ...

  • News

    Sony-led acquisition of MGM closed on Friday

    2005-04-11T00:00:00Z

    On the day MGM's acquisitionby the Sony and Comcast-led consortium officially closed and most of theexisting MGM staff prepared to be let go, the company announced severaloperating practices and a slew of new appointments.The company will releaseonly one more film - The Amityville Horror on Apr 15. Its remaining titles ...

  • News

    Indian International awards set locale for 2006 event in Amsterdam

    2005-04-11T00:00:00Z

    The sixth InternationalIndian Film Academy (IIFA) awards weekend will take place in Amsterdam,Holland, from Jun 9-11.Since the annual ceremonylaunched five years ago at the Millennium Dome in London, a number ofinternational locations including London, Malaysia and Singapore have hostedthe event.The IIFA will feature a newglobal business forum at Expo XXI, ...

  • News

    Dan Murrell to run LaserPacific in LA

    2005-04-08T04:00:00Z

    Dan Murrell has joineddigital LA post-production facility LaserPacific as chairman and chiefexecutive officer, effective immediately.Murrell served as chiefexecutive officer of Home Box Office Asia, a joint venture of Warner Bros,Sony, Universal, Paramount and HBO, since 1997, and will focus on long-termgrowth, strategic planning and business opportunities.Reporting to general managerof Kodak ...

  • News

    Hot newcomers, veterans share Filmstiftung NRW cash

    2005-04-08T04:00:00Z

    Award winning Britishshort film director Steve Hudson has received Euros 850,000 in funding for hisdebut feature Dragnet from Dusseldorf-based subsidy body FilmstiftungNRW.Hudson won the Prix UIP in Venice last year forhis short Goodbye. Dragnet is about a group of Scottish fishermen whoget involved in the human trafficking of Chinese refugees ...

  • News

    Loach plants Barley in Ireland

    2005-04-08T04:00:00Z

    Director Ken Loach is to start shooting his next film, thetentatively titled The Wind That Shakes The Barley, in Cork, Ireland,next month.The Irish Civil War drama is written by Loach's regularcollaborator, Paul Laverty. Named after a 19th century politicalsong, the film revolves around a family and one of the so-called ...

  • News

    Imagi recruits Cumming, Astin, Tucci for Cat Tale

    2005-04-08T04:00:00Z

    Alan Cumming, Sean Astin,Elisha Cuthbert, and Stanley Tucci have joined the voice cast of ImagiServices' upcoming CGI animated feature Cat Tale, which is scheduled for release in 2006.Cat Tale centres on the exploits of Rover, a feline whomistakenly grows up in Dogtown and must rediscover his roots by journeying toCatopolis.Astin ...

  • News

    Voltage acquires two comedies from Insomnia

    2005-04-08T04:00:00Z

    Nicolas Chartier and DeanDevlin's fledgling international sales and financing house Voltage Pictures hasacquired two comedies from Insomnia Entertainment, Eric Bernt's Vegas Baby and Matthew Cole Weiss' Standing Still.Voltage will handleinternational rights and show footage to buyers at Cannes on both pictures,which are currently in post production.Vegas Baby centres on five ...