All Screen articles in 16 October 2002 – Page 3

  • Reviews

    Swept Away

    2002-10-14T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Guy Ritchie. UK-US. 2002. 89mins.Even with husband Guy Ritchie writing and directing, Swept Away turns out to be another bewilderingly off-key movie vehicle for Madonna, a misconceived and unappealing romantic comedy - based on Lina Wertmuller's 1974 Italian film Travolti da un Insolito Destino nell'Azzurro Mare d'Agosto - that ...

  • News

    Cronenberg nets two awards at Sitges Int'l film festival

    2002-10-14T00:00:00Z

    Guy Maddin's Dracula: Pages From A Virgin's Diary (pictured) took home the best film award and David Cronenberg best director for Spider from the Fantastic Section of Spain's 35th annual Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia (Oct 3-13).Cronenberg was also the recipient of one of this year's two Time Machine ...

  • News

    Berlinale appoints new Kinderfilmfest director

    2002-10-14T00:00:00Z

    Thomas Hailer has been appointed director of the Kinderfilmfest (children's film festival) of the Berlin International Film Festival. Long-time Kinderfilmfest collaborator Maryanne Redpath is deputy director.Together with the director of the section, an advisory selection committee will be responsible for the programme. Alongside Redpath, Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick will ...

  • News

    Red Dragon stays put at number one in North America

    2002-10-13T00:00:00Z

    Red Dragon scared off the combined might of five top ten new releases and the irrepressible charms of Sweet Home Alabama to hold on to top spot in its second week with a $17.6m bite that brings its cumulative score after ten days to $63.2m, according to studio estimates released ...

  • News

    Hoyts has a go at Swimming Upstream

    2002-10-11T04:05:00Z

    Hoyts Distribution has acquired Australian rights to Swimming Upstream from Summit Entertainment. Although principally produced out of the US, the film was shot in Queensland last year and directed by expatriate Russell Mulcahy, and stars two of the country's most internationally acclaimed actors, Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis. Hoyts acquisition ...

  • News

    TFM launches Full Frontal into French market

    2002-10-11T04:05:00Z

    Launching into France's already crowded distribution market, the newly formed TFM - a joint venture between US mini-major Miramax and broadcaster TF1 - has cut its teeth with its first French release. Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal was sent out on 24 screens in the capital on October 2 to lukewarm ...

  • News

    Scotland loses a studio but gains a film fund

    2002-10-11T04:05:00Z

    After years of feasibility studies and grand designs, Scottish Enterprise has concluded that there is insufficient demand within the Scottish film industry to justify the construction of a large-scale film studio. Instead, the organisation intends to commit $1.6m (£1m) of public funding to a more modest $4.7m (£3m) studio ...

  • News

    Hungary's major international film festival kicks off

    2002-10-11T04:05:00Z

    Following the success of The International Film Festival of Fine Arts in Szolnok, Hungary saw another event kick off yesterday: the Titanic Film Festival in Budapest. The tenth edition of Hungary's biggest international film festival will screen over fifty productions from twenty countries. The festival opened with a ...

  • News

    MIPCOM TV market ends on a cautiously positive note

    2002-10-11T04:05:00Z

    Attendance was solid at this year's MIPCOM programmes market in Cannes, despite the current depression in the TV market which has put the squeeze on many players in the sector. Michael Weatherseed, director of the television division at MIPCOM and MIP-TV organiser Reed Midem, was upbeat at a market press ...

  • News

    Anglo-French film investment alliance takes shape

    2002-10-11T04:05:00Z

    In a bid to stimulate co-production activity between the two countries, UK and French film support agencies The Film Council and the CNC are exploring ways of working together more closely.The two bodies have met several times this year to discuss increased co-operation. At the Dinard Festival of British film ...

  • News

    Vivendi Universal to lay off half of Paris HQ staff

    2002-10-11T00:00:00Z

    Vivendi Universal is to slash staff at its Paris headquarters and other international offices in a bid to achieve savings of Euros140m in the coming year.In a statement, Vivendi said it planned to cut 152 positions out of 327 staff in its Paris headquarters. Management tasks will be concentrated in ...

  • News

    Two Nordic majors gear up for market growth

    2002-10-11T00:00:00Z

    Sweden's Svensk Filmindustri and Denmark's Nordisk Film have both announced new appointments as part of their ambitions to increase their activities in the Scandinavian market.Scandinavian major Svensk Filmindustri is expanding into international production and will further strengthen its Nordic presence within film and television. The company is presently involved in ...

  • News

    US regulator blocks EchoStar, DirecTV satellite merger

    2002-10-11T00:00:00Z

    EchoStar Communications $16.2bn bid to acquire rival satellite television outfit DirecTV was dealt a potentially fatal blow yesterday when the US communications regulator moved to block the deal.The Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted to refer the deal to an administrative law judge for review - a process that could take ...

  • Reviews

    The Magic Box (Sandouk Ajab)

    2002-10-11T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Ridha Behi. Tunisia-France. 2002. 89mins.One of the few really pleasant surprises at this year's Venice Film Festival, The Magic Box is a small but likeable Tunisian drama that recycles the Nuovo Cinema Paradiso theme without appearing derivative. It was snapped up by Norway's BV International after its out-of-competition world ...

  • News

    Financial reprieve imminent for peppermint

    2002-10-10T04:05:00Z

    Peppermint, the Munich and Kuala Lumpur-based film and programme sales company, is set for an financial reprieve having been sideswiped by the collapse of rights trader and producer Helkon.Prior to last week's announcement that Helkon would not emerge from insolvency protection, peppermint boss Michael Knobloch bought back the 51% stake ...

  • News

    Italy's RAI Trade readies major DVD push

    2002-10-10T04:05:00Z

    RAI Trade, the sales arm of Italian public broadcaster RAI is to release a string of opera and ballet titles - including Franco Zeffirelli's staging of La Traviata - on DVD from November, to be distributed worldwide by TDK.RAI has so far released six classical music titles through a distribution ...

  • News

    Scorsese, DiCaprio gang up for Japanese campaign

    2002-10-10T04:05:00Z

    Director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio are preparing to launch a major push in Japan for the forthcoming release of Gangs Of New York.Both are scheduled to arrive in Japan on November 18, spending five days on a concerted PR tour - as part of a bid to boost ...

  • News

    MIPCOM buyers go in search of value for money deals

    2002-10-10T04:05:00Z

    MIPCOM, the television programmes market in Cannes, is turning out to be more memorable for its publicity stunts than its high-profile deals. But behind the hoopla is a new-found emphasis on getting value for money.The opening night party was topped by a performance by dance troupe La Cirque Du Soleil, ...

  • News

    Last Life wraps as Bohemian's first film

    2002-10-10T04:05:00Z

    Last Life In The Universe, the latest pan-Asian co-production and first feature from start-up production outfit Bohemian Films, is set to wrap this week following a six-week shoot in Bangkok.Directed by Thailand's Pen-ek Ratanaruang, the film is a dark comedy about a suicidal Japanese librarian, living in Bangkok, who is ...

  • News

    Artificial Eye takes Dolls, Springtime for UK

    2002-10-10T04:05:00Z

    Artificial Eye has picked UK rights to Takeshi Kitano's Dolls and Tian Zhuangzhuang's Springtime In A Small Town.The veteran UK independent distributor will open both titles in May next year. Dolls, which played at Venice and Toronto, will screen at November's London Film Festival.Artificial Eye's release schedule includes Bertrand Tavernier's ...