All Screen articles in 18 September 2002
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News
Spanish pay-TV merger will get greenlight says media titan
Jesus de Polanco, president of Spanish media group Sogecable, said on Tuesday that he is "convinced" the digital merger between Sogecable's pay TV platform Canal Satelite Digital (CSD) and rival Via Digital will be approved.News reports on Monday suggested the government would give the merger the green light by year-end. ...
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News
Melbourne film studio gets government go-ahead
A major new film studio complex in the Australian state of Victoria got the greenlight this week, after the state's government agreed to commit US$22m (A$40m) of public funding to the US$60m ($A110m) project.To be built in the state capital of Melbourne, Central City Studios (CCS) will have five new ...
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News
Spanish, Italian publishing giants unveil film production and distribution push
Spanish publishing giant Grupo Planeta and Italian partner De Agostini have finally unveiled full details of their joint multi-media venture, DeA Planeta, including the creation of a new production division to be headed by former Esicma chief Pau Calpe.Calpe will oversee the as yet unnamed production division, which plans to ...
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News
Struggling Vivendi Universal 'committed' to Babelsberg studios
Struggling media group Vivendi Universal remains committed to its ownership of Babelsberg Film Studios, according to Thierry Potok, chief executive of Vivendi Deutschland and caretaker manager of Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures (SBMP).The sudden departure last week of SBMP CEO Gabriela Bacher, plus Vivendi Universal's ongoing attempts to raise cash by ...
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News
The Big Blue finally surfaces in Italy after fourteen years
Fourteen years after it became a cult movie across the world, Luc Besson's The Big Blue is at long last set to open in Italy following the resolution of a lengthy court battle. Italian audiences will be able to enjoy the diving movie's premiere at the close of the European ...
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News
Winchester stock rises after Helkon buys into company
Winchester Entertainment's stock rose a hefty 44% yesterday after Simon Franks and Zygi Kamasa's UK distributor Helkon SK bought 3.67% of the media company.Winchester chief executive and founder Gary Smith played down speculation that Helkon might bid for the company, saying that the share purchase had acted as a catalyst ...
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News
Hometown films fall under London festival spotlight
Two British films will book-end the forthcoming edition of the Regus London Film Festival (RLFF) (Nov 6-21). Stephen Frears' provocative Dirty Pretty Things, which appeared in competition at Venice, is set as the festival's opening night film, while Thaddeus O'Sullivan's Helena Bonham-Carter starring The Heart Of Me will get its ...
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News
Sogepaq restructures distribution team
Spanish distribution house Sogepaq has restructured its executive staff following the July departure of former head of international sales Eva Diederix, now with UGC in France.Simon de Santiago has been appointed deputy director of distribution for Sogepaq and sister production company Sogecine. Previously head of Canal Plus Guiones, a script ...
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News
Rudolph's Dentists go to Manhattan
Manhattan PicturesInternational, the New York-based US independent which bought domestic rightsto Michael Apted's Enigmaand Jean-Luc Godard's In Praise Of Love, has resurfaced, taking all North American rights toAlan Rudolph's Toronto festival hit The Secret Lives Of Dentists. The deal was closed by ShaunRedick of ICM and attorney Andrew P Hurwitz ...
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News
Valladolid festival unveils latest competition titles
Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, Walter Doehner's The Blue Room (La Habitacion Azul), Diego Arsuaga's The Last Train (El Ultimo Tren) and Eduard Cortes's Nobody's Life (La Vida De Nadie) are among the titles set to compete in Spain's forthcoming Valladolid International Film Week (Oct 25-Nov 2).The festival traditionally announces the ...
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News
Palm scores new funding from Colombian media giant
Chris Blackwell's PalmPictures has secured a new round of funding anchored by a"significant" investment from Latin America's Grupo SantoDomingo and also including additional funding from long-time Palm Picturesinvestor Avalon Capital Group. Grupo Santo Domingo is adiversified Latin American company with assets in broadcast television, radioand print media; Avalon is the ...
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Reviews
Callas Forever
Dir: Franco Zeffirelli. It-UK-Fr-Sp-Rom. 2002. 103 mins.Whether Franco Zeffirelli's biopic of opera star Maria Callas satisfies its audience will largely depend on demographics. Like its director, this is a film of the old school that will appeal to an older generation of music lovers and occasional cinemagoers, who do not ...
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News
Vivendi Universal buys time with loan lifeline
Financial pressure on Vivendi Universal, the group that controls Universal Pictures, Canal Plus and StudioCanal, is set to ease following a new agreement with banks and progress on asset sales.The group has brokered a new Euros3bn medium term credit line from a consortium including ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, CDC Ixis, ...
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News
Morvern Callar leads British Independent Film Awards nominations
The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) announced the nominations for its fifth annual awards on Wednesday.Over 100 films were viewed by the pre-selection committee, with the front-runners emerging as Morvern Callar with seven nominations, Bloody Sunday (five nominations) and The Lawless Heart (five nominations). All three were nominated in the ...
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News
Australia's Beyond blames losses on revaluation of film catalogue
Beyond International managing director Mikael Borglund has played down the company's US$12m (A$22m) loss for the year ending June 30, saying it was principally due to a $10.7m revaluation of non-performing films and television programs from the catalogue. Total writedowns were actually $12.6m with the addition of online investments and ...
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News
Northbeach launches into Australian distribution market
Yet another player has joined the growing band of small Australian distributors specialising in independent and foreign films. Northbeach Film Distributors, owned by journalist and publisher David Pearce, is planning a limited release of Spanish director Ventura Pons' first English language film Food Of Love, a comedy drama starring five ...
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News
Endemol acquires hit-making Spanish TV production outfit
Endemol Entertainment has bought out 100% of Barcelona TV production outfit Gestmusic Endemol.Endemol, itself 100% owned by Spanish telecoms company Telefonica, originally bought into the producer in 1994 and owned 60% prior to the latest move. Gestmusic founders Tony Cruz and Jose Maria Mainat will stay on as co-executive directors ...
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Brazil's Rio festival to showcase 400 films
Brazil's most prominent film event, the Festival do Rio BR, will showcase up to 400 films in more than seventeen sidebars. Running from September 26 to October 10, the festival will include the latest works by internationally renowned directors led by Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar, Arturo Ripstein, Atom Egoyan and ...
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News
The Pornographer forced into double UK video release
The UK's Tartan Video is to release Bertrand Bonello's The Pornographer on video in two different versions due to the restrictions of the British Video Recordings Act 1984. One version with an 18 certificate will be available for 18 year olds to purchase in normal high-street retail outlets ...