All Screen articles in 2 February 2002 – Page 3
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News
Japanese box office reaches all-time high
Confirming early predictions (Screendaily Jan 7) official data just released by the Motion Pictures Producers Association of Japan (Eiren), reveals that national cinema admissions reached 163.3m in 2001, generating all-time record box office revenues.Boosted by the massive success of Spirited Away, the Japanese box office soared 17.% in 2001 compared ...
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News
UK agents pitch for bigger slice of the action
The turbulent UK agency scene, where three leading players have changed ownership in as many months, is increasingly looking for a slice of the producing action - to the point of taking producer credits and fees instead of the usual commissions.Among the ventures now producing or seriously looking at raising ...
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News
Asterix 2 has near-record French opening
Asterix 2 : Mission Cleopatre drew a massive 629,000 admissions on its opening day in France on Wed Jan 30, making it the second best debut ever in the country.However, and even though distributor Pathe released it on a record 945 prints, Asterix 2, which is the most expensive ...
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News
Fall in govt funds ahead for Danish film industry
The thriving Danish film industry could be in for an unpleasant shock when the new rightwing government's financial policy comes into action next year. While state financial support remains unchanged for 2002, support from the Danish Film Institute is expected to be cut by up to 20% from 2003. The ...
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UK Film Council's balance sheet deemed 'healthy'
Robert Jones, head of the Film Council's premier fund for commercial films, tops the UK film support body's salary list, according to its annual report.Jones was on $127,000-$134,000 (£90,000-95,000) including benefits, for a period of just over six months from when he took up the post in August 2000. The ...
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News
The Son's Room has slender US opening
Despite winning last year's Cannes Palme d'or and being the Italian submission for this year's best foreign language Oscar, Nanni Moretti's acclaimed family drama The Son's Room had a disappointing opening for Miramax Films in North America last weekend, taking $4,887 from one New York screen.In those international ...
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Reviews
Pinero
Dir: Leon Ichaso. US. 2001. 99mins With his intense, charismatic performance in Pinero, Benjamin Bratt -best known for his tenure on US TV series Law And Order and a few tepid features - reaches a major turning point in his career. Displaying the kind of acting chops associated with the ...
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Reviews
The Kid Stays In The Picture
Dirs: Brett Morgen & Nanette Burstein. US. 2001. 93 mins.As an irresistible portrait of Hollywood narcissism, this documentary adaptation of Robert Evan's memoirs as a studio mogul is a guilty pleasure of the most complicit kind. Shedding their cinema verite backgrounds, the film-making duo of Brett Morgen and Nanette Burstein ...
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News
Bay, Radar, GMI set for Chainsaw Massacre redo
Michael Bay's lowerbudget label Platinum Dunes is to "reconceptualise" cult horrorclassic The Texas Chainsaw Massacreas its first production to be financed by Ted Field and Scott Kroopf'sRadar Pictures and sold internationally by Good Machine International (GMI).The film will startproduction in the spring with Bay and Michael Fleis of Next Entertainmentproducing, ...
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News
Hollywood quartet embraces new high-def VHS format
Effects-driven action thrillers such as Independence Day,X-Men, U-571, Die Hard and the first two Terminator films are about to be re-issued in the US in a new digital videotapeformat aimed specifically at that small niche of (predominantly male) hometheatre buffs who have decked out their pads with expensive high-definitiontelevision sets.Four ...
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News
Denkert to run new business division at MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studioshas created a new division MGM Entertainment Business Group and promotedlongtime senior executive Darcie Denkert to run it. Denkert, who most recentlyheld responsibility for the company's worldwide entertainment businessand legal affairs, will now focus exclusively on developing initiatives acrossdivisional lines to further leverage the film and TV library.Denkert, who ...
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News
UK's Optimum picks up clutch of titles
Optimum Releasing, the UK indie distributor which last year made a mark with Mexican hit Amores Perros, has picked up a clutch of titles including two MGM comedies - What's The Worst That Could Happen' and Tortilla Soup.Optimum has also acquired Argentinian hit Nine Queens from Lions Gate Films ...
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News
Korean industry supports screen quota system
Leading figures from the Korean film industry have united in a show of support for the nation's screen quota system, after reports suggesting that the government is planning to weaken the quota's restrictions on movie theatres. The issue has gained added prominence as South Korea and the US are ...
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News
Argentina's filmmakers condemn govt inaction
Argentinian film-makers have condemned the confusion that has reigned since their country's economic collapse and which has brought the local film industry to a standstill.At a meeting held yesterday (Jan 30) during the Rotterdam Film Festival, directors including Lucretia Martel, Ulises Rosell, Hernan Musaluppi and Alvaro Urtizberea protested against the ...
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News
Hong Kong exhibitors get window extension
Hong Kong's exhibition body, the Hong Kong Theatres Association, has reached an agreement with local distributors to extend the territory's theatrical window to at least one month.Currently, VCDs and DVDs of local titles are often released at the same time as, or only weeks after, their theatrical release. However the ...
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News
German media companies reorganise funds
EM.TV & Merchandising has parted with its shares in Hamburg-based TFC Holding, Israel's Talit.TV & Communications and Stockholm-based Plus Licens AB as part of its strategic reorientation.EM.TV had acquired the holdings during the Neuer Markt's boom phase between September 1999 and February 2000, but the decision to sell was taken ...
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News
CCS wins Oz's Melbourne studio contract
Central City Studios (CCS) have been declared "preferred tenderer" for the job of building and operating a studio and post-production complex in Melbourne. The move is a big step forward towards establishing Australia's third substantial studio complex in its second biggest city.While CCS managing director Tim Barnett says the core ...
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News
Angelopoulos to start on Greece's biggest movie
Greek director Theo Angelopoulos will next week commence shooting on The Weeping Field, the first part of his long planned, seven-hour trilogy that tells the story of a couple during the twentieth century.Set for a 15-week shoot, the most expensive Greek production ever is financed by various national and international ...
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News
Fiennes takes lead in $10m Luther biopic
UK actor Joseph Fiennes has signed up to play religious reformer Martin Luther in a $10m feature film biopic to be directed by Eric Till.Luther, the story of a simple monk challenging the political and religious leadership of his time will also feature Peter Ustinov, Bruno Ganz, Mathieu Carriere, ...
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News
Roxie takes US rights to Richter's The Tunnel
US distributor Roxie Releasing picked up US rights for Roland Suso Richter's The Tunnel from Beta Cinema at this week's Rotterdam Film Festival.Having monitored the film's success at festivals in Montreal (where it won the audience award), Vancouver (placed second in audience choice after Amelie) and the Toronto Film Festival's ...