All Screen articles in 24 June 2002 – Page 2

  • News

    German production community faces 90% reduction

    2002-06-21T04:05:00Z

    The German production community is facing a crisis which could see the numbers of film and TV producers decimated by the end of next year, according to Stefan Arndt of X-Filme Creative Pool.Speaking at a discussion during Cologne's Medienforum on the future structure of the new German Film Law (FFG), ...

  • News

    Finnish cinema operator to build 14-screen site in Latvia

    2002-06-21T04:05:00Z

    The Finnish multiplex operator Finnkino OY and local department store group Stockmann will invest $39m in a cinema and retail complex in the Latvian capital of Riga. Stockmann is providing $23m, while Finnkino will contribute $16.2m to the project.The six-storey building to be completed in the autumn of 2003, will ...

  • Reviews

    Scooby-Doo

    2002-06-21T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Raja Gosnell. US. 2002. 86 mins.Corporate film-making has become so transparent these days that Hollywood studios are not even making a pretence of masking their priorities on a project like Scooby-Doo. Moving at a pace so frenetic it makes MTV look stately, and blanketed in radio-friendly pop tunes (rock ...

  • News

    Europeans proving faithful to Gere thriller

    2002-06-21T00:00:00Z

    20th Century Fox's adult thriller Unfaithful is enjoying success as counter-programming to the chart storming blockbuster fare, Spider-Man and Star Wars: Episode II.Aimed at a more mature audience the film has enjoyed a host of strong openings and performances in Europe since debuting in Sweden on May 31. With an ...

  • News

    Hamill, Struthers star in Pied Piper's thriller Constricted

    2002-06-21T00:00:00Z

    Mark Hammill and Sally Struthers have taken the lead roles in independently financed psychological thriller Constricted which started shooting yesterday in the US. The film, being produced by Pied Piper Productions' Holly Mosher, is written and directed by Christian Otien (Lady In The Box). It also stars Brad Hunt, Majandra ...

  • News

    Empire, First Run team for US rights to Chabrol's Chocolat

    2002-06-21T00:00:00Z

    Empire Pictures and First Run Features have pacted to buy US rights to Claude Chabrol's popular thriller Merci Pour Le Chocolat which premiered at the Venice Film Festival two years ago and won the Prix Louis Delluc in 2001.Empire will oversee the film's theatrical release this summer and First Run ...

  • News

    Blueprint for ottfilm/Telepool distribution deal

    2002-06-21T00:00:00Z

    German theatrical distributor ottfilm and Munich-based Telepool have concluded a three-year first look deal for the international distribution of feature films.The first title under the arrangement will be Rolf Schuebel's Euros 4.5m Blueprint, starring Franka Potente (Run Lola Run), Sebastian Koch (Amen) and Hilmir Snaer Gudnason (101 Reykjavik), which begins ...

  • News

    Myriad options Cannell bestseller Riding The Snake

    2002-06-21T00:00:00Z

    Myriad Pictures has optioned the film rights to Stephen J Cannell's best-selling novel Riding The Snake, a conspiracy thriller set in the world of Chinese organized crime. The film will be produced by Kirk D'Amico, president of Myriad Pictures, alongside Doug Rosen, vice president of production at Cannell Studios, Lucas ...

  • News

    The Tunnel's Teamworx team picks up producers' prize

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    German production company Teamworx's Nico Hofmann, Ariane Krampe, and Bettina Reitz, the team behind "event television" productions The Tunnel and Tanz Mit Dem Teufel - Die Entfuehrung Des Richard Oetker, have been awarded this year's Producers' Prize at the Cologne Conference. Picked up in January at the Rotterdam Film Festival ...

  • News

    Polish media giant prepares major floatation

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    Polish media giant ITI Holdings S.A. is to launch an initial public offering of up to 48% of its shares, making it the biggest float on the Warsaw market for two years.The company revealed last month that it was planning to raise between $80m and $130m through the IPO to ...

  • News

    Lolafilms' refinancing deadline extended to mid-July

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    The deadline for shareholders to participate in the Euros 18m capital amplification of Spanish production powerhouse Lolafilms has been pushed back until mid-July. The amplification of capital was approved on March 22 by Lola shareholders, led by 70% backer Admira, the media unit of Telefonica, and Lola CEO Andres Vicente ...

  • News

    Ufa Theater faces the final curtain

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    Production, distribution and now exhibition - German cinema chain Ufa-Theater looks like becoming the latest in a growing list of insolvent German media companies.According to business daily newspaper Handelsblatt, a shortfall of Euros 4m could bring down the once dominant German exhibitor. Company shareholders have already spent weeks considering various ...

  • News

    National general strike won't cripple Spain's film industry

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    Despite a call by the Spanish Actors' Guild to support a nationwide general workers' strike planned for Thursday, June 20, the film industry will not come to a full stop.Several film production companies contacted said they would not halt work on films currently shooting or rehearsing in Spain. A spokesperson ...

  • News

    Scala boards dialogue-free debut feature

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    The UK's Scala Productions has boarded Wounded, a dialogue-free feature from new UK production outfit Kaos Films.A contemporary thriller set in the wilds of North America, the film is produced by Arif Hussein and Piers Jackson, who was previously head of development and production at Screen Production Associates. "Basically, two ...

  • News

    Jeremy Thomas reveals cast of Bertolucci's Dreamers

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    Michael Pitt, Eva Green and Louis Garrel will star in Bernardo Bertolucci's next film, The Dreamers, producer Jeremy Thomas announced on Wednesday.Newcomers Green and Garrel play a brother and sister in Paris in 1968 who invite a young American played by Pitt to stay. Set against the turbulent political backdrop ...

  • News

    Italia Cinema appoints new president

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    Marina Cicogna has been appointed president of Italia Cinema, Italy's film promotional body. Cicogna is the granddaughter of Count Volpi, the founder of the Venice Film Festival in 1932. After studying film, theatre and literature in the US, she worked in film production and distribution in Italy, producing several films ...

  • News

    Another German media company files for insolvency

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    German production outfit H5B5 Media, which co-produced Cannes film Welcome To Collinwood, has become the latest in the growing list of German media companies filing for insolvency.In a statement, the company said that an ongoing production for children's animation specialist RTV had encountered cash flow problems. In addition, a Euros ...

  • News

    Anant Singh snaps up Deepak Chopra film rights

    2002-06-20T04:05:00Z

    South African producer Anant Singh, head of Videovision and Distant Horizon, has snapped up the much sought-after film rights to 'mind-body-spirit' guru Deepak Chopra's fictional works The Return Of Merlin and Soulmate. The deal was negotiated and concluded during Chopra's visit to South Africa last week. The rights to The ...

  • News

    Witherspoon hires Simpson at Type A

    2002-06-20T00:00:00Z

    Jennifer Simpson has been appointed president of Reese Witherspoon's production company Type A Films which is based at Intermedia in Los Angeles. Simpson will oversee acquisition, development and production of all projects for the company and will report to Witherspoon, the actress with credits including Legally Blonde and The Importance ...

  • Reviews

    The Hard Word

    2002-06-20T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Scott Roberts. Australia. 2002. 103 mins.Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths, two Australian actors running hot in the States, return home to lend class to this lively but otherwise undistinguished gangster comedy-thriller. Screenwriter Scott Roberts' directorial debut has plenty of bloodthirsty violence shared between a strong cast of tough guys ...