All Screen articles in 28 November 2000 – Page 2

  • News

    Recoletos, Prensa Espanola win DTT licences

    2000-11-27T11:08:00Z

    Two major new players were unleashed on the Spanish media scene Friday with the government concession of two nationwide, free-to-air digital terrestrial television (DTT) licences.The winners of the new licences were consortia Veo TV, spearheaded by publishing entities Recoletos and Unedisa (home of national newspaper El Mundo), and Net TV, ...

  • News

    Canada grants licence to Independent Film Channel

    2000-11-27T04:20:00Z

    An independent film channel, to be run as a joint venture between Halifax-based Salter Street Films, Toronto-based Triptych Media and New York's Independent Film Channel, has been granted one of the 21 digital television network licences by Canada's broadcast regulator. The Independent Film Channel Canada, which is obliged under its ...

  • News

    The Grinch leads record-breaking Thanksgiving

    2000-11-27T00:00:00Z

    Thanksgiving records collapsed over the five-day holiday weekend led by the phenomenal holdover success of Universal Pictures' Dr Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The family adventure took an estimated $73.8m from Wednesday to Sunday - about $52.4m over the Friday to Sunday period - bringing its ten day total ...

  • News

    George Washington takes top honours at Turin

    2000-11-26T22:11:00Z

    David Gordon Green's George Washington scooped the top prize at this year's Turin Film Festival (November 17-25), marking the first time a US film has won the award since the festival was launched 18 years ago. The 25-year-old US director used non-professional actors for his debut feature, which revolves around ...

  • News

    BBC in talks to launch $280m film fund with MCP

    2000-11-26T22:01:00Z

    The BBC is discussing partnering with US and UK-based financing house MM Media Capital Partners (MCP) to create a film fund, worth $280m (£200m) plus.The proposed investment will kick in over three years and be used to bankroll the BBC's drive into bigger budget productions. MCP would oversee international sales ...

  • News

    Kirch discusses buying stake in Russia's TV6

    2000-11-24T18:52:00Z

    Germany's Kirch Group is in negotiations to acquire a stake in Russian broadcaster TV6, which is majority-owned by Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. According to the station's director general, Alexander Ponomarev, a stake of up 25% is up for grabs.Representatives from the German company recently spent several days in Moscow, visiting ...

  • News

    IAC set to strike with Hammer Force

    2000-11-24T18:50:00Z

    The UK's IAC Film & Television has acquired TV and film rights to Hammer Force, a series of best-selling thriller novels about a covert team of crack United Nations agents.The UK and US-based sales and financing house is kicking off the books' exploitation by arranging the finance for a $25m, ...

  • News

    Ardmore lands Spyglass' Reign Of Fire

    2000-11-24T18:48:00Z

    Dublin's Ardmore Studios is to host the biggest ever production to shoot in Ireland - Spyglass Entertainment's $80m sci-fi actioner Reign Of Fire - which is set to star Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale.Rob Bowman, whose credits include The X Files movie, is lined up to direct the film, about ...

  • News

    First Film Foundation launches Feedback initiative

    2000-11-24T17:08:00Z

    The UK's First Film Foundation and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation are launching a screenwriting programme, entitled First Feedback, which will provide development support for 12 writers.The writers will take part in five free workshops over an period of eight months, which will be led by script tutor Phil Parker of ...

  • News

    Amsterdam doc fest to honour van der Keuken

    2000-11-24T17:04:00Z

    Dutch documentary film-maker Johan van der Keuken will be presented with the Bert Haanstra award in recognition of his life-time's work at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (November 21-29).The Dutch Film Fund, which will present the award, described van der Keuken as a "cinematic poet whose international acclaim is impressive". ...

  • News

    Media[netCom] losses double due to start-up costs

    2000-11-24T16:58:00Z

    German video-on-demand (VoD) company media[netCom] has reported that its losses more than doubled in the six months to September 30, from Euros461,000 to Euros1.16m, due to the cost of building an infrastructure and licensing film packages.However turnover rose by more than 1,000% to Euros1.94m from Euros141,000 in the same ...

  • News

    Kuratorium budget to be slashed

    2000-11-24T16:51:00Z

    German public film funding body, the Kuratorium of Young German Cinema, is facing a 12% budget cut, which it claims could jeopardise its future existence. The Wiesbaden-based fund has played a key role in the last 35 years in launching of the careers of German film-makers such as Roland Emmerich, ...

  • News

    Schuendler to head co-production at Bavaria

    2000-11-24T16:41:00Z

    Oliver Schuendler has been appointed to replace Carina Vogel as head of co-production at Bavaria Media, the international production and rights arm of German mini-major Bavaria Film.Schuendler, a producer at Bavaria Film, is best known for his German-language mini-series and TV movies. At Bavaria Media he will be responsible for ...

  • News

    Culture ministers greenlight Media Plus budget

    2000-11-23T22:18:00Z

    EU culture ministers have voted unanimously to accept a budget of Euros400m for the European Commission's audiovisual programme MEDIA Plus. The UK, Germany and the Netherlands had initially opposed the budget which is already Euros150m lower than the sum proposed by the European Parliament. MEDIA Plus' predecessor, MEDIA II, had ...

  • News

    Canal Plus delays shareholder vote on merger

    2000-11-23T19:57:00Z

    France's Canal Plus has postponed a shareholder vote on its three-way merger with Vivendi and Seagram for three days from December 5 to 8, for "technical reasons". Vivendi and Seagram will still hold their shareholder meetings as planned on December 5.In the last few weeks there have been several last-ditch ...

  • News

    Spanish networks oppose new DTT licences

    2000-11-23T19:52:00Z

    On the eve of the Spanish government's announcement on the winners of two new nationwide, free-to-air digital terrestrial television (DTT) licences, the country's private TV union has sent out a strong warning that the market will not be able to sustain the increase in competition.The Union of Associated Commercial Television ...

  • News

    Contagious catches Chocolat writer's next project

    2000-11-23T19:44:00Z

    Chocolat writer Joanne Harris is adapting her upcoming novel for the big screen through David Barron and Paul Weiland's UK production outfit Contagious Films.Contagious has bought the film rights to the book at first draft manuscript form ahead of its planned publication in 2003. Harris is writing the first draft ...

  • News

    Hallmark taps German fund for feature, TV slate

    2000-11-23T19:41:00Z

    German fund specialist ALCAS is launching a Euros216.6m operating fund to back three TV mini-series and two feature film projects from US-based producer Hallmark Entertainment.Shooting has already begun at the UK's Pinewood Studios on Hallmark's $90m feature Dinotopia, which will also be distributed in a three-part TV version. The project ...

  • Reviews

    La Chambre Des Magiciennes (Of Women And Magic)

    2000-11-23T16:26:00Z

    Dir: Claude Miller. France. 1999. 80 minsProd Co: Le Sept ARTE-teleclip/Les Films de la Boissiere. Int'l sales: UGC International, tel: (33) 1 4029 8900. Prods: Annie Miller, Jacques Fansten. Scr: Claude Miller partially based on The Blindfold by Siri Hustvedt. DoP: Philippe Weldt. Ed: Veronique Lange. Mus: Hubert Persat. Main ...

  • News

    German culture minister Naumann quits post

    2000-11-22T18:56:00Z

    Michael Naumann, the German culture minister who oversaw the controversial departure of Berlin International Film Festival chief Moritz de Hadeln, has stepped down after just two years in the job.Julian Nida-Ruemelin, the City of Munich's Arts Officer, is to succeed him. Naumann, a former publishing executive in Germany and the ...