All Screen articles in 30 January 2009 – Page 4
-
News
Hungary - The week shall inherit
International festival programmers are some of the strongest supporters of Hungarian Film Week. Cristiana Giaccardi, head of programming for Locarno, where Hungarian films have enjoyed a strong presence in recent years, will attend this year's in the expectation of finding at least one title for Locarno's next edition. "We really ...
-
News
Interview: Oliver Hirschbiegel
The Northern Ireland 'Troubles' of the 1970s are a long way from Oliver Hirschbiegel's hugely successful drama Downfall about the last days of Adolf Hitler, but the German director sees many similarities.'I've always been interested in the human condition and how this brings forth extreme confrontation,' he explains.Hirschbiegel came to ...
-
News
Serbia - Saving grace
"Serbia is currently the most competitive filming location in Europe," says Spanish-born producer Antoni Sole. "Crews are skilled and experienced, with an excellent knowledge of English and are much cheaper than those in Bulgaria or Romania. The facilities are also of high quality."Sole is an experienced producer who has set ...
-
News
United States - New York giant
Mark Lipsky, the former Miramax, New Yorker Films and Lot 47 executive, had been happily self-exiled in Arizona for five years working with technology companies when his old friend Brian Devine of Gigantic Pictures called."I was thrilled to be away from both New York and the film business. But I ...
-
News
Screen opinion:Time to get real
Could 2009 be the year we all get real' The thought springs to mind in contemplating the Alice In Wonderland aspects of the last few months. There has, of course, always been a surreal aspect to the industry but rarely has so much of the business seemed to be out ...
-
News
In Focus - European film finance unveiling this season's model
A year ago, Screen's European Film Summit in Berlin was already focused on the dark clouds on the horizon - the terms 'credit crunch' and 'sub-prime' permeated almost all the discussions. Few, however, were predicting the abrupt ending of a credit boom would lead to the kind of downturn we ...
-
News
International - Pounds and dollars
Spri's Seven Pounds weighed in at number one in the international box-office chart for the January 16-18 weekend, with a 58% rise in three-day takings after expanding to 27 territories. The film debuted in several key markets, including Spain, where it placed top (with $4.2m from 322 screens), and France ...
-
News
TheIndian film industry and the global economic crisis
How well is the Indian film industry positioned to ride out the global economic crisis' Screen takes a look at the impact of the crunch on production and multiplex expansion as well as the country's high-profile international financing deals. The Indian film industry may have made headlines last year with ...
-
News
Financing - China - Soft landing or china crisis'
The credit crunch may be inflicting damage on China's export and real-estate industry but major players in the country's nascent film business are optimistic they can escape with just flesh wounds.September 2008 is known around the world as the start of the global meltdown; in China it was also the ...
-
News
Financing - Box office - Stars fell to earth
After a disappointing 2008, Indian distributors and exhibitors have high hopes for 2009. Last year began weakly, went on to have a few upswings thanks to some unexpected small-budget successes, and finished with two December hits. Take into account the cost of producing, marketing and releasing the films, however, and ...
-
News
United Kingdom - Fresh blood
Is Hammer really "rising from the dead" again' The UK company that made Dracula, Prince Of Darkness, the Quatermass movies and The Devil Rides Out has often seemed on the verge of resurrection. As 2009 begins, it is clear the long-predicted revamp is happening for real. And in its new ...
-
NewsSlumdog marches on but BAFTA nominations did have surprises
Danny Boyle must be savouring the 11 Bafta nominations for Slumdog Millionaire but Mike Leigh is nodoubt wondering why his Happy-Go-Lucky was so resoundingly ignored.
-
News
United States - Atlantic crossing
Overlook, as any self-respecting horror fan should know, is the name of the hotel in The Shining. It is also now the name of the sales outfit set up by Verane Frediani and Franck Ribiere.The company aims to have a presence on both sides of the Atlantic, and is an ...
-
News
India - Alone in the dark
Indian writer-director Anurag Kashyap prefers the dark and dysfunctional to the frothy effervescence of Bollywood. “I try to show an India not seen before in a Bollywood film, its underbelly. The story should be rooted in India because that’s where I’m from,” he says.As a result, the non-conformist film-maker has ...
-
News
France well represented in Adelaide's 13 competition titles
The Adelaide Film Festival has chosen 13 films for its competition section including two that will have their world premieres at the festival, Granaz Moussavi's My Tehran For Sale, and Australian director Sarah Watt's My Year Without Sex. France has the most contenders in the line-up with Sylvie Verheyde's a ...
-
-
News
M-Line Distribution picks up Scandal Makers and A Frozen Flower
Sales agent M-Line Distribution has picked up international sales rights to top Korean box office hits Scandal Makers (a.k.a. Overspeed Scandal) and A Frozen Flower. Scandal Makers has been an unexpected hit comedy starring Cha Tae-hyun (My Sassy Girl) as a former pop star confronted by not one, but two ...
-
News
Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre named president of Unifrance.
Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre has been named president of French export body, Unifrance. He will replace outgoing president Margaret Menegoz whose departure was previously announced. A producer, de Clermont-Tonnerre worked as an adviser Prime Minister Raymond Barre before taking over the role of president of the Societe Francaise de Production (SFP) ...
-
News
Chou and Lin to co-star in adventure film Ci Ling
Chou will reunite with Kung Fu Dunk director Chu Yen-ping in the $14.6m (RMB100m) production. Chinese state-owned China Film Group Corporation, Beijing-based TV production company Joy Media and Taipei-based Chang Hong Entertainment, backer of Kung Fu Dunk, will jointly finance and produce the film. The story of the film tells ...
-
News
UK cinema admissions grow 1.1% following bumper summer
The latest figures from the Cinema Advertising Association show that UK cinema is bucking the media downturn, with 2008 marking a bumper year for admissions. UK cinema admissions have grown 1.1% year-on-year. They stand at 164.2 million for the year, up from 162.4 million in 2007. 2008 also marked the ...