All Screen articles in 4 February 2003 – Page 3

  • News

    Artificial Eye takes UK rights on Small Cuts

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    UK distributor Artificial Eye has picked up all UK rights to Berlin International Film Festival competition title Small Cuts (Petites Coupures).Artificial Eye will release the French-language film this autumn. Directed by Pascal Bonitzer, the Rezo Films production stars Daniel Auteuil and Kristin Scott Thomas.The veteran distributor is also releasing another ...

  • News

    Toshiba to buy Japan's Amuse Pictures

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    Toshiba Corp. has announced the purchase of Amuse Pictures, the film and video distribution subsidiary of Amuse Inc. Toshiba will acquire 67% of Amuse Pictures shares on April 1 and the remainder by October. Also, Amuse Pictures will transfer its 73.5% stake in Amuse Soft Sales, a video and DVD ...

  • News

    Samuel Goldwyn, Fireworks to release Dan Ireland's Passionada

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    Samuel Goldwyn Films andFireworks Pictures announced today (Jan 30) they will distribute DanIreland's Passionada, aMassachusetts-based romance centred on a Portugese-American family, in NorthAmerica. The picture stars Sofia Milos, who has starred in numerous film andtelevision productions including The Sopranos, Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in HarryPotter And The Chamber ...

  • News

    New Christopher Guest 'mockumentary' to play South By Southwest

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    ChristopherGuest's folk music 'mockumentary' A Mighty Wind and the Adrien Brody comedy-drama TheDummy are among theline-up for the upcoming 10th Annual South By Southwest Film Conference AndFestival in Austin, Texas. Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, whofamously played clueless rockers in 1984's This Is Spinal Tap, play 1960s folk stars ...

  • News

    Columbia, McG to make movie based on Mattel toy cars Hot Wheels

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    Columbia Pictures hasoptioned exclusive rights to develop and produce Hot Wheels, an action-romance based on Mattel's populartoy cars range with McG of Charlie's Angels fame lined up to direct. While story details aresketchy McG gave some clues in a statement released today (Jan 30). 'Wewant to create a timeless story ...

  • News

    Stuparich De La Barra promoted at MDP Worldwide

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    Tamara Stuparich De La Barra has been promoted to directorof acquisitions at MDP Worldwide Entertainment, the company's chairmanand CEO Mark Damon announced today (Jan 30). Stuparich De La Barra's newresponsibilities will include the evaluation and coordination of all featurefilm submissions as well as overseeing the acquisition of completed films. Shewill ...

  • News

    August to attend Scandinavian Festival in Los Angeles

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    Renowned Danishdirector Bille August, who won the best foreign language Oscar in 1989 for PelleThe Conqueror, willattend the Scandinavian Film Festival LA's gala reception as a guest onJan 31. August is currently in Los Angeles shooting Without Apparent Motive (working title) with Julianne Moore andRichard Gere. The reception will take ...

  • News

    Ted Turner steps down as AOL Time Warner posts $100bn loss

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    AOL Time Warnertoday (Jan 29) posted a net loss of nearly $100bn for 2002 - the biggest annualloss in corporate history - after announcing a fourth quarter writedown of$45.5bn that followed a $54bn writedown in the first quarter to cover thecompany's plummeting value. In a separate announcement that adds to ...

  • Reviews

    Owning Mahowny

    2003-01-31T00:00:00Z

    Dir. Richard Kwietniowski. Can-UK. 2003. 107mins.A low-key character study of an extraordinary man, Owning Mahowny tells the true story of a nebbish Canadian bank employee who embezzled millions from his employers to feed his addiction to gambling. Directed with austerity by Richard Kwietniowski and played by the riveting Philip Seymour ...

  • News

    Paxton cast as Thunderbirds patriarch

    2003-01-31T00:00:00Z

    Continuing its strategy of non A-list casting on Thunderbirds, Working Title Films has cast Bill Paxton as Jeff Tracy, head of the International Rescue.Joining him on Tracy Island are his sons: Philip Winchester (The Patriot) as Scott and Lex Shrapnel (K-19: The Widowmaker) is John. Virgil will be played by ...

  • Reviews

    The Station Agent

    2003-01-31T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Tom McCarthy. 2002. US. 90minsAs often at Sundance, the real winners are to be found among the recipients of the audience award and not the Grand Jury Prize. This year was no exception as newcomer Tom McCarthy's crowd-pleaser, The Station Agent, proved the talk of Park City all week, ...

  • News

    Whale Rider riding high in Rotterdam

    2003-01-30T04:05:00Z

    Two thirds of the way through the Rotterdam festival, Niki Caro's Whale Rider was streets ahead in the polls for the Canal Plus public prize. The film, which was previously an audience favourite in Toronto, appears in Rotterdam's main programme and received nearly three time as many votes as The ...

  • News

    Lock, Stock financier launches AV Pictures

    2003-01-30T04:05:00Z

    Angad Paul, one of the businessmen that financed Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, has launched his own film business.The 31-year old executive has bought UK sales outfit Victor Film Co and formed AV Pictures with Victor chief, Vic Bateman. AV is a subsidiary of Caparo ...

  • News

    Local market share slips (again) for Australian films

    2003-01-30T04:05:00Z

    Australian films took only 4.9% or $24.7m (A$41.8m) of the total $498.9m (A$844.8) gross box office for 2002, compared to 7.8% in 2001 and 8% in 2000.However, according to the Australian Film Commission, the good news is that in only one other year on record did more films gross $590,000 ...

  • News

    German media funds raise over Euros 2bn in 2002

    2003-01-30T04:05:00Z

    In spite of the German stock exchange crisis and the Federal Government dragging its feet on the future structure of its tax legislation, German investors channelled over Euros 2bn of equity into private media funds for national and international production in 2002.According to German fund specialist Vendura, the funds' overall ...

  • News

    Ontario passes Breillat's Fat Girl uncut

    2003-01-30T04:00:00Z

    Catherine Breillat'scontroversial Fat Girl will bereleased uncut in Ontario, more than a year after its initial rejection by theCanadian province's censors. The film, which has screened uncut in severalother provinces, was waylaid in November 2001 by the Ontario Film Review Board (OFRB),which objected to the depiction of sexual activity by ...

  • News

    Russian Ark breaks Los Angeles theatre foreign language record

    2003-01-30T04:00:00Z

    US specialist distributorWellspring has reported that Alexander Sokurov's Russian Ark has broken a house record at one of thecountry's most prestigious arthouse cinemas. The film has become thebiggest grossing foreign picture ever to screen at Landmark's NuartTheatre in Los Angeles with a $53,967 haul from one week (Jan 3-9).After opening ...

  • News

    AFMA hires Michael Kananack to spearhead recruitment drive

    2003-01-30T04:00:00Z

    Veteran filmsales agent Michael Kananack has been brought in as manager of membershipdevelopment at AFMA to spearhead a recruitment drive for the LA-based tradeassociation, which currently represents 160 independent film and televisionproducers and distributors worldwide. He will report directly to director ofmember services Natasha Berechko.Kananack's arrival comes at an important ...

  • News

    Promark debuts three new Clubhouse Detectives films at AFM

    2003-01-30T04:00:00Z

    Promark Entertainment Group,Jon Kramer's 15-year-old US and UK-based production and sales outfit, today(Jan 29) announced plans for three further instalments in its ClubhouseDetectives franchise that will beavailable for pre-sales at next month's AFM. Following on from the success of themost recent Clubhouse Detectivespictures, the company plans to begin production on ...

  • News

    Santa Barbara Film Fest unveils 2003 lineup under Fitzgerald

    2003-01-30T04:00:00Z

    Ten world premieres areamong the line-up of more than 100 pictures for the 18th Santa BarbaraInternational Film Festival (SBIFF), which also features three new competitivesections - American Independent, Documentary and International. Announcing theprogramme today (Jan 29), SBIFF's new executive director Jon Fitzgerald saidthe event would also screen 11 US premieres ...