All Screen articles in 9 March 2005 – Page 3

  • News

    Hart/Lunsford finishes debut feature with Langhella

    2005-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Newly formed production company Hart/Lunsford Pictures hasannounced completion of its debut feature, How You Look To Me, starring Frank Langhella and LauraAllen.The Kentucky-based storycentres on the efforts of an English professor who helps three young men asthey approach adulthood. Television director J Miller Tobin made his featuredirectorial debut based on ...

  • News

    Sony names foreign chief to lead it out of slump

    2005-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Sony has named Howard Stringer as its new chairman andchief executive, handing the reins of the struggling conglomerate to aforeigner for the first time. Sony's board agreed to appoint Stringer - the Welsh-bornhead of its U.S. operations and entertainment division - at an extraordinarymeeting in Tokyo on Monday morning. Current ...

  • Reviews

    Mongolian Ping Pong (Lu Caodi)

    2005-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Ning Hao. China.2005. 102mins.A worthwhile addition tothe yurt-flick genre that has included the likes of Urga, MongolianPing Pong is one of those ethnic features that allows audiences to getinside an alien landscape and culture from the comfort of their own cinemaseat. Beautifully-shot, the film is a paean to the ...

  • News

    Disney, Spyglass enjoy BO smash with The Pacifier

    2005-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Disney and Spyglass Entertainment's family comedy The Pacifier opened top over the weekend on anestimated $30.2m, beating MGM's caper sequel Be Cool into second place on $23.5m and defyingpredictions of a reverse-order finish.The only other new release that made it into the top 10 was WarnerIndependent Pictures' psychodrama The Jacket, ...

  • News

    ShoWest Awards watch: Drew Barrymore

    2005-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Drew Barrymore will receive the ShoWest Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film award at the closing night ceremony in Las Vegas on Mar 17."Barrymore is a successful actress who, since her feature film debut at the age of three, has been captivating movie audiences for more then two decades," Mitch ...

  • News

    South African Drum takes top African fest prize

    2005-03-07T00:00:00Z

    South African director Zola Maseko's Drum has wonthe top prize at Africa's leading film festival, Fespaco, in Burkina Faso'scapital Ouagadougou. Drum, a film about apartheid set amid the jazzclubs of 1950s Johannesburg, was awarded the Golden Stallion of Yennenga and acash prize of $20,000 at the closing ceremony on Saturday ...

  • News

    Sony's Hitch explodes into 25 markets with $21m weekend

    2005-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Hitchwas the number one international release of the weekend with an estimated $21mhaul on 2,955 screens in 25 markets through Sony Pictures ReleasingInternational (SPRI), while DreamWorks International's Meet The Fockers passed $200m following another strongweekend.Sony's romantic comedy raised its international running total to$29.1m, powered by a superb $9m number one ...

  • News

    Diesel's kid comedy flattens the competition with $30.2m opening

    2005-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Disney and Spyglass Entertainment's family comedy The Pacifier opened top over the weekend on anestimated $30.2m, beating MGM's caper sequel Be Cool into second place on $23.5m and defyingpredictions of a reverse-order finish.The only other new release that made it into the top 10 was WarnerIndependent Pictures' psychodrama The Jacket, ...

  • News

    Universal launches family home entertainment label

    2005-03-06T00:00:00Z

    Universal Pictures haslaunched a family home entertainment label, which will develop, produce andacquire live-action and animated family titles directly for the homeentertainment market worldwide.Universal Studios HomeEntertainment Family Productions (USHEFP) will be headed up by UniversalStudios Home Entertainment president Craig Kornblau, while day-to-daymanagement will be in the hands of family entertainment ...

  • News

    Italy joins the digital cinema revolution

    2005-03-04T04:00:00Z

    Italy is finally getting on the digital bandwagon. Nationalexhibitors association ANEC has announced that 50 Italian cinemas will investin digital projectors by the beginning of 2006.There are currently 11 digital projectors in Italy.Digitally-equipped cinemas include the avant-garde Arcadia multiplex nearMilan, which has two digital projectors, and Rome's Casa del Cinema, ...

  • News

    Oscar titles do box-office battle in Taiwan

    2005-03-04T04:00:00Z

    All five Academy Best Picture nominees went head-to-head atthe Taiwan box office in February to benefit from media buzz during the awardseason. Clint Eastwood may have taken the Oscar home, but Taiwanaudiences are only interested in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. The Howard Hughes biopic is approaching $1min the capital after ...

  • News

    Cesar-winning director attacks French cinema circuits

    2005-03-04T04:00:00Z

    GillesPorte, Cesar winning director of Quand La Mer Monte, has spoken outagainst major cinema circuits which have declined to program his film even inlight of its recent national awards. OnSunday, Quand La Mer Monte received the Cesar for best first film andbest actress for Yolande Moreau who is also the ...

  • News

    Kinowelt acquires KirchMedia's 5,500-title library

    2005-03-04T04:00:00Z

    Germany's Kinowelt has become the operator of the one ofEurope's largest film libraries with its acquisition of all of the theatricaland DVD rights to KirchMedia's 5,500-title back catalogue for the period untiland including 2012. The deal for the KirchMedia library, which includes 150previously acquired Kirch titles, boosts Kinowelt's film holdings ...

  • News

    23 projects for Las Palmas co-prod market

    2005-03-04T04:00:00Z

    Twenty-three feature film projects from across Europe havesigned up for the third annual EuroForum co-production market, held March 9-11during Spain's Las Palmas International Film Festival (March 4-12), which kicksoff tomorrow with Paul Weitz's inaugural film In Good Company.Fatih Akin's new comedy Soul Kitchen,bullfighters-in-training tale The Sweet Life from Spanishproducer-distributor Alta ...

  • Reviews

    The Pacifier

    2005-03-04T00:00:00Z

    Dir:Adam Shankman. US. 2005. 97mins.Itworked for Arnold Schwarzenegger, so it's not surprising that Vin Diesel tooshould now take a career diversion from action into family comedy. ThePacifier, from Spyglass, Disney and Bringing Down The House directorAdam Shankman, puts the XXX muscle man together with some unruly kidsand a supporting cast ...

  • Reviews

    Man Of The House

    2005-03-04T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Stephen Herek. US.2005. 100mins.A dispiriting tale abouta group of cheerleaders who observe a murder and then must be protected, ManOf The House is a colourless concept comedy without much else going for itoutside of concept; an artificial crowd-pleaser that throws a few feeblecharacter types at the screen and then ...

  • News

    VIP media fund backs Kapur's Water

    2005-03-04T00:00:00Z

    Shekhar Kapur has tied up with Europe's VIP Media Fund, toco-produce and distribute his films. The first two films announced as part of this collaborationare: Paani (Water) being produced and directed by Kapur and renownedauthor Deepak Chopra under the banner of their company INTENT, and Buddhabeing produced by Kapur and ...

  • News

    Tiger Beer launches Asian film award

    2005-03-04T00:00:00Z

    A new award for Asian cinemain the UK has been launched.The contest, created byTiger Beer, is open to films produced with Asian funding, filmed in Asia orusing predominantly Asian talent. Winners will be announced in April and willinclude films released in the UK between February 2004 and February 2005 - ...

  • News

    Hitch gets hooked up around Europe

    2005-03-04T00:00:00Z

    Hitch gets a major push through Sony Pictures ReleasingInternational (SPRI) this weekend, with a raft of major debuts that includesAustralia, Germany and Russia on Mar 3, and the UK and Spain on Mar 4.The romantic comedy hasgrossed $6.1m and should receive a timely boost this weekend. Will Smith hasinternational appeal ...

  • News

    INTERNATIONAL 4 March

    2005-03-04T00:00:00Z

    With a paltry 12% loss week-on-week Japanese animated smash Howl'sMoving Castle passed the $200m mark at the international box office overthe weekend. Over $170m of this has come from Japan with strong support fromSouth Korea and France.After seven weeks in France 1.2 million people have seen thefilm providing an $9m ...