All articles by Adam Minns – Page 35
-
News
007 given licence to shoot during UK actors strike
The next James Bond movie has been cleared to shoot as planned in January after its producer Eon Productions agreed to givemembers of UK actors union Equity a three per cent royalty payment from video and DVD sales worldwide.The deal, which kicks in after thefilm's producers have recouped 30% of ...
-
News
Film Council awards second round of slate funds
Ecosse Films, Recorded Picture Company and Ruby Films are amongst the UK production outfits to secure slate funding in the second round of company awards from the UK Film Council's National Lottery coffers.Also securing cash were Catherine Aitken and Ros Borland's Gabriel Films, documentary production company October Films and Riverchild ...
-
News
UK's Film Council backs French-language title
The UK's Film Council's Premiere Fund for commercially-oriented films is pumping $700,000 (£500,000) into its first foreign-language production, French director Patrice Leconte's L'Homme Du Train.Pathe will distribute the comedy drama in the UK, while Pathe International is handling international sales. Shooting started this month in France, with Philippe Carcassonne producing ...
-
News
Ian George replaces Maj-Britt Kirchner at Pathe UK
Maj-Britt Kirchner is stepping down as managing director of the UK's Pathe Distribution at the end of the year, Francois Ivernel, managing director of Pathe UK, announced on Monday.Deputy managing director Ian George, who joined Pathe with Kirchner in 1999 from Warner Bros.' UK theatrical arm, will replace the Swedish-born ...
-
News
Portman stages management buy-out
UK media concern Portman Entertainment has staged a management buy-out from its parent, PrimeEnt, the companies have announced. Chief executive Tim Buxton and managing director Tristan Whalley are understood to be staying with Portman, which is expected to continue to be active in film and TV sales and production. PrimeEnt, ...
-
News
Leading UK talent agency bought by CSS Stellar
Peters Fraser & Dunlop (PFD), the leading UK talent agency with clients including Richard Curtis, Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet, has been bought by UK management and marketing group CSS Stellar.CSS, which already represents TV personalities such as Michael Parkinson and The Weakest Link's Anne Robinson, is paying an initial ...
-
News
Assumption Of The Virgin becomes doubtful
Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella's Mirage Enterprises is battling to save Assumption Of The Virgin, one of the highest-profile UK productions on the market, after being forced to shelve plans to start production in March. The Benicio Del Toro-Juliette Binoche drama, which Mirage developed with BBC Films and Intermedia, first ...
-
News
London film fest set to exceed 2000's admissions
The London Film Festival appeared to weather the opening of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone in its middle weekend to hit 106,000 admissions on Sunday, according to the festival's figures.With five days to go, the tally puts the event on course to beat last year's total sales of 112,000. ...
-
News
Icon boards Scottish serial-killer project
Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey's Icon Entertainment has boarded The Bothy, a tentatively titled UK thriller budgeted at $10m-$15m.The project tells the story of an American serial killer on the loose in the Scottish Highlands during the worst storm in living memory. Ros Borland and Catherine Aitken are producing for ...
-
News
Film Council funds Grand Ambition option
UK support body the Film Council has funded the option on Lisa Michael's hotly contested novel Grand Ambition as part of the second round of awards from its $7.2m (£5m) a year development fund.Set in 1920s America, the love story was optioned by producers Diana Phillips (Bad Lieutenant, Birthday Girl) ...
-
News
Intermedia predicts fourth quarter improvement
Intermedia is predicting a massive surge in revenues in the final quarter after announcing results for the first nine months that leave the company more than Euros 217m short of its target of Euros 355m in sales for the entire year.The Neuer Markt-listed powerhouse said that revenues of Euros 137.7m ...
-
News
Winchester kills off fruitless Chuck Gordon deal
UK sales and financing house Winchester Entertainment, which unveiled interim results on Nov 15, has confirmed that it has ended its vaunted deal with US producer Chuck Gordon The Gordon deal, which first established a Hollywood presence for Winchester, expired without yielding a single film. Winchester spent a year ...
-
News
Fry, Winterbottom projects on Revolution's slate
The UK's Revolution Films is developing a slate of new films including actor Stephen Fry's directing debut, Bright Young Things, which Fry is adapting from Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Vile Bodies, as well as a Michael Winterbottom project about the conflict in Afghanistan.The Fry project is part of a concerted ...
-
News
Kalmbach to head BBC Films Los Angeles
BBC Films has taken another step on the road towards making larger-scale pictures by setting up a Los Angeles office under Peter Kalmbach, formerly vice-president of acquisitions and production at USA Films.As senior vice-president of BBC Films Los Angeles, Kalmbach is to help find and develop material with international potential, ...
-
News
Optimum acquires Officer's Ward & The Greatest
Independent UK distributor Optimum Releasing has acquired all local rights to Francois Dupeyron's The Officer's Ward (La Chambre Des Officiers) and documentary Muhammed Ali The Greatest.Acquired from Mercure, Officer's Ward will be released theatrically in the spring, while The Greatest goes out in January.Set during the First World War, Officer's ...
-
News
Murdoch's Shine teams with Greenroom for horror
Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine Entertainment and Greenroom Digital, the production company of The Hole director Nick Hamm and his brother Jon, are to co-produce a slate of horror films under the banner 'The Dark'. Shine and Greenroom aim to shoot the films back to back, starting late next year. The films ...
-
News
UK's Metrodome seals string of acquisitions
Metrodome Distribution, the UK distributor whose parent group this week sold a 29.9% stake to Germany's TV-Loonland, has completed a string of acquisitions including German Oscar nominee Das Experiment.The distribution arm has also acquired the first package of films from InDigEnt, New York Dogme-style venture. Amongst the titles is Richard ...
-
News
Rocket Pictures unveils fresh slate of titles
David Furnish and Elton John's Rocket Pictures has renewed its first-look deal with Walt Disney Co. for another five years and unveiled a fresh line-up of films.The company has also negotiated an increased development fund from Disney at a time when, according to Furnish, 97% of the studio's overhead deals ...
-
News
Martin Sheen becomes latest London fest dropout
US actor Martin Sheen has bowed out of an on-stage appearance and interview at this month's Regus London Film Festival, the event has confirmed.The UK festival said that Sheen's decision to pull out was due to "work commitments", although it comes only days after Bruce Willis said he would stay ...
-
News
New chief trims running time at Edinburgh festival
In his first move as artistic director of August's Edinburgh International Film Festival, Shane Danielsen has trimmed the marathon 15-day event to 12 days.The Scottish festival aims to channel cash saved by the move into creating other events throughout the year. Next year's edition runs Wednesday 14 to Sunday 25."A ...