All articles by Adam Minns – Page 44
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Berlin firms up programme for Official Competition
Love story Chloe and horror title Inugmai - both from Japan - are understood to be competing at next month's Berlin International Film Festival as the line-up for the event's main competition section takes shape.Chloe, directed by Go Riju and starring Masatoshi Nagase, is an adaptation of surrealistic novel Froth ...
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Warner, FilmFour, Senator vow Death To Smoochy
Warner Bros, the UK's FilmFour and Germany's Senator have partnered on Death To Smoochy, a Robin Williams and Ed Norton comedy directed by Danny DeVito.The project, currently in pre-production, marks the next in the long-term production partnership that FilmFour and Warner announced last Cannes. It reverses the relationship on the ...
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Kamp set to step down as Icon sales chief
Ralph Kamp is understood to be close to stepping down as chief executive of Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey's London-based sales operation Icon Entertainment International.The move would come despite Icon's success this year with UK comedy Kevin And Perry Go Large, which Kamp executive produced, and US product including the ...
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Harry Potter adds Character
Character Group, the UK-branded goods manufacturer buffeted last year by disappointing sales of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace merchandising, is set to return to the film sector on Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone.The company confirmed press reports on Monday that it is in talks over the UK distribution of ...
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Rotterdam programmes nine world premieres
This month's International Film Festival Rotterdam, considered to be at the cutting edge of the Euro festival circuit, boasts nine world premieres in its main competition section.Amongst the films screening for the first time in the VPRO Tiger Award Competition - which showcases first or second features - are Shi ...
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Sarah Radclyffe pacts with Miramax
UK producer Sarah Radclyffe has struck a three-year first-look deal with Miramax Films to make family features.Radclyffe will make films with her producing partner Courtney Pledger under her newly-launched banner Jigsaw Films. The co-founder of Working Title Films, whose recent credits include FilmFour's UK comedy There's Only One Jimmy Grimble, ...
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Metrodome acquires Together, 101 Reykjavik
Metrodome Distribution has acquired UK rights to Scandinavian hits 101 Reykjavik and Together from Trust Film Sales.Metrodome distribution chief Rupert Preston expects to release the two films in the spring next year. The UK release will follow screenings for both films in the World Cinema section at the upcoming edition ...
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UK film censor could lose powers to new super body
A UK communications super watchdog unveiled on Tuesday could take over some of the activities of film certification body the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) as part of far-reaching regulatory changes.Under one scenario proposed by the government, the new OFCOM regulatory body could take over video classification, currently under ...
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DNA passes review despite not releasing a film
Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew Macdonald's DNA Films, which has yet to release a film, has become the third and final UK National Lottery franchise to pass its mid-term review.The operation can now access the remainder of the $42m (£29m) in lottery cash that it was originally awarded over six years. ...
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Thomson acquires Technicolor as part of alliance
UK media concern Carlton Communications has sold its film and video processing arm Technicolor to French consumer electronics group Thomson Multimedia for just over $2bn.The two companies have struck an additional alliance covering digital and interactive TV. Carlton is to invest $15m in TAK, Thomson and Microsoft's interactive TV joint ...
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Puckoon comedy hit by Equity dispute
Puckoon, a black comedy boasting a cast led by Richard Attenborough, faces calls from UK actors union Equity for its public sector backers to drop out because of a dispute over cast contracts.In a statement, Equity said it will demand that public film bodies, the Northern Ireland Film Commission and ...
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Vivendi Universal may divert Canal films to UIP
Vivendi Universal appears to be seriously considering channelling some StudioCanal-backed films though UIP, the international distribution venture it co-owns with Paramount Pictures.The title-by-title arrangement could extend to both European and US films bankrolled by Vivendi Universal's StudioCanal. UIP could even release certain films in markets where StudioCanal already has distribution ...
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OFT launches new probe into BSkyB
BSkyB, the UK's largest pay-TV broadcaster, faces a competition inquiry launched this week by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).The probe, expected to take six months, is to focus on BSkyB's supply of wholesale pay-TV to its rivals - known as bundling. If found guilty, the broadcaster could be fined ...
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UA mad for Winterbottom's Party People
United Artists is finalising a deal to join UK National Lottery studio franchise The Film Consortium as a financier on Michael Winterbottom's Manchester music scene film, 24 Hr Party People.The story of Factory Records co-founder Tony Wilson is expected to mark the first project to be greenlit through UA's first-look ...
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Carlton set to sell Technicolor within weeks
UK media company Carlton Communications is close to a deal to sell its Technicolor unit, the company said on Tuesday.The company said the film duplication and DVD production operation could be sold off within weeks, a move which would end months of speculation. Carlton put Technicolor on the block last ...
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Pathe passes review despite production shortfall
Despite acknowledging that it may have been overly ambitious in its original production goals, UK National Lottery studio franchise Pathe Pictures has sailed through its mid-term review by film super-body the Film Council.The greenlight, which means Pathe can download the rest of its six-year lottery award of $48m (£33.12m), comes ...
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Papandrea to head production at Mirage UK
Mirage Enterprises is expected to appoint Bruna Papandrea to head production and development at its London-based operation under director Anthony Minghella.Papandrea, who is likely to relocate from Australia to the UK in January, recently produced Better Than Sex with Frank Cox. The comedy romance charts what happens after a one-night ...
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FilmFour lassoes Pope as Cowboy ramps up slate
FilmFour and UK production outfit Cowboy Films have struck a first-look deal for the next project from The Crow: City Of Angels director Tim Pope.Cowboy and FilmFour are still to choose a project, but Pope is expected to put a title into development within a year. The production will form ...
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London Turkish fest expands programme
This month's expanded London Turkish Film Festival will screen films ranging from Nuri Bilge Ceylan's critically-acclaimed Clouds Of May to Gani Mujde's Turkish box-office hit Byzantium.Now in its eighth year, the event has expanded from one to two weeks, while films will tour other London and regional cinemas for the ...
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Civilian Content appoints Auty as director
In a key managerial move at UK National Lottery studio franchise The Film Consortium, chief executive Chris Auty has become a director of Civilian Content, the media operation which agreed to buy the franchise this year.The appointment, which takes place with immediate effect, is expected to bolster the franchise's position ...