All articles by Adam Minns – Page 47
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UK's Carlton acquires HTV franchise
UK media concern Carlton Communications has confirmed it is buying the HTV TV franchise from rival Granada Media. Carlton is paying just over $263m in cash for HTV and its 20% stake in Meridian, the ITV broadcaster for south-east England. Granada had to sell HTV to satisfy competition requirements after ...
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Renaissance adds Gilliam, Hytner projects to slate
Terry Gilliam has for the second time this year secured financing out of Europe for a large-scale production, partnering with the UK's Renaissance Films to direct $50m comic fantasy Good Omens. Renaissance has also announced that it will handle Los Alamos, a $25m romantic thriller to be directed by Nicholas ...
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SW9 kickstarts Alibi, Irish Screen pact
SW9, UK production outfit Fruit Salad Films' follow-up to rave culture hit Human Traffic, will kick off an exclusive partnership between sales outfit Alibi Films International and financing operation Irish Screen.Alibi, which has announced that it will handle worldwide sales on all upcoming Irish Screen features, will use London and ...
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IAC, Bregman head for Goldcoast with Pacino
The UK's IAC Films is set to handle $65m drama The Goldcoast, starring Al Pacino, through a development and production venture with US producer Martin Bregman.The adaptation of a novel by Nelson Demille is to be directed by Harold Becker next summer in New York. Bregman's credits include Pluto Nash, ...
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Escape Artists ties up international partners
A group of international distributors comprising the UK's Momentum Pictures, Spain's Sogepaq, Italy's Eagle Pictures, Scandinavia's Egmont and Germany's Constantin have been confirmed as partners with the Steve Tisch Co and sales outfit Summit Entertainment in long-gestating production outfit Escape Artists.Some of the distributors are understood to taking equity ...
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Pathe, Amuse lured by Killing
Myriad Pictures has sold Chen Kaige's $30m Killing Me Softly to Pathe Distribution for the UK and Amuse Video for Japan. Gaga Communications will handle the film's Japanese theatrical release.Starting principal photography on October 30th in London, the erotic thriller stars Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes, with Natascha McElhone and ...
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Wright takes up acting head role at The Sales Co
Jane Wright, head of business development for BBC Films, is stepping in as acting chief executive at UK-based The Sales Co following Alison Thompson's decision to move to Pathe International.Wright, who has been a director of the company for two years, will join The Film Consortium chief executive Chris Auty, ...
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Myriad listens to Rash's Good Advice
Myriad Pictures has added $6m comedy Good Advice, directed by Steve Rash, to its sales roster. The film, which stars Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards and Rosanna Arquette, will be distributed by Artisan Entertainment in the US. With the title currently in post-production, Myriad is screening a promo in London and ...
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Feature Film Co to test UK censors with Baise-Moi
In a move expected to mark the most high-profile test to date of newly relaxed UK film censorship rules on sex, local indie distributor Feature Film Company has picked up all rights to controversial French rape story Baise-Moi.The explicit story of two women on a sex and murder spree after ...
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UK Govt waves through Pinewood-Shepperton merger
The UK government has cleared the merger of the Pinewood and Shepperton filmmaking facilities, a decision that spares the proposed $180m super-studio from having to be scrutinised by the local anti-trust watchdog, the Competition Commission.The proposal was waved through on Tuesday evening by Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ...
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EC warns it could move spotlight onto UIP
Brussels warned on Monday that it may re-examine UIP's exemption from European anti-competition laws following the merger of Universal parent Seagram and Vivendi, owner of Canal Plus.The European Commission - which granted UIP an exemption as recently as September last year - now appears to be concerned about the merged ...
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Harris to join Phoenix in Buffalo Soldiers
Ed Harris is expected to join Joaquin Phoenix in the cast of Buffalo Soldiers, FilmFour's $15m tale of US soldiers stationed in West Germany circa 1989.Anna Paquin is also understood to be in talks to star in the film, which starts shooting in Germany next month. Directed by Gregor Jordan, ...
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Film Council taps Swift as literary scout
The UK's film super body the Film Council has appointed Susan Swift as a literary scout as part of its bid to take a pro-active stance within production circles.Swift will act as a consultant to the Council, working closely with Robert Jones, head of the Council's main fund for commercially-oriented ...
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Carlton, JAM team for Archer adaptations
A series of TV movies based on novels by best-selling author and politician Jeffrey Archer are to be made under a deal between Michael Braham and Jane Walmsley's UK production outfit JAM Pictures and the US' Carlton America.JAM will develop and produce movies and mini-series for the US market under ...
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Universal secures DreamWorks titles for UK DVD
Universal Pictures UK (UPUK) is to release titles from DreamWorks Home Entertainment on DVD in the UK, marking the first time that DVD films from DreamWorks have been released locally.First up is American Beauty, which is to hit shelves on November 27. Also on the DVD slate are The Haunting, ...
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Film Council to give boost to UK production houses
UK film superbody the Film Council, which went live this week, is to pump a share of its own revenues from films back into independent production companies in a bid to help build a sustainable local industry.The boost will come from films backed through the Council's main fund for commercially-oriented ...
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Stanley lines up $9m sci-fi thriller
Richard Stanley, the South African-born director controversially taken off New Line Cinema's The Island Of Doctor Moreau in 1996, is returning to the sci-fi genre of his auspicious 1990 debut Hardware.Stanley is readying $9m futuristic action thriller In A Season Of Soft Rains for a shoot next year. Set in ...
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Germany's IN-motion buys J&M Entertainment
IN-motion, the listed German media company that has a majority stake in Kirk D’Amico’s Myriad Pictures, has bought UK sales operation J&M Entertainment for approximately $20m.IN-motion, which floated on Frankfurt’s Neuer Markt in June, will merge J&M with US-based Myriad to form a new, yet-to-be-named production and sales entity headed ...
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Yeldham to head FilmFour's US office
The UK's FilmFour has appointed Rebecca Yeldham - previously senior film programmer at the Sundance Film Festival - to head its start-up production office in Los Angeles. Yeldham will liaise with US companies including Warner Bros, which struck a co-production pact with the UK company earlier this year (ScreenDaily, May ...
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ITV acquires Walt Disney's 1999 slate
UK commercial broadcasting network ITV has secured Walt Disney Co's 1999 theatrical slate.The network has partnered with BVI-TV, the international distribution division of Walt Disney Television International, to secure the US studio's line-up. Titles under the deal include Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis; Runaway Bride, with Richard Gere and Julia ...