All articles by Adam Minns – Page 54
-
News
Leys to spearhead Gillon Aitken push into film
Kate Leys, formerly head of development at the UK's FilmFour, has joined Gillon Aitken Associates to head a drive into exploiting film and TV rights at the London literary agency.Leys, who left FilmFour last year to go freelance, takes up the newly-created post of film and TV executive. She is ...
-
News
Skinner signs up for UK comedy
UK actor-comedian Frank Skinner has signed to star in Crust, a comedy to be written and directed by newcomer Mark Locke.The project tells the story of "three ordinary people going for gold with a seven foot boxing shrimp". It is being produced through Henry Van Moyland's Los Angeles-based Incubator Productions ...
-
News
Fine Line swings for Eco's Pendulum
In a rare move for both parties, Fine Line Features has optioned Umberto Eco's metaphysical thriller Foucault's Pendulum.The move marks not only the first time in more than a decade that the renowned Italian author has granted film rights to his work, but an unusual step for Fine Line, which ...
-
News
IPO values Intermedia more than PolyGram
A European-based film company worth more than PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (PFE) was born on Frankfurt's trading floors when Intermedia and Pacifica Co's flotation as Internationalmedia pushed its valuation just shy of Euro 1.4bn ($1.27bn) yesterday morning.Over-subscribed 14 times, the IPO for the UK, US and German-based company started trading 8.97m ...
-
News
FilmFour rings up Lucky sales
FilmFour International, the sales arm of the UK's FilmFour, has sold Peter Cattaneo's Our Lucky Break to Amuse for Japan.The UK comedy, Cattaneo's follow-up to The Full Monty, also went to Academy/Lady Film for Italy and Rosebud for Greece. Paramount and Miramax Films acquired territories including the US earlier in ...
-
News
Capitol gains Zoetrope slate
UK-based Capitol Films has linked with VCL and MGM to handle international sales on the American Zoetrope slate that the German company agreed to co-finance and distribute internationally prior to Cannes.The pact encompasses 10 films over three years, with MGM handling North American distribution through United Artists Films. The three ...
-
News
Lion's Gate smells Loach's Roses
Lions Gate Films has secured North American rights on Ken Loach's competition film Bread And Roses from UK sales house The Sales Co. Several other companies were circling the Los Angeles-set tale of striking janitors, but Lions Gate's Tom Ortenberg and Mark Urman clinched the deal through the company's distribution ...
-
News
Ali G hangs with WT2
Ali G, the TV creation of UK comedy phenomenon Sacha Baron-Cohen, is hanging with the Working Title massive, for real. Baron-Cohen, famous for his spoof gangsta rapper - complete with Day-Glo tracksuit, wrap-around shades and chunky jewellery - is striking a development deal with the UK production powerhouse. The white-hot ...
-
News
UAF to stike Winterbottom gold
United Artists Films (UAF) is close to striking a first-look deal with director-producer team Michael Winterbottom and Andrew Eaton, sources confirmed.The move comes after UAF and Pathe Pictures financed the duo's epic love-story Kingdom Come set during the goldrush. That picture was one of three pictures, along with Directors' Fortnight ...
-
News
Paramount, Miramax team on Lucky Break
The UK's FilmFour has sold Our Lucky Break, Peter Cattaneo's follow-up toThe Full Monty, to Miramax Films and Paramount for North America and Australia/New Zealand. The two US studios will jointly release the film in North America, while FilmFour will distribute in the UK. "The deal uses Paramount's distribution muscle ...
-
News
Puttnam chairs BFI development board
David Puttnam is to chair the development board of UK cultural body the British Film Institute (bfi), overseeing a newly-launched department with the brief of securing donors for the bfi Film Centre.The department is to find corporate, trust and individual donors for the centre, which is due to start construction ...
-
News
Alliance goes back-packing
Gurinder Chadha, director of Sundance opener What's Cooking and Bhaji On The Beach, is directing an adaptation of William Sutcliffe's best-selling novel Are You Experienced for Canada's Alliance Atlantis.The story, likened to The Beach with a sense of humour, is about back-packing teenagers in India looking for love, sex and ...
-
News
FilmFour, GFO plan late night shopping spree
The UK's FilmFour and the Glasgow Film Office (GFO) are collaborating on Late Night Shopping, an oddball, after-hours comedy that marks GFO's debut as a film financier.Saul Metzstein will direct the project from a script by Jack Lothian, with additional financing coming from the Scottish Arts Council's National Lottery fund ...
-
News
Leigh signs up for quickie with Portman
Jennifer Jason Leigh has signed to star opposite Vladimir Mashkov in Prisoner Of The Mountains director Sergei Bodrov's The Quickie.The picture, being backed by the UK's Portman Entertainment and Germany's Pandora, is set on New Year's Eve when Mashkov's Russian Mafia boss realises that he is in love - and ...
-
News
Winchester creates UK releasing arm
Winchester Films, the London-based sales and financing house that has recently forged a host a partnerships with high-profile US producers, is finally breaking into the UK distribution with its own theatrical releasing operation.Winchester has appointed former FilmFour distribution chief Mick Southworth to head the distribution arm, titled Winchester Film Distribution.Along ...
-
News
Connolly chips in for Spud
Billy Connolly, the UK actor-comedian who rose to fame with an expletive-laden brand of humour, has signed to star as the Archangel Gabriel in Samuelson Productions' tentatively titled comedy Jimmy Spud.Udayan Prasad, whose credits include My Son The Fanatic, is to direct the contemporary UK comedy, on which UK-based The ...
-
News
FFG bags 14 titles for Metrodome alliance
In an innovative use of UK financing structures worth an estimated $149m in tax write-offs, recently-formed London financing house Future Film Group has acquired all UK rights to a 14-strong slate of $15m-$25m projects to be released through its partnership with distributor Metrodome Distribution.Future will oversee a 100% tax write-off ...
-
News
Renaissance on board for Morality Play
The UK's Renaissance Films has boarded medieval murder mystery Morality Play and AM Home adaptation The Safety Of Objects.Paul McGuigan, whose credits include Gangster No. 1 and Acid House, is to direct Morality, with Gangster's Paul Bettany starring as a renegade priest. Mark Mills has adapted the story from Barry ...
-
News
J&M walks down Cloudstreet
The UK's J&M Entertainment has boarded four titles including Cloudstreet, an adaptation of the Australian best-seller for which Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Anna Paquin and Heath Ledger are in talks to star.Peter Duncan (Children Of The Revolution) is to direct the picture from an Ellen Erwin adaptation of Tim Winton's ...
-
News
Irish Screen raves with Human Traffic team
Irish Screen is backing five features from the producers of UK club culture hit Human Traffic - including its sequel Human Traffic 2: Five Go Mad In Goa - marking the first of several local financing sources expected to emerge at Cannes.The Dublin and London-based operation is fully financing Fruit ...