All articles by Adam Minns – Page 55
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Momentum confirms Brother, Rocky acquisitions
Momentum Pictures, the UK joint venture of Canada's Alliance Atlantis and Germany's Kinowelt, has confirmed it has picked up The Adventures Of Rocky & Bullwinkle and O Brother, Where Art Thou' for the UK.David Kosse, managing director of Momentum, said that the Coen brothers' Cannes competition title will go out ...
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FilmFour seals Warner alliance
The UK's FilmFour and US studio Warner Bros Pictures have formed a long-term co-production alliance, FilmFour chief executive Paul Webster and Warner president of worldwide production Lorenzo di Bonaventura have announced.The deal, aimed at achieving FilmFour's long-cherished goal of making bigger-budget pictures, starts with Gillian Armstrong's Charlotte Gray, starring Cate ...
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Hugh Grant named advisor to Internationalmedia AG
Ahead of its floatation on the German stock market this year, Intermedia and Pacifica's recently-formed film and media company IM Internationalmedia AG has added some star-power to its supervisory board by appointing Hugh Grant.The British actor will join other supervisory board members including Munich-based financial consultant Antoinette Hiebeler-Hasner, who acts ...
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Anderson takes marketing role at In2Film
Jon Anderson, formerly vice president of marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International, has joined Columbia's former UK chief Carmen Menegazzi at publishing and new media venture In2Film.Anderson joins as director of worldwide marketing, while Menegazzi has moved up from development director to ...
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FilmFour road movie revs up in US
FilmFour's low-budget wing FilmFour Lab stepped into the US this week, starting production in Buffalo, New York on an untitled comedy love story that marks the feature debut of director Joel Hopkins.The road-movie, based on Hopkins' award-winning short Jorge, stars newcomer Tunde Adebimpe, British and French actors James Wilby and ...
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BSkyB to back Liz Murdoch's solo venture
Elisabeth Murdoch, who earlier today dramatically quit as BSkyB's managing director of Sky Networks, is expected to strike a TV programming deal with the satellite broadcaster as part of her new production venture.Murdoch, a driving force behind BSkyB's prolific film production activity, is setting up a UK venture specialising in ...
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Quinta boards IAC's Midnight Return
Quinta Communications, the rights trading venture of Tarak Ben Ammar, has committed to provide half the $30m budget on IAC Film and Davis Panzer Productions' Midnight Return.Quinta will arrange distribution of the follow-up to Midnight Express in France, Italy, Spain and the UK, as well as work with UK-based IAC ...
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Barryfilms strikes $50m pact with MBP
UK production company Barryfilms and Rainer Mockert's German-based financing outfit MBP have closed a $50m funding deal to finance $25m family picture Ogopogo as part of a slate of pictures.Ogopogo, which is first to go through the deal, is to be directed by John Henderson (Loch Ness) from a script ...
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Web distributor article 27 launched by media execs
A group of e-commerce and advertising executives have launched article27, a London and New York-based company that plans to market and distribute features via the Web.The company, which aims to launch its Internet site to consumers this summer, has been acquiring rights to films and has alliances with indie film ...
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UK's Film Council sets aside $16m for bigger films
The Film Council, the UK government's newly-created film superbody, has launched a $16m (£10m) annual fund for commercial films as part of its debut package of public support measures, the Council announced today.The commercial fund, titled the Premiere Production Fund, sits alongside a hefty fund of $8m (£5m) a year ...
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MacDowell joins FilmFour's Sad Fuckers Club
Andie MacDowell is to star in FilmFour's UK comedy Sad Fuckers Club (working title) alongside Imelda Staunton and Anna Chancellor.The film is the story of three female friends behaving badly. Newcomer John McKay, who has made a mark through shorts such as Doom & Gloom and Wet & Dry, is ...
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Optimum to give Best theatrical outing
Production company Best Films and Sky Pictures, the feature arm of UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB, have settled a legal dispute over the release of soccer picture Best.Sky and the film's producer-director Mary McGuckian and producer-star John Lynch have agreed to a simultaneous outing for the picture in cinemas through distributor ...
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Redbus takes theatrical on Intertainment package
UK distributor Redbus Film Distribution has picked up all rights to a 15-strong package of star-laden pictures from Germany's Intertainment ahead of its float in the second quarter this year.The films, which are in addition to a sixty-plus package of titles from Intertainment for Video-On-Demand (Screen Daily April 7), include ...
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Actor Grant to direct for Blackjack
Hilary Heath's recently formed London-based production outfit Blackjack is to produce Wah Wah, directed by UK actor Richard E Grant.The project, currently in advanced development, is the autobiographical story of growing up in the 60s in South Africa. Blackjack, which is one of the production companies backed by UK media ...
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Dubinet to head IAC America
UK-based sales and financing house IAC Holdings has launched US division IAC America under sales veteran Ann Dubinet.Dubinet joins as president of the Los Angeles-based operation, as well taking a seat on the board at IAC. She will continue working for Alchemy Entertainment, her 50-50 partnership with producer Martin Bregman. ...
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Kinowelt, BAC talk distribution partnership
Germany's Kinowelt Medien is in talks with French distributor BAC Films about joining Kinowelt's proposed international distribution network.Kinowelt, which could feed its partners with films from its recently struck deal with US producer Gale Anne Hurd, is also in talks with potential partners in Italy and Spain, where Lolafilms is ...
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Bac picks up Coens' Cannes competitor from UPI
Universal Pictures International (UPI)'s newly-reconfigured UK-based sales operation has sold the Coen brothers' Cannes competitor O Brother Where Art Thou' To Bac for France.The division is also forging ahead with deals on studio pictures such as Hannibal and The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle. UPI, which is working closely with ...
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Yes commits to stockmarket flotation by end of May
UK video-on-demand (VoD) concern Yes Television has committed to float by May 22, a spokesperson confirmed today (April 19).The move comes after Yes put plans to float on hold after New York's high-tech stock exchange, the NASDAQ, plunged 9.7% last Friday. The flotation puts a post-IPO value on the company ...
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Tobis, Gaga to take Hannibal from UPI
Universal Pictures International (UPI)'s newly-reconfigured overseas sales operation is close to finalising sales on Ridley Scott's Hannibal to Germany's Tobis and Japan's Gaga Communications.UPI, which is working closely with producer Dino De Laurentiis on selling certain territories, is also floating the Silence Of The Lambs sequel in several other markets. ...
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Depp, Paradis in talks to star in Quixote
Johnny Depp is expected to play opposite his real-life partner Vanessa Paradis for the first time in Terry Gilliam's £20m plus The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (Screendaily, March 17).Depp, who along with Paradis is in serious talks to board the project according to sources involved with the production, would ...