All articles by Jeremy Kay – Page 1294
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Epic Movie has epic $19.2m opening for Fox in North America
Fox's incredible run of form continued as the comedy spoof Epic Movie opened atop the charts on an estimated $19.2m, beating out Universal's crime caper Smokin' Aces in second place on $14.3m. Epic Movie, which stars Kal Penn and Carmen Electra and pokes fun at movies from Superman Returns to ...
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Sundance and NHK announce four winners of filmmaker awards
Sundance Institute and Japan Broadcasting Corporation NHK have announced the winners of the 2007 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Awards.The four winners will each receive a $10,000 award at the annual awards ceremony on Jan 27 and a guarantee from NHK to purchase the Japanese television broadcast rights upon completion of their ...
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Oscar nominees Dreamgirls, Blood Diamond hit major territories
Dreamgirls, the recipient of eight Oscar nominations on Tuesday, gets its first major international push this weekend.Paramount/PPI executives will be looking to convert the recognition into healthy overseas returns when it opens the hit musical in Italy, Mexico and Spain on Jan 26.Meanwhile the family film Charlotte's Web opens in ...
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Overture takes US rights to Theron-starrer Ferris Wheel
Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett's Overture Films has made its firstacquisition, picking up all US rights to Charlize Theron's passion project Ferris Wheel.The Canadian shoot wrapped recently yet ICM's independent andinternational film division chief Hal Sadoff wasted little time,brokering the deal at Sundance after showing footage to buyers allweek. No ...
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Cinemavault to introduce The Listening to buyers at Berlin
Toronto-based Cinemavault Releasing International has acquired international sales rights to political thriller The Listening and will introduce to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin next month.Giacomo Martelli's film exposes the dangers of Echelon, a real-life surveillance system used by the National Security Agency that has been described in ...
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Rambow sells for $7.5m to Paramount Vantage at busy Sundance
Paramount Vantage finally made a big play at its maiden Sundance, swooping on Garth Jennings' coming-of-age tale Son Of Rambow and Ian Iqbal Rashid's hip-hop drama How She Move for an estimated combined cost of $11.5m.In another intense day of deals in Park City, the Weinsteins announced two more joint ...
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La Vie En Rose to open French cinema Rendez-vous in New York
Olivier Dahan's Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose will launch the 12th Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance's annual showcase of French cinema.La Vie En Rose, which will open Berlin on Feb 8, stars Marian Cotillard and Gerard Depardieu and chronicles the singer's ...
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Non-profit Shelley Foundation set up in honour of Waitress director
Andy Ostroy has set up the Adrienne Shelly Foundation dedicated to the memory of his late wife, actor and director who was found dead in New York last November.The non-profit organisation will focus on women with the stated aim of helping to finance student films and independent projects, supplement film ...
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Paris Hilton-starrer starts production for Purple Pictures in LA
Hadeel Reda's financing and production company Purple Pictures has begun principal photography in Los Angeles on its debut feature The Hottie And The Nottie.Joel David Moore, Christine Lakin and Paris Hilton star in the comedy about a young man who learns he will only be able to get a date ...
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Avalanche of pricey Sundance deals includes Clubland, Waitress, Joshua
The trickle of deals quickened to a torrent in Park City on Monday as buyers announced a slew of expensive acquisitions.Warner Independent Pictures (WiP) paid in the region of $4m for North American, UK and German rights to the comedy Clubland late in the afternoon. Separately, UK-based Goalpost Film sold ...
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Furst, Kessel to head productions and acquisitions for Overture
Sean Furst and Robert Kessel have been appointed executive vicepresidents of productions and acquisitions at Starz' new theatricaldivision Overture Films.Furst will be based at Overture's Los Angeles headquarters and Kesselwill operate out of New York. Furst's brother Bryan arrives as seniorvice president of productions and acquisitions and will also be ...
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Sundance deal-making starts slowly, but finally takes off
After several days of toe-dipping, buyers in Park City finally took the plunge and closed a flurry of deals at the weekend.Corporate stablemates Picturehouse and New Line swooped on rights to Seth Gordon's Slamdance documentary The King Of Kong.The Weinstein Company paid in the region of $4m for worldwide rights ...
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Kasell steps down as executive director of Hamptons Film Festival
Denise Kasell is leaving her post as executive director of the Hamptons International Film Festival after nine years at the event.Board chairman Stuart Match Suna and the Hamptons board are searching for a replacement. Artistic director Rajendra Roy remains in place.'Denise's tenure has been a boon to the Hamptons Film ...
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Vantage teams with Morgan Stanley for $150m financing fund
Paramount Vantage has set up a $150m film financing fund with Morgan Stanley called Marathon Funding, which will invest in the production of at least 15 films.The arrangement covers Babel, as well as the 10 films scheduled to open through Vantage this year. Titles include Paul Thomas Anderson's oil prospector ...
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Little Miss Sunshine surprise winner of the PGA prize for best film
Fox Searchlight's Little Miss Sunshine trumped heavyweights Babel, Dreamgirls, The Queen and The Departed at the Producers Guild of America (PGA) awards in Los Angeles on Saturday [Jan 20].The comedy won the night's big prize, the Darryl F Zanuck award, in a result that recognised producers Marc Turtletaub, David T ...
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Stomp has second weekend at top of North American box office
Screen Gems' Stomp The Yard remained on top for the second consecutive while Fox's Night At The Museum held firm in second place and crossed $200m in its fifth weekend.Dance drama Stomp The Yard raised its tally by an estimated $13.3m to $41.6m while $13m eased Night At The Museum ...
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Discovery steps In The Shadow Of The Moon
Discovery Communications and its Discovery Films unit have acquired rights to London-based DOX Production's and Passion Films' In The Shadow Of The Moon, set to get its world premiere here today (Friday).Discovery Films, the theatrical documentary unit of DCI, will take an equity interest in North American theatrical distribution, branding ...
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Nair takes the reins of Depp-starrer Shantaram for Initial
Initial Entertainment Group and Infinitum Nihil have signed Mira Nair to direct the upcoming India-set epic Shantaram.The announcement follows a prolonged period of negotiations to find a suitable film-maker that at one point included Peter Weir before the Australian director left the project.Johnny Depp will star in the adaptation of ...
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IndieVest launches production/distribution arm with Burton, Wall
Wade H Bradley, the CEO and founder of film financing outfit IndieVest, has launched production and distribution house IndieVest Pictures and hired Mark Burton (pictured above) as head of production.Former Rogue Pictures co-founder Matt Wall has been appointed vice president of development and Bradley expects to announce his distribution chief ...
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Pacino to play Salvador Dali for Niccol, Room 9
Al Pacino will play the legendary surrealist Spanish painter Salvador Dali in Room 9 Entertainment's Dali & I: The Surreal Story.Andrew Niccol will direct following his last outing on 2005's Lord Of War and shooting is set to begin in June.Room 9 partners David O Sacks, Daniel Brunt and Michael ...