All articles by Jeremy Kay – Page 1343
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Markham Street to make doc on PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
The rise and fall of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is thesubject of a Canadian documentary called 100 Films And A Funeral, which has started principal photography.Produced by Toronto-based Markham Street Films, the $1.5mhigh-def documentary will take an in-depth look at the upstart studio run byMichael Kuhn which distributed more than 100 ...
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Working Title teams with John Hamburg on Troubleshooter
Universal Pictures and Working Title have acquired John Hamburg'scomedy thriller screenplay The Troubleshooter.The screenplay is based on a story by Hamburg and MarkShanahan, and Hamburg will direct and produce along with Working Title's TimBevan and Eric Fellner. Plot details were being kept under wraps yesterday.The filmmaker has had a longstanding ...
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Poseidon to have May 6 world premiere at Tribeca
Tribeca Film Festivalorganisers have scored another coup by booking the world premiere of WolfgangPetersen's disaster movie Poseidon.Warner Bros and VirtualStudios' adventure story is the latest high-profile world premiere destined forthe New York event, which will open with Working Title/Universal's United 93and also screens DreamWorksAnimation's Over The Hedge.Poseidon tells of a ...
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Nashville-based Amity picks up Little Hippo for North America
Nashville-based production, distribution and licensing companyAmity Entertainment has picked up North American rights to the Little Hippoanimation feature and series.The acquisition includes a 90-minute feature and 52 15-minutetelevision episodes.Belgium-based Neuroplanet produced the 2001 feature, which wasdirected by Bernard Deyries and has been released theatrically in France andGermany.The television series has ...
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Carr promoted to vp of exhibitor marketing at Focus Features
Eric Carr has been promoted from Focus Features' director ofexhibitor marketing to the unit's vice president.Effective immediately, Carr will oversee planning and deployingin-theatre marketing materials for Focus and Rogue Pictures releases.He will remain in the company's West Coast offices and continuesto report to Focus Features executive vice president of theatrical ...
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MGM Channel pacts with Liberty for eastern Europe launch
MGM Networks has signed a deal with broadband cable operatorLiberty Global's European division chellomedia to launch the MGM Channel andDTH (direct-to-home satellite) systems in local languages throughout centraland Eastern Europe.The 50-50 joint venture aims to launch the MGM Channel in theCzech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary by the fourth quarter of ...
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Mixed Doubles to close LA Indian Film Festival
Rajat Kapoor's comedy MixedDoubles will close the 4th IndianFilm Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) on Apr 23.Mixed Doubles premiered recently at the Rotterdam InternationalFilm Festival and follows a man's desperate efforts to spice up his 10-year-oldmarriage.Festival Director ChristinaMarouda announced that the audience choice and the jury awards for bestfeature, best ...
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Palm teams with Rockstar Games on Sunday Driver
Palm Pictures and video game publisher Rockstar Games have teamedup to co-market and co-distribute the low-rider documentary Sunday Driver in the US.The first documentary production from Grand Theft Auto creator Rockstar follows The Majestics,a group of California-based African-American former gang members who inspireeach other through their love of customised cars.Sunday ...
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Banderas to play Cortes in Conquistador
Antonio Banderas will portray Hernan Cortes in Hollywood Gang's upcoming$40m Spanish-language epic Conquistador to be directed by Andrucha Waddington.Based on a screenplay by Nick Kazan, the project charts the 16thcentury Spanish expedition that brings Cortes and his men into bloody contactwith the Aztec empire led by Moctezuma.Gianni Nunnari of Los ...
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Gooder gets new position between LA and Sydney at Icon
Mark Gooder is moving to Los Angeles in the newly createdposition of president of film acquisitions and development at Icon Productions.Gooder will continue to serve as chief executive officer of IconFilm Distribution Australia and will divide his time between California and Sydney.He will report directly to Icon Productions president Bruce ...
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Focus, Random House acquire Koontz's new novel
FocusFeatures and Random House Films have acquired film rights to best sellingauthor Dean Koontz's upcoming thriller The Husband.Developmentwill begin straight away on The Husband,which will be published on May 30 in North America through Random House'sBantam Books imprint.Koontz'sstory centres on a harrowing 60-hour period in a man's life that begins ...
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Icon acquires Hammer library for worldwide sales
IconEntertainment International has boosted its library to more than 300 titleswith the acquisition of the Hammer film library for worldwide sales.Titlesinclude such genre classics as Dracula Prince Of Darkness starring Christopher Lee, Frankenstein and The Monster From Hell both starring Peter Cushing, and Quatermass & ThePit, which stars Andrew Keir."Hammeris ...
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Goldcrest picks up worldwide rights to Arctic Son
Goldcrest Films International has picked up world sales rights toAndrew Walton's documentary Arctic Son, which explores the themes of family and self-reliance inthe Canadian Yukon region.The production from New York-based media company Arts Engine Incand Big Mouth Films will receive its world premiere at the Full FrameDocumentary Film Festival in ...
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IDT closes broadcast, theatrical deals on second Horror series
IDT Entertainment Sales has secured a raft of pre-sales on thesecond Masters Of Horror series that begins production in Vancouver this week.IDT Entertainment, Industry Entertainment and Nice Guy Productionsare partnering up on the series that, like the first, will air on ShowtimeNetworks in the US.Theatrical, television and home entertainment rights ...
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WBITD signs output deal with Bulgaria's Nova-TV
WarnerBros International Television Distribution (WBITD) has signed a multi-yearoutput deal with Bulgarian broadcaster Nova TV.Theagreement gives Nova TV exclusive free television rights to such librarytitles as The Matrix Reloaded, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, and The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, among others.NovaTV is owned by ...
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Keri Moore gets senior vp stripes in Universal marketing dept
Keri Moore has been promoted to senior vice president of creativeadvertising for Universal Pictures.Moore, who most recently was vice president of creativeadvertising, is based on the studio's Universal City lot and will continue toreport to marketing president Adam Fogelson.After joining the studio in November 1999 as manager Moore rosethrough the ...
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LA home entertainment distributor Liberation opens in Europe
LosAngeles-based distributor of home entertainment content LiberationEntertainment has established a London office and appointed Spencer Pollardmanaging director.Thewholly owned company will be called Liberation Entertainment Ltd and will acquirefeature and television content out of the UK and Europe as well as selling andmarketing the existing library.Pollardis assembling staff to handle finance, ...
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Box office meltdown as Ice Age opens top in 29 markets
Ice Age: The Meltdown burned through the international marketplace this weekend,grossing an estimated $43.4m through Fox International on 4,571 screens in 29territories.Records toppled around the world as the animated sequel stormed tonumber one in every territory, mirroring its dominance in North America whereit took an estimated $70.5m.The weekend result does ...
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Goldcrest picks up international rights to 39 Pounds
Goldcrest Films International has acquired all rights to DaniMenkin's documentary 39 Pounds Of Love excluding the US and Israel and will introduce to buyers atMIPTV.39 Pounds tells the story of Ami Ankilewitz, an American-bornIsraeli who at the age of one was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophythat renders ...
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Ice Age sequel breaks March opening record with $70.5m
Ice Age: The Meltdown produced the first sensational box office weekend of the year asit opened to a spectacular estimated $70.5m, while another sequel Sony/MGM's BasicInstinct 2 flopped intenth place on $3.2m.The animated sequel beat the $46.3m March 2002 launch of IceAge and eclipsed theall-time April opening record of $42.2m ...