All articles by Jeremy Kay – Page 1362
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Marvel promotes three as company moves into new phase
Marvel Studios has promoted three executives to key positions asthe company moves into self-financed production following last year's financingdeal with Merrill Lynch.Kevin Feige has been promoted to president of production and willcollaborate with company chairman and chief executive officer Avi Aradoverseeing all film and television productions. He previously served asexecutive ...
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Escandell gets vp publicity stripes at Sony International
Cathy Escandell has been promoted to vice president of publicity,acquisitions and local productions at Sony Pictures Releasing International(SPRI).Escandell, who reports directly to senior vice president ofmarketing, acquisitions and local productions Sal Ladestro, formerly served asa senior publicist with the division.In her new role she will plan and execute all internationalpublicity ...
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Emerging Pictures forms digital alliance with Brazil's RAIN
IraDeutchman, Giovanni Cozzi and Barry Rebo's Emerging Pictures has formed a NorthAmerican digital distribution alliance with Brazilian technology company RAINNetwork.Called RAIN US, the New York-based exhibition and distribution venture aims tofulfil Emerging Picture's longtime goal of offering a platform to internationaland independent filmmakers.The fledgling venture will provide programming for 400 ...
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IFC, Tartan conclude deals on Brothers Of The Head
IFC Films and Tartan Films have picked up North American and UK rightsrespectively to Film Four's mockumentary Brothers Of The Head.The picture premiered at Toronto last autumn and IFC plans to release it inNorth American theatres in July.Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe's picture follows the fate of exploited conjoinedtwins who ...
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Searchlight names joint COOs in pursuit of happiness
Former Fox Searchlightdistribution chief Stephen Gilula and marketing chief Nancy Utley have beenpromoted to joint chief operating officers as the studio prepares for itsbiggest year.The company veterans are regarded alongside president Peter Rice as key playersas Searchlight bids to erase the memory of a lacklustre 2005 and emulate thecritical and ...
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Lionsgate spreads the word with Don't Tell
Lionsgate has picked up USrights to Cristina Comencini's Italian Oscar submission and local hit Don'tTell (La Bestia Nel Cuore). The Cattleya and Rai Cinema production premiered at Venice last autumn andearned Giovanna Mezzogiorno the Coppa Volpi for Best actress. It has grossedmore than $7m since opening in Italian theatres last ...
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THINKFilm tucks in to When Do We Eat'
THINKFilm has swooped onall North American rights to Salvador Litvak's Jewish Passover comedy WhenDo We Eat'The distributor is lining up an Apr7 release for the picture, which has become a mainstay on the festival circuitin recent months, in time for the Passover celebrations.Ben Feldman, Michael Lerner, Jack Klugman and Lesley ...
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Bender named sales chief at Harmony Gold USA
Susan Bender has beenappointed to the new post of president of sales at Harmony Gold USA as thecompany makes a concerted bid to expand its worldwide sales activities.Effective Jan 23, Bender will oversee all domestic and international sales andspearhead strategic development with the existing sales team, which includesvice president of ...
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Southern Gothic ready to roll for Kindred Media Group
Los Angeles andPennsylvania-based Kindred Media Group, North Carolina-based Tasty Pixels, andDewey Beach Films are about to begin production on the thriller SouthernGothic.Dewey Beach will provide completion funds for the $1m project, and Kindredplans a North American theatrical release in autumn 2006.Mark Young will direct the follow-up to his feature debut ...
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Hostel checks in top of the charts on $20.1m
The newly renamed and everambitious Lionsgate kicked off the New Year with the right kind of scare as it launched itslatest horror title Hostel atnumber one on an estimated $20.1m.The result will have delighted studio executives who were expecting a debut inthe mid teens. Hostel isLionsgate's second table-topping launch in ...
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Narnia remains international champ and nears $300m
The Chronicles OfNarnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe maintained its early 2006 supremacy with an estimated $30.6m weekendhaul that raises the cumulative total to a mighty $277m.The picture has amassed $525m worldwide incorporating the $247.6m domestictally and Buena Vista International (BVI) top brass must be rubbing their handswith ...
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Picture This! acquires Whole New Thing
Picture This!has picked up US rights to Amnon Buchbinder's Canadian coming-of-age story WholeNew Thing and plans anautumn 2006 release.Whole New Thingplayed at Toronto and will screen in the New Voices/New Visions strand at thePalm Springs International Film Festival.The story centres on a precocious teenager raised by hippies in rural NovaScotia ...
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NSFC hands Capote best picture, actor honours
Capote was named best picture of 2005 at the weekend by theNational Society of Film Critics (NSFC), who also voted the picture's star PhilipSeymour Hoffman best actor.Reese Witherspoon won the best actress stakes for Walk The Line, David Cronenberg was named best director for AHistory Of Violence, while thatpicture's Ed ...
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Weinstock takes marketing reins at Screen Gems
Marc Weinstock has beennamed executive vice president of marketing for Screen Gems, overseeing upcomingreleases like the imminent Underworld: Evolution, When A Stranger Calls and The Covenant.Weinstock, who moves over from Tristar Pictures to replace Valerie Van Galder followingher appointment as Sony's domestic marketing chief, will continue to work onTriStar titles ...
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IFC acquires distribution rights to Twelve and Holding
Michael Cuesta'schildhood drama Twelve AndHolding, which sold to a raft of international markets on the back of its Torontopremiere last autumn, has found a USdistributor. IFC hasacquired Serenade Films' revenge tale of youngsters who come to terms with thedeath of their friend, and plans to release it this summer. Zoe ...
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Wim Wenders to receive tribute at Miami Festival
Wim Wenders will receive the2006 Miami International Film Festival's (MIFF) Career Achievement Tribute,joining a distinguished roster of previous winners that includes Liv Ulman and Hector Babenco. "Weare proud to pay tribute to this legendary director, writer, and producer whosecontribution to the spirit of independent cinema continues to inspirefilmmakers around the ...
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Kong, Narnia vie for international control
King Kong is in pole position heading into the holiday weekendas impressive weekday business boosted last weekend's mighty $82.8m globallaunch to $113.5m.Universal's three-hour epic has no major releases scheduled through UIP thisweekend, however the picture's strong word of mouth should ensure solid holdsand be enough to fend off the considerable ...
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Palm picks up Who Gets To Call It Art'
Palm Pictures haspicked up North American and Caribbean rights to Peter Rosen's Who Gets ToCall It Art' and plans an early 2006release through its fledgling Arthouse Films DVD label.Head of acquisitions and production David Koh negotiated the deal for Palm andArthouse Films with David G Lubell of Propp Lubell & ...
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Miami launches Latin American showcase
TheMiami International Film Festival (MIFF) will launch MIFF Abroad in March 2006,an annual Latin American cinema showcase that kicks off next year with Chile.Organised in association with the ChileanMinistry of Culture, the Consulate General of Chile in Miami, and emergingChilean producers including Cristina Littin and Ursula Budnik, MIFF Abroadcomprises two ...
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AFI unveils 2005 moments of significance
The American FilmInstitute (AFI) has unveiled its moments of significance in 2005, which includemedia consolidation, artistic responses to 9/11, and the downward trend intheatrical admissions.Pointing to consolidation, AFI officers noted the corporate acquisitions of MGMand DreamWorks, adding in a statement: "AFI hopes that this trend forconsolidation will respect the rich ...