All articles by Jeremy Kay – Page 1379
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Mr And Mrs Smith obliterates the competition in France
Mr And Mrs Smith opened number one in France through SND over theweekend on $6.1m following a storming opening day.The picture launched on$1.8m on Jul 27 in the third biggest French opening day of the year behind StarWars: Episode III and War Of TheWorlds, producing 895,806 nationwideadmissions.Overall Mr And Mrs ...
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Nightwatch to kick off inaugural Libertas fest
The Croatian premiere ofTimur Bekmambetov's Night Watchwill kick off the inaugural Libertas Film Festival in the Croatian town ofDubrovnik on Aug 26.Twenty features arescheduled to play at the four-day event, including the European premieres ofAndrew Wagner's The Talent Given Usand Antonio Campos' Buy It Now.A Croatian film-makersshowcase and Croatian premieres ...
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Charlie has spectacular $13.1m opening in UK
Life is sweet for Warner Bros Pictures International as asensational UK debut helped Charlie And The Chocolate Factory dominate the markets outside NorthAmerica over the weekend.Tim Burton's Roald Dahl adaptation grossed an estimated $19.8m onmore than 2,300 screens in 15 countries for an early international cumulativetotal of $36.3m.However there was ...
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Wedding Crashers tops box office against three newcomers
New Line's Wedding Crashers roared to the top of the domestic charts and passed $100m inits third weekend as Sony's high-tech action romp Stealth virtually stalled on take-off and openedweakly in fourth place on $13.5m.Disney's superhero family picture Sky High opened well enough in third place on$14.6m, while Warner Bros' ...
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Alison Thompson takes up top job at Focus International
Moving to boost its Europeanpresence and ramp up worldwide sales, acquisitions and overseas production,Focus Features has hired former Pathe Pictures International sales chief AlisonThompson as president of its international division.Thompson will remain inLondon and oversee all international sales, distribution, and publicityactivities, reporting to Focus co-presidents David Linde and James Schamus ...
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Neame to receive BAFTA/LA Britannia Award
Ronald Neame, the English director who earned three Oscarnominations for his work as a writer and producer with David Lean, is toreceive BAFTA/LA's Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to InternationalFilm.The son ofsilent film star Ivy Close, Neame got his break as a teenage cameraman onAlfred Hitchcock's Blackmail and trained under ...
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Mitchell steps into Battsek's shoes at BVI (UK)
Robert Mitchell (pictured)has been promoted to senior vice president and managing director of Buena VistaInternational (UK) in the wake of Daniel Battsek's departure to head up thenew-look Miramax.Mitchell will be responsiblefor BVI UK's marketing, publicity and distribution operations and reports toBVI president Mark Zoradi and BVI Europe executive vice president ...
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Wedding Crashers finally takes domestic box office crown
New Line's Wedding Crashers roared to the top of the domestic charts and passed $100m inits third weekend as Sony's high-tech action romp Stealth virtually stalled on take-off and openedweakly in fourth place on $13.5m.Disney's superhero family picture Sky High opened well enough in third place on$14.6m, while Warner Bros' ...
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Colonna leaves The Firm to join Brillstein-Grey
Sarah Michelle Gellar’smanager JoAnne Colonna has left The Firm to join the senior ranks ofBrillstein-Grey Management.Colonna, whose other clientsinclude Andy Garcia, Brittany Murphy, Brendan Fraser and Anna Paquin, servedsix years at Artists Management Group (AMG) and The Firm, which eventuallyacquired it, as co-head of the talent department.It is understood she ...
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Fabrication closes multiple sales on Game
LosAngeles-based sales company Fabrication Films has completed a raft of sales onDavid Anspaugh's real-life sports drama The Game Of Their Lives.Film division presidentWendy Reeds reported sales to 21st Century in Australia, Wise Policy in Japan,Aurum in Spain, NoShame Films in Italy, Conquest Films in Brazil, and HollywoodEntertainment in Greece.Rights also ...
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Lions Gate announces second family film Sylvester
Lions GateFamily Entertainment (LGFE) has announced its second feature film project Sylvester, based on the late William Steig'saward-winning children's book "Sylvester And The Magic Pebble".LGFE acquiredthe rights from Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and will begindevelopment immediately on the story of a donkey that finds a magic pebble.'To havethis much ...
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Brown named programming director at Miami
Film critic andformer HBO executive and Dwight Brown has been appointed programming directorat the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF). Brown will scout, screen andrecommend films for the festival in all categories, oversee staff, seek out newtalent, and develop outreach programmes and special presentations."Our rapidlyexpanding festival needs a programming executive and ...
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Sony launches Stealth in Russia, Mexico, Korea
UIP executivesexpect to record two significant milestones this weekend, as Paramount's WarOf The Worlds is poisedto pass the $300m gross mark and DreamWorks International's Madagascar prepares to cross $200m.Both titles have been market leaders over the past monthor so, and have grossed $298.9m and more than $190m respectively.Meanwhile FantasticFour will ...
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NBC Universal keeps mum on DreamWorks acquisition report
Studio sources have declined to comment on yesterday's report thatNBC Universal is in talks to acquire live-action unit DreamWorks SKG.According to the New York Post the studios were in the earlystages of talks but a deal was not imminent.DreamWorks SKG issued a statement in which it said any commentsabout a ...
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US studios, exhibitors united on digital cinema standard
Hollywood'svision for a brave new world took a step closer to reality yesterday as leadingstudio and exhibition representatives unveiled an industry standard governingdigital cinema rollout.The move comesmore than three years after studios and exhibitors formed the Digital CinemasInitiative (DCI), the umbrella group charged with devising a set of unanimoussystem requirements ...
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Stein named senior vp for Dimension at The Weinstein Co
Matthew Stein has been named senior vice president of productionfor Dimension Films at The Weinstein Company.Stein will continue to work at Miramax in his current position asvice president of production for Dimension until Sept 30, after which time hewill assume his new full-time role at The Weinstein Company.Based in New ...
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Madagascar wins international weekend with $24.6m take
At the final reckoning, DreamWorks' Madagascar did in fact rule the roost at the weekendinternational box office second consecutive weekend, as revised results fromUIP reveal it grossed an estimated $24.6m.The animated family title, which currently stands at more than$190m, was far ahead of Fox International's Fantastic Four which took $20.3m ...
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Rittman promoted to vice president for Asia-Pacific at MPAA
Frank S Rittmanhas been named vice president, regional legal counsel, Asia-Pacific and deputyregional director, Asia-Pacific, at the Motion Picture Association of America(MPAA).Rittman will serve as the MPAA's regional spokesman on legalissues and will manage legal aspects of the organisation's regional operations,encompassing free trade agreements, "fair use" legislation, and anti-piracy andcommercial ...
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Six composers line up for Sundance Composers Lab this week
The Sundance Institute has announced the six musicians chosen forthe 8th Annual Sundance Institute Composers Lab, which runs from Jul 26-Aug 11.This year's Composers Lab Fellows are Don Byron, Barbara Cohen,Marco d'Ambrosio, Andrea Kapsalis, Ljova (Lev Zhurbin), and Gyan Riley.Over the course of the intensive two-week lab Fellows willparticipate in ...
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Misher signs first-look deal with Paramount
Paramount Pictures hasbrought Kevin Misher, the producer of The Interpreter and The Scorpion King, into the fold with a three-year first look deal. Misher Films executivesPatrick Baker and Andrew Berman will join Misher at Paramount; the termcommences once Misher's deal with Universal Pictures expires. Titles in developmentinclude an adaptation of ...