All articles by Jeremy Kay – Page 1506
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The Punisher catches Dream star
Thomas Jane, currently starring in Warner Bros' Dreamcatcher,has signed to play the lead role in Artisan Pictures and Marvel Studios' superheroadaptation The Punisher.Set to start shooting in July with a view to a Summer 2004 release,the project is the latest example of the joint venture between Artisan andMarvel to develop, ...
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US arthouse renamed after benefactor who donated $2.5m
As a reflectionof philanthropy many arthouse film theatres might envy, the Rafael Film Centrein northern California has changed its name to the Christopher B Smith RafaelFilm Centre to honour donations of $2.5m from benefactor Smith.Smith hails from a family of philanthropists andentrepreneurs and is a long-time supporter of the centre, ...
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Filardi boards Armada's Drum
Bringing DownThe House screenwriterJason Filardi has signed on as executive producer on independent financing,production and distribution company Armada Pictures' upcoming thriller, Drum.Filardi will supply creative input on the screenplay aswell as other aspects of the production, which is inspired by real events andcentres on two South African journalists involved in ...
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Visionbox, Small Planet team on US release of Charlotte
Los Angeles-basedproduction outfit Visionbox Pictures has teamed up with fledgling USdistributor Small Planet Pictures on the theatrical release of itsaward-winning drama Charlotte Sometimes, with a roll-out scheduled for May in Los Angeles, SanFrancisco, Chicago and Hawaii.The film, written and directed by Eric Byler (Kenji'sFaith), centres on a love triangle betweena ...
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UIP signs content deal with Neos Interactive
UnitedInternational Pictures (UIP) has signed a non-exclusive content deal with NeosInteractive, the developers of upscale hospitality digital entertainment systemNeosTV (formerly known as IRIS).The deal wasfacilitated by content procurement specialist Federal Hill Communications,which was appointed by Neos Interactive to oversee talks with the majorstudios.The UIP packagefeatures a range of titles including ...
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The In-Laws gets world premiere at Tribeca
FranchisePictures and Warner Bros' comedy The In-Laws, which stars Michael Douglas and AlbertBrooks, will receive its world premiere at the second Tribeca Film Festival onMay 10, co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal announced today (Apr 3).The picturefollows the uneasy relationship between two prospective fathers-in-law whosechildren are to be married. ...
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Koch to distribute Passport Video catalogue in North America
US independent music andhome entertainment distributor Koch Entertainment Distribution is stepping upits DVD operation with the announcement that it has signed an exclusive deal todistribute Passport Video's entire catalogue in the US and Canada.Passport Video'slibrary comprises mostly documentaries and entertainment specials and includesnew releases and reissues of the five-DVD Collectors ...
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Downtown New York to get new film and arts centre
IFP/New York andFilm/Video Arts (F/VA) have received a $100,000 grant to conduct a feasibilitystudy for a media arts centre in Lower Manhattan.The award ispart of a federal $1m emergency aid package set up to help rebuild New Yorkafter 9/11.The announcementwas made today (Apr 1) by Empire State Development's (ESD) chairmanCharles ...
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THINKFilm buys domestic rights to Brazilian documentary
THINKFilm haspicked up North American rights to Jose Padilha's award-winningdocumentary, Bus 174.A theatrical release in New York has been scheduled for Oct 8.Since its worldpremiere at the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival last autumn Bus 174 has drawn considerable attention afterfestival selections at Sundance, Rotterdam and Miami.It was named best ...
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Ned takes $1.5m in Australian opening weekend for Universal
Ned Kelly followed up its powerful opening day(Screendaily Mar 28) with a $1.5m opening weekend.Buoyed by anintense publicity campaign featuring Heath Ledger and most of the cast, theUniversal Pictures/Endymion Films production opened in 252 theatres and went onto claim a 30% market share over the weekend.It was the thirdhighest opening ...
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Oscars push up Chicago international business by 25%
Fresh from itshaul of six Academy Awards, including one for best picture, Chicago's international box office leapt25% over the weekend according to Miramax International.The Broadwaymusical adaptation grossed an estimated $7m in markets over the weekend toraise its international running total to approximately $80m.Combined withthe picture's $144.5m US gross, which is ...
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Fox's Daredevil scores $6.6m over weekend
The acrobaticantics of Daredevilwere too much for the competition over the weekend as Fox's actionpicture scored a string of number one openings, grossing $6.6m on 3,661international screens for a $45.9m running total.Among thehighlights was the United Arab Emirates, where the picture grossed $254,000 on23 screens for Fox's second highest opening ...
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Wellspring hires Rob Williams in acquisitions dept
Wellspring has appointed RobWilliams as manager of acquisitions. Williams arrives from Dreamworks'New York office and will report to the newly appointed head of acquisitions,Marie Therese Guirgis; his responsibilities include acquiring films and programmingfor Wellspring's theatrical, home video and worldwide sales businessunits.'Rob's experience inboth studio and arthouse film distribution will serve ...
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Exhibition vet Bill Doeren joins Kodak Imaging
Exhibitionveteran William B Doeren has been named vice president of the KodakEntertainment Imaging division and general manager of Kodak Digital Cinemagroup.He replacesRobert J Mayson, who is moving into a full-time role as vice president andgeneral manager of Image Origination Products in the same Kodak division.In a statementEric G Rodli, president ...
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Chouchou continues to dominate French box office
In its secondweek in France the comedy Chouchou, which is being distributed by Warner Bros, held on to top spot,grossing an estimated $4m (Euros 3.8m) for a $10.2m (Euros 9.6m) running total.In Paris and the suburbs the picture recorded 127,500admissions on 46 screens, while nationwide the figures were 650,000 admissionson ...
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Prawer Jhabvala to get screenwriting honour at Nantucket
The Oscarwinning screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is to receive NBC'sScreenwriter Tribute at the eighth annual Nantucket Film Festival (NFF), whichruns from Jun 19-22.Jhabvala wonbest adapted screenplay Oscars for A Room With A View in 1987 and Howards End in 1993. She was nominated for TheRemains Of The Day in1994.Jhabvala'snext project ...
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Scooby cast sign on for Warner's sequel
Warner Bros hassigned up actors Freddie Prinze Jr, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard andLinda Cardellini to return in the sequel to Scooby-Doo which is set to start shooting on April14 and to open domestically on March 26, 2004.The filmreunites the team behind the first film - James Gunn, will be ...
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Audiences elect Head Of State over Core, Basic
Movie audiences flirted with the idea of a new President over theweekend as the Dreamworks comedy Head Of State opened at number one on an estimated$14m. The poorly reviewed $35m picture stars Chris Rock as an aspiringpolitician who ends up in the White House. It co-stars Bernie Mac and wasco-written ...
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US film organisations stress global free trade
Global trade partnership isa key plank in the United States' free trade and anti-piracy policies,America's trade representative Ambassador Robert Zoellick told filmindustry leaders and other members of the Entertainment Industry Coalition (EIC)today (Mar 27).Speaking in Los Angeles atthe official West Coast launch of the coalition, which was set up to ...
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Intermedia confirms 2002 results, losses of E98.7m
Internationalmedia,the corporate parent of Los Angeles-based Intermedia and IEG, has confirmed itspreliminary fourth quarter and year-end 2002 figures (Screendaily Mar 14), withseveral slight changes.Fourth quarterrevenues were Euros 103.2m, with the company recording a Euros 3.1m operatingprofit (EBITA).Revenues for thefiscal year ending Dec 31 2002 were Euros 259.7m, while Internationalmedia'scash position ...