All articles by Jeremy Kay – Page 1512
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Wellspring acquires international rights to two US docs
US independentWellspring has acquired international rights to two hard-hitting documentaries,Billy Corben's Raw Deal and Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley's Horns And Halos.Raw Deal, which was produced by Spellman/CorbenProductions, screened at Sundance 2002 and focuses on the alleged rape byFlorida university students of a 27-year-old exotic dancer. Wellspring hassecured international rights ...
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Palm gets Bunny doc in North America, UK, Caribbean
Palm Pictures has acquiredall North American, UK and Caribbean rights to How To Draw A Bunny, John W Walter's award-winning documentaryprofile of artist and Andy Warhol contemporary Ray Johnson which is executiveproduced by John Malkovich's production company Mr Mudd.The picture is the secondafter Matthew Barney's The Cremaster Cycle to be ...
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Amigo heads up Warner's Spanish local production
Ana Amigo has been namedWarner Bros' director of local production in Spain in a newly createdrole that demonstrates the studio's production ambitions in theterritory.The appointment wasannounced today (Mar 20) by Simona Benzakein, vice president of Europeanproductions at Warner Bros. Based in Madrid, Amigo will report directly toBenzakein, who operates out ...
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Restored Hired Hand to Sundance Channel for US home video, DVD and pay-TV
Sundance Channelhas acquired US home video/DVD and pay television rights to the restoredversion of Peter Fonda's The Hired Hand, the channel's senior vicepresident of film programming Paola Freccero announced today (Mar 20).Following alimited theatrical run, the film will be released on home video and DVD underthe Sundance Channel Home Entertainment ...
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Nominated Kaurismaki boycotts Oscars in protest at war
Oscar-nominated Finnishdirector Aki Kaurismaki is boycotting Sunday's Academy Awards in protest overthe imminent war with Iraq.In a strongly worded letterto Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Frank Pierson,Kaurismaki said he and his production company Sputnik Ltd refused to attendwhile "the United States is preparing for a crime against ...
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Diller resigns from VUE post as Vivendi moves to sell
Barry Diller has resignedfrom his interim role as co-chief executive officer of Vivendi UniversalEntertainment (VUE) as Vivendi Universal steps up efforts to sell theentertainment division and slash debts of more than $13bn.Under the leadership ofchairman Jean-Rene Fourtou, who takes over as full chief executive officer,Vivendi Universal is considering an offer ...
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Academy plans modified awards ceremony and coverage
Producers of the 75th Academy Awards said yesterday (Mar 18) they would go ahead with a modified Oscars telecast on Mar 23, but were prepared to defer to breaking news from the Gulf.The announcement was made at a press conference in Hollywood by Gil Cates, the veteran producer of the ...
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Italy pushes 8 Mile towards $100m int'l box office
Universal's 8 Mile continued to swagger toward $100m at the international box office over the weekend, driven chiefly by a record opening in Italy.Opening on Friday (Mar 14), the drama grossed $516,000 at 235 sites for the biggest March opening day of all time in the territory. By the end ...
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Lions Gate takes The Grudge for North America
Lions Gate Entertainment has acquired all North American rights to Takashi Shimizu's Japanese horror hit The Grudge (Ju-On).The announcement was made yesterday (Mar 17) by Peter Block, president of home entertainment, acquisitions and new media. A theatrical release date will be set later.Lions Gate has also picked up Ju-On and ...
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Two Weeks Notice continues int'l roll-out
Warner Bros' romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice grossed $4m in international markets over the weekend for an estimated $87.7m cumulative score including Village Roadshow territories.Opening in Argentina, the picture took $93,200 with more than 93,000 admissions from 35 screens. The performance surpassed openings by About A Boy by 109%, Bridget ...
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Cast lines up for Miramax's Battle Of Shaker Heights
Shia LaBeouf (Holes), Elden Henson (The Butterfly Effect), Amy Smart (Roadtrip), Kathleen Quinlan (Breakdown), William Sadler (Shawshank Redemption), Shiri Appleby (Swimfan), and Anson Mount (City By The Sea) have joined Miramax's second Project Greenlight competition winner, The Battle Of Shaker Heights. Screenwriter Erica Beeney and directors Kyle Rankin and Efram ...
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Agent Cody Banks can't bring down the House
Buena Vista's Bringing Down The House kept audiences chuckling over the weekend as it held on to top spot with an estimated $22.4m for a fine 10-day $61.6m running total. As the nation prepares for war with Iraq, movie-goers were clearly in the mood for some light relief and the ...
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Industry prepares for 2004 pre-Oscar calendar crush
With much of the film industry focused on the Oscars later this month, it's hard to believe that anybody could be thinking about next year's Academy Awards ceremony.Yet that's what many senior figures in charge of film festivals and awards ceremonies worldwide are doing right now - thanks to the ...
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Sir Alan joins board of governors at BAFTA/LA
Sir Alan Parker is to jointhe board of governors of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts/LosAngeles (BAFTA/LA), it was announced today (Mar 14) by Gary Dartnall, thechairman of the board of directors of BAFTA/LA. Parker will take his place amonga who's who of film-makers and performers that includes ...
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Internationalmedia posts mixed 2002 results
Internationalmedia, the corporate parent of Los Angeles-basedIntermedia and IEG, today (Mar 14) announced a Euros 29m operating loss for2002 that swelled to Euros 99m including a write-down of goodwill assets,according to preliminary fourth quarter and year end 2002 figures.Coming off the back of a year blighted by "painful" corporaterestructuring, Moritz ...
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Artisan, Miramax complete Dirty Dancing 2 cast
HavanaNights: Dirty Dancing 2co-producers and co-financers Artisan Entertainment and Miramax Films haveannounced final casting on the follow-up to the 1987 original. Set inrevolution-era Cuba in 1958, the story centres on a romance between Katey, a17-year-old American girl whose family has moved to Cuba, and Javier, a Cubanman. Principal photography is ...
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International specialist Heller promoted at Paramount Home Ent
Amy Heller has been promotedto vice president of planning and business development at Paramount HomeEntertainment (PHE), senior vice president of planning JC Galiana announcedtoday (Mar 12). Heller, who has been with PHE since 1998, previously held theposition of executive director of planning and business development and isresponsible for executing the ...
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Fries and Sneller launch US home video distribution arm
Independent film producersJeffrey Sneller (The Adventures of Pinocchio) and Charles Fries have formed home entertainmentdistribution company Santa Barbara Home Video, a distribution subsidiary ofSanta Barbara Filmed-Entertainment that they say will give film-makers greateropportunity to participate in the marketing of their films.Santa Barbara Home Videowill distribute its own productions as well ...
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13 Moons to open Avignon/New York festival on April 5
AlexandreRockwell's comedy 13 Moons will kick off the 9th annual Avignon/New York Film Festival,which features 18 American and French independent pictures and runs from Apr 5to Apr 13 in New York. 13 Moons will be introduced by Rockwell and the picture's lead actorSteve Buscemi.The festival,which each year showcases US and ...
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UK actor Harold Ayer dies in LA aged 86
The screen,stage and television actor Harold Ayer, whose film credits included TheSting, The Third Man andTrip To Bountiful,has died from a stroke at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Hospital inWoodland Hills, California. He was 86.Born on August15, 1916 in London, Ayer was no stranger to the performing arts. His ...