Large MPU – Page 1576

  • News

    Brazilian bank BNDES ups investment in local films to $5m

    2003-12-12T00:00:00Z

    Brazilian bank BNDES has raised its level of commitment to thefilm industry, announcing an increased budget of $5m in support of 41 projects.The investment more than doubles last year's commitment and brings it back inline with the 2001 budget.The announcement comes following the recent news that state-ownedoil company Petrobas has ...

  • News

    Honorary Oscar to go to Blake Edwards on Feb 29

    2003-12-12T00:00:00Z

    Blake Edwards will receive an honorary Oscar at the 76th AcademyAwards on Feb 29, 2004.The veteran film-maker will collect the honour in recognition ofhis "extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement"."For more than 50 yearsEdwards has had an extraordinary career writing, directing and producing mainlyhis own material," Academy president Frank Pierson said ...

  • News

    ARGENTINA

    2003-12-12T00:00:00Z

    Disney's Brother Bear opened to top the charts this week. However, Clint Eastwood's drama Mystic River achieved the best screen average of 1,975 admissions. Columbia TriStar's SWAT opened in third followed by teen gross out comedy American Pie: The Wedding which came in fourth and benefited from an earlier opening ...

  • News

    HUNGARY

    2003-12-12T00:00:00Z

    The year's most awaited romantic comedy, Love Actually had a decent start at the Hungarian box office, debuting in second place. With nearly thirty thousand admissions the film was no real competition for Finding Nemo and also failed to fare better than previous Richard Curtis films, Notting Hill or Bridget ...

  • News

    Nemo eyes $300m international haul

    2003-12-12T00:00:00Z

    Buena Vista International's (BVI) worldwide hit Finding Nemo is expected to pass $300m any day now and should use the upcoming weekend to consolidate its ballooning box office gross.By Dec 10 it had grossed $291.2m at the international box office and executives believe it will finish on more than $400m.BVI ...

  • News

    SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO

    2003-12-12T00:00:00Z

    There seems to be nothing new at Serbian-Montenegrin film market. After last week's opening of Tuck's Master And Commander: Far Side Of The World in first position, the season's favourite Small World is back on top with 194,170 admissions and total gross of $458,857. Peter Weir's latest sold 5,675 admissions ...

  • News

    Breillat's Hell to world premiere at Rotterdam

    2003-12-12T00:00:00Z

    Catherine Breillat's new film, Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie De L'Enfer), will receive its world premiere at the upcoming 33rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Jan 21-Feb1, 2004). .According to Rotterdam co-director Simon Field the film could be her most controversial piece of work yet. Based on her novel ...

  • News

    Bigas Luna readies female coming-of-age tale for Alquimia

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    Spanish producer Alquimia Cinema has unveiled its slate for 2004 including new films from directors Bigas Luna (Golden Balls), Marcelo Pineyro (Kamchatka) and Maria Ripoll (Tortilla Soup).The untitled coming-of-age tale scripted by Luna for an October shoot follows a twenty-something girl as she sets out to discover the world. With ...

  • News

    Warner co-production Thief Lord wins Hamburg funding

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    Richard Claus' adaptation of Cornelia Funke's best-selling children's book The Thief Lord has been awarded Euros 600,000 by German funding body FilmFoerderung Hamburg.The film, which will be produced by Warner Bros. Filmproductions with Dutch-based Comet Films, will star Janet McTeer and Jim Carter.Funke's magical bestsellers have been billed as the ...

  • News

    Irish minister fires tax abuse broadside

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    The Irish Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, has issued a stern warning to producers about abusing the film industry's Section 481 tax break.Speaking at the launch of the Irish Film Board's Annual Review, O'Donoghue said: "No-one is suggesting that the majority, or anything close to it, of ...

  • News

    ...as festival honours Man Without A Head

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    With Taiwanese film production at a record low, there was some speculation whether this year's Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards would even take place. The success of Hong Kong and Chinese movies at recent Awards has embarrassed the Taiwan government, with tensions further strained over the festival's position on ...

  • News

    Nordic football duo lined up for Berlin sidebars

    2003-12-12T00:00:00Z

    Another two Nordic features have been confirmed for the upcoming Berlin Film festival. Magnus Martens' Norwegian romantic football comedy United has been selected for the new 14 plus sidebar of youth films, while Aage Rais-Nordentoft's Danish coming of age drama Kick 'n' Rush has been singled out for the Panorama. ...

  • News

    Two Wellspring executives move over to Koch

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    FormerWellspring Media executives Janet Baker and Kathy Gilbert have joined US musicand video distributor Koch Entertainment Distribution, with Baker coming onboard as director of sales - video and Gilbert as regional video sales manager.Effectiveimmediately, Baker will be based in Chicago where she will oversee thecompany's expanding video sales efforts, supervise ...

  • News

    Audiovisual/Ster acquires Europlex in Greece

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    Greekentertainment media group Audiovisual has acquired the two-site Europlex-GreeceCineplexes chain through its subsidiary, Ster Cinemas.The acquisitionof the two sites - an eight-screen 1,996-seater venue in Patras and aneight-screen 1.764-seater venue in Larissa - positions Ster Cinemas-Greece asthe country's second largest exhibitor with a total of 35 screens and 8,185seats.Ster willshortly ...

  • News

    Global Film Initiative gives grants to films from Uruguay, Turkey, Brazil

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    US-based charitable foundation The Global Film Initiative hasnamed the award recipients for its second annual granting programme. Threerecipients selected from 33 submissions representing 19 countries will eachreceive completion funds of between $20,000 and $40,000.The titles are: Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll's siblingrivalry drama Whisky(Uruguay), Reha Erdem's anarchic look at ...

  • News

    Bolton launches US online one-stop-shop Really Good Films

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    Technology veteran Rick Bolton has launched Really Good Films, anonline one-stop shop that offers US film-goers services, editorial content andproducts and provides the company's commerce partners with a cost-effectivemarketing service.Visitors to the website will be able to read reviews andinterviews, check screening times and buy DVDs, books and soundtracks, amongother ...

  • Reviews

    The Next Best Thing

    2000-03-07T14:16:00Z

    Dir: John Schlesinger. US. 2000. 108 mins.Prod co: Lakeshore Entertainment. US dist: Paramount Pictures. Int'l sales: Lakeshore International. Exec prods: Gary Lucchesi, Ted Tannebaum, Lewis Manilow. Prods: Tom Rosenberg, Leslie Dixon, Linne Radmin. Scr: Thomas Ropelewski. DoP: Elliot Davis. Prod des: Howard Cummings. Ed: Peter Honess. Mus: Gabriel Yared. Main ...

  • News

    Parent & Stuber promoted to production vice chairmen at Universal

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    Mary Parent and Scott Stuber have each been appointed to the newpositions of vice chairman of worldwide production for Universal Pictures.In their new jobs they will continue to oversee worldwideacquisition, creative development and production of all Universal's films, aswell as overseeing the studio's original made-for-video productions and creativedevelopment and production ...

  • News

    Italian film producers threaten to shut pay-TV window

    2003-12-15T04:00:00Z

    In an ultimate bid to get a reaction out of pay-TV outfit Sky Italia, Italy's national union of independent film producers and directors (API) warned that it could, in future, by-pass the pay-TV window altogether and sell films to free-to-air broadcasters before selling pay-TV rights. Heads of Rai Cinema and ...

  • News

    Something's Gotta Give gives Sony ninth number one of the year

    2003-12-14T00:00:00Z

    Romance ruled the box office at the weekend as Sony's wellreceived Something's Gotta Give opened number one on an estimated $17m.To add to the studio's pre-Christmas cheer, it set a new industryrecord of opening nine number one films in a year, beating Warner Bros' oldmark of eight.Two other new releases ...