Large MPU – Page 1630

  • Reviews

    Bolivar, That's Me (Bolivar Soy Yo)

    2003-01-14T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Jorge Ali Triana. Colombia/France. 2002. 93 mins. Since taking the top prize at Mar del Plata last year, Bolivar, That's Me, an offbeat satire about an actor who starts to over-identity with the character he is playing, has been a regular guest on the international festival circuit, playing at ...

  • News

    Soft Money - Luxembourg

    2003-01-14T00:00:00Z

    LuxembourgShooting in this tiny country can shave 15% from budgets as tax relief is available on everything spent there. Patrick Frater reportsIt may have interesting locations, two studio complexes and a pool of government cash, but it is Luxembourg's tax breaks that are making it such a magnet for foreign ...

  • News

    Inward investment in UK production sees slender rise

    2003-01-14T00:00:00Z

    UK production levels from inward investment and local films limped to $696.6m (£433.1m) last year, only slightly up on 2001's disastrous tally of $660.4m, according to figures from support body the Film Council.Inward investment from overseas films and TV productions shooting in the UK such as Lara Croft And The ...

  • News

    UK bucks downward trend of European cinema admissions

    2003-01-15T04:05:00Z

    While cinema admissions fell last year in France, Germany, Spain and Italy, the UK was the only major European market to see growth in ticket sales - and by a hefty 10%-plus.Although official figures are yet to be released for the territory, the UK is likely to register at least ...

  • News

    StudioCanal faces crippling staff losses

    2003-01-15T04:05:00Z

    France's StudioCanal, which once boasted ambitions of being Europe's biggest film production outfit, looks to be heading towards total meltdown.It had recently been rumoured that hefty job cuts lay ahead at the company as parent Vivendi Universal sought cost cutting measures - and reported figures placed that number at around ...

  • News

    Warner Bros Italia's first local co-production scores at home

    2003-01-15T04:05:00Z

    Warner Bros. Italia's first local co-production, It Can't Be All Our Fault (Ma Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi), has shot into the number one slot at the Italian box office.Italian director Carlo Verdone's new comedy, Ma Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi (It Can't Be All Our Fault) (pictured) powered into the number ...

  • News

    Exception adds co-production to sales activities

    2003-01-15T04:05:00Z

    Exception, the company minted out of former StudioCanal boutique Wild Bunch, has announced it is adding co-production to its activities. The outfit, started by former Wild Bunch and StudioCanal executives Vincent Maraval, Alain de la Mata, Vincent Grimond and Brahim Chioua will now provide an international co-producing service alongside its ...

  • News

    70 Iranian features submitted for Fajr International Film Festival

    2003-01-15T04:05:00Z

    The 21st Fajr International Film Festival is to be held in Tehran from Feb 1-11 2003. Commemorating the 24th anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution, it will consist of two International Competitions - for feature-length and short narrative films respectively - and an Out-of-Competition section for films which do not ...

  • News

    First Forum titles confirmed for Berlin

    2003-01-15T04:05:00Z

    Piotr Tzaskalski's Edi, the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Lynn Hershmann Leeson's clone thriller Teknolust, starring Tilda Swinton in four roles along with Jeremy Davies and Karen Black, and Ulrike Ottinger's six hour-plus documentary travelling through south east Europe, Sudostpassage. Eine Reise Zu Den Neuen Weissen ...

  • News

    USA Films takes Romeo Brass

    2000-01-28T10:08:00Z

    USA Films has finally completed its US acquisition this week of Shane Meadows' critically acclaimed drama A Room For Romeo Brass, according to reports at the Sundance Film Festival. The deal was made between USA and the film's backer/producer Alliance Atlantis Communications.USA has been eyeing the film since its world ...

  • News

    Gerardmer horror fest unveils competition line-up

    2003-01-15T04:05:00Z

    The Gerardmer Fantastic Film Festival has announced its jury and film line-up for this year's event which runs from January 29 to February 2. Presiding over the horror film festival jury is Exorcist director William Friedkin (pictured). Other jury members: Cube director Vincenzo Natali, Crimson Rivers writer Jean-Christophe Grange, actresses ...

  • News

    Gangs Of New York storms the UK

    2003-01-14T00:00:00Z

    Entertainment Film Distributors enjoyed a mighty double-headed victory at the UK box office this week with The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers and new release Gangs Of New York in the top two positions.Martin Scorsese's long awaited and much anticipated period epic Gangs Of New York, launched on ...

  • News

    Neil Jordan plans Odysseus' Return

    2003-01-15T04:05:00Z

    Neil Jordan's Borgia may have failed to start shooting, but the Irish director appears to have found another European epic, Odysseus' Return.Michael Kuhn's London-based production company is understood to be finalising a deal to board the production, which is set up with producer Uberto Pasolini, best known for The Full ...

  • News

    Gold Circle launches domestic distribution arm

    2003-01-15T04:00:00Z

    Paul Brooks, theLondon-born producer and president of financing, production and internationalsales outfit Gold Circle Films, which co-funded 2001's smash hit MyBig Fat Greek Wedding,announced today (Jan 14) the launch of domestic theatrical distributor GoldCircle Releasing. While independent distribution is a notoriously treacherousbusiness, Brooks, who founded UK distributor Metrodome in the ...

  • News

    Verdone comedy hits gold for Warner Bros in Italy

    2003-01-15T04:00:00Z

    Warner Bros' driveinto international production and acquisitions got a seal of approval at thebox office over the weekend when the studio's first Italian-languageco-production, Ma Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi (It Can't Be All Our Fault), opened number one in Italy on $1.7m (Euros 1.6m). The comedy-dramadrew 277,744 admissions from 245 screens ...

  • News

    Schlessel named Columbia president in SPE restructure

    2003-01-15T04:00:00Z

    In a raft ofpromotions rewarding key players in last year's record-breakingperformance by Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), Peter Schlessel has beennamed president of Columbia Pictures and Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach havebeen named co-presidents of production at the studio. SPE earned more than$1.57bn at the domestic box office last year, an ...

  • News

    Hill promoted to head all Icon UK operations, Mayson joins as COO

    2003-01-15T04:00:00Z

    Mel Gibson andBruce Davey's Icon Entertainment is reorganizing its UK operation, namingNick Hill, former CEO of Icon Film Distribution Ltd (IFDL), as CEO of the UKIcon Group which includes both IFDL and the company's international salesand distribution arm Icon Entertainment International.UK distributionveteran Hill joined Icon in 1999 from his position ...

  • News

    Five gay features win completion funding from Frameline/Horizons

    2003-01-15T00:00:00Z

    Frameline, which each year presents the San FranciscoInternational Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, and philanthropic body Horizonshave named five feature projects as recipients of the 2002 Horizons/FramelineCompletion Fund. The fund was set up 10 years ago to help gay, lesbian,bisexual and transgender media artists with the final stages of production. ...

  • News

    Pauly Shore's directorial debut opens Slamdunk Film Festival

    2003-01-15T00:00:00Z

    Actor-comedian Pauly Shore's feature directorial debut, You'llNever Wiez In This Town Again, leads an eclectic line-up of seven features and 27 shorts forthe 2003 Slamdunk Film Festival. Billed as a semi-autobiographical slapstickstory, Shore plays a man who loses everything he knows and has to work his wayback into the entertainment ...

  • News

    European Commission investigates sales of TV rights

    2003-01-15T00:00:00Z

    European Commission anti-trust regulators are investigating a number of Hollywood studios and European pay-TV companies over the sale of TV rights to movies.The Commission said today that it was examining a clause in Hollywood film contracts with European television networks that may be anti-competitive - and that may prevent rival ...