Large MPU – Page 1641

  • News

    Russia spawns rival awards events

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    Russia's new Academy of Film Art founded by director Nikita Mikhalkov has rolled out the first ever edition of its new awards for cinema excellence the Golden Eagles. But the awards which are being touted as Russia's answer to the Oscars have sparked a major controversy as they are competing ...

  • News

    Toshiba to buy Japan's Amuse Pictures

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    Toshiba Corp. has announced the purchase of Amuse Pictures, the film and video distribution subsidiary of Amuse Inc. Toshiba will acquire 67% of Amuse Pictures shares on April 1 and the remainder by October. Also, Amuse Pictures will transfer its 73.5% stake in Amuse Soft Sales, a video and DVD ...

  • News

    Norway funds two new features from Maipo

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    The Norwegian Film Fund has greenlighted two new projects from Maipo Film, the outfit behind the local box office phenomenon Elling.Bent, Frank & Susie is based on The Jealous Hairdresser a short story by Norway's number one best-selling author Lars Saabye Christensen. Annette Sjursen's directing debut tells the story of ...

  • News

    Pathe plays Hopscotch with the Australians

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    Australian distributor Hopscotch has teamed up with London-based production, distribution and sales outfit Pathe to co-develop Australian films. Those that get made are likely to be distributed by Hopscotch in Australia, and by Pathe in the UK and France. Pathe will also handle international sales."Everyone sits around and talks about ...

  • News

    Berlinale awash with Talent

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    Festival directors know only too well that luck as well as judgement determines the strength or weakness of their competition programmes. The state of world cinema may vary enormously year by year - Cannes head Gilles Jacob has even admitted in the past that his programme has merely been the ...

  • News

    HanWay promotes Ayesta to manager, int'l sales

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    HanWay, Jeremy Thomas and Thierry Wase-Bailey's sales company, has promoted Ana Ayesta to the newly-created position of manager, international sales.Ayesta will handle sales to Scandinavia, Switzerland and South Africa and have overall responsibility for South East Asia excluding to Korea. Reporting to Wase-Bailey, she already handles Spain, Latin America, Portugal, ...

  • News

    Trust takes international sales on Home

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    Trust Film Sales has picked up international sales on Theo van Gogh's new feature project Home Is Where The Heart Is which was presented at the Cinemart co-production market at the Rotterdam International Film Festival this week.Budgeted at Euros 2.2m, the digitally shot psychogical thriller will be produced by Els ...

  • News

    NonStop takes international sales on The Slaughter Rule

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    Film sales agent NonStop Sales has acquired the rights to handle international sales for highly acclaimed The Slaughter Rule, which also marks the first non-Nordic film NonStop Sales will distribute. With international market launch at the European Film Market 2003 in Berlin, The Slaughter Rule, directed by twin brothers Alex ...

  • News

    Artificial Eye takes UK rights on Small Cuts

    2003-01-31T04:05:00Z

    UK distributor Artificial Eye has picked up all UK rights to Berlin International Film Festival competition title Small Cuts (Petites Coupures).Artificial Eye will release the French-language film this autumn. Directed by Pascal Bonitzer, the Rezo Films production stars Daniel Auteuil and Kristin Scott Thomas.The veteran distributor is also releasing another ...

  • News

    Samuel Goldwyn, Fireworks to release Dan Ireland's Passionada

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    Samuel Goldwyn Films andFireworks Pictures announced today (Jan 30) they will distribute DanIreland's Passionada, aMassachusetts-based romance centred on a Portugese-American family, in NorthAmerica. The picture stars Sofia Milos, who has starred in numerous film andtelevision productions including The Sopranos, Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in HarryPotter And The Chamber ...

  • News

    August to attend Scandinavian Festival in Los Angeles

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    Renowned Danishdirector Bille August, who won the best foreign language Oscar in 1989 for PelleThe Conqueror, willattend the Scandinavian Film Festival LA's gala reception as a guest onJan 31. August is currently in Los Angeles shooting Without Apparent Motive (working title) with Julianne Moore andRichard Gere. The reception will take ...

  • News

    Columbia, McG to make movie based on Mattel toy cars Hot Wheels

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    Columbia Pictures hasoptioned exclusive rights to develop and produce Hot Wheels, an action-romance based on Mattel's populartoy cars range with McG of Charlie's Angels fame lined up to direct. While story details aresketchy McG gave some clues in a statement released today (Jan 30). 'Wewant to create a timeless story ...

  • News

    New Christopher Guest 'mockumentary' to play South By Southwest

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    ChristopherGuest's folk music 'mockumentary' A Mighty Wind and the Adrien Brody comedy-drama TheDummy are among theline-up for the upcoming 10th Annual South By Southwest Film Conference AndFestival in Austin, Texas. Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, whofamously played clueless rockers in 1984's This Is Spinal Tap, play 1960s folk stars ...

  • News

    Stuparich De La Barra promoted at MDP Worldwide

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    Tamara Stuparich De La Barra has been promoted to directorof acquisitions at MDP Worldwide Entertainment, the company's chairmanand CEO Mark Damon announced today (Jan 30). Stuparich De La Barra's newresponsibilities will include the evaluation and coordination of all featurefilm submissions as well as overseeing the acquisition of completed films. Shewill ...

  • News

    Ted Turner steps down as AOL Time Warner posts $100bn loss

    2003-01-31T04:00:00Z

    AOL Time Warnertoday (Jan 29) posted a net loss of nearly $100bn for 2002 - the biggest annualloss in corporate history - after announcing a fourth quarter writedown of$45.5bn that followed a $54bn writedown in the first quarter to cover thecompany's plummeting value. In a separate announcement that adds to ...

  • News

    Paxton cast as Thunderbirds patriarch

    2003-01-31T00:00:00Z

    Continuing its strategy of non A-list casting on Thunderbirds, Working Title Films has cast Bill Paxton as Jeff Tracy, head of the International Rescue.Joining him on Tracy Island are his sons: Philip Winchester (The Patriot) as Scott and Lex Shrapnel (K-19: The Widowmaker) is John. Virgil will be played by ...

  • Reviews

    Owning Mahowny

    2003-01-31T00:00:00Z

    Dir. Richard Kwietniowski. Can-UK. 2003. 107mins.A low-key character study of an extraordinary man, Owning Mahowny tells the true story of a nebbish Canadian bank employee who embezzled millions from his employers to feed his addiction to gambling. Directed with austerity by Richard Kwietniowski and played by the riveting Philip Seymour ...

  • Reviews

    The Station Agent

    2003-01-31T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Tom McCarthy. 2002. US. 90minsAs often at Sundance, the real winners are to be found among the recipients of the audience award and not the Grand Jury Prize. This year was no exception as newcomer Tom McCarthy's crowd-pleaser, The Station Agent, proved the talk of Park City all week, ...

  • News

    World premieres and directing debuts topline Kinderfilmfest

    2003-01-17T04:05:00Z

    Berlin's 26th Kinderfilmfest has announced that its 2003 edition will boast 14 feature films and 16 shorts, including six directing debuts and a large number of world premieres.The Kindfilmfest opens on Feb 7 with the Danish film, Someone Like Hodder (En Som Hodder) (pictured). Directed by Henrik Ruben Genz ...

  • News

    Panorama Dokumente series announced

    2003-01-20T04:05:00Z

    The Panorama Dokumente series of the Berlin International Film Festival has announced its programme for 2003.The series will open on Feb 7 with Traces Of A Dragon: Jackie Chan And His Lost Family by Mabel Cheung and Alex Law (Hong Kong, China).The other films will be: Comandante by Oliver ...