Large MPU – Page 504
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German home entertainment market doubles over five years
Turnover in the German home entertainment market has more than doubled since 1999, when DVDs firstregistered significant business in Germany, according to figures compiled byGfK Panel Services Consumer Research for the video trade association BVV.Revenues from sell-throughand rental videos and DVDs increased by 103% from 1999’s Euros 860m to a ...
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UK/IRELAND 22 February
With the top four titles unchanged, the half-term effect continued inthe UK at the weekend.The second weekend of the holiday saw Pathe's The Magic Roundaboutimprove 13% week-on-week (excluding previews) while new family release AreWe There Yet' did solid business in sixth place for Sony.Momentum Pictures' Racing Stripes, which opened a ...
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THINKFilm launches kids DVD division
Toronto and New York-basedNorth American distributor ThinkFilm is launching a child-oriented specialtydivision, ThinkFilm Kids, to tap what it calls the expanding "KidVid" DVDmarket children under nine years of age. The division will concentrate oneducational product and has two franchise series available at launch, Braincandy and My First Day. ThinkFilm ...
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McClure leaves First Look and joins 2929
Former First Look Mediageneral counsel and senior vice president of business and legal affairs DougMcClure has joined 2929 Productions as senior vice president of legal andbusiness affairs. McClure will report to 2929president Marc Butan and help the company develop its slate and businessoperations. 2929 produces projects inthe $10m-$40m range and ...
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Berlin hit Paradise gets US & UK deals with WIP
WarnerIndependent Pictures (WiP) has acquired all rights in North America and the UKto Hany Abu-Assad's Berlin Audience Award winning drama Paradise Now.The film, which was one of the most talked about at thefestival, follows two Palestinian childhood friends whose planned suicide bombstrike on Tel Aviv is thrown into chaos after ...
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Bielinski's Aura shines on Celluloid
France'sCelluloid Dreams has picked up international sales rights to The Aura (ElAura), the latest film by Fabian Bielinsky, the Argentinian director ofbreakout hit Nine Queens. Nine Queens and Son Of The Bride star RicardoDarin plays a taxidermist whose fantasies about setting up the perfect crimecome unexpectedly to life. The film ...
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UK film pirate gets three-year prison sentence
In a landmark case in thefight against film piracy, a UK court has given a Cambridge-based DVD pirate,a three-year prison sentence.Jayanti Amarishi Buhecha,who was estimated to make more than £25,000 per month from piracy, was found guilty of two offences under theTrade Marks Act 1994, at Harrow crown court, in ...
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Production report: Canada tightens public funding
Film production is starting to buzz for some Canadian producers, with the impending warm weather. But for those hoping to make films in 2001 it is becoming increasingly complicated to secure public financing. Since 1999 federal funder Telefilm Canada's regulations have required producers to supply projected audience ratings and rate ...
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Korea's LJ Film aspires to international market
LJ Film, the productionhouse behind Sundance and Forum title This Charming Girl, is positioningitself as the gateway between the Korean and international production sectors. Korean films have undergonea massive turnaround in the last five years, achieving a more than 50% share oftheir local market and seeing exports rise exponentially. But, ...
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Bavaria Film closes deals on Berlinale prize-winner Sophie Scholl
Bavaria Film International(BFI) has closed further deals for Marc Rothemund's prize-winning Berlincompetition film Sophie Scholl - The Final Days. Deals were closed in Italywith Istituto Luce, Benelux with Cinemien, Hungary with Best Hollywood, Poland withKino Swiat, and Brazil with Imovision.Earlier, during the EFMitself Bavaria closed Japan (Kinetique), Spain (Lola Films), ...
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Nine titles to compete at Deauville Festival of Asian Film
The jury for the DeauvilleFestival of Asian Film will be presided over by French director Regis Wargnier,organisers announced Wednesday. The seventh edition of theevent will run from March 9-13 in the seaside Normandy town where nine filmswill screen in the major competition and tributes will be paid to Indonesianactress-producer Christine ...
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Spain's Filmanova to co-finance flamenco biopic Camaron.
Galician investment fundFilmanova Invest has signed on to co-finance Spanish veteran Jaime Chavarri'slatest film, flamenco biopic Camaron.Camaron will star up-and-comer Oscar Jaenada (November)in the life story of well-known flamenco musician Jose Monge Cruz, better knownas "Camaron de la Isla.""We were attracted to thisproject because we believe it has huge international ...
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Belfast cinemas reduce ticket prices
Northern Ireland exhibitorMichael McAdam of the Movie House chain of cinemas has hit back at the localWarner Village cinema's 'Cheap Tuesday' promotion, alleging that it is thelatest episode in a long line of promotions that threaten the viability of theexhibition sector in Belfast.The promotion, currentlyavailable at several Warner Village sites, ...
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Oscar nominees benefit from pre-awards hype
With a week to go before theOscar winners dominate the charts, the films nominated for best picture wereenjoying their status at the international box office.Leading the pack TheAviator, now on $76.6m internationally, added seven Asian and smaller Europeanterritories including South Korea, Hong Kong and Poland. Handled by KoreaPictures in South ...
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Rai Cinema, Ben Ammar to finance De Laurentiis's Decameron
Italy's Rai Cinema isteaming up with Tarak Ben Ammar to finance Dino De Laurentiis's upcoming $38mproduction, Decameron.Written and directed byDavid Leland, the English-language movie will start shooting in Italy inmid-July with Hayden Christensen and Mischa Barton (The O.C) in the leadroles."One year ago, I wokeup in the morning and thought ...
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Wendy finds US home at Wellspring
Wellspring has picked up allUS rights to Thomas Vinterberg's jolting cautionary tale Dear Wendy, which was one of the most talked about pictures atSundance when it premiered in January.Based on a screenplay byLars Von Trier, Dear Wendy starsJamie Bell and Bill Pullman and centres on a group of young misfits ...
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THINKFilm buys Eddie Izzard profile doc
THINKFilm hasacquired all North American rights to the upcoming untitled documentary profileof the much-loved British comedian Eddie Izzard, and hopes to unveil thepicture at the Toronto Film Festival in September accompanied by a live Izzardshow.The project, firstannounced at Cannes 2004, combines performance footage and interviews anddocuments Izzard's life onstage and ...
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REAL D buys StereoGraphics in a bid to set new projection standard
LosAngeles-based visual technology company REAL D has acquired stereoscopichardware and software manufacturer StereoGraphics Corporation in a bid toestablish an industry standard for next generation projection.REAL Dexecutives plan to use StereoGraphics' 25-year history of working with thelikes of NASA and Boeing to service the entertainment industry and provide analternative to in-home ...
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Bruehl, Mullan board Cargo for Wild Bunch
TheUK's Peter Mullan, Germany's Daniel Bruehl and Spain's Luis Tosar will star in Cargo, a UK-Spanish thriller starting shooting next week for French salesand financing company Wild Bunch.Documentary film-maker CliveGordon will make his feature debut with a script by Ken Loach's longtimescreenwriter Paul Laverty. Set on a cargo ship travelling ...
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De Macedo gets top Sony production job in Europe
Iona de Macedo has been promoted to senior vice-presidentof European production at Sony Pictures Entertainment, where she will overseeEuropean local production in France, Spain and the rest of continental Europe,while the UK will remain an independent entity.Sony currentlyhas stand-alone local production units in Spain and the UK, and operates ajoint ...