Large MPU – Page 611

  • News

    Leading Thai exhibitors to merge

    2004-06-14T00:00:00Z

    Thailand's two leading exhibitors - Major Cineplex Group andEGV Entertainment - are merging to create one of the largest cinema circuits inSouth-East Asia.Althoughboth companies are headed by members of the Poolvaraluck family, they've beenbattling for market supremacy for the past decade. According to Major Cineplexpresident, Vicha Poolvaraluck, the merger will ...

  • News

    Warner confirms Harry as fourth biggest opening in Australia

    2004-06-15T04:00:00Z

    Warner Bros confirmed that HarryPotter And The Prisoner of Azkabanrecorded the fourth biggest opening of all time in Australia at the weekend asthe family picture raised its overall international total by an estimated$66.4m from more than 9,900 screens in 40 countries to $204.8m.The third Harry Potter instalment took $8.6m on ...

  • News

    Morrison, Salom promoted to vps at Miramax International

    2004-06-15T04:00:00Z

    Martha Morrison and JavierSalom have been promoted to vice presidents of international marketing atMiramax FilmsBoth Morrison and Salom willcontinue to work out of Miramax's New York offices and will report to JereHausfater, executive vice president of Miramax International."Martha and Javier both havewhat it takes in the complex arena of International ...

  • News

    Hafstrom's Derailed lined up for London, NY shoot

    2004-06-15T04:00:00Z

    Derailed, the English-language debut from the Oscar-nominatedSwede Mikael Hafstrom, is being lined up to shoot in London and New York City,the director told Screendaily.Dimension Films is backingthe film which is scheduled to start shooting in September with Clive Owen inthe lead role."We will be shootinginteriors at a London studio, we ...

  • News

    David Picker elected chair of PGA, East

    2004-06-15T04:00:00Z

    David Picker hasbeen elected chair of Producers Guild of America East and succeeds Nancy Goldman, who willcontinue to serve the guild on the board of governors.Lydia DeanPilcher and Harvey Wilson become the new vice chairs, while Robin Berla andSteven Rosenbaum will represent the "members at large".Under Goldman'sleadership, PGA East's ...

  • News

    Greece's OTE, ERT plan digital platform

    2000-03-29T11:36:00Z

    Greek telco OTE plans to launch a digital satellite platform in partnership with public broadcaster ERT and private broadcaster and media concern Alpha Digital. The venture, which calls for an investment of $286m (DR100bn), will be Greece's second digital satellite platform following the early January launch of Multichoice's Nova bouquet. ...

  • News

    Day After Tomorrow adds $33.4m for Fox International

    2004-06-15T04:00:00Z

    The Day AfterTomorrow grossed $33.4mat the weekend to raise its international running total to $238.9m, accordingto updated figures released by Fox International.The picture remained number one in its second weekend inJapan, where it fell 20% and added $5m on 607 screens for $19.4m.It added $2.3mon 319 in its second weekend ...

  • News

    Facing Windows, Born Into Brothels are Seattle favourites

    2004-06-15T04:00:00Z

    The 30th Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)closed on Sunday with its annual Golden Space Needle Awards for audiencefavourites at the event.Ferzan Ozpetek's Facing Windows was named best film by audiences whileZana Briski and Ross Kauffman's Born Into Brothels was named best documentary.Meanwhile in the juried awards, Zak Penn's Incident At ...

  • News

    Kudos teams with Webster for film company

    2004-06-15T00:00:00Z

    Paul Webster, formerly headof FilmFour, has formed Kudos Film as a joint venture with leading TV dramaproducers Stephen Garrett and Jane Featherstone, joint managing directors ofKudos Film and Television.The new stand-alone companyaims to exploit synergies between TV and film in terms of talent on both sidesof the camera."There is a ...

  • News

    EASTERN EUROPE Production Listings - June 16 2004

    2004-06-15T00:00:00Z

    EASTEUROPEAN PRODUCTION LISTINGS - 16 June 2004RUSSIAPRE-PRODUCTIONBUMER-2 (BIMMER-2)(STV Film Company, Pygmalion Production) Action movie. ProdS: Sergei Selyanov, Sergei Chlyants. Dir: Pyotr Buslov. Scr:Denis Rodimin, Pyotr Buslov.Contact: MikhailMaltsev, STV Film Company, (7) 095 684-5817MONGOL (GENGHIS KHAN)(STV Film Company). Epic saga about the unknown period of life of Genghis Khanand his love ...

  • News

    East European production swings into high gear

    2004-06-16T04:00:00Z

    Therecent economic boom in Russia has made it easier to finance films - bothprivately and from government funds. Dozens of young new directors are expectedto complete new films by the end of the year with the Russian Ministry ofCulture giving priority to funding debut projects.Butveteran directors in Russia and Poland ...

  • News

    HONG KONG 15 June

    2004-06-15T00:00:00Z

    Fox's disaster juggernaut, The Day After Tomorrow, continued its assault at the top of theHong Kong box office, taking US$1.3m from 59 screens in its second week for acumulative gross of more than US$4m.But Korean melodrama Windstruckstill managed to open strongly grossing US$618,131 from 33 screens in its firstseven days. ...

  • News

    UK's Magic Light strikes Isle of Man deal

    2004-06-15T00:00:00Z

    Martin Pope and MichaelRose's UK production company Magic Light Pictures has struck a developmentpartnership with the Isle of Man.The three-year deal providesMagic Light with overhead and an annual development fund for projects whichwill be co-financed by the Isle of Man.Magic Light was formed lastyear by producers with a focus on ...

  • News

    FINLAND 15 June

    2004-06-15T00:00:00Z

    As Finland wasn'ttreated to the magic of Harry Potter this weekend, The Day After Tomorrow had no problem staying on top of the chartin front of Troy and the new releaseof Guiliermo De Toro's Hellboy.With just 10 printsthe comic book adaptation performed well if unimpressively with this week'ssecond best screen ...

  • News

    NEW ZEALAND 15 June

    2004-06-15T00:00:00Z

    Harry Potter And ThePrison Of Azkaban's NZ$1.79m gross for its opening weekend is nearly doublethe combined result of the rest of the films in the top 20 chart, and about 75%up on the result for The Day AfterTomorrow two weeks earlier. Roadshow released Harry Potter on a whopping (for New ...

  • Reviews

    Bitter Dream (Khab E Talkh)

    2004-06-15T00:00:00Z

    Dir/scr/ed:Mohsen Amiryoussefi. Iran. 2004. 87minsThelow-budget Iranian film Bitter Dream is a study of the meaning of lifeand death that is infinitely more far-reaching than it initially appears.Writtenand directed by first-time film-maker Mohsen Amiryoussefi, a self-confessedBrechtian, the film unfolds as a series of loosely connected, intenselyself-reflective vignettes, which centre on Abbas ...

  • News

    Otto 5 opens at top of German box office chart

    2000-03-29T12:21:00Z

    Germany has spawned another locally-produced hit as the Tobis release of comedy Otto - Der Katastrofenfilm opened at the top of the German box office chart last weekend. Attracting 368,214 admissions from a huge 820 screens, the film's four-day gross came to almost $2m.This latest Otto film, starring well-known stand-up ...

  • News

    Distributor welcomes McDonald's attack

    2004-06-16T04:00:00Z

    McDonald's Australia has launched a two-week cinema andtelevision campaign labelling Super SizeMe filmmaker Morgan Spurlock as 'irresponsible' but which will, accordingto the film's distributor, merely boost the film's takings."This is publicity we could never have dreamed ofgetting without them," said Dendy Films general manager Andrew Mackie."What makes it so effective ...

  • News

    Spain's Lauren files for credit protection

    2004-06-15T00:00:00Z

    Beleaguered Spanish distributor-exhibitor Lauren AudiovisualHoldings, parent company of Lauren Films and Lauren Distribution, is operatingas normal, despite filing for credit protection late last week.According to sources, the company is now operating strictlyon a cashflow basis as a Barcelona judge attempts to reconcile its debt.But its cinemas remained open at the ...

  • News

    SF Film moves toward Danish production

    2004-06-16T04:00:00Z

    The Danish arm of Nordic major Svensk Filmindustri, SF Film,has taken the first step towards its long-held ambition of developing its ownprojects by acquiring the film rights to two novels, newcomer Sara Blaedel'scrime story Green Dust and Per HelgeSoerensen's satirical Spin."Our aim is obviously to make a difference in Danish ...