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Production subsidies under scrutiny
After a long delay, Europe finally approved the UK's tax system with considerable modifications. The UK should now join Germany with new tax offerings from January 1 but the process raises questions about subsidies.The system of tax subsidies for film has always had an identity crisis.It's been justified as supporting ...
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Cecchi Gori vows to carry on producing
Sitting in his 16th century Borghese Palace residence in Rome, where statues line hallways leading to frescoed rooms, Italian film producer and former Senator Vittorio Cecchi Gori shows no sign that he is suffering from the latest and perhaps most severe setback in his attempts to revive his family’s film-making ...
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Michael Apted: master of adaptability
Michael Apted is something of a chameleon of the film world: the 65-year-old director changes colours with remarkable facility. On the one hand, he is a member of the Hollywood establishment - a Brit who has blossomed in the studio system and currently serves as president of the Director's Guild. ...
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Chan launches China talent search, production outfit
Hong Kong star Jackie Chan is planning to unearth the nextgeneration of action stars through a TV talent contest, and is establishing a Beijing-basedproduction company to produce vehicles in which they can perform. The star spoke of his planswhile visiting China recently during a break in the filming of Rush ...
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Leading Asian filmmakers selected for HAF
Leading Asian directorsincluding South Korea'sKim Jee-woon, China's Lou Ye and Japan's Kore-eda Hirokazu are among the 25 filmmakers whohave had projects selected for this year's edition of the Hong Kong Asia FilmFinancing Forum (HAF). Kim, whose credits include A Bittersweet Life and A Tale Of TwoSisters, will bring his ...
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Korean cinemagoers to face new ticket tax in July
Korean theaters willface a 3% tax levied on tickets starting July 1. The funds from the tax will beused to finance half of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's '$4.3m-size' FilmIndustry Mid-to-long-term Development Plan, announced in October. South Korea's National Assembly passed the Bill forthe Partial Amendment for the Promotion ...
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Danielle Arbid starts shoot for A Lost Man
France's MK2 has announced the start of production on Danielle Arbid's second feature A Lost Man. The UK's Alexander Siddig and France's Melvil Poupaud star in the road movie set in the Middle East.Filming will start early this year in Beirut, Amman and Paris. MK2 is producing and will handle ...
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Focus duo leave company to form production outfit
Daniel Yu, chiefoperating officer of Andy Lau's Hong Kong-based Focus Films, and marketing anddistribution chief Lorna Tee, have left the company to form their ownproduction outfit. From Jan 1, 2007their roles are being filled by Simon Li, a director of Focus Films Limited,and marketing executive Sharon Cheng. Details of Yu ...
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Slovenian producers face government funding problems
Slovenian producers arefacing a bleak future at home following radical changes in the film supportpolicies at the country's Ministry of Culture.The new harsher climate wasushered in with the dismissal of the Slovenian Film Fund's director IreneOstrouska with immediate effect for allegedly not coming up to the Ministry'sexpectations.In addition, funding hasbeen ...
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Czechs approve new money for filmmakers
Czech President Vaclav Klaus has signed into law a 2007 budget amendment which adds $4.8m (CZK 100m) to state aid for Czech filmmakers, raising the total value of the State Fund for the Support and Development of Czech Cinematography to $7.6m for next year.The state fund provides money for the ...
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Kaminski's Christmas tale Hania to wrap in January
Two-time Oscar winner Janusz Kaminski hopes to wrap production on Polish-language Christmas drama Hania in January, for a planned release next year.The director, best known for his work on Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, is in the midst of a 30-day shoot on locations in and around ...
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AFC continues support for low-budget pictures
Two low-budget thrillers, Cactus and Cedar Boys, have received production funding from the AustralianFilm Commission (AFC), while a third film, TheBullet Boy, was promised money for post-production.Writer/director JasmineYuen-Carrucan, producer Paul Sullivan and executive producer Bryan Brown, whois best known internationally as an actor, are behind Cactus. The film tells the ...
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Romanian director Caranfil wraps epic The Rest Is Silence
Romanian director Nae Caranfil (Philanthropy, Asphalt Tango) has concluded photography on The Rest Is Silence, a $3.2m retelling of the filming of the first Romanian feature in 1911. The production is unusual in its scope both in cost (the most expensive Romanian films in recent years, Philanthropy and Catalin Mitulescu's ...
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New production venture to back low-budget UK films
A new joint venture between UK production outfit Matador Pictures and Regent Capital is to provide up to 30% of the budgets on a series of films qualifying for the new British tax break.The initiative - called Cinema One - will be focused on backing four to five films with ...
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France's Elia Films gets $13,200 production prize
France's Institute for the Financing of Cinema & Cultural Industry (IFCIC)has awarded its third annual "young independent production company" prize toElia Films.The award was created in2004 and comes with a $13,216 (Euros 10,000) purse, which goes to a companythat has successfully sought financing for and either prepared or produced afeature ...
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UK producers voice concerns over new tax laws
UK producers remain concerned about the scope of the new British tax laws, a panel of government representatives were told in London yesterday.The UK's new film tax breaks will come into practice on Jan 1, 2007, after a long journey of uncertainty but producers remain concerned about the qualifying criteria ...
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Nordisk on board for White Night
Nordisk has taken on salesfor drama White Night by JannikJohansen.The project is shooting nowwith a cast including Lars Brygmann, Nicolas Bro, Anne Sophie Byder, RikkeLouise Andersson, and Morten Grunwald.Birgitte Skov and Morten Kaufmann are producing for NimbusFilm in collaboration with Fine & Mellow. Backers for the $3.2m (Euros 2.4m)film include ...
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Ferrara halfway through Cinecitta shoot for Go Go Tales
Two dozen principal castmembers including Willem Dafoe, Matthew Modine, Bob Hoskins, Roy Dotrice andSylvia Miles are at Cinecitta's Studio 14 now half way through four weeks ofthe principal shooting of Go Go Tales, director Abel Ferrara's first foray into comedy which began shootingNov 27. The set - a three-floor NewYork ...
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New Barrandov facilities open with Babylon
Canal+ sci-fi thriller Babylon A.D. will be the first feature film to shoot at a new 4,000-square-meter soundstage at Barrandov Studios in Prague. Mathieu Kassovitz will direct the film, which will star Vin Diesel and Vincent Cassel.A Peugeot automobile commercial will inaugurate the new soundstage before year's end. Kassovitz's crew ...
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China halts foreign investment in production companies
A senior Chinese governmentofficial has confirmed that China has halted new foreign investment in film and TVproduction companies. The move overturns aregulation introduced in 2003 which allowed foreign companies to take stakes ofup to 49% in local production houses or Sino-foreign joint ventures.'Our policy is totemporarily not approve the creation ...