All articles by Martin Blaney – Page 199
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Constantin Film retreats from TV to focus on features
Leading German producer-distributor Constantin Film plans to concentrate its energies even more on the feature film sector in future.Speaking to the German daily newspaper Die Welt, Thomas Friedl, Constantin's board member for distribution and marketiing, said that his company was "assuming that the TV market will remain weak in ...
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Krohmer debut to open Berlinale's German sidebar
Stefan Krohmer's feature debut Sie Haben Knut will open the Berlinale's German cinema sidebar Perspektive Deutsches Kino which promises a film mix that "will once again be colourful, exciting and varied in content", according to the sidebar organisers.The realistic and satirical ensemble film, which was made early last year on ...
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Koelmels' Kinowelt takeover hits further delays
The takeover saga of the insolvent Kinowelt Group has continued into 2003, with news that brothers Michael and Rainer Koelmel have still not paid over the Euros32m agreed to acquire Kinowelt's core assets.Insolvency administrator Dr. Wolfgang Ott said that payment by the Koelmels' Neue Spielfilm Vertriebs- und Marketing GmbH ...
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Nineteen actors selected as Berlin's Shooting Stars
Nineteen young European actors and actresses have been selected to participate in European Film Promotion's (EFP) "Shooting Stars" showcase of new acting talent at the forthcoming Berlinale from February 8-11.Among them are the UK's Jamie Sives, lead actor in Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself; German Film Prize-winner Daniel Bruehl (Good ...
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German cinema admissions slip back in 2002
A combination of an ailing economy, inclement weather and the local industry's home-made crises resulted in German admissions slipping by 5% from 2001's record attendances of 163.1m to 154.5m. Box-office revenues fell by 3.3% from Euros954.2m to Euro 922.7m for 2002, according to figures compiled by Nielsen EDI.The downward trend ...
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German culture minister mulls national film academy
Germany's State Minister for Culture Christina Weiss has voiced her support for the creation of an AMPAS-style German Film Academy.In an interview with the Berlin daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, Weiss said there was a need for "a forum for the artistic interests of the industry", but stressed that she would ...
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IN-motion parts from Myriad
German media group IN-motion has sold its remaining 30% stake in Myriad Pictures to the existing shareholders and will in future concentrate its film/TV activities out of UK-based subsidiary IN-motion Pictures Ltd.In a statement, the Frankfurt-based group stated that it exited from Myriad as of January 1, but would continue ...
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Grill Point leads German critics' award nominations
Andreas Dresen's Grill Point (Halbe Treppe) has picked up nominations in three of the four categories for this year's German Film Critics Award.Grill Point, which received the jury's Grand Prix at the last Berlinale and a Silver Lola at the German Film Awards, has been nominated in the Best Feature ...
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European Pitch Point jury selects 12 best scripts
Twelve screenwriters and their projects have been chosen from 160 submitted to participate in next month's European Pitch Point.Screenwriters from the UK, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sweden are among the final 12 whose projects were selected from 160 submitted from all over Europe to participate in next year's European Pitch Point ...
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Fabritius ejected from Senator post
German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment has given executive Juergen Fabritius orders to leave his managerial post at the group's German theatrical arm Senator Film Verleih just days before the Christmas celebrations.Fabritius joined Senator in January 2002 to serve as one of the managing directors with responsibility for marketing and distribution for ...
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Kosslick gives Berlinale new tolerant motto
"Towards Tolerance" will be the motto for the 2003 edition of the forthcoming Berlinale in February.In his first festival as director, Dieter Kosslick last year tagged this year's Berlinale with the phrase "Accept Diversity".According to Kosslick, the Berlinale will "have several films in the programme which deal with topical political ...
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Premiere secures new owner and Hollywood films
German pay TV platform Premiere has signed film package deals with another two Hollywood studios - Paramount Pictures and Columbia - securing programming directly from seven of the eight majors from 2003. At the same time Premiere has become the first part of Leo Kirch's collapsed media empire to close ...
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Berlinale announces first Panorama titles
The Panorama section at the forthcoming Berlinale will be welcoming back several filmmakers who have had films screened in past editions.Returning directors include: Israel's Eytan Fox, the UK's Richard Kwietniowski, Hong Kong's Peter Chan, Spain's Isabel Coixet and Japan's Hideo Nakata, whose chilling thriller Dark Water opened the 2002 Panorama.After ...
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Berlin Talent Campus attracts more than 2,000 applications
Over 2,000 young filmmakers from 70 countries have applied to take part in the Berlin International Film Festival's first Berlinale Talent Campus which will be held from February 10-14.The Talent Campus, which is being organised by Master School Drehbuch Berlin in co-operation with Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the UK's Film Council and ...
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'Extraordinary' Kinderfilmfest expected
Films from South Korea, Finland, Israel, Germany and Japan are among the first seven titles confirmed by the Berlinale Kinderfilmfest's new director Thomas Hailer for a programme which, in his words, "promises to be both diversified and extraordinary."Two films have been invited from Finland: Arto Koskinen's The Handcuff King (Kahlekuningas) ...
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Eichinger joins Constantin Film supervisory board
Bernd Eichinger is being lined up to succeed Commerzbank's Franz Jung as a member of Constantin Film's supervisory board from January 1, 2003.Eichinger, who built Constantin Film up into Germany's most successful independent production and distribution house over the two decades since joining the company in 1979, had served ...
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German insolvency blow softened by Peppermint takeover
Helkon Media's production subsidiary Kinofilm Muenchen Filmproduktion and the Vienna-based associated company Helkon Media GesmbH have become the latest divisions of the bankrupt German media group to file proceedings for insolvency. Kinofilm Muenchen Filmproduktion, which produced such films as Hans-Guenther Buecking's Die Haeupter Meiner Lieben and Peter Gersina's Vienna, submitted ...
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Anouk Aimee to get Berlinale lifetime achievement award
French actress Anouk Aimee will be honoured with the Berlinale's Homage and receive a Lifetime Achievement Golden Bear at a screening of Lola on February 13.Announcing the tribute, festival director Dieter Kosslick stated that "Anouk Aimee is one of the great European stars to whom we owe so many ...
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Koelmels in the home straight
The seemingly never-ending saga of the Koelmel brothers' bid to take over their insolvent Kinowelt empire looks like having been resolved.After a meeting on December 13 between the Koelmels' Neue Spielfilm Vertriebs- und Marketing GmbH, the insolvency administrator Wolfgang Ott, representatives of Sparkasse Leipzig and members of the creditors committee, ...
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KirchMedia strikes film deals with Paramount, German distributors
Bankrupt KirchMedia has reinforced its future position in the German market by acquiring a $500m film package from Paramount Pictures, giving it the rights to around 100 feature films and series through to 2011. It has also unveiled a raft of long-term film deals with key German distributors.The Paramount deal ...