All articles by Martin Blaney – Page 235
-
News
Christmas Carol, High Times join MBP slate
Hot German finance house MBP has revealed further projects on its extensive development slate, being financed in a two-step process that involves an initial private placement followed by an IPO (Screendaily Feb 3).The aggressive financier is set to be German co-producer on Bruce Beresford's $7.6m (A$12m) Boswell, which has Richard ...
-
News
Kinowelt, IAC join expanding Berlin Film Market
Several established sales agents have confirmed their participation in the European Film Market (EFM) - to take place during the Berlin Film Festival (Feb 9-20) - for the first time this year.Among companies setting out stalls for the first time at Berlin are the UK's IAC Films and Television, Iran's ...
-
News
MBP to go public with top-flight slate
MBP, one of Germany's hottest film finance houses, is set to offer the public a slice of films by directors including Bruce Beresford, Iain Softley, Bob Rafelson and Andre Bonzel. The outfit, which controls a spread of tax efficient funds, plans a flotation within the next 18 months.In the initial ...
-
News
Lehmann Brothers to acquire stake in Kirch PayTV
New York-based investment bank Lehman Brothers is planning to acquire a 3% stake in Leo Kirch's pay-TV holding Kirch PayTV. The holding controls the digital platform Premiere World and Swiss pay channel Teleclub, among others.According to a report in the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau, the investment would cost Lehman ...
-
News
Highlight to fire with Newell's Fifty Cannon
Swiss distributor and rights trader Highlight Communications has boosted its international profile by signing a three-year output deal with UK director Mike Newell's start-up outfit Fifty Cannon Entertainment. Highlight will take all rights in German-speaking territories to Fifty Cannon's slate and also has the option to co-produce certain projects, acquiring ...
-
News
France, Germany team up for promotional activity
French state film body CNC will support the activities of Hamburg-based pan-European promotion agency European Film Promotion (EFP) in the second half of 2000 when France has the presidency of the European Commission.CNC will support EFP's activities outside of Europe. The move was prompted by French culture minister Catherine Trautmann ...
-
News
EFP unveils Shooting Stars line-up
Pan-European promotion agency, European Film Promotion (EFP), has revealed this year's line-up of 18 European "Shooting Stars" who will be introduced to the public and international film industry at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb 12/13. (see list below)French actress Jeanne Moreau, who is the subject of a tribute at ...
-
News
American Beauty opens well in Germany
Even before it scooped three top prizes at the Golden Globe awards last Sunday, Sam Mendes' American Beauty benefited from favourable word-of-mouth in Germany to rack up an impressive screen average of $16,720 over the four-day weekend (January 20-23). The film, which distributor UIP is now sure to widen following ...
-
News
CineMedia enters rights arena with Icon title
Germany witnessed the entrance of another aggressive rights buyer this week as leading post-production concern CineMedia unveiled a raft of acquisitions headed by Icon Entertainment International's What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson.CineMedia acquired rights to product with a total production budget of around $240m, taking all-media rights for German-speaking territories ...
-
News
IBB pumps $15m into Berlin Animation Fund
Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) has become the latest German bank to get involved in Germany's private media fund sector by investing DM30m ($15.4m) in the DM168m ($86m) Berlin Animation Film (BAF) fund, launched at the end of last year by London-based Kleinwort Benson.Kleinwort Benson, part of the Dresdner Bank Group, reports ...
-
News
Igel, Xilam join forces for Gaumont library
German family entertainment rights trader Igel Media and the French production studio Xilam have joined forces to acquire more than 200 animation episodes from the Gaumont Multimedia library.The deal, which includes such internationally successful series as Sky Dancers, Dragon Flyz and Space Goofs (aka Home To Rent), includes all rights ...
-
News
Berlin to pay tribute to De Niro
This year's Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 9-20) will pay tribute to actor Robert De Niro with a special screening of The Deer Hunter on Feb 17 and a selection of eleven other films in which he stars including Bloody Mama (1970), Raging Bull (1980) and Ronin (1998). "We ...
-
News
CLT-Ufa signs five-year output deal with Fox
Luxembourg-based broadcaster CLT-Ufa has signed a five-year output deal with 20th Century Fox as part of an on-going strategy to consolidate its position in the German free TV market as a competitor to Leo Kirch's family of channels.The deal secures CLT-Ufa rights to Fox features such as Anna And The ...
-
News
Berlin line-up takes shape
Berlin International Film Festival chief Moritz de Hadeln appears to be rapidly firming up the Official Competition section for the festival's fiftieth anniversary edition (Feb 9-20).While de Hadeln will as usual not confirm Golden Bear contenders until close to the event - this year, Feb 1 - titles likely to ...
-
News
Helkon acquires share in Newmarket
Germany's Helkon Media has acquired ashare in US film financing company Newmarket Capital Group, which has beeninvolved in the financing of more than 60 projects including Cruel Intentions, American Pie and Mike Leigh's TopsyTurvy. The deal secures Helkon an importantstrategic positioning in the international media arena. Helkon is establishinga German ...
-
News
Vivendi mulls Babelsberg sale
French utilities and media giant Vivendi is considering a complete or partial withdrawal from running the Babelsberg Film Studios which it successfully bid for in 1992 under its previous name CGE. Studio spokesman Juergen Bergfried told local newspaper Berliner Morgenpost that the French owners are: "looking for new partners for ...
-
News
Kinowelt moves East
German mini-studio Kinowelt has moved into Eastern Europe by setting up Kinowelt Hungary and is aiming to have distribution operations in Poland, Estonia and Lithuania. It is also positioning itself to capitalise on the growing DVD market.Kinowelt subsidiary Kinowelt International (KI) pacted with Hungary's Budapest Film to launch Kinowelt Hungary ...
-
News
Berlin confirms Forum titles
Films confirmed for the International Forum of Young Cinema at this year's Berlin Film Festival (Feb 9-20) include James Benning's Californian-set El Valley Centro, Austrian filmmaker Ruth Beckermann's Ein Fluechtiger Zug Nach Dem Orient, Yuji Nakae's Nabbe No Koi (Nabbie's Love), German documentary filmmaker Ebbo Demant's journey through deserts on ...
-
News
German exhibition duo mull alliance
The German exhibition landscape is set to undergo radical and far-reaching changes if Germany's two biggest cinema operators - CinemaxX and UFA - decide to embark on a proposed strategic alliance after conducting "a speedy analysis" of their individual operations.The two companies, who between them run over 670 screens at ...
-
News
Enlightenment shines at Bavarian Film Awards
The producers of Doris Doerrie comedy Enlightenment Guaranteed and Peter Schamoni's documentary Majestat Brauchen Sonne shared the DM500,000 ($260,000) producer prize at the Bavarian Film Awards (Jan 17).Rolf Schuebel's Gloomy Sunday came away with honours for best direction and best cinematography while Romuald Karmakar and Bodo Kirchoff received the best ...