All articles by Martin Blaney – Page 235
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Das Werk buys into France's Mikros Images
German post-production house Das Werk has added to its international network by acquiring a 15% stake in French digital post and effects house Mikros Images, with plans to extend this to a majority interest in future.The two companies are founding members of the Max European Post-Production Alliance, along with Belgium's ...
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Helkon planning to buy Eagle, Tri Pictures stakes
Germany's Helkon Media, which earlier this year acquired 51% of the UK's Redbus Films Distribution, is eyeing stakes in its two other European partners, Italy's Eagle Pictures and Spain's Tri Pictures, as part of its on-going strategy to create an international distribution network.The company also plans to fill the network ...
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IN-motion's fifth fund to back Brosnan starrer
Germany's aggressively acquisitive IN-motion has launched a private media fund, World Media Fonds V (WMF V), through which it plans to raise at least $45m (DM100m) for three projects including $46m Pierce Brosnan-starrer The Day After Tomorrow.WMF V is also backing $32m martial arts TV movie Invincible, which is being ...
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EM.TV CEO Thomas Haffa may step down
EM.TV & Merchandising CEO Thomas Haffa has said that he would consider resigning if he fails to restore the confidence of analysts and investors in the troubled TV production and merchandising concern. In a hard-hitting interview by Hans-Juergen Jakobs and Armin Mahler for this week's Der Spiegel weekly magazine, Haffa ...
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Kinepolis set to sell stake in CinemaxX
Belgian multiplex operator Kinepolis has announced that it plans to give up its 25% stake in CinemaxX, after the German exhibitor issued a profit warning to shareholders at the end of last week.In a statement Kinepolis declared that: "the importance of this interest had been put into question for some ...
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Kinowelt magazine launch upset by injunction
European film magazine Cinema has taken out an injunction to prevent German mini-studio Kinowelt distributing its new monthly publication, kinowelt.de, with a free DVD.The print and online title was launched with a giveaway of Francis Ford Coppola's The Rainmaker, which Cinema claimed was anti-competitive. The injunction has also prevented the ...
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Berlin's Kinderfilmfest picks four UK titles
The UK is already well represented in the line-up selected so far for the forthcoming Children's Film Festival (Kinderfilmfest) sidebar at the 51st Berlin International Film Festival (February 7-18, 2001).To date, four UK titles have been chosen: modern fairytale There's Only One Jimmy Grimble, directed by John Hay and starring ...
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CinemaxX hit by drop in admissions
German exhibitor CinemaxX's shares plunged almost 40% to Euros4 on Thursday, in reaction to news that the company is being forced to issue a profit warning because of unexpectedly low cinema admissions over the last few months.CinemaxX, which together with its partner Ufa operates 623 screens in 54 locations, said ...
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Apollo Media boards Kershner's Cecilia
German financier Apollo Media is backing five high-profile US projects via its fourth film fund, including Irvin Kershner's $15m historical romantic drama Cecilia, which is set to star Virginia Ledoyen and Jeremy Irons.Buena Vista has worldwide rights to the film about an affair between the composer Puccini and a young ...
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D'Amico appointed to IN-motion board
Kirk D'Amico, president of Myriad Pictures and J&M Entertainment, has been appointed a board member of Frankfurt-based entertainment concern IN-motion, which has acquired both Myriad and J&M since floating on Germany's Neuer Markt in August.D'Amico and IN-motion's Philip von Alvensleben will be responsible at board level for the company's film ...
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Epsilon acquires European rights to Franchise trio
Kirch and Mediaset's joint venture for big-budget productions, Epsilon Motion Pictures (Emotion), has selected the first three projects to kick off its distribution pact with Franchise Pictures: Michael Caton-Jones' City By The Sea, Antonio Banderas-starrer Ecks vs. Sever and David Goyer's directorial debut Zigzag.Emotion signed a deal in October to ...
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Kirk Douglas to be honoured at Berlin
Veteran Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas will be honoured with a Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement at next year's Berlin International Film Festival (February 7-18). Douglas will receive the award on February 16 before a special festival screening of his 1957 film Paths Of Glory in the Berlinale Palast Theatre at ...
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Germany's F.A.M.E. in talks to tap film funds
Munich-based film and music production house F.A.M.E. Film & Music Entertainment, which floated on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt at the end of August, is in talks with two German media funds to support its push into international co-productions.As F.A.M.E. board member Michael Bischoff explained, changes in German tax legislation have meant ...
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Kirch acquires blocking stake in EM.TV
Germany's Kirch Group has taken a minority blocking stake in beleaguered family entertainment rights trader EM.TV & Merchandising, which has seen its share price plummet in the last week, in reaction to a profit warning and disappointing third quarter figures.Although Kirch was expected to acquire a majority stake, EM.TV announced ...
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Von Trier, Wong score at European Film Awards
Lars von Trier's Dancer In The Dark was the clear winner at this year's European Film Awards in Paris, taking away the top honour of Best European Film 2000, as well as the European Actress award for Bjork. The film, which has polarised critics ever since it was first seen ...
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MTV Germany chief in talks to take helm of TM3
Following weeks of speculation about her departure, MTV Germany chief Christiane zu Salm has confirmed that she is to leave her post, and is in "advanced negotiations" to head News Corp-owned channel TM3.News Corp took control of TM3, by buying out Herbert Kloiber's TeleMuenchen, earlier this year, but the former ...
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Sony Europe, Canal Plus pact for interactive TV
Sony Europe expects to play a central role in the European market for interactive digital television after signing a strategic alliance with the Canal Plus subsidiary Canal Plus Technologies (CPT).The agreement will allow Sony to use the interactive digital TV platform developed by CPT, Mediahighway Consumer Electronics, which corresponds to ...
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Kinowelt, Der Spiegel mull joint TV venture
German mini-major Kinowelt is considering joining forces with the on-line arm of weekly magazine Der Spiegel and Alexander Kluge's Development Company for TV Programmes (DCTP) to set up an ad-financed TV channel, tentatively named IDE, in Berlin from next spring.According to the marketing weekly magazine w&v, the station, which intends ...
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Dragotto re-teams with Hausfater at Intermedia
Former Buena Vista Film Sales (BVFS) vice president Michael Dragotto is re-uniting with his erstwhile boss Jere Hausfater at sales, financing and production entity Intermedia.Dragotto takes up the newly-created position of executive vice-president, motion picture group, worldwide distribution. He will report to Jere Hausfater, who previously headed BVFS.The appointment comes ...
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E-M-S taps Jovy to advise on expansion
German video and DVD distributor E-M-S New Media, which emerged as a major all-rights buyer at this year's autumn markets, has appointed former Advanced Medien board member Hanns-Arndt Jovy as a consultant to advise on its expansion into licence trading and production.E-M-S, founded in 1997 by Werner Wirsing, chief of ...