All articles by Melanie Rodier – Page 15
-
News
Italy 15July
WhileItaly has to wait until September 16 to see international blockbuster SpiderMan 2 soar into the local box office, it was Eagle Pictures' time travelmovie Timeline that opened on top last weekend, grossing $778,022 from258 screens for an average of $2,638 per screen.UIP's TheStepford Wives also opened well, with the ...
-
News
Obituary: Carlo Di Palma
Carlo Di Palma, the renowned Italian cinematographer wholit Woody Allen's films for 18 years, has died in Rome. He was 79.Di Palmalaunched his career as a director of photography on Roberto Rossellini'spost-World War II movie, Rome Open City. He lit Italian films rangingfrom Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow up and Red Desert ...
-
News
ITALY 9 July
Columbia Tristar's crime caper The Punisher opened at number one in Italy last weekend, knockingoff Warner Bros's Harry Potter and ThePrisoner of Azkaban after five weeks of box office glory.The weekend's only other new release, Simon Cellan Jones's The One And Only, opened on 44 prints atnumber 14, grossing a ...
-
News
Italian film industry lashes out at government cuts
Italy's nationalassociation of independent directors and producers, API, has released astatement lashing out against the Italian government's decision to reduce statefunds for the local film industry.The Italiangovernment will cut its general fund for entertainment (FUS), (which includesfilm, opera, dance and theatre) by 20% in 2004 and by 25% in 2005, ...
-
News
Venice to world premiere Oliveira's Imperio
Portuguese filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira and Singin' InThe Rain director Stanley Donen will bothreceive Golden Lions for lifetime achievement at this year's Venice FilmFestival (Sep1-Sep11).New Venice artistic director Marco Mueller also announcedthat Venice will host the world premiere of Oliveira's latest film, O QuintoImperio, a historical epic about Portugal'sKing Sebastian. ...
-
News
ITALY 29 June
A massive nine new films were released in Italy at theweekend, but none of them left a mark on the box office as Italians largelycontinued their tradition of steering clear of cinemas when temperatures soar.While Harry Potter 3 dropped a further 61% at the weekend,the highest new entry (and one ...
-
News
ITALY 24 June
Denzel Washington thriller Out Of Time opened at number three on what proved to be anothertepid weekend at the Italian box office.While the box office competed with soaring temperatures andthe appeal of the Euro 2004 football matches, the Medusa thriller opened on 239screens but in spite of a strong promotional ...
-
News
Russian mega-production moves to Rome
Russian producer Sergey Gribkov is close to completing a bigbudget spy-action blockbuster called Countdown,set to be one of the most ambitious films ever made in Russia.Directed by Evgeniy Lavrentiev (Swindle, Dream On), the multi-million dollar picture has beenshooting for 26 weeks in and around Moscow, the Caucasus and Georgia. Theproduction ...
-
News
Cinecitta eyes Chinese multiplex deal
Cinecitta Holding, the state-owned parent company of Rome'sfamous studios, is in talks with the Chinese government to manage what would beItaly's first multiplex in Beijing.The multiplex to be located in a shopping mall in the city'shistorical centre, will have 14 screens and is due to open at the end of ...
-
News
Irish thriller Freeze Frame wins Taormina
Irish thriller FreezeFrame has scooped the top prize at the 50th edition of the Taormina FilmFestival (June 13-20), which is headed by former Venice artistic directorFelice Laudadio.Written and directed by JohnSimpson, Freeze Frame stars Lee Evans as a paranoid murder suspect whofilms himself around the clock to provide an alibi ...
-
News
ITALY 16 June
While the Italian box office suffered from the start of thebeach-going season, veteran Italian director Fabio Carpi's new film, Le Intermittenze Del Cuore, opened atnumber 11, scoring the third-highest screen average of any film at the weekend.Starring Argentinian actor Hector Alterio, the film, whichis set in Italy, France and Switzerland, ...
-
News
Italian producers await frozen state funds
GianniProfita, the head of the Italian government's Film Department, has declaredthat the country's new film law will be implemented 'within weeks',thereby freeing funds for Italian production which has stagnated in recentmonths.Italianproducers have recently complained that the state film commission has not metfor months to greenlight local films for state funding. ...
-
News
Rome on hiatus after sets flooded in Bulgaria
Production on HBO'sambitious epic miniseries Romehas ground to a halt following the flooding of newly-built sets in Bulgaria.An HBO spokespersonconfirmed yesterday that the production, which is based at Cinecitta Studios inRome, has been on hiatus for three-to four weeks."They were meant to go toBulgaria, but weather precluded that, because the ...
-
News
ITALY 7 June
Harry Potter And ThePrisoner Of Azkaban stormed into the Italian box office at number one,earning a massive $6,283,045 on its opening weekend for Warner Bros Italia. TheAlfonso Cuaron film, released during the normally quiet Italian summer seasonon a wide 637 prints, pulled the crowds in to gross a huge $9,863 ...
-
News
Italy mourns death of Nino Manfredi
Nino Manfredi, one of Italy's most prolific and popularactors, has died in Rome after a long illness. He was 83.Manfredi was often described as one of Italy's four greatacting musketeers, the other three commedia all'italiana legends being the lateUgo Tognazzi, Alberto Sordi and Vittorio Gassman.The Roman actor appeared in more ...
-
News
ITALY 3 June
20th Century Fox Italia's ice age fantasy The Day After Tomorrow swept into theItalian box office at number one, grossing $3,675,270 from 543 screens for astrong screen average of $6,768.The weekend's four other new releases paled in comparison:Istituto Luce's Argentinian film, LostEmbrace (El Abrazo Partido) opened in seventh position, grossing ...
-
News
Italian distributors stock up on Cannes titles
Italian distributors have returned from Cannes laden withfilms, including Terrence Malick's TheNew World, Thomas Vinterberg's DearWendy, and Spike Lee's She Hate Me.Eagle Pictures picked up all Italian rights to hot markettitle The New World, which is sold byNew Line. The upcoming film, about Pocahontas, American natives and Europeanexplorers, stars Colin ...
-
News
Pupi Avati steps down as president of Cinecitta.
Pupi Avati, the veteran Italian director behind The Heart Elsewhere, has stepped downfrom his position as president of Cinecitta Holding. He has been replaced byformer RAI executive Carlo Fuscagni."I told Cultural Minister Giuliano Urbani that I wantedto resign for professional reasons," Avati said. "I am currentlyshooting a film and should ...
-
News
ITALY 26 May
Walter Salles' Cannes picture, The Motorcycle Diaries opened at number three at the Italian boxoffice, grossing just $658,450 for Valerio De Paolis's indie distributionoutfit Bim.The Che Guevara film, which stars Gael Garcia Bernal, openedon 210 screens at the weekend, but posted a disappointing screen average of$3,133, despite its Cannes premiere ...
-
News
Italy's Gam Film lines up slate of international films.
Gherardo Pagliei, the Italian co-producer behind CriticsWeek Italo-Moroccan contender ACasablanca Les Anges Ne Volent Pas, is lining up an ambitious slate ofinternational films.Pagliei's Rome-based Gam Film is to produce veteran Chileandirector Alejandro Jodorowsky's next movie, KingShot. The director, whose credits include 1970 cult movie El Topo and surreal 1989 picture ...