All articles by Mike Goodridge – Page 102
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News
Newmarket sets up US distribution co, Berney leaves IFC to run it
Bob Berney is to leave his post as senior vice president, marketing and distribution, at IFC Films and join Newmarket Capital Group as a partner in and president of its formal start-up theatrical distribution company which will be based in New York. Newmarket has dipped its toe into US distribution ...
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News
Naficy, Algazi join staff of studios' IP VOD co Movielink
Movielink, the IP-based video-on-demand distribution service formed as a joint venture by five major studios, has hired Mariam Naficy as vice president of marketing and Jessica Algazi as vice president of content.Algazi's appointment has significance for the international community in that she will be responsible for acquiring product from third ...
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News
Kismet announces Dog Soldiers sequel, boards two with Seven Arts
Kismet Entertainment Group, the LA-based production outfit behind British horror hit Dog Soldiers, has announced that it will produce Dog Soldiers 2 as well as two new pictures in alliance with Peter Hoffman's Seven Arts Pictures.Kismet, headed by entrepreneur David E Allen, first connected with Hoffman on the recently completed ...
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Reviews
K-19: The Widowmaker
Dir: Kathryn Bigelow. US. 2002. 138minsThe independently-financed submarine epic K-19: the Widowmaker is one of those rare breed of potential summer blockbusters that demands an investment of thought from its audience before the pay-offs kick in. It's set against the backdrop of Soviet Russia in 1961, features all-Russian characters, tells ...
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Reviews
Halloween: Resurrection
Dir: Rick Rosenthal. US. 2002. 89minsNumber eight in the series of Halloween horror movies is so bad it could be Scary Movie 3. It's so bad, in fact, that there might be a big enough teen audience looking for cheap thrills and unintentional laughs as to make it a hit. ...
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News
MGM Home Entertainment goes solo in France, Germany
MGM Home Entertainment Group, the DVD and home video arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, is to set up its own sales and marketing operations in France and Germany. The deal sees MGM exercise an option in its international distribution services agreement with Fox Filmed Entertainment to reclaim those territories. Fox, which previously ...
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Reviews
Reign Of Fire
Dir: Rob Bowman. US/UK/Ireland. 2002. 101mins.Despite the obvious expense lavished on the CGI-created dragons, the enjoyment of Reign Of Fire comes from its cheesy heroic values and cheerfully hammy performances by super-muscly actors Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey. More reminiscent of old-style Ray Harryhausen movies than the post-apocalyptic epics like ...
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News
Wellspring buys US rights to Cannes player Carnage
Wellspring Media has acquired US rights to the dark French comedy Carnage which played in Directors Fortnight at Cannes this year. The film is the feature directorial debut of Delphine Gleize and stars Chiara Mastroianni and Angela Maline in the story of the aftermath of a tragic bullfight.Gleize is ...
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News
Mandalay lands at Universal, launches new international sales offensive
Days after announcing that it was leaving Paramount Pictures on the expiration of its current deal, Peter Guber's independent film production company Mandalay Pictures has entered into a new multi-year financing and distribution agreement with Universal Pictures. The deal, which was closed yesterday lunchtime, sees Guber find a studio home ...
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News
Eileen Atkins, Lucas Black join Cold Mountain
Two new cast members, Eileen Atkins and Lucas Black, have been added to the mammoth ensemble of Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain which stars shooting on Monday on location in Romania. Minghella has adapted the novel by Charles Frazier for the screen himself.Black's credits include Crazy In Alabama and All The ...
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News
New Line taps UK's Stevenson for Double Au Pair duties
British writer/actress Jessica Stevenson, who co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in hit TV series Spaced, has landed a deal with New Line Cinema to write and star in Double Au Pair, a family adventure comedy about a nanny spy. Stevenson, who also starred in comedy Tomorrow La Scala! which played in ...
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News
Intermedia's London operation moves inside Box
Leading independent Intermedia, which faces a tough test when its biggest film to date K19: The Widowmaker opens in North America on July 19, is strengthening its ties in the UK with Box TV in which it has a 24.9% ownership stake. Intermedia will relocate its key creative team to ...
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News
di Bonaventura promoted at Warner, production restructured
Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the head of worldwide production at Warner Bros Pictures, has got a promotion to a new corporate position within Warner Bros itself, prompting a restructure of the film production arm at Burbank.Di Bonaventura is now executive vice president, worldwide motion pictures, at Warner Bros, reporting to president ...
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News
Halcyon hooks Weisz, Denneen for thriller projects
Los Angeles-based independent production outfit Halcyon Entertainment has attached two hot music video and commercials directors to two films in active development. Halcyon was created in Los Angeles by British producer Chris Coen in 1999.Martin Weisz will direct The Sett, a thriller based on the novel by Ranulph Fiennes and ...
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News
Brandon Fowler sets up Transdermal Entertainment
Independent Los Angeles producer Brandon Fowler has set up Transdermal Entertainment, a financing and production company focused on films with "mid-range" budgets.The company is has two projects in development: Reverie, a drama about two young men making a documentary about the homeless and how it changes their lives forever, and ...
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Reviews
Road To Perdition
Dir: Sam Mendes. US. 2002. 119 mins.Brit wunderkind Sam Mendes takes another close look at warts-and-all America in his second film Road To Perdition, a Depression-era gangster movie set in and around Chicago which confirms both his command of the medium and his signature visual bravado. With a smashing cast ...
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News
Global Film School strikes scholarship deal with Fox Searchlab
Global Film School (GFS),the virtual film school jointly founded by UCLA's School of Theater Filmand Television, the Australian Film Television and Radio School and theNational Film And Television School of Great Britain, has signed a strategicagreement with Fox Searchlab offering Fox Searchlab's film-makerprogramme to GFS's student base.Under the terms of ...
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News
SKYY Short Film Awards give French short its top prize
The SKYY Vodka Short FilmAwards took place in Los Angeles last Thursday night as part of the IFP/WestLos Angeles Film Festival (LAFF) in a ceremony which premiered JamesWoods' directorial debut Falling In Love With Pongo Panga, a short which was commissioned by SKKY.Woods attended the eventalong with host Kevin Pollak, ...
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News
East & Sinclair name company Spitfire, start Masked & Anonymous
Former Intermediaco-chairmen Nigel Sinclair and Guy East have named their new production outfitSpitfire Pictures and started production in Los Angeles on their first filmunder the banner Masked & Anonymous. The all-star film which is directed by TV veteran Larry Charles, is aco-production with Destiny Productions and BBC Films. Spitfire is ...
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News
Sandler charms $37.6m opening for Mr Deeds
Adam Sandler wasback on top of the box office over the weekend as his latest comedy Mr Deeds opened with a smashing estimated $37.6mat 3,231 sites for Columbia Pictures. The film marks another hit for the studioafter Spider-Man and PanicRoom, and continues arun of success which should reach record proportions ...