All articles by Nancy Tartaglione – Page 33
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$43bn NBC Universal is born
Vivendi Universal today (Sept 8) announced it had signed a definitive agreement with General Electric to merge its US entertainment interests (VUE) with GE's NBC. As expected, the new company will be called NBC Universal and will be 80% owned by GE with 20% held by the shareholders of VUE.In ...
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Dinard enjoys Pearl Earring, Alcohol
The Dinard Festival of British film handed out its top prize on Sunday in a split decision. Peter Webber's Girl With A Pearl Earring took home the Hitchcock d'Or but will split the purse that goes along with the award with Richard Jobson who won the directing prize for his ...
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French exhibitors sweat as box office downturn bites
Calling themselves the film industry's 'poor relation', French exhibitors worried very vocally about the future of their business last week at a meeting held during the 58th annual exhibitors' conference in Deauville. The event, organised by the National Cinema Federation (FNCF), is similar to Show West in the US and ...
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FRANCE
Zhang Yimou's Asian actioner Hero surprised the tally counters this week by debuting in the number one spot on only 375 screens. Clearly down to a residual effect coming off the success of films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and France's keen taste for the genre, Hero also benefited from ...
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Berri takes over as France's Cinematheque chief
Following several months of upheaval, France's Cinematheque has elected renowned director/producer Claude Berri as its new president. The Cinematheque plays a similar role as the AFI in the US and holds France's national film archives.The Cinematheque has been on shaky ground this year thanks to administrative differences between culture minister ...
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Dinard films express 'an England in conflict', says fest director
Films at 14th annual Dinard Festival of British Film (Oct 2-5) express "an England in conflict", according to Hussam Hindi, artistic director of the three-day event.The festival opens with Nigel Cole's comedy Calendar Girls before taking a turn towards more serious issues.Hussam Hindi, artistic director of the three-day event noted ...
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FRANCE
As kids get back to school and the French reminisce about summer flings, love is in the air with Jeux d'Enfants. The story of two inseparable and sometimes insufferable lovers who never quite make it, opened healthily at number one boosted by the star power of Guillaume Canet and new ...
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French budget hikes production aid by 4.8%
Asmuch as 531.8m euros has been set aside for French film and TV production nextyear under the promising new budget outlined this afternoon in Paris by Frenchculture minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon. Thatfigure represents a 4.8% jump from 2003 and is made up largely of funds comingfrom the National Cinema Center's (CNC) ...
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Clavier to produce debut French comedy
Marie-Anne Chazel will begin shooting Au Secours, J'ai 30 Ans (Help, I'm 30) on October 6, a comedy produced by French comic actor Christian Clavier.The film is based on the best selling novel The Last Chance Club by Mariane Keyes.Chazel, an actress best known to French audiences for her participation ...
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Denis nears wrap on worldwide L'Intrus shoot
Director Claire Denis is close to wrapping a two month shoot on her next film, L'Intrus. The film is co-produced by Franco-German channel Arte, which will air the film on its network prior to a theatrical release - as happened with Patrice Chereau's Son Frere earlier this year.Ognon Picture is ...
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Ben Ammar beefs up post-production business
Producer entrepreneur Tarak Ben Ammar has just upped the stakes for his Quinta Communications group by adding troubled French post-production house Duran-Duboi to his list of acquisitions. The Tunisian-born businessman last year purchased post labs LTC and Ex-Machina in order to create the leader in French sound facilities. The embattled ...
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Gans readies big budget Silent Hill adaptation
Following a two-year hiatus since directing blockbuster Brotherhood Of The Wolf, Christophe Gans will step back behind the camera to direct an adaptation of Japanese video game series Silent Hill.The film will be produced by Samuel Hadida's Davis Films and continues a trend towards big screen video game adaptations for ...
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Huppert signs up for erotic adaptation
Isabelle Huppert is to star in Ma Mere, an adaptation of the erotic novel by Georges Bataille which to be directed by Christophe Honore Ma Mere is produced Paolo Branco and his company Gemini Films. Shooting begins on the film, for which budget details were unavailable, in October in the ...
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Messier wins again in quest for severance from Universal
Former Vivendi Universal chairman Jean-Marie Messier scoredanother round of victory in his ongoing battle to secure a severance payment onMonday in New York. Following an arbitration court's decision that Messier was owed$23.5 million in exit monies and Vivendi Universal's appeal against thefindings, state supreme court justice Marilyn Shafer said the ...
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What Alice Found delights Polanski-led jury at Deauville
In a surprise turn of events, A Dean Bell's What Alice Found took home the trophy for best filmSunday night at the Deauville Festival of American Film. The festival iscentered around independent American cinema and saw ten films compete for theprize. The main jury was presided over by Roman Polanski.The ...
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France set to unveil fresh incentives for film-makers
Moves to introduce a sale and leaseback scheme in France have been scrapped, with the government planning to introduce a tax credit system specifically to benefit the French production sector. The tax credit measure should go into effect in January 2004, but is currently being worked on to clarify certain ...
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French box office buoyed by August figures
France's National Cinema Centre has released figures for August box office which add up to good news for the local industry. Following a rotten year for movie going, numbers were up in August by 5.2% compared with last year.August saw 14.1 million tickets sold making it one of the best ...
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France names Bon Voyage its Oscar contender
Jean-Paul Rappeneau's BonVoyage will be France's entry intothe Oscar race this year. The National Cinema Center announced Wednesday theselection of Rappeneau's film as its choice for a potential nomination by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.The film, produced by ARPSelection's Laurent and Michele Petin was released in France under ...
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Europa targets Japan with Vaillant world premiere
Europa Corp. has announced the world premiere of Michel Vaillant which is set for November 8 at the Tokyo International Film Festival.The film is adapted from the comic books by Jean and Philippe Graton about a race car driver. The books have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Vaillant ...
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Deauville endures midweek quiet spell
Following the presence of several big name stars over the weekend, the shores of Deauville are much quieter five days into the 29th annual Deauville Festival of American Film.Celebrities who made the trek to Normandy early in the festival included Harrison Ford, Roman Polanski, Tobey Maguire, John Cusack, Jason Biggs, ...