All News articles – Page 4700
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Japanese studio draws up mass market animation plans
Spurred onby the success of rival Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Japan's Toei Animation hasbegun to shift its emphasis away from kid-targeted TV fare to produce moreanimation features aimed at a wide audience.Japan'soldest animation production and distribution house has produced two animatedfilms for a wide release on over ...
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Wild Bunch takes over Bac video outfit
French sales house Exception Wild Bunch is set to take overWild Side Video and Wild Side Films from embattled distributor Bac Majestic.Bac is ceding its ownership of the two labels following itstakeover by French animation and documentary house Millimages.Wild Side Video distributes films from Bac, Wild Bunch andWild Side Films, ...
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Hungary presents benefits of new film law to LA studios, producers
The extent to which US and international producers can benefitfrom Hungary's new film laws was outlined at a special presentation hosted bythe Hungarian Consul General in Los Angeles late last week.As of Apr 1 productions shooting in Hungary will be eligible for a20% tax rebate on the Hungarian spend. Alternatively, ...
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Bond producer to chair UK young filmmaker initiative
BarbaraBroccoli, producer of the James Bond films, has been appointed chair of First Light, the UK FilmCouncil's filmmaking initiative for young people.Broccoli, of EON Productions, produced the Bond hits GoldenEye,Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day with Michael G. Wilson. They are currentlyworking on ...
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L'Apres-midi opening for Cannes Critics' Week
L'Apres-midi de Monsieur Andesmas is set to open the 43rd annual Critic's Weeksidebar at the Cannes Film Festival on May 13.The first feature from director Michelle Porte is adaptedfrom a text by legendary French author Marguerite Duras. Porte was a longtimecollaborator of the writer prior to Duras' death in 1996.Set ...
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CanWest extinguishes Fireworks
Nearly a year after the departure offounder and CEO Jay Firestone, Fireworks Entertainment is to be shuttered byparent company CanWest Global Communications.Winnipeg-based CanWest announced on Fridaythat the stricken company would cease both television production andacquisition activities and that discussions were underway with "a numberof parties" toward disposing of the catalogue. ...
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Loggia, Harmon, Feore join cast of The Deal
Robert Loggia, Angie Harmon, Colm Feore and John Heardhave joined the cast of Front Street Films, Milestone Entertainment and MyriadPictures' Wall Street thriller The Deal,which has started shooting in Vancouver.Christian Slater and Selma Blair star in a story of covertgovernment business, illegal oil trading, blackmail and the Russian mafia.Harvey Kahn ...
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Fragile's Click taps into German funding
UK-Germanco-production Click,set to star Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Thandie Newton, Dominic West and JuliaStiles, is one of four international co-productions to share Euros 3m fundingfrom Dusseldorf-based Filmstiftung NRW.The romantic comedy about a bride falling in love withanother woman is the directorial debut of Ol Parker and is a co-production withthe ...
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UK Film Council to study impact of film on economy
The UK Film Council is backing a six month study to probethe contribution and trickle down effect of the UK screen industries -including film, television, games and commercials - to the economy.The study will look to uncover the size, scale and impact ofthe UK screen industries on each nation and ...
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L'Apres-Midi opening for Critics' Week
L'Apres-midi de Monsieur Andesmas is set to open the 43rd annual Critic's Weeksidebar at the Cannes Film Festival on May 13.The first feature from director Michelle Porte is adaptedfrom a text by legendary French author Marguerite Duras. Porte was a longtimecollaborator of the writer prior to Duras' death in 1996.Set ...
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Desi Del Valle leaves Frameline Distribution
FramelineDistribution director Desi del Valle has announced she is leaving the SanFrancisco-based non-profit distributor of gay and lesbian cinema to pursue otherinterests including her acting career.Del Valle joinedFrameline, which also presents the San Francisco International Lesbian &Gay Film Festival, in 1992 as a distribution assistant, taking overdistribution two years later.Maura ...
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Malkovich thumbs a ride with Hitchhiker's Guide
John Malkovich has reportedly joined the cast of TheHitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, theSpyglass/Disney version of Douglas Adams's cult sci-fi novel.Malkovich will play a cult leader, created for the film bythe late Adams, according to a report on the BBC.The $50-$60m film alsostars Hip-hop star and actor Mos Def, ZooeyDeschanel ...
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Spain's Lumina sells Hero to UK's Parasol Peccadillo
Spanish sales outfit Lumina Films has sold all UK rights on1970s-set coming-of-age tale You're My Heroto Parasol Peccadillo Releasing (PPR).The sale adds to a growing list for the title, including toQuality Films in Mexico, Cinplex in Colombia, Weisner Distribution in PuertoRico, Gateno in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, pay TV to ...
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NEW ZEALAND 19 April
After Columbia TriStar warmed up audiences on previews starting a week ago, 50 First Dates confidently claimed the top spot in the box office charts with a gross of NZ$505,506 from 56 screens. It also had the highest screen average of the weekend at NZ$9,027.It replaced UIP's Along Came Polly, ...
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Bill kills competition at the box office
Vengeance was the ticket atthe weekend as Miramax's Kill Bill Vol 2 opened on a company record estimated at $25.6m while Lions Gate'sMarvel Comics adaptation The Punisher came in second on $14m.The concluding part ofQuentin Tarantino's revenge saga opened to superb reviews and averaged $8,604from 2,971 theatres.Uma Thurman continues whereshe ...
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Intertainment shares surge following lawsuit settlement
Shares in beleaguered German media concern Intertainment soared by up to 14% yesterday (April 19) after it reached a settlement with Franchise Pictures' former president and COO Andrew Stevens on the eve of its lawsuit against Franchise and other parties.A statement issued by Intertainment indicated that the settlement had included ...
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MK2 snares rights to restore, release Keaton collection
Sherlock Jr,The Navigator and GoWest are among a rosterof Buster Keaton pictures to be restored for digital theatrical releasefollowing an agreement between The Douris Corporation and MK2.Under the terms of the deal Douris, whose 700+ Rohauerlibrary includes rights to the silent star's films, has agreed that Paris-basedMK2, the worldwide distributor ...
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Korea launches real time box office tracking service
South Korea is to launch a new web-based box office tracking system, similar to recently developed industry tools: Nielsen EDI's FLASH and Rentrack's Box Office Essentials data collecting services.The system, due to be launched in May, is being orchestrated by the newly-renamed Korean Film Council (KOFIC), which took over the ...
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Thai boxing drama takes French box office by storm
Luc Besson's Europa Corp scored a notable box office coup this week when its Thai action film Ong Bak opened in the fifth spot in the French charts.The foreign language feature sold 440,495 tickets on just 281 screens for a powerful $10,000 screen average.In terms of new releases it was ...
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Cannes faces up to showbiz strike threat
France's striking showbiz workers have threatened to disrupt next month's Cannes Film Festival to draw attention to their cause.A group representing the workers, the 'intermittants du spectacle', released a statement on Thursday saying they intended to create an occupation committee for the Cannes Film Festival. They are protesting against government ...