All News articles – Page 4727

  • News

    Ben Ammar's Quinta takes French rights to The Passion...

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    Quinta Communications, theParis-based holding company of international investor Tarak Ben Ammar, hasrevealed itself as the company which has bought rights in French-speakingterritories to Mel Gibson's blockbusting The Passion Of The Christ.Quinta plans to release thefilm before Easter, in early April, although details of how it will handle thefilm are not ...

  • News

    Arclight drums up Lord Of War sales

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    Arclight Films has had a busy time handling demand for its forthcoming espionage action film Lord Of War, starring Nicolas Cage.The $48m thriller is to be directed by Andrew Niccol from mid-July on location in South Africa. It co-stars Monica Bellucci and Ethan Hawke.The picture was licensed to Gaga Communications ...

  • News

    Madrid, Barcelona plan Spanish film studios

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    New plans are underway to build studio and production centres in both Madrid and Barcelona.Spain is already gearing up for the opening this summer of sections of the massive City of Light (Ciudad de la Luz) studio complex in Alicante. Whereas City of Light will target international productions, the smaller ...

  • News

    Celluloid Dreams strikes US deals for Berlinale titles

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    Top French sales house Celluloid Dreams managed two North American deals on its burgeoning art-house slate.Cedric Kahn's Red Lights (Feux Rouges) was sold to Wellspring Media for the US. That complemented earlier business with Bim for Italy, Films De L'Elysee for Belgium, Artificial Eye for the UK, Maywin for Russia, ...

  • News

    Mifed date change sparks domino effect

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    The shift in the MIFED dates is having repercussions for many other events in the international film calendar.Spanish sellers, for example, fear that with Mifed and AFM now as separate and competing events they are expected to pitch their sales tents at no less than five locations in nine weeks: ...

  • News

    Cinelibre takes worldwide rights on Greenwald's War In Iraq doc

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    Cinema Libre Studio willhandle worldwide rights on veteran director-producer Robert Greenwald's highlytopical documentary Uncovered: The War In Iraq.Greenwald, whose creditsinclude Unprecedented and StealThis Movie, partnered withMoveOn.Org and the Centre for American Progress to produce the picture, whichis due to get its world premiere at Cannes.Uncovered: The War InIraq is set ...

  • News

    Renaissance strikes key Pobby And Dingan pre-sales

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    On the strength of its screenplay and director, but as yet no cast attachments, Renaissance Films has struck pivotal pre-sales deals on Pobby And Dingan, a rites-of-passage story set in the Australian outback that is due to start shooting on location in July.Gaga Communications of Japan and A-Film/Cinelibre of Benelux ...

  • News

    Duguay signs on to direct The Runelords

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    Christian Duguay, whosecredits include The Art Of Warand the mini-series Hitler: Rise Of Evil, has been signed to direct the $80m fantasy adventure The Runelords which is being co-produced by Franchise Pictures,Story Island Entertainment, Canyonlight Entertainment and EntertainmentBusiness Group (EBG).The Runelords is the first of three sword and sorcery tales ...

  • News

    Treston promoted to director of marketing and distributor sales at York

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    Arik Ben Treston has been promoted to director of marketing anddistributor sales at Burbank-based production and distribution outfit YorkEntertainment.Treston's duties will include overseeing artwork and ad schedules,handling public relations for trades and consumer press, unit publicity onin-house titles and managing sales to US video distributors.He has worked at York for ...

  • News

    Entertainment laps up Lassie project for UK

    2004-03-02T04:00:00Z

    New York-based Classic Media has sold all UK rights to BAFTA-winning Charles Sturridge's live-action Lassie project to Nigel and Trevor Green's Entertainment Film Distributors.Francesca Barra and Selwyn Roberts, who co-founded Firstsight Films with Sturridge in 2001, will serve as producers while Classic's Schwalbe and chairman and chief executive officer Eric ...

  • News

    AFM and AFI Fest lay out the foundations of coordinated events

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Aiming to fusethe benefits offered by the AFM and AFI Fest, organisers of both events saidyesterday they hoped the deliberate scheduling match in November would presentfilm-makers with a complete introduction to the global film community.While details stillneed to be firmed up, a picture is emerging of a co-ordinated agenda designedto ...

  • News

    See Grace Fly wins Oporto festival audience prize

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Pete McCormack'sdrama See Grace Flyhas won the audience award at the Oporto International Film Festival(Fantasporto).The picture tells of a 38-year-old schizophrenic'sincreasingly erratic behaviour following her mother's death and stars GinaChiarelli, Paul McGillion and Benjamin Ratner.This is thethird prize for See Grace Fly following a Women in Film award for Chiarelli ...

  • News

    Cinema Service learns to speak Chinese

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Korean major Cinema Servicehas tied up a multi-picture deal with Thomas Leong's Hong Kong productionoutfit Lotus Entertainment.While details of theagreement have yet to be finalised, the deal is understood to involve CinemaService financing a slate of Chinese pictures that Lotus will source, developand produce."We want to make genuinelyChinese films that ...

  • News

    Italian critics unveil early Nastri D'Argento nominations

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    In a surprise move destined to boost Italian films at the box office, Italy's national critics union (SNCCI) has announced its full list of nominees for the country's second biggest awards - the Nastri D'Argento - two months earlier than in previous years.The Nastri D'Argento (literally, Silver Ribbons) awards ceremony ...

  • News

    DENMARK

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    By clinging to its strong screen average and falling back just 3%, Something's Gotta Give moved into the top spot in its second week as Brother Bear dropped 25%.The new release of Cold Mountain just managed to edge in on fourth with its 25 prints, while 21 Grams' low eight ...

  • News

    GERMANY

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    BVI's release of Scary Movie 3 was the strongest opener of 2004 to date, grossing $7.3m from 630 screens with a screen average of $ 11,565.The only other new entry in the Top 15 was Constantin Film's 21 Grams - with $371,969 from 107 prints - which could follow the ...

  • News

    ITALY

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Silvio Soldini's latest film, Agatha And The Storm, opened in seventh place at the Italian box office, grossing $484,799 from 126 screens for a strong, if unspectacular, screen average of $3,848.The weekend's other local opener, Sotto Falso Nome (aka A Strange Crime) opened rather more disappointingly: the Medusa thriller, which ...

  • News

    JAPAN

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Master And Commander finished its first weekend at the Japanese box office, with Y187,552,450 ($1.7 million) on 136,257 admissions, for a Y718,591 ($6,592) average on 261 screens. The film, which opened on February 28, is expected to finish with a total of Y2 billion ($18.3 million). "Not a bad number ...

  • News

    UK/IRELAND

    2004-03-02T00:00:00Z

    UIP's Along Came Polly saw a stunning launch in the UK and Ireland last weekend slipping easily into first place with a $4.2m gross.Along Came Polly is the latest comedy success in the UK following strong showing so far this year for Scary Movie 3 ($16.7m to date), School Of ...

  • News

    DEJ acquires domestic rights to Employee Of The Month

    2004-03-01T04:00:00Z

    DEJ Prods, the acquisitionand distribution arm of Blockbuster Entertainment, has bought domestic rightsto Employee Of The Month, Bull's Eye Entertainment's heist comedy starring MattDillon, Christina Applegate and Steve Zahn.Directed by Mitch Rouse andproduced by Cathy Schulman, Bob Yari and Tom Nunan of Bull's Eye, the filmworld premiered at this year's ...