All News articles – Page 4852

  • News

    Alliance Atlantis spins off distribution businesses

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Toronto-based Alliance Atlantis Communications has announced itsintention to spin-off its Canadian and UK distribution businesses into a so-calledincome fund. Through an initial public offering, the fund will indirectlyacquire a non-controlling interest in a new entity, Motion Picture DistributionLimited Partnership, which will then acquire the business conducted by AllianceAtlantis Motion Picture ...

  • News

    Altman confirms he will be Toronto Maverick

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Robert Altman has confirmedhis participation in the Maverick programme, part of the events taking place atthe Toronto International Film Festival's Rogers Industry Centre (RIC). Among the array ofindustry-focused events are panel discussions on current issues facing theindustry, personality interviews with innovators such as Altman and seminars onissues ranging from how ...

  • News

    Altman confirms he will be Toronto Maverick

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Robert Altman has confirmedhis participation in the Maverick programme, part of the events taking place atthe Toronto International Film Festival's Rogers Industry Centre (RIC). Among the array ofindustry-focused events are panel discussions on current issues facing theindustry, personality interviews with innovators such as Altman and seminars onissues ranging from how ...

  • News

    NORTH AMERICA

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    The 2003 summer season ended in grand style over the long Labor Day weekend as Jeepers Creepers 2 set a record for the holiday weekend and four films passed $100m to raise to a record 14 the number of titles that have reached the milestone this season.The new arrivals at ...

  • News

    Phone Booth opens third in France for Fox

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Fox International's thriller Phone Booth opened in third place in France at theweekend, grossing $1.8m from 276 screens.The decent bow raised the film's international cumulative score to$41.9m.Elsewhere the romantic comedy Down With Love opened fourth in Mexico on $288,000 on150 screens, raising its international running total to $2.5m.Overall the film ...

  • News

    France's Vincent Cassel joins Ocean's Twelve

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Continuing his foray into Hollywood, French actor Vincent Cassel has taken a role in Stephen Soderbergh's upcoming sequel to Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve. Cassel's Paris-based agent, Laurent Gregoire of Intertalent confirmed the news to Screendaily on Wednesday.Ocean's Twelve will reunite the all-star cast of the 2001 hit which included George ...

  • News

    Miramax plots new Spanish distribution strategy

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Miramax Films has terminatedits relationship with Spain's Lauren Films and is moving ahead with a newstrategy for releasing its films in the territory, the company's COO Rick Sandstold ScreenDaily yesterday.Sands was responding tostatements made by Lauren's new COO Francesc Guardans which claimed that Lauren is stilllooking to salvage its relationship ...

  • News

    Lawson, Libby promoted, Lewis rehired at US PR firm MPRM

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Publicity veteran Michael Lawson has been promoted to senior vicepresident at mPRm Public Relations and Chris Libby to director as part of arestructuring of the company's film practice.James Lewis will also be returning to the company as a senioraccount executive in film."Michael Lawson's elevation to head of the film practice ...

  • News

    HUNGARY

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Following its success in its opening weekend with the year's third strongest opening performance, T3 is still holding strong across Hungary, in the capital as well as in all of the country's larger cities. In its shadow following the relative success of Monsoon Wedding, SPI International, the country's youngest distributor, ...

  • News

    Italy's Lady Pictures picks up Matrubhoomi

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Indian film Matrubhoomi - A Nation Without Women has been picked up for distribution in Italy by independent player Lady Films. In Scandinavia it has been acquired by local major Svensk Filmindustri. Sales are handled by France's Mercure International and Films Distribution, which reports discussions for other European territories and ...

  • News

    SPAIN

    2003-09-03T00:00:00Z

    Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2 opened strong in Spain with nearly Euros 2m from 322 prints, but it was not strong enough to overtake third-weekend number one in a row Pirates Of The Caribbean, which has grossed a cumulative Euros 13.8m. Of the top ten non-new releases, Phone Booth was ...

  • News

    MIFED announces market premieres

    2003-09-02T04:05:00Z

    MIFED has announced that its 70th edition, which runs from November 9 - 13, will screen the market premieres of a host of highly-anticipated films, including Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Infernal Affairs 2, and Robert Altman's The Company. Also receiving a market screening in MIFED are Venice and Toronto titles ...

  • News

    RAI bags hot US trio

    2003-09-02T04:05:00Z

    Italy's Rai Cinema has pre-bought Italian distribution rights to a trio of hotly anticipated US pictures: Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, Lakeshore's upcoming Philip Roth adaptation, American Pastoral, and Miramax's major new Jennifer Lopez vehicle, Shall We Dance.Sold by Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) and written by John Logan, The Aviator follows ...

  • News

    MPAA brings first UK lawsuit

    2003-09-02T04:05:00Z

    The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) widened its fight against movie pirates yesterday by mounting its first legal action in the English High Court against DVD copying firm 321 Studios.The MPAA, which has been involved in a series of legal claims and couter claims against 321 Studios in the ...

  • News

    EU calls for co-ordination not cash

    2003-09-02T04:05:00Z

    Better co-ordination of the public money available to European film, rather than a need for more cash, was one of the main conclusions to emerge from a four-day meeting that concluded in Venice this weekend.The other major policy proposal was for Europe's television broadcasters to make air-time available for promotion ...

  • News

    Miramax is top priority says new Lauren chief

    2003-09-02T04:05:00Z

    Spanish distributor-exhibitor Lauren Films has appointed Francesc Guardans as its new CEO to run the day-to-day operations of the company, whose financial difficulties have led to takeover talks in recent months.Guardans' most pressing task will be to ask for time and support from creditors, banks and suppliers - including Miramax, ...

  • News

    Italian job for Spain's Family

    2003-09-02T04:05:00Z

    In what is set to become the second Spanish film to get an Italian make-over, Lucky Red's Andrea Occhipinti has acquired Italian remake rights to Fernando Leon's comedy Family (Familia).The Mondays In The Sun director's 1996 movie, Family, tells the story of a lonely man who hires professional actors to ...

  • News

    The Return and Zatoichi light-up Venice

    2003-09-02T04:05:00Z

    Two films in the Venice competition have been logging strong buyer interest and notching sales even before their world premieres later this week. Russian first film The Return by directed by Andrey Zvyagantsev, has added deals with France's Ocean Films and The Netherlands' Contact Films to previous licence agreeements signed ...

  • News

    Jeepers Creepers 2 ends summer with a bang

    2003-09-02T00:00:00Z

    United Artists' JeepersCreepers 2 ruled over the long LaborDay weekend, opening number one on an estimated $18.5m as the summer seasonofficially ended with a flourish and four titles passed $100m.The top 12 films grossed anestimated $101.2m, up 11% on the same period last year and the third successiveweekend rise.Overall the ...

  • News

    Björk joins voices on Icelandic animation

    2003-09-02T00:00:00Z

    The UK's ex-Monty Python Terry Jones and unusual Icelandic songbird Björk have joined the cast of the 3D animated film Anna And The Moods, which is currently being developed by Iceland's CAOZ Ltd. in Reykjavik. Directed and created by Gunnar Karlsson, Anna And The Moods will feature music composed by ...