All News articles – Page 5001
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Drubigny leaves UGC International
After a mere six months, UGC International director Alexandre Drubigny has left the company. Although sources at UGC confirm Drubigny's voluntary departure, no answers are being given as to what his future plans are.Drubigny, a former TF1 executive, was hired by Canal Plus in 2001 to head up programming during ...
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Italian producers seek their fortunes in the stars
If many upcoming Italian films share one thing in common, it's that a surprising number of them are fronted by international stars.Gianni Amelio's reputation as one of Italy's top directors - he was nominated for an Oscar for Open Doors - may have helped attract the attention of much sought-after ...
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Bond returns to the top, Analyze That limps into second
Die Another Day continued its yo-yo cycle with a $13m haul in its third week that took it back to the top for MGM, according to studio estimates released yesterday (Dec 8). The 20th James Bond instalment has now amassed $120.4m and is expected to become the biggest grossing Bond ...
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Rabbit-Proof Fence triumphs at last Down Under
Rabbit-Proof Fence has at last been voted best film in its country of origin. The producers - expatriate director Phillip Noyce, writer Christine Olsen and John Winter - earned the top accolade on Saturday at the AFI (Australian Film Institute) Awards, the longest-running local awards event.Ivan Sen was voted best ...
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Talk To Her triumphs at European Film Awards
The 15th European Film Awards were a huge triumph for Spanish maestro Pedro Almodovar and something of a let down for Europe's cherished diversity in a year that saw a wide array of international films score with both critics and audiences. For his touching coma drama Talk To Her (Hable ...
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European Film Academy lambasts French, German broadcasters
German and French broadcasters have come under fire from the European Film Academy (EFA) for not airing this year's European Film Awards, which takes place in Rome this Saturday (Dec 7)."It is a political and cultural scandal that the television broadcasters in France and Germany are unwilling to partner with ...
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Former Canal Plus exec Godfroid joins Air
Former Canal Plus executive Bibiane Godfroid has joined Air Productions, one of France's most successful television production houses.Godfroid, who had been with Canal since 1996, was executive managing director of the Canal Plus Group at the time of her departure earlier this year. She left Canal amid the restructuring ...
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Alliance Atlantis rolls with Foolproof
Ryan Reynolds and David Suchet are set to star in William Phillip's Foolproof. The film is produced by Alliance Atlantis and Atom Egoyan's Ego Film Arts. The film also stars Kristin Booth, Joris Jarsky, James Allodi and David Hewlett. It is the second feature of writer/director Phillips, whose debut Treed ...
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Norwegian Film Fund backs Play, Bum's Rush
The Norwegian Film Fund has invested in two new feature films, the Norwegian Play and Scottish/Norwegian The Bum's Rush, with $276,000 (NKR2m) and $317,000 (NKR2.3m) respectively. John Sullivan wrote and directed the $468,000 Play for Dinamo Story and producers Tomas Backstrom, Tom Remlov and Gard A. Andreassen. It tells the ...
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BAFTA declares Oscar reject The Warrior is British
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has confirmed it considers The Warrior as British, despite the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision that the film is ineligible as the UK entry for the foreign-language Oscars.Duncan Kenworthy, chair of BAFTA's film committee, said in a ...
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Bollywood braces itself for most expensive Indian film yet
Devdas producer Bharat Shah has joined forces with director Ram Gopal Varma to make a film with acting superstar Amitabh Bachchan that will be the most expensive ever made in Bollywood.The US$13m film is billed as an international political thriller that will be shot in five countries, including India and ...
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Fledgling Italian distribution outfits swoop on raft of titles
Undeterred by the current tough economic conditions for Italian distributors, some of the newest kids on the Roman block have unveiled a series of hot international acquisitions.Domenico Procacci's fledgling distributor Fandango has picked up Matt Dillon directorial debut, City of Ghosts. Co-written by Dillon and Wild At Heart novelist Barry ...
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Film industry worries over Spanish pay-TV merger
The government approval last week of the merger between Spain's rival pay TV platforms - Canal Satelite Digital (CSD) and Via Digital - has produced as many questions as it has answers for the film industry.The government released a surprisingly long list of 34 conditions on the merger (Screendaily.com, Nov ...
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Gaga takes over veteran Japanese film magazine
Gaga Crossmedia Marketing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gaga Communications, has purchased a majority stake in Kinema Jumpo, Japan's oldest and most highly regarded film magazine. Founded in 1919, Kinema Jumpo has long played a leading role in promoting film culture in Japan. Though best known for its Kinema Jumpo ...
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Italy's Mediaset mulls majority stake in Spain's Telecinco
More changes to Spain's television landscape are in order if Italy's Mediaset follows through on plans to up its 40% stake in Spanish broadcaster Telecinco to a majority 51% share.Speaking at a conference in Cordoba, Telecinco president Alejandro Echevarria confirmed the move to reporters. The broadcaster's remaining shareholders include Grupo ...
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Saturday, The Magdalene Sisters win Ljubljana prizes
Juan Villegas's Saturday and Peter Mullan's The Magdalene Sisters garnered top honours at the 13th annual Ljubljana International Film Festival, held in the Slovenian capital.Villegas, an Argentine, won the festival's top award, the Kingfisher Award, worth Euros5,000. The award is given to the most promising first- or second- time director. ...
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sundance list
PREMIERESLEVITYDir: Ed SolomonAfter serving 19 years for killing a teenager in an attempted robbery, a man (Billy Bob Thornton) encounters a mysterious minister (Morgan Freeman) and two needy women (Dunst and Hunter) in his search for redemption. Sony Pictures Classics will release this Sundance Opening Night film stateside, with StudioCanal ...
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Lilja 4-Ever scoops Gijon top prize
Lukas Moodysson's Lilja 4-Ever walked away the top winner from Spain's 40th annual edition of the Gijon International Film Festival (Nov 21-29).Lilja took home the best film and best actress (Oksana Akinshina) awards as well as the young jury prize for best film. Iain Dilthey took home a best director ...
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Academy slays Warrior's Oscar ambitions
The Warrior producer Bertrand Faivre has expressed his frustration at the American Academy's decision to bar the acclaimed production from competing as the UK entry for the foreign language Oscars.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences said this week its committee members voted against The Warrior because Hindi was ...
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New chief appointed at Hamburg Film Festival
Albert Wiederspiel has been appointed successor to Josef Wutz as head of Filmfest Hamburg and will take up his new post from January 1, 2003.With over 17 years experience in the international film industry for such companies as 20th Century Fox, PolyGram/Universal Pictures and most recently as head of distribution ...