All News articles – Page 5098
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John Sayles aims high and low for next films
John Sayles has announced a full cast for his half-Spanish language Casa De Los Babys, which starts shooting this August at a knock-down budget of $1m - while aiming high for his next production, between $24 and $32m for the Robert Carlyle-starrer Jamie MacGillivray.The IFC-backed Casa De Los Babys, set ...
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Mixed reactions greet Weinstein, Le Lay announcement
While rivals saluted TF1 yesterday for its grand ambitions with Miramax welcoming a new competitor on the local theatrical distribution scene, there was also unease at the prospect of ever more films cluttering up French cinemas because of television's encroaching influence over cinema. Some even suggested that French regulators should ...
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UA bowled over by Bowling For Columbine
United Artists (UA) has acquired US rights to Michael Moore's gun control documentary Bowling For Columbine, marking the first domestic deal of this year's festival. The studio division of MGM beat out a clutch of distributors bidding for the film including Miramax and Fine Line, paying a reported $1.5m.The deal ...
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Heinzemann braves German market to launch new distributor
Peter Heinzemann, former managing director of Kinowelt Filmverleih, could be one of the most popular men on the Croisette. He has set up a new German distributor, Solo Film Verleih as a joint venture with Helkon Media partners Martin Heldmann and Christian Halsey Solomon.Solo will operate as a distributor with ...
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Studio Canal unveils Italian film production unit
StudioCanal, the production and distribution subsidiary of Canal Plus and Vivendi Universal, has set up StudioCanal Urania, a new Rome based company that will produce up to three Italian films per year.The move comes despite rumours of Studiocanal shrinking its foreign operations. "This reflects the group's commitment to strengthening its ...
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Hong Kong's Celestial lines up starry debut
Start-up Hong Kong studio Celestial Pictures has lined up some of the territory's hottest talent for its debut production slate including local box office sensations Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng and acclaimed director Stanley Kwan.The company has signed a co-production deal with Lau's Teamwork Motion Pictures, to kick off with ...
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Christopher Lee rides with The Last Unicorn
Continent Film's Michael Pakleppa is assembling a starry cast for The Last Unicorn, a fantasy film billing itself as Europe's answer to The Lord Of The Rings.Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury and Rene Auberjonois have already committed to the picture. Producer and co-director Pakleppa is in advanced talks with Mia Farrow, ...
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Christopher Lee rides with The Last Unicorn
Continent Film's Michael Pakleppa is assembling a starry cast for The Last Unicorn, a fantasy film billing itself as Europe's answer to The Lord Of The Rings.Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury and Rene Auberjonois have already committed to the picture. Producer and co-director Pakleppa is in advanced talks with Mia Farrow, ...
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Vivendi, News Corp Italian pay-TV row intensifies
A row between two of the world's biggest media players has intensified this week, with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp saying it will hold Jean-Marie Messier's Vivendi Universal to an agreement to merge their Italian pay-TV businesses.According to UK paper The Financial Times, News Corp is expected to go to court ...
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Paul Cox unveils The Human Touch
Cannes favourite Paul Cox, who challenged stereotypes with his story of an elderly couple's passionate affair in Innocence, has unveiled his next production, The Human Touch.The picture, scheduled to shoot in Australia and France in October, sees the Australian director exploring themes of sexual inhibition on a larger scale than ...
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Focus picks up Devdas sales duties
Devdas, the first Bollywood picture to screen in Cannes' Official Selection, has been picked up by Focus International (formerly Good Machine International) for world sales.Focus has the film in all territories outside the US and India. Eros International, which produced the film, will jointly sell the film in the UK ...
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Spanish, Italian publishing giants unveil production and distribution push
Spanish publishing giant Grupo Planeta and Italian partner De Agostini have finally unveiled full details of their joint multi-media venture, DeA Planeta, including the creation of a new production division to be headed by former Esicma chief Pau Calpe.Calpe will oversee the as yet unnamed production division, which plans to ...
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Star Wars: Episode II gets off to a flying start
The opening day (May 16) of George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones has achieved predictably strong results in several major territories for 20th Century Fox.Unconfirmed figures from the US estimate the second instalment of the Star Wars saga taking well in excess of $25m from ...
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First Look takes Luther International
First Look Media has acquired international rights excluding Germany to Luther, a biopic of Martin Luther currently shooting in central Germany, Bavaria, Italy and the Czech Republic with Joseph Fiennes playing the title character.Alfred Molina, Peter Ustinov and Bruno Ganz co-star in the film which is directed by Eric Till ...
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The Works climbs aboard Ward's River Queen
UK-based sales outfit The Works has stepped up its international production activities by boarding New Zealand director Vincent Ward's River Queen, a large-scale historical piece about the Maori's war against the British in the 19th century.Confirmed cast for the production include Sam Neill and Cliff Curtis. Don Reynolds is producing ...
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Buyers plunge into Cameron's Abyss
Summit Entertainment has concluded a wave of sales on Walden Media's Ghosts Of The Abyss, James Cameron's ground-breaking 3-D large screen documentary exploring the wreckage of the Titanic. Telepool took the film for Germany, Buena Vista International (BVI) for the UK, UGC for France and Belga Films for Benelux. Gaga ...
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Australia's Rialto acquires Mystic Masseur
Rialto Entertainment has acquired rights for Australia and New Zealand to director Ishmail Merchant's The Mystic Masseur.The Auckland-based distributor plans to release the film over the Christmas holidays. The film has had high-profile openings in London and New York, including a launch by Bill Clinton at New York's Paris Theatre ...
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E Pictures launches Zenith's action thriller
E Pictures, the Korean sales house that was set up a year ago, is launching a new big-budget picture from Zenith Entertainment, the production outfit behind last year's $25m blockbuster My Boss, My Hero.The picture Four For The King: Code Paris is an Asian action suspense thriller with European elements. ...
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Alibi's Davis lined up for Beyond sales job
Australia's Beyond Films is expected to appoint Hilary Davis of UK based Alibi Films International to oversee international sales.Davis will replace former Beyond sales chief Gary Hamilton who left the company earlier this year to launch his own business, Arclight Films.Davis's departure means that both co-founders have now left Alibi's ...
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Alibi's Davis lined up for Beyond sales job
Australia's Beyond Films is expected to appoint Hilary Davis of UK based Alibi Films International to oversee international sales.Davis will replace former Beyond sales chief Gary Hamilton who left the company earlier this year to launch his own business, Arclight Films.Davis's departure means that both co-founders have now left Alibi's ...