All News articles – Page 5149

  • News

    Pippi Longstocking creator dies, aged 94

    2002-01-28T21:15:00Z

    Astrid Lindgren the godmother of Swedish children's literature and creator of world-famous characters like Pippi Longstocking, Emil From Lonneberga, Ronja Robber's Daughter and The Brothers Lionhearth has died after suffering from a serious virus infection for a month. The beloved and respected author was born in 1907 in Vimmerby in ...

  • News

    Alan Finney awarded Order of Australia medal

    2002-01-28T21:06:00Z

    Alan Finney, vice president and managing director of Buena Vista International (Australia and New Zealand), was among the Australians honoured as part of the weekend's Australia Day celebrations. His Order of Australia Medal (OAM) is a signal of his status as the most experienced distributor in the country and one ...

  • News

    Oz FFC denies outgoing CEO was 'pushed'

    2002-01-28T21:03:00Z

    The Australian Film Finance Corporation (FFC) has been forced into releasing a statement confirming that it is Catriona Hughes' own decision to leave her job when her second contract as chief executive expires this year. The move was prompted by the publication of several articles implying she is being forced ...

  • News

    Das Werk picks up $17m worth of work

    2002-01-28T19:05:00Z

    The international postproduction group Das Werk has won contracts worth $17.2m (Euros 20m) which will keep its feature film facilities working to capacity throughout 2002.LA-based subsidiary CFX has been awarded a $10m contract to handle the effects on an unnamed Warner Bros./Village Roadshow project as well as $3m worth of ...

  • News

    Becker snaps up Australia's Globe Group

    2002-01-28T19:03:00Z

    Australian film distributor Becker Entertainment has acquired Richard Payten and Andrew Mackie's highly regarded distribution, marketing and audience research entity, The Globe Group. Managing director Richard Becker said the move both strengthens Becker's film division and increases Globe's capacity to handle films, but insists that Globe will continue to ...

  • News

    Orfeo's Helen Loveridge is Seattle-bound

    2002-01-28T19:01:00Z

    Helen Loveridge, who currently heads Cologne-based sales agency Orfeo Films, is to become managing director of a new Film Centre being developed in Seattle.Loveridge's move follows the recent announcement of the forthcoming closure of Orfeo and World Sales Christa Saredi (see Screendaily, Jan 11). The two sales agencies are present ...

  • News

    UK actors, not films, shine in BAFTA nominations

    2002-01-28T16:58:00Z

    The UK failed to secure any nominations for best film or best director at the UK's most prestigious film awards, the British Academy Film Awards, but UK actors saved face by dominating their sections.As well as underlining a disappointing year for local films, the best film nominations for A Beautiful ...

  • News

    Rings breaks Italian box office record

    2002-01-28T02:04:00Z

    New Line blockbuster The Lord of The Rings has smashed the all-time Italian box office opening record briefly held by Harry Potter, by grossing a massive $5m (Euros 5,841,147) from 503 screens on its first weekend.Six days after its Jan 18 release, the Peter Jackson picture had grossed $7.1m (Euros ...

  • News

    Spain's MediaPro buys French VCF

    2002-01-28T02:01:00Z

    Barcelona-based producer and rights broker MediaPro has acquired French production services outfit Video Communication France (VCF) for Euros 15m.The purchase forms part of MediaPro's international expansion. VCF is one of France's leading mobile TV production service providers.MediaPro has offices in Spain, Portugal, Argentina and the US, where it offers production ...

  • News

    Smith named male star of the year at ShoWest

    2002-01-28T02:00:00Z

    Will Smith has been named 2002Male Star Of the Year at this year's ShoWest convention in Las Vegas inMarch. He will personally attend to receive his award at the Gala awards banquet on March 7.It is Smith's fourthShoWest honour. He was named male star of tomorrow in 1995, won the ...

  • News

    Japanese pick-up for Brussels Avenue

    2002-01-28T01:59:00Z

    Brussels-based world sales outfit Brussels Ave has picked up world distribution rights on Japanese documentary filmmaker Seiichi Motohashi's Alexei And The Spring (Alexei To Izumi) which will be screened in the International Forum of New Cinema at the forthcoming Berlinale. In addition, Brussels Ave is handling Anne Wild's short drama ...

  • News

    IMAX symposium during Berlinale

    2002-01-28T01:57:00Z

    The large-format films Skydance and Horses: The Story Of Equuus, Kilimanjaro are to be screened during this year's Berlinale by Euromax, the European association of the large format industry at its 8th European Large Format Filmmakers Symposium .The four-day event, which will be held from Feb 10-13 at the Cinestar ...

  • News

    UK arthouse scheme branded

    2002-01-28T01:55:00Z

    One of the UK's state-supported regional cinemas has slammed proposals from the Government-backed film body the Film Council to create a centrally run art-house circuit as an "insult".The Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, part of the UK's regional film theatre circuit, this week issued a statement saying the proposal would drive ...

  • News

    UK gets new Comedy Shorts scheme

    2002-01-28T01:53:00Z

    As part of a short film scheme created last August, The Film Council's New Cinema Fund and FilmFour's experimental arm FilmFour Lab have teamed with Elisabeth Murdoch's film and television company Shine Entertainment to produce the Comedy Shorts Scheme.Aiming to form links between TV and cinema industries by finding and ...

  • News

    Five newcomers can't down Black Hawk

    2002-01-28T01:46:00Z

    Four new studioopeners and the wide release of I Am Sam couldn't dislodge Columbia/Revolution's epic BlackHawk Down from thenumber one position, signalling it as the first smash of the new year and nodoubt its first $100m grosser. The Ridley Scott-directed movie took anestimated $18.2m at 3,101 theatres to bring its ...

  • News

    S.A. funding strategy comes under scrutiny

    2002-01-28T01:41:00Z

    Strong criticism, including accusations of misappropriation of funds and nepotism have been levelled at South Africa's National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) following its recent allocation of grants of just over $530,000 (R6m) as part of its 2001/2 funding cycle. According to reports in South Africa's Mail & Guardian, the ...

  • News

    Constantin expands successful partnership

    2002-01-28T01:38:00Z

    Germany's Constantin Film is to expand its successful relationship with Achterbahn Film (AF) to include a first-look deal on AF's first live-action production, Wie Die Karnickel, written by Der Bewegte Mann author Ralf Koenig.The new deal goes beyond the current distribution agreement, which covers the theatrical release of the next ...

  • News

    Three Euro training bodies set to merge

    2002-01-28T01:33:00Z

    In a bid to increase the efficiency of talent and project development, three of Europe's key film training organisations are to link together under the banner AMA. The three - story editor training body Arista, script development outfit Moonstone and producer finishing school ACE - are all backed by the ...

  • News

    Berlusconi to privatise state-run TV channels

    2002-01-28T01:29:00Z

    Three weeks before Italy's Berlusconi-led government appoints a new board of directors at state broadcaster Rai, the premier and media magnate who owns rival private broadcaster Mediaset has confirmed plans to privatise two of Rai's three television channels. During an interview broadcast by France's Europe 1 radio, Berlusconi is reported ...

  • News

    Robert Redford to receive honorary Oscar

    2002-01-25T22:29:00Z

    Robert Redford, theOscar-nominated actor and Oscar-winning director, will receive an honoraryAcademy Award at this year's ceremony on March 24. He joins thepreviously announced Sidney Poitier, who will also receive an honorary Oscar,and Arthur Hiller, who has been voted recipient of the Jean HersholtHumanitarian Award.Redford's citationwill read: "Robert Redford - Actor, ...