All News articles – Page 5223
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Kei Kumai to direct Kurosawa script
A film based on one of the last scripts to have been written by Akira Kurosawa, Umi Wa Miteita (I Saw The Sea), is to be made by Kei Kumai and premiered at the 2002 Venice Film Festival on the anniversary of Kurosawa's death: September 6, 1998.The script is based ...
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De Laurentiis hopes Scott will direct Alexander
Contrary to earlier reports, producer Dino De Laurentiis has yet to secure the services of director Ridley Scott for the film he is lining up about Alexander The Great. De Laurentiis said that he hoped the film would be directed by Gladiator's Scott, but as yet no deal has been ...
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Angel Exit
Dir: Vladimir Michalek. Czech Republic. 2000. 100mins.A drug induced fantasy that mixes horror and comedy without being either, Vladimir Michalek's Angel Exit is a film that makes its impact with a mosaic of images, sights and sounds that appeal to all five senses. Based on the popular novel of ...
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Myriad buys 20% of LA broadcast, services facility
Myriad Pictures has purchased a 20% stake in Broadcast Standard Inc (BSI), the LA-based broadcast and video servicing, standards conversion and digital editing facility.BSI was founded in 1987 and acquired late last year with funds from Independent International Television, an LA-based TV distribution company controlled by Argentina's Ledafilms, Ledafilms' main ...
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Marc Butan joins Lions Gate as production evp
Lions Gate Productions, a division of Lions Gate Entertainment, has hired Marc Butan, the former president of Ignite Entertainment, as executive vice president of production. Reporting to Michael Paseornek, president of production at Lions Gate, Butan will oversee production of the company's film projects and run its development activities.Butan will ...
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HFPA donates $484,000 to film groups and charities
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) presented $485,000 in donations to various US charities and institutions at its annual installation luncheon yesterday, bringing the total amount of donations granted by the HFPA in the last seven years to $2.485m.The HFPA, the group of foreign journalists which presents the Golden Globe ...
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Ster Century re-finances and avoids sale
Having failed to find a buyer since it was put up for sale last year, pan-European exhibition circuit Ster Century Europe has secured an $80m re-financing package and has now been taken off the market.Corporate restructuring will see Ster Century housed within a new consolidated film entity being proposed by ...
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Media Salles reveals new executive committee
Media Salles, an initiative within the EU media programme to foster theatrical distribution of European audiovisual products, has announced its new executive committee line-up. More of a reshuffle, with no change of personnel, the presidency has gone to Jens Rykaer, previous treasurer of the association and director of the European ...
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Tycoon heads $790m Malaysian studio revamp
A reclusive tycoon with a penchant for Bollywood extravaganzas is to head the $790m development of Malaysia's new Hollywood-style film studios, according to Reuters.Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary, already in Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's good books for winning away Danish shipping giant Maersk Sealand from neighbour and rival Singapore, is ...
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AFC increases producers' development fund
The Australian Film Commission (AFC) has put aside $596,000 (A$1.16m) in public money for this financial year for producers -- and writer/directors in exceptional circumstances - to develop a slate of projects. This is nearly double last year's allocation although the cap on individual awards remains $35,975 (A$70,000). The extra ...
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Pleskow sells Pleswin stake to partner de Winter
Veteran producer Eric Pleskow has announced that he has sold his interest in Pleswin Entertainment Group BV to its other principal shareholder Leon de Winter.The company was launched in August 1999 by the former United Artists boss and Orion Pictures founder with Dutch novelist and screenwriter de Winter to create ...
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UK Film Council reveals first single-project slate
Erick Zonca, the French writer-director of The Dreamlife Of Angels, is to make his English-language debut with National Lottery backing from UK film support body the Film Council's first round of single-project development funding.Zonca secured $106,244 (£75,000), the largest single award the council has made from its development fund, for ...
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Locarno reveals competition line-up
While Final Fantasy - The Spirit Within and Moulin Rouge will open and close the Piazza Grande programme respectively, this year's official competition of 19 films from 13 different countries includes ten first features and 15 world premieres.Debut projects include Meng Ong's Miss Wonton (US), Riccardo Signorell's Sheherazade (Switzerland) and ...
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De Laurentiis says Scott to direct Alexander epic
Confirming Italy's current enthusiasm for multi-million dollar sword-and-sandal epics, legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis has announced that he is lining up a picture about Alexander The Great that will be directed by Gladiator director Ridley Scott and is expected to feature UK actor Anthony Hopkins in a key role. De ...
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BAFTA LA will honour HBO Original Programming
BAFTA-LA, the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts' Los Angeles branch, has elected to honour HBO Original Programming with the Britannia Award for excellence in television at the 11th annual Britannia Awards on Nov 10.Chris Albrecht, president of HBO Original Programming, will accept the award at the ceremony which ...
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Controversial rape drama wins at Zanzibar
Bawandar (Sandstorm), an Indian film depicting the true story of Bhanwari Devi, a low-caste woman gang-raped for criticising child marriages, has won the award for best feature film at the Zanzibar Festival of Dhow Countries, held in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.The controversial film, directed by Jag Mohan, follows the rural ...
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PrimaCom signs ppv deal with Universal
Private German cable network PrimaCom and Universal Studios International have signed a non-exclusive pay-per-view (ppv) output deal for a wide range of current and library titles from Universal, including Oscar-winner Gladiator and The Flintstones In Viva Rock Vegas. Commenting on the agreement, Hans Wolfert, chief corporate development officer at PrimaCom ...
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Godard's Eloge De L'Amour to screen at LFF
Jean-Luc Godard's Eloge De L'Amour will screen as the French Gala film at November's London Film Festival.The Cannes competition title, being released in the UK by Will Clarke's Optimum Releasing, is billed as a study of memory and history told through the four stages of love - meeting, physical passion, ...
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Quebec grants $9.1m to Lions Gate partner
CineGroupe, the animation partner of Lions Gate Entertainment, is set to receive a cash injection of $9.1m from Societe generale de financement du Quebec, the state investment agency of the Canadian province. Lions Gate spokesman Gordon Keep told Screendaily the investment will allow CineGroupe to grow its future business and ...
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UK's lukewarm development culture heats up
Last week, the UK Film Council announced its first round of long-term slate funding deals with six production outfits. The $7m (£5m) annual development fund is designed to give promising companies long-term support in beefing up their development capabilities, both in terms of property acquisition and personnel. Fragile Films, Archer ...