All News articles – Page 5264
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Murdoch daughter's film ambitions Shine through
Elisabeth Murdoch, former programming head of UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB, is expected to make small-to-medium budget features though her newly-launched TV and film production outfit, Shine Entertainment. Shine, jointly owned by Murdoch and former production director at Carlton Television Waheed Alli, is armed with an output deal with BSkyB, which ...
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UPC cable giant fights watchdogs as shares slide
UPC, Europe's largest cable group, hit back at Dutch regulators which have promised to bring in competition to the broadband market. But that was not enough to prevent its shares hitting a record low for the second day running.On Thursday evening UPC shares closed down 26% at Euros5.90 on the ...
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Exorcist beats Star Wars re-release in France
Warner Bros' director's cut of The Exorcist turned heads in France on its release, beating the Star Wars re-release with a massive 131,387 admissions from 440 prints on its opening day.The horror classic topped the weekly chart, selling 621,727 tickets in the seven days to March 20. The film, for ...
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Mexican heat rises as Warner grabs Guadalajara hit
Warner-Videocine has swooped on De La Calle, the latest title from the explosive Mexican cinema scene to set its sights on repeating the success of Academy Award nominee Amores Perros.Warner-Videocine, a joint-venture between Warner Bros and local TV giant Televisa, has committed to a release of at least 150 prints ...
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Chopper star Eric Bana returns to comedy roots
Having burst onto cinema screens as violent Australian criminal Mark "Chopper" Read, Eric Bana is to return to comedy, the genre in which he made his name as a stand-up and TV comedian.Bana's second Australian film after last year's Chopper will be Nugget, the story of three road workers who ...
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Jackie Chan takes action against organised crime
Warning that overseas productions could be scared off, action star Jackie Chan has called for measures to fight organised crime after a triad member was arrested for blackmailing a Hong Kong location on New Line Cinema's Rush Hour 2.Speaking at a function that included film professionals and some of the ...
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Universal creates dedicated studio franchise unit
Every Hollywood studio conglomerate talks in terms of creating multimedia "franchises" around their most popular properties and commodified characters; now one of them, Universal Pictures, has taken the full plunge and created an entire division dedicated to unlocking theglobal franchising potential of its content across every conceivable distribution outlet.Louis A. ...
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Workspace stands by Three Mills Island Studios
Workspace Group, owners of UK indie studio Three Mills Island Studios, are insisting that the site will remain a studio facility despite ousting managers Edwin Shirley Productions (ESP) from four sound stages in a High Court dispute.The commitment comes after an increasingly bitter dispute over lease contracts and rent payments ...
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AtomShockwave Corp launched with $22.9m funding
AtomShockwave Corp - the company created by Shockwave.com's high-profile acquisition of Atom Corporation - has launched with $22.9m of financing.The new company, combining online short film specialist AtomFilms and interactive entertainment provider Shockwave.com, syndicates games, films and animation to on- and offline customers in traditional and emerging media, such as ...
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Toronto spotlights Nordic Visions
At a time when Nordic and especially Danish films are in the public eye: the Danish Berlin winner Italian For Beginners, the pan-Nordic Palme d'Or winner Dancer In The Dark as well as Swedish hit comedies Jalla! Jalla! and Together, it is appropriate that the Toronto International Film Festival has ...
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Swedish company eyes Spanish digital pay TV
A Swedish company could become the majority owner of Spain's third digital pay TV platform, Quiero TV, if rumored negotiations end in a deal. Telecoms firm Auna (Retevision) is understood to be in talks to sell its 49% stake in Quiero, Europe's second-ever digital terrestrial TV platform, to Swedish global ...
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Cinema on Demand patented
Marburg-based medianetCom has registered its broadband video-on-demand technology operating under the name of "Cinema on Demand"at the European Patent Office in Munich.Until now, the technology had only been protected in Germany as a registered utility model, but the international patent protection applies not just to the whole of Europe, but ...
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Spain's Grupo Correo posts best ever results
Confirming its place on the roster of profitable corporate backers pumping capital into Spain's media sector, conglom Grupo Correo reported net profits for last year of Euros 69m (pts11,542m), a.4% rise over 1999.Correo's best ever financial results place the group squarely in a competitive position amongst the likes of multimedia ...
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France's M6 sees net earnings leap 34%
M6, France's second-largest free-to-air broadcaster after TF1, has registered a 34% jump in its net earnings in 2000, to Euros 103.5m from Euros 77.3m in 1999, due to improved advertising sales.The broadcaster, whose main shareholders are Suez and the RTL Group, saw its revenues grow from Euros 629m in 1999 ...
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Danish Wise Guy aims for One Hell Of A Christmas
Denmark's Dogme films this week chalked up another popular success in their home market.After the success of Berlin Silver Bear-winning Italian For Beginners,Ake Sandgren's Truly Human (Et Rigtigt Menneske) opened this week on just 14 prints with an impressive screen average of 840 admissions. That performance put it second in ...
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Premiere World revises breakthrough date
German digital pay TV platform Premiere World's breakthrough with consumers is set to be delayed by another 1 - 1 ' years, according to the KirchGroup's Dieter Hahn in an interview with the German daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Although not wishing to give exact figures, he declared that the platform ...
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Metropolitan picks up 51st State for France
Metropolitan Filmexport has picked up Ronny Yu's The 51st State for France from Alliance Atlantis Pictures International. The $28m film, the first production through Andras Hamori's H2O Motion Pictures, features Samuel L. Jackson as kilt-wearing chemist looking to market his designer drug in Liverpool's rave scene. The Metropolitan deal was ...
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Dirty Deeds is Australia's model for future growth
If Australia's filmmaking ambitions can be encapsulated in a single film, it is writer/director David Caesar's $5m gangster movie Dirty Deeds, which has pulled off a number of investment firsts.Dirty Deeds is Nine Films & Television's first production commitment, after more than a decade in which there has been no ...
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Buena Vista increases stake in Japanese product
Buena Vista International has bought worldwide distribution rights from Toei to Hotaru, a romantic drama starring Japanese screen legend Ken Takakura. This marks the first time that a US major has made this kind of deal for a straight dramatic feature from Japan.Toei will open the film domestically this summer, ...
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Audition attracts attention, but Enemy rules
The UK/Ireland box office discovered an Enemy At The Gates at the weekend (March 16-18) as Pathe's epic Stalingrad drama besieged the chart, claiming the top position previously held by the seemingly unconquerable Hannibal. The film, which stars Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes and Oscar nominee Ed Harris took $1,478,060 (£1,033,164) ...