All News articles – Page 5324
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Chopper leads race for AFI Awards
Andrew Dominik's Chopper, about one of Australia's best-known living criminals, topped the nominations for the AFI (Australian Film Institute) Awards with 10 nods including best film, best director and best screenplay.The other three titles vying for best film are Looking For Alibrandi with a total of nine nominations and Better ...
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EC warns it could move spotlight onto UIP
Brussels warned on Monday that it may re-examine UIP's exemption from European anti-competition laws following the merger of Universal parent Seagram and Vivendi, owner of Canal Plus.The European Commission - which granted UIP an exemption as recently as September last year - now appears to be concerned about the merged ...
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Ed Gein wins best film award at Sitges
US title Ed Gein, directed by Chuck Parello, walked away the big winner on Saturday from the International Film Festival of Catalunya, better known as Sitges (October 5-14).The horror film about the real-life serial killer who inspired films such as Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence Of The ...
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Harris to join Phoenix in Buffalo Soldiers
Ed Harris is expected to join Joaquin Phoenix in the cast of Buffalo Soldiers, FilmFour's $15m tale of US soldiers stationed in West Germany circa 1989.Anna Paquin is also understood to be in talks to star in the film, which starts shooting in Germany next month. Directed by Gregor Jordan, ...
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Planeta set to sell 10% stake in Telecinco
Spanish publishing and multimedia giant Grupo Planeta looks set to sell off its entire 10% stake in private broadcaster Telecinco, and not just 5% as previously rumoured. Sources at Planeta said that talks are underway with Telecinco backer Mediaset to take at least a 5% share. But Planeta president Jose ...
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REP, Dendy go on pre-MIFED buying spree
Australian distributor REP Films has picked up US comedy Human Nature, while sister company Dendy Films has acquired Swedish hit Together and Thai film The Iron Ladies. Iron Ladies follows the adventures of a transsexual volleyball team hoping to win the national championships. According to sales agent Fortissimo, it has ...
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FilmMuseum set to launch in Hungary
A new cable and satellite channel, FilmMuseum, is scheduled to launch in Hungary on November 15. Backed by private investors, the channel plans to screen Hungarian films and TV programming produced before 1980. It will initially broadcast for 14 hours a day.The channel is funded for three years and plans ...
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Profit attempts to grab share of Italian TV market
Italian media company Profit has acquired local broadcaster Odeon TV, in a bid to build a satellite television network that could break RAI and Mediaset's stranglehold on the Italian TV advertising market.Milan-based Odeon TV owns 16 stations nationwide and has an average audience of about 4-5 million. Profit owns children's ...
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South Korea to relax Movie Promotion Law
South Korea is to open a chain of adult film theatres and add a fifth classification - "restricted" - to the film classification system.The moves, announced by the Regulation Reform Committee last week, require a change to the Movie Promotion Law under which adult cinemas are banned and films containing ...
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Germany's NSF, MME unveil plans to float
Despite the stormy times currently besetting the capital markets, another two German production outfits - Me, Myself and Eye Entertainment (MME) and Neue Sentimental Film (NSF) - are planning to join the 30-odd media companies listed on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt exchange.Hamburg-based MME has employed Commerzbank to co-ordinate the flotation of ...
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Iran's Meshkini wins Pusan's New Currents prize
Iranian title The Day I Became A Woman, directed by Marziyeh Meshkini of Iran's Makhmalbaf family, won the jury prize in the Pusan film festival's New Currents section, dedicated to Asian film-makers' first or second features.The award includes distribution of the winning film in Korea or $10,000 to the director ...
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Middle Eastern crisis intrudes on Hamptons Fest
This year's Hamptons International Film Festival found itself thrust into the cauldron of Middle Eastern politics after a jury led by actor William Hurt found itself having to adjudicate between a selection of Palestinian and Israeli features and shorts programmed as part of an inaugural sidebar devoted to 'films of ...
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Parents, Titans continue to rule US box office
There were a clutch of new releases this week but none managed to dislodge last week's top two films, Meet The Parents and Remember The Titans, both of which occupied their same slots en route to expected blockbuster grosses.With a combined $75.7m, the top 12 films actually outgrossed the corresponding ...
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Wild Bunch picks up R-Xmas, Mischka
Wild Bunch, the increasingly independent auteur label within France's StudioCanal, has picked up sales duties on Abel Ferrara's newest picture R-Xmas and grabbed the directorial return of Jean-Francois Stevenin. R-Xmas had previously been represented by StudioCanal's main sales outfit Le Studio Canal Plus. But Wild Bunch chief Vincent Maraval had ...
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EU greenlights Vivendi Universal with conditions
The European Commission (EC) has waved through the three-way merger between Vivendi, Canal Plus and Seagram, after Vivendi agreed to sell its 20% stake in BSkyB and guaranteed that Canal Plus' pay-TV competitors will have access to Universal's film product.The concessions save the merger, first unveiled in June, from a ...
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UK adds voice to digital cinema debate
As the North American film industry discusses the ever-changing digital cinema issue at ShowEast, Orlando, the UK is becoming a driving force in the debate through a series of government-backed discussions and demonstrations.The "Celluloid Or Silicon" roadshow is currently presenting the latest developments in electronic film technology to the industry ...
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Imax Corp takes down \'for sale\' sign
Imax Corp has removed itself from the marketplace after its share price tumbled more than 70% yesterday (October 12) in reaction to a profit warning. The giant screen purveyor said its current stock price is not a fair reflection of its long-term value.Imax issued a third-quarter profit warning on Wednesday, ...
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Italy's Pablo snaps up Turin trio
Fledgling Italian distributor Pablo has hoovered up local rights to three films set to screen at next month's Turin Film Festival: I Nostri Anni, directed by Daniele Gaglianone, Corso Salani's Occidente and documentary I Fantasisti. I Nostri Anni, about two World War II veterans tormented by their war memories, and ...
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FCC suspends AOL TW decision
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has suspended its review of the AOL Time Warner merger, declaring it more productive to let its sister agency, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), pass judgement on the issue. However, by stating that it was "stopping the clock" on its proceedings, the FCC reserved ...
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April Captains to open Huelva fest
Portuguese actress Maria de Medeiros' directorial debut, April Captains (Capitaes De Abril), will inaugurate this year's 26th annual Iberoamerican Film Festival of Huelva, Spain (Nov 10-18).Medeiros will also sit on the festival's official jury alongside Spanish director Juan Pinzas, Spanish critic Mirito Torreiro, and Brazilian producer Esdras Rubim, among others.The ...