All News articles – Page 5396
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News
Kinepolis bullish on expansion despite losses
Belgian exhibitor Kinepolis Group is planning to open six new multiplexes throughout Europe by December after reaching its legal investment limit in Belgium with 125 screens.The first to open will be the 12-screen Forum Kinepolis in Nimes, France to be followed by an eight-screen multiplex in Ede, The Netherlands in ...
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Film to receive boost at revamped BBC
Incoming BBC director general Greg Dyke has pledged to create a new film division as part of a far-reaching overhaul of the UK broadcaster. The film operation will come under the auspices of Alan Yentob, the former director of television, who now heads a newly-created division spanning drama, entertainment and ...
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Japan to revise broadcasting legislation
Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) plans to overhaul broadcasting and telecommunications legislation in a bid to break down regulatory barriers between the country's broadcasting and telecoms sectors.The MPT plans to make sweeping changes to Japan's Broadcasting Law, Telecommunications Law and NTT Law in a move to encourage convergence. ...
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Alliance Atlantis picks up Himalaya
Alliance Atlantis/Kinowelt has picked up UK rights to Academy Award-nominated Tibetan-language film Himalaya (Caravan) from Alison Thompson's UK-based The Sales Co.The picture, which is directed by Eric Valli, has grossed more than $10m in France since opening in November.Shot in Nepal, the film centres on the struggles of the inhabitants ...
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Pia to float to fund digital expansion
Pia, a privately owned company that operates Japan's largest ticket agency, is planning an IPO by summer 2001 to finance development of a next-generation ticketing service that will relay customer orders via a digital network.Pia, which also publishes Japan's most widely-read weekly entertainment magazine and sponsors its largest and most ...
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Noiret to receive Cannes Festival Award
French actor Philippe Noiret is to receive the Festival Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The festival said it is making the award in order to "pay tribute to the richness, diversity and everlasting life of an extraordinary career."The 69-year-old Noiret will receive the special trophy at a ceremony ...
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Israel's Doc Aviv launches market
The Doc Aviv documentary festival (April 21-26) is to host a market for documentary projects looking for co-producers and broadcaster partners. The event's organisers, local documentary body the Israeli Documentary Forum (IDF), have selected 26 out of 87 proposed projects. The successful titles will be showcased to international broadcasters including ...
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Comic trio scoop Orange Screenwriting Prize
The 2000 Orange Prize for Screenwriting has been awarded to three comedies from new British writers: The Alchemist, written by Simon Rose, Feet Up by Ewan Kilgour and The Wedding Gift by Lisa Flett.The three projects, which were chosen from more than 1,000 entries, were awarded a cash prize of ...
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Erin beats off DreamWorks' El Dorado
Universal Pictures' Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts continued to reign atop the US box office this past weekend with a third weekend gross of $14.2m, a slight 23% drop from the previous weekend. Its 17-day total now stands at $76.2m.The critically acclaimed movie, which will open in many key European ...
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German Film Prize nods for Buena Vista, Hotel
An unhappy week for German film closed on a more conciliatory note on Friday night with nominations for the German Film Prize evenly spread.Heading the list was Andreas Kleinert's Wege In Die Nacht, Oskar Roehler's Die Unberuehrbare and Tomy Wigand's Fussball Ist Unser Leben with three nominations each. They were ...
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Dunaway to star in story of Diana's biographer
Faye Dunaway, Paul McGann and Brian Cox will star in The Biographer, a privately-financed British feature film which is due to crank up on March 31.The film traces the events that led former royal journalist Andrew Morton to write his biography of the Princess of Wales, Diana: Her True Story.McGann ...
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Artisan promotes Greeman to development VP
Cybelle Greeman has been promoted to vice president of development at Artisan Entertainment. She will now be responsible for the development of film scripts on the company's slate as well as tracking new material and up and coming talent. She will report to Artisan president Bill Block.Greeman was previously director ...
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Israeli government gives blessing to third channel
The Israeli parliament has given the greenlight to the launch of a third free-to-air terrestrial channel in a bid to increase competition in the Israeli television market.According to new legislation, the Third Channel will be operated by two companies. Israel's only existing commercial broadcaster, the Second Channel, is currently operated ...
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Becker Group signs on for Rowe comedy
Australia's Becker Group has signed on as international sales agent for producer David Rowe's A$3m contemporary comedy Tempe Tip, scheduled to start shooting in October.REP will handle Australian distribution of the film, while international sales will be contracted out. Michael Ralph is set to direct the project from his own ...
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Beyond, Seven support on-line Evolution
Two of Australia's biggest content suppliers - Beyond International and the Seven Network - have thrown their weight behind a new high-speed network that plans to pump entertainment and services into Australian homes.Operated by fledgling Australian company Evolution Technologies, the venture plans to concentrate on providing services to high-density housing ...
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Norsk Film set for reform
The Norwegian film industry is hoping that incoming culture minister Ellen Horn, appointed March 17, will continue with her predecessor's policy to transform state-owned film body Norsk Film into a single independent production fund.Outgoing culture minister Aslaug M. Haga had wide industry support for her proposal that Norsk Film withdraw ...
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Sony restructures to speed up Internet plans
Japan's Sony Corp is setting up a US-based holding company, Sony Broadband Entertainment (SBE), to house its movie and music businesses, as part of a plan to speed up exploitation of its entertainment assets on the Internet.Headed by current Sony Corporation of America president Howard Stringer, SBE's core companies will ...
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Taxi 2 becomes France's biggest ever opener
Taxi 2, produced by Luc Besson's Leeloo Productions and distributed by Arp Selection, has smashed the all-time opening day record in France, attracting a massive 759,152 admissions from 830 screens. Taxi 2 is the highly-anticipated follow-up to 1998 hit Taxi which became the fourth highest grossing hit in France in ...
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Via Digital reaches half million subscribers mark
Spanish digital satellite platform Via Digital has announced that it has reached the half million mark in subscribers. Still trailing rival Canal Satelite Digital (CSD) by more than 300,000 subscribers, Via's numbers reflect a remarkable 70.5% rate of growth over the last 12 months.Via claims its market share has grown ...
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Soldini, Tognazzi lead Italian Davids noms
Italy's 2000 David di Donatello Awards look set to be a two-horse race as Silvio Soldini's Pane E Tulipani and Ricky Tognazzi's Canone Inverso both scooped nine nominations apiece, including best film, best screenplay and best director.Marco Bechis' Garage Olimpo was also nominated in the three categories, and also picked ...