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All articles by Sandy George – Page 46
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NEW ZEALAND 2 August
The Chronicles OfRiddick opened in cinemas on the weekend and pushed I, Robot off the top spot, but there wasn't much between them. Riddick took NZ$385,766 from 47 screensfor UIP, while I, Robot tookNZ$354,212 from 60 screens in its second week on release.In third was Fahrenheit9/11 on its first official ...
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Scottish producer Meek named head of drama at Australia's ABC
Scottish producer Scott Meek is relocating to Australia totake up the role of head of drama at public broadcaster the ABC.Meek was involved in such features as Velvet Goldmine, Sid And Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears when chief executive at Zenith Productions. Hehas served on the British Film Institute ...
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Colosimo, McKenzie sign on for Australian-UK co-production
Vince Colosimo (Lantana,Chopper) and Jacqueline McKenzie (RomperStomper, Angel Baby) are to star in director Peter Cattaneo's UK/Australianco-production Pobby And Dingan forsales agent Renaissance Films.The drama starts its eight-week shoot from August 19. Thesetting is the remote Australian opal town of Coober Pedy and filming will alsotake place in the city ...
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FFC pledges backing to Jindabyne, Revelation
Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) has pledged fundingon a conditional basis to Jindabyne, arelationship drama with mystery elements by Lantana director Ray Lawrence, and The Book OfRevelation, a follow-up to HeadOn for director Ana Kokkinos.Content International has world sales rights for The BookOf Revelation, which Kokkinos and AndrewBovell have adapted ...
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AUSTRALIA 26 July
In its second weekof previews, Fahrenheit 9/11 tookA$1,134,249 for Hopscotch from 89 screens to claim the third spot after I, Robot and King Arthur. This is an amazing result for a political documentaryand especially for one that is yet to officially open.I, Robot, in its opening weekend for 20th Century ...
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NEW ZEALAND 26 July
I, Robot grossed NZ$619,601 from 60 screens for 20th Century Fox in its firstweekend, taking top honours in the box office chart and pushing Shrek 2 down into second place.The green ogre tookNZ$239,178 from 84 screens for UIP. It has lead the chart for four of the sixweeks it has ...
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Oz funding body gets proactive about scripts
In a challenge to Australia's filmmaker-is-kingculture, state agency the Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC) istesting a couple of US people for the job of in-house development executive.PFTC head of production Henry Tefay is looking for someonewho understands cinematic storytelling and reaching audiences, could well takeexecutive producer credits on projects ...
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Veteran producers to pitch at SPAAMart
The 14 Australian and six New Zealand projects in thepre-financing market SPAAMart in Queensland next month include second featuresfrom the directors Ana Kokkinos (Head On),Ivan Sen (Beneath Clouds), andChristina Andreef (Soft Fruit).Producers coming with projects include Jan Chapman (ThePiano, Lantana), Trevor Haysom (InMy Father's Den), Daniel Scharf (RomperStomper), Martin Fabinyi ...
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AUSTRALIA 5 July
Columbia TriStar secured 441 prints for Spider-Man 2 for its opening weekend, four more than UIP's Shrek 2 was released on two weeksearlier, but the A$7,132,602 gross of the red superhero came nowhere nearneither the first nor the second weekend of the green giant.Five openers besides Spideyhit the chart on ...
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NEW ZEALAND 5 July
Spider-Man 2grossed NZ$1,156,748 from 75 screens on its opening weekend for ColumbiaTriStar. The result secured it the top position but only just: the filmattracted only about NZ$3,500 more in ticket sales than UIP's Shrek 2, which is in its third weekendin cinemas and is on 10 more screens.The best performer ...
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Hopscotch takes Oz rights to 2046
Distributor Hopscotch has taken all Australian rights toWong Kar Wai's 2046 fromFortissimo Film Sales.Hopscotch managing director Troy Lum plans to release whathe calls the "scifiesque film" later this year or early next. Lumreleased Wong's previous film In The Mood For Love while he was still working at Dendy."It did reasonably ...
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Restored classic, period piece are toast of Sydney
The 85-year-old Australian silent film The SentimentalBloke, directed by prolific pioneer filmmaker Raymond Longford, anddirector Ondrej Trojan's Czech Republic/Austria/Slovakia period film Zelarywere the audience favourites at the Sydney Film Festival's two key venues.The festival wrapped on Saturday June 26 and organisers saythat the 132,500 admissions represented a 9% increase on ...
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NEW ZEALAND 28 June
UIP's Mean Girlsclaimed third place in the chart this week with a gross of NZ$207,859 from 44screens for its opening weekend. But neither it nor second placed Harry Potter, came close to the mostpopular film of the four days, UIP's Shrek2, which was also a very long way ahead in ...
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Wax fire destroys Oz soundstage
A so-called controlled fire sequence on the set of HouseOf Wax went badly wrong on Saturday evening (June 27), sparking a blazethat destroyed one of the eight soundstages at Queensland's Warner RoadshowStudios.Aspokesperson for the film's publicist, Denis Davidson Associates, said thatthree sets and all the camera and sound equipment were ...
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NEW ZEALAND 21 June
UIP's Shrek 2 didconsiderably better in its opening weekend then Roadshow's Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban did during the weekendearlier. There was a difference of only three screens between them. Shrek 2 sold NZ$2,202,050 worth oftickets to 85 screens for a screen average of NZ$25,906 while Harry Potter ...
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AUSTRALIA 21 June
The first outing in cinemas by UIP's Shrek 2 got an amazing response from Australian families on itsfour-day opening weekend, taking A$13,156,604 from 437 screens. By way ofcomparison, Roadshow's Harry Potter Andthe Prisoner of Azkaban took A$14,799,003 a week earlier, but it was on 16more screens and had one more ...
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Somersault to open Melbourne festival
Executive director James Hewison announced that newAustralian film Somersault will open the 53rd Melbourne InternationalFilm Festival (MIFF) on July 21 and Thai film Ong Bak from director PrachyaPinkaew will close it 18 days later.Other Thai directors will also have their recent workshowcased in a country spotlight. Australia's longest-running film festivalalso ...
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Distributor welcomes McDonald's attack
McDonald's Australia has launched a two-week cinema andtelevision campaign labelling Super SizeMe filmmaker Morgan Spurlock as 'irresponsible' but which will, accordingto the film's distributor, merely boost the film's takings."This is publicity we could never have dreamed ofgetting without them," said Dendy Films general manager Andrew Mackie."What makes it so effective ...
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AUSTRALIA 16 June
Harry Potter And ThePrison Of Azkaban grossed nearly A$14.8m from 452 screens on the weekendfor Roadshow. Even taking into account that it was a holiday weekend, afive-day period instead of the usual four, it was an extraordinary result forthe third film of the trilogy. Nothing else came close.There were three ...
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Oz arts minister slow clapped off stage at Sydney fest
Australia's Federal Minister for the Arts and Sport Rod Kempwas slow clapped off the stage prior to this week's Sydney Film Festival worldpremiere screening of the reconstructed version of the 1919 romantic comedy TheSentimental Bloke.Theoutbreak of bad manners appeared to be either cineastes annoyed at thespeeches, invited VIPs and delayed ...