All articles by Sandy George – Page 64
-
News
REP's Sheffield to join Hoyts' Oz distribution arm
Richard Sheffield, of Australia's REP Film Distribution, is believed to be joining the newly-formed Hoyts Distribution, with responsibility for international acquisitions, although neither party would confirm the move. Sheffield, one of the original founders of REP Films in 1987, left the company eight years later to establish the Australian subsidiary ...
-
News
Lantana lights up Melbourne Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) audiences stuck by their homegrown talent and gave the crown of most popular film to Ray Lawrence's Lantana, which closes the Toronto International Film Festival in a couple of weeks. The next biggest crowd pleasers were, in order, Zacharias Kunuk's Canadian film Atanarjuat The Fast ...
-
News
Australia's Movieline to be online by December
Movieline is to add Internet movie ticket sales to its existing telephone ticketing and information lines in December, just in time for the peak Christmas and school holiday period. Up to 250,000 tickets are expected to be sold in the first year of what will be Australia's first nation-wide online ...
-
News
Oz's PBL suffers from One.Tel collapse
Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL), one of Australia's big three entertainment and media companies, has revealed its first annual loss in over 10 years for the year ending June 30. The result, which was entirely expected, was largely due to the collapse of telecommunications company One.Tel earlier this year. PBL ...
-
News
New Zealand suffering from parallel imports
The 1998 removal of parallel importation restrictions and the failure of the DVD zoning system are being substantially blamed for a box office battering in New Zealand. If the decline matches that experienced in Singapore, the only other OECD country where the theatrical window has effectively disappeared with the removal ...
-
News
Oz exhibs and distribs improve communications
Australia's major distributors have been warned that there is no justification for charging first week terms to regional cinemas that do not get films until several weeks after their national release, just because it is new to that district. The deadline for submissions into the current cinema industry code of ...
-
News
Jacqui Feeney promoted to CEO of World Movies
Jacqui Feeney has been promoted to chief executive officer of Australian pay-TV channel World Movies and Irene Anast has left her role of research and planning manager at pay TV platform Austar to take Feeney's old position of channel manager. Feeney replaces Hugh Watt, who retired from the business some ...
-
News
Oz movie convention boasts stellar line-up
Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush will accept the international star of the year award during Australia On Show, the first night of the 56th Australian International Movie Convention, being held at Queensland's Gold Coast from Aug 14 to 18. Eric Bana will be named the Australian star of the year for his ...
-
News
Hoyts Cinemas returns to Oz distribution
Major Australian exhibitor Hoyts has acknowledged that it will be re-entering the distribution business and announced that the head of the new division will be Robert Slaviero, who recently stepped down from his role of managing director at 20th Century Fox Film Distributors in Australia. It will acquire both international ...
-
News
Scarfies producer Lisa Chatfield joins NZFC board
Wellington-based producer Lisa Chatfield is one of three new members appointed to the board of the New Zealand Film Commission. Chatfield produced the 1997 film Scarfies, the fourth biggest local hit in the last decade. Arts patron, former exhibitor and producer of the 1993 film Desperate Remedies, James Wallace, and ...
-
News
Becker Entertainment tempted by Bennett's thriller
Becker Entertainment has acquired Australasian rights to local writer/director Bill Bennett's US film Tempted from TF1 and will release it early next year. The sexual thriller about betrayal, passion and deceit was shot entirely on location in the stately homes and surrounding swamps of New Orleans. Peter Facinelli plays a ...
-
News
Oz tax confusion hurts location shooting prospects
Australia's Government has been publicly lambasted for prolonging confusion about whether tax laws actually allow Australian investors to get relief when they support offshore productions such as Moulin Rouge that shoot in the country.The outburst, by New South Wales Treasurer Michael Egan, coincided with the revelation that the Australian ...
-
News
Beyond adds Ron Saunders to production stable
Beyond International has added Ron Saunders to its stable of joint venture production companies.Pacific & Beyond will focus on emerging international opportunities in quality children's television, features and documentary. Saunders is best known for his children's programming and animation. He has been both an independent producer and held senior positions ...
-
News
Australian exhibitors appoint industry negotiator
The Cinema Owners Association of Australia (COAA) has appointed exhibitor Andrew Halkett as a negotiator, a role that positions him between members and film distributors when disagreements occur over film policy or terms.The appointment is one of a number of outcomes and changes that have flowed from meetings this month ...
-
News
Brisbane fest launches feature competition
The Brisbane International Film Festival's tenth anniversay edition is mounting a retrospective on the work of Roman Polanski and a spotlight on the new UK directors such as Jonathan Glazer. Australian film La Spagnola, starring Spanish actor Lola Marceli, opens the event, which runs July 26-August 4. Glazer's Sexy Beast ...
-
News
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 ...
-
News
Four films break Australian drought
Australian government agency: the Film Finance Corporation (FFC) has approved investment in features for the first time since March, when funds for the 2000/2001 year ran dry.First is Craig Lahiff's Black And White starring Robert Carlyle, based on the true story of injustice done to an Aboriginal man. A rare ...
-
News
Seven Network partners with magazine group
Australia's Seven Network has announced it is to spend $33m (A$65m) to take a 50% interest in PMP Limited's many magazine businesses, which include the titles New Idea, TV Week, That's Life and Home Beautiful. The deal also includes the magazine distribution company Gordon and Gotch and an option for ...
-
News
Moulin Rouge outdances Strictly Ballroom in Oz
Baz Luhrmann's compatriots have voted Moulin Rouge the best of his films - with their wallets. In its seventh week on release in Australia it has overtaken his debut Strictly Ballroom to become the fourth biggest local film ever, with a domestic gross of $11.3m (A$22.4m). Strictly Ballroom grossed $8.11m ...
-
News
Divided We Fall wins UIP prize at Sydney festival
Czech Director Jan Hrebejk's Divided We Fall was voted the inaugural winner of the UIP-sponsored Prix UIP for best European film at the Sydney Film Festival.The prize, awarded in the contemporary world cinema section, carries a cash prize of $12,930 (Euros15,000) for producers Ondrej Trojan and Pavel Borovan.Audiences also voted ...