Small MPU – Page 1277

  • News

    Klockworx girds for Iron Ladies' return

    2002-02-24T22:40:00Z

    Japan's Klockworx has become the first buyer to commit to Iron Ladies: The Early Years, the new picture to be handled by Fortissimo Film Sales.The film, to be directed by Yongyooth Thongkonthun, is both a sequel and a prequel to his smash Thai comedy The Iron Ladies. The original film ...

  • News

    Nothing Is Everything for Hadida's Metropolitan

    2002-02-24T22:46:00Z

    Senator International has sold French rights on the Vincenzo Natali directed Nothing to Samuel Hadida's Metropolitan Filmexport. The film, which Senator is financing with Japan's Klockworx, is currently in pre-production while Natali finishes Company Man for Pandora and Miramax. A May start is possible.The Canadian Natali has seen his ...

  • Reviews

    Walking On Water

    2002-02-24T22:53:00Z

    Dir: Tony Ayres. Australia. 2002. 90 mins.An exploration of premature death and how to grieve for a loved one who had lived outside of a conventional family, Walking On Water resembles Longtime Companion (1990) and similar independent American films to emerge from the Aids epidemic in the early Nineties; it ...

  • News

    Myriad on the road with Coppola's Zoetrope

    2002-02-24T22:55:00Z

    Myriad Pictures and Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope unveiled three new films yesterday to be financed and sold in international territories by Myriad, which has taken over the ten-picture Zoetrope slate from financially troubled VCL. United Artists handles domestic rights on the film.They are Zoetrope's long-delayed On The Road, a ...

  • News

    The Works scores with Bend It Like Beckham

    2002-02-24T23:00:00Z

    UK-based sales outfit The Works has closed a slew of deals on its eagerly awaited comedy Bend It Like Beckham, directed by Gurinder Chadha, including a sale to Metropolitan Filmexport in France.The film, which stars Parminder Nagra, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Shaznay Lewis and Juliet Stevenson in a story of an ...

  • News

    Madonna's Maverick Pictures teams with Splendid

    2002-02-24T23:04:00Z

    Splendid Pictures, the new production and sales outfit formed on the merger of Germany's Splendid Medien and LA-based Cutting Edge Entertainment, has announced its first-look deal with Maverick Films, the film production arm of Madonna's company Maverick.Splendid will finance and produce Maverick's projects for the next year with an option ...

  • News

    MGM joins Korean remake rush

    2002-02-24T23:13:00Z

    Korean seller Cineclick Asia has sold Hollywood remake rights on its hit martial arts comedy Hi Dharma to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).The film, about conflict and compromise between gangsters and some ass-kicking monks, was one of the top five in Korea last year, scoring a gross of $20.4m from its 207-print Nov ...

  • News

    New Latin buying group bids on seven big titles

    2002-02-24T23:20:00Z

    Sun Distribution Group, a new Latin American buying consortium, has made its debut at the AFM with bids for up to seven of the largest films on offer, it says. The Buenos Aires-based distributor aims to acquire all Latin American rights to around eight theatrical titles its first year and ...

  • News

    New French buyer debuts with Filmax titles

    2002-02-24T23:26:00Z

    The paint may still be wet on the shingle, but brand new production and distribution company Wild Side Films has made two purchases in its first market outing. By picking up Second Name and Oblivion from Spanish mini-major Filmax, the new company announces its arrival on the international market scene.Second ...

  • News

    Murdoch's Star goes theatrical across Asia

    2002-02-24T23:36:00Z

    Star TV, Rupert Murdoch's pan-Asian satellite broadcast group, is making a major play to become a theatrical film distribution and production player across Asia.Under the management of the former Media Asia deputy general manager Peter Poon and production head group Michael Mak, the outfit has launched Fortune Star Pictures Limited.Stressing ...

  • News

    Columbia TriStar buys international on Mindhunters

    2002-02-24T23:39:00Z

    Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group has acquired the majority of international rights to Renny Harlin's action thriller Mindhunters from Intermedia. CTSMPG bought rights in France, Italy, the UK, Japan, Korea, Latin America and Australia & New Zealand among other territories to the movie that is being distributed by Dimension Films ...

  • News

    Boorman's wizardry casts Overseas spell

    2002-02-24T23:42:00Z

    Director John Boorman is going back to Camelot with Knight's Castle, a $35m family fantasy movie about a boy's quest for Excalibur, being financed byFirst Look Media and Cinerenta.Based on the book by Edward Eager, the film is being produced with Boorman and Kevin Corrigan's Merlin Films and sold internationally ...

  • News

    Shochiku fights back with Samurai epics

    2002-02-24T23:53:00Z

    After a production slowdown lasting 18 months, Japanese publicly-quoted movie powerhouse Shochiku is back in business, bringing to the AFM a new slate that includes a brace of high-profile Samurai epics.The Japanese company is making a teaser available on Tasogare Seibei (working title), which is set to be the first ...

  • News

    British Academy bestows awards on Fellowship

    2002-02-25T00:01:00Z

    The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring was the big winner at last night's British Academy Film Awards with five awards including best film and best director for Peter Jackson.Moulin Rouge, which like Lord Of The Rings had 12 nominations, went away with three lower profile prizes ...

  • News

    Michael Jackson to make movies with Mark Damon

    2002-02-25T08:35:00Z

    Michael Jackson is gettinginto film production through an unlikely alliance with international salesveteran Mark Damon. The pop superstar's Neverland Entertainment willinvest between $15m and $20m in Damon's production, financing and salesoutfit MDP Worldwide Entertainment Inc which is publicly traded on the TorontoStock Exchange.The agreement will seeNeverland become a major shareholder ...

  • News

    Korea's Nabi Pictures launches with epic roster

    2002-02-25T18:51:00Z

    Jo Min-whan, the producer behind Korea's epic, Musa The Warrior, has launched a new production company and a slate that includes the most expensive Korean film of all time.The production roster of Jo's new outfit, Nabi Pictures, is headed by Musa director Kim Sung-soo's new project 625, an epic war ...

  • News

    Hong Kong's Emperor reveals five-picture slate

    2002-02-25T18:54:00Z

    Hong Kong's Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG), which is on its way towards becoming one of the territory's major studios has unveiled a new five picture development slate.The company, which is now wrapping Jackie Chan comedy-action vehicle The Highbinders, has set Swordbearer, a $20m martial arts drama as the next project ...

  • News

    Berlusconi controversy builds to a climax

    2002-02-25T18:57:00Z

    The controversial debate over Silvio Berlusconi's conflict of interest law, to be held in the Italian parliament this week, is set to co-incide with a 100,000-strong mass protest against the government in Rome. Justice Minister Roberto Castelli has expressed fears that the event could develop into violence. Last weekend, 40,000 ...

  • News

    Italy's state-backed film fund is cut by 50%

    2002-02-25T18:59:00Z

    The Italian film industry has lost almost 50% of its state funding for local production, following an announcement by cultural minister Giuliano Urbani. The cut, from Euros 97.5m in 2001 to this year's budget of Euros 55.5m, is part of a widespread reduction in government funding for entertainment.Urbani said the ...

  • Reviews

    We Were Soldiers

    2002-02-25T19:09:00Z

    Dir: Randall Wallace. US. 2002. 140min.The war genre, vigorously energised with such seminal films as Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Ridley Scott's visually impressive Black Hawk Down, takes several steps backwards with We Were Soldiers, an old-fashioned, moralistic Vietnam war movie that pays tribute not just to the soldiers in ...