Small MPU – Page 129
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News
Fight continues on UK tax clampdown
The UK tax authorities say they will make no exception for sale-and-leaseback funding arrangements under new tax rules announced last week.But the industry is continuing to fight with many believing that the decision will be overturned by the government.On Friday, a Treasury briefing effectively closed the door on so-called GAAP ...
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News
Fribourg artistic director to step down, Arab Focus in Augsburg
Less than two weeks before this year's Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) (March 18-25), the artistic director Martial Knaebel has announced that he will step down in June from the post he has held for the past 15 years. Unveiling the festival programme this week, Knaebel said he had made ...
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Reviews
Dr Plonk
Dir/scr: Rolf De Heer. Aust. 2007. 84mins Rolf De Heer, perhaps relaxing from the extreme directorial hardships of last year's Ten Canoes and the grim themes of The Tracker (2002) and Alexandra's Project (2003), has with Dr Plonk produced a featherweight comic curiosity. The result is a silent, monochromatic, fixed-camera ...
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News
Emperor, Kadokawa board Chu Yen-ping's Slam Dunk
Hong Kong's Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP) has acquired rights for Hong Kong and Macau to Chu Yen-ping's $10m kung-fu basketball movie Slam Dunk. Kadokawa Herald Pictures had previously stepped up for Japanese rights last November. In addition, Emperor Entertainment Group star Charlene Choi has joined the cast of the high-profile ...
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News
UK Treasury U-turn on sale-and-leaseback clampdown
The UK government has exempted sale-and-leaseback schemes from a crackdown on tax avoidance. Click here for announcementThe UK tax authorities had previously said they wouldn't make exceptions for sale-and-leaseback funding arrangements under the new tax rules announced last week.Such a move would have serious consequences for individual producers, some of ...
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News
Woody Allen may work with Johansson again on Spanish project
Woody Allen has unveiled new details about the film he will shoot in Spain this summer, including his desire to include recent muse Scarlett Johansson in the cast alongside Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Allen described the story as 'romantic but serious' in quotes published by Spanish press this week ...
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News
Irish partners launch catalystproject for low budget production
A new production and training opportunity for screenwriters, producers and film directors to produce low-budget feature films has been launched in Ireland. Following from a mentoring programme, three successful teams will be awarded funding of $328,600 (Euros 250,000) to realise feature film projects. The projects will be selected on the ...
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News
13 European projects to be pitched at 4th Sofia Meetings
New second feature films by Srdjan Koljevic and Ruxandra Zenide are among 13 European film projects being pitched at the 4th Sofia Meetings from March 8-10 during this week's Sofia International Film Festival (March 1-11).Serbian writer-director Koljevic will be in Sofia with The Woman With The Broken Nose which was ...
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News
UIP expands role with international alliances
United International Pictures (UIP) is forging a series of distribution deals with independent companies in key European territories, apparently bolstering its position as a business in its own right rather than just the international outlet of its US studio parents.The international distribution venture of Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures and MGM ...
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News
Castro documentary lands US TV and DVD deals
The Sundance Channel has taken US TV rights to documentary 638 Ways To Kill Castro, which was also sold to BCI for US DVD rights. FremantleMedia sold the documentary, from Daisy Goodwin's Silver River Productions, about Fidel Castro and Cuba 's relationship with the US. Dollan Cannell directed and Peter ...
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News
Internet content platform Babelgum plans to launch later in 2007
New broadband Internet TV network Babelgum has announced its consumer launch later this year with beta testing ongoing. The platform is now accepting content submissions from content creators and distributors. Digital and analog material of any length will be acepted. Content owners will soon be able to directly upload and ...
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News
FACT works with eBay on pirate DVD education campaign
The UK 's Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has launched a consumer education campaign about legal DVDS on eBay.co.uk. eBay and FACT are reminding eBay sellers that listing pirated DVDs is illegal and working to ensure that buyers are bidding on legitimate products from reputable sellers. A FACT-written guide about ...
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News
Rotten Tomatoes expands with UK website
Rotten Tomatoes, the website that aggregates film reviews, is launching in the UK today at http://uk.rottentomatoes.com. The site draws on reviews from a variety of sources worldwide. Joe Utichi will serve as editor of Rotten Tomatoes UK. Senh Duong launched Rotten Tomatoes launched it US site in 1998. The company ...
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News
Slan reunites with Dart, Garlock at PR agency 42West
Heidi Slan has joined 42West following a 10-year stint at PMK-HBH, and will serve as the company's West Coast senior talent executive based in Century City.'We are delighted to have Heidi join the family here,' 42West partners Leslee Dart and Robert Garlock, who run the company's talent division, said. 'With ...
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News
Hall named svp, legal, at NBC Universal International
Andrew Hall has been appointed senior vice president, legal, at NBC Universal International and will head legal strategic corporate initiatives for the company.Hall will also work in the newly created role to coordinate legal support for transactions by company president Peter Smith and provide support for international growth strategy.'Andrew Hall ...
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News
Huayi Brothers to co-produce Relativity's King Of Kung-fu
Beijing-based Huayi Brothers has boarded the $70m action drama, previously known as the untitled J&J Project due to the dual casting of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, as local investor and co-producer. Huayi Brothers has sent the project, under the tentative title King Of Kung-fu, to the Film Bureau of ...
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News
Curtis Brown Agency starts below-the-line division
The Curtis Brown Agency has launched a department to handle below-the-line film and TV artists and technicians. Agent Natasha Blake is heading the division. She previously worked with below-the-line talent at The Skouras Agency in Santa Monica and at PFD in London. London-based Curtis Brown is now representing clients including ...
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News
Swedish partners launch fund for five low-budget features per year
In collaboration with Swedish public broadcaster SVT, Swedish regional film centres Film i Vast and Filmpool Nord, the Swedish Film Institute has launched the Rookie film fund, which will finance five low-budget, (primarily) first features annually. Nordisk Film will handle both domestic release and international sales of the titles. Headquartered ...
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Features
Editorial - Down but not out
This week's tax clampdown in the UK has come as a shock to the local industry. From the highs of the awards season in which the Brits were again out in force, the territory's industry is now back down in the dumps (see In Focus, p6).What happened was familiar to ...
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News
LA ent'ment lawyers Rosen & Anderson merge firms
Two LA-based entertainment lawyers have merged their practices to create what they call "an entertainment convergence media incubator law firm". Entertainment attorney Phillip L Rosen and Joseph B Anderson, a specialist attorney in Internet and entertainment, have created one entity - Rosen & Anderson - which aims to service both ...