Small MPU – Page 1346
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News
Warner strikes pact with Brazil's Conspiracao
Warner Bros is stepping up distribution of Brazilian product, by signing a four-picture package deal with local outfit Conspiracao, which co-produced Brazil's Foreign-language Oscar entry, Me, You, Them (Eu, Tu, Eles).The studio is investing $4.1m (Real8m) over the next three years in four Conspiracao features: Flavio Tambellini's drama Bufo & ...
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News
Portman, REP commit to Australian trio
UK-based sales agent Portman Entertainment and Australia's REP Film Distribution have boarded three low-budget features to be shot in Queensland with Chris Brown and Chris Fitchett producing. State government agency, the Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC), has provided development funding and will be a significant equity investor.The first into ...
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Norsk Film library sale opposed by public bodies
Two Norwegian state-owned institutions, broadcaster NRK and the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI), are opposing the government's plans to sell the back catalogue of state-owned production outfit Norsk Film to the commercial sector.The Norwegian government announced in October that it was parting ways with Norsk Film, which has suffered a string ...
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CinemaxX hit by drop in admissions
German exhibitor CinemaxX's shares plunged almost 40% to Euros4 on Thursday, in reaction to news that the company is being forced to issue a profit warning because of unexpectedly low cinema admissions over the last few months.CinemaxX, which together with its partner Ufa operates 623 screens in 54 locations, said ...
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News
Univision buys USA Broadcasting for $1.1bn
Leading US Hispanic broadcaster Univision Communications has bought USA Broadcasting, the television station group of USA Networks, for $1.1 billion in cash. The Spanish-language network has also assumed USA Broadcasting's liability of $100 million, according to USA Networks spokesperson, Adrienne Becker. USA Networks had acquired USA Broadcasting's 13 full ...
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News
Diller sells TV stations, eyes film networks next
Now that Barry Diller has sold his television stations to Univision, the leading Spanish-language network in the US, he is free to make yet another play for Cablevision's cable networks including both American Movie Classics and the Independent Film Channel.Under the deal announced on Thursday, Diller's USA Networks agreed to ...
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Reviews
The Family Man
Dir: Brett Ratner. US. 2000. 120 mins. Prod cos: Beacon, Universal Pictures. Domestic dist: Universal Pictures. Exec prods: Armyan Bernstein, Thomas A Bliss, Andrew Z Davis. Prods: Marc Abraham, Zvi Howard Rosenman, Tony Ludwig, Alan Riche. Scr: David Diamond, David Weissman. DoP: Dante Spinotti. Prod des: Kristi Zea. Ed: Mark ...
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News
Canal shareholders back birth of Vivendi Universal
The final pieces of financing have fallen into place on Thomas Vinterberg's eagerly-awaited new project It's All About Love, his first since acclaimed Dogme title The Celebration, with France's Slot Machine and Sweden's Memfis Film boarding as co-producers, and Japan's Shochiku pre-buying Japanese rights.The $10m English-language science-fiction love fable, originated ...
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News
BCE gets greenlight for CTV takeover
Canada's largest telecommunications company has received regulatory approval to buy the nation's largest private broadcaster. The $1.57bn deal caps a merger, announced in September, that brings together BCE, Canada's major telephone company and internet service provider; Thomson Corporation, the major electronic information company and publisher of the national newspaper The ...
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News
Loews Cineplex debt given junk status
Loews Cineplex has seen its debt ratings downgraded to low junk status by US ratings agency Moody's Investor Service. The ailing exhibitor operates more than 2,900 screens in almost 400 theatres in North America and Europe. While a negative report was expected - Loews Cineplex has warned that it may ...
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News
Canada's Prophecy launches distribution outfit
Vancouver-based production and international distribution company Prophecy Entertainment is launching a theatrical distribution subsidiary for the North American market. The new company, 4Wall Media, will focus on independent fare while pursuing marketing opportunities online via a branded web-site, expected to launch in the first quarter of 2001. The web-site also ...
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News
Berlin's Kinderfilmfest picks four UK titles
The UK is already well represented in the line-up selected so far for the forthcoming Children's Film Festival (Kinderfilmfest) sidebar at the 51st Berlin International Film Festival (February 7-18, 2001).To date, four UK titles have been chosen: modern fairytale There's Only One Jimmy Grimble, directed by John Hay and starring ...
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News
Kinowelt magazine launch upset by injunction
European film magazine Cinema has taken out an injunction to prevent German mini-studio Kinowelt distributing its new monthly publication, kinowelt.de, with a free DVD.The print and online title was launched with a giveaway of Francis Ford Coppola's The Rainmaker, which Cinema claimed was anti-competitive. The injunction has also prevented the ...
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News
Puckoon comedy hit by Equity dispute
Puckoon, a black comedy boasting a cast led by Richard Attenborough, faces calls from UK actors union Equity for its public sector backers to drop out because of a dispute over cast contracts.In a statement, Equity said it will demand that public film bodies, the Northern Ireland Film Commission and ...
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News
Rienstra quits Dutch Film Fund after seven years
Dutch Film Fund director Ryclef Rienstra is resigning after seven years in the post to head up a non-profit fund, the Van den Ende Foundation, launched by retired Endemol co-founder Joop van den Ende.The foundation aims to support theatre, music, multimedia and other projects which for one reason or another ...
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News
Kinepolis set to sell stake in CinemaxX
Belgian multiplex operator Kinepolis has announced that it plans to give up its 25% stake in CinemaxX, after the German exhibitor issued a profit warning to shareholders at the end of last week.In a statement Kinepolis declared that: "the importance of this interest had been put into question for some ...
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News
The Grinch fends off newcomers in fourth weekend
The Grinch was number one at the North American box office for the fourth consecutive weekend, bringing Universal Pictures' family smash to a grand total of $195.5m. With its $18.5m take, the Jim Carrey-starrer outclassed three new entries - Columbia's Vertical Limit which came in second with $16m, Warner Bros' ...
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News
Pacifica buys Potsdamer Platz for Tony Scott
Pacifica, the IMF-backed, Hollywood-based subsidiary of Intermedia, has bought screen rights to writer/director Buddy Giovinazzo's manuscript Potsdamer Platz for Tony and Ridley Scott's production outfit Scott Free.Tony Scott will direct and co-produce with Catalaine Knell who brought the project to Scott Free. The story follows the exploits of two foot-soldiers ...
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Julianne Moore named Sundance honoree
Julianne Moore will receive the 10th Anniversary Piper-Heidsick Tribute to Independent Vision at the Sundance Film Festival next month in Park City, Utah. The tribute was created "to honour a film artist who has made a significant and unique contribution to independent film." The award will be presented on Saturday ...
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News
Thomson acquires Technicolor as part of alliance
UK media concern Carlton Communications has sold its film and video processing arm Technicolor to French consumer electronics group Thomson Multimedia for just over $2bn.The two companies have struck an additional alliance covering digital and interactive TV. Carlton is to invest $15m in TAK, Thomson and Microsoft's interactive TV joint ...