Small MPU – Page 1393
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News
Les Boys III unseats Potter in Quebec
Having been swiftly de-throned in South Africa, Harry Potter's reign at the box office has been truncated in another territory. Quebecois hockey comedy Les Boys III scored a gross of over C$1m ($635,000), the highest-ever opening for a local French-language film at the province's box office. Harry Potter A L'ecole ...
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Pathe, FilmFour take on Resident Evil
Pathe and FilmFour have acquired UK rights to Resident Evil from Germany's Constantin Film and Intermedia as the second title in their joint buying partnership after K-PAX.Pathe will handle the UK release as the two companies take turns to physically distribute films in the agreement. The two partners will share ...
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Angel first of new distribution deals for Scanbox
The former Danish entertainment company Scanbox has signed a new deal for theatrical distribution with Mogens Glad's independent outfit Angel Films. While the current deal only covers Denmark, Scanbox is expected to announce similar agreements for the other Nordic countries. Since Jan 2000 UIP has handled the theatrical distribution of ...
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News
UK's Equity/PACT strike talks break down
UK producers body PACT on Wednesday called for its members to stick to its own terms for secondary payments for actors after performers union Equity this week went ahead with its strike threat.PACT said talks with Equity over the introduction of secondary payments had broken down and called for independent ...
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Greenaway, Breillat, Seidl topline Cinemart
New projects by art-house favourites Peter Greenaway, Catherine Breillat, Ulrich Seidl, Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Alexandr Sokurov head a strong line-up at the forthcoming Cinemart co-production market in Rotterdam (Jan 27-31, 2002). Underlining Cinemart's ability to put together financing for the top art-house pictures of the year, the International Film Festival ...
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News
Moulin Rouge wins National Board of Review
Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge (pictured) was named Best Film of 2001 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, the first winner in what promises to be one of the most wide open awards seasons, across virtually every category, in recent memory.The Board of Review is seenhas having ...
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News
Bronfman to quit Vivendi Universal in March
Edgar Bronfman Jr, one of the architects of the merger that created Vivendi Universal, is to stand down as executive vice chairman of the Franco-US group. Bronfman will remain vice chairman, but in a non executive role. He said there are no plans for him or the Bronfman family, which ...
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News
Grosvenor settles with Thomas out of court
Jeremy Thomas, head of Recorded Picture Co, is expected to receive a multi-million payout after settling a two-year legal dispute with Canadian-UK tax financier Grosvenor Park out of court.The bitter dispute, which was due to go to court this week (Screendaily Sep 6, 2001), saw Thomas and Chris Auty, formerly ...
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News
European audiences discover Atlantis
In a box-office world held under the spell of a boy wizard, Disney's latest animated effort has still found audiences across Europe despite mixed reviews and a lack of traditional sing-along songs.Atlantis: The Lost Empire received a strong opening last week in France, a week ahead of children's epic Harry ...
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News
Zeal shows enthusiasm for Euro co-productions
The US production outfit Zeal Pictures Group, which was behind the 1998 feature Simpatico with Sharon Stone, Nick Nolte, Albert Finney, and Jeff Bridges, has launched a European production company, Zeal Pictures Europe GmbH & Co. KG, based in Berlin.The German outpost plans to develop international and European co-productions, as ...
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News
Fox signs Indian feature co-production deal
Rupert Murdoch's 20th Century Fox has developed a deal with Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) to produce English-language movies in India. The agreement, of which details have yet to be disclosed, includes the co-production of English as well as Hindi language films to be made in India. PNC's credits include high-profile ...
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Harry Potter begins lucrative spell in France
With a massive 475,000 tickets sold in France on its opening day (Dec 5), Harry Potter has become the second biggest opener of 2001 - behind another Warner release, French comedy La Verite Si Je Mens 2 (503,000 admissions) - and the eighth all-time biggest opener.Harry Potter, released on a ...
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News
Walden to make CS Lewis children's classic
Just two weeks before the world is assaulted with the first in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, New York-based Walden Media has announced its acquisition of the best-selling fantasy classic The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe by CS Lewis. Walden has optioned the seven-part Narnia Chronicles of which ...
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Douglas Slocombe gets ASC international honour
Veteran British cinematographer Douglas Slocombe will receive the International Achievement Award from the American Society Of Cinematographers (ASC) at the 16th annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards on Feb 17, 2002, in Los Angeles.Slocombe has 75 feature credits including a slew of the great Ealing comedies (The Lavendar Hill Mob (1951), ...
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News
Amelie DP Bruno Delbonnel wins Palm Springs prize
Bruno Delbonnel, the cinematographer of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie, will receive the Da Vinci Award for exceptional cinematography at the 2002 Nortel Networks Palm Springs International Film Festival. The presentation will take place during the Cinematographer's Day programme Jan 12-13, 2002.Delbonnel, who was selected for the prize by eight other cinematographers, ...
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PGA gives Gordon lifetime achievement award
Veteran Hollywood producer Lawrence Gordon has been named recipient of the David O Selznick Lifetime Achievement Awrad in theatrical motion pictures at the Producers Guild Of America (PGA) Awards on Sunday March 3 in Los Angeles.Gordon, who now runs the Gordon Company, formerly spearheaded Largo Entertainment and before that was ...
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MGM production & distribution depts reorganised
In a week of reorganisation at the studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has hired two new senior production executives, Elizabeth Cantillon and Eric Paquette, and announced the exit of Robert E Relyea from his position as president, production, for MGM Pictures and United Artists Pictures.In addition, MGM Distribution Co has seen two senior ...
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News
De Niro initiates festival in aid of downtown NYC
Robert De Niro, togetherwith his business partner Jane Rosenthal, formally unveiled plans yesterday fortheir new four-day film festival in downtown Manhattan that they hope can helprevitalize a neighbourhood devastated by the terror attacks on September 11th.The first annual TribecaFilm Festival will run from May 1st-May 5th and showcasesome 40 feature ...
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Ricci to direct and star in Monsoon's Speed Queen
Monsoon Entertainment, the new Los Angeles-based film production company founded by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien, A Little Princess) and partner Jorge Vergara, has unveiled its maiden project, The Speed Queen with Christina Ricci attached to star and direct. Ricci's directorial debut is a dark comedy ...
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Reviews
Mean Machine
Dir: Barry Skolnick. UK. 2001. 99 mins. A loose remake and Anglicisation of Robert Aldrich's 1974 prison drama staring Burt Reynolds (released in some territories as The Longest Yard), Mean Machine is aimed at the same audience as Ska Films' most notable hits to date, Guy Ritchie's 1997 Lock, Stock ...