Small MPU – Page 1421
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News
Spain's digital TV merger is finally approved
The Spanish government has approved a merger between the country's two leading digital satellite TV operators Canal Satelite Digital (CSD) and Via Digital. The government regulator placed some 34 conditions on the merger. More than a dozen of these concern rights to cinema content and thematic channels. Ten further conditions ...
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American Beauty opens well in Germany
Even before it scooped three top prizes at the Golden Globe awards last Sunday, Sam Mendes' American Beauty benefited from favourable word-of-mouth in Germany to rack up an impressive screen average of $16,720 over the four-day weekend (January 20-23). The film, which distributor UIP is now sure to widen following ...
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UK shooting costs come under fire
UK support body the Film Council is aiming to slash production costs under a code of practice for films budgeted at $3.1m - $6.2m (£2m-£4m). Producers body PACT and crews union BECTU are already negotiating an agreement based on the code, which, coupled with other proposals in the Council's report, ...
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Germany's Senator reports massive net loss
Senator Entertaiment has posted a net loss of Euros 59.5m for the first nine months of 2002 - a massive reversal compared with last year's Euros6.9m net profit The company also announced the reduction of its management board by one member as part of its cost-cutting and restructuring programme.The ...
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Spain to introduce measures to protect local market
The Spanish Film Institute (ICAA) plans to prohibit distributors from giving theatrical premieres to any non-EU film which has not previously premiered in its home country. This measure, intended to filter out mostly US made-for-TV and video product, could go into effect within the next month, according to ICAA director ...
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Lanzarote wraps busiest-ever film screenings event
The Spanish Film Screenings of Lanzarote closed its busiest-ever, fourth annual edition on Saturday night after three full days attended by almost 90 buyers from around the world. Spanish participants said the invitation of Latin American buyers was the most significant new addition to the event this year, with fourteen ...
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Germany named Europe's fastest-growing DVD market
Germany is set to become the fastest growing DVD market in Europe, according to new data collected by the national DVD trade body.In the light of the current DVD boom, DVD-Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DVD-AG) has had to revise its forecast of the number of DVD players in German households at the end ...
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Dublin to get new international film festival
With the slogan 'DIFF - it's different' the formation of Ireland's new Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF) has been announced. The first edition is set to take place from March 6 to 13 2003 at the Screen and Savoy cinemas in Dublin. According to festival Director Michael Dwyer the DIFF ...
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Harry and 007 clean up over Thanksgiving
Several tried but ultimatelyno newcomer could topple the might of Harry Potter And The Chamber OfSecrets and Die Another Day, which combined for a one-two ranking over thethree-day portion of a solid Thanksgiving Weekend and switched positions overthe full five-day holiday. According to studio estimates released today, ChamberOf Secrets took ...
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Potter and 007 clean up at Thanksgiving box office
Several tried but ultimately no newcomer could topple the might of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets and Die Another Day, which combined for a one-two ranking over the three-day portion of a solid Thanksgiving Weekend and switched positions over the full five-day holiday. According to studio estimates released ...
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Cannes discoveries head Delluc shortlist
Shortlisted for the Prix Louis Delluc are three Cannes films L'Adversaire, La Chatte A Deux Tetes and documentary Etre Et Avoir. But there is no place for France's Oscar hopeful 8 Femmes.A jury of critics and film personalities announced their candidates for this year's Louis Delluc prize late last week. ...
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Reviews
Deathwatch
Dir: Michael J Bassett. UK. 2002. 95 mins.The old maxim that war is hell gets dusted down yet again for Deathwatch, a horror film set in the trenches of World War I which will attract attention as Jamie Bell's first role since his applauded and awarded performance in Billy Elliott ...
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CineMedia enters rights arena with Icon title
Germany witnessed the entrance of another aggressive rights buyer this week as leading post-production concern CineMedia unveiled a raft of acquisitions headed by Icon Entertainment International's What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson.CineMedia acquired rights to product with a total production budget of around $240m, taking all-media rights for German-speaking territories ...
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Reviews
Eight Crazy Nights
Dir: Seth Kearsley. US 2002. 71 minutesAdam Sandler has been extending his acting range recently but Eight Crazy Nights, an animated film in which he voices most of the key characters, is not likely to be confused with Punch Drunk Love. Comedies are always a tough sell abroad and Sandler ...
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UK set for close-run race for 2002 distributor crown
The UK box office looks set for a thrilling end-of-year race to establish the biggest-grossing distributor of 2002.And while it is still too early to predict with any certainty, there is a real possibility that Entertainment Film Distributors could become the first independent distributor ever to finish on top of ...
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Svensk Filmindustri gets first look on Early Bird output
Nordic media major Svensk Filmindustri has signed a first look deal with the Danish-Swedish production outfit Early Bird Films. Svensk Filmindustri will have first look on distribution and possible co-production opportunities on every new Early Bird project aimed at the Nordic market. Early Bird Films operates out of Copenhagen and ...
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CGI-heavy fantasy Sumuru wraps in South Africa
Production has just wrapped on Sumuru, a fantasy boasting the highest use of CGI ever for a feature produced in South Africa, which has been shooting for the past six weeks in and around Johannesburg. The film is produced by Brigid Olen and Marlow De Mardt of DO Productions, Harry ...
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Karlovy Vary festival shows interest in buying hotel venue
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is reportedly interested in buying the Czech festival's main venue, the Western Bohemian spa town's communist-era Hotel Thermal.Built in the 1970s as a retreat for Party elites, the imposing socialist edifice has hosted the festival's administrative centre, along with the largest film screenings, for ...
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Denmark's Zentropa returns to quality porn
Denmark's mavericks at Zentropa are about to revive their ambitions of making quality porn for women. The new $135,000 (DKK1m) film, All About Anna will, however, be produced through Innocent Pictures, which replaced Zentropa's Puzzy Power label in 2001. Now headed by CEO Claus Sorensen and creative producer Nicolas Barbano, ...
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Kirch manager Kogel to step down
Ahead of the sale of the insolvent KirchMedia to German publishing empire Heinrich Bauer Verlag by mid-December, managing director Fred Kogel announced at the weekend that he will leave the company at the end of the year.Speaking to the news agency AP, Kogel explained that 'after I have completed the ...