Small MPU – Page 1439
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News
Photo finish for Minority Report and Lilo & Stitch
In a photo finish race at the North American box office, 20th Century Fox's epic futuristic thriller Minority Report directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise topped the chart with an estimated $36.9m, just $1m ahead of Buena Vista's animated comedy Lilo & Stitch which took $35.8m. Whether those ...
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Cinema Expo highlights importance of local product
Media Salles' Focus On Europe seminar at the Cine Expo exhibition conference in Amsterdam today, highlighted the importance of local films in creating sustainable box office growth across European territories.Total admissions in Europe's 11 main cinema markets have risen by 41.76% from 1992, according to Media Salles' data. Significantly, ...
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Reviews
Minority Report
Dir: Steven Spielberg. US. 2002. 145 minsThe work of the late Philip K Dick has been a fertile source for films since Ridley Scott's Blade Runner in 1982. The latest gloomy futuristic vision, from a 1956 Dick short story, is Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, which takes themes from Blade Runner, ...
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Reviews
The Children Of God
Dir: Hiroshi Shinomiya. Japan. 2001. 105mins.A documentary about children who scavenge for a living in a Philippine trash dump may sound like depressing fare, but Children Of God director Hiroshi Shinomiya has found strength and dignity in his subjects, as well as human dramas that make for compelling, if occasionally ...
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Reviews
Dear Fidel (Lieber Fidel - Maritas Geschichte)
Dir. Wilfried Huismann. Germany. 2000. 92mins. The story that unfolds in Wilfried Huismann's documentary Dear Fidel is so unexpected and off-kilter that it can be watched in the same fashion as a car crash: with a mute, horrified slow-motion fascination. About a woman who claims to be the lover of ...
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Reviews
Impostor
Dir: Gary Fleder. US. 2001. 95 mins. With a McCarthy-era literary pedigree and thinking man's hunk Gary Sinese producing as well as starring, it's no surprise that Impostor is a sci-fi thriller more concerned with the genre's intellectual than visceral possibilities. Yet while the story offers some interesting topical parallels ...
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Reviews
Food Of Love
Dir: Ventura Pons. Sp-Ger. 2002. 112mins.An absorbing tale of obsessive love, featuring nice visual exploitation by Catalan director Ventura Pons of his native Barcelona, make Food Of Love enjoyable to watch. Some audiences may be put off by Pons' theatrical style, and occasionally find some of the dialogue and ...
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News
India's film censors to allow pornographic cinemas
India's traditionally ultra-conservative Censor Board has announced that it may allow pornographic films to be played in certain cinemas. Having so far been unable to control widespread abuse of its rules, it has opted to regulate the practice and, presumably, impose entertainment taxes.Filmmaker Vijay Anand, Chairman of India's Central Board ...
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News
Hour Of Religion tops Nastro d'Argento award nominations
Marco Bellocchio's Hour Of Religion, the story of an atheist painter who finds out his brothers want to beatify their dead mother, led the nominations for Italy's Nastri d'Argento, the country's oldest movie awards.Nominations for Bellocchio's film, which is performing well at the local box office with a running total ...
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News
UK's Film Consortium names Neil Peplow head of production
Neil Peplow is taking over as head of production at UK National Lottery franchise The Film Consortium, replacing Julie Baines with immediate effect.Peplow recently produced Mike Bassett: England Manager and The Abduction Club. He was co-producer on Waking Ned and Shooting Fish, working with Richard Holmes, the former managing director ...
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News
PACT, CineMart partner for Immersion 2002: Europe
UK producers association PACT and the Rotterdam International Film Festival's CineMart have become partners in the 'Immersion 2002: Europe' co-production gathering for Canadian and European producers held in Paris from November 18-22, 2002.The event will gather a selected group of 30 Canadian producers with a selection of up to 70 ...
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News
Cultural Cinema Consortium formed in Ireland
In parallel with the UK Film Council's ongoing plans to fund a so-called virtual circuit of art house cinemas around the country, and in contrast to continental European efforts to access EU support for similar purposes, the Irish Arts Council has formed a Cultural Cinema Consortium with the Arts Council ...
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Swedish TV comedy outfit plans first feature film
Sweden's most popular TV comedy production outfit, Killingganget, will celebrate its ten-year anniversary by making its first feature film.In line with actor/writer group Killingganget's hugely successful TV formula the project will be a comedy consisting of several stories tied together the central characters.The Swedish-language film, which has three different working ...
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News
Hong Kong broadcaster lowers pay-TV asking price
Hong Kong broadcaster TVB has reportedly lowered the asking price for a 50% stake in its pay-TV arm, Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, as it struggles to find investors in the proposed platform.TVB originally planned to sell the stake for $200m, but is scaling back the project in an attempt to attract ...
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News
Judges announced for Nike Young Directors Award
Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, producer Barnaby Thompson and BAFTA chief executive Amanda Berry are among the names on the judging panel on this year's Nike Young Directors Award.Entrants are to write scripts for a three-minute sport-themed film. Three finalists will each receive£7,000 to turn their treatments ...
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News
Poland joins EU's MEDIA Plus programme
In another step towards the European Union's (EU) enlargement, Poland has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the EU enabling it to participate in the MEDIA Plus programme.The agreement, which was backdated to January 1, 2002, foresees Poland contributing Euro 1.55m per year to the MEDIA budget until 2005, with ...
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MDP gets $17.5m cash infusion from Cheng Family
MDP Worldwide Entertainment,the LA-based financier/distributor run by Mark Damon and publicly traded on theMontreal Stock Exchange, has closed a deal in principle with Music BoxEntertainment Ltd whereby Music Box will make a $17.5m equity investment in MDP.Music Box is a new company to be owned by Hong Kong-based entrepreneurs DrHenry ...
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Columbia sets up studio three-way for Peter Pan
In an extremely rarethree-way partnership, Universal Pictures and Joe Roth's RevolutionStudios have joined up with Columbia Pictures to co-produce the live actionfilm of Peter Pan which is set toshoot in Queensland, Australia, in the autumn. The film, which will be directedby Australia's PJ Hogan, is being scheduled for release at ...
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US Producers Guild sets up new media division
TheProducers Guild Of America (PGA) has formed The New Media Council (NMC) with aview to explore the state of the digital arena and recognize the producers whoproduce and distribute digital entertainment.Theseprojects expand beyond film and TV and are defined in five categories:movie/video production (companies such as BMW Films and Duality), ...