Small MPU – Page 1660
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DIC signs UK video deal
UK independent DVD distributor Prism Leisure has signed a multi-picture deal with DIC Entertainment, the children's entertainment and programming producer and distributor, to exclusively distribute DIC's feature-length animated titles in the UK. Among the titles are Sabrina, Dennis The Menace, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Inspector Gadget's Last Case. ...
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Pearl & Dean launch charity initiative for 50th anniversary
UK cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean, has announced a new charity initiative to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.In association with Warner Village and UGC Cinemas, actor Ewan McGregor and singer Sharleen Spiteri, the company will be spearheading campaigns for both the Children's Hospice Association Of Scotland (CHAS) and Medicinema.The campaign ...
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Italy tests product placement as film financing alternative
Rome's Blue Star Movie has sealed a landmark multi-million dollar product placement deal with Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, with the multinational agreeing to fund an international short film and potentially a European feature-length picture. Blue Star Movie head Pete Maggi said Johnson & Johnson is investing "over Euros 10m" ...
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Pianist waltzes off with Cesar sweep
Roman Polanski's Palme d'Or winner, The Pianist, swept the 28th Cesar Awards in Paris Saturday night. In the major categories the film took Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in what ended up to be a trouncing of odds-on favorite 8 Women. Francois Ozon's musical murder mystery had ...
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Devdas scoops Indian Oscars
Film Producer Bharat Shah's $10m Devdas may not have won an Oscar nomination but it did win 11 Indian Oscars at the 48th Filmfare awards. The awards included best film, director (Sanjay Leela Bhansali), actor (Shah Rukh Khan), actress (Aishwarya Rai) and best actress in a supporting role (Madhuri Dixit). ...
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More Canadian tax bacon for producers
Hot on the heels of a hike in the federal production labour-based tax credit, the Canadian province of British Columbia has sweetened its own tax credit lure. The British Columbia Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC), which offers an 11% rebate on eligible labour costs in the province, will now include ...
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Koepp wins top prize at Gerardmer Fantasy Fest
Stir of Echoes, the second film from director David Koepp following The Trigger Effect, has won the Grand Jury Prize at the 7th Gerardmer Fantasy Film Festival (Jan 26-30).The public prize went to Spanish film The Nameless (Los Sin Nombre), directed by Jaume Balaguero.Michael York chaired the jury, replacing William ...
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US turns up the heat on Asian remakes
Hollywood's fervour for remaking Asian genre titles is reaching fever pitch. Dimension Films has acquired North American and remake rights to Cinema Service's comedy-drama that has the working title Teacher Mr Kim. And separately, Cineclick Asia is finalising a deal with Los Angeles-based production and distribution group Mosaic Media for ...
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Fortissimo Eyes up horror sequel
Fortissimo Film Sales has picked up world sales rights to The Eye II, the sequel to Danny and Oxide Pang's stylish horror hit The Eye."We are thrilled at the level of interest from buyers. In many cases we have had bids even before the first film has been released in ...
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AFM conference assesses film funding jigsaw
In the wake of Germany's Neuer Markt collapse, global television's retreat from film buying and the general economic downturn, independent production and distribution companies are being forced to reassess their business models and rely on a funding jigsaw from an ever broader and enterprising array of sources, a wide-ranging AFM ...
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Dario Argento set to shoot The Card Player
Cult Italian director Dario Argento is lining up a new thriller, entitled The Card Player. Produced by Medusa, the film starts shooting in March with hot Italian actress Stefania Rocca (Casomai, Resurrection) in the lead role. Worldwide distribution rights are being handled by Adriana Chiesa Enterprises. Argento's last film, Sleepless ...
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Polanski's The Pianist triumphs at the BAFTAs
Roman Polanski's The Pianist completed a dazzling weekend last night, winning the best film and director trophies at the British Film Academy Awards in London. On Saturday night in Paris, the film swept the Cesar awards taking best film, director and actor prizes. Brody, who won the Cesar but lost ...
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Daredevil still flies high
Fox/Regency's Daredevil heroically held off the competition and clung on top spot over the weekend with an $18.9m haul that took its running total after 10 days to $70.3m, according to studio estimates released today (Feb 23). The Marvel Comics adaptation, which stars Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, is set ...
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AFM 2003 verdict: slow but steady
A few disillusioned buyers may have already left the AFM deal tables this weekend to try their luck at the slots in Las Vegas, but if the market corridors felt emptier this year, at least the remaining buyers were serious. Indeed, many of those who resisted sin city's allure spent ...
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Cannes contenders take shape
Cannes this year looks set to be a feast of high-art with stalwarts Lars Von Trier, Michael Haneke, Arturo Ripstein, Peter Greenaway and Ingmar Bergman all set to light up the Croisette with their latest films. According to international gossip - but absolutely without any sort of confirmation from the ...
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Italian drama heads for box-office glory
Italian director Gabriele Muccino's new film, Remember Me (Ricordati di Me), has grossed a massive $6.8m since its release on February 14th - placing it well on the path to local blockbuster glory. The bitter-sweet drama stars Son's Room actress Laura Morante, Fabrizio Bentivoglio (Teeth), emerging actress Nicoletta Romanov and ...
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US distributors seek legal block on Mexico's cinema levy
In an exclusive interview with Screen International, Steve Solot, MPA senior vice president for Latin America (pictured) has commented about the recent uproar in Mexico over MPAA head Jack Valenti's recent letter to Mexican President Vicente Fox. (screendaily.com/Feb 10 & 20). In his missive, Valenti warned President Fox that ...
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Australia embraces DVD
DVD appears to have gained a foothold in the Australian market according to recent statistics that show that 63% of video stores were carrying DVDs at the end of 1999 compared to only 35% at the end of the previous year.In addition, a total of 529 titles were released ...
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Movies phone home in Germany
Having been one of the most depressed places around, German TV is set for a rebound thanks to last week's takeover of Premiere and the arrival of Deutsche Telekom as a video-on-demand (VoD) broadcaster. Represented by former Kirch executive, Daniel Otto, Telekom's on-line subsidiary T-Online is at the AFM as ...
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Korea's most expensive live-action film begins shooting
Leading production house Kang JeGyu Films has just got underway on the largest ever live-action film - and possibly the country's most topical given current global tensions - ever made in Korea. Tae Guk Gi - which translates literally as "Korean national flag" - is a $11.5m about the Korean ...