Small MPU – Page 1798

  • News

    Bormann becomes Internationalmedia CEO

    2002-03-11T18:02:00Z

    Moritz Bormann (pictured) has taken up the newly-created role of chief executive officer with worldwide responsibility for the Intermedia-Pacifica group and become chairman of its German parent, IM Internationalmedia.Bormann replaces Florian Bollen as chairman after Munich-based Bollen offered his resignation last week when the company issued its second profits warning ...

  • News

    Francis Ford Coppola to re-cut, sell Thai epic

    2002-03-11T18:05:00Z

    Francis Ford Coppola has confirmed his role as executive producer on the international version of Thai film Suriyothai and will take over the sale of all international rights. The re-edit will carry the credit 'Francis Ford Coppola presents a film by Chatrichalerm Yukol' and will be finished in time for ...

  • News

    Polish 'Oscar' winner highlights funding fears

    2002-03-11T18:09:00Z

    Despite the glittering surroundings of Warsaw's Royal Place and a guest list that included Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Zanussi, an air of gloom hung over the 'Orly 2002', Poland's version of the Oscars, on Saturday (March 9). Award winners bemoaned the sharp reduction in film backing from TVP (Polish Television), ...

  • News

    Miyazaki spirits away crown from Go's record haul

    2002-03-11T18:14:00Z

    Spirited Away was awarded Best Picture at the 25th Japan Academy Awards ceremony, beating Go, Japan's nominee for the foreign film Oscar.Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki also received an outstanding achievement award for a remarkable four-decade-long career that has produced Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, My Neighhbor Totoro ...

  • News

    Wachs joins Senator Entertainment board

    2002-03-11T18:22:00Z

    German industry association, Producers AG, is to lose its chief executive Dr. Friedrich-Carl Wachs (pictured), who is to become the fourth board member of Senator Entertainment from April 1.Wachs, who had headed up the producers group since September 2000, will assume the post of chief operating officer (COO) and deputy ...

  • News

    UK's Equity, PACT resolve actors pay dispute

    2002-03-11T18:40:00Z

    UK performers union Equity and producers body PACT are understood to have resolved their dispute over payments to actors.The terms for the new contract between the two bodies are expected to be a compromise but are thought to include residual payments to actors from ancillary revenues. Equity's main grievance was ...

  • News

    Asian films in the spotlight at Singapore festival

    2002-03-11T18:43:00Z

    The competition section of this year's Singapore International Film Festival, known as the Silver Screen Awards, has rounded up a broad cross-section of Asian cinema including Fruit Chan's Hollywood Hong Kong, South Korea's popular festival runner Camel(s), Seafood from China, the three hour epic from the Philippines Batang West Side ...

  • News

    Mar del Plata fest praised for diversity and scope

    2002-03-11T18:46:00Z

    Argentina's leading film event, the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, kicked off on March 7 despite a 75% cut in its funding.Due to the plummeting peso and Argentina's other economic woes, the national film institute, INCAA, slashed the festival budget from $2m to less than $500,000. However, festival director ...

  • News

    Sundance's Groth heads programming at CineVegas

    2002-03-12T01:26:00Z

    Trevor Groth, the well-knownprogrammer for the Sundance Film Festival, has been hired as director ofprogramming for the annual CineVegas International Film Festival which thisyear holds its fourth annual event in Las Vegas from June 8-15. Groth will tacklehis CineVegas role in addition to his work at Sundance."Trevor'sjoining the CineVegas team ...

  • News

    Emmett/Furla signs to five more with Millenium

    2002-03-12T01:27:00Z

    Randall Emmett and GeorgeFurla's Emmett/Furla Films has extended its ten picture non-exclusivefinancing and distribution agreement with Avi Lerner's Millenium Filmsfor an additional five pictures. Under the current agreement, the two have alsopacted to make Lizzie Borden's next film Rialto which will star Susan Sarandon and is set to startshooting in ...

  • News

    Men With Brooms: Canadian comedy opens with C$1m

    2002-03-12T01:29:00Z

    Men With Brooms, an English-language Canadian comedy set in theheady world of curling, has enjoyed spectacular success on its debut weekend inCanada through Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution. Taking C$1.04m,it scored the highest opening weekend of all time for an English language localproduction - and, playing at 207 theatres, it ...

  • News

    Italian producers threaten Venice festival boycott

    2002-03-12T05:10:00Z

    With just fivemonths to go before the start of the next Venice Film Festival and still no newartistic director to run it, Aurelio De Laurentiis, the head of Italy's producers union, has threatened not to present any Italian films in the upcoming festival unless Venice Biennale president Franco Bernabe appoints ...

  • Reviews

    Resident Evil

    2002-03-12T11:53:00Z

    Dir: Paul W S Anderson. UK-Ger. 2002. 100mins.Resident Evil is strictly for the game boys. Of course, given that the computer games on which the film is based have sold more than 16m units worldwide, the game boys - lured by the promise of gory zombie effects and Milla Jovovich ...

  • News

    Gibson's soldiers go fourth in the UK

    2002-03-12T18:52:00Z

    Mel Gibson's Vietnam War film, We Were Soldiers, opened in the UK this week but met with a surprisingly average result. Playing at 384 sites the fourth-placed title grossed $1.077m (£757,760) for an okay screen average of $2,807 - the lowest average amongst the top five.The result will be disappointing ...

  • News

    20th Century Fox to roll with $100m Dragonball

    2002-03-12T19:23:00Z

    Twentieth Century Fox is to make a $100m live-action feature based on the Japanese cult comic Dragonball, the inspiration behind 17 animated films as well as a highly successful TV series.Fox has engaged the comic's creator, Akira Toriyama as creative consultant, and has concluded a rights deal with Shueisha, the ...

  • News

    Village Roadshow's cinema sell-off boosts profit

    2002-03-12T19:25:00Z

    Village Roadshow's exhibition arm has been given substantial credit for VRL's net profit after tax of $23.5m (A$45.3m) for the half-year to December 31, up 100% on the previous corresponding period.Only 15 months ago shareholders were told that VRL's unsatisfactory profits of the past two to three years were entirely ...

  • News

    Gary Hamilton to leave Oz's Beyond Films

    2002-03-12T19:30:00Z

    Two names that have been synonymous for 12 years, Beyond Films and Gary Hamilton, are to separate. The founder and general manager of Australia's only consistently active film sales agent will step down from his post at the end of the month."Over the 12 years Gary has been with Beyond ...

  • News

    Cartoon Movie tribute nominations announced

    2002-03-12T19:31:00Z

    Seven European companies have been nominated for this year's Cartoon Movie Tributes which will be awarded to three players who have had a positive and dynamic influence on the European animation feature film industry.The final three winners will be voted on by the animation industry professionals attending the 4th edition ...

  • News

    Bond 20 officially christened

    2002-03-12T19:33:00Z

    Ending months of speculation, Bond producers Eon Productions have christened the spy's 20th instalment Die Another Day.The film, which now has the acronym DAD, was rumoured to have been named Beyond The Ice and Beneath The Sea. One website reported last year that it was Final Assignment, only to discover ...

  • News

    Last Supper wins short film award in Finland

    2002-03-12T19:34:00Z

    Christian Lindblad's Last Supper was awarded this year's first Jameson Short Film Award with a purse of Euros 6,000, at the Tampere Film Festival in Finland on March 11.The Jameson Short Film Awards is a joint initiative by Jameson Irish Whiskey and the ECFF (European Coordination of Film Festivals) and ...