Small MPU – Page 314

  • News

    Knocked Up spawns knockout domestic opening, but Pirates clings on

    2007-06-04T01:04:00Z

    Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End took a big tumble in its second weekend but still had enough puff to sail past $200m and see off the challenge of Universal's much lauded comedy Knocked Up.Buena Vista's juggernaut fell 62.4% to an estimated $43.2m as it raised its domestic tally ...

  • News

    Kimmel has strong Cannes with Synecdoche, Unthinkable

    2007-06-04T01:09:00Z

    Kimmel International chief Mark Lindsay has reported a successful Cannes in which he and his team closed key territories on Charlie Kaufman's feature directorial debut Synecdoche, New York, and Tarsem Singh's upcoming thriller Unthinkable.Rights to Synecdoche, New York, which is being produced by Spike Jonze and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, ...

  • News

    South Australian Film Corp appoints Richard Harris as head

    2007-06-04T10:46:00Z

    Richard Harris, who is currently executive director of the Australian Directors Guild (ADG), has been appointed head of the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC). He will leave what was formerly called the Australian Screen Directors Association in mid-July, after nine years at the helm, and relocate from Sydney to Adelaide ...

  • News

    Joost to host Bollywood content from New York's Saavn

    2007-06-04T10:49:00Z

    Internet television service Joost has signed a deal with New York-based film, music and TV show packager Saavn for the Internet distribution of Bollywood music videos from the Saavn library. Initially, Joost users worldwide will be able to choose from around 150 clips from Bollywood movies featuring songs such as ...

  • News

    Locarno juries to include Diego Lerman and Jia Zhangke

    2007-06-04T10:55:00Z

    The Locarno International Film Festival will be celebrating its 60th anniversary this year by dedicating its Retrospective, entitled Back In Locarno, to those filmmakers whose careers were significantly advanced by the initial exposure at the Swiss festival. Among those directors expected to attend screenings in the Retrospective are Marco Bellocchio, ...

  • News

    Showbox and Freestyle unveil plans for D-War's US release

    2007-06-04T12:08:00Z

    South Korea 's Showbox Mediaplex has announced plans to release the effects-laden creature feature D-War on 1,500 screens in the US, through Freestyle Releasing. Showbox says the film is likely to open in August and see Labour Day weekend box office as well. Freestyle previously released The Illusionist in the ...

  • News

    Gone In Sixty Seconds holds onto top spot

    2000-08-15T12:01:00Z

    Gone In Sixty Seconds held on to the number one spot at the UK box office last weekend, grossing $1.5m (£1m) from 393 situations. It fell an average 35% from its opening weekend and reported the highest site average over what was a lacklustre box office weekend with $3,850 (£2,599).The ...

  • News

    Trinidad & Tobago starts new film tax incentive with rebate up to 30%

    2007-06-04T12:29:00Z

    Trinidad & Tobago, the twin island nation in the Carribean, has today unveiled its first tax incentives for film, TV and advertising shoots. The new rebates system ranges from 12.5% for productions of expenditures up to $500,000, 15% for productions from $500,000 to $1m, or 30% rebates for productions spending ...

  • News

    Telepool sells A Crude Awakening to UK's Dogwoof

    2007-06-04T12:49:00Z

    Telepool has closed an all-rights deal for the UK with Dogwoof Pictures for the feature documentary A Crude Awakening by Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack of Swiss-based Lava Productions. The film about how humans are sucking dry our most valuable, non-renewable resource - oil - was released by Columbus Film ...

  • News

    BBC Fiction boss Tranter spells out her plans for BBC Films

    2007-06-04T13:58:00Z

    Controller of BBC Fiction Jane Tranter has defended the recent decision to move BBC Films out of its West End offices and back into BBC Television Centre. She told ScreenDaily.com that the move, likely to happen 'by around the end of the year,' is intended both to 'underpin the enormous ...

  • News

    Pathe, BBC slate includes big-screen version of Upstairs Downstairs

    2007-06-04T14:46:00Z

    Pathe and BBC Films, with support from the UK Film Council's Development Fund, have announced a development slate of five new projects, after announcing a year ago that they parties would join forces to develop bigger films with commercial potential. The four new projects announced are: an adaptation of Edwardian ...

  • News

    International buyers up 25%for second Madrid Screenings

    2007-06-04T15:34:00Z

    The second edition of the Spanish Film Screenings of Madrid expects to attract 131 international film buyers this weekend - about 25 percent more than last year. And the growing interest is reflected not only in the number but also the stature of the buyers, according to the Spanish Producers' ...

  • News

    Sulzer leaves Universal for job as svp, media at Overture

    2007-06-05T00:41:00Z

    Former Universal Pictures marketing executive Elana Sulzer has joined Overture Films as senior vice president of media.Sulzer will report directly to Overture's president of worldwide marketing, distribution and new media Peter Adee.Sulzer started her career at Universal nearly 10 years ago and rose through the marketing ranks to the position ...

  • News

    Pusan film festival to launch financing, distribution arms

    2007-06-05T10:12:00Z

    The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) is set to start its own production venture capital firm and a distribution arm. At a provisional council meeting at the Busan City Hall yesterday, the PIFF organising committee approved the establishment of a venture capital firm tentatively called the Korean equivalent of 'Asia ...

  • News

    Velvet Octopus strikes major deals for The Moon Princess

    2007-06-05T13:36:00Z

    UK sales outfit Velvet Octopus, which will be unveiling Peter Howitt's Dangerous Parking to buyers at the London UK Film Focus (June 25-28), has done brisk business on its Cannes slate. ' Cannes was a fantastic market for us,' Simon Crowe, managing director of Velvet Octopus, said. Following on from ...

  • News

    The Works dives into UK deal for Mee Shee: The Water Giant

    2007-06-05T13:41:00Z

    The Works UK Distribution has taken all UK rights to Mee Shee: The Water Giant from ContentFilm. The $27m family film is directed by John Henderson for the Jim Henson Creature Shop.The story follows a young boy's relationship with a sea monster. It will be released this summer.As previously reported, ...

  • News

    Dai Nipponjin beats 'Beat' Takeshi at Japan's box office

    2007-06-05T13:44:00Z

    Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto's debut film Dai Nipponjin has beaten veteran helmer Takeshi Kitano's Kantoku Banzai! at the Japanese box office. Dai Nipponjin earned $1.86m (Y226.9m) to grab the number two position behind Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End while Kantoku Banzai! (Glory To The Filmmaker!) grossed $333,501 (Y40.6m), just ...

  • News

    European Film Institute launches exchange scheme

    2000-08-15T12:08:00Z

    The European Film Institute (EIKK), based in Karlsruhe, Germany, is launching a new initiative, entitled EUR*USA, aimed at improving collaboration between film-makers from Europe and the US.The initiative, which will be added to EIKK's existing student placement programme for European film school graduates, is divided into three strands: EUR*USA 1 ...

  • News

    Australia distributor to kick off theatrical runs with You Kill Me

    2007-06-05T13:52:00Z

    Australia 's newest theatrical distributor, All Interactive Distribution, has picked up five titles and will make its first theatrical release, John Dahl's You Kill Me, in September. The US independent film, which is sold by Capitol Films, goes out in US cinemas later this month. It stars Ben Kingsley and ...

  • News

    Dreamachine sells all territories on Persepolis

    2007-06-05T14:18:00Z

    New sales company Dreamachine reported a successful Cannes, including worldwide sales on all territories for Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud's animated coming of age story Persepolis, which shared the jury prize. Another hot seller was Naomi Kawase's competition drama The Mourning Forest, which won the Grand Prix. Deals for Persepolis ...