Small MPU – Page 387

  • News

    Mortagne and Terryn get new posts at Benelux distributor Paradiso

    2006-11-06T00:00:00Z

    Benelux distributor ParadisoFilm Entertainment has named Olivier Mortagne as its new head of international acquisitionsand Patrick Terryn as chief operating officer. The appointments come in thewake of Erich Engelen's departure from the company earlier in the summer. Asannounced earlier this week, Engelen has now joined A-Film.The appointment of Mortagneis seen ...

  • News

    China Vision Group pursues international production plans

    2006-11-06T04:00:00Z

    Start-up Chineseproducer-distributor China Vision Group has retained global law firm Melveny& Myers (OMM) as part of its push into international production.Founded by producer Jimmy Wuand former banker Jane Shao, Beijing-based China Vision plans to set upinternational co-productions as well as English language remakes of Chinesefilms.The company has raisedfinance from private ...

  • News

    Donati, Infascelli team for Mikado's La Pistola

    2006-11-06T04:00:00Z

    Legendary Italianscreenwriter Sergio Donati, whose credits include Sergio Leone's Once Upon ATime In The West, A Fistful Of Dynamite and For A Few Dollars More,is to partner with maverick director Alex Infascelli (Hate20) on a new $5 million genre project provisionallytitled La Pistola. Principal photography is setfor February 2007 with ...

  • News

    NonStop sells Mikkelsen-starrer Exit to Germany

    2006-11-06T04:00:00Z

    Underlining Danish actorMads Mikkelsen's increasing profile in the marketplace, NonStop Sales hasclosed a deal for all German-speaking territories on Mikkelsen's new thriller Exit with Galileo Medien AG. The film, screening onNonStop Sales' AFM slate. The deal was concluded by Michael C Werner forNonStop and Martin Irnich for Germany. Mikkelsen is ...

  • News

    Tohokushinsha takes Japan on Scorsese's Stones doc

    2006-11-06T04:00:00Z

    Tohokusinsha FilmCorporation has acquired all Japanese rights to Martin Scorsese's documentaryfeature about The Rolling Stones which is one of the hottest titles at the AFM.Portugal's Lusomundo is alsoone of the first distributors to sign on for the film. Sales agent FortissimoFilms has also received multiple offers for territories including Spain, ...

  • News

    Locarno Film Festival adds international shorts competition section

    2006-11-06T00:00:00Z

    The Locarno InternationalFilm Festival has a delegation in AFM prepping for next year's 60thanniversary edition which runs Aug 1 to 11, 2007.Artistic director FredericMaire, who took over from Irene Bignardi in Oct 2005, has announced that thefestival is looking to introduce an international shorts competition sectionfor the first time next ...

  • News

    Film4 backs Duane Hopkins' feature debut Better Things

    2006-11-06T04:00:00Z

    Film4 hascome on board for Duane Hopkins' Better Things, soon to start shooting in theUK, and Fabrice de Welz's Vinyan, in development.Hopkins,who previously wrote and directed award-winning shorts Field and Love Me Or Leave Me Alone, will make his feature debut withBetter Things,a story about troubled teenagers in the picturesque ...

  • News

    Hong Kong's Golden Network sells five to Brazilian distributors

    2006-11-06T04:00:00Z

    Hong Kong-based GoldenNetwork Asia has secured a slew of sales to Brazil, which is emerging as one ofthe most acquisitive territories at the AFM.Brazil's Golden Filmes hassnapped up Thai horror titles The Victim, which is currently topping the Thai box office, and Ghost Game directed by Sarawut Wichiensarn.The company has ...

  • News

    Media Asia assembles buyers for Feng

    2006-11-06T00:00:00Z

    Hong Kong-based Media Asiahas boarded Feng Xiaogang's The Assemblyas co-producer and already sold almost all the territories it's handling on the$10m war epic.Media Asia is handling salesin South-East Asia and has sold the film to Thailand's Rose Media and Entertainment, Golden ScreenCinemas in Malaysia and Galaxy Studio in Vietnam. In ...

  • Reviews

    Casino Royale

    2006-11-06T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Martin Campbell. UK. 2006. 147minsBond Is Back. The old promise takes on a freshemphasis in Casino Royale, amuscular, wildly successful attempt to strip the lucrative James Bond franchiseback to basics. Returning to the origins of the series in the first Ian Flemingnovel, Casino Royaledepicts Bond as a rough, reckless ...

  • News

    Directors reject review of Euro levy on copying technology

    2006-11-06T20:00:00Z

    A group of Europe's leading film directors is demanding that a levy on manufacturers of audiovisual copying equipment to compensate artists remains at the heart of European copyright policies.The signatories - Pedro Almodovar, Ken Loach, Nanni Moretti, Costa Gavras, Mike Leigh, Lars Von Trier and the Dardennes brothers - have ...

  • News

    Watts and Weaving among Australian Film Institute awards noms

    2006-11-07T04:00:00Z

    TheAustralian Film Institute (AFI) has announced the nominees for itsinternational awards categories.Theyinclude Naomi Watts for her performance as a damsel in distress in King Kong, Hugo Weaving for bringing to life the protagonist in V for Vendetta, despite his mask, and Roger Donaldson for the quality of The World'sFastest Indian.Mostof ...

  • News

    Three world premieres among competition entries at Turin

    2006-11-07T04:00:00Z

    The line-up for the 24th editionof the Turin Film Festival (November 10-18) includes a feature film competitiondedicated to first and second works with a $26,000 (Euro 20,500) prize.The competition features internationaltitles from Algeria, Lebanon, Italy, USA, Spain, the Philippines, Japan, China,Iran, and Kazakhstan.The titles include world premieres from Italy'sMauro Santini ...

  • News

    GreeneStreet reunites with producer Katz on Adverbs

    2006-11-06T00:00:00Z

    GreeneStreet Films (GSF) andproducer Ross Katz are partnering up to adapt Lemony Snicket novelist Daniel Handler's romance Adverbs.Katz, who worked with GSF on InThe Bedroom, approached the New York-basedcompany with the project about a series of characters who come and go in eachother's lives under an atmosphere of impending doom."We ...

  • News

    Strand buys US rights to Golden Bear winner Grbavica

    2006-11-07T00:00:00Z

    StrandReleasing has acquired all US rights to Jasmila Zbanic's Grbavica: The LandOf My Dreams from Match Factory Films.Thepicture won the Golden Bear at Berlin earlier this year and has been selectedas Bosnia and Herzegovina's official entry for the foreign language Oscar. Italso received European Film Award nominations this week for ...

  • News

    Palm, Curiously Bright jointly acquire Peter Beard doc

    2006-11-07T00:00:00Z

    PalmPictures & Arthouse Films and Curiously Bright Entertainment have jointlyacquired worldwide rights to the documentary Peter Beard: Scrapbooks FromAfrica & Beyond.Jean-ClaudeLuyat and Guillaume Bond's picture profiles the celebrated diarist, artist andphotographer and is narrated by Charlotte Rampling.Theproject features rare and never-before-seen footage of Mick Jagger, AndyWarhol, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John ...

  • News

    M:I2 blasts into UK chart

    2000-07-11T09:20:00Z

    Mission: Impossible 2 proved its blockbuster weight when it opened in the UK over the weekend (July 7-9) grossing $6.27m (£4.14m) from 461 sites, excluding previews of $725,876 (£479,411). Although healthy, it was not enough to push it into the UK's top 10 opening weekend chart despite playing on around ...

  • News

    UK effects house The Mill to open Los Angeles facility

    2006-11-07T00:00:00Z

    UKadvertising and visual effects group The Mill is planning to open a majorfacility in Santa Monica, California.Thecompany, founded in London in 1990, recently opened a facility in New York andwill become the first post-production agency to operate in the three key globallocations for advertising production.Thenew office is due to open ...

  • News

    BVI, SPRI extend relationship with joint venture in Russia

    2006-11-07T00:00:00Z

    BuenaVista International, Inc. (BVI) and Sony Pictures Releasing International(SPRI) have formed a joint venture to distribute their respective films inRussia.Themove follows a similar agreement for South Korea struck by the parties lastmonth and takes effect on Jan 1, 2007.Russiabecomes the 15th territory in which the two companies are partners. The ...

  • News

    AFM says it had record attendance levels, 1,573 buyers

    2006-11-07T00:00:00Z

    The27th AFM, which has been severely affected by sporadic internet service at theLoews Hotel, has announced record attendance levels.OrganisersIFTA claim overall attendance climbed to 8,208, up 2% against last year's8,014.Thecurrent tally of buyers as of today is 1,573 from 61 countries, with mostnotable year-on-year rises coming from Mexico (up 57% ...