Small MPU – Page 3925
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News
Liberty Media to create cable giant in France
UnitedGlobalCom, part of John Malone's Liberty Media, has confirmed that it is to buy the 50.1% controlling stake in leading French cable network Noos that is currently owned by the Suez group. The move could be the first step towards a major rationalisation of the still fragmented French cable sector.Separately, ...
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Spring bounce for French cinema promotional drive
France's annual Spring promotional drive 'Printemps Au Cinema' got off to a good start yesterday (Sunday 14 March) with 1.2 million tickets sold at the box office. That represents a 15% increase on the same day last year and is the biggest single day total in the five year history ...
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Markoe promoted to post-production executive vp at MGM
MGM Pictures has promoted BruceMarkoe to executive vice president of feature post production, where he willoversee all aspects of budgeting and post production and source economical newfilm-making technologies.Markoe will report directlyto Andy Davis, the studio's executive vice president of physical production."Bruce has become a vitalpart of MGM since he joined ...
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Shore to kick off Rings symphony tour in Belgium
Veteran composer HowardShore is launching the European tour of his Oscar winning The Lord Of TheRings score with a concert in theBelgian city of Antwerp on Apr 16.The Lord Of The Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra and Chorus isbeing organised by the Flanders International Film Festival, a longtimesupporter of ...
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Romania hosts Seed Of Chucky shoot
Seed Of Chucky, the fifth picture in the Child's Play franchise about berserk homicidal dolls, beganproduction in Romania yesterday (Mar 15).It joins a growing list ofhorror pictures which are shooting in the country including the completed TheMethod and Blessed and upcoming productions Man With A Movie Camera directed by Bernard ...
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De Luca lands in production deal at Sony
Mike De Luca, who leaves hisjob as DreamWorks head of production in June, is in final talks to set up athree-year production deal with Columbia Pictures.Once the contracts aresigned De Luca and his Michael De Luca Productions will move on to the Sony lotin Culver City in July."Mike is a ...
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Friedlander leaves Fine Line for Warner Independent
Steven Friedlander hasjoined the fledgling specialty distributor Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) asexecutive vice president of distribution.Friedlander will directlyhandle domestic theatrical distribution and will shepherd the pictures as theymove into other media through Warner Bros Entertainment's divisions, includinginternational, home video and television."Steven is not only abrilliant theatrical distribution executive but also ...
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Bertelsmann exits AOL joint ventures
European media giant Bertelsmann and America Online (AOL) have decided to patch up their differences over AOL's expansion strategy. Under a deal heralded as a $250m "strategic global alliance" Bertelsmann has secured an outlet for its on-line content and has agreed to sell its interests in AOL Europe and AOL ...
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Dukakis, McCarthy, others, join Serenade's Wonderful cast
Olympia Dukakis, JimGaffigan, Thomas McCarthy (writer/director of The Station Agent), and Naseeruddin Shah (Monsoon Wedding, TheLeague Of Extraordinary Gentlemen) havejoined Edie Falco, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Tony Shalhoub in the cast of TheGreat New Wonderful, the first projectfrom low-budget production house Serenade Films.The picture weaves togetherfive stories set against the backdrop ...
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Thunderbirds are go at Tribeca Film Festival
Organisers behind the thirdannual Tribeca Film Festival have confirmed that Working Titles' live-actionversion of Thunderbirds willreceive its world premiere at the New York City event in May.A spokesperson for thepicture's US distributor Universal Pictures neither confirmed nor denied thepremiere status, adding that it was conceivable there may be a public ...
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Angrisani joins Miramax as vp, international publicity
Larry Angrisanihas joined Miramax Films as New York-based vice president of internationalpublicity.Angrisani willliaise with distributors and festivals around the world and play a role inimplementing the company's strategic initiatives.Reporting toAmanda Lundberg, executive vice president of worldwide publicity, and RickSands, chief operating officer, he will also work closely with Miramax'sUK-based international ...
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Latin American countries unite to protect their film industries
On the eve of the signing an ambitious pan-Latin American filmagreement, the head of Argentina's film institute has underlined hisdetermination to face off against the MPAA, protect the local film industry andsupport moves to make film and other "cultural products" an exception in worldtrade agreements.INCAA head Jorge Coscia and representatives ...
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Mona Lisa Smile is top in UK, brings total to $64.7m for CTFDI
Sony/Revolution's drama Mona Lisa Smile opened number one in the UK at the weekend through ColumbiaTriStar Film Distributors International (CTFDI), grossing $2.3m on 414 screens.Overall the picture took $3m toraise its industry-wide running total to $64.7m.In other runningtotals, the horror picture Gothika added $4.9m for $37.5m, drama Big Fish added ...
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BVI's Brother Bear tops $100m, opens second in Japan
Buena Vista International's animated hit Brother Bear passed $100m at the weekend thanks to a$6.2m haul that raised the picture's international running total to $103.3m.Key drivers were Italy, where the picture stayed top for thesecond weekend in a row on $2.2m for $5.4m, and Japan, where it opened secondon $1.9m ...
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New UK distributor builds release slate
Enjoy Cinema Ltd., the new UK theatrical distribution outfit set up earlier this year by Simon Gosling (ex-HanWay), has announced details of its first acquisitions.To mark the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid, Enjoy is to release Jason Xenopoulos' Promised Land in the early summer. Based on the novel ...
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EU renews subsidy regime for three more years
The European Commission has decided to extend for three more years the structures under which European governments are allowed to financially support their local film industries.The ruling, announced today (16 March), follows some six months of consultation with governments and film-makers ahead of the expiry in June 2004 of the ...
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Eagle soars with Intermedia trio
Newly-recapitalised Italian distributor Eagle Pictures is finalising the acquisition of three titles from Guy East and Nigel Sinclair's Intermedia Films in a deal that is expected to lead to a long-term distribution arrangement.Eagle co-founder and chief executive officer Stefano Dammicco confirmed that the companies are negotiating a multi-picture deal in ...
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ITALY
Italian films continued to perform strongly at the box office last weekend. New opener Don't Move burst into the local box office at number three, scoring the biggest per screen average of any film and a huge gross of $1,512,205.Distributed by Medusa, Don't Move stars Penelope Cruz and was adapted ...
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JAPAN
With Spring Break about to start, Japanese distributors rolled out more new releases on March 13.The biggest in terms of screen average, $46,002, was Hotel Venus, a heavily promoted ensemble drama starring a member of the popular boy band SMAP and filmed entirely in Korean -- a first for a ...