Small MPU – Page 473
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Reviews
Imaginary Heroes
Dir/scr: DanHarris. US. 2004. 112minsThe great soap opera of life is revisited once again in Imaginary Heroes,an entertaining but superficial tug at the heartstrings. The directorial debutof X-Men 2 screenwriter Dan Harris picks at the scabs of a family'semotional wounds to reveal a considerable collection of guilty secrets anddamaging deceptions.Superioracting ...
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Reviews
The Intruder
Dir: Claire Denis. Fr.2004. 130mins."Impenetrable" would be a generous way of describing French auteur ClaireDenis' latest feature; adjectives like "self-indulgent" and "dull" might occurto the less well-disposed critic.Not that this film is devoidof moments of visual poetry and - at least in the early stages - plot tension.But its wilful ...
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News
UK 22 September
Michael Mann's Collateralhad a solid opening through UIP, taking £2.4m to secure the number one slotin the UK.It knocked Open Water,distributed through Redbus, down into second place in its second week. The lowbudget shark attack film has now taken an impressive £3.4m.Elsewhere, three Britishproduced films struggled to make a major ...
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SWEDEN 22 SEPTEMBER
In its third weekKay Pollak's local romantic drama Saa Som I Himmelen managed tooutperform Shrek 2 as it moved into the top spot with a strong $6,673screen average on its high 100 prints.In second place Shrek2 had just half that on its 159 prints, while the new release of TheBourne ...
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GERMANY 22 SEPTEMBER
It was not surprising afterall the media buzz surrounding the portrayal of Hitler's last days in thebunker that Constantin Film's release of Oliver Hirschbiegel's The Downfall(Der Untergang) should come in at number one.The $ 4.3m four-day grossfrom 405 screens was the second strongest opening for a German film this yearfollowing ...
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News
Spider-Man 2 eyes $400m international gross
A number one launch in Italy,its final major territory, saw Spider-Man 2 spinning back into theinternational top 30 to take third position. The strong launch brings thesequel's international cumulative gross to $391m and it looks assured ofpassing the $400m in the next week.I, Robot and Collateral also received boosts from ...
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Child abuse drama signals new direction for Polish film
Aftera spate of veteran directors and big budget historic epics dominating Polishfilm for the past few years, this year's annual roll-out of new Polish featurefilms at the Gdynia Film Festival proved that a fresh wind is blowing in theindustry.The festival in the Baltic seaside resort wrapped over theweekend. Young newcomer ...
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San Sebastian sees Torrente action
He lies,he drinks, he rarely showers - Spanish P.I. Torrente is back in AmiguetesEntertainment's in-the-works Torrente 3.Industry executives had the chance to get in early on theT3 action as one of a handful of new projects presented at the SalesOffice of the San Sebastian International Film Festival (Sept 17-25).Theestimated Euros ...
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Media Asia plans Tokyo Raiders sequel
Hong Kong's Media Asia is planning a Korea-set sequel toJingle Ma's 2000 box office smash Tokyo Raiders that is set to star TonyLeung Chiu-wai, Richie Jen and Shu Qi.The$5.1m (HK$40m) action comedy - which has the working title Korea Raiders- is scheduled to start shooting in October for release during ...
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News
Barco to focus on digital cinema sector
Belgian projector manufacturerBarco, one of the leading players in the growing digital cinema sector, hassold its home cinema activities to French company TEC.The company says that theoperation, part of its media and entertainment division, was its last activityto be focused on the consumer market."As digital cinema is about todevelop in ...
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News
British Film Institute unveils new executive team
The British Film Institute (bfi) has unveiled its newExecutive Team under director Amanda Nevill.The team comprise figures from the world of film as well asprivate sector executives with managerial and commercial experience.The executive teamcomprises:Eddie Berg, founder and ChiefExecutive of FACT, theFoundation for Art and Creative Technology, in Liverpool, who has ...
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News
Palm Pictures to launch Caribbean Goldeneye festival
US-UK distributor and producer Palm Pictures is launching what it claimsis the world's most exclusive film festival at company founder ChrisBlackwell's home in the Caribbean.The Goldeneye FilmFestival (Dec 8-13, 2004) will invite about 100 VIP guests to Blackwell'sIsland Outpost property -- Goldeneye -- located in Oracabessa Bay, Jamaica,where some 150 ...
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News
Kinsey, Nixon bookend Hamptons festival
The 12th annualHamptons International Film Festival, which takes place in East Hampton, New York,Oct 20-24 will open with a screening of Bill Condon's Kinsey and close with Niels Muller's The AssassinationOf Richard Nixon.The festival, which wasfounded to focus on US independent film, will play host to the Golden StarfishFeature Competition ...
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THINKFilm takes domestic to Wexler documentary
Toronto and New York-basedTHINKFilm has acquired all North American theatrical and home video rights toMark Wexler's Venice and Toronto title Tell Them Who You Are, a biographical portrait of the filmmaker's father,renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler.In the film, Wexler Sr, whohas won two Academy Awards for his work in Who's Afraid ...
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News
Skoll outfit to co-finance two Warner Bros pictures
Participant Productions, aproduction company formed in Jan by former eBay president Jeff Skoll to make sociallyrelevant films and documentaries, has formed a partnership with Warner BrosPictures to co-finance two Warner 2005 movies Syriana and Class Action.Participant'smandate is to back projects which centre on "important social issues thatawaken, inspire and ...
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News
Haugesund to open with Norway's Jesus
Highly-anticipated Norwegian title When I Hit Jesus (Da Jeg Traff Jesus) is to open this year's Haugesund International Film Festival (August 26 - Sep 2). The comedy is produced by one of Norway's most successful film-making teams, Petter Borgli and Thomas Backstroem, whose credits include The Telegrafist, Blessed Are Those ...
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News
Cinema Libre buys David O Russell Iraq war doc
DavidO Russell's 35-minute war documentary Soldier's Pay, which was to have been packaged with his 1999 GulfWar drama Three Kings on DVD untilWarner Bros dropped it, has landed at Cinema Libre Studio, the LA company whichis also releasing Robert Greenwald's documentary Uncovered: The War On Iraq.CinemaLibre plans to release the ...
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Star Wars box set, videogame take $115m in first day
20thCentury Fox Home Entertainment has announced that first day sales for the StarWars box set in NorthAmerica and many international territories and the Star Wars Battlefront videogame in North America have exceeded$115m.The game will be available internationally later thisweek, as will the box set in unreleased territories such as Japan, ...
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News
ITALY 23 September
Spider-Man2 leapt straight tothe top of the Italian box office, where it earned a massive $8,993,096 in fourdays. The web slinger opened on September 16 on a wide 631 screens, and scoreda huge $12,296 per screen average for Columbia Tristar Italia.Shedding37% of its earnings, UIP's The Terminal dropped to second ...
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Reviews
Kung Fu Hustle (Gungfu)
Dir: Stephen Chow. HK-Chi. 2004. 95minsThe martial arts film to end all martial arts films, Kung FuHustle makes Kill Bill look like a playground scuffle. StephenChow's affectionate salute to the era of Bruce Lee and the Shaw Brothers is ajaw-dropping mixture of blistering fight sequences, slapstick sadism anddelirious black comedy.Action ...