Small MPU – Page 541
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Reviews
Tristram Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story
Dir: Michael Winterbottom. UK. 2005. 91mins.Michael Winterbottom's deliriously funny film-about-a-filmof 18th century novel Tristram Shandy is the prolific director's mostenjoyable feature to date. Based around the gigantic comic talents of SteveCoogan, A Cock And Bull Story is both Winterbottom's affectionate homageto film-making itself and a snapshot of UK talent and ...
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News
Lions Gate offers $90m for DVD specialist
Lions Gate Entertainmenthas launched a $90m bid to buy Image Entertainment, the North American producerand distributor of home entertainment programming whose operations include a UKsubsidiary.The unsolicited bid sentImage Entertainment's shares soaring by as much as 57% this Wednesday afternoon on NewYork's Nasdaq exchange upon speculation that Lions Gate would increase ...
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News
Rogue picks up Gondry's Block Party at Toronto
Dave Chappelle's Block Party, a standup comedy movie directed by Michel Gondry,was the latest film to sell at Toronto today (Wed) with Rogue Picturesacquiring worldwide rights.The deal marked the first acquisition for Rogue since it was expanded into the genre division of Universal Pictures run by David Linde. When it ...
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News
Roadshow loses appeal against Wolf Creek rating
Distributor Roadshow haslost its appeal against the R18+ rating handed down three weeks ago to localhorror picture Wolf Creek, which it releases in cinemas on November 3.It was a unanimous decision madeby the three-member panel of the Classification Review Board and the deputyconvenor of the board. Former memberof parliament Trevor ...
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News
Athens festival kicks off with Costa Gavras' Axe
The 11th Athens International Film Festival-Opening Nightskicks off today (Sept 15) with the gala presentation of Costa Gavras' TheAxe (Le Couperet).Gavras will be on hand tointroduce the film, to offer a master class and to receive a Golden Athena, thefestival's trophy, for his career.He will be joined during the festival ...
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News
Exhibitors team up for Australia's biggest arthouse cinema
Australia is to get its biggest purpose-built arthouse cinemain late 2006, a nine-screen complex in the national capital of Canberra that will link the Dendy and Electric Shadowsbrands. It will also be the firstspecialist complex to feature small, intimate auditoriums - two 35-seaters -with food and beverage delivered directly to ...
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News
Dongmakgol chosen as South Korea's Oscar entry
South Korea has selected blockbuster hit Welcome ToDongmakgol as its submission to the best foreign-language film category ofthe 78th Academy Awards.Set in a remote mountainousvillage during the Korean War, the film tells the story of two South Korean soldiers,three North Korean soldiers and a downed American pilot who end up ...
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Reviews
North Country
Dir: Niki Caro. US. 2005.123mins.After scoring a worldwidehit with the Oscar-nominated Whale Rider, New Zealand director Niki Caromakes a strong follow-up with her first Hollywood movie North Country.Loosely based on the truestory of a Minnesota woman crusading against sexual harassment in theworkplace, the film is compelling social issues storytelling in ...
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News
Gielgud dies aged 96
Actor Sir John Gielgud, whose career spanned eight decades and roles as diverse as Lear and Hobson the butler in Arthur, died peacefully at his home in Buckinghamshire west of London yesterday. He was 96.Although renowned for his stage career - he played Hamlet more than 500 times - Gielgud ...
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Reviews
Perhaps Love (Ruguo Ai)
Dir: Peter Ho-sun Chan.HK-Ch-Malay. 2005. 108mins.The seeming Chineseanswer to Moulin Rouge, Perhaps Love is a lavish butinsubstantial musical love story with pan-Asian cinema and music stars Zhou Xun(Suzhou River, The Little Chinese Seamstress) and TakeshiKaneshiro (Chungking Express, House Of Flying Daggers) in theNicole and Ewan roles.It's an odd mix: arthouse ...
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News
European Film Academy unveils awards shortlist
The European Film Academyhas announced 46 films in its shortlist for this year's European Film Awardsnominations. Each year, the Academyselects about 40 films that will be sent to its members for final nominations -this year's number of films is up from last year's selection list of 42. The choices include ...
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Reviews
Initial D (Taumanchi D)
Dirs: Andrew Lau, AlanMak. HK. 2005. 107mins.After the InfernalAffairs trilogy, directing duo Andrew Lau and Alan Mak seem to have theMidas touch. This year's summer blockbuster in Hong Kong, Initial D nudged a$5m gross at home - more than War Of The Worlds and Batman Beginsput together.Loosely working from ShiuchiShigeno's ...
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News
Hong Kong producers look West and East
After a strong showing atthis year's Venice and Toronto film festivals, not to mention a few big hitsover the summer, Hong Kong producers currently have several reasons to feelconfident. But the trend towards declining production numbers is unlikely to bereversed before the end of the year.Although Media Asia's mangaadaptation Initial ...
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News
Cannes names Demier as general manager
The Cannes Film Festival hasannounced the appointment of Catherine Demier to the post of general manager.Demier replaces VeroniqueCayla who left the Cannes festival organization in June to take up thepresidency of French support body, the CNC. Formerly a manager at theCNC, Demier was also counsellor to the minister of culture ...
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Reviews
Fragile (Fragiles)
Dir: Jaume Balaguero.Sp-UK. 2005. 98mins.Fragile's the word.Spanish horror specialist Jaume Balaguero fails to impress with his follow-upto the psycho-thriller Darkness, which grossed over $22m at the US boxoffice, despite downbeat reviews. A stale spooky-hospital yarn, Fragilesuffers from poor suspense management and the gelid obnoxiousness of thecentral nurse character, played by ...
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Reviews
Separate Lies
Dir: Julian Fellowes. UK2005. 85mins.Actor-turned-screenwriter-turned-novelistJulian Fellowes adds another string to his bow with Separate Lies, anauspicious directorial debut that produces a staunchly old-fashioned butnonetheless taut and adult marital drama.Based on a 1951 novel byNigel Balchin, the film applies insightful psychological realism to tensionsbetween well-heeled middle-class adults. As such it is ...
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News
San Sebastian kicks off with emotional tribute to Robert Wise
Spain'sDonostia-San Sebastian International Film Festival kicked off its 53rd annualedition Thursday night.The inaugurationat the coastal city's glass-box Kursaal auditorium commenced with news thatdirector Robert Wise, the subject of one of the festival's two retrospectives,had passed away just one day earlier.The festivalplayed a short video of Wise thanking San Sebastian forthe ...
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News
Shoreline acquires worldwide rights to Brooklyn Lobster
ShorelineEntertainment has acquired worldwide sales rights to Kevin Jordan's BrooklynLobster which had itsworld premiere in the Toronto Film Festival this week.Presented byMartin Scorsese, the film stars Danny Aiello and Jane Curtin and centres on aBrooklyn workingman struggling against the foreclosure of his lobster farm.Jordan also wrote the film and produced ...
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News
Mehlitz joins Potok in Berlin-Brandenburg incentive scheme
Former Cinerentapartner and current Lago Film managing director Marco Mehlitz has partneredwith former Vivendi Germany and Studio Babelsberg chief Thierry Potok on hisstate-backed incentive scheme for projects shooting in the Berlin-Brandenburgarea.Producers who team up with German production partners willbe eligible for a guarantee through Potok's International Production FinancingServices (IPFS).Under thescheme, ...
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News
Goldwyn, CanWest team up for Australia's Sex
Samuel Goldwyn Films and CanWest Films have jointly acquired US rights to Australian title Better Than Sex from France Television Distribution (FTP). The romantic comedy, a first effort by Jonathan Teplitsky, will be released through Goldwyn and CanWest's joint distribution venture, IDP Distribution (Screendaily, April 10).The film, which stars ...