Small MPU – Page 621
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News
The cultural exception for film may become international law
The cultural exception for trade in cultural productsincluding film could be enshrined in international law for the first time.The European Commission, acting on behalf of all of theEuropean Union states has negotiated the inclusion of a paragraph in a Unescoconvention recognising the unique importance of cultural diversity.At ameeting in Madrid, ...
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Berman's Borderland starts for Lions Gate
Principal photography hasbegun in Tijuana, Mexico, on the new crime thriller Borderland, which is being produced by the team behind CabinFever.Lions Gate Films isco-producing with Lauren Moews' Tonic Films, Randall Emmett and George Furla'sEmmett/Furla Films, Freedom Films and Elisa Salinas of Tau Productions. LionsGate holds worldwide rights.Brian Presley stars in ...
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Viacom moves closer to separating CBS from Paramount
TheViacom split took a step closer to reality yesterday [June 14] when the boardagreed to separate Paramount Pictures and the cable operations from thetelevision networks and radio divisions.Viacom co-chief operatingofficer Tom Freston will take overall charge of the studio and cable networksMTV, Nickelodeon and VH1.This entity will keep theViacom name ...
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Potter's Radcliffe signs for Becker's Boys
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is to playa lead role in Australian film December Boys, a signing which shouldhelp drive Australian investors into the long-standing Becker Group's firstfilm fund before the fund's June 30 cut off.Radcliffe is playing the oldest of four close-knit orphansin Becker Entertainment's 1960s coming-of-age drama, to ...
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DVD piracy in UK rises by 40% in first quarter of 2005
DVD piracy in the UK hasincreased by over 40 per cent during the first quarter of 2005, according tothe second annual report by the UK's Industry Trust for IP Awareness.The report reveals that thenumber of pirate discs confiscated by the Federation Against Copyright Theft(FACT) between January and March this year ...
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Creep team crank up comedy-horror Severence
Filminghas started on Severance, a comedy-horror film from Chris Smith andJason Newmark, the director and producer team behind hit horror film Creep.The castincludes Danny Dyer, star of The Football Factory and the upcoming film TheBusiness; Laura Harris (The Faculty); Tim Mcinnerny (Blackadder)and Toby Stephens (Die Another Day). The film, which ...
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Reviews
Russian Dolls (Les Poupees Russes)
Dir/scr: Cedric Klapisch,Fr-UK. 2005. 125mins.We last saw Xavier(Romain Duris) five years ago at the end of L'Auberge Espagnole,literally running away from his new life as a civil servant. After the youthfulexuberance of his time in Barcelona chronicled in that film, who'd want tomeasure out their life with coffee spoons' Not ...
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Smiths end Star Wars' international reign
Action comedy Mr And MrsSmith ended Star Wars reign at the top of the international chartlast weekend. Released in 36 territoriesthe Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie film is the first major day-and-date launch since EpisodeIII and was expected to take the crown. However, Mr And Mrs Smithwill immediately face stiff competition for ...
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Oldboy director joins CJ's digital slate
Korean major CJ Entertainment is teaming withmerchandising and licensing company Barunson to finance eight upcoming projectsby star directors, including Oldboy's Park Chan-wook. In a significant development for the local industry,all eight projects will be shot in high-definition (HD) digital format.In addition to Park, the directors include RyooSeung-wan (Arahan), Hur Jin-ho ...
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News
De Laurentiis' call to abandon windows sparks reaction
Italian distributors andexhibitors have reacted strongly against a suggestion by Aurelio De Laurentiisthat Italy should counter the crisis that is currently hitting its box officeby simultaneously releasing films in cinemas, on Pay-TV and on DVD at differentprices. Laura Fumagalli, marketingdirector of Arcadia, an avant-garde digitally equipped multiplex near Milansays that ...
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Winding Refn lines up Viking tale Valhalla Rising
Pusher and FearX director Nicolas Winding Refn is lining up a new film about a mute Vikingcalled Valhalla Rising. Mads Mikkelsen will play theViking who escapes from imprisonment in Scotland who accidentally discoversAmerica on his journey home.The film is expected to be shotwith handheld camera and a relatively small film ...
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Last Mitterand to open Cambridge Film Festival
The Cambridge Film Festival (July 7-17) is to open withRobert Geudiguian's Berlinale title The Last Mitterand.Tomark its 25th anniversary, the festival has lined up a sting of UK premieresincluding Kim Ki Duk's 3 Iron, Mike Figgis' Coma, HayaoMiyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle, Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers,Ingmar Bergman's Saraband and DreamWorks hit ...
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News
Eichinger extends contract at Constantin
Bernd Eichinger has extended his existingproducer contract with leading independent German production house ConstantinFilm until March 31, 2009.The agreement ensures that Eichinger will continue to produceexclusively for Constantin and also make him available to the company as aconsultant for productions which he is not responsible for as producer.Since taking over ...
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News
Leigh signs up for quickie with Portman
Jennifer Jason Leigh has signed to star opposite Vladimir Mashkov in Prisoner Of The Mountains director Sergei Bodrov's The Quickie.The picture, being backed by the UK's Portman Entertainment and Germany's Pandora, is set on New Year's Eve when Mashkov's Russian Mafia boss realises that he is in love - and ...
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Feehery named external affairs chief at MPAA
John Feehery hasbeen named executive vice president for external affairs at the Motion PictureAssociation of America (MPAA) following the departure of Stacy Carlson topursue other interests.MPAA presidentDan Glickman paid tribute to Carlson and said she had been of "tremendousassistance" during the first few months of his tenure.Turning toFeehery, Glickman said: ...
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Canadian theatrical documentaries get funding boost
The National Film Board ofCanada and local broadcaster The Documentary Channel have partnered to boostproduction of theatrical documentaries, the former increasing by $323,000(C$400,000) its annual production allocation and the latter increasing byC$400,000 its feature documentary licensing fees.The new money comes in thewake of an announced $1.62m (C$2m) pilot program from ...
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Vaines to run European production for Weinsteins
Bob and Harvey Weinsteincontinued to ramp up activities at The Weinstein Company yesterday [June 15],naming three key executives ahead of the October launch.Colin Vaines will serve asexecutive vice president of European production and development, Tim Clawsonhas been named executive vice president of physical and post-production, andIrwin Reiter has been named ...
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Recording star Larson joins cast of Walden/New Line's Hoot
Brie Larson hasjoined the cast of Walden Media and New Line Cinema's children's tale Hoot.Based on CarlHiaasen's award-winning book, Hoot centres on a Montana boy who moves to Florida and unearths asinister threat to the local population of endangered owls.Logan Lermanplays Roy Eberhardt, the young boy who uncovers the mystery. ...
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Huayi Brothers unveils $15m Feng project The Banquet
Beijing-based production anddistribution outfit Huayi Brothers Film Investment has announced the nextproject from hot Chinese director Feng Xiaogang - a US$15m period film with theworking title The Banquet. The film, which is looselybased on William Shakespeare's Hamlet but set in Tang Dynasty China, reteams three crew members who worked togetheron ...
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UK government calls for film policy review
The UKgovernment has asked the UK Film Council to carry out a review of policytowards British film.CreativeIndustries Minister James Purnell announced the 'stocktake of film policy' in aspeech at an Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) event in London today.Purnell, who was appointed to the post last month, also suggested ...