Small MPU – Page 643
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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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News
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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News
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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News
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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News
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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News
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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News
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 ...
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News
Sumitomo snaps up Japan's AMC Theatres
Japanese film conglomerate SumitomoCorporation has paid a reported $48m for AMC Theatres Japan, which hascurrently five multiplexes nationwide. Sumitomo already owns 11multiplexes across Japan through the United Cinemas exhibitor brand.Sumitomo has numerous filminterests. It owns leading indie distributor and production company Asmik AceEntertainment together with Kadokawa Shoten Publishing and other ...
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News
Chinese film-makers eye global distribution at Shanghai
'Be realistic about your film'sinternational potential' and 'don't ignore your home market' were the twostrongest messages delivered at a seminar on the global distribution of Chinesefilms at the Shanghai International Film Festival this week. Speakers includingOcean Films' head of acquisitions Thierry Decourcelle reminded Chinesefilmmakers that the space for foreign-language cinema ...
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News
Screen conference to examine changing DVD market
The changing dynamics of thehome entertainment sector will be the subject of a major Screen Internationalconference to be held at the Langham Hotel in Central London next Thursday(June 23).Topics to be addressed atthe event include what the current trends in DVD retail and pricing mean forthe film industry, the impact ...
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News
Taiwan's CMC unveils big-budget Silk
Taiwan's CMC Entertainment Group has unveiled Silk (Guisi),Taiwan's biggest film since Chen Kuo-fu's Double Vision in 2002. Unlike Vision, whose $7m budget came from Columbia Pictures FilmProduction Asia, Silk is fully financed with local money to the tune of$4.8m. Silk is the second feature of Su Chao-pin, who also scripted ...
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News
FilmFour, GFO plan late night shopping spree
The UK's FilmFour and the Glasgow Film Office (GFO) are collaborating on Late Night Shopping, an oddball, after-hours comedy that marks GFO's debut as a film financier.Saul Metzstein will direct the project from a script by Jack Lothian, with additional financing coming from the Scottish Arts Council's National Lottery fund ...
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News
Rai to play royalty in Dutta's Indian biopic
Aishwarya Rai is play royalty in a biopic on the lifeof Gayatri Devi, the former Maharani of Jaipur. A film based on her autobiography A PrincessRemembers is being directed by Indian filmmaker J. P. Dutta (Border).Rajmata Gayatri Devi (as she is now known) has given her consent to Dutta tocast ...
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News
British Film Institute to carry out archive access review
The British Film Institute(bfi) has asked CCS, the consultancy service of the Charted Institute ofLibrary and Information Professionals (CILIP), to carry out a review with theaim of increasing access to its archive of film and television materials.The first stage of thereview will identify options for future development including the possibilityof ...
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News
Roeg to chair Copenhagen festival jury
Director Nicolas Roeg is to preside over the jury atthe third Copenhagen International Film Festival (CIFF). The festival, which will focus on European films thisyear, is scheduled to run from August 18-28.Roeg (Don't Look Now, Performance) is preparing aphilosophical thriller to be shot next year with Neve Campbell in a ...
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News
Batman Begins swoops in for $15.2m on first day
The caped crusader wastedlittle time getting down to business this week as Batman Begins grossed a lofty $15.2m on its first day of release.Warner Bros opened Christopher Nolan's comic book adaptation in 3,858 theatresscreens at midnight on Weds Jun 15 and studio executives were thrilled with theresult.That first day gross, ...
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News
Echo Bridge acquires worldwide on street basketball title
LA-based sales anddistribution company Echo Bridge Entertainment has acquired worldwidedistribution rights to the street basketball title Black Top Confidential'sStreetball Confidential: Volume 1.Scott Miller's picture starsNBA All-Star Baron Davis, urban streetball legend Headache (Tim Gittens) andhip-hop artist The Game (Jayceon Taylor).Styled as a streetballinstructional, the picture features exclusive moves by Headache, ...
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News
Harvey moves up, Sakurada moves in at Myriad
LosAngeles-based Myriad Pictures has announced two appointments as in its film andtelevision sales department.Jim Harvey(pictured) has been promoted to executive director of sales and distributionand Jennifer Sakurada has been appointed to director of distribution.Moving up fromdirector of sales and distribution, Harvey assumes a leading role within thetheatrical sales department with ...
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Reviews
Bewitched
Dir: Nora Ephron. US.2005. 98 mins.Sony's eagerly awaited movie of the beloved 60s TV series Bewitched has to be one of the most featherweight summerblockbuster prospects in recent memory. Although it's stuffed with A-listtalent from stars Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell down, co-writer and directorNora Ephron has delivered a romantic ...