Small MPU – Page 661

  • News

    Roginas to head St Petersburg Film Festival

    2006-02-14T04:00:00Z

    Ex-Eurimages executive secretary RenateRoginas has been named Artistic Director for the first St. Petersburg InternationalFilm Festival in July.Roginas, who has been appointed toa five-year contract, wants to see the festival become 'a bridge from Russiato Europe and also to the rest of the world. I think itwill be important ...

  • News

    GreeneStreet sells rights on Black's comedy

    2006-02-14T04:00:00Z

    GreeneStreet Films International(GSFI) has sold a raft of rights on Michael Ian Black's comedy The Pleasure OfYour Company headed up by Pathe in the UK.GSFI has been entertaining buyers with a promo of theproject, which is in post-production and stars Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher, who won plaudits for her ...

  • News

    Screen International boosts FilMart relationship

    2006-02-14T04:00:00Z

    Screen Internationalannounced that it will introduce daily publications at Hong Kong's FilMart in March. Supported by trade development council, the TDC, the dailies will bepublished throughout the March 20-23 event and will be similar in concept tothe leading dailies published in Berlin and Cannes.Screen's Publishing Director Tim McLoughlinsaid: 'The ...

  • Reviews

    Freedomland

    2006-02-14T06:30:00Z

    Dir: Joe Roth. US. 2006.113mins. Trying to streamline andilluminate Freedomland, Richard Price's panoramic 1998 novel,studio executive Joe Roth is working beyond his range, temperament andsensibility.Unlike other directors whohave adapted the works of Price Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Philip Kaufman,John McNaughton Roth is not a natural or ...

  • News

    Hong Kong conglomerate New World steps into China

    2006-02-14T04:00:00Z

    Hong Kong conglomerate New WorldGroup, which is owned by Media 8 Entertainment investor Henry Cheng, is to stepinto film production in Chinawith PK.com to be directed byBeijing-based filmmaker Xiao Jiang (Electric Shadows). Hong Kongidol Jaycee Chan, son of action star Jackie Chan, and Taiwanese heartthrob ChenBo-lin will head the cast ...

  • Reviews

    V For Vendetta

    2006-02-14T04:00:00Z

    Dir:James McTeigue UK-Ger. 133mins.Thelatest Alan Moore graphic novel adaptation, after From Hell and The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta has A for Auxiliarywritten all over it.It allstarts promisingly enough, with sombre chords and a vintage, black-and-white WarnerBros logo ushering us into a dark vision of a totalitarian Britain ...

  • Reviews

    El Custodio

    2006-02-14T04:00:00Z

    Dir:Rodrigo Moreno. Arg/Ger/Fr. 100 mins.ElCustodio did nothing to satisfy festivalBerlinale audiences hungry for a little light entertainment. This study of anArgentinian government minister's police minder is painfully slow, taking allof 90 minutes to build to its first, and last, moment of real action. But itis also a strangely compelling exercise ...

  • News

    Cinemex extends Mexican reach with GCM acquisition

    2000-06-09T14:25:00Z

    Mexico City's leading exhibitor, Grupo Cinemex, has expanded beyond the capital's borders by acquiring 100% of General Cinema Mexico (GCM), an alliance between General Cinema International and Fondo Optima. By pouncing on GCM's five cinemas and 62 screens - located in Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Guadalajara, Leon and Aguascalientes - the ...

  • News

    Paramount's specialty arm takes domestic on Truth

    2006-02-14T00:00:00Z

    Paramount Pictures' new specialty division has acquired worldwide rightsto Participant Productions' documentary An Inconvenient Truth which had itsworld premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year.Davis Guggenheim's film features former US vice president Al Gore in astudy of global warming. The science of global warming is weaved in with Gore'spersonal ...

  • News

    Frigo assumes management reins at BVI Europe

    2006-02-14T00:00:00Z

    Daniel Frigo hasbeen promoted to senior vice president and general manager of Europe, MiddleEast and Africa for Buena Vista International (BVI).As of Feb 1,Frigo assumed responsibility for BVI's European operations, replacing BVIexecutive vice president and general manager of Europe Stuart Salter, who isretiring after shepherding BVI Europe for 14 years. ...

  • News

    John Kochman to head Unifrance in USA

    2006-02-14T11:18:00Z

    French film export body Unifrancehas named John Kochman as Director of Unifrance USAin New York. Kochmanwill be joined by a new deputy director, Aurelie Godet.Former Unifrance USAdirector Catherine Verret-Vimont recently steppeddown opening up a key job in the organization's structure.Kochman is a 15 year internationalsales veteran and comes to Unifrance ...

  • News

    Revolution signs first-look TV deal with Channel 4

    2006-02-14T11:48:00Z

    Revolution Films, the UK production company founded by producer Andrew Eaton and directorMichael Winterbottom, has set up a new televisiondivision and signed an exclusive first-look deal with Channel 4. Kate Ogborn, an independent producer at TheBureau and the former executive producer at regional screen agency EM Mediawill head the TV ...

  • News

    Gaga sells Waters to Intercontinental Group

    2006-02-15T04:00:00Z

    Japan'sGaga has sold Waters, the first filmfrom its Gaga Films production banner, to Hong Kong'sIntercontinental Group.Directed by Ryo Nishimura, the film is about seven young menwho try to make a living by setting up their own "host club" in a desolateseaside bar. The ensemble cast includes Oguri Shun,Matsuo Toshinobu, Suga ...

  • News

    Auret and Thoke launch Roughdiamond

    2006-02-15T04:00:00Z

    Former Sithengi Film & TVMarket CEO Michael Auret and German producer Christoph Thoke have launched Roughdiamond films as a South African-based internationalfinancing and production outfit.With headquarters in Cape Town,Roughdiamond will be financing and line producingEnglish-language films in the range of $5m-$30m.While all the South African financing and production will becoordinated ...

  • News

    Dream Entertainment picks up rights on Kedzierzawska's I Am

    2006-02-15T04:00:00Z

    Dream Entertainment has picked up worldwide rights on Dorota Kedzierzawska'sPolish drama I Am, which screens inthe Kinderfest section at the Berlinfilm festival. Agnieszka Nagorzyckaand Janusz Chabior star inthe story of a boy who escapes from an orphanage andreturns to his hometown.Plans are currently underway for the picture's NorthAmerican release. Dream's ...

  • News

    Fortissimo picks up world sales on Waiter

    2006-02-15T04:00:00Z

    Fortissimohas picked up world sales on Waiter,the Dutch-HK-based sales company's fourth venture with director Alex van Warmerdam.Producedby Marc van Warmerdam, the film has recently wrappedand is in post-production.Themovie is about a waiter and his creator, a writer with a meddling wife.Fortissimohas previously represented van Warmerdam's The Dress (1996), Little Tony ...

  • News

    'Chico time' for the big screen

    2006-02-14T15:30:00Z

    Chico Slimani, one of the contestant's on UK television's talentcompetition The X Factor, is set toappear in a feature film based on his real adventures of his former career as amale stripper. Slimani will co-produce and hasco-written the script with director Helen Grace and his brother, actor JC Mac. The ...

  • News

    Jansen's Recipe wins Talent Highlight Pitch Award

    2006-02-15T04:00:00Z

    The Netherlands'Rinkel Film & TV will be joining forces withHamburg-based Neue Impulsto produce writer-director Melinda Jansen's ARecipe For Hendrik Hadders, which won the Talent Highlight Pitch Award2006 at Berlinale's Talent Project Market.Jansen's script for the "coming of middle-agedrama" was developed at the Binger Film Lab in Amsterdamand had received the ...

  • News

    The European Film Market rebooks 100% for 2007

    2006-02-15T04:00:00Z

    With foot traffic yesterday noticeably down on previous days,the European Film Market is winding down after five days of business whichproved more productive for international buyers than the UScontingent.But despite the traditional grumbles, festival chief Dieter Kosslick said that rebooking of the market has been nearly100% for next year's Berlin.'We're ...

  • News

    Fortissimo picks up worldwide rights to Taxidermia

    2006-02-15T04:00:00Z

    Fortissimo Films has picked up worldwide rights to Gyorgy Palfi's Taxidermia, which won the main prize at HungarianFilm Week last week. Palfi's second feature after thecritically acclaimed Hukklein 2002, it was met with wide critical praise in Budapestwhere it shared the foreign critics prize and won a further three awards.Spanning ...