Small MPU – Page 758

  • News

    Canadian cinema to enjoy worldwide roadshow

    2003-05-30T04:05:00Z

    The Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG) is expanding its Film Circuit initiative beyond Canada, backing events in Europe, Egypt and Mexico and three events in the US. Launched in 1992, the Film Circuit is an alternative distribution system for Canadian and international independent films in over 120 communities across ...

  • News

    Ozon's Swimming Pool has a splashy start

    2003-05-29T00:00:00Z

    Two of this year's high-profile Cannes competitors, Francois Ozon's Swimming Pool and Lars Von Trier's Dogville, may have come away lacking awards but both have shown they don't lack audiences as they launched in multiple French-speaking territories last weekend.Swimming Pool dived into second place in France where the thriller sold ...

  • News

    Bowling rolls past $50m worldwide gross

    2003-05-30T04:00:00Z

    AllianceAtlantis Communications' Oscar winning documentary Bowling ForColumbine has passed$50m at the worldwide box office.MichaelMoore's controversial anti-gun diatribe has grossed more than $21m in theNorth American market, where it was distributed by United Artists, it ranks asone of the most successful documentaries of all time.Internationallythe records have tumbled. After Alliance Atlantis ...

  • News

    Paillard says Cannes Market a success, 7% increase in participants

    2003-05-30T04:00:00Z

    Jerome Paillard,executive director of the Cannes Market, reported a 7% increase of overallparticipants at this year's event with 7,880 compared to 7,368 in 2002.Notableincreases came from Spain, which accounted for a 26% rise in participants, theUK (21%), Germany and France (both 12%).Paillard saidthe number of overall buyers fell by 6% ...

  • News

    Fortissimo expands slate with Wong's Mood For Love

    2000-02-11T18:35:00Z

    Fortissimo Film Sales has picked up sales duties on seven new pictures including Cannes competition hopeful In The Mood For Love, directed by Wong Kar Wai.The Dutch-Hong Kong sales house opened its new slate for business at the European Film Market in Berlin this week, and plans to take the ...

  • News

    Spitfire addicted to Korean thriller remake

    2003-05-30T04:00:00Z

    Guy East and NigelSinclair's Spitfire Pictures and Roy Lee and Doug Davison's VertigoEntertainment are teaming up to produce Addicted, a remake of KM Culture's Korean thriller Jungadok.Michael Petroni, whosecredits include Queen Of The Damned and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, will adapt the screenplay from the original.Addicted is a ...

  • News

    Montreal festival deprived of 'A-list' status

    2003-05-30T00:00:00Z

    The Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF) has lost its prestigious Category 1 (colloquially referred to as "A-list") accreditation from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). The Paris-based body is effectively punishing MWFF director Serge Losique for changing the dates of the 2003 event without consultation. Montreal's new dates ...

  • News

    Fortissimo picks Zhang's Sunflower

    2003-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Fortissimo Film Sales has picked up international rights to Sunflower, the next picture from Chinese director Zhang Yang, which Peter Loehr is producing through his Los Angeles and Beijing-based production company Ming Productions. China's Asian Union Film and Singapore's Raintree Pictures are co-financing the $1.9m film which is currently being ...

  • Reviews

    Purple Butterfly

    2003-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Lou Ye. China. 2003. 126minsAfter the Cannes Competition screening of Purple Butterfly, the long-awaited third film from Chinese director Lou Ye, some of the best critical minds of our generation - plus the present reviewer - stood outside the Salle Bunuel, arguing about the plot. Everyone had a slightly ...

  • Reviews

    Finding Nemo

    2003-05-30T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Andrew Stanton. US. 2003. 100mins.Pixar Animation Studios has made some of the best American features during the last decade in the two Toy Story films and Monsters Inc; Finding Nemo, which is released in the US on May 30, the first time a Pixar feature has been released in ...

  • News

    UIP, BVI seal theatrical pact for Scandinavia

    2003-06-02T04:05:00Z

    United International Pictures (UIP) and Buena Vista International (BVI) are to rationalise their theatrical distribution operations in parts of Scandinavia.BVI will close its distribution operations in Denmark and sub-distribute its films through the Danish branch of UIP. In Finland the situation is reversed; with UIP closing and instead routing its ...

  • News

    Kinderfilmfest tribute for Iran's Mohammad Ali Talebi

    2003-06-02T04:05:00Z

    Iran's Mohammad Ali Talebi is to receive the first ever showcase at a film festival of a selection of his feature films with the staging of a Director's Portrait by this year's Kinderfilmfest during the Munich Film Festival (June 28-July 5).Among the five films being shown are his 1992 film ...

  • News

    Huesca gets 1,400 submissions for shorts competition

    2003-06-02T04:05:00Z

    Reflecting the importance of the short film format as a calling card for young talents, the Huesca Film Festival of Spain (June 5-14) said it received more than 1,400 submissions for its parallel international and iberoamerican short film competitive sections.Of those presented, 53 were chosen from 27 countries for the ...

  • News

    Flanders festival changes awards policy

    2003-06-02T04:05:00Z

    In the light of the present crisis in arthouse distribution, Ghent's Flanders International Film Festival (FIFF) will be revising its awards policy for the 30th edition from October 7-18.While the festival will be increasing the total prize money by 10% to just over Euros 81,000, the major change is that ...

  • News

    Plenus plans merger with Korea's online game giant, NetMarble

    2003-06-01T20:55:00Z

    Plenus Entertainment, parent company of South Korean major Cinema Service, has unveiled plans to merge with Korea's largest online game company NetMarble. The announcement comes only months after the collapse of a planned merger between Plenus and rival studio CJ Entertainment.NetMarble, which has been 51% owned by Plenus since ...

  • News

    KCMedien, CineArtists board Stone's Beyond Borders

    2000-02-11T18:40:00Z

    German film fund KC Medien and Munich-based film finance packager CineArtists are backing Oliver Stone's next feature Beyond Borders, which will be partly shot on location in Europe. The film, about medical organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres, is the third project to receive backing from KC Medien following its change of ...

  • News

    Taormina announces June festival line-up

    2003-06-02T04:05:00Z

    The 49th Taormina BNL FilmFest, directed for the fifth consecutive year by Felice Laudadio, will screen 50 feature films during the event's eight days, 10 as world premiers and 16 as international premiers.Announcing the line-up Laudadio expressed his delight at being able to use Taormina with the aim of helping ...

  • News

    RCV wraps up a dozen Cannes buys

    2003-06-02T04:05:00Z

    Dutch distributorRCV Entertainment bought a dozen high profile English-language titles at Cannes. Although the prices paid have notbeen disclosed, the company's willingness to pre-buy so many titles that haveyet to go into production underlines the competitiveness of the Dutch market. RCV'sshopping list was headed by Monkeyface, the racing ...

  • News

    Disney/Pixar's Nemo finds new animated BO record

    2003-06-02T04:05:00Z

    Finding Nemo's $70.6m domestic number one bow rewrote the record books over the weekend as the Disney/Pixar collaboration scored the biggest opening ever for an animated film. The superb three-day estimated total overtook the previous high-water mark set by Pixar stablemate Monsters, Inc, which opened on $62.5m in Nov 2001. ...

  • News

    Matrix Reloaded hits $250m in third week int'l box office

    2003-06-02T04:05:00Z

    The Matrix Reloaded grossed $56m in 62 countries over the weekend, according to estimates released by Warner Bros. The sci-fi sequel's total now stands at $250m in its third week in international markets. Figures for the opening in Indonesia will become available on Monday. However, the film is expected to ...