Small MPU – Page 3272

  • Features

    Japan - Adaptations - Tapping the sources

    2007-08-31T00:00:00Z

    Books: While the manga TV animation-animated feature cycle has been a mainstay in Japan, Toho Studios' 2004 megahit Crying Out Love, In The Centre Of The World ($72.5m) sparked an increased dependence on novels as source material, with major publishers such as Kadokawa Publishing and Shueisha regularly joining production consortiums. ...

  • Features

    China - Onward and upward

    2007-08-31T00:00:00Z

    Industry experts in China believe the country's 2007 box office could break the $400m (rmb3bn) milestone as the number of cinemas and admissions continues to grow.According to monthly statistics from the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft), total box office for the first half ...

  • Features

    Bourne-again triumphs

    2007-08-31T00:00:00Z

    Jason Bourne kicked the Simpsons out of the top spot as The Bourne Ultimatum took $15.2m in its third weekend - pushing it past the $50m mark. The third instalment of the franchise expanded into a further five territories, taking $2.5m in its first weekend in Russia and opening to ...

  • Features

    International box office - Czech Republic - Recovery position

    2007-08-31T00:00:00Z

    Admissions in the Czech Republic grew 13% year on year for the first half of 2007, with cinemas earning total revenues of nearly $31.3m (czk637m). If the trend continues, 2007 will outpace last year's 11.5 million admissions, continuing the recovery from 2005's 9.5 million.The Czech Republic, which has a population ...

  • News

    Wild Bunch boosts strong Toronto slate with addition of $22m Terra

    2007-09-03T03:00:00Z

    Wild Bunch has acquired worldwide rights outside English-speaking territories to the $22 million animated project Terra, which will screen in a gala world premiere at Toronto. The film is directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas and has a voice cast including Luke Wilson, Evan Rachel Wood, Danny Glover, Dennis Quaid, Rosanna Arquette, ...

  • News

    Stopping Power forced to stop $40m shoot over financing issues

    2007-09-02T12:50:00Z

    Principal photography on Jan de Bont's $40m action thriller Stopping Power has had to be suspended after the default of a key equity investor in the film made it impossible for the Internationalmedia Group to close the required financing. The investor's breach has led to the IM Internationalmedia wholly-ownd subsidiary ...

  • News

    Ang Lee plans safer edit of Lust, Caution for Chinese audiences

    2007-09-03T02:00:00Z

    Since its Venice world premiere, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution has created whatFocus boss James Schamus is calling 'a tidal wave of interest' across Asia.The Asian response has been largely positive. Lee's steamy espionagethriller will be given a major Asian release later in the autumn. However,controversy is already dogging the film ...

  • News

    Babelgum recruits Spike Lee to judge new online shorts festival

    2007-09-02T13:15:00Z

    New Internet TV platform Babelgum has announced plans to launch a new online film festival for films up to 45 minutes long.At a press conference in Venice, Babelgum CEO Valerio Zingarelli also announced that Spike Lee will serve as an honorary judge of the Babelgum Online Film Festival. Zingarelli $20,000 ...

  • News

    Shrek narrowly beats Bourne to top international box office

    2007-09-02T22:57:00Z

    In a narrow victory DreamWorks/Paramount's Shrek The Third wrestled the overseas crown from The Bourne Ultimatum and raised its international running total by an estimated $17.2m to $436m.The weekend result struck a blow for the more traditional staggered release pattern in a season where the more spectacular opening grossesgenerated by ...

  • News

    Clubland wins top prize at Australian Writers Guild Awards

    2007-09-03T03:48:00Z

    Clubland written by Keith Thompson won the top prize, for 'Outstanding Australian Script', at this year's Australian Writers Guild Awards (the Awgies) which took place on Friday night. The film also shared the award in the original feature film category along with another story about family - Tony Ayres' The ...

  • News

    Sitges adds Sabotage, Shadow Of The Vampire

    2000-08-28T18:43:00Z

    Spain's Sitges International Film Festival (Oct 5-14) has announced two more films in this year's line-up: screwball comedy Sabotage will close this year's event, while Elias Merhige's Shadow Of The Vampire will compete as part of the official selection.The English-language Sabotage, from Spain's Ibarretxe Brothers (writer-directors Esteban and Jose Miguel, ...

  • News

    Dennehy in talks for Righteous Kill

    2007-09-03T06:00:00Z

    Brian Dennehy is in negotiations to join new cast members John Leguizamo, Dan Futterman, Trilby Glover and professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek on the crime thriller Righteous Kill, which begins filming on Sept 4 in Connecticut and New York. As previously announced in Cannes, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro star ...

  • News

    Italian distributor cancels Woody Allen screenings in Venice

    2007-09-03T11:20:00Z

    There were angry scenes in Venice over the weekend when it emerged that Italian distributor Filmauro had cancelled three of the five screenings planned for Woody Allen's new feature, Cassandra's Dream, starring Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor. The reasons for the last-minute cancellations were shrouded in mystery. Some well-placed sources ...

  • News

    UTV moves into Telugu-language film production

    2007-09-03T11:23:00Z

    Mumbai-based UTV Motion Pictures (UTVM) is making a foray into Telugu-language films by signing Telugu star Mahesh Babu, one of the most bankable stars in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, for two movies. The company has also acquired the Andhra Pradesh distribution rights for Mahesh Babu's next film ...

  • News

    Ridley Scott to tackle religion and politics with Body Of Lies

    2007-09-03T11:27:00Z

    Ridley Scott, in Venice at the weekend for the special screening of Blade Runner: The Final Cut, has revealed further details of his new Warner Bros film, Body Of Lies, which starts shooting on Wednesday. 'We are working fast. We are working to get ahead of the strike,' Scott said ...

  • News

    France and Italy acquire Mongol ahead of Toronto world premiere

    2007-09-03T11:31:00Z

    Beta Cinema has closed deals with France's Metropolitan Filmexport and Italy's BIM Distribution for the distribution rights to Sergei Bodrov's Genghis Khan epic Mongol ahead of its world premiere as a special presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept 8. Beta had already presold the title to more ...

  • News

    Crisis at Internationalmedia deepens as Schuermann suspended

    2007-09-03T11:35:00Z

    The crisis at IM Internationalmedia has deepened with the announcement this morning that Martin Schuermann, CEO of the Group's US subsidiary Intermedia Film Equities USA, has been suspended with immediate effect from his 'executive employment status'. Schuermann had already stepped down from the IM board on July 25, but had ...

  • News

    Fipresci names Mungiu's 4 Months best film of the year

    2007-09-03T11:44:00Z

    At the Fipresci Grand Prix vote, Cristian Mungiu's Romanian abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 Luni, 3 Saptamini si 2 Zile) has been named best film of the year. The vote reflects 248 members of the International Federation of Film Critics. Other top films in the ...

  • News

    Bankside takes on sales for Shake Hands With The Devil

    2007-09-03T12:12:00Z

    Going into the Toronto International Film Festival, UK-based Bankside Films has acquired Roger Spottiswoode's Shake Hands With The Devil. The film screens as a Special Presentation in Toronto. Michael Donovan (Bowling for Columbine) produces with Laszlo Barna.Shake Hands With The Devil is based on the autobiography of Lieutenant General Romeo ...

  • Reviews

    Michael Clayton

    2007-09-03T12:42:00Z

    Dir:Tony Gilroy USA , 2007, 119 mins George Clooney isn't out to break the mould with Michael Clayton, a slow, moody and insomniac thriller which wears its social conscience very much on its sleeve. In Syriana andGood Night and Good Luck (and to some extent The Good German) audiences have ...