Small MPU – Page 3880
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News
Bourne Supremacy holds well in UK, raises total to $11.2m
Universal'sthriller sequel The Bourne Supremacy added an estimated $5.2m on 698screens in five territories through UIP at the weekend for a $13.6minternational running total.The result was fuelled by a strong second weekend hold in the UK, where thepicture added $2.8m on 414 and dropped 35% for $11.2m. It remained secondbehind ...
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Exorcist rides horror train to the top
Warner Bros' ill-fatedhorror prequel Exorcist: The Beginning opened top at the weekend on anestimated $18.2m, exceeding expectations at the studio, which was so afraid ofa critical mauling it refused to schedule previews.The picture, whose chequeredproduction history entailed a re-shoot and three directors, stars StellanSkarsgard as a young Father Lankester Merrin ...
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Exorcist turns heads with so-so $18.2m debut
Warner Bros' ill-fatedhorror prequel Exorcist: The Beginning opened top at the weekend on anestimated $18.2m, exceeding expectations at the studio, which was so afraid ofa critical mauling it refused to schedule previews.The picture, whose chequeredproduction history entailed a re-shoot and three directors, stars StellanSkarsgard as a young Father Lankester Merrin ...
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New York Film Festival reveals line-up
Lodge Kerrigan's psychological drama Keane, about aschizophrenic father searching for his kidnapped girl, Zhang Yimou's epic HouseOf The Flying Daggers and David Gordon Green's thriller Undertow areamong the line-up at the 42nd New York Film Festival, which runsfrom Oct 1-17.As previously announced (Screendaily, Jul 16), Agnes Jaoui'srelationship drama Look At ...
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ROMANIA 23 August
Two new releases hit the Romanian cinemas last weekend bothperforming strongly despite summer sunshine and the Olympic games.Starsky And Hutchdebuted at the top of the pack with just over 4,500 admissions on six screens.But the real audience favourite was RaisingHelen with a screen average of over 1,000 admissions.
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AUSTRALIA 23 August
Besides Hellboyand The Ladykillers, three otheropeners registered in the chart. Roadshow's BeforeSunset (11th ) grossed A$166,871 from 24 screens, and Rialto's Coffee & Cigarettes (16th) grossedA$88,634 from just 11 screens. At A$6,952 and A$8,057 respectively, the screenaverages on both these films were the two highest in the chart apart from ...
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NEW ZEALAND 23 August
The top 20 films in New Zealand together sold less ticketson the weekend than any other top 20 group of films this year. Despite thislack-lustre result, the five most popular films grossed within NZ$10,000 ofeach other, intimating that it was a hard-fought race at the top.Two openers, JerseyGirl from BVI/Miramax ...
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The Nameless wins Brussels Golden Raven
Spanish title The Nameless, directed by Jaume Balaguero, was awarded the Golden Raven at the 18th Brussels Festival of Fantasy, Thriller and Science Fiction Films (March 17 - April 1). The prize includes $25,000 (BFr1m) towards the film's domestic or international promotion. The Nameless has previously picked up the European ...
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Reviews
Exorcist: The Beginning
Dir: RennyHarlin. 2004. USA. 114mins.A thunderousassault of visual and aural effects, including digitally rendered hyenas androiling sandstorms straight out of The Mummy, the long-gestating Exorcist:The Beginning is a colossal studio misfire that is less unprecedented forits erratic production history than for its capacity to rival notorious fiasco ExorcistII: The Heretic ...
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Video Island, ScreenSelect join forces
UKmail-order DVD rental firms Video Island and ScreenSelect are to merge,creating what they claim will be the clear leader in the emerging marketsector.Thecompany will be headed by Saul Klein, currently CEO of Video Island, whileWilliam Reeve and Alex Chesterman, founders of ScreenSelect, will take on theroles of Chief Operating Officer ...
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Reviews
The Purifiers
Dir/scr: Richard Jobson.UK. 2004. 85minsThere are some areas of the international market in whichBritish cinema cannot reasonably expect to compete. A meaty, martial artsthriller might be one of them. That hasn't stopped ambitious writer-directordirector Richard Jobson making a plucky attempt to create his own pulpyScottish version of a Hong Kong ...
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International buyers clamour for Lord Of War
Lord Of War,billed as one of the biggest independent features currently in production inthe world, has relocated to South Africa after two weeks of shooting in NewYork.Executive producer and Arclight Films managing director GaryHamilton says he has already sold the US$50m action thriller starring NicolasCage and Ethan Hawke into "virtually ...
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Media Asia IPO application investigated
Media Asia Group's proposed listing on theSingapore stock exchange has reportedly been put on hold as the MonetaryAuthority of Singapore (MAS) has requested further information about somemembers of the company's management team.One of Hong Kong's leading production anddistribution companies, Media Asia is planning to raise around US$10m from theIPO which ...
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UK film magazine moves into TV documentaries
EMPIRE - the UK's biggest film magazine - and independentproduction company Monkey have been commissioned by Five to co-produce adocumentary on Steven Spielberg, to coincide with the 3rd September release of The Terminal.The hour-long programme features a rare, in-depth interviewwith Spielberg at his Amblin studio, highlighted with clips from his ...
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Celebrated cinematographer joins Verhoeven's Book
Celebrated cinematographer Theo van de Sande has been set asdirector of photography on the forthcoming BlackBook, the new period drama by Dutch master Paul Verhoeven.Van de Sande is a Dutch national who has worked extensivelyon both sides of the Atlantic. His Hollywood credits include Wayne's World, Blade, Big Daddy and ...
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Danish veteran returns to Judge
Danish film veteranGert Fredholm, who returned to feature filmmaking after a 20 year hiatus with One Hand Clapping in 2001, is to shoothis new film Dommeren (literally TheJudge).Like Fredholm'scomeback movie it is written and produced by Mikael Olsen and will star PeterGantzler and Jens Okking. It follows a dynamic and ...
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Japanese studio, broadcaster team for film acquisition
In the first deal of its kind in Japan, Fuji TelevisionNetwork and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan (SPEJ) are joining forces toacquire Japanese rights for Kung FuHustle, the latest action comedy by Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Chow.The partners will buy theatrical, broadcast and home entertainment rights tothe film - the first-ever ...
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Pony Canyon takes rights to Spanish Sea
Japan's Pony Canyon has picked up rights to AlejandroAmenabar's much-anticipated The Othersfollow-up, The Sea Within (Mar Adentro).Starring Javier Bardem in the true story-based tale of aparalyzed man who fought for decades for the right to die, The Sea Within (formerly OutTo Sea) competes at next week's Venice Film Festival.Venice is ...
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Film Consortium leads backers on Manchevski's Dust
Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski goes back behind the camera today, finally going into production in New York on Dust, his long-cherished "epic western" which was originally set up in 1995 as a co-production between Robert Redford's South Fork Pictures and Miramax Films.The movie is now being backed by a host ...
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THINKFilm draws new equity investment
Toronto-basedreleasing company THINKFilm has attracted new equity investment from twoCanadian investment firms, Covington Capital Corporation and Dynamic VentureOpportunities Fund.This is thefirst new infusion of equity capital in the privately-held company since RobertLantos of Serendipity Point Films joined as a partner and chairman in January2003.In a statement,THINKFilm president and chief executive ...