Small MPU – Page 3946
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Bond producer to chair UK young filmmaker initiative
BarbaraBroccoli, producer of the James Bond films, has been appointed chair of First Light, the UK FilmCouncil's filmmaking initiative for young people.Broccoli, of EON Productions, produced the Bond hits GoldenEye,Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day with Michael G. Wilson. They are currentlyworking on ...
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L'Apres-midi opening for Cannes Critics' Week
L'Apres-midi de Monsieur Andesmas is set to open the 43rd annual Critic's Weeksidebar at the Cannes Film Festival on May 13.The first feature from director Michelle Porte is adaptedfrom a text by legendary French author Marguerite Duras. Porte was a longtimecollaborator of the writer prior to Duras' death in 1996.Set ...
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BFI Production adds Coriat, McQueen to slate
BFI Production - the UK funding operation that supported early work from such film-makers as Ratcatcher's Lynne Ramsay, 24/7's Shane Meadows and The Full Monty writer Simon Beaufoy - has unveiled a new feature slate as it moves under the control of newly-created film super body The Film Council.Wonderland writer ...
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Fragile's Click taps into German funding
UK-Germanco-production Click,set to star Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Thandie Newton, Dominic West and JuliaStiles, is one of four international co-productions to share Euros 3m fundingfrom Dusseldorf-based Filmstiftung NRW.The romantic comedy about a bride falling in love withanother woman is the directorial debut of Ol Parker and is a co-production withthe ...
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Japanese studio draws up mass market animation plans
Spurred onby the success of rival Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Japan's Toei Animation hasbegun to shift its emphasis away from kid-targeted TV fare to produce moreanimation features aimed at a wide audience.Japan'soldest animation production and distribution house has produced two animatedfilms for a wide release on over ...
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Wild Bunch takes over Bac video outfit
French sales house Exception Wild Bunch is set to take overWild Side Video and Wild Side Films from embattled distributor Bac Majestic.Bac is ceding its ownership of the two labels following itstakeover by French animation and documentary house Millimages.Wild Side Video distributes films from Bac, Wild Bunch andWild Side Films, ...
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Spanish box office sensation cranks up Amazing World
Spain's box office Midas, Santiago Segura, is co-producing andstarring in new comedy The Amazing World Of Borjamari Y Pocholo.A kind of Spanish Dumb And Dumber, the action turns on twothirty-something brothers who still believe they are living their heyday ofcool despite that period having come - and definitively gone - ...
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Malkovich thumbs a ride with Hitchhiker's Guide
John Malkovich has reportedly joined the cast of TheHitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, theSpyglass/Disney version of Douglas Adams's cult sci-fi novel.Malkovich will play a cult leader, created for the film bythe late Adams, according to a report on the BBC.The $50-$60m film alsostars Hip-hop star and actor Mos Def, ZooeyDeschanel ...
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UK Film Council to study impact of film on economy
The UK Film Council is backing a six month study to probethe contribution and trickle down effect of the UK screen industries -including film, television, games and commercials - to the economy.The study will look to uncover the size, scale and impact ofthe UK screen industries on each nation and ...
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Spain's Lumina sells Hero to UK's Parasol Peccadillo
Spanish sales outfit Lumina Films has sold all UK rights on1970s-set coming-of-age tale You're My Heroto Parasol Peccadillo Releasing (PPR).The sale adds to a growing list for the title, including toQuality Films in Mexico, Cinplex in Colombia, Weisner Distribution in PuertoRico, Gateno in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, pay TV to ...
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CanWest extinguishes Fireworks
Nearly a year after the departure offounder and CEO Jay Firestone, Fireworks Entertainment is to be shuttered byparent company CanWest Global Communications.Winnipeg-based CanWest announced on Fridaythat the stricken company would cease both television production andacquisition activities and that discussions were underway with "a numberof parties" toward disposing of the catalogue. ...
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Bill kills competition at the box office
Vengeance was the ticket atthe weekend as Miramax's Kill Bill Vol 2 opened on a company record estimated at $25.6m while Lions Gate'sMarvel Comics adaptation The Punisher came in second on $14m.The concluding part ofQuentin Tarantino's revenge saga opened to superb reviews and averaged $8,604from 2,971 theatres.Uma Thurman continues whereshe ...
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Fortissimo picks up Sabu's Monday
Fortissimo Film Sales has picked up world sales rights to Monday, the Japanese film which scooped the FIPRESCI critics award at last month's Berlin festival.The film, directed by Hiroki Tanaka (aka Sabu), is the story told in flashback of a man who wakes up in a luxury hotel without knowing ...
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Scooby has $11.2m weekend, holds at top in UK for third weekend
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed lapped up an estimated $11.2m at theweekend, raising its international running total to $65m.The highlight was a first place $2.8m hold from 490 screens in itsthird weekend in the UK for a $23.5m running total there and an unconfirmedthird place in Italy on $1.2m from 300 ...
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Dawn takes $2m over the weekend in Universal territories
Universal's horror remake Dawn Of The Dead grossed an estimated $2m through UIP atthe weekend, where the highlight was second place in Germany behind BrotherBear on $1.1m from 347screens.The promising start grossed 92% more than the Texas ChainsawMassacre and 18% morethan House On Haunted Hill.The picture opened top in Austria ...
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Hungary presents benefits of new film law to LA studios, producers
The extent to which US and international producers can benefitfrom Hungary's new film laws was outlined at a special presentation hosted bythe Hungarian Consul General in Los Angeles late last week.As of Apr 1 productions shooting in Hungary will be eligible for a20% tax rebate on the Hungarian spend. Alternatively, ...
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NEW ZEALAND 19 April
After Columbia TriStar warmed up audiences on previews starting a week ago, 50 First Dates confidently claimed the top spot in the box office charts with a gross of NZ$505,506 from 56 screens. It also had the highest screen average of the weekend at NZ$9,027.It replaced UIP's Along Came Polly, ...
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Intertainment shares surge following lawsuit settlement
Shares in beleaguered German media concern Intertainment soared by up to 14% yesterday (April 19) after it reached a settlement with Franchise Pictures' former president and COO Andrew Stevens on the eve of its lawsuit against Franchise and other parties.A statement issued by Intertainment indicated that the settlement had included ...
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Euro buyers swoop for Japanese samurai action feature
European buyers have snapped up Japanese samurai action feature Azumi.Buyers include CTV in France, Optimum Releasing in the UK, Manga Films in Spain, Lusomundo in Portugal, A Films in Benelux, Laser Paradise in Germany and Smile/Noble Entertainment in Scandinavia. The film has also been popular among Asian buyers and has ...
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Magnolia flowers overseas
Three times Academy Award nominee Magnolia is finding niche audiences as it opens up across international territories, despite its three-hour plus running time. Its most successful release to date is surprisingly in Japan where the New Line Cinema picture has attracted $5m at the box office in two weeks. In ...