Small MPU – Page 3987
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News
Global anti-piracy trailer debuts in Australia
An anti-piracy trailer that likens illegally downloadingmovies from the Internet with othercrimes such as stealing cars and television sets and snatching handbags, waslaunched today in Australia by Attorney-General Philip Ruddock.The content and style seemed to meet the approval ofdelegates at the 8th annual conference of the Cinema Owners Association ofAustralia ...
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New lobby group attacks UK film archive plans
A withering attack has been launched on UK Government-backedplans to restructure the National Film and Television Archive (NFTVA). In astrongly worded document entitled "An Impending National Catastrophe: TheFate Of Britain's Film Heritage," a new lobbying organisation, theCuratori Lucis Group, has accused the UK Film Council and the British FilmInstitute (the ...
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News
Media Asia goes for Singapore listing
Through a listing inSingapore, Hong Kong film outfit Media Asia is going for an initial publicoffering in July in a bid to raise $11.7m (S$20m).'The fund raised through theIPO will be used to increase our film output as well as to make movies withhefty budgets,' said executive director and production ...
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Schloendorff in favour of MBO option for Babelsberg
Former Babelsberg studio boss Volker Schloendorff has spokenout in favour of the bid by the current management under Thierry Potok for thehistorical production centre as talks continue with Vivendi Universal on thestudio's future.In an interview with the German daily newspaper Die Welt,Schloendorff expressed doubts about the feature film ambitions of ...
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News
Fahrenheit to be first doc released theatrically in Middle East
United Arab Emirates based Front Row Entertainment is planning to releaseMichael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 inthe Middle East beginning on July 14 according to managing director GianlucaChacra.The film will first be sent out on 18 screens in the UnitedArab Emirates and will be released in Syria (2 screens), Jordan (3 screens),Lebanon ...
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JAPAN 8 June
The strongest opener for the week of May 29 to June 4 wasNigel Cole's Calendar Girls, whichrecorded a $36,964 average on two major cities screens.Meanwhile, the Luc Besson-produced Crimson Rivers 2 opened at number four on the nine-major-citieschart, with a $26,340 average on 16 screens.Despite a massive publicity build-up by ...
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News
Allen trades Manhattan for London
Woody Allen is travelling to London to direct his next, asyet untitled, feature film.Based out of Ealing Studios, Allen will reportedly startshooting on July 12 for seven weeks in London.Allen rarely shoots his films outside the US, and it isthought to be the first time that he has come to ...
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Moscow film fest unveils programme line-up
The 26th annual Moscow International Film Festival (June 18-27) rolled out its official programme yesterday at a press conference in central Moscow.One of the the major issues of the day was where the event would be held after its traditional headquarters in the historic Manage hall next to the ...
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News
Pay-Per-View Japan gets greenlight from MPT
Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) has approved an application from PPV operator Pay-Per-View Japan to launch two channels specialising in foreign movies and sports.In its latest licensing round, the MPT greenlit 15 companies planning to launch 18 satellite channels in the Japanese market. The regulatory body started to ...
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News
Berney to give keynote address at AFMA production conference
Newmarket Filmspresident Bob Berney will give the opening keynote address at AFMA's upcomingsixth annual production conference in Los Angeles on Jun 17.The industryevent will feature two panels entitled Getting It Done: Producing Against AllOdds and What Will It Take to Bring Production Back to the US'Panellists include Lions Gate Entertainment ...
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Mean Creek kicks off Cannes showcase at LAFF
Jacob Estes' acclaimed dramaMean Creek will launch the 2004Los Angeles Film Festival's new Straight Out Of Cannes section, announcedyesterday (June 8).Director of programmingRachel Rosen said in recent years festival organisers had discussed the idea ofa new strand featuring Croisette hits, adding: "Mean Creek is a hidden treasure that we look ...
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News
US baseball stars launch new production outfit
New York Mets baseball starTodd Zeile and Bill Civitella are in post production on the teen comedy DirtyDeeds, the first title due to bereleased under their new Green Diamond Entertainment banner.The partners plan to producetwo to three pictures a year, backed by principal investors Dan Kaplow, who hasbeen appointed president ...
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News
Ambitious New York digital outfit Madstone shuts down
New York-basedentertainment company Madstone has shut down operations, according to reports.A statementissued by Madstone earlier this week said: 'The company was not able toachieve its business goals.'Goldman Sachspartner Chip Seelig and distribution veteran Tom Gruenberg founded the group in1999.Exhibition armMadstone Theaters has closed down its leased arthouse theatres in Albuquerque,Cary, ...
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News
Baeres wouldn't put a production auditor on Franchise movies, says Williamson
While charging his employees for office coffee, IntertainmentLicensing CEO Rudiger "Barry" Baeres spurned repeated requests to put aproduction auditor on film sets where the budgets were being fraudulentlypumped for tens of millions of dollars, said his former co-managing director ina federal courtroom Tuesday in Santa Ana, California.On the day both ...
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GERMANY 9 June
Unsurprisingly, the third instalment of the Harry Potterfranchise had the best opening weekend of the year so far. Launched with 1,204prints, the film posted the sixth best-ever opening weekend and the best everopening outside of the months of November and December.Askaban's 2m-plusadmissions (including Wednesday evening screenings) were, however, some way ...
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Reviews
The Ordeal (Calvaire)
Dir: Fabrice du Welz. Fr-Bel-Lux. 2004. 90mins.Callinga film The Ordeal is surely asking for trouble, and this unforgivingexercise in Belgian Gothic is undeniably a rough ride for the faint of heart.However, anyone receptive to macabre psycho-horror with a distinct streak ofblack humour will find much to relish.Pitchedbetween Euro art-thriller and ...
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Reviews
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
Dir:Xan Cassavetes. US. 2004. 120minsXanCassavetes' slightly uneven labour of love, Z Channel: A MagnificentObsession, is, at two hours, much too long for its own good but isnevertheless compulsively watchable, especially for people who love the movies.As such, while its commercial prospects may be slim, it should be of primeinterest to ...
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ROMANIA 9 June
WhileTroy and The Day After Tomorrow are still top of the Romanian box officechart, new release 50 First Datesmade a strong entry and joined the leading pack after managing a healthy 6,500admissions on five prints.TheSandler-Barrymore comedy was the only new release to make an impact. The rest,including Sylvia and the ...
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Hong Kong's Filmart goes multimedia
Multimedia convergence will be the major theme at thisyear's Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart), which takesplace June 23-25.Theeight-year-old market, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council(TDC), aims to expand its exhibitor base with new media companies and provide aplatform for cross media collaboration.Three conferences will be ...
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DVD player sales soar in Japan
Sales of DVD players soared to Y660m ($6.2m) in February 2000, a 55% increase on the same month last year, according to the Japan Electronic Retailers Association.March is also turning out to be a banner month, with retail industry giant Kojima reporting that DVD player sales have doubled in March ...