Small MPU – Page 4281

  • Reviews

    Distant Lights (Lichter)

    2003-02-25T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Hans-Christian Schmid. Germany. 2003. 106mins.The winner of the FIPRESCI prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival, Lichter plays like a German Short Cuts. If Altman's cinematic short story collection was given unity by its origin in Raymond Carver's dark fables of the disempowered American male, then Distant Lights - ...

  • News

    UK film industry focuses on training

    2003-02-25T00:00:00Z

    UK support body the Film Council and training body Skillset are to launch a major initiative to improve film skills and training in the UK, seen as key to improving the British film industry's worldwide standing.Stewart Till, deputy chairman of the Film Council and Skillset, and CEO/chairman of UIP, this ...

  • News

    Italy mourns the King of Commedia

    2003-02-25T00:00:00Z

    Legendary Italian actor Alberto Sordi, a figurehead of the Commedia all'Italiana, has died in Rome at the age of 82.With his instantly recognisable thick Roman accent and deep voice, Sordi began his 60-year acting career at the age of 16.He was a symbol of national pride for several generations of ...

  • News

    Japan pushes Lord Of The Rings to the brink of $500m outside the US

    2003-02-25T00:00:00Z

    In its first three days on release in Japan, The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers grossed $9.66m (Y1.13bn) from 800,000 admissions. This represents a 25% improvement over the opening of The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.The success brings the second installment of Peter Jackson's ...

  • News

    The Ring remake lords it over the UK box office

    2003-02-25T00:00:00Z

    The UK/Ireland box office chart saw a new champion over the weekend as UIP's The Ring made a strong debut with $3.5m (£2.2m) from 396 sites - including previews of $478,046 (£300,213) from 311 locations.The horror title, the only new entry to make the top 15 this weekend, showed by ...

  • News

    Euroficcion, TeleCinco team up for English comedy

    2000-02-02T16:20:00Z

    Fledgling Spanish production house, Euroficcion, part of the Europroducciones group, is co-producing an English-language romantic comedy Latidos with Spanish broadcaster TeleCinco. A UK co-producer is also likely to board the PTS400m ($2.6m) project which is scheduled to crank up in London this summer. Angel Garcia Roldan and Valentin Fernandez Tubao ...

  • News

    Toho takes over Virgin Cinemas Japan

    2003-02-25T00:00:00Z

    Major Japanese distributor and exhibitor Toho announced on Tuesday a deal with Virgin Cinemas Japan to acquire its chain of multiplex cinemas. The $83m (Y10bn) deal will take effect by the end of March.Launched in September 1997, Virgin Cinemas Japan now operates eight multiplexes with 81 screens in suburban areas, ...

  • News

    Hollywood to make live-action feature of Japanese comic book

    2003-02-26T04:05:00Z

    Twilight Entertainment has signed a deal to make a live-action feature of Japanese animation Lupin The Third .with Japan's TMS Entertainment who created animation features and TV series of the story and Kazuhiko Kato the writer of the original comic book. Hollywood producer, Gerald Molen (Schindler's List, Jurassic Park: The ...

  • News

    New financing and production company to launch in Italy

    2003-02-26T04:05:00Z

    A group of international private investors backed by a private UK bank has created a new financing and production company, named Company of Arts.The new Rome-based outfit, which will officially launch in May, already has two projects in the pipeline: Defenceless, a Euros 20m English-language feature film, set in the ...

  • News

    Russian company seeks investors for major cinema chain

    2003-02-26T04:05:00Z

    A start-up Russian company is seeking investors for a multiplex cinema circuit that it claims will control 30% of a market that could be worth $1bn within eight years.According to local media reports, Alexander Timofeyev, co-founder of Investkinoproyekt, which owns one Russian cinema, said he and his partner Vladimir Murov ...

  • News

    Inheritance inherits Danish box-office crown

    2003-02-26T04:05:00Z

    Per Fly's highly anticipated new film, Inheritance (Arven), was very well received by both critics and audiences on its opening weekend in Denmark, which was the biggest for a local film this year. With 41,000 admissions and $319,430 (DKK 2.2m) from 60 prints local distributor Nordisk Film's high expectations were ...

  • News

    German Film Academy launches international exchange programme

    2003-02-25T00:00:00Z

    German Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg, whose graduates Chris Stenner, Heidi Wittlinger, Georg Gruber and Arvid Uibel have been nominated for an Academy Award with their animated short Das Rad, has launched an international student exchange programme.The new venture is aimed primarily at students attending foreign film schools and universities and wishing ...

  • News

    Spain to host Cartoon Master workshop

    2003-02-26T04:05:00Z

    Galicia in Spain will play host to a three-day Cartoon Master workshop dedicated to technological developments in the animation industry May 15-17.It is one of three upcoming workshops organised by Cartoon, the European Association of Animated Film, including Cartoon Creativity (April 24-26) in Erfurt, Germany and Cartoon Finance (June 20-21) ...

  • News

    The Ring packs them in across Europe

    2003-02-25T00:00:00Z

    Horror remake The Ring enjoyed a host of powerful openings across Europe last weekend grossing over $14m from the 21 international territories currently playing it.Launching in seven new territories The Ring took top chart positions in the UK, Iceland and the Netherlands. It also scored the highest screen averages of ...

  • News

    Senator International closes multiple deals on XX/XY

    2003-02-26T04:00:00Z

    Senator International hascompleted multiple sales on its romance drama XX/XY which played in dramatic competition at the SundanceFilm Festival last year. Optimum Releasing has bought UK rights, Lola Films hasbought Spain, Mediafilm SPA has bought Italian and Belga Films has boughtBenelux. IFC Films has domestic distribution on the film which ...

  • News

    Cinema Park wins Foodfight! for Russia, buys three more

    2003-02-26T04:00:00Z

    Cinema Park, Russia's newestfilm company formed by Russian financial and metals conglomerate InterRosGroup, Nikita Mikhalkov's production company TRITE and Andrei Konchalovsky'sDVD distributor Movie Stream, closed its first major acquisitions at AFM led bySeven Arts Signature International's $60m animated feature Foodfight! being produced by Larry Kassanoff's ThresholdEntertainment.The vertically integratedCinema Park, which ...

  • News

    Artisan ups Jones to key marketing role

    2000-02-02T16:21:00Z

    Artisan Entertainment has promoted marketing executive Amorette Jones to the newly created position of executive vice president, worldwide marketing, Artisan Pictures.Jones will continue to report to Artisan's president of worldwide marketing John Hegeman, but she will assume more of his duties while he takes a more active role in developing ...

  • News

    ContentFilm acquires The King with Garcia Bernal

    2003-02-26T04:00:00Z

    Contentfilm has acquiredworldwide rights to The King, anew project by Monster's Ballscreenwriter Milo Addica which he co-wrote with James Marsh. Marsh will directthe film which will star Gael Garcia Bernal, the Mexican actor who will make ithis next film after Pedro Almodovar's Bad Education.The King will be produced by Addica ...

  • News

    8 Mile opens big in Korea for Universal/UIP

    2003-02-26T04:00:00Z

    Universal's drama 8Mile grossed $2.9m from 1,469theatres in 25 markets over the weekend, raising its international runningtotal to $77.7m with 12 markets still to open. The picture had a strong Koreanbow with $524,000 from 75 screens, and took $18,000 from nine screens on itsopening day in Slovenia, marking Universal's fourth ...

  • News

    Miramax music president Spendlove renews contract

    2003-02-26T04:00:00Z

    Randy Spendlove,Miramax's president of motion picture music, has re-signed with thecompany and will continue heading up the music department, Miramax co-chairmenBob and Harvey Weinstein announced today (Feb 25). Spendlove will remain inMiramax's Los Angeles office and will report directly to the Weinsteins.Directors of music Joe Rangel and Rachel Levy will ...