All articles by Staff writers – Page 2
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The government link with creative industries for biggest ever UK crackdown on counterfeiting and benefit fraud
The government and creative industries announced onMarch 16 the completion of the biggest crackdown on counterfeiters and benefitfraudsters ever seen in the UK.The operation was conducted by the Department forWork and Pensions (DWP) in conjunction with British record industry associationthe BPI, film industry anti-piracy body the Federation AgainstCopyright Theft (FACT) ...
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Former President of UIP dies of a stroke
Industryveteran, Pano Alafouzo,died of a stroke in London on March 10. Pano Alafouzowas born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1918. He started his film career at 20th Century Fox in Cairo beforerelocating to Warner Bros in London in 1966, where he became European Supervisor. Two years later, he moved to Universal'snewly ...
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Sandrew Metronome picks up rights to Goodbye Bafana
Sandrew Metronome has bought the rights and closed the deal, which coversall the Nordic countries Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland, with the film's co-producer Ilann Girard and his company ArsamGoodbyeBafana written by James Gregory and Bob Graham tells the true story of awhite South African racist whose life was ...
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Senator offers digital cinema copies of new films to exhibitors
German independent distributor Senator is to offer digital cinema copies of its new films to allcinemas equipped with DLP Cinema Projectors."Senator is thereby the first German film distributor to offer its completeslate of movies for digital projection," declared Managing Director BenjaminHerrmann. The announcement heralds a new era for the company,which ...
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Sandrew Metronome acquires rights to five feature films
Sandrew Metronome acquired Scandinavian rights to five newfeature films following the Berlin Film Festival. Winners of the Silver Bearfor Best Director documentary, Michael Winterbottomand Mat Whitecross', The Road to Guantanamo is part dram andpart documentary and tells the tale of a trio of British Muslims, known as theTipton Three who ...
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Horror film Reverb to commence shooting in London
Horror film Reverb will start shooting on February27th. This London-set film is based in a recording studio and starsa clutch of young British actors, Leo Gregory (Stoned), Eva Birthistle (Breakfast on Pluto) and Margo Stilley (9 Songs). The film featuresstruggling musician Leo Gregory who is trying to revitalise his rock ...
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Elementary Particles heads NonStop Entertainment's Berlin acquisitions
Swedish distributor, NonStop Entertainmentbought a slate of films from the Berlin Film Festival. Leading the line-up is Oskar Roehler's, The Elementary Particles, the tale oftwo half-brothers struggling against sexual frustration and self-destruction. Particles, was sold to 23 countriesstraight after its Berlinale premiere and is one ofthe favourites to win a ...
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Bangkok International Film Festival honours Fortissimo Films
The Bangkok International Film Festival is to award Wouter Barendrecht and Michael J.Werner, co-chairmen of Fortissimo Films, with a Golden Kinnareefor their contribution to Asian Cinema at the black tie Awards Gala to be held onFebruary 24th .Wouter Barendrechtfounded Fortissimo Film Sales in 1991 with the specific aim of developing,selling ...
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M.Night Shyamalan named ShoWest Director of the Year
M. Night Shyamalan has beenmade ShoWest Director of the Year it was announced byMitch Neuhauser, co-managing director of the eventthat will be held in Las Vegas, March13-16. Shyamalanwill be presented with the award on the closing night ceremony at Bally's andParis Las Vegas.Shyamalan's next feature is Ladyin the Water, ...
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Kenneth Maidment memorial today
Kenneth L. Maidment, a former VPof Columbia Pictures and the former president of the British Film ProducersAssociation (the predecessor to Pact), passed away on February 1 at Frimley Park Hospital in the UK.The memorial service will be held at St. Mary's in Weybridgetoday (February 17) at noon, followedby a private ...
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Universal Pictures signs production agreement with Aronofsky and Watson
UniversalPictures has entered into a first look production arrangement withdirector/writer Darren Aronofsky and his producer Eric Watson and theircompany Protozoa Pictures. The duo will also develop and produce feature filmsfor Universal's sister companies Focus Features and Rogue Pictures. Aronofsky credits include PI and Requiem For A Dream. He is currently ...
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Michael London launches Groundswell Productions
Producer MichaelLondon has teamed up with two new equity-based film funds, Lexington FilmFunding and Crescendo Independent Film Fund to establish GroundswellProductions, an independent financing and production company that aims to makefive films a year under the $20 million range. The new entity has access to $55million and aims over the ...
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Aardman animations morph into mobile phones
One of the first characters created byanimation studio Aardman co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton is to reappear on mobile phones.Morph, a plasticine model created for UK television 30 years ago, will be revived for a new generation through licensing deals with Orange,Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2 andinternational operators. All deals have ...
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TLA Releasing buys rights to El Calentito
TLA Releasingacquired Alberto Rodriguez's Seville-set teen drama, 7 Virgins from Sogepaq at the Berlin Film Festival for itsBritish label and has further added to its Spanish slate by buying Chus Gutierrez' comedy ElCalentito for its American DVD label. The film set inFebruary 1981, at a time of political and social ...
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David Puttnam to receive Academy Fellowship at BAFTA
On Sunday 19 February 2006, Lord Puttnamwill receive the Academy Fellowship at BAFTA's annualawards ceremony. The Award presented by Lord Attenborough, President of theAcademy, will be for outstanding contribution to world cinema. Luminaries toreceive the Fellowship Award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, SeanConnery and Stanley Kubrick. David Puttnam in similarfashion ...
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Cannes contenders queue up for the Croisette
With the dust settling onthe Berlin line-up, all eyes are already on Cannes and films vying forselection there: Croisetteregulars such as David Lynch (InlandEmpire), Aki Karismauki (Lights In The Dusk), Ken Loach (TheWind That Shakes The Barley), Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Scream ofthe Ants) and Kim Ki-duk (Time) seem ripe to be ...
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The European Film Market rebooks 100% for 2007
With foot traffic yesterday noticeably down on previous days,the European Film Market is winding down after five days of business whichproved more productive for international buyers than the UScontingent.But despite the traditional grumbles, festival chief Dieter Kosslick said that rebooking of the market has been nearly100% for next year's Berlin.'We're ...
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Muerer, Grosch to keynote European Film Finance Summit
Jens Meurer, partner in Germany's Egoli Tossell Film, and Andy Grosch, CEO ofFilm &Entertainment VIP Medienfonds Geschaftsfuhrun willkeynote Screen International's annual European Film Finance Summit, to be heldWednesday (February 8) at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin.Jonathan Olsberg of Olsberg SPI will chairthe event. Other speakersinclude Wild Bunch CEO Vincent Grimond, ...
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Pioneering film competition to encourage use of new technologies
Screen International is holding a pioneeringfilmmaking competition at its Cinema Next conference on February 3rd.Three filmmaking teams will take part in The Cinema Next Mini-Movie Competitionwhere they will use mobile phone cameras to produce short films which will be shot,edited and screened at this London-based conference. The teams will be ...
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Potente debut among dozen surprises in German sidebar
Billed as "a surprise package of recent German cinema", the first films in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino programme include the directorial debut of Franka Potente, the German actress who became an international star on the back of Run Lola Run and The Bourne Identity and its sequel. Celebrating its fifth ...