All articles by Tim Dams – Page 53
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Metrodome snaps up McGuckian's Rag Tale
UK distributor Metrodome has acquired Mary McGuckian'ssatire Rag Tale which it plans to release in September/ October2005.Rag Tale chronicles a week in the life of atabloid newspaper in contemporary London. Its tyrannical chairman andobsequious editor (who also happens to be sleeping with the chairman's wife)battle for political supremacy, using staff ...
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EU approves Euros 18m Northern Ireland film and TV fund
European regulators on Wednesday approved Euros 17.7m inU.K. state aid for the promotion of Irish language TV and film. The Northern Irish Language Broadcast Fund will receivethe funds over four years, ending in 2009. European Union law allows governments to back culturalprojects. 'I am happy to approve state aid which ...
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McDonald and Rutter drafts in Rose to head marketing division
UK PR agency McDonald & Rutter has appointed Philip Roseto launch a new marketing division at the company. The new division will aim to give marketing support forfilms in production, develop sales materials for films attending film-marketsand handle key aspects of UK distribution marketing campaigns. Rose joins from Fox Searchlight ...
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Harry Potter ponders UK future
Hard onthe heels of ScreenDaily.com's exclusive report that the next JamesBond film looks set to shoot in Prague comes more troubling news for thebeleaguered British production sector.HarryPotter producerDavid Heyman has confirmed to ScreenDaily.com that it is not certainthat the fifth installment of the franchise - Harry Potter And TheOrder Of ...
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Dutch FilmWorks unveils big budget Cannes haul
Netherlandsdistributor Dutch FilmWorks has unveiled a string of big budget acquisitionsfrom this year's Cannes film festival. Buys include Peter Hyams' $60m The Chaser fromSignature Pictures. An action film filled with special effects, it is about a bankrobbery which takes place in Key Largo during a tornado.It also bought Renny Harlin's ...
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Boyle, Crowley sign for Director's Cut of '25 Words'
The UK Film Council's Development Fund has launched afresh version of its "25 Words or Less" initiative, partnering withdirectors Danny Boyle and John Crowley to bring new film ideas to the bigscreen. Backed by film companies Pathe UK and Intermedia, thenew "25 Words or Less: Director's Cut" project gets bothdirectors ...
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UK Film Council names cinemas joining digital network
The UK Film Council hasunveiled the list of cinemas set to participate in the roll out of its DigitalScreen Network (see full list of cinemas, below).TheCouncil is spending £11.7m of its National Lottery funding to install digitalfilm projectors and related equipment in 209 cinemas (on 238 screens) acrossEngland, Scotland, Wales ...
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Short film channel to launch for UK mobile phones
Short films specialistShorts International is to launch a short film channel'"Shorts Tv" - which willbe broadcast to mobile phones in a pioneering UK mobile TV trial led by NTLBroadcast.The channel will launchalongside other established channels including Cartoon Network, CNN, Discovery Channel, Sky Sports News and Sky Travelas part of a ...
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Minghella cranks up Breaking And Entering
Principal photography has begun in London on Breaking AndEntering, written and directed by Anthony Minghella.Previouslyannounced cast members Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn and VeraFarmiga are joined by Martin Freeman, Ray Winstone and Mark Benton in thecontemporary drama.The film is a co-production between Miramax Films and TheWeinstein Company, the ...
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Metrodome takes on Von Trier's Manderlay
UK distributor Metrodome has bought Lars Von Trier's Manderlayfrom Trust Film Sales.The Cannes competition title has now sold to over 35countries. The US is the last major territory yet to announce a deal for Manderlay,Von Trier's follow-up to Dogville.Manderlay is the first Lars Von Trier directedfilm that Metrodome has handled; ...
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Hidden triumphs in Screen critics' poll
It may not have won the Palme d'Or, but Michael Haneke's Hiddenhas emerged as the most popular Cannes competition title according to Screen'sannual poll of international critics.The Screen Cannes jury was made up of 12 key criticsfrom around the world who voted on every film in competition, awarding fourpoints for ...
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Kino snaps up Cannes trio
US independent distributor Kino International hasacquired three titles at the recently-concluded Cannes Film Festival.The titlesare: Im Sang Soo's The President's Last Bang from South Korea andIranian director Mohammad Rasoulof's Iron Island - both of which playedin Directors' Fortnight - along with French director Karin Albou's La PetiteJerusalem which screened in ...
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European Film Promotion elects new board
The members of European FilmPromotion (EFP) have elected a new Board of Directors at its general assemblymeeting during Cannes.The Board is composed of sixmembers and the term of office lasts for two years. Claudia Landsberger has beenre-elected as President and Christian Dorsch has been re-elected asVice-President, both ...
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Brussels sprouts new tax financiers
Belgian tax financiers havehit Cannes with a vengeance this year, announcing plans to launch new filmfunds while looking for new international projects to invest in.New Brussels based outfitMoviestream has already invested Euros 1.5m in a slate of four projects and isnow planning to raise Euros 15m over three years from ...
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Indican takes US for Wedding comedy
US distributor IndicanPictures has picked up rights to Laurent Firode's comedy My First Wedding, which stars Rachel Leigh Cook. The deal was negotiated byDavid Gordian of Paragraph Pictures and Shaun Hill of Indican Pictures. ChrisDavis International handling foreign sales.Cook plays blushingbride-to-be Vanessa who enlists the help of her local Priest ...
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Reding hosts Euro culture ministers for Cannes summit
EuropeanUnion media commissioner Viviane Reding has said she wants European film-makersto be able to use technology to boost the circulation of their films within theEU.Reding, who oversees theEuros 513m Media Programme, was speaking to Screen ahead of a Europe Dayconference she is hosting here on May 17.18 of the 25 ...
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Inspired Movies hits Cannes with Conquistador
Anglo-Indian productionoutfit Inspired Movies has arrived in Cannes with a slate of three new picturesto sell. The independent movieproduction house launched its UK operation in 2004 and has already producedthree full-length English language features - Red Mercury, Exitz and Take 3 Girls - featuringthe likes of Malcolm McDowell, Stockard ...
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Cannes hit by ghosts of rock stars
Two very different directors- Gus Van Sant and Stephen Woolley - hit Cannes today with films inspired bythe deaths of rock stars.Van Sant's Last Days was originally meant to be a full blown biography ofNirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, the director explained at a press conference forthe competition film. "But I ...
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Woody's next match will be on screen with Scarlett
WoodyAllen revealed that he will star alongside Scarlett Johansson in his next film,which is set to shoot in London this summer."It so happens that in thisnext film there is a very good part for me to play and I'm going to play it,"said the veteran director. He described it as ...
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Arab festivals co-ordinate to avoid date clashes
The second DubaiInternational Film Festival is to be held from December 11-17, 2005. The date of the week-longfestival was decided after a series of discussions with the organizers of theCairo, Marrakech and Damascus film festivals to enhance synergies between majorfestivals from the Arab world. The discussions focused onthe most appropriate ...