All articles by Tim Dams – Page 62
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UK post-production trade body names first chief
Gaynor Davenport has been appointed the first ever chiefexecutive officer (CEO) of UK Post - the new association representing the filmand broadcast post production and effects industry.Gaynor was formerly chief operating officer of The ListeningCompany (TLC). TLC is a contact centre with a division specialising in media.Her clients included Sky, ...
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Iranian Tradition wins top Shanghai prize
The Seventh Shanghai International Film Festival awarded itsBest Film Award to Iranian film Tradition Of Lover Killing at its closing ceremony held on Sunday night.Meryl Streep and Chinese actor Chen Daoming were on hand topresent the award to director Khosro Masum. The film is about an impoverishedIranian family caught up ...
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Video Island wins $10.7m funding injection
UK online DVD rental company Video Island has secured asecond round of investment funding worth $10.7m (£6m) led by Cazenove PrivateEquity.Initial investors Benchmark Capital and Index Ventures alsoparticipated in the second funding round.HilaryMeyrick, Investment Director at Cazenove Private Equity will join the VideoIsland board of directors.Video Island is currently working ...
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Toronto revamps focus on Canadian film-making
The Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 9-18) haslaunched two new programmes designed to spotlight Canadian film-making talent.Canada First! will showcase Canadians making their featuredebut or presenting a feature at the Festival for the first time, and willannually screen eight to 15 feature films.Short Cuts Canada will programme 30 to 40 ...
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Billy Elliot tops poll of most popular films on British TV
The TV premiere of Billy Elliot on BBC1 was the mostviewed film shown on the UK's main five terrestrial channels last year. Threeother recent UK-made features including The Full Monty made thetop ten, the UK Film Council has revealed.Theratings success came despite only a tiny 2.8 per cent of the ...
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UK's Parasol Peccadillo picks up five features at Cannes
UK distribution outfitParasol Peccadillo picked five titles during the Cannes Film Festival forrelease.Three of the films willbe released through distribution arm Parasol Peccadillo Releasing (PPR), whichfocuses on arthouse titles, while two will go through Peccadillo Pictures,which focuses on niche gay and lesbian interest titles.The three films picked upfor release under ...
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Cinesite unveils string of blockbuster visual effects deals
UK based post-production house Cinesite (Europe) hasannounced deals for visual effects work on a slate of blockbusters including Charlie&The Chocolate Factory, The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, Harry Potter& The Goblet Of Fire and Alfie.Cinesite isalso completing work on forthcoming Jerry Bruckheimer film King Arthur,the first time that a major ...
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Tartan launches with Hell into US
The UK's Tartan Films is tomake its debut as a US distributor with Catherine Breillat's Anatomy Of Hell,which it will release on August 27.The UK distributor andproducer announced plans to launch into US distribution earlier this year.Other titles set so far for a US release include Ji-Woon Kim's Tale Of ...
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Tartan launches with Hell into US
The UK's Tartan Films is tomake its debut as a US distributor with Catherine Breillat's Anatomy Of Hell,which it will release on August 27.The UK distributor andproducer announced plans to launch into US distribution earlier this year.Other titles set so far for a US release include Ji-Woon Kim's Tale Of ...
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Worst year ever for European films in EU
2003 was the worst year for the circulation of Europeanfilms within the EU on record, according to new figures from the EuropeanAudiovisual Observatory.Only 6.3% of admissions to European films were earned in EUcountries outside of their home markets - down from 9.9% last year.UK/US co-productions Johnny English and Love Actually ...
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Cannes says strikers will not derail festival
The Cannes Film Festival will not be derailed by a rowbetween the French government and showbiz workers protesting changes tounemployment benefits, organisers said on Sunday.The departure of a number film reels for Cannes was delayedfor several hours at the weekend after a hundred protesters blockaded the Pariswarehouse where they were ...
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Iranian authorities halt Makhmalbaf shoot
Awardwinning Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf's has been prevented from shootinghis latest film, Amnesia, by the country's Ministry of Culture andIslamic Guidance.The scriptreflects two decades of pain and sufferings of the Iranian people and artists,and according to financier Wild Bunch, took Makhmalbaf years to write.It wasfinally completed last autumn when he ...
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Pathe in Crash deal with Arclight
Pathe Distribution has acquired the UKrights to Paul Haggis' feature debut Crash, starring SandraBullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, JasonIsaacs, Ludacris, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe and Larenz Tate.Crash uses a layered structure to tell the stories of amulti-racial group of characters in contemporary LA whose lives inter-connectthrough ...
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Alliance Atlantis acquires leading Spanish distributor
Canada'sAlliance Atlantis Communications has agreed to buy Spanish distributor AurumProducciones for about $54m.Thedeal will extend the Canadian firm's reach in Europe, where it already alreadyowns Momentum Pictures in the UK."Thisacquisition is part of our clearly articulated strategy to expand intocontinental Europe," said Patrice Theroux, president and chief operatingofficer. "We believe ...
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Cannes market set for record attendance figures
Cannes' Marche du Film has said that it expects arecord number of 8500 participants at this year's event withpre-registration figures already up by ten per cent compared to 2003.The highest increases are from the UK, the US, Asia, Spain,South Africa and Finland.The Marche also reports that the number of buyers ...
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Cannes market predicts record attendance
Cannes' Marche du Film has said that it expects arecord number of 8500 participants at this year's event withpre-registration figures already up by ten per cent compared to 2003.The highest increases are from the UK, the US, Asia, Spain,South Africa and Finland.The Marche also reports that the number of buyers ...
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Video Island DVD service strikes UK Post Office deal
UK online DVD rental service Video Island has signed a dealwhich will allow the service to be promoted in many of the UK's 17,000post offices.The exclusive partnership deal was signed withPostmasternetwork, a commercial group which supports local Postmasters. 90% ofPost Offices are run independently by local Postermasters.Postmasternetwork members will promote ...
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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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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 ...