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All articles by Geoffrey Macnab – Page 185
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Lions Gate pounces on The Descent
Lions Gate has snapped up NorthAmerican rights to Neil Marshall's British gorefest The Descent from PatheInternational.The film, which sold widely during Cannes,is to receive its world premiere at next week's London UK Film Focus.The Descent (Marshall'sfollow-up to 2002's Dog Soldiers) isa Celador Films production, executive produced byPaul Smith and produced ...
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Cuaron film promises to 'remove hex' on Pinewood
After a week of profitwarnings and falling share prices, Pinewood-Shepperton studios can finallyannounce some good news.Universal's adaptation ofthe PD James' novel Children Of Men, to be directed by Alfonso Cuaron,is setting up shop at Pinewood Studios - and looks certain to shoot there fromearly autumn."I've been able topersuade the powers ...
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Working Title reshuffles its senior executive pack
Working Title has restructured its creative executive team. Natascha Wharton,head of low-budget arm WT2, will take over the development departments of bothWorking Title Films and WT2.Meanwhile, DebraHayward, head of film, is to leave her current post, but will continue to workwith Working Title as exec-producer on selected projects."Debra has a ...
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Stargate, Magic Hour launch£30m 'protected' UK fund
A new £30m "capital protected" film financing fundhas been launched in London. MagicGate is a joint venture between fund managerStargate Capital Management and UK production company Magic Hour Media whosecredits include MIke Barker's A Good Woman.MagicGate aims to invest in four films in the £5m to £10m range over the ...
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Marshall, Pathe eye autumn shoot for Outpost
Writer-director Neil Marshall, one of the leading figuresbehind the new wave of British horror films, is at work on another horror filmfor Pathe Pictures. Outpost is a sci-fihorror film about a genetic experiment which goes horribly wrong. Marshall is currentlyat third draft script stage and may be ready to shoot ...
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London UK Film Focus lines up 12 world premieres
The second London UKFilm Focus (LUFF) (June 27-30) has unveiled its programme for this year'sevent, which includes 12 world premieres - up from 8 last year.Among the worldpremieres (see full list below) are such sought-after titles as Neil Jordan's BreakfastOn Pluto, Stephen Frears' Mrs Henderson Presents and Nick Love's TheBusiness. ...
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Cinelibre stacks up with Cannes titles
Celebrating its 30thanniversary, voracious Belgian indie distributor Cinelibre-Cineart has beenstacking up on new titles. Together with Dutchdistributor A-Film, Cinelibre-Cineart has taken Benelux rights to WongKar-Wai's The Lady From Shanghai, Golden Bear-winner U-Carmen,Tsui Hark's Seven Swords (tipped for a prestigious early slot in Venice)and Park Chan-Wook's Sympathy With Lady Vengeance.During Cannes, ...
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Buyers take plunge for Pathe's Descent
Buyers have been lapping up Neil Marshall's gorefest TheDescent, one of many new British horror films being touted at last month'sCannes market. After screening footage to buyers early in the festival,Pathe Pictures International (PPI) clinched deals with Avex in Japan, SquareOne Entertainment in Germany, Vertigo in Spain, CDE Videa in ...
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DreamWorks wins Match Point as UK buyers circle
After a ferocious bidding war, DreamWorks has picked upNorth American rights to Woody Allen's Match Point for a reported $4m.The deal comes as UK buyers continue to circle what is considered one ofAllen's strongest commercial prospects in several years. The film, his first tobe made in England, is being sold ...
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Zelenka's Wrong Side Up wins Moscow slot
Wrong Side Up, the latest film from Czechdirector Petr Zelenka, has been chosen for competition at the 27th MoscowInternational Film Festival (June 17-26). The film, released in the Czech Republic in February 2005, has already rackedup more than 200.000 admissions in its domestic market. 'We're very happyto see Wrong ...
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The Works closes multiple deals on Cannes slate
As the dust settles onanother Cannes market, UK-based sales agents The Works announced yesterday thatit had closed multiple deals on its Cannes slate. "It was a busymarket and we were there then to the bitter end closing deals," said TheWorks' Joy Wong. Among The Works' titles to catch buyers' eyes ...
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Viggo Mortensen takes lead in Nazi drama
Viggo Mortensen is to star in Good, the screen adaptation of CP Taylor's award-winning stage play set during the Nazi era. British actors Jason Isaacs and Mark Strong will also appear in the film, which will be directed by Vicente Amorin. The screenplay has been written by John Wrathall.Good tells ...
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Artificial Eye loads up with Cannes titles
Leading UK independent distributor Artificial Eye has comeaway from Cannes with a haul of six titles in official selection including thisyear's Palme D'Or winner, the Dardennes brothers The Child, andDirector's prize winner, Hidden, by Michael Haneke.The other Artificial Eye pick-ups are Francois Ozon's Le Temps Qui Reste,which screened in Un ...
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Menzel ready to Serve The King
Oscar-winningCzech director Jiri Menzel is edging ever closer to a starting date for hislong-gestating I Served The King Of England. The Euros 3m project, puttogether by producers AQS and Bioscop as a Czech/Hungarian/German/Slovakianco-production, is close to being fully financed. The first part of the 61-dayshoot is slated to take place ...
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Julian Richards gets Prolific with new slate
Prolific Britishdirector/producer Julian Richards (The Last Horror Movie) has announced a slate of new projects through hisdevelopment and production outfit, Prolific Films.Krizia is a supernaturalhorror film scripted by Andrew Miller (Cube, Nothing) about a schizophrenic girl with telekinetic powers.Long Dark Hours, backed by the Arts Council of Wales, is billed ...
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Kaurismaki embarks on Nightwatchman shoot
Shooting has begun inFinland on Nightwatchman, thethird part of Aki Kaurismaki's Finland trilogy. Having dealt withunemployment in Drifting Cloudsand homelessness in Man Without A Past, the Finnish auteur is now taking as his subject "loneliness in suburbanHelsinki." The film is being made through Kaurismaki's production companySputnik.Among the starsis Paju, the ...
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Verhoeven's Black Book closes financing
VIP Mediafondshas boarded Black Book,Paul Verhoeven's long-gestating $20m wartime thriller, as majority financier,finally giving a start-date to the project in August on location in TheNetherlands and at Studio Babelsberg.The cast is ledby Dutch star Carice van Houten, Halina Reijn and Dutch actor Thom Hoffman. Thelead German parts are played by ...
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Petit embarks on Unrequited Love shoot
Shooting hasbegun on Unrequited Love, the latest feature from cult British filmmaker Chris Petit (LondonOrbital, Asylum). Adapted from abook by Greg Dart, the film is an essay-drama exploring the links betweenunrequited love and stalking.The film is aco-production set up by Illuminations with Mediopolis in Berlin, LondonFilm,.MDM, ZDF/ARTE, YLE and the ...
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Blue Star launches Tracker, My Favourite Game
London-basedBlue Star Movies is handling international sales on two new projects.Tracker is a $20mdrama-thriller set in New Zealand. It will be co-produced with the UK's EdenFilms. David Burns (Eden Films) and Pete Maggi (Blue Star Movies) will produce,while Nicolas van Pallandt, who also wrote the script, is set to direct.Set ...
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Svankmayer project headlines Barrandov Studios slate
Theproduction arm of Barrandov Studios has announced further details of itscurrent slate.It is shortly to appoint asales agent for Lunacy, the newproject from cult Czech animator Jan Svankmayer. A co-production withAthanor, Czech TV and C-GA Film, Lunacy is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and the Marquis De Sade. Combining liveaction ...