All articles by Liz Shackleton – Page 187
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Chinese govt to relax film production rules
The Chinese government is set to further relax its control over the country's film industry by allowing private companies to produce independently for the first time.Traditionally only the state-run studios have been entitled to produce films in China, although some independent filmmakers have managed to slip through the net. However, ...
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Yes TV Asia loses financial backer
Yes Television Asia (YTA), the Hong Kong arm of UK video-on-demand operator Yes Television, has lost the backing of local utilities giant CLP Holdings, only weeks before launching commercial trials in Hong Kong.YTA was to have become a wholly owned subsidiary of a joint venture in which CLP held 75% ...
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Fortissimo acquires world rights to KT
Dutch-Hong Kong sales outfit, Fortissimo Film Sales, has picked up world rights to Japanese-Korean co-production KT, which is set to screen in competition at the forthcoming Berlin Film Festival.Directed by Japan's Junji Sakamoto, the film is a thriller about the kidnapping of South Korea's current president Kim Dae Jung. It ...
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Electronics manufacturer wins Chinese films deal
Chinese state-owned film company, Century Hero Film Investment, has signed a worldwide distribution pact with Hong Kong's Mandarin Resources, an electronics manufacturer that has no track record in film.Under the terms of the deal, Mandarin's wholly-owned subsidiary, Eagle's Wing Limited, has been appointed sole distributor of Century Hero product in ...
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Hong Kong's eSun strikes production pacts
Hong Kong's eSun Holdings, part-owner of production and distribution outfit Media Asia Group, has signed a $25.6m (HK$200m) joint venture with leading Singapore broadcaster MediaCorp. At the same time, Media Asia has unveiled co-production pacts with Taiwan's Pandasia Entertainment and Hong Kong outfits Teamwork Motion Pictures and Filmko Pictures. The ...
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TV movies by Ross, Frears hoard major Emmy nods
British directors Benjamin Ross and Stephen Frears, cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard and the BBC's acclaimed documentary series Walking With Dinosaurs are among the European talents and productions to pick up nominations for the 52nd primetime Emmy awards.Ross received a best director nod in the miniseries or TV movie category for ...
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United Artists takes int'l rights to Songcatcher
United Artists Films (UAF) has acquired international rights to Maggie Greenwald's Songcatcher, which won the Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Performance at this year's Sundance Film Festival.Songcatcher, which stars Oscar nominee Janet McTeer and Aidan Quinn, is produced by ErgoArts in association with the Independent Film Channel (IFP). The ...
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The Mill Group appoints Shenfield CEO
UK visual effects company The Mill Group has appointed Robin Shenfield as chief executive officer.Shenfield was one of the original founders of The Mill in 1990 along with current production director, Pat Joseph. The company, which has facilities in London and the UK's Shepperton Studios, provides digital effects for feature ...
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Pearson reveals strong results; Internet alliances
UK media entity Pearson has reported record group operating profits of $864m (£549m) for the year to December 31, 1999, up 41% from $612m (£389m) for the previous year. Turnover was £3.33bn, up 39% from £2.4bn in 1998.Pre-tax profit for the period was up 15% to $633m (£402m) compared to ...
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News Corp, Yahoo! in talks about alliance
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has reportedly held talks with Internet portal Yahoo! about a wide-ranging alliance under which the two companies would take financial stakes in each other's assets.Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang has met News Corp president and COO Peter Chernin several times in recent weeks, according to an article ...
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Zellweger to play Bridget Jones for Working Title
Renee Zellweger has been cast as thirtysomething singleton Bridget Jones in Working Title's adaptation of Helen Fielding's best-selling novel Bridget Jones' Diary.Sharon Mcguire is directing the film from a script by Fielding, Richard Curtis and Andrew Davies. Producers are Jonathan Cavendish and Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.Zellweger, ...
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USA, Canal Plus backing Finch start-up Eclipse
Former William Morris Agency (WMA) UK heads Charles Finch and Luc Roeg have formed a management and production company - Eclipse - with the backing of USA Films and Canal Plus.London-based Eclipse will produce four pictures a year under the terms of the three-year deal, with USA label October Films ...
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Channel 5 shareholders buy out Warburg stake
Luxembourg-based CLT-Ufa and the UK's United News and Media and Pearson have increased their stakes in UK broadcaster Channel 5, as financial investor Warburg Pincus sold out of the channel.The three shareholders paid $277m (£172m) for Warburg's 18% stake in a move that is regarded as an endorsement of the ...
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BSkyB reports $99m loss; ups digital subscriptions
Investment in joint ventures and heavy subscriber acquisition costs have had a negative impact on UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB's bottom line, resulting in a pre-tax loss of £61.5m ($99.2m) for the six months to the end of 1999 compared to a profit of £53.2m ($85.8m) for the same period the ...
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Universal Video restructures following UPI closure
The UK arm of Universal Pictures Video (UPV) has restructured its management team as a result of the closure of theatrical operation United Pictures International (UPI).Eddie Cunningham, previously UPV managing director, will become chairman of UPV, reporting directly to Peter Smith, president of Universal Pictures International. Cunningham replaces David Kosse, ...
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Disney appoints Iger to number two post
Walt Disney Co chairman and chief executive Michael Eisner has named Robert A. Iger as his second-in-command, a post that has been vacant since Mike Ovitz left the company in 1996.Iger, who has been appointed president and chief operating officer, is currently chairman of Disney-owned ABC Group. He has also ...