All articles by Mike Goodridge – Page 72
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Reviews
Mean Girls
Dir: Mark Waters. US.2004. 97 mins.A cut above the low-cost teenage movies churned out of Hollywood studiosthese days, Mean Girls is a smart comedy with an acerbic edge which hasalready found a wide audience in North America, taking more than $42m after twoweeks on release, and should carve out a ...
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News
Noyce sets Bielski Brothers at Warner Independent
Film-maker Phillip Noycehas found a new home for his film of Peter Duffy's novel The BielskiBrothers at Warner IndependentPictures (WIP), and has teamed up with Mace Neufeld and Jonas Goodman to produce it. WIP will develop and finance the project with Cherry Road Films.The screenplay has beenwritten by first-time screenwriter ...
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Reviews
Troy
Dir: Wolfgang Petersen.US. 2004. 155mins.If, in the end, Troy fails to stir the heart as much as it dazzles theeye, it is nevertheless one of the most intelligent and ambitious tentpoleblockbusters to come out of Hollywood in some time. After all, it took someguts and not a little hubris to ...
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News
Renaissance picks up two for Cannes: Baxter, Human
London-based Renaissance Films has picked up two new films forCannes - international rights to IFC Productions' romantic comedy The Baxter and worldwide rights outside Spain,Portugal and Argentina to Tornasol Films and Greenpoint Films' Spanish-langugecomedy Only Human.The Baxteris a romantic comedy starring and directed by comedian Michael Showalter andinspired by classic ...
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Reviews
Tarnation
Dir:Jonathan Caouette. US. 2004. 88mins.Alreadysomething of a myth in the world of US independent film, Tarnation wasmade on Apple's I-Movie programme for a total budget of $218.32 according to itsfilm-maker Jonathan Caouette. Screened at the Sundance Film Festival in theexperimental and often overlooked Frontier section, the film was immediately amagnet ...
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Reviews
Man On Fire
Dir: Tony Scott. US. 2004. 145mins.Just weeks after The Rock (Walking Tall) and Tom Jane (The Punisher) decimated parts of the US, comes Denzel Washington to wreak havoc on Mexico City. Man On Fire is yet another post-9/11 vigilante movie in which a righteous American tough man takes revenge on ...
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News
Noeltner unveils new sales outfit CMG, first film Hoodwinked
Edward Noeltnerhas officially launched his new company Cinema Management Group (CMG), anLA-based sales outfit which kicks off with one of the firstindependently-financed 3-D animated movies Hoodwinked: The True Story Of RedRiding Hood.Noeltner, whowas most recently senior vice president, international distribution, at MiramaxFilms, has hired Judy Hart Perrault who has been ...
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News
Noeltner unveils new sales outfit CMG, first film Hoodwinked
Edward Noeltnerhas officially launched his new company Cinema Management Group (CMG), anLos Angeles-based sales outfit which kicks off with one of the firstindependently-financed 3-D animated movies Hoodwinked: The True Story Of RedRiding Hood.Noeltner, whowas most recently senior vice president, international distribution, at MiramaxFilms, has hired Judy Hart Perrault who has ...
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News
New Line takes Vera Drake off the table
New Line Cinema has acquired North American rights to MikeLeigh's latest film Vera Drake for apurported price tag of well over $2m. The deal was personally initiated by NewLine co-chairman and co-CEO Michael Lynne himself with the Leigh camp.It is not yet clear whether the film will be released byNew ...
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Reviews
The Punisher
Dir: Jonathan Hensleigh. US. 2004. 124mins.Hard on the heels of the first movie about Dark Horse Comics' Hellboy comes a new film of Marvel Comics' The Punisher, a startlingly brutal actioner in which the comic book anti-hero is almost as sadistic as the inhuman killers he seeks to punish.Slickly produced, ...
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News
Warner Bros Japan wins distribution prize
Warner Bros Japan is to receive the Minister of Economy,Trade and Industry Award for best foreign film distributor of the year for itsbox office achievements in 2003.William Ireton, managing director for Warner Bros Japan,will accept the award at a ceremony on Apr 16 at the Tokyo Chamber of Commerceand Industry.The ...
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News
Passion poised for more gold over Easter weekend
Easter weekend sees somewide studio offerings hit the markets, while other pictures already in themarket, most notably The Passion Of The Christ will be looking for holiday audiences to bump theirgrosses.Most notably, The Passion opens in Italy on Friday through Eagle Pictureswhich has spent Euros 2.5m to launch the film. ...
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News
Slamdance turns to US distribution, talent managing
The founder ofthe Slamdance Film Festival Peter Baxter has teamed up with film and TVproducer and manager Robert Schwartz and Cleveland-based businessman GeorgeKetvertis to launch Slamdance Media Group, a new US distribution and talentmanagement outfit based in Los Angeles.The company hasalready closed a home entertainment output deal with Ventura Entertainment, ...
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News
Mira Nair serves as guest director for LAFF
Film-maker Mira Nair is toserve as guest director for the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival. In this role,she will host a two-day film-maker retreat, programme a sidebar of films thathave inspired her work and attend opening night festivities.The tenth annual Los AngelesFilm Festival runs from June 17 to June 26. ...
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Reviews
Ella Enchanted
Dir: Tommy O'Haver. US. 2004. 95 mins.Somewhere underneath the decorative clutter of characters, effects, jokes and name actors which over-stuffs Ella Enchanted, director Tommy O'Haver has fashioned a sweet, good-natured fantasy which wisely banks on the delightful new star Anne Hathaway to provide its heart.With Home On The Range and ...
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News
Japan's Klockworx makes entry into US distribution
Japanese distributor TheKlockworx Company is boldly stepping into the US distribution market, teamingup with US independent Pathfinder Pictures to buy and release films in the US.Klockworx plans to acquirebetween 20 and 30 films for theatrical and DVD release in its first year ofoperation, about half of which will go theatrical. ...
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News
Sundance Channel, Wellspring team up for Cho's third concert film
US pay-cable network TheSundance Channel and independent theatrical and video distributor Wellspringhave teamed up to acquire distribution rights to Margaret Cho's latest comedyfilm Revolution (pictured).Sundance will air the worldpremiere of the film on June 19 as part of its Out Loud programming month andWellspring will then release it on home ...
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News
Tribeca snags Cholodenko, Burns world premieres
LisaCholodenko's latest Cavedweller,Ed Burns' Looking For Kitty andDavid Duchovny's directorial debut House Of D starring Robin Williams will have their worldpremieres at this year's Tribeca Film Festival which takes place May 1 to 9.Allthree films are featured in the Spotlight section unveiled yesterday, whichfocuses on the work of movie stars ...
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News
Asian territories embrace The Christ
IconEntertainment's The Passion Of The Christ showed that it could play beyond traditional US and European strongholds over the weekend, placing number one in the market in five Asianterritories for Fox International. In South Korea, where 49% of the population is Christian, it amassed a huge $2.3m opening on 157 ...
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News
Knots to close Gen Art Film Festival on Apr 20
Greg LombardoC;s comedy Knots has been named the closing night film of this yearC;sGen Art Film Festival on April 20 in New York City.The festival which starts onApril 6 is now in its ninth year and was founded in 1996 to showcase emergingUS independent film-makers. Among the films it has ...