All articles by Mike Goodridge – Page 86

  • News

    Franchise Pictures targets the UK

    2003-05-19T04:05:00Z

    Franchise Pictures is going to London. Elie Samaha's LA-based production and financing outfit is launching a UK distribution outfit, hiring London-based production executives and teaming with tax and finance specialist Invicta Capital for co-production and tax finance structuring on the new venture.Samaha and partner David Bergstein are ten days away ...

  • News

    Focus extends Mira Nair ties

    2003-05-19T04:05:00Z

    Focus Features is in final talks to close a one-year, first-look deal with Mira Nair's production outfit Mirabai Films encompassing films she will both direct and produce. The agreement comes as Focus starts selling Nair's Vanity Fair in Cannes; yesterday a deal was closed for Australia with Icon Entertainment.Focus has ...

  • News

    Focus extends Mira Nair ties

    2003-05-19T04:05:00Z

    Focus Features is in final talks to close a one-year, first-look deal with Mira Nair's production outfit Mirabai Films encompassing films she will both direct and produce. The agreement comes as Focus starts selling Nair's Vanity Fair in Cannes; yesterday a deal was closed for Australia with Icon Entertainment.Focus has ...

  • News

    HBO Films picks up El Deseo title

    2003-05-19T04:05:00Z

    HBO Films London has made its first pick-up, acquiring international rights to Lucrecia Martel's The Holy Girl from Pedro and Agustin Almodovar's El Deseo. The film is Martel's first film since La Cienega, the 2001 festival hit about two women and their families in a small town in Argentina.The Holy ...

  • News

    HBO Films picks up El Deseo title

    2003-05-19T04:05:00Z

    HBO Films London has made its first pick-up, acquiring international rights to Lucrecia Martel's The Holy Girl from Pedro and Agustin Almodovar's El Deseo. The film is Martel's first film since La Cienega, the 2001 festival hit about two women and their families in a small town in Argentina.The Holy ...

  • News

    Yari funds William Morris indie financing arm

    2003-05-19T04:05:00Z

    Real estate tycoon Bob Yari has teamed with WMA Independent, the independent finance and packaging arm of The William Morris Agency, to form El Camino Pictures, a dedicated film financing fund for WMA packages which will be run by WMA Independent co-chiefs Cassian Elwes and Rena Ronson.The first film under ...

  • News

    Hunter S Thompson doc gets world premiere at CineVegas

    2003-05-19T04:00:00Z

    The CineVegas International Film Festival in Las Vegas (June 13 to 21) will host the world premiere of Breakfast With Hunter, a feature length documentary starring the outlaw journalist Dr Hunter S Thompson. Directing by Wayne Ewing, the documentary chronicles Thompson's attempt to avoid being placed in the system by ...

  • News

    Myriad sells out on Jeepers Creepers 2

    2003-05-19T04:00:00Z

    Myriad Pictures has sold out major territories on Jeepers Creepers 2, the sequel to the United Artists (UA)/American Zoetrope box office hit which was financed by Myriad and UA, which is planning to release the film in August and has also acquired four further territories - Japan, Italy, France and ...

  • News

    Italiano mambos to Icon for UK/Oz

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Montreal-based Equinoxe Films has closed some key deals on its hot comedy Mambo Italiano starring Paul Sorvino, Ginette Reno and Mary Walsh. Icon Entertainment has taken the film for the UK and Australia/New Zealand, Fu Works has bought it for Benelux, Lolafilms has bought Spain and Italy and Shani Film ...

  • News

    Lucas Foster leaves Myriad

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Lucas Foster, president of production at Myriad Pictures, is leaving the company 'to pursue his personal projects.' Company president Kirk D'Amico issued a statement yesterday to the effect that Foster's contract would not be renewed and that he is leaving the company immediately.Foster is currently on location in Mexico producing ...

  • News

    Myriad nets Little Fish

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Myriad Pictures has acquired worldwide rights outside Australia and New Zealand to Little Fish, the second film from Rowan Woods whose debut The Boys was one of the biggest Australian hits of 1998.The film is produced by Porchlight Films' Vincent Sheehan (Mullet) and will be executive produced by Myriad president ...

  • News

    Cowan's grant scheme names recipients

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    US charitable foundation The Global Film Initiative has named the line-up of award recipients for its inaugural granting programme. Six grant recipients were selected from 37 submissions representing 12 countries and will receive completion funds of between $20,000 and $40,000 for their features from the Initiative. The Initiative, founded by ...

  • News

    Quantum secures completion funding

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Quantum Entertainment has signed an exclusive joint venture agreement with private investment Moviebank to raise $10m to $12m to provide completion financing for the films that the company will produce over the next three years.Under the venture, Quantum has teamed with Tony Shawkat's Basra Entertainment to produce gothic thriller Vlad ...

  • News

    Curb stalks Sundance chiller

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Curb Entertainment has acquired international sales rights to Smooth Pictures' Nightstalker, the serial killer chiller which world premiered as a midnight movie at the Sundance Film Festival this year.The film, to which Columbia TriStar holds US rights, was produced by Ash Shah and Chris Fisher and written and directed by ...

  • News

    Summit/Regency trio big in Japan

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Summit Entertainment has concluded the biggest deal of Cannes so far, selling Japanese distribution rights to Toho Towa to three high-profile films - Mr And Mrs Smith with Brad Pitt and Nicole Kidman, The Runaway Jury with John Cusack and Gene Hackman and horror movie Wrong Turn. All three films ...

  • News

    Sandstone kickboxes with Anglo-German partners

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    LA-based production company Sandstorm Films is to partner with equity investors Media Cooperation One GmbH (MCOne) in Germany and Matador Pictures in the UK to produce a slate of films led by the kickboxing action film The Square Circle directed by France's Olivier Megaton (La Sirene Roge). Lightning Entertainment is ...

  • News

    Sales life for After Death

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Bauer Martinez Studios has finalised international sales deals in nearly 30 territories for After Death, the new Jean Claude Van Damme actioner, which starts production in July.Deals have been closed with Gaga in Japan, American Film & Video in Spain and Portugal, VCK in Italy, Nordisk in Scandinavia, Prooptiki in ...

  • News

    Zenpix initiates Affair in US

    2003-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Zenpix, the domestic and international distribution company founded by Susan Jackson and Jon Kramer, has acquired all US distributIon rights to A Foreign Affair starring David Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson and Emily Mortimer. Myriad Pictures is handling foreign.Zenpix plans to release the film through Mark Borde's Innovation Film Group in ...

  • News

    Beacon duo ascend Summit

    2003-05-16T04:05:00Z

    Summit Entertainment is in final negotiations to seal yet another international distribution deal - with Armyan Bernstein's Beacon Pictures. Summit is not selling any Beacon films at Cannes but is expected to be selling key territories on Beacon's first two films Ladder 49 and Raising Helen by MIFED.Beacon signed a ...

  • News

    Beacon duo ascend Summit

    2003-05-16T04:05:00Z

    Summit Entertainment is in final negotiations to seal yet another international distribution deal - with Armyan Bernstein's Beacon Pictures. Summit is not selling any Beacon films at Cannes but is expected to be selling key territories on Beacon's first two films Ladder 49 and Raising Helen by MIFED.Beacon signed a ...