All articles by Patrick Frater – Page 5
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French court breaks off Engagement
A Paris court yesterdayruled that the company 2003 Productions falls outside regulations that wouldhave qualified it as French. The decision means that the Jean-PierreJeunet-directed film A Very LongEngagement(Un Long Dimanche De Fiancailles) no longer qualifies underFrench nationality rules.The ruling came after nearlya year of wrangling and a courtroom challenge by ...
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Seven Swords sells for Fortissimo
Fortissimo Film Sales hasracked up a string of pre-sales on Tsui Hark's forthcoming martial arts epic SevenSwords.The film, which is now inproduction, has been sold to Village Roadshow for Australia, Pathe/DES forFrance, Sandrew Metronome for Scandinavia, Monopol Pathe for Switzerland,A-Film for Benelux, EEPA for East Europe, Lusomundo for Portugal and ...
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VideoVision snaps up Karoo Boy rights
Leading South African production house Videovision Entertainment hasacquired film rights to Karoo Boy, a 1970s set novel written by TroyBlacklaws.The story of a young man's search for identity after the accidentaldeath of his twin brother is also a means of explaining the conflicts of theera and sexual awakenness in a ...
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Imavision buys Lelouch library for North America
Canadian distributor Imavision has picked up North Americanrights to a collection of 23 films by iconic French director Claude Lelouch.The films are represented by the director's ownproduction, distribution and sales outfit Les Films 13. In each case Imavisionhas acquired home video, TV and DVD rights.Titles include Men, Women: A Users ...
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Lawyer Alberstat to join William Morris
UK-based Canadian lawyer Philip Alberstat is to join WilliamMorris Independent as a talent agent. He will move from London to Los Angelesin January.Alberstat has been based in the UK since 1986 and iscurrently a partner at leading law firm Osborne Clarke. He has also been aleading light in indie film-makers' ...
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DV8 gets ten-picture slate backing
Ster Kinekor, the SouthAfrican distribution and exhibition conglomerate, is to expand its commitmentto the DV8 digital film-making combine headed by Jeremy Nathan and Joel Phirie.Ster-Kinekor, which hadpreviously made distribution commitments to DV8 on a picture-by-picture basis,has now committed to bankroll the operation's next ten features and to bebecome an equity ...
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Bergman's Saraband to get theatrical premiere in France
France's Rezo Films will be the first distributor to give IngmarBergman's Saraband a theatrical outing when it releases the film nextmonth (Dec 15). The release is hedged with conditions and marks the end of adance of seduction for the film which was once tipped to appear in Cannes orVenice 2003.In ...
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Cineart takes Belgian rights to Jarmusch project
Belgian distributor Cineart picked up all Benelux rights forthe untitled Jim Jarmusch project that stars Bill Murray, Naomi Watts andSharon Stone.The deal was struck between Cineart's Stephan DePotter and Bac Films International's Silviere Moreau, who was handlinglimited territorial rights. In the rest of the world the film is sold by ...
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Miramax to remake Korean Doll Master
Fast-moving Korean salesCineclick Asia has struck a remake deal with Miramax on The Doll Master, a Korean horror flick which the Dimension genresubsidiary hopes to develop into a franchise.The deal sees Miramaxacquire English-language remake rights as well as North American distributionrights on Jeong Yong-ki's original chiller about a man who ...
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Bunch goes Wild at AFM
Wild Bunch rounded off theautumn AFM with a sales spree for its new American titles and for RegisWargnier's Cannes-tipped Man To Man.On Outlander, its$40m monster film from Ascendant Pictures, it sold Korean rights to J-Net, EastEurope to Monolith and Russian rights to Central Partnership. It had multipleoffers at or above ...
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Renaissance wraps Only Human sales
Disproving the notion that humorous films do not traveleasily, Only Human (Seres Queridos), theSpanish comedy about a beautiful TV presenter and her dysfunctional family,racked up a large number of sales ahead of its AFM premiere on Saturday (6 Nov)The picture, handled by the UK's Renaissance Films,has been sold to Odeon ...
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Vampire thriller Perfect Creature enjoys strong sales
New Zealand Film, which shares sales duties with Arclight,has enjoyed strong sales on vampire thriller Perfect CreatureThe film by writer-director Glenn Standring was sold toMagna Pacific for Austria and New Zealand, Jiants for Thailand, Festive Films forSingapore and Sunny Film for Malaysia.Perfect Creaturestars Dougray Scott, Saffron Burrows, Stuart Wilson and ...
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Buyers snap up Shochiku sci-fi fantasy Casshern
Shochiku has succeeded in finding buyers across the worldfor Japanese sci-fi fantasy Casshern.It was bought by Studio Canal in France, Momentum Picturesin the U.K. and Ireland, Noble Entertainment in Scandinavia, I-ON New Media inGermany, Mikado Films in Italy, Bright Angel Distribution in Benelux, Lusomundoin Portugal, Audio Visual in Greece, Rialto ...
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Fortissimo boards Hedwig follow-up Shortbus
Fortissimo Film Sales haspicked up international rights to Shortbus,the much-discussed sexually frank new ensemble piece from Hedwig AndThe Angry Inch director John CameronMitchell.The film, in which Fortissimoalso takes an equity stake, is an exploration of sexuality, art and music thattracks a group of people during a power cut in New ...
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Berlin battles with demand for February market
Will Berlin be able toaccommodate the pent-up demand among sales companies here for a full-fledgedmarket next February'That's the question thathas been on so many lips at the current AFM, whose new November slot has joltedthe film-buying calendar out of its historic rhythm. Already a divide isemerging among those who favour ...
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The Salon secures US deal with Avatar
The Salon, a beautyparlour movie directed by super-hot screenwriter Mark Brown, has curled itselfround a US sale through UK seller Visual Factory.The film, which has a convoluted history including acourtroom battle with MGM over the title of the picture, has been sold toAvatar.The $3.5m black comedy, which stars Vivica Fox, ...
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Tae Guk Gi director readies new action film
A new action film by Kang Je Gyu, the director behind theKorean box office smash Tae Guk Gi, isin the works at the newly-formed Korean powerhouse MKB.The untitled film by Kang, whose $13m Tae Guk Gi was the record grossing film of all time in Koreawith a $65m take, is ...
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Lorber Media acquires Luis Bunuel 1950s crime drama
Lorber Media has picked up North American rights to TheYoung And The Damned (Los Olvidados), LuisBunuel's 1950s Mexican crime drama from France's Films SansFrontieres.Lorber plans a theatrical release starting in New York inFebruary 2005 and will distribute on a multi-disc DVD set next autumn. Lorberalso picked up Liquid Sky, SlavaTsukerman's ...
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Happinet invests $1m in A Thousand Plateaux
Japanese finance anddistribution company Happinet this week committed $1m for an equity stake andJapanese rights to A Thousand Plateaux.The $2.8m Mongolian-set familyadventure by Jang Sun Woo, Korea's controversial director of Lies and Resurrection Of The Little Match Girl, will shoot in June next year.'We are thrilled to beable to continue ...
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Wild Bunch in the Ascendant
Wild Bunch, the ambitiousFrench sales and distribution group, has begun what it hopes is the beginningof a beautiful friendship with fast-rising US indie producer AscendantPictures. In a last minute dual addition to its autumn AFM slate,Wild Bunch has added the $40m heroic fantasy Outlander and the quirky$10m romantic drama The ...