All articles by Patrick Frater – Page 54
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Highbinders gets off to flying start
Production has got underway in Ireland on The Highbinders, the Jackie Chan starring action-comedy that is the biggest budget film ever to emerge from Hong Kong.The $35m picture is produced by Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG) and is directed by Gordon Chan with veteran stuntman Sammo Hung responsible for directing the ...
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Hollywood studios go bananas over internet piracy
Twentieth Century Fox has sent letters to internet service providers (ISPs) asking them to disable the accounts of people showing Planet Of The Apes (pictured left) on the world wide web.The Fox move is one of the most visible to date as Hollywood studios become more aggressive in their drive ...
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RTL sees share value slide after profit warning
Shares in RTL crashed today after the broadcasting giant joined the long list of companies warning of ad-related slowdowns.The pan-European broadcaster issued a profits warning forecasting that earnings before interest, tax and depreciation will fall by 10%-15% this year, hurt by falling advertising markets. The thinly traded shares tumbled from ...
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Vivendi Universal reports robust first half
Vivendi Universal differentiated itself from rival media conglomerate AOL Time Warner when it today announced first half results that were better than expectations.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up 53% to $1.19bn (Euros1.37bn) on sales up 14% at of Euros6.59bn. Its shares bounced Euros2.5 to Euros66.15. Last ...
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The Price Of Milk scoops top Fantastic award
Prizes were widely spread on the closing night of the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan). The big winner on the night was Harry Sinclair's New Zealand film The Price Of Milk which scooped the Best of Puchon award.The international jury gave a special prize to Wisit Sasanitieng's Thai film ...
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Korea seeks to thwart Hollywood invasion
"Hollywood domination is dangerous for world cinema" declared leading Korean actor, Moon Seong-keun today as he led a call for the establishment of a new international organisation to protect cultural diversity and promote film from outside the Hollywood system. "We have yet to determine which is the best means to ...
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Q&A with Columbia Pictures' Barbara Robinson
Barbara Robinson, managing director of Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia says that a studio can act like a local player.How does Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia (CPFPA) operate'Our mandate is to acquire, develop and produce local-language films primarily for the Asian market but hopefully with potential to move beyond Asia ...
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Moviesystem gets Pathe, Besson library for VoD
Moviesystem, a new company which spans conventional video distribution and video-on-demand (VoD), has picked up VoD rights to Pathe and the Luc Besson-headed Europa Corp. The five year deals give Moviesystem worldwide rights to the 600-title back catalogue and the current output of Europa. A wholesaler which has developed a ...
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China takes major steps in consolidation march
China this weekconfirmed a major step in its programme of building media conglomerates andalso unveiled the country's first approved video-on-demand (VoD) service.Xu Guangchun, minister at the State Administration of RadioFilm & Television (SARFT), unveiled the details of a three-way merger thatwould combine the giant China Central TV (CCTV) with both ...
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TEAM teams with France's TII and GTV
TEAM Entertainment, the US-German production and sales group, is to partner with France's Tele Images International and GTV to produce English-language TV movies and mini-series.The deal sees TEAM share development and co-production costs with its French partners. Sales will then be shared out by the three companies according to territory. ...
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European sales outfits protest MIFED price hikes
A number of European sales companies have protested to the organisers of the MIFED film market about price hikes being forced on exhibitors for this year's Milan event (Oct 28-Nov 1).Outfits known to have written letters of complaint include France's Wild Bunch, Germany's Atlas International and ADEF, the French association ...
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Chinese facility animates Singapore stock exchange
Chinese company Colorland Animation has raised $1.4m from a share listing on the Singapore stock exchange. The company, which is based in Shenzhen and has production facilities in Hong Kong and Singapore, has focused on sub-contracted 2D and 3D production for European, US and Australian animation companies. Clients include Germany's ...
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Avignon festival awards three international prizes
The Avignon Film Festival, which last year expanded its Franco-US axis to become truly European, closed July 1 with prizes for Spain's Pellet (El Bola), France's Stand-By and How To Kill Your Neighbour's Dog from the US.The festival's prizes gave the winners a stock of Kodak film for future use, ...
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StudioCanal acquires 45% of Sogepaq for $36m
StudioCanal, the European film division of Vivendi Universal, is buying into its Spanish partner Sogepaq.StudioCanal, which is itself set to be absorbed within Universal, is paying Euros42.75m ($36.2m) to Sogecable for a 45% stake in Sogepaq. Sogepaq, which is responsible for Sogecable's film and TV acquisition, management and marketing activities, ...
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Hong Kong's FilMart struggles to sell itself
For all the enthusiastic efforts of its organisers, FilMart, Hong Kong's annual film and television programmes market continues to fight for its place in the calendar. The fifth edition of FilMart, ended on Friday with a whimper, rather than a bang. "This year, 130 film and TV companies from 17 ...
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E Sun group grabs power at Media Asia
Ending a period of intense speculation and rumour-mongering about the direction of Media Asia, one of Hong Kong's most ambitious production and distribution operations, it has emerged that investment group E Sun has become the largest shareholder. E Sun's move allows a series of reallocations of management and operational responsibilities. ...
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Toho Towa, TV Asahi invite Korean Friend to Japan
Friend, the record-breaking Korean action drama, has secured a release in Japan after Toho Towa and TV Asahi put up a massive $2.1m.The film by Kwak Kyun-taek is represented by Cineclick Asia, which also sold the film for Hong Kong to Mandarin, which is believed to have paid close to ...
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Chow Yun-fat in Waiting for Chan's Applause
Chow Yun-fat, the Hong Kong superstar who headed the cast of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is set to star in Waiting, a romantic drama set against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution. The film is to be directed by Peter Chan for his novice production company, Applause Pictures.Waiting is based ...
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Shanghai set to expand theme park
The Shanghai Film Studio is pressing ahead with an expansion of its movie-driven theme park.By October, Shanghai will open the second part of a $72m three-phase film park at the old Chedun Film Studio, half an hour from the city centre in Songjiang. The current 17-hectare site already boasts street ...
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AOL Time Warner, Toshiba unite for digital push
AOL Time Warner and Japanese electronics giant Toshiba are to team up to develop and push digital cinema distribution. Business daily Asahi Shimbun quoted Richard Parsons, co-chief operating officer of AOL Time Warner, as saying that they plan to distribute Warner Bros pictures worldwide via satellite using Toshiba technology. Parsons ...