All articles by Sandy George – Page 59
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Australian film investment fund falls short of target
The ambitious joint bid by Australia's Macquarie Bank and the Nine Network to raise $35.1m (A$62.5m) from private investors has fallen considerably short of the target with the result that only two features will be produced rather than the hoped-for eight.But although only $13.3m (A$23.6m) was raised by the time ...
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Cockram gets top job at Australian Film Institute
Felicity Cockram is leaving her job as senior business manager with the Montecito Picture Company in Los Angeles and returning home to take up the role of general manager of the Australian Film Institute (AFI) from July 29. During the past six years Cockram has worked as executive liaison for ...
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Beckham scores in Sydney
Bend It Like Beckham won the Euros 15,000 Prix UIP for best European film on Friday 21 June at Sydney Film Festival closing night and was voted the most popular film by audiences at one of the event's two venues. Another UK film, Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday, was voted best ...
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Three Oz talent management companies merge
Three of Australia's talent management companies: Morrissey Management, WildCat Personal Management and the Artist & Entertainment Group, have merged to create new entity, Encompass Management..Morrissey has many actors and a limited number of writers and directors on its books, Wildcat is best known for its representation of cinematographers and other ...
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Chapman honoured for contribution to OZ film
Australian producer Jan Chapman will be awarded this year's prestigious Chauvel Award for her outstanding contribution to local filmmaking. The award will be presented as part of the Brisbane International Film Festival, which begins on July 9. "Her commitment to producing exceptional Australian drama has long been acknowledged in the ...
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Australia's Southern Star predicts debt eradication
Australia's Southern Star Group this week announced that it will be debt free with $12.5m (A$22m) in cash when net proceeds of $35.9m (A$63m) from last year's sale of duplication subsidiary Duplitek to Technicolor are received next month.The company also revealed that revenue for the 12 months to March was ...
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Sam Neill's next role is acting as investor
Actor Sam Neill will be putting more effort than usual into his next film role - as well as starring in Gaylene Preston's romantic thriller Perfect Strangers, Neill is also an investor through his Huntaway Productions Neill's partners in Huntaway - the New Zealand production company that he set ...
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New Zealand film awards cancelled due to lack of films
While New Zealand's filmmaking profile is at an all-time high because of the worldwide success of The Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring, The New Zealand Herald reports that the local film awards will not be going ahead this year because of a shortage of films. Three films ...
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Australia's film industry to overhaul trailer policy
The Australian film industry is to get together to try and overhaul the rules that govern the screening of trailers in the territory. The Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) gets more complaints about trailers than about any other subject, while the industry wants to be able to show ...
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Beyond International adds second London executive
Sydney-based Beyond International has named Liliana Lombardero as general manager of television arm Beyond Distribution. With the news leaking out at Cannes that Hilary Davis from Alibi Films International was replacing Gary Hamilton as head of sales at Beyond Films, this is the second London-based divisional head to be appointed ...
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Melbourne's St Kilda fest becomes premiere short film event
Melbourne's St Kilda Film Festival will next year quadruple the cash prize for Best Australian Short Film to $5,650 (A$10,000), making it the most lucrative award for short films in the country. This is in addition to the $11,300 (A$20,000) already awarded at the festival.Festival director Malcolm Blaylock told the ...
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Everard named chairman of New Zealand Film Commission
Exhibitor Barrie Everard has been appointed chair of the New Zealand Film Commission, the government agency which plays a crucial role in the development and production of most NZ films. Everard is joint owner/operator of the Berkeley Cinema Group and has already been a board member for two years. His ...
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Balding gets top spot at Australia's ABC
Russell Balding has been appointed to the most important role in Australian public broadcasting: that of managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. An accountant by training, he joined the ABC in 1996 and is currently deputy managing director. The board's decision was unanimous. Former managing director Jonathan Shier and ...
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Oz exhibitors and distributors forge amicable relationship
Just four years ago it would have been absolutely unimaginable but the first day of the Cinema Owners Association of Australia's (COAA) annual conference closed in Sydney yesterday with something resembling a love-in between independent exhibitors and the major distributors. The final session had been reserved to discuss progress on ...
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Australia's Seven takes everything from Icon
Australia's Seven Network has signed for television and pay television rights to all the films that are released theatrically by the Australian arm of Icon Film Distribution, which opened for business early this year. The first package of films in the multi-year deal includes We Were Soldiers, Gosford Park, the ...
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Sedgwick named director of new Adelaide film festival
Katrina Sedgwick has been appointed director of the inaugural 2003 and the 2005 Adelaide International Film Festival. The first edition will be held in late February or early March 2003 and will celebrate the 30th year of the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC). Chair of the festival board is Sydney ...
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Niche acquires Cannes titles over the phone
Niche Pictures principal Lyn McCarthy has closed deals for Australian and New Zealand rights on two high-profile Cannes film - on the phone from the northern New South Wales coast resort Byron Bay, where she lives. They are director Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, which was in Competition at Cannes, ...
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Australia's Rialto acquires Mystic Masseur
Rialto Entertainment has acquired rights for Australia and New Zealand to director Ishmail Merchant's The Mystic Masseur.The Auckland-based distributor plans to release the film over the Christmas holidays. The film has had high-profile openings in London and New York, including a launch by Bill Clinton at New York's Paris Theatre ...
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Cash crisis threatens Australian Film Awards
The future of the high-profile Australian Film Institute Awards has come under serious threat as cuts in funding continue to undermine confidence.Two years of uncertainty have weighed heavily on the Australian Film Institute (AFI). The organisation has already halved its staff, closed its library and will have finished returning all ...
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Controversial French film is banned four weeks after release
Four weeks after its theatrical release, Australia's Classification Review Board has withdrawn Baise-Moi's R18+ certificate, making it illegal to screen the film in the country.The four-member review board unanimously overturned the original R18+ classification given to the French film, because it contains elements beyond those set out in the legislative ...