All articles by Sandy George – Page 71
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News
Major territories in place for Crocodile Dundee 3
CLT-Ufa has acquired French and German rights to Crocodile Dundee In LA, the third film in the Crocodile Dundee franchise. UIP will release the film in the UK, Scandinavia and the local Australian market. Paramount Pictures has North American rights and plans to release the picture in April 2001.Kathy Morgan ...
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Collins replaces Rhys-Jones at Roadshow
David Collins has been chosen to replace Libby Rhys-Jones as New South Wales general manager of Roadshow Film Distributors, based in Sydney and reporting directly to managing director Joel Pearlman in Melbourne. He starts on July 10.Rhys-Jones resigned from the biggest Australian-owned distributor at the end of May after a ...
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News
Australia's FLICs get luke-warm response
Australia's two Film Licensed Investment Companies (FLICs) have convinced investors to tip in only about half of the tax deductible total of $23.9 (A$40m) that they were allowed to raise before the June 30 deadline.The government-sanctioned FLICs were formed 15 months ago as a pilot scheme with the aim of ...
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Australia's Energee to create TV Magic Pudding
Australian animation house Energee Entertainment is planning to spin its not-yet-released first feature, The Magic Pudding, into a television series. International sales agent Icon Entertainment International has sold The Magic Pudding feature to more than a dozen territories including Bac Films for France and Gruppo Minerva for Italy. It will ...
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News
Australia passes digital legislation
Australia has finalised controversial legislation restricting the number of TV channels in the digital era.Legislation passed late yesterday (June 29) - the final instalment in the laws that will determine Australia's digital TV future - confirmed the three commercial incumbents' continuing monopoly of free-to-air services for at least five years. ...
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News
Oz investors won't let filmmakers wiggle out of it
Investors in Australian title The Wiggles Movie are considering taking legal action against production company Gladusaurus Productions, manager Movieco Australia, the promoter, and perhaps the distributor 20th Century Fox, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.The article reports that only about 13% of $964,000 (A$1.6m) in production funding has been returned ...
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News
Little Crumb director to adapt Pete, The Rascal
Dutch writer-director Maria Peters, whose credits include the Netherlands' biggest local hit last year, Little Crumb (Kruimeltje), based on the novel by Chris van Abkoude, is developing another adaptation of the late writer's works.Peters is combining all eight novels in Van Abkoude's Pete, The Rascal (Pietje Bell) series into one ...
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News
Australian film-makers win tax battle
Screen writers, actors, up-and-coming producers and others at the low salary end of the Australian film industry are breathing a sigh of relief following the Federal Government's decision to give them the same tax exemption that they recently gave to farmers.An earlier draft of Australia's new tax bill stated that ...
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News
LA Confidential's Hanson hits Melbourne festival
LA Confidential's Curtis Hanson will attend the Melbourne International Film Festival when the US director's Wonderboys opens the event.Hanson will also participate in a q&a session during the 19-day event, which runs from July 19 to August 6.Home-grown talent will be showcased on the closing night, with the local premiere ...
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Reviews
Cosy Dens wins audience vote at Sydney fest
Czech director Jan Hrebejk's black comedy Cosy Dens won the popularity vote among audiences at the Sydney Film Festival's traditional home, The State Theatre, while patrons of the new Dendy Opera Quays cinema voted for Dutch family film Little Crumb, directed by Maria Peters.The other favourites at The State were, ...
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News
News Corp, PBL reportedly to quit Foxtel
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL), which together own 50% of Australian pay-TV platform Foxtel, reportedly plan to switch allegiances and sign a significant programming deal with competitor Cable & Wireless Optus (C&W Optus). News Corp-owned newspaper The Australian reported today (June 20) that ...
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News
Oz giants get greenlight for joint Sydney cinema
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has greenlit a proposal from Australia's three largest exhibitors - Village Roadshow, Hoyts and Greater Union - to replace their separate cinemas on George Street, Sydney with a site in which they will share the same building, staff, box office and candy bar. ...
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News
Pinefilm taps Sorby to head up acquisitions
Australian distributor Pinefilm Entertainment has appointed Nicole Sorby as head of acquisitions replacing Peter Downer who left the company last week following a breakdown in relations with owner and managing director Sean Rothsey.Rothsey was formerly a financial backer of The Globe Film Co, when Downer was one of three partners ...
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News
Blockbusters bunch up in Oz
While the European box office fights soccer-mania and pre-summer seasonal box office lows, Australia's chart is riding high with help from the southern hemisphere winter and two hits carrying a high level of Australian content.Mission: Impossible 2 at number one has scooped $7.6m (A$13.3m) after just 12 days, a record ...
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News
Australia's Niche Pictures picks up Mr Death
Australian distributor Niche Pictures, which was recently acquired by Lyn McCarthy, has acquired local rights to Errol Morris's Mr Death: The Rise And Fall Of Fred A. Leuchter Jr. The 90-minute documentary was well received when it screened this week on the third day of the Sydney Film Festival. McCarthy ...
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News
M:I2 gives UIP biggest Oz weekend
Mission: Impossible 2's opening in Australia on June 1, one week after its blockbusting North American debut, grossed $3,675,654 (A$6,395,638) from 366 screens over the four-day weekend. This gives distributor UIP its biggest ever weekend and ranks third-highest in Australian history. This compares to the $3.4m (A$5.9m) brought in ...
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News
Oz exhibition giants partner for joint Sydney site
Australia's three largest exhibitors - Village Roadshow, Hoyts and Greater Union - are planning to replace their separate cinemas on George Street, Sydney with a site that will feature single management of both the ticket booth and the concessions area. The development will have over 15 screens and be the ...
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IMAX Oz franchise enters administration
Cinema Plus, the public company which holds the IMAX franchise for Australia and New Zealand, has been put in the hands of Sydney administrators Ferrier Hodgson, three-and-a-half years after listing on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Steve Sherman, who is in charge as a result ...
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News
South Australian government ups investment in film
South Australia's government has put aside an additional A$1m ($577,000) a year over three years to invest in Australian and international films that either shoot or undertake post-production in the state. The figure represents more than double the government's current commitment. Minister for Arts Diana Laidlaw announced the move as ...
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News
FFC gets Skase in latest funding round
Australia's Film Finance Corporation (FFC) is backing comedy Let's Get Skase, which draws on events surrounding Australian media mogul Christopher Skase who is currently sheltering from legal action in Majorca, Spain.Skase headed the Qintex group, former owner of Australia's Seven Network and aspiring owner of MGM, which collapsed with debts ...