Small MPU – Page 1157
-
News
Graham, McDonald take key footballer roles in The Damned United
As the shoot continues for Tom Hooper's Brian Clough story The Damned United, Stephen Graham and Peter McDonald have taken the roles of legendary 1970s footballers Billy Bremner and Johnny Giles, respectively. Bremner was the Leeds Captain and Giles was a midfielder.Other actors taking on footballing roles are Mark Cameron ...
-
News
Eric Lagesse takes control of Pyramide Films
Eric Lagesse has taken a majority stake in French sales and distribution outfit Pyramide Films and will henceforth be the company's president.Fabienne Vonier, who owns the entirety of production company Pyramide Productions, will maintain a minority share in Pyramide Films.In mid-2005, Lagesse became managing director of Pyramide Films after having ...
-
News
Indiana Jones reclaims international crown
Indiana Jones ruled the roost over the weekend thanks in large part to a spectacular $13.1m number launch in Japan that left Paramount/PPI within touching distance of $400m.It was close at the top. Marvel Studios' The Incredible Hulk, released almost everywhere through Universal/UPI, bashed its way through 12 new territories ...
-
News
Carell's Smart roundly beats Myers' Guru at US box office
The changing face of US comedy delivered a stinging rebuke to the old guard as Steve Carell, one of the biggest success stories of recent years, outgunned the prodigal genius Mike Myers, back in his first live-action role in five years.Get Smart, in which Carell reprises the role of the ...
-
News
She Unfolds By Day wins grand jury prize at CineVegas
Rolf Belgum's She Unfolds By Day won the 10th Annual CineVegas Film Festival's grand jury prize while Rachel Samuels' Dark Streets earned a special jury award.Bill Pullman received a Special Jury Award for his role as the science fiction writer William J Frick in Your Name Here.Aaron Rose and Joshua ...
-
News
China's Sichuan province delays Kungfu Panda
Cinemas in China's earthquake-hit Sichuan Province have decided to postpone the release of DreamWorks' Kungfu Panda for five days in the wake of recent protests about the film. The film opened in China on Friday, June 20 except for all cinemas in Sichuan Province.Sichuan's five cinema circuits - Pacific Cinema ...
-
News
Feng to shoot romantic comedy for Chinese New Year
Beijing-based Huayi Brothers has confirmed that Chinese director Feng Xiaogang is to make a romantic comedy tentatively titled Don't Bother Me (Fei Cheng Wu Rao), rather than his originally planned satire The Nobles. Huayi Brothers will produce the $7.3m (RMB 50m) film that is set to star long-time Feng collaborator ...
-
News
Winds Of September wins SIFF's Asian New Talent Awards
Taiwanese filmmaker Lin Shu-yu's Winds Of September was awarded best film at the Asian New Talent Awardsof the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) on Friday night (June 20). The film, produced by Eric Tsang with Hong Kong-based Mei Ah Entertainment and co-produced by Taiwan's Ocean Deep Films, is the ...
-
News
Chang, Yeoh launch management outfit Stellar Entertainment
Actress Michelle Yeoh, producer Terence Chang and Taiwanese media veteran David Tang officially unveiled their joint talent management company, Stellar Entertainment, in Hong Kong on Saturday. Based in Hong Kong and Taipei, the company has already signed acting talent including Kelly Lin (Sparrow), Zhang Fengyi (Red Cliff), Brandon Chang (The ...
-
News
Russian drama Mukha wins top prize at Shanghai fest
The 11th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) ended with diminished star power, but a strong theme of compassion and humanity on Sunday June 22. Only Asian stars such as Charlie Yeung, Karen Mok, Chang Chen and Fann Wong attended the closing ceremony.Russiandirector Vladimir Kott'sMukha, which depicts a peculiar father-daughter relationship, ...
-
News
European Box Office Review: United Kingdom
SURPRISE HITSGarth Jennings' quirky comedy Son Of Rambow, follows two children - and aspiring film-makers - as they grow up in 1980s Britain.Optimum Releasing opened the film in the UK on April 4, and it enjoyed a $1.8m (£925,000) opening weekend. It has grossed $8.3m (£4.3m) to date.The UK-France co-production ...
-
News
Bread And Roses wins inaugural UIP Award
Ken Loach's Bread And Roses scooped the first ever UIP Award for best European film at this year's Rio International Film Festival. The award, voted for by the festival audience, is accompanied by a purse of Euros15,000.A total of 99 European films competed for the prize. Runners-up included Lars von ...
-
News
European Box Office Review: France
SURPRISE HITWelcome To The Sticks (Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis) has become France's all-time biggest local hit and number two overall behind Titanic. The film is directed by local favourite Dany Boon and co-stars the popular Kad Merad. The fish-out-of-water comedy, set in Nord Pas de Calais, built on the healthy ...
-
News
European Box Office Review: Italy
SURPRISE HITItaly has been the most successful European territory for Marc Forster's The Kite Runner. Filmauro released the adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel, about two boys growing up in 1980s Afghanistan, in March and it has grossed $12.4m (EUR8.1m) to date. Filmauro president Aurelio De Laurentiis says the distributor ...
-
News
European Box Office Review: Italy
SURPRISE HITItaly has been the most successful European territory for Marc Forster's The Kite Runner. Filmauro released the adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel, about two boys growing up in 1980s Afghanistan, in March and it has grossed $12.4m (EUR8.1m) to date. Filmauro president Aurelio De Laurentiis says the distributor ...
-
News
European Box Office Review: Russia and CIS
SURPRISE HITReleased during the New Year holiday, The Irony Of Fate 2 (aka The Irony Of Fate: The Sequel) has become the highest-grossing film (nearly $50m) in the CIS. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Day Watch, Wanted) and starring Night Watch/Day Watch hero Konstantin Khabensky, the film is a ...
-
News
European Box Office Review: Spain
SURPRISE HITAlex de la Iglesia's $10m English-language thriller The Oxford Murders was released by Warner Bros Spain on January 18 and has notched up $12.5m to date. Warner Bros built on the Spanish director's local following and the strength of the cast led by Elijah Wood and John Hurt.NEW ENTRIESWide ...
-
Features
Editorial - Industry' What industry'
The idea of a film 'industry' is a comforting thing. When Joe or Joanna pawn the car and sell the kids to the circus to produce an indie movie, they need to believe they have entered a recognisable business rather than slipped into mid-life madness. In reality, the ability to ...
-
Features
In focus - Distribution - Start of a French affair
According to Unifrance, France's film export body, French films account for an estimated 3 million admissions in the UK, an impressive 2% of the market. This was led by 2007's Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose, directed by Olivier Dahan, which took $3.3m in the territory, while Guillaume Canet's ...
-
Features
In Focus - UK Distribution - How to plan a Channel crossing
The worldwide success of films such as the critically acclaimed La Vie En Rose and the thriller Tell No One has whetted foreign appetite once again for French product - but not all of it fits the UK theatrical market.Vincent Maraval of Wild Bunch, whose The Fox And The Child ...