Small MPU – Page 1220
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News
The Believer wins top Moscow prize
The 23rd Moscow International Film Festival ended on a high note on June 30th with Jack Nicholson attending the closing ceremony to accept the Stanislavsky Award for lifetime achievement.The actor who was attending the festival for a special screening of The Pledge dominated the event with a 90 minutes press ...
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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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Reviews
An American Rhapsody
Dir: Eva Gardos. US. 2001. 106 mins.An ode to America as the land of freedom and opportunity, Eva Gardos' An American Rhapsody relates a heartfelt coming-of-age story, centring on a bright Hungarian-American adolescent (magnificently embodied by Manny & Lo discovery Scarlett Johansson), who insists on determining her own fate against ...
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News
The Believer wins top Moscow prize
The 23rd Moscow International Film Festival ended on a high note on June 30th with Jack Nicholson attending the closing ceremony to accept the Stanislavsky Award for lifetime achievement.The actor who was attending the festival for a special screening of The Pledge dominated the event with a 90 minutes press ...
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News
Domestic favourites tipped for Norwegian Oscars
Local box office hits predominate the nominations for the 2001 Norwegian Amanda Awards, Norway's equivalent of the Academy Awards.Pal Jackman's thirtysomething romantic comedy Detector produced by Norway's Christiania Film, which got three nods, and Norsk Film's documentary Cool and Crazy by Knut Erik Jensen about a male choir in a ...
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News
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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German film fund launches minimum guarantee scheme
German producers and filmmakers are set to benefit from a new private film investment fund, entitled German Film Productions (GFP), which is to be launched within the next six weeks to raise $21.6m (DM 50m) from private investors by the end of 2002. A total of 20 projects, split between ...
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News
High ticket tax in Argentina bites into box office
Higher taxes onbox office tickets have forced exhibitors to raise ticket prices in Argentina.These have gone up as much as 15% in some areas, further aggravating dwindlingadmissions in a country deep in recession.According to a leading distributor, last year a mid-sized film such as Heartbreakers could have drawn an average ...
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News
Cuaron causes stink over Mexican ratings system
Mexican directorAlfonso Cuaron and his producing partner Jorge Vergara are demanding anoverhaul of the Mexican ratings system after Cuaron's current box office hit Y Tu Mama Tambien was slapped with a C rating, restricting it to local audiences aged 18 andabove.Although commerciallylimiting, the C certificate has not stopped the raunchy ...
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News
AI has biggest admissions opening ever in Japan
Opening day and date with the North American release, Warner Bros AI Artificial Intelligence has scored the biggest two day opening in admissions terms in Japanese box office history. Scoring admissions of 1,037,879 over Saturday and Sunday, it outpaced previous record-holder Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace which ...
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News
Kinowelt divests merchandising business
As part of its announced restructuring process (Screen Daily June 19), troubled Kinowelt Medien has parted company with part of its merchandising operations.Brameier Fanworld, which operated a merchandising franchise chain with 113 Fanworld shops in city centre locations throughout Germany and in which Kinowelt had a 65% majority stake, has ...
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News
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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News
Nike launches award for digital sports shorts
Sports giant Nike has become the latest corporate entity to explore the crossover between consumer marketing and film production.The sporting goods manufacturer has launched an annual 'UK Young Directors Awards' in association with London-based short film company Britshorts. The scheme offers an $8,500 (£6,000) award for amateur filmmakers to produce ...
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News
Gareth Jones quits as Alibi chief
Gareth Jones has stepped down as managing director of UK-based international sales and distribution outfit Alibi Films International. Alibi, which will now restructure its business, has no immediate plans for a replacement.Jones, who co-founded the company with partners Roger Holmes and Linda James in June 1999, will continue to work ...
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News
Blockbuster Mexico poised to acquire rival outfit
Blockbuster Mexico is set to pounce on main rival Grupo Videovisa. "We're definitely interested in acquiring some of Videovisa's assets, including sites, outlets or inventory, provided they fit in with our long term strategy," said Diego Cosio, Senior Vice President, Blockbuster Latin America. The beleaguered Videovisa has been placed on ...
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Reviews
Cats & Dogs
Dir: Lawrence Guterman. US. 2001. 87 mins. A comedy featuring realistic-looking, talking versions of humankind's favourite domestic pets sounds like a good way to reach the sometimes elusive family audience. But Cats & Dogs proves - if it still needs proving - that in this genre at least all the ...
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News
Telefilm Canada appoints acting executive director
Telefilm Canada has appointed long-time agency executive Johanne St-Arnauld as acting executive director. She takes over from Francois Macerola, whose term ends July 3.The federal film finance agency has seen two other high-profile departures -- chairman Laurier LaPierre and and Peter Katadotis, Director, Canadian Operations. Arnauld's appointment is seen as ...
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News
Alibi founder Jones quits UK sales outfit
Gareth Jones has stepped down as managing director of UK-based international sales and distribution outfit Alibi Films International. Alibi, which will now restructure its business, has no immediate plans for a replacement.Jones, who co-founded the company with partners Roger Holmes and Linda James in June 1999, will continue to work ...
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News
Toronto gets Last Orders first
Fred Schepisi's Last Orders will makes its world premiere at the 26th Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 6-15. Based on UK novelist Graham Swift's Booker Prize-winner and starring Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Ray Winstone, David Hemmings and Tom Courtenay, the film is being sold internationally by Winchester Films. ...
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News
British film classification rules set to change
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has revealed plans to change the existing 12-certificate to a new 'advisory' category, bringing the territory into line with the rest of Europe and the US. Coinciding with the current media attention on cuts made to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in order to ...