Small MPU – Page 1254
-
News
South Korea begins construction of film studio
The South Korean port city of Busan (formerly known as Pusan) has begun construction of an indoor film studio in a bid to attract local and overseas film crews to shoot in the city. Set to be unveiled during the 2001 Pusan International Film Festival in November, the studio ...
-
News
Buena Vista Spain commits to local co-productions
Buena Vista International Spain (BVIS) has committed to co-producing two to three local feature films per year, according to BVIS general manager Javier Vasallo.The company had its first taste of the market last year with Spanish-Argentine co-production Clams And Mussels (Almejas Y Mejillones), which was among the 12 top grossing ...
-
News
French TV sales get boost from feature films
Foreign sales of French television programmes leapt by 13.4% last year to reach $117.2m (Ffr848m), according to a survey commissioned by French exporters' association TV France International. Including the sales of foreign television programming $25.6m (Ffr185m) and of TV rights to French and foreign feature films $86.8m (Ffr628m) handled by ...
-
News
44 European films compete for top EFA award
Bridget Jones's Diary, Intimacy, No Man's Land, Italian for Beginners and The Princess And The Warrior are among 44 European films selected for consideration by the 1,300 members of the European Film Academy (EFA) for the nominations in the category of "European Film 2001" at this year's European Film Awards, ...
-
News
Ledger may be in Our Sunshine
Heath Ledger is in negotiations to star in Our Sunshine, based on Robert Drew's 1991 book about the infamous Australian bush ranger Ned Kelly. Working Title is attached to the project, which is being produced by LA-based Australian Nelson Woss. Other projects on Kelly that are in the pipeline include ...
-
Reviews
Novocaine
Dir: David Atkins. US. 2001. 100minsA deeply conventional thriller that generates some unconventional laughs, Novocaine is an unpersuasive homage to film noir archetypes of gullible men and the wicked women who drive them to the edge of destruction. A classy cast and some bright comic notions are the virtues in ...
-
Reviews
No Shame (Sin Verguenza)
Dir: Joaquin Oristrell. Spain. 2001. 116mins.Writer-director Joaquin Oristrell is not the first person to make a movie spoofing the world of movie-making, but he has succeeded in creating a fresh, fun and unpretentious film which - were it not for its Spanish language and lack of international stars - could ...
-
News
Entertainment takes Gosford Park for the UK
Leading UK independent distributor Entertainment Film Distributors has picked up Robert Altman's Gosford Park. Entertainment is expected to release the 1930s murder-mystery film in the first quarter of next year. USA Films, which took the film as a negative pick-up, is to open it in December in the US in ...
-
News
Lions Gate buys domestic on Lovely & Amazing
Lions Gate Films has bought North American theatrical distribution rights to Nicole Holofcener's Lovely & Amazing which screened yesterday at the Toronto International Film Festival - although its scheduled premiere screening on Tuesday was cancelled due to the terrorist attacks in the US. The film was first seen at the ...
-
Reviews
Secret Ballot
Dir: Babak Payami. Italy-Iran-Canada-Switzerland. 2001. 105mins.If it weren't for the fact that another Iranian film (Jafar Panahi's The Circle) had scooped the Golden Lion last year, Secret Ballot would have been in with more than a shout for the top prize at this year's Venice shindig. As it was, Babak ...
-
Reviews
Tosca
Dir: Benoit Jacquot. France-Italy-Germany-UK. 2001. 120mins.The latest director to accept the challenge of filming opera - a notoriously difficult genre - is French director Benoit Jacquot (Sade, Pas de Scandale). Jacquot has taken on Puccini's Tosca - a smart choice, as it is not only a crowd-pleaser, but also one ...
-
Reviews
Light Of My Eyes (Luce Dei Miei Occhi)
Dir: Giuseppe Piccioni. Italy. 2001. 108mins.In the run-up to Venice there were hopes that Giuseppe Piccioni might pull off the big one-two for Italian cinema, after Nanni Moretti's Cannes success. But the optimism soon evaporated. Not that Light Of My Eyes is a bad film; it's just that it fails ...
-
Reviews
One Man Up (L'Uomo In Piu)
Dir: Paolo Sorrentino. Italy. 2001. 100mins.Paolo Sorrentino's first full-length feature, which screened in the Cinema del Presente competition at Venice, shows promise. Its tight budget is betrayed by the flat, TV-style camerawork and one or two amateurish moments; and it is quite a conventional work to come out of ...
-
Reviews
Hollywood, Hong Kong
Dir: Fruit Chan. Hong Kong, Japan, UK, France. 2001. 108 mins.Director Fruit Chan is living proof that there is more to Hong Kong cinema than Kung Fu actioners. Hollywood, Hong Kong is the second of a planned trilogy of films dealing with prostitutes from mainland China; the first was Durian, ...
-
Reviews
Lovely And Amazing
Dir: Nicole Holofcener. US. 2001. 90 minutesNicole Holofcener's Lovely And Amazing, her second picture, goes for the same art-house audience that supported her impressive 1996 debut Walking And Talking, and will probably reach the same modest level of success. It's a clever and witty movie, about such contemporary issues as ...
-
Reviews
Sex And Lucia (Lucia Y El Sexo)
Dir: Julio Medem. Spain. 2001. 127mins.Although Sex And Lucia (Lucia Y El Sexo) lives up to its name and won't disappoint audiences looking for erotic material, it is first and foremost a romantic film, weaving a captivating tale which ends on a pleasingly optimistic note after dropping to some pretty ...
-
News
Italy's Telepiu and Stream merger threatened
Italy's antitrust watchdog has cast a deep shadow over the planned merger of Italian cable TV giants, Telepiu and Stream. Despite widespread industry confidence that the merger would receive swift regulatory approval, the antitrust authority has opened an investigation into the deal which had been agreed by the pay-TV groups' ...
-
News
...as European merger & acquisition activity dives
Merger and acquisitions (m&a) activity in Europe's media sector boomed during 2000, but is set to halve in the current year, being replaced by traditional alliances and joint-ventures. A new report from the corporate finance arm of accounting giant Andersen says that consolidation between firms and convergence of old and ...
-
News
Stars cancel San Sebastian appearances
Julie Andrews, who was scheduled to receive the Donostia Award at this year' s San Sebastian International Film Festival, has cancelled her trip to Spain "in light of the recent events" in New York and Washington. The festival, which begins next Thursday and runs through September 29, issued a statement ...
-
News
Mueller prepares international production slate
Marco Mueller, producer of Babak Payami's Venice prize winner Secret Ballot and executive producer of Sarajevo winner and Cannes favourite No Man's Land, says he will soon start producing Italian feature films in addition to lining up South American and African titles for the production slate that will launch his ...