Small MPU – Page 126
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Features
European animation - Case Study: Arthur and the Invisibles - 'We had no clue how tough it was going to be'
In making Arthur And The Invisibles, Luc Besson (pictured) refused to accept the conventional wisdom that European animation was a cottage industry. It looks as if his gamble has paid off, with the film already scoring more than 6.2 million admissions in France. The aim now is to shoot the ...
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Features
European - Aardman animations - 'We feel liberated in a delightful way'
Peter Lord, a founder of Aardman Animations, is in optimistic mood following the company's recent divorce from DreamWorks."We just feel liberated in an incredibly delightful way," says Lord. "Many other people are interested in doing business with us, both within Europe and in the US. What it means creatively is ...
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Features
European animation - Territory Overview: Spain - 'Animation is in hot demand'
The 2001 animated feature The Living Forest marked a before and after in Spanish animation. Europe's first 3D computer animation, it was seen by more than a million viewers across the continent. Its success helped producer Dygra Films finance its $8m (EUR6.1m) Midsummer Dream, and grow its company with an ...
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Features
European - Selling European animation - Drawing the battle lines
Television looms large over European animation. "The biggest problem in selling animation in Europe is that the market is primarily for (TV) series - 30-minute episodes," says Czech-based producer and sales agent John Riley, who has sold the work of Czech master Jan Svankmajer.With bigger-budget Euro-animated features, sales agents need ...
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News
Locarno reshuffles duties after president's death
The International Locarno Film Festival is to share the duties of late president Giuseppe Buffi amongst its committee of directors until the end of the festival, which starts on August 2. Buffi died after suffering a heart attack last week. After holding an emergency meeting following his death, Locarno announced ...
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Features
European - Territory Overview: France - Highly visible success
French animation is enjoying a revival, with Luc Besson's Arthur And The Invisibles raking it in at the local and foreign box office and many other high-profile projects underway. But, just as in the US where an overstretched market is starting to buckle, France may not be able to sustain ...
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Features
European animation - Territory Overview: Germany - It's a family affair
German animations were traditionally targeted at children, but all that changed in the early 1990s when producers hit on 'adult' animation features with successful comic-book adaptations Werner - Volles Rooaaa! (2.7 million admissions) and The Little Bastard (three million). However, animation studios now tend to focus on fare for the ...
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Features
European - Case study: Max & Co - Puppet masters pull the strings
On paper, Max & Co looks like a big risk. Budgeted at $25m (EUR19m), the animated first-time feature from director brothers Fred and Sam Guillaume started out as a short. But as it evolved, and with input from producer Robert Boner, it became clear it would be better served as ...
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Features
European - Event: Cartoon movie - Forum for European animations
Cartoon Movie's annual Forum for European Animation Films is billed as "neither a fair nor a festival, but rather a co-production forum where European producers can negotiate the financing of their feature-length projects and provide support to international co-operation". It combines trailer presentations, business meetings and screenings with the chance ...
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Features
Language barriers
It is a longstanding tradition that the day prior to the Academy Awards, the directors of the films nominated in the foreign-language category take to the stage of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater and talk about their work and the state of international cinema.This year, the film-makers in question, Denmark's Susanne ...
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Features
Ghost Rider holds fire at the top
Ghost Rider holds on to the top spot this weekend, generating $16.9m after opening in an additional 17 territories across a further 1,291 screens. Fox's Night At The Museum was not far behind, raking in an impressive $14.2m in its tenth week, despite dropping from seven territories. French cinemas favoured ...
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Features
Data - Market focus - Turning tide in HK affairs
When William Monahan accepted his best adapted screenplay Oscar for The Departed, he thanked Felix Chong and Alan Mak, the writers of its source material, Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs. But he could have also paid homage to Media Asia's chairman Peter Lam who greenlit the high-concept thriller.Infernal Affairs single-handedly ...
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News
Baron Cohen gets Israel Film Festival achievement award
Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen has been chosen to be the inaugural recipient of the outstanding achievement award at the 22nd Annual Israel Film Festival.The British comedian will join fellow nominees Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair Amy Pascal and Israeli actress Gila Almagor at the opening night gala award dinner on ...
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News
Tokyo to host world premiere of Spider-Man 3
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group has announced that the world premiere of Spider-Man 3 will be held in Tokyo. The multi-million dollar event will be held on April 16 at Tokyo 's upscale shopping and entertainment complex Roppongi Hills, with the film's six main cast members scheduled to attend. Additionally, ...
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News
Turning tide in Hong Kong Affairs
When William Monahan accepted his Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar this week for The Departed, he thanked Felix Chong and Alan Mak, the writers of its source material, Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs. But he could have also paid homage to Media Asia's chairman Peter Lam who greenlit the high-concept thriller.Affairs ...
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News
Gladiator roars past $200m internationally
UIP's Gladiator has clocked up $200m internationally as of Monday 24 July, bringing its worldwide total to $380m. This tally makes it a strong contender for a place in the top five chart of worldwide hits this year after Toy Story 2 and Mission: Impossible 2 which will also take ...
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News
Still Life takes first Adelaide best film award
Still Life, by Chinese director Jia Zhang Ke, has won $25,000 for best film at the Adelaide Film Festival's inaugural competition. The film is a meditation on the transformation of China, using the dams being built on the Yangtze River as its setting. Last year it won the Golden Lion ...
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News
Change of direction for UK French Film Festival
The 2007 edition of the UK's annual French Film Festival is to focus exclusively on titles that have not secured a British distribution deal. The move is seen as a response to the revitalised Rendez-vous with French Cinema (29 March -April 1) in London which boasts a succession of star-studded ...
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Nigerian drama Ezra takes Fespaco best film prize
Newton Aduaka's Ezra won the best picture Golden Stallion of Yenneng at this year's Fespaco film fesitival in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.The Nigerian director's film tells the story of a child soldier trying to find a life after the civil war in Sierra LeoneCameroon's Jean Pierre Bekolo Les ...
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Del Toro adds Portuguese prize to list of honours
Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth walked away the top winner of the 27th annual edition of Portugal's Oporto Film Festival, better known as Fantasporto.Oscar-winning Labyrinth (El Laberinto Del Fauno) picked up theFantasporto official selection's Grand Prix for best fantasy film - anhonour the Mexican director previously took home in 1994 ...
