Small MPU – Page 1280

  • News

    House Of The Dead to go live action in May

    2002-02-28T17:57:00Z

    After Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and most recently Tekken (Screen Daily Feb 21), attention has now turned to Sega's best-selling video game, House Of The Dead for a live-action feature production. The Euros 12m project is set to crank up in May in Vancouver under the direction of ...

  • News

    Telefonica reports decline in net profits

    2002-02-28T17:59:00Z

    Spanish telecoms operator Telefonica reported a drop in net profit for 2001, down 15.9% to Euros 2.1bn from Euros 2.5bn in 2000. The company estimates the devaluation of the Argentine peso impacted its results by as much as Euros 369m.Telefonica media filial Admira posted Euros 347.3m in net losses, a ...

  • News

    Millimages buys 51% of Toons 'N' Takes

    2002-02-28T18:10:00Z

    Leading French animation house Millimages has acquired a 51% majority stake in Hamburg-based studio Toons 'N' Takes.The move is seen as part of an intensification of their existing working collaboration on animation series for television.Millimages, which has been listed on France's Nouveau Marche d'Euronext since June 2001, opened a US ...

  • News

    Guadalajara fest to go ahead with new director

    2002-02-28T18:14:00Z

    Mexico's premiere film event, the Guadalajara Mexican Film Showcase, kicks off next week despite the resignation of its newly-appointed director Enrique Ortiga, who never even got a chance to manage the event once.Deputy director Kenya Marquez Alkadef stepped in to replace Ortiga, who left amidst claims that he had neglected ...

  • News

    ShoWesters to view footage of digital Star Wars II

    2002-03-01T00:57:00Z

    Exhibitors at nextweek's ShoWest convention will get a world-first glimpse of footage fromGeorge Lucas' Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones as part of a presentation by its producer RickMcCallum on shooting digitally with the Sony 24P camera.The convention'sOpening Night Dinner will be hosted next Tuesday (March 5) ...

  • News

    ContentFilm teams with Furst, WMA on digital pics

    2002-03-01T01:01:00Z

    Ed Pressman and JohnSchmidt's New York-based production outfit ContentFilm has formed atwo-year strategic alliance with LA-based producer Sean Furst and his FurstFilms. And in an unusual angle to the deal, Rena Ronson and Cassian Elwes ofWilliam Morris Agency division WMA Independent will provide "strategicsupport" by sharing its resources with the ...

  • News

    Massis does multi-picture deals in Italy, Israel

    2002-03-01T01:02:00Z

    Alex Massis' NewYork-based marketing and sales outfit The Film Source has closed multi-picturedeals with Dall'Angelo Pictures in Italy, Israel Cable Programming (ICP)in Israel and Pengloss in Switzerland.The video/DVD and TV dealsclosed at NATPE and the Berlin Film Market consisted of four classic Mario Bavahorror films (Lisa & The Devil, Baron ...

  • News

    Franchise wins 1st court battle with Intertainment

    2002-03-01T04:21:00Z

    Franchise Pictures has won acourt victory against Germany's Intertainment Licensing GmbH, asubsidiary of the publicly traded Intertainment AG. The two companies have beenembroiled in legal battle for over a year now regarding the terms of an outputdeal Franchise had sealed with Intertainment in 2000.Yesterday's judgmentsees Intertainment liable for $6.5m for ...

  • News

    Michael Kuhn co's first picture rolls in Rome

    2002-03-01T04:22:00Z

    Shooting has started inRome's Cinecitta Studios on 20th Century Fox's Sin Eater, the first project to go into production throughformer PolyGram Filmed Entertainment chief Michael Kuhn's new productionoutfit.Directed by Brian Helgeland(A Knight's Tale), Sin Eater is the story of a mysterious character who exorcisesthe sins of dead people and stars ...

  • Reviews

    On The Road To Emmaus

    2002-03-03T14:26:00Z

    Dir: Markku Polonen. Finland. 2001. 77mins.Markku Polonen has been on Finland's film-making scene for nearly two decades, but On The Road To Emmaus buzzes with the irrepressible anarchic spirit of a first or second feature. Premiered in Helsinki last October, the film had local critics calling Polonen a Finnish Fellini ...

  • News

    Italy's Eagle swoops on two-picture Mandalay deal

    2002-03-03T14:34:00Z

    Eagle Pictures, the fast-expanding film and TV outfit based in Rome and Milan, has struck a two picture deal with Mandalay Pictures, the Paramount-based independent headed by Peter Guber. Mandalay had previously licensed movies in Italy through Cecchi Gori Pictures and more recently Medusa Film. Under the deal, Eagle has ...

  • News

    Acting surprises at Cesars but Amelie wins top two

    2002-03-03T15:32:00Z

    Despite taking the awards for best film and director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie failed to dominate Saturday's French Cesar awards as expected, winning in four categories out of its 13 nominations.While Amelie's star, Audrey Tautou, has been widely recognised as a talent to watch and was generally considered the favourite for ...

  • News

    Ster Century Europe sells three national circuits

    2002-03-03T15:54:00Z

    South African Media Group Primedia and Kersaf Investments have sold their cinema interests, Ster Century Europe, in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia for $18.5m.The cinemas were bought by UCI Central Europe BV, a joint venture between United Cinemas International (UCI) and venture capital and private equity fund Argus Capital ...

  • News

    Kuhn fund to raise Euros 99m for 10-picture slate

    2002-03-03T16:15:00Z

    With its first project Sin Eater, now in production (Screen Daily, March 1), Michael Kuhn's German-based media investment fund N1 European Film Produktions-GmbH & Co KG (N1 EFP) is planning to raise Euros 99 m by the end of 2002 to invest in the development and production of 10 English-language ...

  • News

    Hong Kong cinema ticket promotion backfires

    2002-03-03T16:24:00Z

    A price promotion by the two largest theatre chains in Hong Kong backfired when movie-goers were charged full price for the most popular films.On February 25, UA and Broadway cinemas announced a four week promotion for Tuesdays and Wednesdays where tickets would be reduced by as much as $6.40 (HK$50) ...

  • News

    Fausto and Sorum are Fantasporto favourites

    2002-03-03T17:27:00Z

    Spain's Fausto 5.0 and South Korea's Sorum walked away the big winners of the 22nd annual edition of Portugal's fantasy and sci-fi oriented Oporto International Film Festival (Feb 22-Mar 3), better known as Fantasporto.Fausto 5.0, directed by Isidro Ortiz, Allex Olle and Carlos Padrissa, took home the official Fantasy section's ...

  • News

    Antitrust authority blocks Stream/Telepiu sale

    2002-03-04T02:33:00Z

    Italy's Antitrust Authority has frozen the deal which would have seen Rupert Murdoch's News Corp sell Italian pay-tv platform Stream to Vivendi Universal. The two media giants reached an agreement last month after News Corp bought Telecom Italia's 50% share of Stream for Euros 48m. The move enabled News Corp, ...

  • News

    We Were Soldiers tops chart for Paramount and Icon

    2002-03-04T04:38:00Z

    Mel Gibson's star shone bright at the North American box office over the weekend as We Were Soldiers, his latest war epic financed by his own company Icon Entertainment with Paramount Pictures, opened at the number one spot with $20.2m. Gibson stars as Lt Col Hal Moore, on whose book ...

  • News

    PGA votes for Moulin Rouge, WGA Park, Mind

    2002-03-04T06:45:00Z

    Two more talent guilds dished out their annual awards over the weekend, adding fuel to speculation about which films will take home Academy Awards later this month. Last night (Sunday), the Producers Guild Of America (PGA) shook things up by naming Moulin Rouge its best picture of 2001 beating favourites ...

  • News

    BBC Films appoints Isabel Begg

    2002-03-04T09:24:00Z

    BBC Films, the film arm of the UK public broadcaster, has appointed Isabel Begg, formerly head of UK business and legal affairs at Miramax, as head of business and legal affairs.Begg will report to Jane Wright, who has been promoted from head of business development to the new role of ...