Small MPU – Page 339
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News
Oscar changes the eligibility rules for documentaries - again
Will the new Academy Awards requirements benefit films with greater resources' Peter Bowen reportsAfter altering the rules in 2005, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) is again changing the rules dictating the eligibility of documentary features.In short, a doc must have a seven-day qualifying exhibition in either ...
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Documentary case study: Sicko
Michael Moore's Sicko may be drumming up hype because of its subject matter. But for The Weinstein Company, the director is the real story. Peter Bowen reports. After Fahrenheit 9/11 grossed more than $220m worldwide, it became clear that a Michael Moore film was not your everyday documentary. For his ...
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Documentary case study: Air Guitar Nation
Peter Bowen explains why a debut documentary with a jokey-sounding title was the right fit for a new distributor.The plot of Alex Lipsitz's first documentary feature Air Guitar Nation sounds like a joke. A smattering of hopeful US air guitarists, with names like Bjorn Turoque and C-Diddy, follow their dreams ...
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Upcoming feature documentaries
From star-led projects to nature documentaries, Peter Bowen profiles a selection of upcoming feature docs.SickoMichael Moore's assault on the US healthcare system opened on June 22 in the US, and starts an international rollout in August. Gary Faber, executive vice-president of marketing at The Weinstein Company feels confident that 'with ...
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News
Box-office opinion: India can strike the right note
India's film industry is facing huge challenges, but a global breakout success may not be far away, says Len KladyIt has been a brutal summer. The movies that were supposed to set box-office records have come up short. And the seasonal surprises, while warmly welcomed, are failing to close the ...
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Shrek keeps action duo at bay
Shrek The Third continues to hold the top spot despite the release of two highly anticipated action films - Transformers and Die Hard 4.0.The green ogre was up 5% - largely led by an impressive $33.5m opening in the UK - and generated $60.9m over the three-day period. Transformers opened ...
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International box office: mixed signals in Argentina
Increased ticket prices have helped raise total box-office revenues in Argentina but admissions have been falling. Diego Batlle reports. Admissions figures in Argentina dropped by an estimated 7% for the first half of 2007. The period saw 18.2 million admissions as opposed to 19.5 million in 2006.However, total box office ...
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News
Worldwide digital 3D screens treble
Hollywood's increasing investment in exclusive 3D movies is driving the surge in custom-made screens, writes Diana Lodderhose. The number of digital 3D cinema screens has nearly trebled during the first six months of 2007, suggesting exhibitors are stepping up to meet Hollywood studios' increasing investment in exclusive 3D movies.According to ...
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Korean films lose market share in first half of 2007
Leading South Korean exhibitor CJ CGV has released statistics for the first half of the year, which place the market share of local films at 47.3%, the lowest since 2001 and down from 59.5% for the same period last year. Local film market share in Seoul - traditionally lower than ...
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News
Cinar founders Charest and Weinberg fight back
Cinar co-founders Micheline Charest and Ronald Weinberg have rejected the company's decision to fire them from their managerial posts and also its request that they relinquish their seats on the board of directors.The husband-and-wife team, who have kept a low profile since March when allegations of tax fraud and unauthorised ...
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AV Pictures strikes UK deal for The Tournament with Entertainment
AV Pictures has sold UK rights to action thriller The Tournament to Entertainment Film Distributors. The film, starring Robert Carlyle, Ving Rhames and Kelly Hu, is about a fight between the world's greatest assassins. AV likens it to 'a grown-up Battle Royale.' First-time feature director Scott Mann will start shooting ...
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News
Brandenburg gives second state guarantee to Mr Nobody
Jaco van Dormael's latest feature Mr Nobody, based on his own original screenplay, is the second film after Kevin Spacey's Beyond The Sea to be awarded a state guarantee by the Land of Brandenburg. Brandenburg will guarantee up to 80% of the $7.1m (Euros 5:25 m) loan from Commerzbank, which ...
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News
EuropaCorp starts trading on Euronext after $95m IPO
Luc Besson's EuropaCorp made a strong entry to the Euronext today having raised $95.1m (Euros 70m) in an initial public offering. The French mini-major sold 4.51m shares at $21 (Euros 15.5) each, the company said in a statement. Underwriters have the option until August 3 to sell 451,612 further shares ...
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Venice to close with Alexi Tan's debut Blood Brothers
Blood Brothers, the first feature by director Alexi Tan which is produced by John Woo and Terence Chang, will close the Venice Film Festival's 64th edition, out of competition, the Biennale said today. Fortissimo is handling international sales on the project, and already sold a number of territories during the ...
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Rupert Friend to star opposite Blunt in The Young Victoria
Rupert Friend has been cast as Prince Albert to Emily Blunt's Queen Victoria in the forthcoming feature The Young Victoria. Jean Marc Vallee will direct from a script by Julian Fellowes. Graham King and Martin Scorsese are producing. Denis O'Sullivan will oversee the project for King's GK Films. The Young ...
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Michael Wailes to join UK's Vertigo as head of sales
Vertigo Films has hired Michael Wailes in its new head of sales post. He will start the new position at the end of August.Wailes has worked in theatrical sales for more than 10 years, most recently at Tartan Films. Vertigo's Rupert Preston said: ''We are thrilled that Michael is joining ...
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World Cinema Fund gives largest award to Guerra's Wind Journeys
Five projects from Latin America, the Middle East and Africa have been selected by the World Cinema Fund (WCF) from a total of 81 submissions from 28 countries for funding of $313,387 (Euros 230,000).The largest single amount of funding - $81,753 (Euros 60,000) - went to Colombian director Ciro Guerra's ...
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Transformers set to deliver best US first week for non-sequel
Paramount/DreamWorks' sci-fi action blockbuster Transformersobliterated the competition over the weekend, opening on an estimated$67.6m over three days that rose to $152.5m including previews overthe six-day July 4 holiday week.If estimates hold up this will be the biggest first week result for anon-sequel, overtaking Spider-Man's $151.6m mark set in May 2002.Michael ...
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Kormakur's Jar City take top honors at Karlovy Vary
Baltasar Kormakur's Icelandic thriller Jar City (pictured above) won the Grand Prix of the 42nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on July 8.Kormakur and producer Lilja Palmadottir will share the $20,000 cash prize. The film also received the FICC Don Quijote Award. Trust Film Sales is ...
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Reviews
The Art Of Negative Thinking (Kunsten A Tenke Negativt)
Dir. Bard Breien. Nor. 2007. 79mins.The script Bard Breien wrote for The Art of Negative Thinking, blackly comic debut, may have been intended for the screen, but it could work as well, if not even better, on the stage. Dealing with the type of material that Scandinavian cinema seems unusually ...