Small MPU – Page 446

  • News

    Splendid Film ordered to pay $2.1m to Gold Circle

    2004-08-11T00:00:00Z

    The future liquidity ofSplendid Film is in jeopardy following a decision ordering it to pay $2.1m toLos Angeles-based Gold Circle Films.This turn of events cameafter the 100% subsidiary of Cologne-based Splendid Medien was ordered to paythe amount by an arbitration board of the Independent Film & Televisionalliance as an additional ...

  • News

    Beyond The Sea secures post-production investment

    2004-08-12T04:00:00Z

    Kevin Spacey's Trigger Productions has secured $500,000 for post-production on his Bobby Darin biopic Beyond The Sea as the first move into film from a new UK investment company.The investment comes through Orientrose, a recently-listed cash shell company formed by UK business advisory company Griffin Group. Orientrose also said it ...

  • News

    Montreal claims Clouds world premiere

    2004-08-12T04:00:00Z

    A day afterToronto claimed that it would present the world premiere of John Duigan'swartime romance Head In The Clouds, The Montreal World Film Festival has declared that the film willpremiere ahead of Toronto in Montreal.The film stars Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron andPenelope Cruz.The picture isone of six new additions announced ...

  • News

    Cinemark opens two new multiplexes in Colombia, Brazil

    2004-08-12T04:00:00Z

    Leading LatinAmerican exhibitor Cinemark International is preparing to open two newmultiplexes in Colombia and Brazil this month.The company willunveil its eight-screen San Rafael Theatre in the Paseo San Rafael Mall in thesoutheastern part of Bogota, Colombia, on Aug 13. The 1,645 seater will beCinemark's fifth property in the country.Two weeks ...

  • News

    Kit Parker Films buys 500-title Weiss library

    2004-08-12T04:00:00Z

    Phoenix-basedclassics distributor Kit Parker Films has purchased all worldwide rights to theWeiss Global Enterprises' (WGE) 500-plus-title library, which includes theSamuel Fuller classics I Shot Jesse James and The Steel Helmet, among others.The Parker acquisition marks the first time Weissproperties have left the family's control since the Weiss Brothers producersestablished the ...

  • News

    Columbia TriStar boards New Zealand thriller

    2000-04-04T06:04:00Z

    Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group has boarded Scott Reynolds' New Zealand thriller Shearer's Breakfast and taken all distribution rights to the $2.1m film outside Germany and Australia.Starring Radha Mitchell (High Art, Pitch Black) as a young woman whose roadside diner is invaded by a host of menacing criminals, Shearer's Breakfast ...

  • News

    Coppola gets lost in a French translation: Marie-Antoinette

    2004-08-12T04:00:00Z

    Sofia Coppola is set todirect Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman in her first major studio productionMarie-Antoinette for ColumbiaPictures.Filming is scheduled tobegin in February 2005 in France, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion PictureGroup chairman Amy Pascal said yesterday (11)Dunst is attached to playthe title role and Schwartzman will portray Louis XVI in ...

  • News

    Nordisk goes digital

    2004-08-12T00:00:00Z

    When Ole Olsen opened Biografteatret in Copenhagen in 1905,he laid the foundation for the oldest film company in the world, Nordisk Film,which now, 100 years later, is moving into the digital age.As the first in the country, the Nordic distribution andexhibition major will be equipping its three main sites with ...

  • News

    ITALY Production Listings - August 12 2004

    2004-08-12T00:00:00Z

    ITALY - August 12PRE-PRODUCTIONADIUS, LA FESTA E' FINITA(Verdecchi Film) Backer: Fondo diGaranzia. Word gets out in high-flying Roman society that a well-known Italiansinger-songwriter is to make his comeback - despite the fact that his death wasofficially announced in 1980. Prod: Alessandro Verdecchi. Dir: Ezio Alovisi.Scr: Ezio Alovisi.Contact: Verdecchi Film, (39) ...

  • News

    Italian producers engage with market forces

    2004-08-12T00:00:00Z

    Italy's production sector is facing one of its worst everproduction crises:State funding for local films has halted for over six monthsand the government is now threatening to cut over 20% out of its entertainmentfund, leaving the cinema industry with a paltry $19m per year.A number of local, auteur-driven productions which ...

  • News

    Italian producers engage with market forces

    2004-08-13T04:00:00Z

    Italy's production sector is facing one of its worst everproduction crises:State funding for local films has halted for over six monthsand the government is now threatening to cut over 20% out of its entertainmentfund, leaving the cinema industry with a paltry $19m per year.A number of local, auteur-driven productions which ...

  • News

    Everything Is Illuminated wraps in Prague

    2004-08-13T04:00:00Z

    Principal photography haswrapped on Everything Is Illuminatedin Prague this week. Directed by Liev Schreiber and starring Elijah Wood, thefilm is produced by Warner Independent Pictures in association withproducer/financier Marc Turtletaub and producer Peter Saraf.Turtletaub told Screendaily.com the film was made for amodest $7m, although “it looks like a $40m movie” ...

  • News

    Locarno director responds to criticism

    2004-08-13T04:00:00Z

    Locarno Film Festivalartistic director Irene Bignardi has declared herself "very happy" with herfourth event and has defended herself against criticism from former Locarnodirector Moritz de Hadeln."The final result of thisyear's programme saw us able to paint a picture consistent through all thesections showing that we had chosen the right moment ...

  • News

    Vietnam appreciates Long Legged Girls

    2004-08-13T04:00:00Z

    Nhung Co Gai Chan Dai (Long Legged Girls), Vietnam's first privately funded feature filmsince the government ended its state monopoly on film making in 2002, hasbecome a huge local hit, earning an estimated$320,000 (VND5 bn) since its opening on June 17.The Vietnamese tale aboutfashion models was made by first-time director ...

  • News

    Greece faces up to Olympic competition

    2004-08-13T04:00:00Z

    Greece's distribution sector has already decided on onewinner of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games - the event itself.Having witnessed a slump in cinema admissions due to theunexpected success of the national soccer team In the European Football Cup,distributors and exhibitors have collectively decided not to open any new filmsduring the ...

  • News

    Australian producers mull alternative distribution models

    2004-08-13T04:00:00Z

    Amending traditional distribution deals so that producersget more control and a greater share of returns was the dominant theme at Australia's annual conference ofproducers. Splitting rights was proposed, for example, as was adoptingwebsite-based sales systems, forfeiting high sales prices in exchange for boxoffice bonuses and under-reporting sales figures to avoid ...

  • News

    CLT-Ufa reports turnaround in earnings

    2000-04-04T11:51:00Z

    European broadcast giant CLT-Ufa reported an impressive turnaround in earnings for the 1999 financial year, delivering a euros415m profit compared with a loss of euros14m in 1998. Revenue for the period was up 5% to euros3.21bnCLT-Ufa attributed the improvement to increased profit from its traditional broadcast operations, which include Germany's ...

  • News

    INTERNATIONAL 12 August

    2004-08-12T00:00:00Z

    The top eight positions may have remained unchanged fromlast week but there was still plenty going on in the international market. I, Robot cemented its lead with a hostof massive openings led by the UK, Germany and Russia that saw its weekendearnings nearly three times its nearest rival.South Korean horror ...

  • News

    Swedish cinema sale sees one exhibitor control 75% of the sector

    2004-08-13T04:00:00Z

    Sweden's second biggest exhibitor, Sandrew Metronome, has sold its cinema chain to rival SF Bio. The deal means that SF Bio, owned by Swedish media major Bonnier Group, will control 75% of the Swedish exhibition sector.Sandrew Metronome currently manages 22 cinemas with 90 in 15 cities throughout Sweden. Last year, ...

  • News

    San Sebastian selects seven Films In Progress

    2004-08-13T00:00:00Z

    The San Sebastian and Toulouse film festivals' joint fundinginitiative, Films in Progress, has announced the seven Latin American titlesinvited to participate in this year's sixth edition, including first-timeentries from Brazil and Uruguay.The projects seek assistance to complete post-production.Various privately sponsored awards provide additional incentive to chosenfilms. The screenings will take ...