Small MPU – Page 478
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News
Australian box office hits record heights in 2004
Australians spent $693m (A$907m) going to the cinema lastyear, the highest annual result ever, according to new Motion PictureDistributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) figures.This was 4.79% or $31.6m more than last year's record.The MPDAA has not released the figure for admissions, however. This may havedipped, meaning that growth came from ...
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Hanks options Cold Feet writer's Understudy
Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone Productions hassnapped up film rights to The Understudy, the second novel from Britishwriter David Nicholls who is best known for his work on hit TV series ColdFeet. The Understudy is a romantic comedy about a failedactor and Nicholls is to write the screenplay himself. ...
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Golden Scene takes on sales for Kwan's Regret
Hong Kong distribution company Golden Scene has picked upinternational sales rights to Stanley Kwan Kam Pang's forthcoming Chang HenGe (which translates literally as Everlasting Regret).The film is based on a prize winning novel and wasadapted by Elmond Yeung and Jiang Liping.Production design is by William Chang. Starring Sammi Cheng, Tony ...
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Reviews
Unconscious (Inconscientes)
Dir: Joaquin Oristrell.Sp-Port-Ger-It. 108mins.Spain's Joaquin Oristrelltakes time off from contemporary urban dramas and, with Unconscious,delivers an attractive and witty mystery comedy that maintains its screwballenergy throughout.Although the elements ofperiod comedy, an unappealing title and foreign language might deter somebuyers from looking deeper into this delightful Sherlock Holmes-Meets-Freudpiece, distributors and festivals ...
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HONG KONG 21 January
National Treasure held on at the top of the Hong Kong box office butAlexander stormed in behind it, grossing US$348,131 for second position in itsopening week. Distributed by GoldenHarvest's Panasia label, Oliver Stone's sword-and-sandals epic scored a healthyscreen average of US$11,604. Meanwhile, Kung-fu Hustle, which dropped tothird position, continues to ...
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Reviews
Inside Deep Throat
Dirs/scrs: Fenton Bailey,Randy Barbato. US. 2004. 90mins It has been thirty-threeyears since Deep Throat first went down on one of Time Square's triple-Xfleapits in Manhattan and came up a pop-cultural landmark that reverberates tothis day. The lasting impact, both personal and societal, of this seminal pornflick is now chronicled in ...
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Berlinale lifts lid on 'sassy' Forum programme
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 10-20) hasunveiled the full programme of the 35th International Forum of New Cinema, which focuses largely on films by new and youngdirectors.The programme, which is one of the key festival strands alongsidethe main competition, Panorama, the Kinderfilmfest and the Perspektive DeutschesKino, is billed by ...
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News
Telefilm advised to quit television
Telefilm Canada, the country's principal source of production subsidy, has been advised to pull out of television and concentrate on film in two separate reports, by the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) and consultancy KPMG.The reports suggest that the federal agency should no longer administer the $200m CTF, citing bureaucratic inefficiency ...
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Sokurov's Sun to shine with The Works
In advance of what looks bound to be the busiest Berlinalefor British sales companies in recent memory, London-based The Works hasannounced it is handling international sales on Alexander Sokurov'sBerlin competition entry, The Sun. Set in occupied Japan at the end of the Second World War,the film examines the events surrounding ...
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News
Japanese are Windstruck by Korean film
Windstruck, director Kwak Jae-young's follow-up to hishit romantic comedy My Sassy Girl,has set a new box office record for a Korean film in Japan. Released by WarnerJapan on 300 screens on December 11, the film recorded $17.65m (Y1.8bn) on 1.37million admissions as of January 16. Reuniting Jun Ji-hyun andJang Hyuk, ...
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Paramount, MTV, Miramax lead buying fever at Sundance
An initiallyrestrained Sundance 2005 finally kicked into life yesterday (23) with a flurryof deals closed, led by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films' $16m three-picturedeal with producer John Singleton that includes the acquisition of CraigBrewer's early festival favourite and American Dramatic Competition entry Hustle& Flow.Meanwhile Miramax was believed to be in ...
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News
Are We There Yet' defies bad weather to open top on $18.5m
Columbia/Revolution'sAre We There Yet'opened top on an estimated $18.5m at the weekend, dominating a three-day periodthat was blighted by massive blizzards across northeastern America.BrianLevant's poorly reviewed romantic comedy starring Ice Cube And Nia Longaveraged $6,829 on 2,709 screens and knocked Paramount's drama Coach Carter into second place on$11m for $43.2m ...
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News
PGA goes for Aviator as the year's best film
Michael Mann and Graham King won the DarrylF Zanuck Producer of the Year award for The Aviator at the 16th Annual PGA Awards hosted by Intel in LosAngeles on Jan 22.Innon-theatrical honours: Mike Nichols, Cary Brokaw, Celia Costas and Mike Haleywon the David L Wolper long-form television award for Angels ...
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US indie distributor TLA plans initiative into UK market
Marking its first expansion outside North America,domestic independent TLA Releasing, which specializes in gay and lesbian titles,has declared its intention to enter the UK home entertainment market andrelease 12 to 16 titles from its US catalogue each year.Down the line the company says it plans to acquire titles fortheatrical release ...
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News
Are We There Yet' defies bad weather to open top on $18.5m
Columbia/Revolution'sAre We There Yet'opened top on an estimated $18.5m at the weekend, dominating a three-day periodthat was blighted by massive blizzards across northeastern America. BrianLevant's poorly reviewed romantic comedy starring Ice Cube And Nia Longaveraged $6,829 on 2,709 screens and knocked Paramount's drama Coach Carter into second place on$11m for ...
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News
British Columbia increases labour-based tax credits for foreign film shoots
Thegovernment of Canadian province British Columbia has increased its film andtelevision production labour-based tax credits to match recent increases inrival production centres in Ontario and Quebec. Announcedon Jan. 21, the BC Production Services Tax Credit, for foreign locationshooting, will increase from 11% to 18%, while Film Incentive British Columbia,for domestic ...
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News
Are We There Yet' defies blizzards to open top on $18.5m
Columbia/Revolution'sAre We There Yet'opened top on an estimated $18.5m at the weekend, dominating a three-day periodthat was blighted by massive blizzards across northeastern America.BrianLevant's poorly reviewed romantic comedy starring Ice Cube And Nia Longaveraged $6,829 on 2,709 screens and knocked Paramount's drama Coach Carter into second place on$11m for $43.2m ...
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News
Closer gathers steam with trio of major debuts
Sony Pictures Releasing International's (SPRI) torriddrama Closer continued its impressiverun with an estimated $12.3m weekend haul that included a trio of major numberone debuts.The picture opened top inFrance on $2.7m on 328 prints, top in Spain on $2m on 259, and top in Brazil on$750,000 on 180. It also opened ...
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The Incredibles passes $600m at global box office
Buena Vista International's(BVI) The Incredibles became onlythe 25th picture to pass $600m in global ticket sales at the weekendfollowing a $5.2m international weekend gross that raised its internationalrunning total to $343m.National Treasure added $6.1m for $128.5m, fired up by number onedebuts in Malaysia and Argentina that yielded $289,000 and $239,000respectively.BVI ...
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News
Elektra takes $4.5m for Fox International
Fox International's Elektra grossed an estimated $4.5m on 1,207 screens in six territories at theweekend, raising its international running total to $6.8m.The comic book adaptation opened in fifth place in the UKon $1.5m on 330, second in Mexico on $893,000 on 350, fourth in South Korea on$715,000 on 81, first ...