Small MPU – Page 480

  • News

    Alexander soars past $100m in international markets

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    Following a dazzling international run that hasyielded more than three times the domestic gross, Alexander passed the $100mmilestone at the weekend with an estimated $9.5m haul from approximately 2,900screens in 54 territories.The picture's international running total now stands at $103m, powered by animpressive $2.9m (Euros2.2m) number one hold on 500 ...

  • News

    Lions Gate buys world on Sundance urban doc Rize

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    Thetaste for street culture and urban storytelling continued to drive the earlydeals at Sundance yesterday (24) as Lions Gate Films acquired all worldwiderights to Rizeby David LaChapelle.The documentary centres on a former children's entertainer who opens an academydevoted to clowning and krumping, an emerging dance form out of South CentralLos ...

  • News

    Macy, Elliott et al join Thank You For Smoking

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    William H Macy and Sam Elliott are among sevenactors that have joined the cast of Room 9/ContentFilm's satirical comedy ThankYou For Smoking,which began principal photography in Los Angeles yesterday (24).Adam Brody, Cameron Bright, David Koechner, JK Simmons, and Kim Dickens arealso among the new arrivals on set, joining the previously ...

  • News

    Paris screenings end on optimistic note

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    The Paris Screenings(Rendez-Vouz du Cinema Français) (21-24 Jan) ended yesterday with sellers incautiously optimistic mood and a culture minister set on rolling back thebarriers to business development.At a cocktail reception atthe Musee d'Orsay, minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres left little doubt thathe will stand up to more conservative elements of ...

  • News

    Douglas to co-produce Racing The Monsoon in India

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    Indian film financiersSahara One Motion Pictures and Percept Picture Company have announced that theywill be the primary backers of the Michael Douglas project Racing TheMonsoon - acting as co-producers with Douglas's production company FurtherFilms.The film will be shot in theAmby Valley near Mumbai - a luxury resort created by Sahara ...

  • News

    Katja von Garnier to direct Lakeshore's Blood And Chocolate

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    Germandirector Katja von Garnier has signed on to direct Lakeshore Entertainment's BloodAnd Chocolate, it was announced today byLakeshore's Tom Rosenberg.Produced by Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi with Daniel Bobker, the film isset to start shooting this spring.Set inEastern Europe, Blood And Chocolate is the story of Vivian Gandillion, anineteen year old ...

  • News

    Dalecarlians named best film at Swedish Film Awards

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    Despite an Academy Award nomination today, eight local award nominations and 1.2 million admissionsin Sweden, last year's local box office champion As It Is In Heaven didn't wina single Swedish Film Award (Guldbagge) at a ceremony held last night inStockholm.Instead, Tomas Alfredson'sfour hour's drama Four Shades Of Brown and first- ...

  • News

    The 77th Adacemy Award Nominations

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    The 77th Academy AwardNominations BEST PICTURETHE AVIATORFINDING NEVERLANDMILLION DOLLAR BABYRAYSIDEWAYS ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLEDon Cheadle - HOTEL RWANDAJohnny Depp - FINDINGNEVERLANDLeonardo DiCaprio - THEAVIATORClint Eastwood - MILLIONDOLLAR BABYJamie Foxx - RAY ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLEAlan Alda - THE AVIATORThomas Haden Church -SIDEWAYSJamie Foxx - COLLATERALMorgan Freeman - MILLIONDOLLAR ...

  • News

    Aviator dominates 77th Academy Award nominations

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    Martin Scorsese's TheAviator has emerged as the clear front-runner for the 77thAcademy Awards with 11 nominations, ahead of Finding Neverland and MillionDollar Baby which bagged seven nods apiece.The nominations wereannounced this morning in Los Angeles and also saw Ray receive six nodsand Sideways rewarded with five. All five of these ...

  • News

    Controversial Van Gogh short withdrawn from Rotterdam

    2005-01-26T04:00:00Z

    Dutch production company Column Productions haswithdrawn Theo van Gogh's controversial short film Submission: Part Ifrom the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Producer Gijs van de Westelakendecided to cancel a public screening of the film for "security reasons".The film, in which the late Van Gogh andliberal Somali-Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali criticise ...

  • News

    MGM extends Showtime domestic pay-TV deal to 2008

    2000-04-25T05:40:00Z

    US pay TV operation Showtime Networks has extended a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for current and future theatrical output, certain library titles and a commitment to co-produce three new television series.The new deal, which builds on an existing arrangement between the two companies, will run through Dec 31, 2008. Showtime ...

  • Reviews

    The Forest For The Trees (Der Wald Vor Lauter Baumen)

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    Dir:Maren Ade. Ger. 2003. 81minsA sober psychological drama about a novice teacher in meltdown, Maren Ade'slow-budget The Forest for the Trees builds slowly but assuredly toproduce an unsettling final kick. An introverted but commanding lead performanceby Eva Lobau should put her name on the map, as well as that of ...

  • News

    Los Angeles film production leaps 19% in 2004

    2005-01-26T04:00:00Z

    Film production in LosAngeles boomed in 2004 according to latest figures from LA's EntertainmentIndustry Development Corp.It said one of the keyreasons for the 19% increase in production days for feature films in 2004 wasthat the decline in value of the US dollar has made it more attractive forHollywood films to ...

  • News

    Puchon Film Festival loses second artistic director

    2005-01-26T04:00:00Z

    South Korea's second majorfilm festival, the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) plungedinto chaos on Tuesday, as its organising committee decided to hold its ninthedition without a festival director.The committee, chaired bycity mayor Hong Geon-pyo, also voted to dismiss its programming team, less thansix months before the event's scheduled opening ...

  • Reviews

    The Aristocrats

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    Dir. PaulProvenza. US. 2004. 90mins.A documentary exploring the art and history of the world's filthiest joke, The Aristocrats is a no-frills primer onthe craft of comedy. Co-executive producers Paul Provenza and Penn Jilette (thespeaking half of the magic-comedy duo Penn & Teller) have tapped the brainstrust of professional US comedy ...

  • News

    IRELAND Production Listings - January 25

    2005-01-25T00:00:00Z

    PRE-PRODUCTIONAURORA ISLAND(Magma Films [Irl] Art Oko Film [Ger]) Co-prods: Future Film [UK]. Budget:Euro5m. Backers: Buena Vista [Ger]. Dist: Buena Vista (Germany) and Moviehouse(UK). Thriller. Exec prods: Ralph Christians, Stephen Margolis, Michele Berk.Prods: Karel Dirka, Clodagh Freeman. Dir: Peter Medak. Scr: Agatha Dominik,Robert Newton. DoP: Elemer Ragalyi. Prod des: Michael Pickwood. ...

  • News

    Irish film production to benefit from foreign funding

    2005-01-26T04:00:00Z

    With the exception of filmsfinanced under the Irish Film Board's low budget initiatives - such as TheTrouble With Sex, and the amateur soccer club drama Studs which isscheduled for a Dublin shoot in February - all Irish locally produced filmsrequire foreign co-producing partners and a significant element of foreignfinancing.A cursory ...

  • News

    Sundance: Lions Gate stumps up $4m for Hard Candy

    2005-01-26T00:00:00Z

    Lions Gate Films has sealed itssecond major deal in two days, paying $4m for worldwide rights excluding theUK, Spain and Australia to David Slade's hot psychological thriller HardCandy.UK rights sold to Redbus for approximately $0.75m, and Icon andAurum acquired Australian and Spanish rights respectively for $0.5m each.The first Slamdance sale ...

  • Reviews

    Thumbsucker

    2005-01-26T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Mike Mills. US.2005. 94mins.Music video andcommercials director and graphic artist Mike Mills makes an impressive featuredirectorial debut with Thumbsucker, a short and sweet adaptation of thenovel by Walter Kirn.Of all the high schoolpictures at Sundance this year, this is by far the best, treating the teenagerat its centre as ...

  • News

    GERMANY 26 January

    2005-01-26T00:00:00Z

    The third instalment of theWesley Snipes Blade franchise - Blade: Trinity - blasted intolast weekend's Top 15 with over $ 4.3m from 524 screens, followed by MartinScorsese's multi-Oscar nominated The Aviator which grossed over $ 2mfrom 318 prints to enter the chart at No. 2. Trinity's 512,540 admissions in its ...