Small MPU – Page 563
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News
Fox Int'l restructures Scandinavian operations
Fox International is restructuring Scandinavian operationsand has announced two key appointments, naming Hansi Mandoki managing directorof Twentieth Century Fox Theatrical Sweden, and Peter Paumgardhen managingdirector of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Scandinavia.Mandoki will manage all of Fox International's theatricalmarketing, distribution and acquisition activities in Sweden and reportsdirectly to Twentieth Century ...
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UIP partnership dissolves in key territories
Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures are to set up their owndirect distribution operations in 15 key territories beginning in January 2007,the studios announced jointly on Tuesday.The move comes as part of a long-term agreement that extends andrestructures their UIP international distribution joint venture, originally setup with MGM, and UA in ...
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Chicken Tikka Masala finds US home at TLA
TLA Releasing has picked up North American home entertainment andbroadcast rights to Harmage Singh Kalirai's British comedy Chicken TikkaMasala, and plans a DVDrelease in early 2006.The story centres on a UK-based Indian medical studentwhose parents begin to arrange his marriage to the daughter of a family friend,all the while oblivious ...
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IFP launches indie screening week in NYC
IFP is launching the New York-based Independent Film Weekfrom Sept 19-23, a promotional event designed to boost film-going at first-runindependent theatres by offering free concessions and access to filmmakers andtalent.The event kicks off with the New York premiere of Rodrigo Garcia'sNine Lives, whichMagnolia Pictures will release in the US on ...
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Rona to spearhead production at ramped up Rogue
Rogue Pictures has hired former Dimension Filmsco-president Andrew Rona (pictured) as president of production as part of an aggressivebid to increase the filmmaking slate at Universal's genre offshoot.Rona will report directly to Rogue Pictures president David Lindeand will oversee production, acquisitions, marketing and distribution on thegenre division's burgeoning slate, which ...
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Hollywood festival lauds Red Wagon duo
The Hollywood Film Festival's Board of Advisors has unveiledits latest line-up of honourees for the upcoming Hollywood Film Awards inOctober in Los Angeles.Red Wagon Entertainment producers Douglas Wick and LucyFisher will receive the Hollywood Producers of the Year Award, screenwriterAkiva Goldsman will collect the Hollywood Screenwriter of the Year Award, ...
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Reviews
Bubble
Dir: Steven Soderbergh.US. 2005. 73mins.Soderbergh goes back tobasics. Not in the tricksy, star-stuffed mode of Full Frontal or Schizopolis:in Bubble the basics are the ones that really matter. A strong storylineand good dramatic structure give this quirky tragic love triangle a grip on theaudience; and a certain edgy eccentricity in ...
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Skinner signs up for UK comedy
UK actor-comedian Frank Skinner has signed to star in Crust, a comedy to be written and directed by newcomer Mark Locke.The project tells the story of "three ordinary people going for gold with a seven foot boxing shrimp". It is being produced through Henry Van Moyland's Los Angeles-based Incubator Productions ...
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Reviews
Corpse Bride
Dirs:Mike Johnson, Tim Burton. UK. 2005. 75mins.Thefirst stop-motion feature directed (in part) by Tim Burton - he produced andwrote The Nightmare Before Christmas - Corpse Bride brings theHollywood fantasist's dark and fertile imagination to bear on a hugelyentertaining macabre love story.Likethe two Shrek movies, the film has a fairytale backbone ...
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Mikado snaps up Venice competition pair
Rome outfitMikado Film has acquired Italian distribution rights to two films that areplaying in competition at the Venice Film Festival, bringing its total tally tofour.The veteranarthouse distributor has picked up Manoel de Oliveira's Magic Mirror, and Abel Ferrara's controversialdrama Mary.Sold byFirst Hand Films, Magic Mirror is adapted from Agustina Bessa-Luis's ...
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Rai Cinema to remake Euros 20m Iron Crown
Rai Cinemais lining up a big-budget English-language remake of classic Italian 1941picture, The Iron Crown.Theoriginal film, directed by Alessandro Blasetti, focuses on a crown, supposedly made from a nail out of the Cross ofChrist and the metal of Roman swords, which becomes a legend and a symbol ofjustice. The newfantasy-gothic ...
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StudioCanal names new president, unveils acquisitions
StudioCanal has announcedthe appointment of a new president, Olivier Courson. Courson, who is alsosecretary general of the Canal Plus Group, takes over from Bertrand Meheut whoremains as Canal Plus CEO.StudioCanal managingdirector Frederic Sichler is unaffected by the change in management and willcontinue in his role as head of operations.Meanwhile, in ...
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UK animated shorts make Cartoon d'Or final
TwoUK animated shorts - Marc Craste's Jo Jo In The Stars and Daniel Greaves' LittleThings- are among the five finalists nominated for this year's Cartoon d'Or to beawarded at the Cartoon Forum co-production market (Sept 21-25) in Denmark'sKolding.The other nominated films are: Gaelle Denis' CityParadise (France), Peter Kaboth's Falling (Germany) ...
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The Sun rises in Japan for The Works
On the eve of thisyear's Toronto Festival, UK sales agent The Works has closed a deal with Japanfor Alexander Sokurov's The Sun, his film about Emperor Hirohito's last days of power beforeJapan's surrender to the US in 1945. Kabocha hastaken Japanese rights to The Sun and will be giving it ...
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Industry weighs up impact of UIP overhaul
Universal Pictures andParamount Pictures' announcement on Tuesday night that they are restructuringtheir joint international distribution venture, United International Pictures(UIP), comes as little surprise given the growing importance of the internationalmarket.The deal sees UIP continuingto work on international releases for Paramount and Universal until the end of2006, at which point UIP ...
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Producer Burton joins Swank and Lowe as partner in accomplice
Producer Mark Burton(pictured), whose credits include Santosh Sivan's The Terrorist, Finn Taylor's Cherish, Richard Jobson's 16 Years Of Alcohol and Deepa Mehta's Water, is joining Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe as a partnerin their production company accomplice films.The company, which plans tomake film and TV programming, recently struck a first-look ...
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Scott's Domino will close Montreal's new film festival
The world premiere of TonyScott's Domino starring KeiraKnightley will close the inaugural Festival International de Film de Montrealon September 25. The new festival added afurther 13 titles to its line-up, including an addition to Iris Awardscompetition, UK-Canada coproduction Guy X, from Scots director Saul Metzstein starring Jason Biggs and JeremyNortham, ...
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Egoyan's Truth loses MPAA appeal against NC-17 rating
Atom Egoyan's Where TheTruth Lies has lost its appeal tothe Motion Picture Association of America to overturn its restrictive NC-17rating. The decision, handed downyesterday in Los Angeles, means the film will be restricted in the US topersons 18 years and over. More important, the decision could be detrimental interms of ...
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Reviews
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Dir: Ang Lee. US-China. 2000. 120 mins.Prod.cos: China Film Co-Production Corp. and Asia Union Film & Entertainment Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia in association with US dist: Sony Pictures Classics. Intl sales: Good Machine Intl. Prods: Bill Kong, Hsu Li Kong, Ang Lee. Scr: Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus, Tsai ...
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Reviews
Romance & Cigarettes
Dir/scr:John Turturro. US. 2005. 106mins.After the first song-and-dance number of John Turturro'sstar-peppered blue collar musical, the Venice press corps broke into loud,spontaneous applause. When the second ended, there was a more subdued ripple.By the time the third came along, the excitement had died down, and thegood-natured, foot-tapping, flawed nature of ...