Small MPU – Page 596

  • News

    Celluloid adds Burman, To films to AFM slate

    2005-10-26T04:00:00Z

    Celluloid Dreams is preparing an impressive roster of films for theupcoming AFM and has released details of two additions to its burgeoning slate.Argentine director Daniel Burman's FamilyLaw will begin pre-sales at the AFM. The film is currently in post-production.Burman's 2004 film Lost Embrace was a double Silver Bear winner in ...

  • News

    Top Korean exhibitors to digitise cinema chains

    2005-10-25T00:00:00Z

    Two of South Korea's top exhibition companies, Megabox Cineplex and CGV, have announced the completedigitalisation of their entire chain of cinemas. Market leader CGV, owned and operated by local distributor CJ Entertainment,has unveiled plans to install digital projectors for all 266 screens of its32-venue network by early January 2006. The ...

  • News

    Question mark hangs over German media funds

    2005-10-25T00:00:00Z

    Germany's mediafunds have been thrown into disarray by speculation that the new governmentunder Chancellor Angela Merkel is intending to revive the previousadministration's tax reform plans in mid-November to put an end to theold-style media funds.Until now, it had been assumed within the film industry and fund sectorthat the new German ...

  • News

    Brokeback Mountain, Capote head up Gotham nominees

    2005-10-25T00:00:00Z

    Ang Lee'sVenice Golden Lion winner Brokeback Mountain will contest IFP's best featureGotham Awards in New York on Nov 30 with Bennett Miller's Capote, David Cronenberg's A History OfViolence, LodgeKerrigan's Keane,and Miranda July's Me And You And Everyone We Know.Miller and July are is two of five nominees in the breakthrough ...

  • News

    Skouras picks up US rights to Swimmers

    2005-10-25T00:00:00Z

    Skouras Films has picked upUS rights to Doug Sadler's award winning drama Swimmers and plans an early 2006 release in the majormarkets.Since it launched at Sundance Swimmers has played at numerous festivals, winning the Seattle InternationalFilm Festival's grand jury prize award for best new American film.Cherry Jones, Shawn Hatosy, Robert ...

  • News

    Drum is audience favourite at Mill Valley

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    The Mill Valley FilmFestival's inaugural audience award for dramatic feature went to Zola Maseko'sApartheid drama Drum.The strong audience response to the picture has prompted producer ChrisSievernich to begin discussions with North American distributors for a platformrelease.Sievernich's Armada Pictures International holds worldwide rights to theproject starring Taye Diggs and Jason Flemyng.Lisa ...

  • News

    Mayhem Project signs first two screenwriter deals

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    The Mayhem Project, the independent production and financecompany launched in June 2005 by executive Anthony Mosawi, has signed its firsttwo screenwriter deals.Todd Farmer will write the screenplay to the feature version of the survivalhorror video game franchise Clock Tower, while Ronnie Christensen will the supernatural story Sanctuary.Both projects will be ...

  • News

    Hong Kong court convicts BitTorrent user

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    A Hong Kong court has convicted a 38-year-old man for uploading films to theinternet using BitTorrent (BT) technology, in a case that is regarded locallyas the world's first criminal conviction of a BT user.Chan Nai-ming, who used thealias "Big Crook", was convicted by a Hong Kong magistrateof three charges of ...

  • News

    Warner Bros restructures home entertainment divisions

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    Adopting a streamlinedapproach to the global multi-media delivery of its properties, Warner Bros hasconsolidated its home video, online, wireless, games, anti-piracy and emergingtechnologies divisions under Warner Bros Home Entertainment Group (WBHEG).Kevin Tsujihara, a highlyregarded new media strategist at Warner Bros, will head up the division aspresident, reporting directly to studio ...

  • News

    Loews gets rolling with Technicolor

    2000-05-26T16:49:00Z

    Exhibition giant Loews Cineplex has agreed to carry some $60m of rolling stock advertisements supplied by Technicolor in its 1,800 US screens starting from July. Loews president and CEO Lawrence Ruisi said: "This agreement represents the next step in our strategy to generate ancillary revenues in our business. On-screen advertising ...

  • News

    Summit, Mandalay enter the Twilight Zone

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    Summit Entertainment andMandalay Pictures have jointly acquired feature rights to Richard Matheson'sshort story and classic 1963 TwilightZone extended episode Deathship.Michael Brandt and Derek Haasare co-writing the project - renamed Countdown- based an original draft by Scott Burn and Stephen Gregg.The story centres on a groupof astronauts on a mysterious planet ...

  • News

    Lions Gate checks into Hostel with Screen Gems

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    Lions Gate has come on boardas domestic distributor on Screen Gems' upcoming horror picture Hostel from Eli Roth and will launch itwide on Dec 21.Quentin Tarantino served as executive producer on the picture, which stars JayHernandez as an American tourist who becomes ensnared in an underground torturering.Lions Gate, which distributed ...

  • News

    Lions Gate lines up stellar voice cast for Foodfight!

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    Charlie Sheen, Eva Longoria,Wayne Brady, Chris Kattan and Christopher Lloyd have joined the voice cast ofThreshold Animation Studios and Lions Gate Family Entertainment's upcominganimated comedy Foodfight!As previously announced,Hillary and Haylie Duff have committed to the project set after hours in asupermarket populated by talking products.Lions Gate FamilyEntertainment has scheduled an ...

  • News

    Shochiku to finance Kore-eda period drama

    2005-10-26T20:30:00Z

    Japanese director HirokazuKore-eda (After Life, Nobody Knows) is set to make his firstperiod drama, Hana Yori Mo Naho, withShochiku providing financing and distribution.Based on an original storyby Kore-eda, the film is scheduled for a spring 2006 release. Shochiku willalso be handling worldwide sales. The film will featureJunichi Okada (Tokyo Tower) ...

  • News

    Austrian film-makers sign up for Mozart project

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    Ulrich Seidl, Jessica Hausner, Michael Glawogger, Goran Rebic and Bady Minck are among 28 Austrian-based filmmakers participatingin The Mozart Minute film project for the Wiener Mozartjahr2006 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang AmadeusMozart.Speaking to ScreenDaily.com at the Viennale this week, project coordinator Christine Dollhofer explained that ...

  • News

    Frozen Days named as surprise Haifa winner

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    FrozenDays, the story of a young woman roaming the streets of Tel Aviv and breakinginto empty flats to sleep at night took the 21st Haifa InternationalFilm Festival by surprise and won the competition for the Best Israeli Film. FrozenDays is the debut feature of Danny Lerner, a graduate of Tel ...

  • News

    Sex, Order, Lackeen head Irish award hopefuls

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    With theannouncement of a host, new venue and, for the first time, a live broadcast byRTE, the final elements of the programme for the Irish Film & TelevisionAwards have been put in place for November 5. Leadingthe pack with seven nominations is local low budget feature Trouble With Sexfollowed closely ...

  • News

    Mrs Henderson to kick off Marrakech festival

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    The 5th annual Marrakech International Film Festival willkick off on November 11 with Stephen Frears MrsHenderson Presents opening the festivities.Organised by Le Public Systeme who also handlethe Deauville Festival of American film, the CognacThriller Festival and the Gerardmer Horror Festivalamong others, the Marrakech event has gained in notoriety in the ...

  • News

    Virgins run wild at Spanish box office

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    Seville-set teendrama 7 Virgins ousted runaway localhit Torrente 3: The Protectorin a surprise upset at the Spanish box office over the weekend.7 Virgins (7 Virgenes) earned Euros 746,039 from just under148,000 admissions on its second weekend, beating Torrente 3's Euros 727,070 from nearly 143,000admissions.It is highly unusualfor atitle to rocket ...

  • News

    Cock And Bull to open European Union Film Showcase

    2005-10-26T00:00:00Z

    The American FilmInstitute, working with the Cultural Counselors of the European Union Member States, will present the 18th editionof the European Union Film Showcase at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, from November 8-22.UK films will open and close the festival:Michael Winterbottom's Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull ...