Small MPU – Page 610

  • News

    Star Wars explodes with $158m US debut

    2005-05-22T00:00:00Z

    Twentieth Century Fox's Star Wars: Episode III - Revengeof the Sith zoomed to the top of the North American box office chart overthe weekend with a record-breaking estimated four-day gross of $158.5m. The film's three-day weekend estimated gross was $108.5m, the second biggest of all time.After grossing a record $50m ...

  • News

    Ormond adopts Bluevision Child

    2000-05-11T16:22:00Z

    Julia Ormond is the latest actor planning to get behind the cameras - she has announced that she will direct a movie of Harold Pinter's script The Dreaming Child to be backed by new US independent Bluevision Media.Based on a story by Karen Blixen, The Dreaming Child is set in ...

  • News

    Star Wars explodes with $158m US debut

    2005-05-22T00:00:00Z

    Twentieth Century Fox's Star Wars: Episode III - Revengeof the Sith zoomed to the top of the North American box office chart overthe weekend with an estimated three-day gross of $108.5m, the second biggestthree-day opening of all time. After grossing a record $50m on its Thursday opening day,the final installment ...

  • Reviews

    Madagascar

    2005-05-23T00:00:00Z

    Dirs: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath. US. 2005. 86 mins. Apparently inspired by both the slapstick cartoons of Tex Avery and thestrange, stylised paintings of Henri Rousseau, the latest computer animatedfamily feature from DreamWorks delivers eye-catching fun for kids and justabout enough cute comic moments to keep their parents amused as ...

  • News

    Artificial Eye loads up with Cannes titles

    2005-05-24T04:00:00Z

    Leading UK independent distributor Artificial Eye has comeaway from Cannes with a haul of six titles in official selection including thisyear's Palme D'Or winner, the Dardennes brothers The Child, andDirector's prize winner, Hidden, by Michael Haneke.The other Artificial Eye pick-ups are Francois Ozon's Le Temps Qui Reste,which screened in Un ...

  • News

    Metrodome takes on Von Trier's Manderlay

    2005-05-24T04:00:00Z

    UK distributor Metrodome has bought Lars Von Trier's Manderlayfrom Trust Film Sales.The Cannes competition title has now sold to over 35countries. The US is the last major territory yet to announce a deal for Manderlay,Von Trier's follow-up to Dogville.Manderlay is the first Lars Von Trier directedfilm that Metrodome has handled; ...

  • News

    Cannes Market reports 2005 attendance rise

    2005-05-24T04:00:00Z

    The 46th Cannes FilmMarket has announced an 8% increase in attendance for the 2005 edition. This year, 83 countries were representedby 9,476 professionals compared with 8,814 from 74 countries in 2004. The mostdramatic rises came from Africa with 34% more participation, Canada up 25% andthe Middle East up 14%Companies registeringshowed ...

  • News

    World's Fastest Indian runs to Italy

    2005-05-24T04:00:00Z

    Italian International Film (IIF) has acquired Italiandistribution rights to upcoming Anthony Hopkins vehicle The World's FastestIndian. The film, which is currently in post, tells thetrue story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indianmotorcycle and then took it to Utah where he set the land-speed world ...

  • News

    Ray of hope for German media funds

    2005-05-24T04:00:00Z

    Germany's beleagueredmedia fund managers were afforded a slight ray of hope that they could soon beback in business after the Social Democrats' (SPD) regional election debacle inNorth Rhine-Westphalia at the hands of the Christian Democrats at the weekend.There was speculation on Monday that plans byGerhard Schroeder to call for an ...

  • News

    Dark Hours sells well for Fabrication

    2005-05-23T00:00:00Z

    New Los Angeles-based sales company Fabrication Films closed astring of sales in Cannes on Paul Fox's thriller The Dark Hours, which received its first marketscreening on the Croisette.Splendid picked up rights for Germany, VideoFilmes forBrazil, Luxor for Russia, Hollywood Films for Scandinavia, and HollywoodEntertainment for Greece.The picture also went to ...

  • News

    Peet, Mulroney pair up for Kimmel's Griffin And Phoenix

    2005-05-23T00:00:00Z

    Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney will star in the tragic romance GriffinAnd Phoenix, which isbeing co-financed and co-produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (SKE) and GoldCircle.The recently launched Kimmel Entertainment headed up byMark Lindsay will handle worldwide sales on the project, which is beingproduced by philanthropist and clothing magnate Kimmel and ...

  • News

    Peet, Mulroney pair up for Kimmel's Griffin And Phoenix

    2005-05-23T00:00:00Z

    Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney will star in the tragic romance GriffinAnd Phoenix, which isbeing co-financed and co-produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (SKE) and GoldCircle.The recently launched Kimmel Entertainment headed up byMark Lindsay will handle worldwide sales on the project, which is beingproduced by philanthropist and clothing magnate Kimmel and ...

  • News

    Alliance's Wrenn to fly to New Zealand

    2000-05-11T16:25:00Z

    Miramax has acquired Lone Scherfig's dogme title Italian For Beginners, one of the hottest titles in the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival since its screening on Friday, for release in the US, Mexico and English-speaking Canada. Miramax is understood to have paid $600,000 for the romantic comedy, beating ...

  • News

    LAFF gets its Happy Endings

    2005-05-23T00:00:00Z

    Rodrigo Garcia's all-star ensemble drama Nine Lives will be the Centerpiece Premiere and Don Roos' HappyEndings will close the 2005 Los AngelesFilm Festival, which runs from Jun 16-26.Festival organisers also announced that Don Cheadle, LisaKudrow, and Elijah Wood will serve as honorary festival chairs, with SydneyPollack named guest director and ...

  • News

    Executive director sought for San Francisco film festival

    2005-05-23T00:00:00Z

    The San Francisco Film Society is searching for a newexecutive director in the run-up to next year's 50th anniversary of the SanFrancisco International Film Festival following the departure of RoxanneCaptor.Captor joined the organisation in 2001 and has left to concentrateon developing her own film projects.Melanie Blum, president of the Society's ...

  • News

    Arclight to handle $20m Snow Goose

    2005-05-23T00:00:00Z

    Arclight Films has picked up international sales on The SnowGoose, a $20m WWII dramaset to begin production this autumn in Belgium, the UK and France.Gillies MacKinnon will direct Olivier Martinez, EmilyBlunt, Billy Connolly and Jenny Agutter in Paul Gallico's story of a growingfriendship between a social pariah and a young ...

  • News

    City Lights unveils $150m private equity fund

    2005-05-24T00:00:00Z

    New York City-based full service entertainment entity CityLights Media Group has launched City Lights Pictures Film Fund, a privateequity fund that will acquire, develop and finance up to $150m in product overthe next three years.City Lights has set up three separate divisions specialising invarious project types, with City Lights chief ...

  • News

    Lerman is a Hoot for Walden/New Line family film

    2005-05-24T00:00:00Z

    Logan Lerman has been cast in the lead role of Walden Media andNew Line Cinema's children's story Hoot, based on the novel by Carl Hiaasen.The story centres on a young Montana boy who moves toFlorida and uncovers a plot to destroy a local population of endangered owls.Wil Shriner is directing ...

  • News

    Shooting begins on heist thriller Wild Seven

    2005-05-24T00:00:00Z

    Robert Forster and RobertLoggia have joined Richard Roundtree on the cast of Wild Seven, a heist thriller currently underway in Phoenix,Arizona.Writer-director James Hausler's story centres on an ex-con who plots revenge against the man who sent him to prison.The Beat Pirate Pictures production is being produced by Michelle J Vogler, ...

  • Reviews

    The Longest Yard

    2005-05-24T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Peter Segal. USA.2005. 113mins.Underdog sports tales areoverly common, but Adam Sandler's new film The Longest Yard - asurprisingly faithful and raucous remake of Burt Reynolds beloved movie of thesame name - spikes that familiar punch with the motivation of revenge,resulting in an estimable and surprisingly entertaining kick-off to the ...