Small MPU – Page 642

  • News

    Madagascar wins international weekend with $24.6m take

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    At the final reckoning, DreamWorks' Madagascar did in fact rule the roost at the weekendinternational box office second consecutive weekend, as revised results fromUIP reveal it grossed an estimated $24.6m.The animated family title, which currently stands at more than$190m, was far ahead of Fox International's Fantastic Four which took $20.3m ...

  • News

    Foster to direct Sugar Kings for Universal, Tribeca

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Jodie Foster will direct and may star in the class action drama SugarKings for UniversalPictures and Tribeca Films.Based on a screenplay by Ned Zeman and Daniel Barnz, SugarKings is based on MarieBrenner's Vanity Fair article "In The Kingdom Of Big Sugar", about a law schoolgraduate and veteran public interest attorney ...

  • Reviews

    Fast Food, Fast Women

    2000-05-16T18:25:00Z

    Dir: Amos Kollek. US. 2000. 98 minsProd Co: Lumen Films. Int'l Sales: Celluloid Dreams. Prod: Hengameh Panahi. Co-prod: Avram Ludwig. Scr: Amos Kollek. DoP: Jean-Marc Fabre. Prod des: Stacey Tanner. Ed: Sheri Bylander. Mus: David Carbonara. Main cast: Anna Thomson, Jamie Harris, Louise Lasser, Robert Modica, Lonette McKee.As welcome ...

  • News

    Rittman promoted to vice president for Asia-Pacific at MPAA

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Frank S Rittmanhas been named vice president, regional legal counsel, Asia-Pacific and deputyregional director, Asia-Pacific, at the Motion Picture Association of America(MPAA).Rittman will serve as the MPAA's regional spokesman on legalissues and will manage legal aspects of the organisation's regional operations,encompassing free trade agreements, "fair use" legislation, and anti-piracy andcommercial ...

  • News

    Mosawi forms new genre outfit The Mayhem Project

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Former Mutual Film Co COOAnthony Mosawi has set up a new production and finance company called TheMayhem Project. Backed by European private equity source, the outfit plans todevelop, finance and produce genre films budgeted between $10m and $25m such asthe first property acquisition, videogame horror hit Clock Tower."We are looking ...

  • News

    Dutch court jails van Gogh killer for life

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    A Dutch court has sentencedthe self-confessed killer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh to life in jail.Mohammed Bouyeri, anAmsterdam-born Muslim, was convicted of killing van Gogh as he cycled to workin Amsterdam on Nov. 2, 2004. He was found guilty of shooting and stabbing vanGogh, slashing his throat and pinning ...

  • News

    Aishwarya Rai enlists in De Laurentiis' Last Legion

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Aishwarya Rai has joined thecast of Dino De Laurentiis' The Last Legion, which begins filming inTunisia on August 5. The Bollywood star joins previously confirmed leads ColinFirth and Sir Ben Kingsley. Directed by Doug Lefler, TheLast Legion is a Dino De Laurentiis presentation produced by Martha DeLaurentiis and Raffaella De ...

  • News

    Gilliam, Tanovic set for Toronto world premieres

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    World premieres from TerryGilliam and Danis Tanovic are among nine new titles unveiled for the 30th TorontoInternational Film Festival (Sept 8-17).Tideland (Can-UK), Terry Gilliam's second feature this yearafter Brothers Grimm, is scheduled to play in the Masters section.Janet McTeer, BrendanFletcher, Jeff Bridges, and Jennifer Tilly star in the tale of ...

  • News

    UK exhibitor launches online DVD rental service

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    UK exhibitor Vue Cinemas has partnered with online DVDrental outfit Screenselect.co.uk to launch 'Vue at Home'.The partnership will see Vue customers able to accessScreenSelect's library of over 34,000 titles through www.myvue.com. The summer launch will involve promotions across all Vue's52 cinemas nationwide. When buying cinema tickets, all Vue customers will ...

  • News

    Venice Directors' Fortnight unveils 12 strong line-up

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Twelve films from around theworld will screen in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar of the Venice FilmFestival, including Christopher Boe's Allegro, Ticket to Jerusalemdirector Rashid Masharawi's Waiting (Attente), and Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee's C.R.A.Z.Y.The secondedition of Venice Days, an independent sidebar run by Giorgio Gosetti, willfocus on "memory and cultural diversity." ...

  • News

    Venice unveils Secret History of Asian Cinema sidebar

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    The Biennale has unveiled the line-up of its SecretHistory of Asian Cinema sidebar, which was curated by Venice Film Festivaldirector Marco Mueller.The sidebar,which is dedicated to 'forgotten' restored classic Chinese films andJapanese genre pictures, includes ten restored Chinese films spanning from the1930s to the counter-revolution in 1949, as well as ...

  • News

    Misher signs first-look deal with Paramount

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Paramount Pictures hasbrought Kevin Misher, the producer of The Interpreter and The Scorpion King, into the fold with a three-year first look deal. Misher Films executivesPatrick Baker and Andrew Berman will join Misher at Paramount; the termcommences once Misher's deal with Universal Pictures expires. Titles in developmentinclude an adaptation of ...

  • News

    Gay Sex doc gets US deals with Wolfe, Sundance

    2005-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Joe Lovett has signed a raftof distribution deals for his documentary Gay Sex In The 70's, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festivalearlier this year.The picture will open intheatres on Nov 4 through, followed by DVD/video release through Wolfe Video in2006 and a television premiere on the Sundance Channel in ...

  • News

    Optimum acquires UK rights to Focus pair

    2005-07-27T00:00:00Z

    Independentdistributor Optimum Releasing has acquired all UK rights to Rian Johnson's Brickandpurchased UK rights to Jeff Wadlow's Cry Wolf from Focus Features. The deal is the first between Focus andOptimum. Brick was awarded the Special Jury Prize at this year'sSundance Film Festival and is the story of a ...

  • News

    Brazilian admissions plunge in first half of 2005

    2005-07-28T04:00:00Z

    Cinema admissions in Brazildropped 26% in the first six months of 2005, according to figures released byFilme B, a local film company specialised in compiling theatrical statistics. The total number of ticketssold fell to 41.7 million compared to 56.3 million in the same period lastyear.Total sales amounted to$125m (R$304.1m), a ...

  • News

    Locarno adds two features to official competition

    2005-07-27T00:00:00Z

    Irene Bignardiis pulling out all stops for her last outing as Locarno's artistic director byselecting another two films for the official competition and bestowing aLocarno Excellence Award on the US actress Susan Sarandon.The twolatecomers just confirmed for the International Competition are Canadian LouiseArchambault's feature debut Familia, which is described ...

  • News

    Chinese media giant takes stake in Oz film channel

    2005-07-27T00:00:00Z

    ShanghaiOriental Pearl Group (OPG), owned by China's second largest media conglomerate,the Shanghai Media Group (SMG), is acquiring a stake in Australian TV channeloperator Pan TV, according to local press reports. OPG has signedan agreement to buy the stake but is still awaiting approval from Chineseregulators according to spokesman Hua Wei. ...

  • News

    Bay's Island looks for international rescue

    2005-07-27T00:00:00Z

    As NorthAmerican figures broke over the weekend analysts were quick to label MichaelBay's The Island adisaster. Certainly it isthe director's first domestic flop, but observers largely failed to recognisethe film's strong start in international markets, which more and more oftenacts as a saviour these days. That will be oflittle consolation ...

  • News

    UK Film Council boss responds to 'unrealistic' Kuhn speech

    2005-07-28T04:00:00Z

    UK FilmCouncil chief executive John Woodward has written a strongly worded letter toMichael Kuhn following the ex-Polygram Filmed Entertainment boss' speech to UKproducer's association, PACT. In his Mayspeech, titled 'UK Film Crisis And What Can Be Done', Kuhn argued that Britishproducers currently face the "bleakest prospects" since the mid-1980s.In ...

  • News

    Wong Kar-wai's Lady shoot moves back to autumn

    2005-07-27T21:59:00Z

    Wong Kar-wai's upcoming ALady From Shanghai looks set to moveinto production in the early autumn instead of an originally projected startdate of July.StarNicole Kidman has reportedly re-confirmed her participation in the film whichwill shoot in Russia - most likely St Petersburg - and elsewhere in the west. The film is ...