Small MPU – Page 643
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News
US studios, exhibitors united on digital cinema standard
Hollywood'svision for a brave new world took a step closer to reality yesterday as leadingstudio and exhibition representatives unveiled an industry standard governingdigital cinema rollout.The move comesmore than three years after studios and exhibitors formed the Digital CinemasInitiative (DCI), the umbrella group charged with devising a set of unanimoussystem requirements ...
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Stein named senior vp for Dimension at The Weinstein Co
Matthew Stein has been named senior vice president of productionfor Dimension Films at The Weinstein Company.Stein will continue to work at Miramax in his current position asvice president of production for Dimension until Sept 30, after which time hewill assume his new full-time role at The Weinstein Company.Based in New ...
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Amritraj and Hyde Park seal five-year overall deal with Fox
Ashok Amritraj's Hyde ParkEntertainment has signed a five-year, first-look production and distributiondeal with 20th Century Fox which incorporates co-financing, production anddistribution and includes a number of put pictures.Fox will handle domestic distribution on all films under the deal,with Hyde Park retaining international rights and selling them through HydePark International under ...
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CANNES DEALS ROUND-UP
Germany's Senator Film has become the first international distributor to sign up to the highly anticipated package of studio-level films being put together by former Disney chief Joe Roth. The five-year deal initially gives Senator all media rights in all German-speaking territories. It is promised a minimum of six films ...
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NBC Universal keeps mum on DreamWorks acquisition report
Studio sources have declined to comment on yesterday's report thatNBC Universal is in talks to acquire live-action unit DreamWorks SKG.According to the New York Post the studios were in the earlystages of talks but a deal was not imminent.DreamWorks SKG issued a statement in which it said any commentsabout a ...
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Reviews
Sky High
Dir: Mike Mitchell. US2005. 90mins.Withmore than a passing nod towards Harry Potter, Spy Kids, TheIncredibles and X-Men, new superhero feature Sky High is setin a school for kids who are just coming into their paranormal powers - as ifteenage angst was not enough already.Given its mild, frequentlycorny, humour and the ...
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German politicians eye UK sale and leaseback model
The UK sale and leasebackmodel has been identified as an incentive to emulate by Germany's FreeDemocrats (FDP) who could become the junior partner in a new administrationunder the CDU/CSU's Angela Merkel after September's general election.Launching itselection manifesto, the FDP stated that there was a need for "innovativemodels which, alongside state ...
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MDC falls in love with Max Hansen Story
MDC International has picked upinternational distribution rights for Douglas Wolfsperger'shistorical documentary The Max HansenStory - Did You Ever Fall In Love With Me' (War'n Sie SchonMal In Mich Verliebt')which will have its world premiere in the Critics Week sidebar at next week's Locarno International Film Festival (August 3-13, 2005).The co-production ...
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Tartan Films in Great Ecstasy for Clay debut
Indiedistributor Tartan Films has acquired UK rights from Wild Bunch to ThomasClay's controversial Cannes Critics Week entry, The Great Ecstasy of RobertCarmichael. The feature,which is 25 year old Clay's directorial debut, stars newcomers Dan Spencer,Ryan Winsley and Charles Mnene alongside established talents Danny Dyer (HumanTraffic, The Football Factory) and Lesley ...
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Hrebejk embarks on Beauty shoot at Barrandov
Leading Czech director JanHrebejk has begun shooting his new feature, Beauty in Trouble, at Barrandov Studios. The film is produced byTotal HelpArt and Czech Television in cooperation with Barrandov Studios andHBO. Beauty in Trouble is expected to be another in a string of criticaland commercial successes for Hrebejk and Total ...
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Venice unveils full competition line-up
The Venice FilmFestival (August 31-Sep 10) has unveiled its streamlined line-up, whichfeatures a record nine US world premieres, as well as an eclectic mix of HighDefinition titles, documentaries and pictures from celebrated internationalfilm-makers.The main competitionincludes George Clooney's Goodnight and Good Luck, starring Clooney, Jeff Daniels and Robert DowneyJr, Abel Ferrara's ...
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Copenhagen selects ten Euro films for competition
The third Copenhagen International Film Festival (Aug18-28) has unveiled a ten strong line-up of European films for its maincompetition. Danish cinema is represented by by Murk, Jannik Johansen's thrillerfollow up to his caper comedy Rembrandt. German director Andreas Dresen follows up his festivalhit Grill Point with Willenbrock, the story of ...
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Gaumont on the mend with healthy financial results
French majorGaumont has announced its first half figures for 2005 with a healthy 25%increase in revenues compared to the same period last year. The film companyposted revenues of Euros 46.2mn and a profit of Euros 5.3m in the first sixmonths of 2005.Gaumont, whichis coming back into its own following a ...
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Hitler Cantata gets festival slots in Montreal, Tokyo
Jutta Bruckner's Germandrama Hitler Cantata, the storyof composer Broch and how he was commissioned to write a cantata for Hitler's50th birthday, has been selected for the Montreal World FilmFestival in Aug and for an official competition slot at the Tokyo InternationalFilm Festival in Oct.The festival slots wereconfirmed by the film's ...
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Fabrication closes multiple sales on Game
LosAngeles-based sales company Fabrication Films has completed a raft of sales onDavid Anspaugh's real-life sports drama The Game Of Their Lives.Film division presidentWendy Reeds reported sales to 21st Century in Australia, Wise Policy in Japan,Aurum in Spain, NoShame Films in Italy, Conquest Films in Brazil, and HollywoodEntertainment in Greece.Rights also ...
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Sony launches Stealth in Russia, Mexico, Korea
UIP executivesexpect to record two significant milestones this weekend, as Paramount's WarOf The Worlds is poisedto pass the $300m gross mark and DreamWorks International's Madagascar prepares to cross $200m.Both titles have been market leaders over the past monthor so, and have grossed $298.9m and more than $190m respectively.Meanwhile FantasticFour will ...
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Brown named programming director at Miami
Film critic andformer HBO executive and Dwight Brown has been appointed programming directorat the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF). Brown will scout, screen andrecommend films for the festival in all categories, oversee staff, seek out newtalent, and develop outreach programmes and special presentations."Our rapidlyexpanding festival needs a programming executive and ...
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Lions Gate announces second family film Sylvester
Lions GateFamily Entertainment (LGFE) has announced its second feature film project Sylvester, based on the late William Steig'saward-winning children's book "Sylvester And The Magic Pebble".LGFE acquiredthe rights from Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and will begindevelopment immediately on the story of a donkey that finds a magic pebble.'To havethis much ...
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Reviews
On A Clear Day
Dir: Gaby Dellal. UK2005. 99mins.British cinema has alwaysloved its underdogs. Gaby Dellal's big-hearted debut feature is yet anotheryarn about a small-timer fighting back against a society that marginalises him.In this case, the protagonist is a 55-year-old newly unemployed Glaswegian whostrives to redeem his life by swimming the English Channel.Confidently directed, ...
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Reviews
The Rising: The Ballad Of Mangal Pandey
Dir: Ketan Mehta. India.2005. 150minsThe story of the IndianMutiny gets a swashbuckling spin, complete with musical numbers, in TheRising, a film that director Ketan Mehta originally planned to make in1988.The presence of Aamir Khan -star of Lagaan, one of the few Bollywood films to achieve a healthydegree of non-niche prominence ...