Small MPU – Page 726
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News
UK anti-piracy groups celebrate charges brought against market owners
The UK's anti-piracy groups are welcoming a judgment handed down at St Albans Crown Court that says a market can be held accountable for pirated materials sold by its traders. The case was brought by Hertfordshire Trading Standards against Wendy Fair Markets Ltd and its directors Nicholas Hobday and Sally ...
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News
Vivendi Universal eyes Indian content
Following the merger of Seagram, Vivendi and Canal Plus, the new entity, Vivendi Universal, plans to invest in Indian film and TV production and build up an Indian music catalogue, according to local press reports. The entertainment powerhouse will reportedly produce local-language TV programming and has already committed $7m to ...
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News
UPC claims lead in Polish digital market
Dutch cable giant UPC has claimed the lead in the race to deliver digital services to Poland. It has also unveiled plans for the roll-out of broadband services in the territory later this year.UPC said that at the end of June it had 378,000 subscribers to its digital cable services, ...
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News
Editorial opinion: punching its weight
Can we judge the success of a national film industry on the numbers brought in by studio productions through subsidies and incentives, asks Michael GubbinsThere was a time when terms like the 'creative economy' sounded wildly self-important to the general public - at least outside Los Angeles. Even the term ...
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News
Cultural test: yes or no'
Is a rigorous cultural test a good way to determine which projects are eligible for national tax breaks' Two Screen writers give their opinions based on the experiences of the UK and Australia, where governments are both attempting to create sustainable, long-term film industries by making state financing available to ...
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Features
Vietnam - Stepping Into The World
In 1981, Fay Kanin, the then president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (Ampas), took Cyd Charisse and other Hollywood luminaries on a trip to China.Films including Charisse-starrer Singin' In The Rain were screened and meetings were held with representatives of the Chinese film industry. The trip ...
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News
Cactus Three: reality check
New York-based Cactus Three has become a key player in the growing market for documentaries. Wendy Mitchell meets its founders. Having worked together at the now-defunct US indie distributor Wellspring, Julie Goldman, Caroline Stevens and Krysanne Katsoolis established their New York-based non-fiction mini-studio Cactus Three in 2003. It proved fortuitous ...
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News
Multiplex building spree in Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore's leadingexhibitor Golden Village is set to build the country's largest entertainmentmultiplex occupying 90,000 sq feet with 15 screens and about 2,500 seats.GV Harbourfront, which costs$590,000 (S$1m) per screen, is located in VivoCity shopping mall, previouslyknown as HarbourFront Mall, and due to open in late 2006. It will be GoldenVillage's ...
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News
Bavaria takes on (T)Raumschiff Surprise sales
Bavaria Film International will handle theinternational sales for Michael "Bully" Herbig's local blockbuster (T)RaumschiffSurprise - Period 1 which has been seen by over nine million cinema-goersin Germany this year. It is currently the territory's most successful releasewith a box-office gross of over Euros 50m.The sci-fi spoof will have its market ...
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News
NonStop takes on Sayles' Silver City
Scandinavian-based filmsales agent NonStop Sales has taken over international sales to John Sayles' SilverCity. "We are so pleased thatNonStop is handling Silver City," the film's producer Maggie Renzi ofAnarchists' Convention told ScreenDaily.com. "Somehow it makes sense tolet a European company handle the sales of a film like this," she added,referring ...
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News
Pons' Idiot benefits from Spanish Euros 40m fund
Ventura Pons' Idiot Loveand Eduard Cortes' Other Days Will Come are two of the feature films setto receive backing from a Euros 40m fund created by Sogecable and CatalanTelevision (TVC).The projects form part ofthe first Euros 4m earmarked from the fund, 50% of the anticipated investmentthis year. Four TV movies ...
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News
Spanish film-makers win major funding boost
Spain'snew Socialist government has increased funding for Spanish cinema by 89%,fulfilling its election promises to support cultural industries.The national film institute's (ICAA) Cinema Protection Fund,the key funding body for Spanish cinema, now totals Euros 63.13m.ICAA's own budget rose by 62%, part of an overall 6.5%increase to culture funding under the ...
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News
Eagle swoops on Buena Vista's Sidewalks
Aggressively acquisitive Italian distributor Eagle Pictures has added four pictures to its line-up, including Buena Vista Film Sales' Sidewalks Of New York, directed by Ed Burns, and is discussing multi-picture deals with US sales companies Alchemy Entertainment and Joe Singer Entertainment.The newly capitalised distributor has also added Tomorrow Film Corp's ...
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News
Portman Film sold to UK radio magnate
Chris Wright, chairman ofradio group Chrysalis, has acquired a majority stake in UK sales agent andco-producer Portman Film and TV.The acquisition is apersonal investment by Wright, who remains chairman of Chrysalis, and alsobecomes executive chairman of Portman with immediate effect.The major property ofPortman is the current ITV television show Doc ...
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News
Nolan Pielak joins Dream from Mobius
Nolan Pielak hasjoined Los Angeles-based production and international sales company DreamEntertainment as senior vice president of international distribution.Pielak willoversee Dream's burgeoning international distribution department and willhandle sales in all territories worldwide.He most recentlyserved as director of international distribution for Mobius International,where he also consulted on worldwide sales projections and spearheaded ...
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News
Hawaii, Oslo named as Oscar candidate by Norway
The Norwegian Oscarcommittee has chosen Erik Poppe's Hawaii, Oslo as the country's official candidate for the Oscars'best foreign language film category.The film grossed a solidNOK1.2m upon release this weekend after rave reviews from the Norwegian InternationalFilm Festival in Haugesund, where it also picked up the critics' and ecumenicalprize.Written by Harald ...
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News
Hawaii, Oslo named as Oscar candidate by Norway
The Norwegian Oscarcommittee has chosen Erik Poppe's Hawaii, Oslo as the country's official candidate for the Oscars'best foreign language film category.The film grossed a solidNOK1.2m upon release this weekend after rave reviews from the Norwegian InternationalFilm Festival in Haugesund, where it also picked up the critics' and ecumenicalprize.Written by Harald ...
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News
Echo Bridge buys Green Communications library
LosAngeles-based Echo Bridge Entertainment has acquired Green Communications'library and associated distribution rights and will begin representing the newtitles at Mipcom next month.This is thethird library acquisition since the company's launch a year ago and raises itscatalogue to more than 250 titles.The 12-titleGreen Communications catalogue comprises mostly thrillers, sci-fi and horrorfilms ...
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News
Askin leaves Pandora to head 2929 International
Shebnem Askinhas been appointed head of 2929 International, the fledgling internationalsales arm of Los Angeles-based 2929 Entertainment owned by the billionaire duoTodd Wagner and Mark Cuban.Askin, who arrivesfrom Pandora/Gaylord Films, will handle worldwide sales on the theatrical outputof 2929 Productions and HDNet Films, the sister companies owned by 2929Entertainment.The appointmentmarks ...
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News
Wellspring takes Desplechin's Rois Et Reine to US
Wellspring haspicked up all US rights to Arnaud Desplechin's drama Kings & Queen (Rois Et Reine), which received its world premiere atVenice earlier this month and is scheduled to play at the New York FilmFestival next week.The company plans2005 theatrical and DVD releases for the picture, which centres on the ...