Small MPU – Page 768

  • News

    Chalte Chalte makes impression at UK's Bollywood box office

    2003-06-17T04:05:00Z

    Bollywood distributor Eros International enjoyed a substantial hit in the UK this weekend with Chalte Chalte.The film had the third best Bollywood opening of all time in the territory and Eros' second best opening result ever. Taking $483,138 (£289,883) from 37 sites - a location average of $13,058 - Chalte ...

  • News

    Martin Sorrell's WPP invests in Spain's MediaPro

    2003-06-16T00:00:00Z

    Multinational communications giant WPP has taken a 30% stake in growing Spanish media firm MediaPro. The remaining 70% of the company remains in equal parts with MediaPro's three founding partners: Jaume Roures, Gerard Romy and Jose Maria Benet. The value of the WPP sale was not revealed. MediaPro president Roures ...

  • News

    It's official: AFM to clash with MIFED in 2004

    2003-06-17T04:00:00Z

    The American Film Market (AFM) is officially moving to November in an effort to force a two-market calendar and knock out MIFED from the annual market timetable.Yesterday AFMA, the trade organisation which runs the AFM, issued a statement announcing its intentions to hold two AFMs in 2004, one in Feb ...

  • News

    Bachmann moves back to Europe to head CTDFI Germany

    2003-06-17T04:00:00Z

    Martin Bachmann has been named managing director of the German office of Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (CTFDI). Former German chief Juergen Schau will continue in his role as managing director of Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Co, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Releasing, which is responsible for production activities ...

  • News

    Winchester to acquire Cobalt Pictures

    2003-06-17T00:00:00Z

    The UK's Winchester Entertainment has agreed in principle to acquire Cobalt Pictures from owners and founders John Muse and Alton Irby, Winchester announced to the stock exchange on Tuesday.Winchester and Cobalt have agreed non-binding heads of terms and the transaction is subject to due diligence and an acquisition agreement. The ...

  • News

    Nowhere In Africa producers team for Sergeant Pepper

    2003-06-17T00:00:00Z

    MTM Medien & Television Muenchen and Constantin Film, who were co-producers on Caroline Link's Oscar-winning Nowhere In Africa, are teaming up for Sandra Nettelbeck's second German-language feature Sergeant Pepper after her international hit Mostly Martha.The comedy about an unusual friendship between a six-year-old boy and a talking dog called Sergeant ...

  • News

    Aliens vs. Predator to do battle in Prague

    2003-06-18T04:05:00Z

    The long-awaited Aliens vs. Predator is likely to begin filming in Prague in October for 20th Century Fox with horror director Paul Anderson (Resident Evil) at the helm, although the project has yet to receive the final greenlight, according to sources.Long subject to speculation by fans of the monster films, ...

  • News

    Spain, Puerto Rico sign co-production pact

    2003-06-18T04:05:00Z

    As part of an ongoing push to 'internationalise local cinema,' Puerto Rico has signed a pact with Spain to facilitate feature film co-productions between the two countries.The deal follows Puerto Rico's new participation this year in the pan-regional Ibermedia program and inclusion last year in the Iberoamerican Conference of Cinematographic ...

  • News

    France supports Serbian film archive

    2003-06-18T04:05:00Z

    While many national film archives are coming under financial pressure, Serbia and Montenegro's Yugoslav Film Archive is to be upgraded to become one of the most sophisticated in the world.The French ambassador in Belgrade Gabriel Keller and the Serbian Minister of Culture Branislav Lecic have jointly announced that the Yugoslav ...

  • News

    Serbian black comedy CiviLife for Belgrade shoot

    2003-06-18T04:05:00Z

    Principal photography on Serbian-German-French-Dutch co-production CiviLife is due to start in Belgrade on June 22 for eight weeks. The dark comedy about a Serbian black-market gangster shooting down an American pilot during the NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999 is written and will be directed by Milos Radovic. Radovic enjoyed ...

  • News

    Disney pulls plug on Canadian animation studios

    2000-02-15T02:18:00Z

    So much for Canada stealing all that production work from Hollywood: The Walt Disney Co has now confirmed that it is closing its animation facilities in Vancouver and Toronto four years after opening them, laying off more than 200 staff and dealing a significant blow to Canadian animation.Canadian sources on ...

  • Reviews

    Quaresma (Careme)

    2003-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Jose Alvaro Morais. Portugal. 2003. 95minsExclusively for followers of Portuguese cinema and dealing with national traumas that do not always translate into dramatic narrative sense, Jose Alvaro Morais' latest effort, Quaresma, while visually impressive, remains pretty much a puzzle for those who will wish to take the plot at ...

  • Reviews

    Robinson's Crusoe

    2003-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Lin Cheng-sheng. Taiwan. 2003. 90minsFor this contemplative, static portrait of a successful Taipei real estate dealer, unhappy with his life and his career but unable to make a decisive move elsewhere, director Lin Cheng-sheng - never one to rush proceedings - seems to have slowed to a crawl. The ...

  • News

    UK box office 50% down despite 5 new films

    2003-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Despite dropping off over 50% each and facing competition from five new chart entries, UK top 15 leaders The Matrix Reloaded and Anger Management easily retained their one-two positions.Over another hot weekend audiences abandoned the cinema with the holdovers amongst the top 15 dropping an average of 62% from the ...

  • News

    Magdalene Sisters wins top jury prize in Newport

    2003-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Peter Mullan's TheMagdalene Sisters, which walked awaywith the Golden Lion at last year's Venice Film Festival, continued its winningways on the international festival circuit by being named best feature film bythe jury of the Newport International Film Festival.The MagdaleneSisters, which will bereleased in the US on August 1st through Miramax ...

  • News

    Columbia Spain prepares first local production shoot

    2003-06-18T04:05:00Z

    Columbia Films Producciones Espanolas, Sony Picture Entertainment's Spanish production unit, has announced its first project to shoot this summer: Tam Tam, a co-production with local outfit Zebra Producciones. Starring Paz Vega (pictured) (Sex And Lucia) and Santi Millan (Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health), principal photography starts August 4 in ...

  • News

    Whale Rider wins another audience prize - at Maui

    2003-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Niki Caro's coming-of-age story Whale Rider won the Audience Award in the dramaticfeature category at the fourth Maui Film Festival at Wailea, which ended onSunday (Jun 15).Dana Brown's paean to surfing Step Into Liquid won the Audience Award for bestdocumentary.Most,Bobby Garabedian's story of a railroad bridge-tender who learns he is ...

  • News

    Humantias shortlist includes Pianist and Antwone Fisher

    2003-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Jim Sheridan (In America) and Niki Caro (Whale Rider) are among 41 writers vying for $105,000in prize money in this year's 29th Humanitas Prize.Overall there are 41 entrants in seven categories encompassingfilm and television, from which seven theatrical screenwriters will contest thefeature film and Sundance feature film categories.Nominations in the ...

  • News

    Australian producers body to launch script market

    2003-06-19T04:05:00Z

    The Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) is to launch SPAAMart, an initiative aimed at presenting Australia's best scripts to potential production partners. SPAAMart will be part of the annual SPAA conference, which is being held from November 18 to 21 at Melbourne's new Centre for the Moving Image. ...

  • News

    Italian company produces French Crime

    2003-06-19T04:05:00Z

    French stars Daniel Auteuil and Anna Mouglalis are currently working on the set of an Italian film, A Strange Crime, which is being shot entirely in French and produced by The Hundred Steps producer Fabrizio Mosca. The Euros 6m thriller is directed by acclaimed stage director Roberto Ando, whose first ...