Small MPU – Page 828
-
Features
European Film Awards - Michael Ballhaus - Recognition for a master
Michael Ballhaus has consistently proven himself as a DoP able to reconcile the demands of cinema to both art and commerce. His 40-year career is distinguished by lengthy collaborations with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Martin Scorsese, while his body of work reveals a man as much at home with the ...
-
Features
International - India scores again
Indian distributor UTV Communications had an international hit this weekend with Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, which enjoyed a $3.5m take and was the highest non-US entry in the top 40 chart.The second feature from director Vivek Agnihotri played across 583 screens in 16 territories for a $5,798 screen average. Set ...
-
Features
The critical view - Same old story
Beowulf is an ideal subject for a Hollywood adaptation. The original poem, written in Old English some time before the year 1010, is heavily formulaic. It features a seemingly indestructible hero whose bodily strength is highly fetishised. There's plenty of violence - and we can generate a bit of sex ...
-
News
Wirthensohn takes over from Filippelli at TIFF's sales/industry office
Giulia Filippelli is stepping down as head of the Toronto International Film Festival's Sales and Industry Office after a three years. Replacing her is Stefan Wirthensohn, who has worked closely with Filippelli through her tenure on the strategy and administration of the office. The changes take effect January 1, 2008.Now ...
-
News
Gonzalon Arijon's Stranded takes top prize at IDFA
Gonzalon Arijon's Stranded (France) has won the VPRO Joris Ivens award, the top prize at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).The award comes with a cash prize of Euros 12,500. The film, about the survival story of the Uruguyan rugby team after a plane crash high in the Andes, was ...
-
News
Universal brings Charlie Wilson's War forward to Dec 21
Universal Pictures has brought forward the release date of Charlie Wilson's War from December 25 to December 21 based on strong tracking from preview screenings.The studio's marketing and distribution president Adam Fogelson said he anticipated word of mouth to sustain the film throughout the holiday season.Tom Hanks plays the eponymous ...
-
News
Romanian triumph at European Film Awards
Romanian cinema was the big winner at this year's 20th edition of the European Film Award when director Cristian Mungiu picked up the honours for European Film 2007 and European Director 2007 for his Palme D'Or-winning 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Accepting his award, Mungiu called for continuing ...
-
News
Beowulf leads international as WBPI crossed $2bn mark in 2007
Beowulf's $19.4m estimated weekend haul raised the number one overseas film to an even $75m as Warner Bros Pictures International (WBPI) celebrated reaching the $2bn milestone for the year-to-date.The action film's sterling year-end performance has been a timely one and propelled the distributor to its second $2bn mark after $2.2bn ...
-
News
TF1 records 53% jump in profits
TF1, France's leading TV channel, has announced a 53% jump in first-half profits to $144m.The company cited a bullish advertising market and tightly controlled programming costs. A 39% rise in revenues stemmed from its diversification activities, notably cable and satellite sales.First-half revenues rose 23.4% to $1.2 billion, compared to $798m ...
-
News
Quiet weekend at domestic box office led by Enchanted
A borderline comatose domestic weekend saw the top three hold firm as the top 10 stayed largely the same. Buena Vista's family release Enchanted remained the champion in its second weekend as an estimated $17m raised the running total to an impressive $70.6m.Screen Gems' drama This Christmas in second place ...
-
News
Eguchi to head cast of Japanese action fantasy Goemon
Yosuke Eguchi has been cast as the lead in the big-budget Japanese action fantasy Goemon. He stars as the legendary 16th century ninja bandit Goemon Ishikawa. The cast also includes Takao Osawa, Ryoko Hirosue and comedian Gori. Goemon is director Kazuaki (Kaz) Kiriya's sophmore feature after a three-year absence since ...
-
News
Fox, Vertigo line up untitled thriller to shoot in Seoul
Producers Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment and Bill Choi and Peter Kiernan of Management 360 are in Seoul scouting locations for an as-yet-untitled LA-cop-goes-to-Seoul project. The project, which is being developed at Fox Atomic, has been compared to the Michael Douglas-starrer Black Rain, which took an American police detective to ...
-
News
Untold Beauty cranks up with Fan, new investors
Taiwanese heartthrob Fan Chih Wei will topline the cast of Singapore first-time director Roy Lim's Untold Beauty which will begin shooting this Wednesday (Dec 5) after a change in investors. Lim's Moving On is now producing the $689,500 (S$1m) supernatural romance Mandarin-language picture with MediaCorp Raintree Pictures. Other new investors ...
-
News
Garage takes top honours at Moretti's first Turin festival
Irish director Lenny Abrahamson's second feature Garage took the $36,600 (Euros 25,000) Best Film Prize at the 25th edition of the Turin Film Festival, which wrapped Saturday in the Northern Italian town. Scripted by Mark O'Halloran who also wrote Abrahamson's debut feature Adam & Paul, Garage is the story of ...
-
News
Participant, Magnolia back Gibney's new lobbying documentary
Participant Productions (the outfit behind Oscar winner An Inconvenient Truth) is partnering with US distributor Magnolia on Burning Down The House, a new Alex Gibney feature-documentary about the murky world of political lobbying.This is a subject that has caused huge controversy in the US since political lobbyist Jack Abramoff was ...
-
News
Bracewell lines up Richard E Grant, Laura Fraser for Cuckoo
UK producers Punk Cinema are starting a shoot this week for Richard Bracewell's Cuckoo, his second film following acclaimed low-budget debut The Gigolos. Richard E Grant, Laura Fraser, Antonia Bernath, Adam Fenton and Tamsin Greig star in Cuckoo, a thriller about lies and jealousy. The story follows Poilly, a woman ...
-
News
New rules approved on European Audiovisual Media Services
The European Parliament has formally approved the Council's position on the new Audiovisual Media Services Without Frontiers Directive. The Directive promises to modernise the rules governing the sector and provide a comprehensive legal framework covering all services, including on-demand distribution of content.The Directive has been developed to a provide more ...
-
News
Fernando Del Rio moves to Universal Pictures Mexico
Fernando Del Rio has been appointed managing director of Universal Pictures Mexico, based in Mexico City. Del Rio starts the post immediately and reports to Paulo Valente, regional managing director for Latin America, for Universal Pictures International Entertainment. Del Rio moves from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, where he covered ...
-
News
Yushita joins Global Networks Asia from Discovery
Shigeo Yushita has been appointed channel director, Japan, Global Networks Asia, NBC Universal has announced. Yushita takes the Tokyo-based role immediately, to launch and expand NBC Universal's pay TV platforms in Japan. He reports to Raymund Miranda, managing director, Global Networks Asia, as well as to Taichi Fukuda, managing director ...
-
News
Gala takes Second Skin for UK
UK distributor Gala Film Distribution has picked up UK rights to Second Skin (Segunda Piel), a Spanish language film starring Javier Bardem and produced by Lolafilms.Directed by veteran Gerardo Vera, the sexually-charged Skin features a cast including Volaverunt's Jordi Molla, Belle Epoque's Ariadna Gil and All About My Mother's Cecilia ...