Small MPU – Page 861

  • News

    Japan's Usen dissolves $283m contents fund

    2008-01-23T12:30:00Z

    Japanese media and communications conglomerate Usen Inc has announced the dissolution of its $283m (Y30bn) contents fund only two years into its ten-year lifespan. Dubbed 'UD No. 1', the fund was launched on January 31, 2006 through 50:50 investment by Usen and Daiwa Securities and their respective group companies.The fund ...

  • News

    Japan's Usen dissolves $283m content fund

    2008-01-23T12:30:00Z

    Japanese media and communications conglomerate Usen Inc has announced the dissolution of its $283m (Y30bn) contents fund only two years into its ten-year lifespan. Dubbed 'UD No. 1', the fund was launched on January 31, 2006 through 50:50 investment by Usen and Daiwa Securities and their respective group companies.The fund ...

  • News

    Panorama adds documentaries including Isaac Julien's Derek

    2008-01-23T13:19:00Z

    The Berlinale's Panorama section has completed its 2008 lineup by announcing the 18 new films selected for the documentary strand Panorama Dokumente. This last slew of films includes Isaac Julien's portrait of the late film-makerDerek Jarman in Derek; director-producer Dror Moreh's documentary Sharon on the former Israeli prime-minister Ariel Sharon, ...

  • News

    Star launches second Chinese Movies channel

    2008-01-23T13:58:00Z

    Regional broadcaster Star has launched Star Chinese Movies 2, a new channel that will screen Chinese-language films produced from the 1970s to the 1990s. The channel will draw on Star's library of more than 600 Chinese-language movies produced by Golden Harvest and D&B, among other legendary production houses, and starring ...

  • News

    Lions Gate takes over US on The Golden Bowl

    2000-09-21T05:48:00Z

    Lions Gate Films has picked up North American rights from Merchant Ivory Productions to James Ivory's The Golden Bowl which was orginally bought at Cannes 1999 by Miramax Films. Miramax announced that the rights had reverted back to Merchant Ivory this week as the two had disagreed over the final ...

  • News

    Melbourne Film Festival fund blesses Kokkinos

    2008-01-23T14:19:00Z

    Blessed, the third feature from Ana Kokkinos (Head On, The Book Of Revelations), has taken a big step closer to going into production with a cash offer from the Melbourne International Film Festival's (MIFF) production fund. MIFF's Premiere Fund provides small amounts of strategic investment and has just announced four ...

  • News

    Sweden's Svensk names Tobias Lenner as CEO

    2008-01-23T14:54:00Z

    Swedish major, Svensk Filmindustrihas appointed Tobias Lenner as CEO of the company's Swedish branch - a position also held by concern chief Rasmus Ramstad, who continues as head of the enterprise, and to whom Lenner will report.According to SF, the expansion during the last 10 years from being a local ...

  • News

    Telepool unveiling four market premieres for Berlin's EFM

    2008-01-23T15:10:00Z

    Munich-based sales company Telepool is lining up four market premieres at the forthcoming European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin next month. The titles having their international market premieres are:* Peter Kahane's family film Red Zora, starring Mario Adorf, Ben Becker und Dominique Horwitz and newcomer Lina Reusse, which will be ...

  • News

    Czech box office rises 20% and sets new recordin 2007

    2008-01-23T15:50:00Z

    Sales as Czech cinemas were at $66.9m (CZK 1.2bn) in 2007, the highest-grossing year ever at Czech box offices. The sales represent a 20% increase on 2006. Admissions were at 12.8m, up 11% from 11.5m in 2006; the Czech Republic has a population of 10.2m. Average ticket price grew 3%.The ...

  • News

    Pact says remaining staffers will concentrate on policy, biz affairs

    2008-01-23T16:55:00Z

    The UK's producers group Pact has clarified some plans as part of its recently announced restructuring.The group poined out that its overall numbers of staff will be reduced by more than half in the restructuring. The remaining Pact employees will shift their emphasis to work on two revised core propositions: ...

  • News

    The Works takes on sales for Shane Meadows' Somers Town

    2008-01-23T17:17:00Z

    The Works International has come on board for international sales (excluding the UK)of Shane Meadows' Somers Town, which has its world premiere in Berlin's Generation programme onFeb 9.The film, shich started out as a short and grew into a feature, reteams the director with Thomas Turgoose, his acclaimed young star ...

  • News

    Mumbai film fest launches short film competition

    2008-01-23T17:50:00Z

    The International Film Festival of Mumbai (IFFM) is launching a short film competition as part of the celebrations for its ten-year anniversary this year. Organised by the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI), the 10th IFFM will be held March 6-13. While the festival line-up will be announced next ...

  • News

    Oxford Murders and Enfin Veuve make international impact

    2008-01-24T06:30:00Z

    While Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street was the highest entrant in this week's international box-office chart from Screen International, there were a number of new European entrants catching the eye.The Warner Bros' film took $8,111,368 over the weekend, playing on 1,092 screens in five territories.The film will ...

  • News

    Paramount Vantage seals worldwide rights to American Teen

    2008-01-24T08:25:00Z

    The documentary form reclaimed pole position today [Jan 23] as Paramount Vantage paid approximately $1m for worldwide rights excluding the UK to Nanette Burstein's high school tale American Teen following days of intense interest.Paramount Vantage emerged top of the pack after the film's world premiere last Saturday also attracted attention ...

  • News

    Keke Palmer joins Ice Cube in Dimension's Fred Durst project

    2008-01-24T08:32:00Z

    Keke Palmer has joined Ice Cube as a lead in Dimension Films' Untitled Ice Cube Project based on a true story that Fred Durst will direct from a script by Doug Atchison.Tasha Smith, Jill Marie Jones, Dash Mihok, Matt Craven, Garrett Morris and comedians Earthquake and Michael Colyar have also ...

  • News

    Erin Austin promoted to senior vp at Artisan

    2000-09-21T05:48:00Z

    Artisan Entertainment has promoted Erin Austin to the post of senior vice president, business and legal affairs. In addition to her current responsibilities for supervising business and legal affairs with respect to the company's theatrical productions, Austin will expand her role to include responsibility for Artisan's TV productions and Artisan's ...

  • Reviews

    Choke

    2008-01-24T08:38:00Z

    Dir: Clark Gregg. US. 2008. 89minsActor Clark Gregg's ambitious adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's 2001 cult novel Choke is stylistically rambunctious and tonally inconsistent. If the center never quite holds and it never quite reaches complete success artistically, the movie certainly commands interest through the superb lead performance of Sam Rockwell ...

  • News

    Keke Palmer joins Ice Cube in Dimension's Fred Durst project

    2008-01-24T08:32:00Z

    Keke Palmer has joined Ice Cube as a lead in Dimension Films' Untitled Ice Cube Project based on a true story that Fred Durst will direct from a script by Doug Atchison.Tasha Smith, Jill Marie Jones, Dash Mihok, Matt Craven, Garrett Morris and comedians Earthquake and Michael Colyar have also ...

  • News

    Film Sales Company takes on sales to Derek Jarman doc Derek

    2008-01-24T08:47:00Z

    Andrew Herwitz's The Film Sales Company has acquired worldwide sales rights excluding the UK and US distribution rights to Isaac Julien's documentary Derek.The film received its world premiere here last Saturday and explores the life and work of the late UK artist and film-maker Derek Jarman. Tilda Swinton narrates the ...

  • News

    Award-winning We Are Together sells to Palm Pictures for North America

    2008-01-24T08:50:00Z

    Palm Pictures today has picked up North American rights to Paul Taylor's documentary We Are Together, which chronicles the lives of the Agape children in South Africa who use music to overcome loss.Palm's managing partner Jan Korbelin brokered the deal with Annie Roney, president of ro*co films international.Palm anticipates a ...