Small MPU – Page 998

  • News

    UK's F&ME lines up slate deal with Dominic Murphy

    2008-12-05T12:03:00Z

    Dominic Murphy, whose debut feature White Lightnin' will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, is to team up again with Mike Downey and Sam Taylor of Film and Music Entertainment on a slate of projects.The films will be produced by their newly revived MASS Productions label.Commenting on ...

  • News

    Dubai Festival announces 12 documentaries up for Muhr Award

    2008-12-05T16:55:00Z

    DIFF has announced 12 Muhr Documentaries, which examine subjects such as memory, identity and war. DIFF's Arab Programme Consultant Erfan Rashid said: 'The Muhr Documentaries let viewers feel the pulse of the Arab world. The films offer hard-hitting commentary on pressing issues, like the recent war on Lebanon; histories that ...

  • News

    International co-productions benefit from $11.4mGerman support

    2008-12-05T17:22:00Z

    New international co-productions by Poland's Agnieszka Holland, Serbia's Oleg Novkovic and Sweden's Björn Runge are among a raft of feature projects supported with a total of over $ 11.4m (Euros 9m) by German public film funders at their latest funding sessions.Holland's German-Canadian-Polish co-production Hidden about the struggle for survival by ...

  • News

    Jonathan Demme options Michel Faber novella The Courage Consort

    2008-12-05T19:43:00Z

    Director Jonathan Demme will keep working in both documentary and narrative film-making after the success of his recent return to fiction, Rachel Getting Married. Demme has optioned Michel Faber's The Courage Consort and plans to develop the screenplay in 2009.Demme is a big fan of Faber's work and says 'Robyn ...

  • News

    Gomorrah dominates European Film Awards

    2008-12-07T11:05:00Z

    Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah was named best European film at the 21st European Film Awards in Copenhagen.The film, which exposes the Neapolitan mafia, also won best director (Matteo), best actor (Tony Servillo), best cinematography (Marco Onorato) and best screenplay. Servillo's award also recognised his performance in Paolo Sorrentino's Il Divo.Gomorrah, winner ...

  • News

    Nanni Moretti to step down as Turin Film Festival head

    2008-12-07T11:26:00Z

    Rome-Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti has said he will not continue on as director of the Turin Film Festival in 2009. Moretti took over the festival in its 25th edition in 2007 and remained at the helm in 2008. Alberto Barbera, President of Turin's Cinema Museum and Steve Della ...

  • News

    StudioCanal cinema revenues up 91%

    2000-11-14T18:43:00Z

    StudioCanal has reported that turnover from cinema-related activities increased by 90.5% in the nine months to September 31 to Euros236.6m, compared to Euros124.2m during the same period last year. The growth was mainly due to German distribution arm Tobis which contributed Euros24.1m and French distribution subsidiary Bac Distribution, which contributed ...

  • News

    The Black Balloon rises above the rest at Australian AFI awards

    2008-12-07T11:32:00Z

    The Black Balloon won best film at the 50th annual Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards in Melbourne. Producer Tristram Miall accepted the award, surrounded by many of his collaborators, several of whom had already been up on stage. They included Elissa Down, who won best director and best original screenplay ...

  • News

    Barbara Broccoli and Tilda Swinton honoured at WFTV Awards

    2008-12-07T16:16:00Z

    The UK's Women in Film and Television honoured women in the industry at their annual awards held at London's Park Lane Hilton, hosted by style-guru Gok Wan.The awards, now in the 18th year, honoured the professional achievements of 10 women, each in different areas of the industry. Producer Barbara Broccoli ...

  • News

    First four films named in Swedish Rookie initiative

    2008-12-07T16:28:00Z

    The Swedish Film Institute has announced the first four films in the Rookie project, instigated last year with Swedish Television (SVT) and regional film centre, Film i Väst, to invigorate Swedish film. Set up as one of the institute's counter-measures to meet declining admission figures for domestic cinema, the ...

  • News

    UK: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T17:10:00Z

    It was going to be a big year even before Bond hit the screens.Year-to-date figures put UK admissions at 138 million to October 31, up0.1% on the same period in 2007, with box-office gross up 8.7% to$1.2bn (£821m). These figures only include the first day of Quantum Of Solace,which opened ...

  • News

    Spain: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T17:20:00Z

    Spanish films struggled to hit their stride in 2008, with Alex de la Iglesia's English-language, UK-set thriller The Oxford Murders the most successful local film of the year at $10.2m (EUR8.1m). Paramount's Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skulltopped the charts with $26.4m (EUR20.9m). Admissions have plummeted,reaching 93.6 ...

  • News

    France: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T17:39:00Z

    Pathe's comedy Welcome To The Sticks saw off all-comers in 2008, garnering a record-breaking 20.5 million admissions. The second biggest film of the year was Pathe's Asterix At The Olympic Games with 6.8 million admissions. Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull is the highest non-French film with ...

  • News

    Italy: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T17:52:00Z

    The Italian box office is also down so far this year with the total standing at $645.1m (EUR510.8m) as of November 30, compared to $779.4m (EUR617m) for the whole of 2007.Admissions to date are 86 million compared to 103.6 million in 2007. However, the Christmas season is lucrative in Italy ...

  • News

    Germany: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T18:00:00Z

    Based on figures to the end of October, German admissions and ticketsales are facing a decline in 2008. Admissions stand at 87.7 million toOctober 31 compared with 125.4 million for the whole of 2007, while thetotal box-office gross to October 31 was $687.1m (EUR544.4m) comparedwith $968.2m (EUR767m) for the whole ...

  • News

    Japan: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T18:09:00Z

    Estimated box-office earnings and admissions in Japan have remainedflat in 2008 compared to 2007. The total box office is $1.8bn(Yen166.8bn) up to the end of October, compared to $1.79bn (Yen166.6bn)for the same period in 200447. Similarly, admissions stand at 137.2million to October 31, compared to 136.9 million for the same ...

  • News

    Angelopoulos to shoot historical trilogy

    2000-11-14T20:59:00Z

    Despite announcing that 1998 Palme d'Or winner An Eternity And A Day would be his last feature, Greek director Theo Angelopoulos has revealed that he is developing a trilogy of films exploring the subject of Greek exiles throughout the 20th Century.The first film in the trilogy, The Weeping Field, is ...

  • News

    Australia: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T18:12:00Z

    Baz Lurhmann's epic romance Australia has only been open for aweek but is already the most successful local film of 2008, with agross of $5.1m (a$7.9m). Whether it will overtake the highest grossingfilm of the year so far, The Dark Knight, starring the late Australian-born Heath Ledger, is yet to ...

  • News

    Brazil: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T18:13:00Z

    Warner Bros' The Dark Knight was the big story in Brazil thisyear, earning $13.7m (r32.7m), making the territory the eighth biggestmarket for the film. The highest grossing local film was Meu Nome Nao E Johnny,based on the true story of an infamous drug dealer, which grossed $7.5m(r18m). These success stories ...

  • News

    South Korea: box office 2008

    2008-12-07T18:15:00Z

    Local films, which drive the South Korean box office, are struggling tofind an audience and look likely to finish the year with a market shareof less than 50%. Total admissions look set to be down to 133.8 millionfor the year to December 2, compared with 152.9 million for the wholeof ...