All articles by Staff writers – Page 6
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News
Eschbach gets top sales job at TF1 International
Didier Sapaut, TF1 International's chief executive has announced the appointment of Nicolas Eschbach as senior vice president, replacing Perrine Teze as top salesman at the French broadcast giant's film sales unit. Eschbach was previously senior sales executive at TF1 International, but since 2000 has been based in New York as ...
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Han Entertainment's The Touch shows eastern promise
Despite stiff competition from Spider-Man, Han Entertainment's The Touch is continuing to perform strongly in China, where it has grossed $2.7m (RMB22m) after 18 days (August 1-18) from 162 screens. However, the action adventure, which was released day and date in four Asian territories to outsmart mainland pirates, will need ...
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German pay-TV network attracts 20 takeover suitors
Investment bank Morgan Stanley has sent out preliminary sales brochures on Premiere to over 20 as-yet-unnamed parties in a bid to secure take-over bids for the ailing German pay-TV platform.The groups, understood to include financial, venture capital and other media concerns, have between 2-3 weeks to submit provisional offers for ...
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AOL takes back full ownership of Warner Bros, HBO
AOL Time Warner has taken full control of Time Warner Entertainment (TWE), the business that owns Warner Bros. studios and cable channels HBO, Court TV and Comedy Central, with a $9bn acquisition of the telecommunication giant AT&T's 27% stake.The deal ends two years of negotiations between AOLTW and AT&T over ...
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Universal Studios faces merger with Malone's cable networks ahead of possible IPO
John Malone's Liberty Media has reportedly begun exploratory talks with Vivendi Universal with a view to merging some of his cable TV interests with the US entertainment businesses of the beleagured French conglomerate. The combined operation, which would bring Universal Studios, Focus Films and USA Networks under the same roof ...
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Canada's Telefilm announces management restructure
Canada's film and television development agency Telefilm has appointed three new management executives as part of plans to improve its "decision-making, processes and overall performance" announced by executive director Richard Stursberg at Banff in June.Paris-based director of Telefilm's European office, Sheila de La Varende moves to a new position of ...
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Veteran Indian film-maker appeals over 'ridiculous' censorship
Indian documentary film-maker Anand Patwardhan is appealing to the country's Appellate Tribunal in a bid to overturn a decision by Indian censors that is insisting over 20 cuts be made to his anti-war film War and Peace before it can be shown in Indian cinemas.Despite triumphing at the Bombay International ...
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PowerHouse/Steeple pact on The Sailmaker
PowerHouse Studios has signed a deal with Steeple Distributions to co-produce two feature films in association with Arama/Zegna Pictures. Steeple will provide funding for the two projects via a $132m letter of credit issued by the Bank of New York.The first co-production will be Shimon Arama's The Sailmaker. To be ...
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UK box office: best July for 31 years
UK box office admissions in July were the highest for 31 years, according to the latest figures released by the Cinema Advertising Association.July admission totalled 15 million - an average of 3.38 million a week - and 8% up on the same period last year.Unsurprisingly, in the month that marks ...
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Powerhouse, Steeple pact on The Sailmaker
PowerHouse Studios has signed a deal with Steeple Distributions to co-produce two feature films in association with Arama/Zegna Pictures. Steeple will provide funding for the two projects via a $132m letter of credit issued by the Bank of New York.The first co-production will be Shimon Arama's The Sailmaker. To be ...
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Japan plans $22m boost for local films
The Japanese Agency of Cultural Affairs is asking the government to double its spend on local film this year in a bid to boost domestic film production.The agency has asked the government to set aside Y2.6bn ($22.1m) from its fiscal 2003 budget - twice the amount spent last year - ...
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Fox lifts otherwise mournful News Corp
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation today reported widening full year losses of $6.26bn (2001: $445m) after the company was forced to write down the value of its stakes in ailing interactive TV company Gemstar, insolvent KirchMedia and Italian pay-TV broadcaster Stream.Despite posting a 10% increase in annual revenues to $15.2bn, Murdoch ...
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Constantin exits Escape Artist deal
Munich-based producer-distributor Constantin Film yesterday said it had prematurely terminated a two-year output deal with US producer Escape Artists as a result of changes to its product sourcing strategy.Reporting a narrowing first-half net loss of Euros6m (2001: Euros6.7m), Constantin said it had been forced to write-off Euros3.9m - the value ...
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Deauville announces line-up
The Deauville Festival of American Film (Aug 30-Sept 8) unveiled a strong competition section of US independents and a starry line-up for its (French) premieres section.The indies section contains the stars of this year's Sundance such as The Good Girl and Secretary, one of the discoveries of Cannes Peter Sollet's ...
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San Sebastian announces line-up for Zabaltegi sidebar
San Sebastian announces line-up for Zabaltegi sidebarCannes' Palme D'Or winner The Pianist and Berlin's Golden Bear success Bloody Sunday among 16 featured films for Festivals Top strandThe Donostia-San Sebastian Film festival has announced the line-up for this year's Festival's Top strand, part of its Zabaltegi sidebar.According to San Sebastian organisers, ...
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Third consortium joins KirchMedia race
A group that includes existing minority shareholders has become the third party to enter the bidding for the core assets of insolvent German media outfit KirchMedia.The group, which is understood to have submitted a bid of around Euros2.5bn ($2.44bn) includes Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holdings, investment bank Lehman ...
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Hong Kong's B&S to join growth enterprise market with 100 million shares
Producer-distributor B&S Films has unveiled plans to join the long list of Hong Kong film companies listed on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM).The company will place 100 million shares at 50 HK cents each for a listing on August 6. Chairman Siu Luen Fat said the move would help B&S ...
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Geisler/Roberdeau option McCain POW memoir
Bobby Geisler and JohnRoberdeau, the New York producing duo who were last involved in TerrenceMalick's The Thin Red Line, haveoptioned the movie rights to Faith Of My Fathers, the best-selling Vietnam prisoner of war memoirwritten by John McCain, the high-profile US Senator for Arizona.Written with Mark Salter,McCain's book is the ...
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Japanese debut wins Paris festival's top prize
Shoujyo (An Adolescent) (below) the first film directed by Japanese actor Eiji Okuda, won the top prize at the 17th annual Paris Film Festival (April 1-9).Mayu Ozawa who debuted as an actress in the film, also received the best actress award at the event.The film, based on the novel by ...
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Microsoft readies new films on the net offensive
Software giant Microsoft has set its sights on the movie and TV distribution business, backed by an enhanced version of its Windows Media Player that will allow feature films to be delivered via the internet. The software behemoth made the announcement at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in ...