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Altitude boards adaptation of Sempé's 'Raoul Taburin'
1 hour ago
Exclusive: Wild Bunch is launching sales on Pan-Européenne-led production at Unifrance Rdv in Paris.
The UK’s Altitude Film Entertainment has boarded French director Pierre Godeau’s upcoming adaptation of Jean-Jacques Sempé’s heart-warming tale Raoul Taburin.
Set against the backdrop of a small French town, the film will star Benoît Poelvoorde as the endearingly comic figure of Raoul Taburin, a reputed bicycle shop owner desperate to hide the fact he cannot ride a bike himself.
Altitude has pre-bought UK rights with company chief Will Clarke taking an executive producer credit.
The deal builds on a growing relationship between Altitude and Nathalie Gastaldo-Godeau and Philippe Godeau’s Paris and London-based Pan-Européene which has developed since the couple moved to the UK in 2015.
Last year, the two companies entered a partnership for the UK release of Jérôme Salles’s Jacques Cousteau bio-pic The Odyssey, under which the film will hit UK screens this June.
Discussions on Raoul »
'La La Land' dances atop UK buzz chart
1 hour ago
Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone musical swept aside all competitiors to dominate this week’s social media buzz.
Damien Chazelle’s musical La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, dominated this week’s UK social media buzz, according to analysis outfit Way To Blue.
The film amassed 14,617 comments across social media, news, forums and blogs over the last seven days, with 1,602 of those registering an intent to view.
Further down the chart, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester By The Sea, J.A. Bayona’s A Monster Calls, and Justin Kurzel’s Assassin’s Creed all garnered decent buzz but were unable to make a significant dent into La La Land’s total.
Titles on the near horizon include XXX: Return Of Xander Cage, Lion, Split and Jackie.
For an explanation of the Way to Blue chart and its methodology, which tracks ‘overall buzz’ and important ‘intent to view’ buzz, click here. »
- [email protected] (Tom Grater)
Sky Arts cancels Michael Jackson comedy after backlash
2 hours ago
Jackson’s daughter had voiced a complaint about the casting of white actor Joseph Fiennes as the pop star.
Sky has pulled a half-hour comedy starring Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson after protests from the popstar’s daughter.
Sky Arts will not air Elizabeth, Michael And Marlon, a one-off produced by Ralf Little’s Little Rock as part of the Urban Myths strand.
Jackson’s daughter Paris used social media to complain and urged her followers to sign a petition against the show.
“I’m so incredibly offended by it, as I’m sure plenty of people are as well, and it honestly makes me want to vomit,” she tweeted.
The show immortalised an outlandish roadtrip the singer took with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando.
Jackson had invited Taylor and Brando to attend his concert at Madison Square Garden in September 2011, but after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, the trio hired a rental car and drove »
WestEnd Films appoints head of acquisitions and development
2 hours ago
Former Studiocanal and See Pictures exec Sophie Green has joined the UK sales outfit.
London-based sales and finance outfit WestEnd Films has appointed Sophie Green as head of acquisitions and development.
Green’s previous experience includes stints at Studiocanal in the legal and business affairs team, and recently in Australia with Jamie Hilton’s production outfit See Pictures, where she worked as acquisitions and business development manager.
Throughout her career, she has worked on titles including Todd Haynes’ Carol, Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire and Terrence Malik’s Knight Of Cups.
In her new role, she will work across WestEnd’s current slate and will also develop the company’s recently launched female audience brand WeLove, which is developing female-specific content including projects from Agnieszka Holland and Alexis Zegerman.
WestEnd’s Efm line-up includes: animated feature The Breadwinner, which is produced in association with Angelina Jolie; Film4 and BFI-backed UK comedy Old Boys; [link »
- [email protected] (Tom Grater)
Chelsea Barnard to head film at Annapurna Pictures
15 hours ago
Founder and CEO Megan Ellison announced on Thursday that she has promoted Barnard to president of film.
Barnard (pictured at left with Ellison) will oversee all feature development and production and continues in her role as chief creative officer.
Barnard has been with Annapurna since its inception six years ago, when she oversaw production on Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master.
She served as executive producer on Spike Jonze’s Her, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher and most recently Mike Mills’s 20th Century Women.
Barnard will remain the lead executive on Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming untitled film starring Daniel Day Lewis and Bennett Miller’s A Christmas Carol that Tom Stoppard is writing.
Prior to joining Annapurna, Barnard served in various creative and production roles on Larry Charles films such as Borat, Bruno, and Religulous.
Ellison praised Barnard’s “aptitude for leadership and finding deeply interesting material”, adding: “Chelsea’s specific eye for content that supports »
- [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
Us Briefs: Melissa Wohl to head FilmRise sales
16 hours ago
Wohl most recently served as senior vice-president of worldwide distribution at Content Media and will spearhead sales on 16-24 new theatrical titles this year and digital releases.
She will also represent the Brooklyn-based film and television distribution company at markets and festivals throughout the year.
Danny Fisher, Jack Fisher, and Alan Klingenstein founded FilmRise, whose releases include Harry & Snowman and upcoming James Franco thriller The Vault.
Abramorama founder Richard Abramowitz has brought on Karol Martesko-Fenster and Evan Saxon as executive vice-president and COO, and West Coast head of acquisitions and business development, respectively.High Octane Pictures has acquired international sales rights to Scatena & Rosner Films’ horror title Dead Story, which according to the film’s representatives generated more than three million YouTube trailer hits in the run-up to the January 20 Us VOD release. Kelsey Deanne and Chase Austin star and Jason Mcroberts and Sunil Tripuraneni produced.Syfy Films has set a March 17 theatrical, VOD and digital »
- [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
Cristal Pictures ramps up production team
16 hours ago
Nick D’Angelo, who most recently served as vice-president of production at Fox 2000, has joined the Los Angeles-based film finance and production company.
D’Angelo is named executive vice-president of production, Cristal Pictures president Scott Einbinder said on Thursday.
D’Angelo reports to Einbinder and will oversee development and production. Cristal’s slate includes Hitman’s Bodyguard, the action-comedy it co-financed and co-produced with Millennium Films that is in post and stars Ryan Reynolds and Samuel Jackson.
During his 13 years at Fox 2000, the executive worked on Alvin And The Chipmunks, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid and The Chronicles Of Narnia, among others.
“Nick is an incredibly smart, creative and passionate executive with a keen understanding of what it takes to make an international hit,” said Einbinder. “His creative insights and eye for material and talent with global appeal make him invaluable to Cristal pictures as we expand our production slate and ambitions.”
Cristal was recently »
- [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
Nickel City closes investment, hires Mark Fasano
17 hours ago
The Los Angeles and New York-based production company, Nickel City Pictures has brought on the former PalmStar Media executive as partner and president of production.
Fasano will oversee the film and television production slate, which includes Naja, the French graphic novel adaptation that Nickel City is producing with Thunder Road Pictures and Entertainment 360. Cedric Nicolas-Troyan will direct.
The hire comes as Nickel City co-founders and former PalmStar executives Ankur Rungta and Vishal Rungta announced they have secured investment from Olive Tree Capital, the investment arm of the family office of Hamza Talhouni.
Olive Tree will in certain cases co-finance development alongside the company’s existing development partner, Telepool GmbH, and the deal offers access to a network of family offices and high net worth investors.
Fasano served as president of production at PalmStar Media, where he was involved in such titles as American Ultra, The Whole Truth and True Memoirs Of An International Assassin.
“Nickel City Pictures is an ideal »
- [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
'Lion' in surprise DGA 2017 nod
17 hours ago
The Birth Of A Nation director Nate Parker and Deadpool helmer Tim Miller on first-time directors list.
Garth Davis for Lion and Denis Villeneuve for Arrival are among Thursday’s five Directors Guild Of America (DGA) feature nominees alongside the three awards season heavyweights.
As expected Barry Jenkins for Moonlight, Golden Globe winner Damien Chazelle for La La Land and Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester By The Sea all made the cut. All five earn their first DGA nomination.
However the inclusion of Villeneuve and Davis - the biggest surprise of the day – meant there were the inevitable omissions, notably Denzel Washington for Fences and Mel Gibson for Hacksaw Ridge. Martin Scorsese also missed out for Silence, as did Clint Eastwood for Sully.
The DGA is a very strong predictor of who will win the best directing Oscar. Since 1950, all but seven of the eventual DGA winners have gone on to claim the Academy Award.
Argo director »
- [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
'Arrival', 'Lion' among DGA 2017 nominees
17 hours ago
Garth Davis for Lion and Denis Villeneuve for Arrival are among Thursday’s five feature nominees alongside the three awards season heavyweights.
As expected Barry Jenkins for Moonlight, Golden Globe winner Damien Chazelle for La La Land and Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester By The Sea all made the cut. All five earn their first DGA nomination.
However the inclusion of Villeneuve (pictured) and Davis – the biggest surprise of the day – meant there was no room for Mel Gibson for Hacksaw Ridge or Martin Scorsese for Silence.
The DGA is a very strong predictor of who will win the best directing Oscar. Since 1950, all but seven of the eventual DGA winners have gone on to claim the Academy Award.
Argo director Ben Affleck was the last DGA winner who missed out on Oscar glory. Indeed Affleck did not earn an best directing Oscar nomination in 2013, although his film won best picture.
The roster »
- [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
Number of women directors fell in 2016, study finds
19 hours ago
There was a drop in the number of women working on high profile Hollywood films, despite ongoing diversity debate.
Women directed only 7% of the 250 top grossing films in the Us, falling from 9% in 2015.
The damning figures come from a report by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.
The report, entitled ‘The Celluloid Ceiling’ also shows that in 2016, women comprised 17% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 domestic grossing films, a decline of two percentage points from 2015.
Only 24% of all producers for the top 250 films were women, (fall of 2%); 17% of editors (falling from 23% in 2015) and 5% of cinematographers (a decrease of 1%).
The number of women writers was up two percentage points, to 13%.
Some more statistics from the study:
92% of films had no women directors77% had no women writers58% had no women executive producers34% had no women producers79% had no women editors96% had »
Berlinale Co-Production Market selects 36 projects for 2017 edition
21 hours ago
A pool of 550 producers, sales agents and financiers will attend this year’s event.Scroll down for full list
The 14th edition of the Berlinale co-production market (Feb 12-15, 2017) at the European Film market (Efm) has revealed its line-up of 36 feature film projects.
The Berlinale team is organising a total of 1,200 one-on-one meetings for the selected projects’ producers, with a pool of 550 producers, sales agents, broadcasters, distributors, film funds and financiers from across the world scheduled to attend.
Of the 36 films, 20 have been selected for the official project selection. They were chosen from 323 submissions and have budgets ranging from 750,000 Euros to €11m. To be eligible, they must have raised 30% of their projected budget prior to the event.
The further projects will be presented in separate strands, including 10 in the Talent Project Market, organised with Berlinale Talents, which highlights emerging filmmakers.
In the Berlinale Directors segment, three directors who have previously screened films at the festival will present »
- [email protected] (Tom Grater)
Production starts on 'Funny Cow' starring Maxine Peake and Paddy Considine
23 hours ago
Filming under way on Entertainment One’s 1970s-set comedy drama.
Production on Funny Cow, which stars Maxine Peake (The Theory Of Everything, Shameless) as a stand-up comedienne, has begun in Yorkshire.
The comedy drama, directed by Adrian Shergold (Pierrepoint), follows the rise to stardom of Peake’s character in 1970s northern England and is filming on location in Yorkshire for four weeks.
Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz) and Stephen Graham (This Is England) co-star in the film, which features music by ex-Longpigs frontman and Mercury award-nominated solo artist Richard Hawley and Grammy Award winner Corinne Bailey Rae.
War Horse and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writer Tony Pitts penned the script and has an acting role.
Kevin Proctor from Pow Films and Mark Vennis from Moviehouse Entertainment are producing, with Entertainment One releasing in the UK and Moviehouse Entertainment handling intrernational sales.
The film is executive produced by Peter Dunphy and Charlotte Arden of Gizmo Films and Norman Merry »
Andre Rieu, Picturehouse, Nt Live among 2017 Event Cinema Association award nominees
12 January 2017 3:45 AM, PST
The Eca has also crowned its 2015-16 box office award winners.
The Event Cinema Association (Eca), which promotes and supports the event cinema industry, has revealed its 2017 awards nominees.
There are four main categories - Best Distributor, Excellence in Exhibition, Best Content Provider, and Outstanding Contribution to Events Cinema - all of which are split into European, American and International nominees.
The Best Distributor award nominees in Europe are: Picturehouse Entertainment, CinemaLive, Nt Live, Royal Opera House, National Amusements, Exhibition on Screen, and Cikanek Films (Czech Republic).
The Americas nominees are: BBC Americas, Cineplex, Fathom Events, Funimation, and Screenvision. The sole international nominee is Sharmill films.
In the Excellence in Exhibition category, European nominees include Europe’s Odeon, Pathe and Vue, as well as independent venue Zeffirellis in the UK. Among the Americas nominees are AMC and National Amusements.
Nominees in the Best Content Provider category include Andre Rieu Productions and the Royal Opera House in Europe »
- [email protected] (Tom Grater)
Dutch comedy, Brazilian drama score sales deals
12 January 2017 3:43 AM, PST
Exclusive: M-Appeal snaps up Rotterdam-bound comedy-drama and Ventana Sur hit.
Berlin-based sales outfit M-Appeal has snapped up international rights to new Dutch movie Quality Time, directed by Daan Bakker, and Brazilian drama Body Electric.
Quality Time, which receives its world premiere in Rotterdam’s Tiger competition, consists of a series of five stories about men in their 30s who are still struggling to adjust to the realities and responsibilities of adult life.
Pim Hermeling’s September Films will handle the Dutch distribution on the feature, which is produced by Iris Otten of Amsterdam-based Pupkin.
The film was produced under the Netherlands Film Fund’s Oversteek system, a collaboration between broadcasters, the Netherlands Film Fund and the Dutch Cultural Media Fund aimed at supporting new talent.
Quality Time includes animation and black and white footage. In one episode, Koen attends a family reunion and nearly overdoses on ham and milk. In another, amateur photographer »
- [email protected] (Geoffrey Macnab)
London-based law firm Wiggin bolsters film & TV team
12 January 2017 2:39 AM, PST
Chris Hanson and Gráinne McKenna have both been made partners at the company.
London-based media and technology law film Wiggin has bolstered its film & TV practice with two key hires.
Chris Hanson, previously of law firm Dla Piper, has joined as a partner, while Gráinne McKenna, previously of Working Title and NBC Universal, has been upped to partner.
Wiggin’s roster of film clients includes Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony Columbia, Paramount and Lucasfilm. It’s TV and online clients include HBO, Showtime, Netflix and Amazon.
Hanson has more than 20 years’ experience in the film, TV and video game industries and has worked across the financing, production and licensing of audio-visual content with Us studios and further clients in Europe and Asia.
McKenna, whose prior experience includes as head of legal & business affairs at NBC Universal International TV Production as well as stints in Working Title’s film and TV departments, joined [link=co »
- [email protected] (Tom Grater)
'Carol' producer Christine Vachon to talk at Glasgow Film Festival
12 January 2017 2:33 AM, PST
BBC, BFI, Film4, Creative Scotland execs to speak on panel discussion about the future of Scottish film industry.
The full programme has been announced for the Glasgow Film Festival’s Industry Focus strand, which runs 21-24 February 2017.
Powerhouse independent film producer Christine Vachon will discuss her career at an In Conversation event. She’s produced more than 100 films, including Carol, Still Alice, Boys Don’t Cry and I’m Not There.
There will also be a panel discussion about the future of the Scottish film industry. The speakers include BBC head of film Joe Oppenheimer, Film4 head of production Tracey Josephs, senior production and development executive at the BFI Film Fund Lizzie Francke, and director, screen at Creative Scotland Natalie Usher.
Other highlights include:
Scottish film and TV producer Chris Young will discuss the Young Films Foundation; a programme to provide guidance to young UK screenwriters.Round table sessions for filmmakers with funders, distributors and sales »
Hammer Films, Motion Picture Capital team for movie fund
12 January 2017 2:08 AM, PST
The Hammer Films Eis Fund will back film and TV projects.
UK financier Motion Picture Capital, the Reliance Entertainment Group subsidiary, has formed a partnership with iconic UK production company Hammer Films.
The two companies are teaming on a new film fund called The Hammer Films Eis Fund which will offer private investors the opportunity to invest in a slate of Hammer branded film and TV productions.
The new fund will sit alongside Motion Picture Capital’s existing Eis fund and will only be accessible through a financial adviser.
Iconic horror label Hammer, best known for gothic horror films of the 1950’s including The Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy and Christopher Lee’s Dracula, made a splash in 2012 with UK horror The Woman In Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe, which became the highest-grossing British horror film on record, taking £21.3m in its home territory and going on to gross over $130m worldwide.
2014 productions included »
- [email protected] (Andreas Wiseman)
Loco Films boards sales on Egyptian road movie 'Ali, The Goat, And Ibrahim'
12 January 2017 1:49 AM, PST
Exclusive: Off-beat, buddy road movie, which world premiered at Dubai in December, due to screen at Unifrance Rendez-vous in Paris.
Paris-based Loco Films has taken on world sales of Egyptian filmmaker Sherif El Bendary’s debut feature Ali, The Goat, And Ibrahim about a young man who sets off on a journey of self-discovery across Egypt in the company of his beloved pet goat Nada.
Ali Sobhy plays the titular Ali opposite Ahmed Magdy as tormented sound engineer and travelling companion Ibrahim, who joins the Egyptian odyssey.
“We fell in love with the film. It’s very humorous with a strong premise: a man who is deeply in love with his goat who sets off on a colourful journey across Egypt,” said Loco Films founding chief Laurent Danielou.
“They cast 2,000 goats for the role!” he added. “It’s a feel-good movie, which is original, exotic, funny and slightly crazy – in perfect sync with Loco.”
The deal covers »
Steve Mnuchin to divest all film interests
11 January 2017 11:18 PM, PST
The nominee for treasury secretary in the Donald Trump administration will divest all his business interests including RatPac-Dune Entertainment and Dune Capital Entertainment, according to a letter.
The well-known banker and Hollywood financier reportedly said he would divest his business interests in a letter to the ethics department of the Us Treasury dated January 10.
Mnuchin’s involvement with RatPac has led to interests in dozens of Warner Bros films as the studio’s co-financing partner.
His stance appears to be at odds with that of the president-elect, who has alarmed constitutional experts with his plan to place day-to-day control of his Trump Organization in the hands of his sons Eric and Donald Jr.
Observers claim he would still be receiving the benefits of his business empire’s international relationships.
This, they claim, would be in breach of the emoluments clause in the Us Constitution, which forbids a member of government from receiving any benefit from foreign powers »
- [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
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company.