After almost 20 years in the business, the BC government has sold the six hectare, six stage The Bridge Studios to a West Vancouver company.

Larco Investments paid $40 million, for BC's venerable first film studio. The previous owner, PavCo - a crown corporation - ran the studio since the late 1980s to help develop the province's then fledgling film industry.

PavCo runs BC Place and the Convention Centre.

Larco owns and operates retail centers, hotels and convention facilities across Canada. It is owned by the Lalji family. The studio currently has 5 full-time employees and MGM is still an outstanding tenant.

The new owners plans to continue to run The Bridge as a film studio keeping it's 5 full-time employees.

Full Story (Playback Magazine)

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 10:30 AM | Permalink

Maria Topalovich, the president and CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television has decided she will step down at the end of April.

Topalovich, whose accomplishments include helping to launch the Genies and the Geminis, in 1980 and 1986 respectively, will not renew her contract when it expires at the end of the month.

"I feel the time is right to pursue my own personal goals," Topalovich, who has been with the Academy for 30-plus years, said in a statement.

Paul Gratton, the Academy chair and Quebec chair Charles Ohayon and founding chair Ron Cohen are beginning their search for a replacement. In the meantime, Gratton will serve in Topalovich's place.

Full Story (CBC)

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 3:21 PM | Permalink

Gary Friedrich, the creator of Ghost Rider is suing Marvel Enterprises, Sony Pictures Entertainment and several entities for infringing on his copyrights to the comic book character.

In the 61-page complaint, filed in federal court in Illinois April 4, Friedrich and his company are claiming Marvel and Sony had 21 violations based on the production and marketing of Sony's recent film "Ghost Rider" starring Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes. He claims it is an unauthorized "joint venture and conspiracy to exploit, profit from and utilize" his copyrights that reverted to him from Marvel in 2001.

Friedrich also accuses Marvel of waste for failing "to properly utilize and capitalize" on the Ghost Rider character. He claims that Marvel's attempts to do so have damaged the value of his work by failing short of promoting and protecting the characters and by accepting inadequate royalties from co-defendants.

A Sony spokesman said the studio had no comment on the suit and had not been served with the complaint.

Included in the list of defendants: Relativity Media, Crystal Sky Pictures, Michael De Luca Productions, Hasbro inc and Take-Two Interactive.

Read the full story (Hollywood Reporter/Reuters/Yahoo)

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 2:31 PM | Permalink

Warner Bros. Pictures and Silver Pictures are quietly in the process of buying a Wonder Woman spec script from newcomers Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The studio and producer Joel Silver have been developing a big-screen version of the DC Comics superhero, with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon writing the script and attached to direct.

The trade says the purchase is a pre-emptive measure aimed at taking the script off the market to protect itself against the possibility that any similarities between the scripts could be fodder for future legal action.

It is understood that the Jennison-Strickland script is set against the backdrop of World War II, while Whedon's script is set in the present day.

Silver has no interest in making a period Wonder Woman, however. But as the spec script made the rounds, it landed at Silver Pictures, and executives there were impressed by Jennison and Strickland's writing.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Read the original story here

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 11:50 PM | Permalink

Reality TV producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) and legendary film director Steven Spielberg have joined forces on a new Fox/CTV reality series airing this spring.

The show, where 16 directors will compete for a seven-figure development deal at DreamWorks, is accepting applications from both US and Canadian filmmakers until Feb 16. After that, the producers will hold invitation-only casting calls.

Casting will take place in Toronto in March. Applicants from Western Canada will be sent to Seattle.

"Canadians have a great track record of competing with the best from around the world, both on reality TV and otherwise," said Burnett in a statement. "We look forward to seeing what Canada has to offer."

CTV is the first foreign network to pick up the series and announced the deal on the floor at NATPE in Las Vegas.

The host and judges for the show have not been announced. The show is produced by Mark Burnett Productions, DreamWorks Television and Amblin Television.

More in Playback Magazine
Details of how to enter at the On The Lot website

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 1:51 PM | Permalink

A Chinese state-run distributor has rejected Martin Scorsese's hot crime thriller The Departed - in which Boston gangsters try to sell computer technology to ethnic Chinese villains.

China Film Group, China's major film importer told the film's Hong Kong distributor, Media Asia, that the hit movie is unsuitable for Chinese audiences but negelected to give a reason.

"They sent us a letter to us saying this movie is inappropriate so they won't import it," says Chan Ka-li, Media Asia's marketing manager. "If they've seen the movie and they don't think it's appropriate then there's probably nothing we can do."

Yuan Wenqiang, a vice president at China Film Group says, "After [their sales staff] watched it, they thought it wasn't suited for the mainland Chinese market." He added, "They didn't give concrete reasons."

It's not unusual for China, which only allows 20 imported films a year, to reject a Hollywood film. But in this case, The Departed was rejected before being submitted to censors.

Media Asia has no plans to lobby for a reversal of the decision.

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 4:06 PM | Permalink

It's a big year for Canadian film at the 2007 Sundance Festival in Park City, Utah. BC also has a very strong presence this year with an unprecedented showing of its new films.

While he couldn't confirm whether this was the largest Canadian contingent at the festival, Earl Hong Tai, Telefilm's western regional director said it was "a very good showing, not only in terms of numbers but in the terms of the quality of projects."

Canadian director Sarah Polley's film Away From Her, which already played across Canada, had a gala screening in Salt Lake City. It's based on the Alice Munro story The Bear Went Over The Mountain about a woman, played by Julie Christie, who forgets her husband, played by Gordon Pinsent.

Other Canadian films screening at the festival include: Manufactured Landscapes, about photographer Edward Burtynsky; How She Move by Ian Iqbal; Fido, a love infested zombie movie by Vancouver's Andrew Currie which played at the VIFF this year; Hot House, Shimon Dotan's film about the tendency of Israeli jails to breed future Palestinian leaders; On A Tightrope, about a Chinese Muslim communities ability to produce highwire performers; and S. Wyeth Clarkson's Sk8 Life, about Vancouver skateboarders. The BC-shot The Nines, about a troubled actor and videogame designer, starring Hope Davis and Ryan Reynolds, written and directed by John August, is also showing.

Last year only one Canadian film, Julia Kwan's Eve and The Fire Horse , showed at Sundance. The previous year, only one as well Shake Hands with The Devil.

Sarah Polley's Away From Her will open in Canada and the US on May 4, up against Spiderman 3. But she is apparently not too concerned.

More at Canada.com

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 3:31 PM | Permalink

George Clooney and Warner Brothers specialty studio have teamed up to buy the movie rights to "The Innocent Man," John Grisham's first non-fiction book.

"The Innocent Man" tells the true story of Ron Willamson. A former baseball player who spent 11 years on death row in Oklahoma wrongly convicted of rape and murder.

The terms of the book deal were not disclosed by the studio. But Daily Variety is reporting that Grisham will be paid a seven-figure sum for rights to his book and receive a share of the gross receipts should the film be produced.

The film would be produced by Smoke House, the company co-owned by George Clooney and his long-time friend and collaborator, Grant Heslov.

Read the whole story from Reuters

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 12:57 AM | Permalink

A continuing feud between IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees - representing film and theatre technical crews) and the Writers Guild of America has heated up dramatically. On Tuesday, IATSE president Thomas Short accused the writer's union of "irresponsibility and incompetence" for backing out of early producer negotiations for a new film and TV contract.

WGA president Patric Verrone and executive director David Young cancelled early talks aimed at settling a new contract between writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before September. The current contract expires on October 31, 2007.

"The fact that the WGA backed out of their own proposed talks shows their complete and utter disregard for the vast majority of motion picture and television workers in the entertainment industry," Short said. "A small faction inside the WGA is determined to undermine the health and welfare of an entire industry."

Short warned if a contract was not settled upon by September, as planned by the WGA, it would lead to an actual strike in Hollywood effecting 100,000 IATSE members.

Nick Counter, lead negotiator for the producers union, said that the WGA's resistance to early talks on a film and TV contract could prompt studio and network execs to act as if a "de facto strike" were in effect and begin to slow production almost immediately.

The WGA president sent an e-mail to WGA members this week calling Counter's 'de facto strike' talk as rhetoric and underscored his intent to delivering a new contract without a shut down. On Tuesday, the Writers' Guild responded to the Short statement from earlier in the day.

"The 'de facto strike' threat is a boogeyman conjured up by the AMPTP to try to intimidate Hollywood unions into giving up their most effective leverage," WGAW exec director David Young said. "It is unfortunate that president Short has joined with the AMPTP in using this scare tactic.

The flare-up is related to an ongoing debate over the jurisdiction of reality TV writer jobs. WGA has been campaigning to unionize reality "storytellers" because of the grueling work hours and lack of benefits from producers of reality TV.

Several months ago, the writers for "America's Next Top Model" went on strike for better working conditions only to be fired by the show's producers. The two unions are waiting for a decision by the National Labor Relations Board to determine if the fired writers should be represented by IATSE or the WGA.

On Monday, technical crew members of "America's Next Top Model" voted by secret ballot to be represented by IATSE. The union is now negotiating their first contract.

There's more to this story in The Hollywood Reporter

On The Web:
IATSE International Website
WGA West Website
AMPTP Website

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 2:31 PM | Permalink

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's Storyline Entertainment has inked four new cable and broadcast TV projects in an overall deal with Touchstone Television.

US cable network Lifetime has ordered a script for a drama inspired by the life of songwriter Diane Warren. She is known for writing hit songs like Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," Aerosmith's "You Don't Want To Miss A Thing," and "Unbreak My Heart" by Toni Braxton.

The hour-long project centers on a fictional female songwriter in the midst of trying to start her fledgling career and has to deal with her large, overbearing and dysfunctional family. It will also feature a lot of Warren's music.

Other projects Storyline has picked up include "The Box." A one-hour ABC drama that focuses on a legal case that takes place over the course of a season.

NBC has ordered a pilot for "The Family Game." A half-hour, single camera sitcom from British scribe Alex Spiro. It's centred around a fortysomething man who, after being fired from his respectable job, discovers that by taking his life in a new direction, he has a newfound freedom that begins to cause huge problems with his well-bred wife and conservative family.

Storyline is also developing a variety show pilot for ABC Family. It's described as "a unique and new approach for a variety series for a new generation."

On The Web:

More in The Hollywood Reporter

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 7:43 AM | Permalink

Speaking yesterday as he visited Britain for the premiere of his latest film, Stranger Than Fiction, at The Times London Film Festival Dustin Hoffman said, “If the film doesn’t make money over that first weekend of its release, they will bury it.”

The talented and obviosly outspoken actor speaks his mind about Hollywood in this interesting interview.

Click here to read more.

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 11:16 PM | Permalink

The Vancouver International Film Festival preview guide was released yesterday. Pedro Almodóvar's Volver, Darren Aranofsky's The Fountain are among the best known of the initial offerings.

Read it here >> (.pdf)

Posted by Keith Loh at 9:06 AM | Permalink

Reuters reports that "Little Miss Sunshine", a film that cost only an estimated $8 million to make, has become one of the more profitable movies this summer tallying $23 million and counting since debuting at the end of July. In contrast, heavily marketed movies such as "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" experience a now expected big dip in box office after their initial week of release. "Little Miss Sunshine" is a comedy following a middle-class American family and their misadventures in a road trip gone awry.

Read more here >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Film and television studio Lionsgate announced Wednesday it bought Debmar-Mercury LLC, an independent television distributor.

Lionsgate hasn't disclosed the terms of the purchase, but said it allows for the creation of a new distribution outlet for it's own films and programming. It will also help bring in revenue from third-party entertainment properties. For the 2007 fiscal year, the studio is planning it's own slate of nine primetime TV series and said it would benefit from Debmar-Mercury's "distribution capabilities across new and traditional media outlets."

Debmar-Mercury has distribution rights to "South Park" and the Lionsgate series "The Dead Zone."

Debmar-Mercury will retain its name and operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lionsgate under principals Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein.

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 4:33 PM | Permalink

Tickets are on sale for "An Evening with Spike Lee" August 12th at the Orpheum. The director of "Do the Right Thing", "Malcolm X" "She's Gotta Have It" and "Jungle Fever" will be speaking on his work and politics. There will be a Q&A session following his talk. Tickets available from Ticketmaster.

More information on the evening >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 9:08 AM | Permalink

After the success and controversy over the film version of 'The Da Vinci Code', Columbia Pictures has ordered a film version of 'Angel and Demons.' Dan Brown's 2000 novel that also features Robert Langdon in a fast-paced story about another conspiracy around the Vatican. It was Brown's third novel, but his back catalogue didn't become best sellers until the success of 'The Da Vinci Code.'

Akiva Goldsman (Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man) will write the script.

A spokesman for Columbia said The Da Vinci Code director Ron Howard had not yet signed on for another film but both he and Hanks would be given first option to work on 'Angels and Demons.'

Columbia also owns the rights to Brown's other novels - 'Digital Fortress' and 'Deception Point.'

On the web:
Plot summary of Angels and Demons (on Brown's website)
Sony Pictures Website
Wikipedia: Columbia Pictures

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

You may have seen these postered around Vancouver. The "Canada Screens" film series is a campaign to get Canadians to watch Canadian films, featuring classic domestically produced films with an added live element of introducing the public to filmmakers and actors involved in the production.

The next showing is on June 4th for "It's All Gone Pete Tong", the mockumentary about a 'famous' British DJ who has lost his hearing. The director Michael Dowse will answer questions after the film.

The trailer : http://www.firstweekendclub.ca/98.html

The Canada Screens film series is the most recent marketing campaign of the First Weekend Club, a partly industry-sponsored group who want to generate enough buzz for the opening of Canadian films so that first-run distributors won't yank the film after the first week. Anita Adams, the coordinator of the FWC (it is Vancouver-based), is really nice and a great voice for domestic film. (She also started the Alibi Unplugged reading event where local actors conduct a public table reading of original screenplays. )

Have you seen "It's All Gone Pete Tong"? What's the most recent Canadian film you've seen? Go to our discussion forum and discuss >>

Full disclosure: the company I work for, Clipstream(TM), encodes the trailers on the FWC website as a sponsor. Actually, that's my baby as I want to help Canadian film as much as possible, eh?

Posted by Keith Loh at 9:38 AM | Permalink

DEAD RINGERS by David Cronenberg
Thursday May 18 at the Vancity Theatre
1181 Seymour Street (corner of Davie)
Screening begins at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7 pm)
Ticket reservations: email dorothy_s@telus.net or call 604-684-4528 by April 13 (noon)

Panel discussion guests TBA Moderator: Colin Browne

DEAD RINGERS is one of Cronenberg’s most important features, receiving both critical and commercial success during its original release. This landmark psychological drama serves as a bridge between David’s early horror films and his more celebrated adaptations. Loosely based on true events, DEAD RINGERS tells the story of identical twin gynecologists—suave Elliot and sensitive Beverly, (played by Jeremy Irons)—who share the same practice, the same apartment, and the same women. When a new patient, glamorous actress Claire Niveau (Genevieve Bujold), challenges their eerie bond, they descend into a whirlpool of sexual confusion, drugs, and madness. Jeremy Irons’ tour-de-force performance—as both twins—raises disturbing questions about the nature of personal identity.

Winner of 10 Genie Awards (Best Motion Picture, Best Director & Best Lead Actor, Best Art Direction/Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Music Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Editing, Best Overall Sound) and numerous international film awards including the Los Angeles Film Critics award for Best Director and Best Supporting Actress and the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Actor.

A truly original director, David Cronenberg has directed films that have the unnerving ability to delve into society's collective unconscious and dredge up all of the perverse, suppressed desires of modern life. Underlying all of Cronenberg's work is a queasy exploration of the edges of human physiology, psychology, and sexuality. Following the success of A History of Violence, Cronenberg’s next feature is the satirical drama Maps to the Stars, followed by Eastern Promises. He is also developing Dead Ringers into a TV series for HBO.

Please forward this message to anyone who may want to check out this Canadian Classic!

Moving Pictures and The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television are proud to present Canadian Classics, a film series highlighting award-winning films from the past. Future Canadian Classics presentation: June 8. For information on Moving Pictures, call 604-681-4549 or visit www.movingpictures.ca MOVING PICTURES: CANADIAN FILMS ON TOUR. Bringing Canadian films and creative talent to your community.
Watch it. Celebrate it. Learn about it.

Posted by Adam Fulford at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Director Ron Howard has rejected demands by controversial organization Opus Dei to attach a disclaimer before "The Da Vinci Code."

In a letter sent to filmmakers and Sony Pictures, last month, the ultra-conservative sect of the Roman Catholic Church demanded, that Howard put a disclaimer stating that it's a work of fiction. The director rejected that today telling the LA Times "It's not theology. It's not history. To start off with a disclaimer...Spy thrillers don't start off with disclaimers."

Ron Howard has opted to go without the disclaimer, claiming that since the book was a work of fiction, it goes without saying that the film is too.

"It's very controversial," he said. "What Dan Brown did with the novel, we didn't back away from in making the movie. I think what a lot of people have discovered--a lot of theologians--is this is a work of fiction that presents a set of characters that are affected by these conspiracy theories and ideas. Those characters in this work of fiction act and react on that premise."

This is the latest in a long line of pre-release controvesies for "The Da Vinci Code." It wraps it's thriller plot around the bloodline theory, based on the notion that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and that their children gave rise to a line of French royalty.

The book version of "The Da Vinci Code" doesn't paint Opus Dei in a favourable light. In Dan Brown's novel the organization comes off as a group of murderous, deceitful, power-hungry monks.

On The Web:
Da Vinci Code Movie
Imagine Entertainment (Producer)
Opus Dei

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 1:03 PM | Permalink

Conservative Christians have long been the loudest critics of Hollywood for profiting from violent or sexually graphic films that 'corrupt the young.' But Hollywood is starting to see that there is a market for films catering to those critics.

In a panel discussion on "What would Jesus direct?" at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, Jonathan Bock, head of a movie marketing company that specializes in religious audiences, said "On Sunday, 43 percent of America was in church." He added, "For studios to not recognize that's an audience is like them saying, 'We're not marketing movies to men.'"

He and the other panelists, which included a 20th Century Fox executive, said the turning point was "The Passion of the Christ." Two months before it's release, it was known as the least marketable film in Hollywood. But it went on to gross more than $370 million in the US.

While "The Passion" is credited with knocking down the door for religious-themed films in Hollywood, Bock said the growing interest was clearly linked to politics. He noted President George W. Bush, a born-again Christian, was elected twice with solid backing from conservative Christians.

On The Web:
More Detailed Story at Reuters

Tribeca Film Festival

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 12:30 PM | Permalink

Keifer Sutherland, who plays Jack Bauer on the hit TV series "24" says the movie version of the show will be shot in London.

Appearing on BBC One's "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross," Sutherland revealed his plans in an interview that airs tonight. "We're working on that," he said. "We'll shoot the film here. We're really excited about it."

He added, "In the US, 24 was slow to catch on but in the UK it was big so Fox stuck with it, so thank you Britain."

Kiefer Sutherland has starred in the Fox TV show for five seasons and just recently signed a $40 million deal for three more.

On The Web:
'24' Website at Fox
'24 Inside' (An official behind-the-scenes site. Watch an interview with the stars, producers even script coordinators on the show.)

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 11:52 AM | Permalink

One of the most legendary unproduced properties of the past twenty years may finally be coming to the screen this time next year. "I Am Legend", the post-apocalyptic Richard Matheson story of the last surviving human in a world populated by vampires and mutants was last produced as the Charlton Heston vehicle "The Omega Man" in 1971. Before that, Vincent Price starred in "Last Man on Earth" (1964).

In Matheson's novella, Robert Neville sees a pandemic slowly transform his town (and the entire world) into mutants and vampires until he is the only real human left. Eventually, Neville turns his fight for survival into a one-man vendetta against the new dominant species, hunting down the vampires as they sleep by day. By the end of the story, Neville has become the fearsome monster who stalks the daylight that all the new humans fear.

Matheson, who has penned many scripts from The Twilight Zone, Star Trek to his "Incredible Shrinking Man" and "What Dreams May Come", may not have foreseen that "I Am Legend" would wait until 2007 to be remade. Names such as Ridley Scott, Arnold Schwarzennegger, and Michael Bay have been attached. In recent years Will Smith has been the name most associated with the on-again-off-again project and, according to Variety, will finally be appearing in the film next year under Warner Bros. Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind", "The Da Vinci Code") is attached to rewrite a draft by Mark Protosevich ("The Cell" and "Poseidon").

Mark Protosevich draft of "I Am Legend" on JoBlo's Movie Scripts

Posted by Keith Loh at 1:02 PM | Permalink

As many movies aren’t making as much money at the box office as they used to, it may not be worth paying stars as much money as they’re currently getting. The latest Entertainment Weekly talks with studio execs who note that paying Jim Carry $25 million for Fun with Dick and Jane isn’t good business when the film made only $100 million at the box office and cost millions to market. Will Ferrell may have had his hits but paying him $20 million for Kicking and Screaming hurts the studios’ bottom line. The magazine points out that more stars will be forced to take responsibility for their flops by taking pay cuts and if their movies are profitable, they will get a cut of the profit. For stars like Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks, whose movies are almost always guaranteed hits, they are already reaping in the benefits of taking home a large cut of their movie’s profits but other actors like Nicole Kidman, who has had flop after flop (Bewitched, The Stepford Wives, to name a few), could lose out on what they are used to be getting.

Yahoo article on actor wage cuts
Entertainment Weekly website

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 6:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

"Waking Up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story," the biopic about the father of hockey great Wayne Gretzky has picked up several awards at The Alberta Film Awards.

Shot in Edmonton, where Wayne Gretzky spent many years playing hockey, the film picked up "Rosies" for best drama, best director and best cinematographer.

Lately Alberta has been attracting many film productions, including Brokeback Mountain and the recent Robin Williams film R.V. (Also shot in Vancouver)

The Rosies honour feature films, television shows and documentaries made in Alberta. There are 24 awards and 30 craft categories. They were presented at a gala Saturday in Edmonton hosted by the Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association.

On The Web:
More on 'The Rosies' at CBC
AMPIA Website

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 7:29 PM | Permalink

Paul Greengrass' "United 93", the docudrama about the doomed flight where passengers sought to retake control from hijackers in September 11th 2001 has opened to glowing reviews (and some outrage) this weekend. The film uses Greengrass' distinctive handheld style, using anecdotal and reported sources to reconstruct what occured on flight United 93 from its takeoff to eventual crash soon after terrorists seized the plane. The timing of the film's release, only five years after the momentous events of 9/11 has given the project a controversial tone early on but critics across the board have praised the film for a dignified, documentarian approach. Others have called it "harrowing" and deeply emotional. Rottentomatoes "Tomatometer" has given the film a 93% rating. Other reviews are mixed, wondering if the audience would really want to be taken back to the feeling of raw terror that only recently was seared into the memory of Americans.

Have you seen "United 93" yet? Are you planning to or not? Give us your opinion in our Vancouverscreenwriters forums.

Other Greengrass films:
The Bourne Supremacy
Bloody Sunday

Posted by Keith Loh at 1:09 PM | Permalink

In an interview with the Georgia Straight, the makers of the mercenary documentary "Shadow Company" describe how they were put off by the CBC / Telefilm submission process and went on to spend $100,000 of their own money and credit card debt to put togeth a film now attracting a decent amount of buzz. Nick Bicanic, a former software developer, and Jason Bourque, a VFS grad spent more than a year travelling to places such as Equatorial Guinea and Iraq exploring the murky world of corporate warriors. In describing why they were unable to interest the CBC, Bicanic told the Straight: “CBC had an open bias against private military contractors. They said they were only interested if we showed these guys in a bad light.”

More in the Georgia Straight and www.shadowcompanythemovie.com/ (including a trailer) .

Posted by Keith Loh at 7:34 AM | Permalink

It has been a good year for scary movies. The low-budget, low-risk films have filled the coffers of several Hollywood studios even while costlier films have proved, well, costly. On Monday two scary movies led the box-office list. The premiere of Silent Hill, based on the popular video game, led in ticket sales with $20.2 million, while last week's top film, the spoof Scary Movie 4, placed second with $16.8 million. Today's (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times observes that of this year's 25 top-grossing films, a quarter have been horror films. In an interview with the Times, Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian commented horror films and family films -- another genre that has proved to be successful this year -- get people out of their homes because they are "genres that people don't necessarily want to wait for the DVDs." Paramount Pictures President Gail Berman put it this way, "When you give people something they want, guess what? They come."

From the Internet Movie Database

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 8:03 PM | Permalink

Telefilm's newly hired chief Michael Jenkinson says there's no doubt Canadian movies are world class - he just wants to get more people out to see them.

He will officially become the federal cultural agency's feature film executive on May 15 and views his new job as an opportunity to get Canadian films to advance beyond the mere 1.2 per cent of the movie-theatre market they currently command.

Jenkinson's confident that margin can be improved, although he offered few specifics Monday on how he'll achieve such gains.

"Canadian filmmakers generally enjoy a world-class reputation for originality, vision, craft," he said during a chat with reporters. "The difficulty in reaching Canadian audiences and achieving greater market share, I think there's an excellent base at this point for the solutions to that."

One change that Telefilm has made so far is taking the decision of which English language Canadian-made films get funding away from a committee and giving that responsibility to Jenkinson. Regional directors will still be extremely influential, though.

Last year, Telefilm's total budget for English and French projects was $80 million.

Born in Jamaica and raised in Toronto, Jenkinson graduated from the Canadian Film Centre, has an MBA from the University of Western Ontario and Osgoode Hall Law School. He worked at New York's Chase Manhattan Bank before moving to Hollywood where he became a vice-president of production and acquisitions for 20th Century Fox. He also founded his own production company, the Los Angeles-based Urban Entertainment.

On The Web:
Telefilm website

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 9:41 AM | Permalink

British commercial TV network ITV has snapped up the exclusive UK terrestrial rights to the James Bond movie 'Casino Royale' as well as new runs of the complete 22-title 007 archive. The deal with Sony Pictures Television Internationsl and MGM was secured Friday in what was an apparently tough bidding contest with Channel 4. It ensures ITV will continue its legacy as the traditional home of bond in the UK.

"ITV is delighted to have secured the rights to this hotly contested catalog of movies," said Simon Shaps, ITV director of television. "Films form a key part of the ITV schedules in both peak and off-peak hours, and we are looking forward to building upon the hugely successful relationship we have with Sony Pictures Television International and MGM."

"Casino Royale," penned by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade based on the novel by Ian Fleming, stars Daniel Craig and will be released in November in the UK

On The Web:
Casino Royale site
ITV Website

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 10:44 AM | Permalink

Charles Webb, 66, who wrote the novel on which Calder Willingham and Buck Henry screenplay was based, says that he is days away from being evicted from his flat in East Sussex. Webb originally sold the rights to his novel for $28,000 . "The Graduate" was brought to the screen in 1967 by Mike Nichols and went on to become a film icon. Webb says that he has had to care for his wife who had a nervous breakdown and hasn't been able to publish.

More in the CBC >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Director Frank Oz (Little Shop of Horrors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Stepford Wives) has signed on to direct the film 'Death At A Funeral' a farcical comedy penned by Dean Craig (Caffeine) and being produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.

The film, starring, Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice), Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) and Ewen Bremner (Match Point) is about a dysfunctional British family as they gather to mourn the passing of their patriarch. But when a man threatens to expose the patriarch's secret unless he is paid a princely sum, the man's two sons try to do everything to keep the secret from leaking to the guests, and what should be a heartfelt good-bye turns into a calamity.

He is looking forward to working on his first low-budget feature. "In the low-budget world, there is more pressure on speed but less pressure on the amount of money, meaning when you don't have enough money, you have to shoot faster," Oz said. "When you do have a lot of money, you don't have to shoot as fast, but the pressure is being responsible for the tremendous amount of money at your disposal."

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 9:50 PM | Permalink

Scents are being added to movies in select Japan theatres. Rather than having floral scents scenes that takes place gardens, during The New World with Collin Ferrell for example, a mix of peppermint and rosemary scents will accompany the heartrending moments and an orange and grapefruit citrus scent will symbolize joyful moments

Read the full article here

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Marvel and DC are really milking their libraries for everything they can get but in a time when comic sales don't make ends meet, I can't blame them. With a few exceptions (The Punisher, Fantastic Four) to name a couple, the quality of comic inspired movies has been high in recent years. Even one shot graphic novels like A History of Violence and V for Vendetta have been adapted well.

Now writer John Cox has been hired to write Sgt. Rock, an adaptation of DC Comics' World War II adventure series. Sgt. Frank Rock was the leader of his infantry unit, Easy Company. He first appeared in a 1959 issue of "Our Army at War." In 1977, with the character's steadily rising popularity, the comic was renamed "Sgt. Rock" and ran until 1988. Many writers such as Brian Helgeland, John Milius, David Peoples, Jeffrey Boam and Steven De Souza have attempted to write adaptations without getting studio approval so it may be a while before we see Sgt. Rock on the big screen.

Read full article at Comingsoon.net

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 12:12 AM | Permalink

The film on the life of hockey great Maurice 'The Rocket' Richard is set to hit 115 screens in English Canada April 21st. It's the biggest national release of a French-Canadian film in the history of Alliance Atlantis, the film's distributor. It has already made over $4 million in Quebec, and stands to earn more with a French re-release on 35 screens set to coincide with the English-subtitled debut.

'The Rocket' chronicles Richard's career up until the notorious 1955 riot caused by his NHL suspension. It opens opposite the Ontario-shot Silent Hill, which will launch on some 200 screens across the country.

On the Web:
'The Rocket' Official Site
Alliance Atlantis Website

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 8:06 AM | Permalink

Macleans' April 14th edition has a long article by longtime film critic Brian Johnson about the state of the English Canadian film industry. Don't skip it! It's an interesting view of the failure of Telefilm to fund features that Canadians actually want to see. In addition to interviews with the present head of Telefilm Wayne Clarkson, Johnson interviews Paul Gross (one of Canada's few recognizable domestic stars), producers Robert Lantos, Stephen Hegyes and Don Carmody. The article slams Telefilm for continuing to fund art pictures that followed the successes of Atom Egoyan on the festival circuit while refusing to produce more commercial films.

Gross argues that English Canadian cinema is wedded to an auteur model based on the early festival breakthroughs of some "really terrific filmmakers like Atom Egoyan." Then he adds, "It's been stuck in that mode for a while. Festivals are composed of audiences that you never see replicated in a normal theatre. We've hidden behind this intellectual rampart. And we end up in this perverse situation where we assign to any failed film a great deal of intellectual integrity."

These days, Telefilm is under siege from the heart of the industry. Victor Loewy, chairman of Alliance Atlantis's distribution arm, says, "The industry in English Canada is in total disarray. Its relationship with Telefilm is the worst I've seen in 34 years in the business." Robert Lantos, the country's most powerful producer, says Telefilm desperately needs to change its policies to recognize the realities of the marketplace. "Many, many millions of dollars," he says, "are being spent making allegedly theatrical films that don't play in theatres."

The article also reveals that Gross is producing and starring in a big budget WWI movie about Canada's efforts in Passchendaele.

Read it here >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 5:17 PM | Permalink

Hisao Kurosawa will launch a new filmmaking school in his famous father's name this September which will teach 80 students in 'the spirit' of the famed maker of "The Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon". The Tokyo-based Akira Kurosawa school will invite such film luminaries as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Abbas Kiarostami to lecture. Longtime Kurosawa contemporaries Tatsuya Nakadai (who is in more than a couple of the films at the current Samurai! festival at the Cinematheque) and screenwriter Teruyo Nogami will supervise.

More in the CBC >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 9:41 AM | Permalink

Alberta's funding for its Film Development Program has met with criticism from leading Albertan actors, producers and technicians. Although the 2006 budget increases funding by 10 per cent as an outright grant to $14.8 million, Albertan filmmakers were hoping for $20 million. The filmmakers argue that this year a substantial increase in funding applications will drain the fund, even with its increase.

More in the CBC >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 11:49 AM | Permalink

It hasn't been released yet, but the film adaptation of Dan Brown's novel 'The Da Vinci Code' is following in the controversial footsteps of it's written counterpart.

Now a religious group in Korea has applied for a provisional injunction to stop the release of the movie there. The Christian Council of Korea (CCK) filed an application in Seoul against Sony Pictures, the film's distributor, according to Screen International.

They say the film was "an insult and defamation" of the holiness of Jesus Christ and the Bible. Not a new allegation as other Christian groups in Europe also objected to the filming there several months ago.

Dan Brown's novel suggests that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child and their blood line lives on. A theory originally published in the book 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. They recently sued Random House, publisher of both books, for copyright infrigment and lost.

The film version, starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautau and Ian McKellen, is due to be released at Cannes May 17.

On the Web:
BBC New story about the possible ban
BBC News story about the copyright lawsuit
'The Da Vinci Code' film website
Dan Brown's Website
Random House Website

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 1:43 PM | Permalink

The co-writer and director of "George Lucas in Love" - Joe Nussbaum - has sold his comedy spec titled "Brad Cutter Ruined My Life...Again" to Warner Brothers Pictures.

Andrew Haas brought the script into De Line Pictures (Donald De Line will produce) while Dan Lin and Matt Reilly are overseeing things for Warner.

Logline: A successful young man's life is turned upside down when Brad Cutter, the cool kid from his high school, is hired at his company and begins to re-create the man's miserable teenage experience.

Nussbaum is represented by Endeavor, Principato-Young and attorney Karl Austen.

On the web:
Joe Nussbaum at Internet Movie Database
Warner Brothers Online

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 11:12 PM | Permalink

A French screenwriter is suing the makers of Oscar-winning oil thriller Syriana over allegations of plagiarism.

Stephanie Vergniault has filed legal action against Warner Bros, George Clooney's production company Section Eight and director Stephen Gaghan.

Ms Vergniault claims Syriana copied entire scenes from a script she wrote called Oversight.

A spokesman for Warner Bros said the case was "without merit", adding: "We will defend our position in court".

Clooney won a best supporting actor Oscar this year for his role in the political thriller about people involved in the oil industry and those affected by the world's need for oil.

Book inspiration

Ms Vergniault says she saw the film after being alerted by a friend and alleges at least 15 scenes were lifted from a script she developed between 1997 and 2003.

She said that she had read the book by CIA agent Robert Baer which director Gaghan said heavily inspired his film. But she added it did not resemble any of the movie's scenes that she claims were copied from her script.

Ms Vergniault said she is "furious" over the alleged plagiarism and is seeking two million euros (£1.4m) in damages.

Gaghan, who wrote the screenplay for Traffic, originally entered the film into the best adapted screenplay Oscar category but organisers moved it to into the original screenplay section.

The director admitted he did veer from Robert Baer's See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism, but he still considered his work to be an adapted screenplay.

From BBC News

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 2:15 AM | Permalink

A theatre in New York has pulled the trailer for United 93, the upcoming film about the United Airlines flight that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

The AMC Loews Lincoln Square 12 theatre in Manhattan made the decision last weekend after receiving complaints from patrons, who felt the movie advertisement was too upsetting.

"I don't think people are ready for this," Kevin Adjodha, the theatre's manager, told U.S. media.

Instead of the trailer, other movie theatres have opted to screen a short promotional feature about the making of United 93.

However, Universal Studios, the studio behind the film, said it would continue to screen the trailer in advance of the film's North American theatrical release date of April 28.

Adam Fogelson, Universal's president of marketing, told the New York Times that the trailer is only to be shown before movies with an R-rating or "grown-up" PG-13 films.

"If I sanitized the trailer beyond what's there, am I suggesting that the experience will be less real than what the movie itself is? We as a company feel comfortable that it is a responsible and fair way to show what's coming," he told the Times.

"The film is not sanitized or softened, it's an honest and real look" at what happened on Flight 93, he said.

Last week, the filmmakers announced that 10 per cent of the box office gross from the movie's first three days in theatres will be donated to an upcoming memorial to the passengers of the flight.

United Airlines Flight 93 crashed as the passengers attempted to seize control of the cockpit from hijackers, who had commandeered the plane as part of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The hijacking has previously been dramatized in the made-for-TV movie Flight 93, which aired on U.S. network A&E in January, and in the documentary The Flight That Fought Back.

Directed by British filmmaker Paul Greengrass, United 93 will premiere on the opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival, which actor Robert DeNiro helped create in 2002 to help Manhattan recover from the Sept. 11 attacks. The festival runs from April 25 through May 7.

United 93 is the first of several films about the Sept. 11 attacks scheduled to hit the big screen this year. Others include the documentary The Saint of 9/11 and the Oliver Stone film World Trade Center.

Read the Original Story at CBC News

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 12:26 PM | Permalink

By Jennifer Netherby from DVD Exclusive

King Kong aped its way to become the top-selling DVD in Universal Studios Home Entertainment history, surpassing sales of $100 million in its first six days in stores, the studio said Monday.

According to Universal, consumers bought 6.5 million discs through Sunday.

Although a record for Universal, the DVD release isn't close to being a record for the industry. Warner Home Video's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire sold 5 million discs its first day in stores.

Peter Jackson's King Kong remake has reached a worldwide theatrical gross of $550 million, making it one of Universal's top films behind Jurassic Park, E.T. and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

"Hands down, Peter Jackson's King Kong ranks as one of Universal's biggest and most successful cinematic triumphs of all time," USHE president Craig Kornblau said in a statement. "Home entertainment consumers recognize the singular-event status of this spectacular breakthrough motion picture, which has been further bolstered by the film's stunning technical achievements including its Oscar win for best visual effects."

Universal released the DVD in a single-disc version and a two-disc special collector's edition backed by a cross-promotional blitz with partners including Papa John's Pizza, Glad, Hostess, Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Microwave Popcorn, Kellogg's, Nestle, Toshiba, Chase and Kodak EasyShare.

Read the original article at the DVD Exclusive website

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 11:50 PM | Permalink

Hollywood to Sell Digital Versions of Films Online, a Step Toward Full Distribution Over Internet

By GARY GENTILE
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood studios will start selling digital versions of films such as "Brokeback Mountain" and "King Kong" on the Internet this week, the first time major movies have been available online to own.

The films can't be burned onto a disc for viewing on a DVD player. Still, the move is seen as a step toward full digital distribution of movies over the Internet.

Six studios said Monday that sales will begin through the download Web site Movielink. The site is jointly owned by five of the seven major studios.

Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and MGM will offer some first-run and older titles on Movielink. New films will be priced similar to DVDs between $20 and $30 while older titles will sell for $10 to $20.

In a separate announcement, Sony and Lionsgate said they will sell films through the CinemaNow site.

Films from The Walt Disney Co. will not be available, although both services say talks are ongoing.

"Digital delivery hasn't arrived until the major studios allow home ownership, and now they have and now digital delivery is very real," said Jim Ramo, chief executive at Movielink.

Studios will sell some new films online the same day they become available on DVD. Most films will be made available within 45 days.

Studios began renting films online several years ago as a way to combat illegal downloading. Movies have been available through the Internet 30 to 45 days after hitting video stores, with rentals lasting just 24 hours for viewing primarily on computer screens.

Digital delivery of video grew rapidly after Apple Computer Inc. began selling episodes of TV shows through its iTunes online store last October.

This year, devices powered by new Intel computer chips and TV service delivered over the Internet will allow more consumers to watch Web video on their TVs instead of their computer screens, a key factor in downloading to own, analysts said.

Studios are being cautious about selling films online in part because DVD sales produce more profit than box office receipts.

But studios are also preparing for the day when major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Amazon.com begin offering their own movie download services.

"The important thing is to embrace the future, respect the economics of DVD but move forward into digital delivery," said Ben Feingold, president of Worldwide Home Entertainment at Sony Pictures.

The films available on Movielink can be stored indefinitely on a computer hard drive or transferred to as many as two other computers. The movies can be played on a TV if the computer is part of a home network.

A copy can be burned to a DVD as a backup. Discs can be played on up three PCs authorized by Movielink but cannot be viewed on a standard DVD player because of special security coding.

Consumers will not be able to transfer the films from a PC or laptop to a handheld portable viewing device. But that capability should be available sometime within the next year, Ramo said.

Films on CinemaNow will be playable on just one computer. The company said it eventually expects studios to allow consumers to burn movies on DVD and transfer them to portable devices.

"This is a first step, but it is far from the final model," said Curt Marvis, chief executive of CinemaNow.

Read this AP Story at ABC News

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 2:25 PM | Permalink

The UK film magazine Empire has posted its list of the 50 Greatest "Independent" films on its website. Just making the the top 50 in spot 48 is Vincenzo Natali's Cube (1997), written by Natali and Andre Bijelic as part of the Canadian Film Centre's feature project that year. Cube has proven to be a cult favourite here and overseas. The story of a group of strangers who wake up in a prison that appears to be a series of interconnecting cube-shaped rooms, Cube features a lot of Canadian actors you'll recognize. It also is a hell of a concept and use of limited resources.

Read the rest of the 50 Greatest Independent Films on Empire's website here >>

Learn more about the Canadian Film Centre here >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 11:38 AM | Permalink

20th Century Fox's Ice Age: The Meltdown set a new record for a March opener with a massive $70.5 million from 3,964 theaters for an average of $17,785 per location. The animated-comedy beat the original Ice Age, which previously held the March record with $46.3 million and went on to earn $176 million. If the numbers hold when final figures are released Monday, it would tie The Incredibles for second-best animated debut ever behind the $108 million first weekend of Shrek 2. "The Meltdown" marks the biggest debut of 2006 so far at the North American box. The film features the voices Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Will Arnett, Josh Peck, Jay Leno and Queen Latifah.

Universal Pictures crime-drama Inside Man, starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster, dropped 46% and to the second spot with $5.7 million. Budgeted at about $45 million, the film has collected $52.8 million in two weeks.

Newcomer ATL, from Warner Bros. Pictures, debuted in the third spot with an estimated $12.5 million. The dramedy averaged a strong $7,830 in 1,602 theaters.

Paramount's Failure to Launch remained in the fourth spot, adding $6.6 million in its fourth weekend. The $50 million-budgeted romantic comedy, starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker, has earned an impressive $73.2 million so far.

Warner Bros.' V For Vendetta, starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving, rounded out the top five with $6.5 million. The $54 million-budgeted graphic novel has made $56 million in three weeks.

Two other wide releases bombed out of the gate. Universal's Slither, written and directed by James Gunn, earned just $3.7 million from 1,945 theaters for an average of $1,889, while Sharon Stone sequel Basic Instinct 2 made only $3.2 million from 1,453 locations, an average of $2,202.

The 2005 Sundance Film Festival hit Brick opened strongly in limited release, with $87,524 in two theaters. Focus Features plans to expand the Rian Johnson-directed film to more theaters this Friday.

Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.
Click here for the aricle on Comingsoon.net

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 7:31 PM | Permalink

Twentieth Century Fox has confirmed that popular animated TV series The Simpsons is to be made into a film.

The movie will be released in the United States in July 2007.

A 25-second trailer for the film has been shown to US audiences at screenings of Ice Age: The Meltdown, promising to introduce "the greatest hero in American history".

It then cut to Homer Simpson, wearing only his underwear, who admitted: "I forgot what I was supposed to say."

The Simpsons revolves around the antics of bald, beer-guzzling family man Homer and his spiky-haired son Bart.

It is the longest-running prime-time entertainment series on television in the US and a worldwide hit.

It is currently in its 17th season, and last month, US network Fox confirmed it had commissioned two more series.

This ensured the show would stay on screens until at least 2008.

There has long been speculation about whether it would be turned into a film.

Creator Matt Groening said last year that the animated hit would keep going as long as he and his colleagues could keep generating fresh ideas.

"That's what you're looking for in television - surprise," he added.

Read the original story at BBC News

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 1:39 AM | Permalink

Think you already know what ''ATL'' is about, from the trailer? Think again, says Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum

You know how sometimes you watch a movie trailer on TV, and you know without a doubt that you're seeing everything you need to know about the entire story, compacted into 90 seconds? And you know you might as well skip the 90-minute version, because if the trailer contains the best stuff, then what's left to fill the not-so-best spaces? (Yes, I'm talking about Failure to Launch.)

The trailer for ATL that's been popping up all over the place this past week isn't that kind of promotional killjoy, but it's something just as confounding — an ad that hides the movie's biggest asset: Contrary to what you see on TV, this is a movie about roller-skating. That's right — while the coming attractions hint at inner-city trouble and rudderless young men, about the most dangerous activity most of them engage in is the flashy choreography with which teams of young African-American Atlantans zip around an '80s-style rink.

Why keep such joy a secret? (The skate-offs are the best thing in the movie.) Why make the title such a translation challenge? (It's pronounced aaayyy teee elll, as in the abbreviation for Atlanta, not attul, which sounds like the next generation in computer programming.)

Well, I've spilled the beans.

Link to the article on Entertainment Weekly's website

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 6:31 PM | Permalink

The Pacific Cinematheque is showing classic and lesser-known samurai films for the next two weeks. Viewers may be familiar with Akira Kurosawa's films of which three are shown here but may not be familiar with the work of others in the ouvre including Kihachi Okamoto and Masaki Kobayashi who at the time were considered Kurosawa's peers. I highly recommend two of these lesser known films: Sword of Doom and Harakiri.

In Kihachi Okamoto's Sword of Doom a swordsman discovers that his talent for killing leads him to even greater depravity after he murders a peasant without penalty. Soon he becomes involved in a rebel plot but his fellow conspirators have no idea the depths to which he has sunk.

I consider Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri every bit as good as Kurosawa's best known samurai works. At the beginning of Harakiri a destitute ronin arrives at the gate of a prosperous clan and demands that they assist him in commiting ritual suicide. Normally the clan would pay off the ronin but, annoyed at these constant scams, decide to force him to carry through with the suicide (even though he has only a bamboo sword!). Years later, another ronin arrives at their gates and demands the same. This time, however, the story ends differently ...

Both Sword of Doom and Harakiri have magnificent photography and deep, interesting characters. Like Kurosawa, both Masaki Kobayashi and Kihachi Okamoto are masters of dynamic camera movement and framing.

These films and many others are being screened right now at the Pacific Cinematheque (1131 Howe Street). Go to their website for more details >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 12:16 PM | Permalink

By Thomas K. Arnold

Taking the concept of direct-to-video a step further than the flurry of recent sequels to theatrical movies, Warner Home Video on Thursday announced a branded line of video premieres.

All the films in the "Raw Feed" series will be edgy, hip thrillers, "a little bit Alfred Hitchcock meets 'The Twilight Zone,"' according to Warner Home Video senior vp theatrical catalog Jeff Baker.

Baker said this marks the first time Warner Home Video has gone outside of its own library product to develop and produce a line of movies.

"We believe there is a market for direct-to-video if the content is compelling and interesting," Baker said. "It's really a question of how you portray them in packaging and marketing and creating awareness."

In keeping with the films' cutting-edge feel, Baker said, marketing will focus on the Internet and on streaming content to Web sites and portable entertainment devices.

The first "Raw Feed" film, "Rest Stop," about a young couple terrorized while on a cross-country trip, is slated to begin production Monday. It's written by John Shiban, an Emmy-nominated writer-producer who is co-executive producing the WB Network's "Supernatural."

Link To The Original Reuters Story at Yahoo

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 11:29 AM | Permalink

Telefilm Canada has just released a summary of the findings of its Focus Group on the English Canadian Feature film market (held in January). The summary finds that the market for domestic film in general stayed at 5% in 2005 but the majority of this continued to be French-language. To address this Telefilm called together a group of distributors and producers to determine what could be done. One of the questions the participants were asked was what elements determined their choice to distribute or develop a feature. Top on their list was a good script.

This summary is now up on Telefilm's website here.

Posted by Keith Loh at 7:58 AM | Permalink

Bob Saget's spoof Farce of the Penguins has begun to attract major talent in the starring voiceover roles as well as a veritable Who's Who of comedy in its many cameos. Samuel L. Jackson has been signed to narrate the picture. Lewis Black, Mo'Nique, and Tracy Morgan will voice the three lead penguins along with writer/director Saget, who will play the lovelorn main character. The parody of the Academy Award-winning documentary of similar name is produced by David Permut and Saget for THINKFilm.

Saget has also gathered a number of his friends and colleagues in cameo roles, including (in alphabetical order): Jason Alexander, James Belushi, Jason Biggs, Dane Cook, Norm Crosby, Dave Coulier, Adam Duritz, Harvey Fierstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Gilbert Gottfried, Alyson Hannigan, Penn Jillette, Jaime Kennedy, David Koechner, Lori Loughlin, Jon Lovitz, Norm Macdonald, Carlos Mencia, Jeffrey Ross, Jonathan Silverman, John Stamos, and Abe Vigoda. According to Saget, "There are more cameos to come. I'm fortunate to know a lot of incredibly talented people and they all want to be a penguin."

Saget says, "One of the gifts is Samuel Jackson narrating our film. He's a brilliant actor who will bring so much to this film comedically. I'm truly privileged that he is the voice that tells our story and that he is such an incredibly funny and dimensioned character. Lewis Black, Mo'Nique, and Tracy Morgan brought such individually brilliant comedic voices; I thought I'd written an irreverent script until each of them had their way with it!"

Jackson will appear next in Snakes on a Plane and Black Snake Moan, Craig Brewer's much anticipated follow-up to Hustle & Flow. Lewis Black is currently filming Unaccompanied Minors in Utah. Mo'Nique stars next in Phat Girlz. Tracy Morgan is currently filming the Wayans Brothers' picture Little Man.

Farce of the Penguins is a comedic wildlife adventure/love story that combines spectacular live-action penguin footage with an irreverent and decidedly R-rated theme and soundtrack. The story concerns one penguin's search for love while on a 70-mile trek with his libidinous buddies on their way to a hedonistic mating ritual.

Saget says, "The idea for this is pretty simple -- I was watching the 'March' movie at a screening at my friend's house, and being the adolescent that I am, I couldn't stop doing the voice-overs of the penguins, reminiscent of when I did those animal voices on that video show back in the day. I told my friend, David Permut, and he said, there's a great comedy movie in this!"

Fully financed by THINKFilm, Farce of the Penguins is a co-production with Permut Presentations, Inc. and Bob Saget's Two Angels Productions. Steve Longi, Permut Presentations VP of Production, and Elliot Rosenblatt co-produce. Michael R. Miller (Ghost World, Raising Arizona) edits. The film opens in theaters this summer.

View the original story at Comingsoon.net
Link to Farce of the Penguins movie poster

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 11:54 PM | Permalink

Nearly five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, "United 93," about one of the doomed flights that day, will make its world premiere on opening night at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The festival, which was created to help lower Manhattan recover economically from the attacks, begins April 25 and runs through May 7.

"United 93" chronicles in real time the hijacked United Airlines flight, which passengers tried to retake before it crashed into a field outside Shanksville, Pa.

Paul Greengrass ("Bloody Sunday," "The Bourne Supremacy") wrote and directed the movie, which is scheduled to open in theaters April 28. The victims' survivors, as well as members of other Sept. 11-related groups, will have a chance to see the film ahead of time at the premiere.

"9/11 changed us, in indescribable personal ways, but also by forever altering our downtown community," festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal said Wednesday in announcing the selection. "As we enter our fifth festival, we are honored to showcase a film that portrays a story of bravery and sacrifice of the men and women who dedicated their lives that day aboard United Flight 93. We are humbled to host their families, first responders, and others who were most profoundly affected that day."

A made-for-TV movie about the hijacking, "Flight 93," was the most-watched program ever on A&E when it aired two months ago, drawing 5.9 million viewers.

Link to Original Article at Yahoo!
Tribeca Film Festival

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 9:30 PM | Permalink