All Articles

Well Thank Ya Very Much

Rita Reaching Texas

NYFF Opening Night: GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

Steven Soderbergh Teams with Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban to Create New Distribution Model

Steven Soderbergh has teamed up with entertainment entrepreneurs Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban, partners in 2929 Prods. and HDNet Films, to create a revolutionary new distribution model. The idea behind the collaboration is to make a vertically- integrated studio that will cut the gaps between theater, DVD and high-definition cable distribution release times for a single film. Soderbergh's new film "Bubble," a small-town murder mystery shot in digital with a budget of only $1.6 million, will be the first example of this new distribution model at work. "HDNet Films agreed to finance and distribute six high-definition video movies directed by Sod...

four point friday

ACL Fest Preview

IFP Week 2005.2

Focus Gets "Opal Dream"

Focus Features has announced its acquisition of North American rights to Peter Cattaneo's "Opal Dream". The company is planning a 2006 release for the family film from the director of "The Full Monty". The film is described as "the touching story of a young girl, Kellyanne (Sapphire Boyce) whose unshakable faith in her two imaginary friends resonates through her small hometown in the Australian Outback." It is based on Ben Rice's novella, "Pobby & Dingan" and adapted by Cattaneo. The film was produced by Lizie Gower and Nick Morris (for their London-based Academy Features) and Emile Sherman (for his Australia-based Sherman Pictures), in assoc...

FIND Sets $20 Million Ceiling For Spirit Awards

With a new ceiling for eligible films set at $20 million, Film Independent in Los Angeles has announced the call for entries for the 21st Independent Spirit Awards. In a statement yesterday, group head Dawn Hudson said that the new ceiling "gave the committee wide latitude in choosing original, prov...