SF Chronicle: Happy birthday, Woody Allen

Woody Allen turns 70 today, and the weakness -- or, in some cases, the comparative weakness -- of his recent films obscures the fact this is one of the great American filmmakers. We take him for granted, think of him as a cottage industry producing little boutique films, one a year, like clockwork. But since 1969, he has racked up so many masterpieces, so many near-masterpieces and so many just plain good movies that there's no denying his place among the great writer-directors: Sturges, Welles, Keaton, Chaplin. Mick LaSalle reports. 
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Reuters: MTV makes AIDS film and offers it for free

MTV, whose inception in 1981 coincided with the first reported case of AIDS, has made a film and released it to broadcasters for free on Thursday to educate young people about the epidemic. The feature-length "Transit" tells the story of eight young people whose lives are intertwined, and through a surprising twist highlights the danger of contracting the HIV virus even when it seems there is little risk. Reuters reports. 
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Reuters: Philippine gay romance wins Asian film fest honors

"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros," a gay love story set between the squalor and corruption of Manila slums and the corridors of law and order, won best film at the inaugural Asian Festival of 1st Films in Singapore Wednesday. The Philippine film was directed by Raymond Lee and Auraeus Solito. The festival's director prize went to China's Xiao Jiang for "Electric Shadows," a story set in pre-television China, when movie audiences in a village shared hopes, dreams and lives. Janine Stein reports. 
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Lawrence Kasdan to Receive 2006 Screen Laurel Award

Lawrence Kasdan will be honored with a Screen Laurel Award at the 2006 Writers Guild Awards. The Writers Guild of America presents the award to someone who has "advanced the literature of the motion picture and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter." The first screenplay that Kasdan sold was for the movie "The Bodyguard." He wrote the screenplay for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and co-wrote the screenplays for "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." Kasdan also directed from screenplays that he wrote or co-wrote, including the movies "The Big Chill," "The Accidental Tourist" and "Mumford." The Writers Guild of America, west, will hold its awards ceremony February 4, 2006, in Los Angeles. [M.L. Liu] 
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IDFA Award Nominees

From the IDFA website, the nominees for this year's IDFA prizes are: For the VPRO Joris Ivens Award - the best long documentary: "China Blue" by Micha X. Peled (USA, 2005), "My Grandmother's House" by Adan Aliaga (Spain, 2005), and "Le Voyage des Femmes de Zartale" by Claude Mourieras (France, 2004). For the Silver Wolf, the award for the best short documentary: "Before flying back to the Earth" by Arunas Matelis, (Lithuania, Germany, 2005), "Chicken Elections" by Goran Radovanovic (Serbia, Montenegro, 2005) and "Svyato" by Victor Kossakovsky (Russia, 2005). And nominations for the First Appearance Award, the best debut, are: "The Angelmakers" by Astrid Bussink (Scotland, Hungary, The Netherlands, 2005), "Shadya" by Roy Westler (Israel, 2005) and "Try to Remember" by Jian Zhong (China, 2005).  
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Weinstein Company Takes Rights to Produce "The Equalizer"

The Weinstein Company has acquired the rights to develop and produce a feature film based on the original hit television series "The Equalizer" in which Robert McCall, a veteran covert operative seeking redemption for his darker exploits, quits a CIA-like agency and puts an advertisement in the newspaper that reads, "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call 'The Equalizer.'" The announcement was made today by Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company. Mace Neufeld ("The Sum of All Fears," and "Clear and Present Danger") Tony Eldridge and Michael Sloan will serve as producers on the film. The rights were acquired from Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, the original creators of the television series "The Equalizer." Eric Robinson and Brenden Deneen will oversee production on behalf of The Weinstein Company. No director or cast has been attached to the project yet. [Brian Brooks] 
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AP: Rampling to Head Berlin Film Fest Jury

Charlotte Rampling will head the jury at next year's Berlin International Film Festival, which will run Feb. 9-19. Rampling "has come to stand for unconventional and memorable cinema," festival director Dieter Kosslick said Wednesday. The 59-year-old actress has starred in films such as Francois Ozon's "Swimming Pool," Dominik Moll's "Lemming" and Laurent Cantet's "Heading South." AP reports. 
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Program Additions at Gen Art

Gen Art, which organizes an annual film festival, recently announced some program additions. The group will begin hosting Cinema Circles for its top members. These will be special quarterly screenings followed by a discussion with cast and crew. For the 11th edition of its film festival, Gen Art is introducing the Stargazer Award for excellence in acting. Gen Art has also released the names of those on its 2006 film festival programming committee: Jake Abraham (producer, InDigEnt), Will Battersby (partner/producer, Safe House Pictures), Sofia Sondervan (senior vice president, feature films for Sony BMG), Linda Maglionico (festival freelancer and screener), Susan Buice (co-director of "Four Eyed Monsters," the official selection of GAFF 2005), Nevette Previd (founder, Previd Consulting) and Jack Turner (partner/producer, Severance Pictures). GAFF showcases seven features and seven shorts by emerging independent North American filmmakers. [M.L. Liu] 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Gray Named VP at IFC

IFC has promoted Elektra Gray to the position of Vice President of Consumer Public Relations, the company announced today. She was previously the Director of PR for IFC and joined the company in 1999. She will report to Ellen Kroner, the SVP of Corporate Communications and Marketing for Rainbow Media. 
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Slamdance To Kick Off With Clark's "Rockers"

Larry Clark's "Wassup Rockers," which debuted this fall at the Toronto International Film Festival, will open the 12th Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, UT on January 19th. The film described as "a skateboarding odyssey about a group of Latino teens who leave their East Los Angeles neighborhood to explore the wilds of Beverly Hills." The festival will return to the Treasure Mountain Inn on Main Street, running through January 27th and coinciding with the Sundance fest. The festival's lineup will be announced on Tuesday, December 6th at an event in Los Angeles. 
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Downey, Dawson Star in Sundance Entries

Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.

Ashley Judd, Robert Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson, Paul Giamatti, Maggie Gyllenhaal and singer Tom Waits are among the stars appearing in movies competing for top honors at January's Sundance Film Festival. On Monday, festival organizers announced 64 films that will play at the Park City, Utah, festival that runs Jan. 19-29, including "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints," starring Downey, Dawson, Chazz Palmintieri and Dianne Wiest in a drama set on the tough 1980s streets of New York City's Astoria neighborhood. A.P. reports. 
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'Memoirs of a Geisha' Premieres in Japan

For an American film starring a Chinese actress in a Japanese role, "Memoirs of a Geisha" picked a tough town for its world premiere. The film version of the best-selling novel of the same title debuted Tuesday in Tokyo to mixed reactions fueled by concerns of cultural authenticity. The film is rife with international credentials, but that global touch has many questioning: Can Chinese actresses accurately portray the subtleties of Japanese culture? Can an American director working from an American novel do justice to a geisha tradition that is largely misunderstood outside of Japan? A.P. reports. 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Tusk Joins HDNet Films

Mark Tusk has been named head of development at HD Net Films. reporting to company heads Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente. Tusk joined Miramax as manager of acquistions in 1988, and in 1996 joined New Line as SVP of Production, leaving a few years ago to work as a photographer.  
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The Top Ten, so far...

Each Monday, indieWIRE compiles the final weekend numbers for specialty releases in theaters. This is our top ten for the past weekend so far, with most numbers already in. The top ten is subject to change before the final chart is published tomorrow and the weekly box office column is written. 1. "The Libertine" (The Weinstein Company) - $26,800 wknd ($13,400 per scrn) 2. "Breakfast on Pluto" (Sony Classics) - $28,783 wknd ($9,594 per scrn) 3. "The Syrian Bride" (Koch Lorber) - $9,010 wknd ($9,010 per scrn) 4. "Pride And Prejudice" (Focus) - $7,158,119 wknd ($5,150 per scrn) 5. " Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic" (Roadside) - $134,631 wknd (4,808 per scrn) 6. "Blackmail Boy" (Picture This!) - $4,686 wknd ($4,686 per scrn) 7. "The Squid and the Whale" (Goldwyn/Sony) - $353,584 wknd (4,312 per scrn) 8. " Streets of Legend" (Lions Gate) - $4,825 wknd ($3,769 per scrn) 9. "Ballets Russes" (Zeitgeist) - $46,590 wknd (3,584 per scrn) 10. Before the Fall" (Picture This!) - $7,086 wknd (3,543 per scrn) 
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Sundance '06 Lineup Coming Soon...

Sundance Film Festival organizers will unveil the feature film lineup for the 2006 event early this week. Planners intend to reveal the American and World Competition films on Tuesday, November 29th at 1:00 a.m. ET, followed by the announcement of the Spectrum, Frontier and Park City at Midnight lineups on Wednesday, November 30th at 1:00 a.m. ET. On Thursday, December 1st at 1:00 a.m. ET, the Premiere's Feature Film list is scheduled to be unveiled. The festival's short film lineup will be released on Monday, December 5th, according to festival organizers. indieWIRE will have comprehensive coverage of the announcements when they are officially made public. Regular coverage leading up to the festival is published in indieWIRE's special Park City section. 
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"Hedwig" at IFC Center

John Cameron Mitchell offers, in an email to friends and colleagues this weekend, that his film "Hedwig & The Angry Inch" will be screening at midnight this Friday and Saturday at the IFC Center in New York. He said in the email that he will be at both screenings, which will include a costume contest and "some fun surprises." 
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"Capote" Tops $9 Million, "Squid" Passes $3 Million

Bennett Miller's "Capote" topped the $9 million based on weekend box office estimates, in its 9th week of theatrical release. The film made an estimated $1,043,347 on 261 screens, for a per screen average of 3,997, according to Sony Pictures Classics. Thats an estimated cume of 9,174,538. Meanwhile in its eighth week of release, Noah Baumbach's "The Squid and the Whale" has passed the $3 million mark, according to estimates from IDP. The film (from Samuel Goldwyn Films/Sony Pictures Entertainment) made an estimated $378,526 on 82 screens, for an average of $4,613 and an estimated total so far of $3,304,302. {Eugene Hernandez] 
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BBC: Argentine win at Swedish festival

Argentinian director Juan Diego Solanas has won the top prize at the Stockholm International Film Festival. Solanas, 39, beat off competition from 17 other films to take the Bronze Horse trophy for "Nordeste" (Northeast). The film, which stars French actress Carol Bouquet as a wealthy woman who travels to Argentina to adopt a baby, explores the child trafficking trade. The 16th Stockholm Film Festival - which ends on Sunday - has showcased 160 films from nearly 40 countries. BBC reports. 
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The Guardian: Bell De Jour

Jamie Bell can trace his first "Billy Elliot" moment back to a throwaway comment on a bus in Teesside, England. Now, he has shed his boy-dancer alter ego, thanks to a handful of coming-of-age movies and a run-in with "King Kong." So why does he need eight mentors and a second family, asks Chrissy Iley. 
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