"Walking on the Wild Side," "The Dog Pound" and "Old Joy" Take Rotterdam Tigers

Awards for the 35th International Film Festival Rotterdam were announced Friday evening Dutch time. The three VPRO Tiger Awards were presented to "Walking on the Wild Side" (Lia Xiao Zi) by Han Jie (China, France), "The Dog Pound" (La Perrera) by Manuel Nieto Zas (Uruguay, Argentina, Canada, Spain), and "Old Joy" by Kelly Reichardt (United States). Each VPRO Tiger Award comes with a prize of 10,000 euros and guaranteed broadcast by Dutch public television network VPRO. The jury of the international association of film critics FIPRESCI awarded its prize to "Madeinusa" by Claudia Llosa (Peru, Spain). Fourteen films by first or second filmmakers competed in the VPRO Tiger Awards competition. The Tiscali Audience Award will be announced Saturday. [Brian Brooks] 
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"Saint Ralph," "Crash" Win Kudos at Cinematheque Ontario

At an award ceremony held Thursday night at Cinematheque Ontario organized by Film Circuit, the 2005 Mackenzie Investments Film Circuit People's Choice Awards were presented to writer/director Michael McGowan's "Saint Ralph" for best Canadian film and director Paul Haggis' "Crash" for best international film. Mackenzie Investments has been a sponsor of Film Circuit, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group since September, 2005. Founded in 1992, Film Circuit has been bringing Canadian and international films to smaller communities across Canada reaching over 350,000 film fans annually at nearly 3,000 screenings in 176 circuit centers across Canada. [Brian Brooks] 
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American Cinematheque to Present Best of Slamdance '06

The American Cinematheque's "The Alternative Screen: Independent Film Showcase" presents two evenings of award winners from the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival on Thursday, February 9th and 16th. Each program will begin at 7:30pm and will feature different films (shorts and features, narratives and documentaries). The Thursday, February 9th program is a 7:30pm screening of the grand jury award for best documentary,"Empire in Africa," which made its world premiere at Slamdance. Directed by Philippe Diaz, the film is the story of the unjust war the international community waged against civil war stricken Sierra Leone. The Thursday, February 16th program is a 7:30pm screening of the grand jury prizewinner for best narrative feature, "We Go Way Back," which also made its world debut at Slamdance. The film is wrtten and directed by Seattle-based filmmaker Lynn Shelton about 23-year-oldold actress Kate, whose adolescence has robbed of her bearings and her boundaries. Can a surreal confrontation with her 13-year-old self redeem her? For more information, visit their website. [Brian Brooks] 
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MoMA to Present "Global Lens 2006"

The Museum of Modern Art will present Global Lens 2006, its third annual exhibition of world cinema in collaboration with the Global Film Initiative, a New York-based organization established to promote cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema. As the New York venue for the nationally touring film exhibition, which will be presented February 3-20 in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, the museum will present eight fiction features and five short fiction films from countries with developing and emergent film cultures. Among the features are "La Nuit de la verite" (The Night of Truth, 2004), a contemporary film from Burkina Faso that explores tribal hatred and bitterness in an unnamed African country, and "Cinema, aspirinas e urubus" (Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures, 2004), a quixotic road trip set in 1942 Brazil. For more information and a full list of films, visit MoMA's website. [Brian Brooks] 
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IFC News Covers indieWIRE Presents: Meet the Film Bloggers

IFC News was on hand at the Apple Store Soho this past December for the monthly event, indieWIRE: Presents - Meet the Film Bloggers, where indieWIRE brought together some of our favorite film bloggers to discuss how they cover movies. The news segment, which is currently airing on The Independent Film Channel, can also be viewed here. (indieWIRE: Presents will return to Apple Store Soho this Spring.)  
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Intrepid Pictures Names New Execs for Financing and Development

Intrepid Pictures, the newly formed independent production and film financing company, has named two senior executives in charge of finance and development of all feature film projects for the company's multi-year production and co-financing deal with Rogue Pictures and Universal Pictures. Intrepid principals and founders Trevor Macy and Marc Evans announced today that Jonathan Fischer will serve as CFO and Katherine Brown as VP of development. Fischer will be responsible for all finance, strategic planning, investor relations, and management of Intrepid's revolving senior credit facility led by JP Morgan Chase. Brown will be responsible for sourcing, development, and creative oversight of all feature film projects. Additionally, Brown will facilitate the company's goal of co-financing and producing 20 feature films in the thriller, horror, comedy, and action genres. [Brian Brooks]  
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H'Wood Reporter: Marilyn Manson playing author in "Wonderland"

Rocker Marilyn Manson will play "Alice in Wonderland" author Lewis Carroll in a movie that also marks his writing and directing debut. Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, is heading to the upcoming Berlin Film Festival's European Film Market to drum up financial support for "Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll," which is budgeted at about $4.2 million. "It's a kind of art house horror; what people expect from Manson, they're going to get here," said the film's producer, Alain de la Mata of French sales company Wild Bunch. Scott Roxborough reports. 
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"Enron" Wins Writers Guild Screenplay Award

The documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" has won the Writers Guild award for documentary screenplay. The prize recognized writer Alex Gibney, who also produced and directed the film. It came Wednesday, two days into the much-awaited criminal trial of former Enron Corp. executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling in Houston. A jury is to decide whether Lay and Skilling orchestrated the accounting scheme that crashed Enron, once the seventh-largest company in the country, in December 2001. "I'm delighted to get this award," Gibney told The Associated Press after accepting his prize in a ceremony at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. "I also think that with the trial beginning, I hope it will shed some light on the kind of morality tale that Enron has become in the late part of the 20th century." AP reports. 
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New Screen Television Presents Inaugural New Vision Awards

New Screen Television announced the winners of its inaugural New Vision Awards. The awards are presented annually to recognize "outstanding works from the yearly broadcast schedule of New Screen TV." All works broadcast by New Screen TV are automatically eligible and entered in to consideration for the awards. The winners are: Grand Prize for best film "The Adventures of Mad Matt" ($7,500) by Scott Rice (Austin, TX); Best Drama Prize ($2,000) “Stealing Innocence” by Nancy Stein (CA); Best Documentary Prize ($2,000) "Vieques: Worth Every Bit of Struggle" by Mary Patierno (MA); Best Animation Prize ($2,000) "Fan" by Lori Samsel (NY); Best Fine Art Prize ($2,000) "2am - Two Around the Mountain" by Luis Cantillo and Lina Dorado (NY); Best Student Production Prize ($2,000) "Andy" by Terence Healy (OR). [Brian Brooks]  
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"Fearless" Set for Rogue Release

Rogue Pictures will distribute Jet Li's final martial arts picture, "Fearless," directed by Ronny Yu. It is described by Rogue parent, Focus Features as featuring Li in the role of "real-life martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia, who became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. He faced incredible personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, forever defining himself at a tournament for the honor of his country and the true spirit of martial arts." Action director Yuen Wo Ping choreographed the movie. The film opened last week, timed to the Chinese New Year, in Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

AFP: Clooney, Streep, Heath Ledger expected at Berlin Film Festival

George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Heath Ledger are among the stars expected to grace the red carpet at next month's Berlinale, the first major European film festival of the year. Festival director Dieter Kosslick said the 56th Berlinale, running February 9 - 19, would blend silver-screen glamor with an unflinching look at issues ranging from the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay to women's rights in Iran. "The films this year are very political and realistic across the board," Kosslick told reporters on Monday. "The focus is on real people's problems and less on fantasy." Clooney, a frequent Berlinale guest, will be coming to promote "Syriana," a thriller on the global oil industry in which he stars as a CIA operative. Ledger will appear as a drug addict in "Candy," one of the films in competition for the Golden Bear top prize. Agence France Presse reports. 
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AFP: "Secret Life of Words" wins best film at Spain's Goya awards

Spanish film director Isabel Coixet's "The Secret Life of Words" (La Vida Secreta de las Palabras) reaped five awards, including that of best film, at the 20th edition of Spain's premier film awards, the Goya, in Madrid. The film, featuring American actors Tim Robbins and Sarah Polley, was also awarded best original screenplay on Sunday for its critically acclaimed tale of different characters and events on an oil platform. Tristan Bauer's "Iluminados por el Fuego" won the award for best foreign film, and Woody Allen's "Match Point" was selected as the best European film. AFP reports. 
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AFP: Portuguese film festival throws spotlight on mobile phone movies

Portugal has held its first-ever film festival featuring short movies made with mobile telephones, which are growing more and more popular around the world. More than 30 international films ranging in length from 30 seconds to 10 minutes were shown on a normal screen along with regular movies as part of the three-day "Olhares" festival which wrapped up Sunday. Organizers of the fourth annual event said they decided to make room for movies filmed with camera-equipped mobiles, dubbed "pocket films," this year to showcase the emerging form and consider what effect it may have on cinema. AFP reports. 
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AP: Weinstein Tells Magazine Dench Snubbed

Harvey Weinstein says Judi Dench was snubbed by three network talk shows because of her age while promoting "Mrs. Henderson Presents," according to New York magazine. Dench, 71, was nominated Tuesday for an Oscar for her performance in the film, which was distributed by Weinstein's new production company, The Weinstein Company. Weinstein, who co-founded Miramax Films, says Dench was turned down for interviews by NBC's "Today" show and ABC's "Good Morning America" and "The View." "They said that she didn't fit their demographics," the outspoken movie mogul tells the magazine in this week's issue. A.P. reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

"Son of the Mask," Tom Cruise Earn Razzie Nominations

Sequels and remakes dominated the nominations for this year's Razzie awards, which recognize the worst of Hollywood. "Son of the Mask" led with eight nominations, including worst picture, worst actor (Jamie Kennedy) and worst supporting actor (Alan Cumming and Bob Hoskins). "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo," "Dirty Love," "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "The House of Wax" were also nominated in the worst picture category. Tom Cruise was twice nominated in a new Razzie category, most tiresome tabloid targets. Cruise also received a worst actor nomination for his work in "War of the Worlds." Razzie recipients will be announced on March 4, a day before the Academy Awards ceremony. David Germain reports for the Chicago Sun-Times. 
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Independent Lens Online Shorts Festival

ITVS and PBS have announced the inaugural edition of the Independent Lens Online Shorts Festival, set to launch this fall. The festival seeks submissions in all genres of 10 minutes or less in length. The grand prize winning short will be broadcast on the PBS weekly anthology series Independent Lens, and 10 additional winners will be showcased online at PBS.org. Deadline for submissions is April 7. For more information, visit the Independent Lens Web site. [M.L. Liu] 
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Artist Nam June Paik Dies

Korean-born artist Nam June Paik has died at age 74. He is credited with "inventing video art in the 1960s by combining multiple TV screens with sculpture, music and live performers. ... 'He really led the development of a new art form, bringing the moving image into the modern art world,' said John Hanhardt, senior curator of film and media arts at the Guggenheim." Paik also referred to an "electronic super highway" in a 1974 report, decades before the Internet entered widespread use. Although Paik moved to New York in 1964, his artwork was shown in his native country including at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. The Nam June Paik Museum is currently in development in South Korea. AP reports. 
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A Chat With James Schamus

The blog with the most comprehensive coverage of "Brokeback Mountain" has been Towleroad, which now includes a lengthy, candid interview with Focus Features' James Schamus:

[There were] a few paragraphs of post-Globes coverage in the New York Times. [The writer] Sharon Waxman created this impression that because of some "resistance" we're meeting with the "broader public" we've started putting ads in the papers that emphasize the heterosexual relationships. Which is complete and utter bullshit. It's unbelievable.

 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

Meet The Directors

In its annual "Oscar Roundtable", Newsweek hosts a discussion between George Clooney, Paul Haggis, Ang Lee, Bennett MIller, Steven Spielberg. CLOONEY: ... Bennett, how much did your film cost to make? BENNETT MILLER: $7 million. CLOONEY: And it probably cost $20 million to distribute. MILLER: No way. It was more like $10 million. CLOONEY: But now, with the [Oscar campaign] ads, I imagine it's more... 
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"Crash" Wins Ensemble Honor at SAG Awards

The cast of the film "Crash" was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture tonight in Los Angeles. Philip Seymour Hoffman won the best actor award for "Capote," Reese Witherspoon was honored as best actress for "Walk The Line." The best supporting actress award went to Rachel Weisz for "The Constant Gardener" and Paul Giamatti was recognized as best supporting actor for "Cinderella Man." [Eugene Hernandez]  
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Ang Lee Wins DGA Prize

Ang Lee won the best director award from the Directors Guild of America tonight in Los Angeles, recognized for his work on "Brokeback Mountain." The guild also honored Werner Herzog with a best director prize for documentary for Grizzly Man. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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Sundance Dramatic Competition Film "Half Nelson" Goes to ThinkFilm

Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.

ThinkFilm has acquired worldwide rights to Ryan Fleck's Sundance '06 dramatic competition films, "Half Nelson," starring Ryan Gosling and surprising newcomer, Shareeka Epps. The film centers on an improbable friendship between an idealistic Brooklyn history high school teacher (Gosling) struggling with a crack habit, and a student (Epps) facing life with an absent father and overworked mother. A source close to the film said that the company is planning a late summer or early fall release. Gosling and Epps performances have received much positive buzz since the film's first screening at Sundance, which received a strong word-of-mouth from industry insiders. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Park City ]