AlJazeera: Saudis put cinema ban in the frame

Saudis, thirsty for cinema in a country with no big screens, say they are determined to drag the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom into the celluloid world. Seven films produced by Saudis will take part in a festival in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi in March, the strongest showing yet for the country's nascent cinema industry. Abdullah Eyaf, 28, a director who runs a website promoting film, said, "We'd like to do films that our society likes, that help the rise of cinema, and also get recognition. I'd like our voice to reach the West." His 45-minute documentary, "Cinema 500km", tackles the issue head-on, depicting a Saudi who must travel to neighbouring Bahrain to watch films. AlJazeera reports 
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AFP: Gandhi no longer 'PC' in militarist India, says director

Indian-born director Deepa Mehta says admiring independence leader Mahatma Gandhi is no longer politically correct in the country as militarism is on the rise. Speaking at the Bangkok International Film Festival where her controversial film "Water" is showing, Mehta said the pacifism of the man known as the father of the nation no longer fitted in with Indian politics. "It's not PC to say this but I'm an admirer of Gandhi," Mehta told reporters Thursday when asked why she included some of Gandhi's words in her film about the plight of castigated widows in India during the 1930s. "Water" is the last of Mehta's trilogy, following "Fire" (1996) and "Earth" (1998), and depicts the harsh life of widows condemned to live together in disgrace and poverty, a problem which Mehta says many of India's 34 million widows still face today. Agence France Presse reports. 
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AP: South Korea's Own "Brokeback Mountain?"

Just as "Brokeback Mountain" has become a pop culture phenomenon in the United States, a gay-themed movie has racked up big box-office in South Korea. "King and the Clown," about a delicately effeminate male clown caught between the affections of a despotic king and a fellow performer, has sold more than 11 million tickets through Sunday since its Dec. 29 premiere, making it the third-most popular film ever in this conservative country. Even President Roh Moo-hyun has seen it. By contrast, President Bush said last month he'd yet to see the cowboy romance favored to win the best-picture Oscar. Burt Herman reports. 
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AP: Redford Says Sundance Taken by a 'Fever'

Robert Redford says his Sundance Film Festival, which last month wrapped its 25th season, is "almost to a breaking point." "It's gotten to the point now - almost to a breaking point - where there's a fever that has taken over the festival that creates an enormous amount of chaos and excitement and tension," the 68-year-old actor said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "It's gotten a little bit harder on me. The festival that we do is the same one as we did the first year," he said. "We program it exactly the same every year, which is for new voices and more experimental films. The difference now," Redford said, is everything surrounding it." Jake Coyle reports. 
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Red Shift Festival of Film, Video and Animation to Open 4th Edition at Anthology Archives in New York

The fourth annual Red Shift Festival of Film, Video and Animation (RSF4 ) will take place February 23 - 25 at Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan's East Village. Formed in New York in 2002 by a group of immigrants from former Soviet Bloc countries, the event has showcased international works primarily made in Central and Eastern Europe. Opening the fest this year are group of docs, animation and fiction film. For a list of films and other information, visit their website. [Brian Brooks] 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Moshe Joins Sidetrack Films

The Film Sales Company's Jared Moshe has joined Sidetrack Films to head up sales and operations. Formed a year ago, Sidetrack Films produced the IDA award winning documentary "Favela Rising" that is set for release later this year. Sidetrack produces and provides financing for independent films and documentaries. Moshe worked in sales and acquisitions at the Film Sales Company and also produced the short documentary "Prom Date," which is premiering at the upcoming SXSW Film Festival. [Brian Brooks] 
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Miami International Film Festival Spotlights Nine Films for its 'Miami Encuentros'

The Miami International Film Festival will host its fourth year of its Miami Encuentros program, which gives emerging producers from Spain and Latin America the opportunity to present new projects to U.S. industry professionals, including producers, sales agents, television stations and distributors. This year, the Miami International Film Festival and Miami Encuentros director Diana Sanchez have chosen nine filmmakers to participate in Encuentros. The projects include: "Angels Still Come to the Suburbs" by Gabriel Velazquez (Spain); "Bad Day to Go Fishing" by Alvaro Brechner (Uruguay); "Fraternal Love" by Lais Bodanzky (Brazil); "How Far Are You Going" by Tania Hermida (Ecuador); "Niebla" by Francisca Schweitzer (Chile); "The Salted Earth" by Rene Simon Cruz Jr. (USA); "Saudo" by Diego F. Ramirez (Colombia); "Septembers" by Carles Bosch (Spain); "The Watercolorist" by Daniel Rodriguez (Peru). The Miami International Film Festival opens March 3rd with "Heartlift" and continues through March 12th. [Brian Brooks] 
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Britain's Channel 4 and BRITDOC Team up for Three Minute Competition

The U.K.'s Channel 4, ITN and BRITDOC have teamed up to create a new documentary competition for emerging filmmakers, with winning entries broadcast on Channel 4 and screened at the inaugural Britdoc 2006 documentary festival. ITN is offering free use of its archive, which contains over 700,000 hours of footage dating back from 1896 to the present day. Interested filmmakers must prepare a pitch for a three minute documentary on the theme 'The Bicycle,' using inspiration from the archives. The four best ideas will be commissioned by Channel 4 and broadcast in its "3 Minute Wonder" slot. The filmmakers will also be invited as guests to the first BRITDOC festival (July 26-28th) where the films will be screened. The competition begins February 24th (no entries accepted prior). For more information, visit the BRITDOC website. [Brian Brooks]  
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A&E & IDA Award Grant to "Gwen's Story: Crazy Like Me"

Documentary coverage sponsored by SnagFilms.

Feature doc production arm A&E IndieFilms and The International Documentary Association have announced the first A&E IndieFilms / IDA Documentary Finishing Grant to Affinity Films. The $25,000 grant will be used to complete its feature, "Gwen's Story: Crazy Like Me." The film, produced and directed by Mary Katzke, and produced by Deborah Schildt, is described as the story of, "an Alaskan woman who sustained third degree burns over her back, legs, arms, face and head, losing fingers, an ear and half her scalp after being thrown into a campfire by her own mother at the age of 10 months. Now 26, Gwen has embarked on a quest for answers." For more information, visit the company's website. [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Documentary, Movies ]

Howard Stern Launches Film Fest, On Demand

Howard Stern is launching Howard TV On Demand, a new service that had been branded, "The Howard Stern Film Festival." The shock jock is working with iN DEMAND Networks to develop a TV event that will include five-minute shorts about, in the words of an announcement, 'All Things Howard'. Submissions are due by April 11th and can be submitted via the fest website. 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Osorio Joins Focus Publicity

Paulette Osorio has joined Focus Features as vice president of publicity, based in the company's Los Angeles offices. She will report to Adriene Bowles and primarily handle corporate publicity and PR campaigns for Rogue Pictures. She previously served as a publicity consultant for Warner Bros., working on such films as Ocean's Twelve and Troy.  
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AFP: Portugal's biggest film festival kicks off with Bollywood in focus

Portugal's biggest film festival kicks off with a special focus on successful Bollywood films from the past five decades. The 26th Oporto International Film Festival, which will run until March 5, will feature 12 hit films from India in what has been billed as the biggest restrospective of movies from that country ever held in Portugal. Among the Indian films to be screened are the 2002 musical "Devdas," a classic tale of doomed love set in a make-believe world of glittering palaces which is the most expensive Hindi commercial film ever made. AFP reports. 
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AP: Morgan Freeman to Get Spencer Tracy Award

Morgan Freeman will be honored with UCLA's Spencer Tracy Award, which recognizes outstanding screen performances and professional achievement. The Tracy Award ceremony will include a video retrospective of Freeman's career, including his newest film, "Lucky Number Slevin," which co-stars Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis and Josh Hartnett. "Spencer Tracy is known by many as one of the finest actors in film history," Freeman said. "Receiving this award is truly an honor." Previous Tracy Award recipients include Jimmy Stewart, Michael Douglas, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks and Anthony Hopkins. AP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

BBC: Thriller wins French movie award

Dark thriller "De Battre Mon Coeur S'est Arrete" (The Beat that My Heart Skipped) by Jacques Audiard picked up the best film award at the Lumiere Awards, considered France's version of the Golden Globes. The film, a remake of 1970s US drama Fingers, won the best foreign-language film at Sunday's British Academy of Film Awards. On Saturday it will be competing for 10 Cesars, France's highest film honours. The film was released in the U.S. through Wellspring. BBC reports. 
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BBC: "The Road to Guantanamo" Actors Stopped at Airport

The stars of Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross' "The Road to Guantanamo" were stopped at the airport on their return to Britain from the Berlin International Film Festival, where Winterbottom and Whitecross had received a Silver Bear for best director. Actors Rizwan Ahmed and Farhad Harun and former Guantanamo detainees Shafiq Rasul and Ruhel Ahmed -- upon whose experiences the film was based -- were questioned by police at London's Luton Airport under Britain's Terrorism Act. BBC News reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Berlin, People ]

Pastor Brothers At Paramount

John Lesher, president of Paramount's new, unnamed specialty division, has announced a deal to bring a new project by Alex Pastor and David Pastor, "The Untitled Pastor Project," to the company. The film, described as "a topical post-apocalyptic thriller," is being produced by This Is That's Anthony Bregman. Alex Pastor will direct the script, further described as the story of, "four friends trying to escape a viral pandemic in the American west who ultimately discover that they are more dangerous to each other than any virus." Alex Pastor recently won the jury prize for international short for his film, "The Natural Route" (La Ruta Natural). David Pastor's shorts include "Orson,' and "Movie (Theater) Hero". Both are represented by UTA, which also reps This Is That. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Biz ]

The Top Ten, So Far...

Each Monday, indieWIRE receives 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. Four day Holiday Weekend Box office data provided by Rentrak as of Tuesday, 5:00 p.m. EST. 1. "Night Watch" (Fox Searchlight) $106,425 wknd ($35,475 per scrn) 2. "CSA: Confederate States of America" (IFC Films) $22,853 wknd ($22,853 per scrn) 3. "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" (Zeitgiest Films) $21,795 wknd ($21,795 per scrn) 4. "That Man: Peter Berlin" (self-distributed) $16,870 wknd ($16,870 per scrn) 5. "The Fallen Idol" (Rialto Pictures) $16,725 wknd ($16,725 per scrn) 6. "Battle In Heaven" (Tartan Films) $25,306 wknd ($12,653 per scrn) 7. "The Boys of Baraka" (ThinkFilm) $37,164 wknd ($7,433 per scrn) 8. "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" (Paramount Classics) $202,682 wknd ($6,756 per scrn) 9. "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story" (Picturehouse) $187,314 wknd ($5,854 per scrn) 10. "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (Sony Pictures Classics) $231,041 wknd ($5,635 per scrn) 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Silvercup Studios Unveils New Production Studio Complex for Queens Waterfront

Silvercup Studios announced it will build a new television and film production studio complex on the Long Island City waterfront in Queens, the group announced today. The complex will include over two million square-foot "mixed-use development with eight new soundstages, other production and studio support space as well as residential apartments, commercial office space and a home for a cultural institution," the company revealed. Known as Silvercup West, the project today officially began the city's seven-month public Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP). Silvercup Studios is co-owned by Alan Suna and Stuart Match Suna. "The expansion of Silvercup Studios is crucial for the television and film production industry. With added studio space, more productions that may have been filmed elsewhere will now take advantage of all the benefits of filming in New York City, which we like to think of as the best backdrop in the world," said Stuart Match Suna, president of Silvercup Studios in a statement. "In addition, we are creating a 24/7 live, work and leisure community. The public will enjoy new restaurants and retail opportunities while having a magnificent view of the Manhattan skyline." The $1 billion Silvercup West will create an estimated 2,200 construction jobs, 3,900 permanent jobs, and an additional 2,500 indirect jobs according to a company release. [Brian Brooks] 
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AFP: French icon Deneuve surprised by 'Brokeback' success in US

Legendary French screen star Catherine Deneuve said she was surprised that Oscar-contending gay cowboy film "Brokeback Mountain" had become a hit with audiences in the United States. "I didn't think it would be so successful," Denueve told reporters at the fourth Bangkok International Film Festival where she will be presented with a Golden Kinnaree Career Achievement Award at a ceremony on Friday. "I suppose it's the right film at the right time for the American (film market)," said the 62-year-old star. "You wouldn't think that because of homophobia it could be popular," she said. "But it's also one of the strengths of the American people that they are surprising," she added. Agence France Presse reports. 
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AFP: Hong Kong hopes to revive ailing film industry

Hong Kong film workers joined forces to promote the city's largest entertainment event hoping to revive its ailing movie industry. The second Hong Kong Entertainment Expo will be held March 10 through April 19 and will combine film, digital entertainment, music and TV productions. The event will include the Hong Kong International Film Festival, which will showcase more than 200 movies, a movie trade market as well as local awards. The push comes as the territory's film industry suffered its worst year in a decade in 2005 with plunging domestic box-office receipts and a decline in the number of local productions. AFP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events ]

AFP: Oliver Stone says September 11 movie not political

Director Oliver Stone says he doesn't know if America is ready for his upcoming film about the September 11 terror attacks, but stresses the movie is a human rather than political account of the tragedy. Speaking to an audience during a question and answer session late Monday at the Bangkok International Film Festival, Oliver Stone was asked if Americans were ready for the first major Hollywood film on the subject. "Is America ready for 9/11? Is America ready for gay sex? I don't know," Stone told the audience, referring to Ang Lee's Oscar-nominated cowboy film "Brokeback Mountain" which has been a surprise hit in US cinemas. "It's about a rescue and families involved in the rescue. It's really a technical attempt to be realistic about what happened in that building," he said. AFP reports. 
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NY Times: A First-Time Oscar Host in Search of That Fine Line

Five years ago, when the staff of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" gathered for the first time to watch the Academy Awards together, the writers spent three hours shouting jokes at the television and lampooning the self-congratulation on display, all in the service of feeding their own show the next day. Virtually the only person they spared was the host, Steve Martin, who had impressed them with one-liners "that had some teeth to them but didn't necessarily make him an unwelcome guest at the party," recalled Ben Karlin, then Mr. Stewart's head writer. In two weeks, like a gadfly who rails against City Hall for years, only to wake up and find himself elected mayor, Mr. Stewart will stand where Mr. Martin was that night, armed with punch lines drafted in consultation with Mr. Karlin and six other "Daily Show" writers, among others. Jacques Steinberg reports. 
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Watts Joins Spirit Awards Roster

Naomi Watts has been added to the list of celebs who will attend the Independent Spirit Awards; the actress will serve as honorary chair of this year's awards ceremony on March 4th in Santa Monica. She will also host the annual nominees reception two days earlier. Other celeb presenters on tap for the event include: Thomas Haden Church; Zooey Deschanel; Michael Ealy; Aaron Eckhart; Peter Gallagher; Macy Gray; Maggie Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard; Ashley Judd; Lisa Kudrow; Jennifer Jason Leigh; Laura Linney; Josh Lucas, Virginia Madsen; Thandie Newton; Sandra Oh; Rosie Perez; Jeremy Piven; Dennis Quaid, Henry Rollins; Peter Sarsgaard, Kevin Smith; Rachel Weisz; and Dwight Yoakam. Sarah Silverman will host the festivities. The group will autograph a motorcycle that will be auctioned online to support Film Independent's Project Involve. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

Theron, Cross, Sloss & Blackwell Join SXSW Panels

Actress Charlize Theron and actor/comedian David Cross have been added as panelists at the 2006 SXSW Film Conference & Festival, kicking off in early March in Austin, TX. Panels will take place from March 11 - 14 at the Austin Convention Center, while the fest will run from March 10 - 18. Theron, a producer of the SXSW film "East of Havana," will participate in a doc panel at the fest. Organizers also recently announced that attorney, producer and rep John Sloss (from Sloss Law and Cinetic) and mogul Chris Blackwell (from Palm Pictures) will join a panel discussion about the narrowing window between the DVD and theatrical releases of movies. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, SXSW ]