Herwitz Selling "Laundry"

The Film Sales Company has nabbed worldwide sales rights to Maurice Jamal's "Dirty Laundry. The film is the second feature from the filmmaker and recently screened at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York and Frameline in San Francisco. Starring Loretta Devine, the film is the story of a Southern black family rocked by the news that their son is living under a pseudonym and with a white boyfriend. The film will screen this weekend at Outfest in Los Angeles and has secured the support of the Human Rights Campaign (the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization), which has been hosting additional screenings of the film. Announcing his organization's support of the film, HRC president Joe Solmonese said in a statement, "At the end of the day, this film will spark more conversations that will lead to the changing of hearts and minds.” [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies, Queer Cinema ]

SF360: San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Silents had only been dead for 20 years when "Sunset Boulevard" came out. One generation's cultural norms always look ridiculous to the next generation, which invariably thinks itself the zenith of modernity and cool. It takes more than a couple decades to actually sort the silly from the sublime. And a half-century onward, Norma's puffy pronouncement now seems pretty dead-on: Silent cinema did indeed create star personalities all the more vivid for their having to communicate solely through pantomime. You'll get a big dose of star power -- circa Roaring Twenties -- this weekend as the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents its 11th annual weekend of archival features and shorts. This year's bill is lighter on foreign titles (there's just one French and one Russian feature) than usual, but delightfully heavy on Hollywood star vehicles showcasing some of the era's most beloved and still-charismatic screen talents. Dennis Harvey overviews the festival for SF360. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

Reuters: First Saudi film festival opens despite clerics

The first Saudi Arabian film festival opened this week, but the silver screen remains so controversial in the conservative kingdom that the word "cinema" does not even appear in the title. The Jeddah Visual Show Festival kicked off on Wednesday night with two hours of home-grown short films. The public can see the films three times a week for a month. Public movie screenings are taboo in Saudi Arabia, where puritanical scholars believe any depiction of the human form is forbidden in Islam and see the U.S.-dominated film industry as an immoral force driven by sex and violence. "The Ministry of Information and Culture said let's not call it cinema, that could imply God knows what -- let's say 'visual shows,'" director Mishael al-Enazi told a news conference. Andrew Hammond reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

Withoutabox Acquires Film Finders; Embarks on Relationship with Rightsline

Independent film community networkWithoutabox, Inc. has acquired film production and rights database and consulting company Film Finders, Withoutabox CEO and co-founder David Straus announced Thursday. The company plans to "fully integrate their established business model and operations into Withoutabox's diversified businesses." As part of the acquisition, Film Finders founder and president Sydney Levine and EVP Peter Belsito will become executives of Withoutabox while they continue to run the Film Finders division. In a related move, Withoutabox has entered into a strategic partnership with Rightsline, a provider of enterprise-grade rights management software. Rights holders will maintain complete control over their database listings and intellectual properties. Under the plan, Withoutabox will integrate its existing online systems with the Film Finders database and Rightsline platform offering an online marketplace for film rights, with a reach between buyers and sellers in more than 200 countries. "These strategic alliances allow us to offer the most comprehensive open marketplace to our 90,000-plus rights owners along with thousands of buyers, sales agents and distributors throughout the world, facilitated by a unique combination of expertise and technology," commented Joe Neulight, president and co-founder, Withoutabox in a statement about the deal. [Brian Brooks]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Landmark to Open "Largest Independent Film Center" at LA's Westside Pavilion in '07

West Los Angeles' Westside Pavilion and Landmark Theatres are collaborating to create what the two describe as "the largest independent film center in the country," the groups revealed Thursday. The new Landmark Film Center at Westside Pavilion also will partner with the Los Angeles film industry and area film schools to "promote the education and training of those pursuing careers in the film industry, and to provide a venue for screening the works of up-and-coming filmmakers." The new Landmark Film Center at Westside Pavilion will be three-stories complete with restaurants on the ground floor, while the second and third floors of the center will feature 12-screens projecting independent films using the latest in film and digital technology. The venue will also feature a wine bar. The new Landmark Film Center will replace the current theater operating, under Landmark Theatres' management, at the site. The center will be accessible from the street and via a bridge that connects it to department store Nordstrom and Westside Pavilion. Patrons will be able to park adjacent to the theatre in free structured parking, which will reopen with the center in 2007. [Brian Brooks]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Lionsgate Gets "Deliver Us From Evil"

Lionsgate has announced its acquisition of Amy Berg's "Deliver Us From Evil," winner of the Target Documentary Award for best doc feature at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival last month. A release this fall is planned. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Los Angeles Film Festival ]

NYAFF Crowds Choose "Always"

Audiences at the 2006 edition of the New York Asian Film Festival have selected Takashi Yamazaki's "Always" from Japan as the winner of the audience award at the event. The film is described by the festival as a "sprawling drama about the citizens of a beat-down neighborhood in Tokyo during the 1950's boom years sent audiences out into the lobby smiling and crying." The next two top films in audience ballotting were the Korean film, "Welcome to Dongmakol" and "Funky Forest: The First Contact" from Japan." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

Pressman Sells ContentFilm Shares

Prolific indie producer Ed Pressman has fully divested from ContentFilm, the company he co-founded with John Schmidt in 2001. While he left the outfit a year ago, he remained on the board. The producer's Edward R. Pressman Film Corp. has announced a deal with Syntek Capital with Syntek acquiring both a stake in a new slate of Pressman projects and also Pressman's shares in ContentFilm. Syntek was an initial investor in the company. The announcement today said that Pressman is setting up financing for a slate of 12 - 15 new movies that are budgeted at $35 - $40 million, along with a committment to making lower-budgeted genre movies. In a statement, Pressman noted that he decided to sell his shares in ContentFilm so that he can focus full-time on film production. Since leaving the company a year ago, Pressman has been working on a number of films, including Steven Shainberg's "Fur" and Michael Apted's "Amazing Grace," among others. He is also producing Whit Stillman's "Little Green Men," an adaptation of Christopher Buckley's novel. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Roy & Koury Promoted at Hamptons Fest

Rajendra Roy has been promoted to Artistic Director at the Hamptons International Film Festival and Josh Koury has been upped to Programming Manager/Shorts Programmer, the festival announced today. Also at the event, set for its 14th installment October 18 - 22 this year, Gerry Byrne and Denise Wohl have joined the Hamptons' board. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iklipz.com Unveiled

Former Paramount Classics co-president David Dinerstein is among the industry folks who will officially unveil a new venture today. Dubbed iklipz, the company is a social networking site aimed at presenting films online, with Dinerstein serving as programming consultant for the new outlet. The new site boasts an advisory board that includes Magnolia Pictures' Eamonn Bowles, ThinkFILM's Mark Urman, IFP's Michelle Byrd, First Look's Ruth Vitale, publicist Fredell Pogodin, the Gersh Agency's Arianna Bocco, producer Jon Landau, and filmmakers Julian Schnabel and Ed Burns. Other backers include former Paramount Pictures marketing president Arthur Cohen and internet entrepreneur Richard Witkowski. Dinerstein is overseeing site content and film programming with former Paramount Classics exec Susan Wrubel. In a statement previewing the new site, the two said, "Film is important, exciting, and thought-provoking, it deserves to be seen by a vast audience. We think iklipz can and will be the industry insider site for filmmakers looking for a new forum for their work." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

SF360: Car talk with Chris Paine

On this one point, Mel Gibson and I agree: Electric cars are cool. He was introduced to them in a General Motors pilot program, which sparingly leased out its EV1s to movers and shakers. I was introduced to them by my neighbor, who could seemingly convert any object into an electric vehicle. (By now, he may have now even converted his two story San Francisco home into an electric RV.) It was fascinating to watch the story of the EV1's rise and untimely demise unfold with such elegant mystery in director Chris Paine's "Who Killed the Electric Car?" which I got to see, along with an audience of hybrid drivers and my neighbor, during the San Francisco International Film Festival this past year. Susan Gerhard speaks with director Chris Paine for SF360. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

The Guardian: Karlovy Vary Overview

A world away from the glitter of Cannes, the Karlovy Vary festival is still one of Europe's most fascinating film festivals. Being at the crossroads of Europe, one of the themes of the festival, and usually its strongest section, is East of the West. With a number of interesting recent Russian, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian films, it is the place to catch up on the best of Eastern European cinema. Ronald Bergan takes a look at this year's fest in the Czech Republic. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

83 Nations Receive Oscar Foreign Language Consideration Invitations

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 83 countries to submit films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 79th Academy Awards, the organization announced Tuesday. To qualify for the 2006 awards year, a film must be released in the submitting country between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2006 and be publicly screened in 35mm or 70mm film for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater. The dialogue track must be predominantly in a language or languages other than English. Accurate English subtitles are required. Entry forms must be received at the Academy by Monday, October 2, 2006, and film prints must be received by Friday, October 13. Only one picture will be accepted from each country. Since the category's establishment in 1956, 102 different countries have submitted films to compete for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The 1956 award went to Italy for "La Strada." Most recently, the South African film "Tsotsi" won the Oscar. Countries that have not received letters of invitation and are interested in submitting a film for consideration should contact Awards Coordinator Torene Svitil at (310) 247-3000, ext. 116 or via email at tsvitil@oscars.org. [Brian Brooks]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Biz ]

Toronto International Film Festival Unveils Seven Spanish-language Titles for September Fest

The 31st Toronto International Film Festival is set to screen international or North American premieres of seven Spanish-language films from a number of countries. Three of the titles will screen in TIFF's Dicsovery section, two in Visions and one in the Contemporary World Cinema section, while one will be shown as a Special Presentation. The seven films include: Manuel Nieto Nas' "The Dog Pound" (Uruguay/Argentina/Canada/Spain), about a young urban intellectual who settles in a rural town after failing his university exams and being dumped by his girlfriend (North American debut, Contemporary World Cinema); Daniel Sanchez Arevalo's "Dark Blue Almost Black" (Spain), is about a young man who is trapped in his father's shadow, but then meets a woman who helps him find his own way (international premiere); "The Silly Age" by Pavel Giroud (Cuba/Spain Venezuela) centers on Alicia and her son Samuel who arrive on the doorstep of her mother, a brazen woman unimpressed by the idea of giving up her relished privacy and sharing her space (North American premiere, Visions). Marc Recha's "August's Days" (Spain) centers on twin brothers Marc and David who attempt to put some distance between themselves and their situation by taking a road trip across the interior of Catalonia following an exhaustive and unresolved search for their missing friend (North American debut). Also screening in Visions is Lisandro Alonso's "Fantasma" (Argentina/Netherlands/France). Atmospheric and experimental, the film follows Argentino Vargasas he makes his way through a large theatre - having never stepped foot inside one before - in search of the room where the film in which he stars is being screened (North American premiere). The North American debut of Guillermo Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" (Spain) is set against the backdrop of a fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain, and explores the mind of a lonely child with an active imagination. Alexis dos Santos' "Glue - A Teenage Story in the Middle of Nowhere" (Argentina) is the story of 15-year-old Lucas who fills the hot days of summer by succumbing to his adolescent desires - experimenting with drugs, music and sex alongside two cohorts equally bored with life in their small desert town. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ]

NY Times: Eat Drink Make Movie: Hollywood's Next Course

Cinema's relationship with food and drink has always been a complicated affair. Sometimes it's abusive, as Mae Clark, with her face full of grapefruit, learned from James Cagney in "The Public Enemy." Sometimes it's unrequited, as Tony Shalhoub learned from ungrateful customers in "Big Night." Now and then it amounts to a glorious epiphany, as in "Sideways," when Paul Giamatti rhapsodized to Virginia Madsen about the delicate, even haunting properties of pinot noir. A little bit of food can go a long way in the movies: think of Sue Lyons's lollipop in "Lolita," the chicken salad sandwich in "Five Easy Pieces" or Diane Keaton's pastrami on white with mayo in "Annie Hall." And occasionally food threatens to steal the show, as in "Babette's Feast" and "Like Water for Chocolate." Steve Chagollan reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

AP: Martin Scorcese to Remake Hong Kong Film

Hong Kong director Andrew Lau said he's honored by Martin Scorsese's decision to remake his acclaimed crime thriller "Infernal Affairs." Scorsese's remake is named "The Departed" and features Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. Lau, who hasn't seen the remake, said Sunday he considered Scorsese's decision an honor. The original starred Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andrew Lau. AP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

AP: "Napoleon Dynamite" Town Cashes in on Film

"Napoleon Dynamite," a low-budget, feel-good comedy starring Jon Heder, put this farm town near the Utah border on the map. It has also generated $1 million for Preston, according to the chamber of commerce, one of the first to bill the town as a destination for "Napoleon Dynamite" aficionados. The movie, which cost $400,000 to make in 2004, has grossed $40 million in the United States and spawned a cottage industry of "Napoleon Dynamite" memorabilia. AP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

The Top Ten So Far...

Each week, 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. Weekend box office data provided by Rentrak as of Monday, 6:00 p.m. EST. 1."A Scanner Darkly" (Warner Independent) $391,672 wknd ($23,039 per scrn) 2. "Heading South" (Shadow Distribution) $42,810 wknd ($21,405 per scrn) 3."Strangers With Candy" (ThinkFilm) $223,856 wknd ($10,660 per scrn) 4."Once In A Lifetime" (Miramax) $9,805 wknd (9,805 per scrn) 5. "The Motel" (Palm Pictures) $5.940 wknd ($5,940 per scrn) 6. "La Moustache" (Cinema Guild) $17,052 wknd ($5,684 per scrn) 7. "Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man (Lionsgate) $39,818 wknd ($4,424 per scrn) 8. "Beowulf & Grendel" (Truly Indie) $7,816 wknd ($3,908 per scrn) 9. "Who Killed The Electric Car? $71,514 wknd ($3,764 per scrn) 10. "Kill Your Idols" (Palm Pictures) $3,274 wknd ($3,274 per scrn)  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Magnolia Takes English Territory Rights to "Cocaine Cowboys"

Magnolia Pictures has acquired all English language territories (North America, UK, Australia, New Zealand) for Tribeca Film Festival entry "Cocaine Cowboys" directed by Billy Corben ("Raw Deal: A Question of Consent"). Magnolia's head of acquisitions Tom Quinn, and head of business and legal affairs Jason Janego negotiated the deal with Andrew Hurwitz and Dan O'Meara of Epstein, Levinsohn, Bodine, Hurwitz & Weinstein. A fall release is planned. The film is described as a "portrait of the cultural explosion sparked by the drug trade in 1980s Miami that still echoes as Hollywood myth today. The film features interviews with some of the era's top law enforcers, traffickers, suppliers, dealers and even killers, mixed with archival footage to produce a serious, studied and entertaining examination of urban transformation." "'Cocaine Cowboys' is a visually imaginative, fantastically constructed, and too-strange-not-to-be-true account of how the Miami of today was built. It's 'Miami Vice' stripped of its cool pretension and peopled by characters that make Al Pacino's 'Scarface' look like a wimp," commented Magnolia Pictures President Eamonn Bowles in a statement. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

Burnett Leaving TWC PR Post

Liza Burnett is leaving the position of EVP of Publicity at The Weinstein Company, she and the company announced this weekend. Burnett said in an announcement that she will be pursuing other opportunities in the film industry and will remain on board at TWC as a consultant through the end of the month. "Liza did a terrific job overseeing our film campaigns for the last year and we are sorry to lose her," said co-chairman Harvey Weinstein in a statement. "She is a talented executive and has been a valuable member of our team. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors." In her statement, Burnett said, "It was a privilege working for Bob and Harvey over the past year and I will take this incredible experience with me as I continue my career in film publicity." Burnett previously served as an SVP at Dan Klores Communications. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

Venice Fest to Honor Lynch

Filmmaker David Lynch will be honored with a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival in Italy. Alongside a screening of his new film, Inland Empire, Lynch will be saluted in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema on September 6th. In announcing the honor, the festival said in a statement, "He has a fascination for what cannot normally be seen, for mysterious beauty, the one that appears in strange places, and sometimes turns into horror." Continuing they added in the announcement, "The power of his vision attacks the standards of taste, takes the reassurance out of conventions, instills doubts that are hard to remove. His importance lies in having said something new at a time when the movie industry seeks conformity and the absence of risk." The festival will run from August 30 - September 9. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

INDUSTRY MOVES: Vaysman Leaving Bazan for Dart

Irina Vaysman recently announced her departure from the PR/marketing firm Bazan Entertainment. She will be joining The Dart Group in Los Angeles this week.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

INDUSTRY MOVES: Offutt Upped at Participant

Participant Productions recently announced the promotion of Amber Offutt to the position of creative executive at the company. She previously served as executive assistant to EVP of creative affairs and production Chris Salvaterra. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

LAT: Theater Owners Eyeing Investors for Digital Cinema

The Los Angeles Times reports that movie theater chains AMC, Cinemark and Regal are seeing investors to fund the conversaion of outfitting some 13,000 movie screens with digital projectors. "Furthering a march toward digital cinema, three of the nation's biggest movie theater chains aim to raise as much as $1 billion to convert about one-third of all U.S. theater screens from film to electronic projection," the Times said in a story Friday. The outfits have formed a joint venture, dubbed National CineMedia and hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to embark on the initiative. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]