INDUSTRY MOVES: Ankori Leaving IDP for Noise

Shani Ankori will join Noise Marketing later this month as a VP at the Manhattan based company. Ankori is leaving her VP post in marketing and promotions at IDP (Sam Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions). 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Kersh Moves to Lions Gate

Adam Kersh has joined Lionsgate Films as Manager of National Publicity. He is joining Lionsgate from the New York publicity office at Warner Bros. 
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SF Fest Gets AMPAS Grant

The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded the San Francisco International Film Festival a $150,000 grant as the event approaches its 50th anniversary next Spring. The fest will receive $50,000 in 2007 and an equal amount in two subsequent years. AMPAS has already awarded similar grants to the Telluride Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Festival. In a statement, Festival Grants Committee Chair Gale Anne Hurd said, in a statement, "That kind of security will permit a festival to take some chances with programs they might otherwise not be willing to try." [Eugene Hernandez] 
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Tribeca and Rome Fests Align

The new Rome Film Festival, October 13 - 21, will present a selection of films from the Tribeca Film Festival, as part of a new partnership announed today. While film titles have yet to be announced, the Rome event will also present a program of work at the next TFF (April 25 - May 6, 2007). [Eugene Hernandez] 
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Toronto Fest Sets More Premieres

Organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival have announced another crop of films set to screen at next month's event. World premieres will include Christopher Guest's "For Your Consideration," looking inside the film industry and awards season and featuring Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, Rachael Harris, Jane Lynch, Jim Piddock, Parker Posey, John Michael Higgins and Ricky Gervais. Also on tap are the world premieres of Christsopher N. Rowley's "Bonneville" about three women on a cross country road trip (starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen), Leon Ichaso's "El Cantante" about musician Hector Lavoe (starring Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez), Marc Forster's comedy "Stranger Than Fiction" with Emma Thompson and Will Ferrell, Mark Palansky's modern fairy tale "Penelope" with Chrisina Ricci, Tony Goldwyn's "The Last Kiss" about turning 30 (starring Zach Braff), David Von Ancken's thriller "Seraphim Falls" with Pierce Brosnan, Roger Michell's "Venus" about aging friends (starring Peter O'Toole), and Kenneth Branagh's adaptatoin of a Mozart opera "The Magic Flute". North American premieres will include Emilio Estevez's "Bobby", Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" and Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ]

Cinemark Makes Deal to Buy Century

Movie theater chain Cinemark USA is planning to acquire Century Theaters, according to the Los Angeles Times, continuing the consolidation of the theater business. The combined company would be the 3rd largest in the country with 4,395 screens. The leading theater owner is Regal Entertainment with 6,383 screen, followed by Loews Cineplex Entertainment with 4,437, according to the LA Times. 
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Spirit Awards Seeking Submissions

Film Independent has announced the call for entries for the next Independent Spirit Awards, set to take place on Saturday, February 24, 2007. Nominees will be announced on November 28, 2006. The early deadline for submissions is September 15th and the final deadline is October 6th, with complete guidelines and an application available on the Film Independent website, or by calling (310) 432-1211. Nominees are chosen by committees and winners are selected by FIND and IFP members. Eligible features (costing no more than $20 million) must have screened commercially for one week in 2006 or at one of the following festivals this year: the Los Angeles Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, New York, Sundance, Telluride, or Toronto, among other criteria. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Biz ]

MTV Gets Atom for $200 Million

Viacom's MTV Networks has announced a deal to acquire Atom Entertainment for $200 million. The company, comprised of four online destination sites for short films, as well as online games and video, follows last year's MTV acquisition of IFILM, the rival short film site online that ushered in an era of online entertainment back in early 1999. In a statement today, Atom founder and CEO Mika Salmi said in a statement, "MTV Networks is a global leader in entertainment, and we are thrilled to join their family of brands. Leveraging MTVN's platform will accelerate our growth and create new opportunities for both consumers and advertisers. We are proud of the business we've built and look forward to working together with MTVN to lead the way in the casual gaming and short-form video content business." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz, Shorts ]

SF360: El Corazon de la Mission

"Let's take the Mexican Bus," says your disembodied guide, "and cruise my inner barrio." It's unusual in the hospitality trade, you can't help thinking, for a group tour to begin with a collective invocation summoning the spirit of your conductor. But then we're not talking about the usual itinerary either. The tour through El Corazon de la Mission is a trip through a land with many ghostly presences, living pasts, and unscripted, undisciplined, unruly futures. It's a transgressive glide across the fronteras of the mind. How natural for it to be led by the transubstantiated life force (and recorded voice) of Mexican writer, filmmaker, performance artist, border-cruising bad boy, and longtime Mission District denizen Guillermo Gomez-Pena. Robert Avila reports for SF360. 
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Reuters: US films snubbed by Montreal film fest

The Montreal World Film Festival on Tuesday announced a European-heavy competition lineup that includes no U.S. titles, though American entries have been booked for out-of-competition screenings. Among the 22 in-competition films unveiled for the festival's 30th edition (August 24-September 4) are Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland's "Pedersen: High-School Teacher"; Philippe Lioret's "Don't Worry, I'm Fine" from France; Swedish director Maria von Heland's "Search"; Hans-Ulrich Schlumpf's "Ultima Thule" from Switzerland; and Spanish director Carlos Iglesias' "Crossing Borders." Canada's "The Secret Life of Happy People," the Stephane Lapointe-directed drama that closes the festival, is the lone North American entry. Reuters reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

"Last King of Scotland" To Open London Fest

The 50th edition of the London Film Festival will open with Kevin Macdonald's "The Last King of Scotland", organizers announced today. The film, Macdonald's first fiction feature, is based on Giles Foden's novel, and adapted by Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock, the film stars Forest Whitaker as Ugandan president Idi Amin. Co-stars include James McAvoy, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, and Simon McBurney. The film is executive produced by Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, and Tessa Ross and produced by Andrea Calderwood, Charles Steel and Lisa Bryer, co-produced by Christine Ruppert. The festival will run from October 18th - November 2nd. "The Last King of Scotland" is a perfect Opening Night film for us: a compellingly original British feature from an imaginative and talented young director, said London Film Festival artistic director Sandra Hebron in a statement. "Kevin Macdonald and his cast and crew must be congratulated for balancing historical fact with psychological insight in such a lively, accessible and thought provoking way." [Eugene Hernandez] 
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The Reeler Screens "Half Nelson" at BAM

The Reeler Screening Series' returns this month with a sneak preview of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's Sundance favorite, "Half Nelson," which is about "a young teacher in a Brooklyn junior high who must confront his own alcohol and drug problems when a student discovers them. On Wednesday, August 9 at BAM, Filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden will be on-hand to discuss and field questions with moderator S.T. VanAirsdale. Afterwards, there will be a party at Fort Greene bar Moe's. For more information please visit BAM's website here. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events ]

Roadshow Rolls On

Netflix' Rolling Roadshow, "featuring famous movies in famous places" continued last night in Red Bank, NJ with a screening of Kevin Smith's "Clerks". The Asbury Park Press reports on the event today. Next up for the tour, produced with the Alamo Drafthouse, is a trip to Northbrook, IL for a screening of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" tomorrow (August 10), then a showing of "Field of Dreams" in Dyersville, IA (August 11), "The Shining" in Estes Park, CO (August 16), "The Searchers" in Monument Valley, UT (August 18), "Raising Arizona" in Apache Junction, AZ (August 20), "The Poseidon Adventure" in Long Beach, CA (August 24), and "Escape From Alcatraz" in San Francisco, CA (August 26). For more information, visit the Netflix site.  
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Lionsgate Names Friedenson SVP of International Marketing

Lionsgate has named Shyama Friedenson to the post of senior vice president, international marketing, Lionsgate, it was announced today by Nicolas Meyer, president, international. Friedenson, who joined the company in 2000, is responsible for "overseeing the marketing and publicity for the international film division of Lionsgate, including: the strategic planning and execution of international marketing campaigns and film festival launches; handling the company's presence at major international film markets and festivals; and serving as the strategic corporate liaison for film publicity and marketing with Lionsgate's newly acquired international distribution arm, Lionsgate U.K." At the upcoming Venice Film Festival, Friedenson will oversee the worldwide debut of the company's documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld as well as "Retribution" (Sakeba) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. [Brian Brooks] 
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Toronto Fest Tips Industry Titles

Organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival have unveiled another 20 titles that will screen at this year's festival, highlighting movies that may be of interest to distributors, exhibitors and insiders, according to the announcement. World premieres added to the fest's roster include: Werner Herzog's "Rescue Dawn" (US), Margarethe von Trotta's "I Am The Other Woman" (Germany), Hal Hartley's "Fay Grim" (US/Germany), Tarsem Singh's "The Fall", Ari Sandel's "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show" (US), Alek Keshishian's "Love and Other Disasters" (France/UK), Scott Caan's "The Dog Problem" (US), Shane Meadows' "This Is England" (UK), Brad Silberling's "10 Items Or Less" (US), Laurent Herbiet's "Mon Colonel" (France/Algeria/Belgium), and Zabou Breitman's "L'Homme De Sa Vie" (France/Italy), Sang-il Lee's "Hula Girls" (Japan), John Jeffcoat's "Outsourced" (US), Larry Fessenden's "The Last Winter" (US/Iceland), Alex van Warmerdam's "Waiter" (The Netherlands). International premieres tipped as biz-worthy include Agustin Diaz Yanes' "Alatriste" (Spain), Eytan Fox's "The Bubble" (Israel), Manuel Pradal's "Un Crime" (France), Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Hana" (Japan), and Ana Kokkinos' "The Book of Revelation" (Australia). They join the three previously announced potenetial acquisition titles: Michael Ian Black's "The Pleasure of Your Company", Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker's "The Prisoner Or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair" and Pascal Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr's "Chacun Sa Nuit." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

Focus Sets Release Plan for "Ground Truth", Including AOL Partnership

Patricia Foulkrod's new documentary, "The Ground Truth," from Focus Features, will hit Landmark Theaters for at least one week on September 15th, followed by a special edition DVD release on September 26th, according to Focus. The company is partnering with AOL to build awareness for the movie, which offers a look at the stories of American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq, from recruitment, through training, battle, and homecoming. To support the film, AOL will be hosting soldiers blogs, video diaries, and photos, encouraging feedback throughoyt the various stages of the film's release. Special screenings are also being planned. "We want as many people as possible to be able to see and hear 'The Ground Truth'," said Focus Features' James Schamus in a statement. "We are stepping outside the industry box for the release pattern on this movie, and with AOL's help Patricia's film will now reach the public it deserves." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

"Lonely Hearts" Screening 2nd Tahoe/Reno International Film Festival

Todd Robinson's detective thriller "Lonely Hearts" with John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Salma Hayek, and Jared Leto has just been added to the 2nd Tahoe/Reno International Film Festival. The festival, taking place August 23 - 27, will also feature Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack's "A Crude Awakening -- The Oil Crash," Turk Pipkin's "Nobelity," and "Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings" by Christian J. Pinto among the line up. For more information and a full line up, visit the festival's website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

The Guardian Interview: Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz

It's six years since director Pedro Almodovar and actor Penelope Cruz worked together on "All About My Mother." They talk about the rehearsal process, their friendship and the many happy returns of their latest film, "Volver." "In effect, there are many returns in this movie... I returned to working with Carmen [Maura] and Penelope, and I returned to my roots and shot there. In fact that was the main thing for me; that was really very moving, more so than I thought. And also the sense of coming back from beyond, in the character that Carmen Maura plays in the film," said Almodovar in the interview with Maria Delgado. 
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VV: A Tale of Two Pedros

Previewing a new retrospective of the films of Pedro Almodovar that will be making the rounds in theaters in the coming weeks, Michael Atkinson considers "The 2 Pedros" in an article for The Village Voice:

The best of Almodovar raises some questions -- namely, which Almodovar? The Pedro gloriously festivaled and happily familiar now to middle-class filmgoers is an aging, camp-centric teddy bear, a man who has made transgender game-playing and comic vamping safe for the art-houses...The other Pedro is one of the most reckless, diabolically inventive voices to arise from, or at least alongside, the postpunk years of Reagan culture. (Of course, his real incubator was the oppressive Franco dictatorship)...

 
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Reuters: Fears grips Canadian town in "Black Eyed Dog"

"Black Eyed Dog," a "Fargo"-style drama about residents of a remote Canadian town terrorized by a serial killer on the run, could find an appreciative audience beyond the art house circuit with its dark humor and mood of coiled anger. Set in the remote Miramichi region of New Brunswick, one of Canada's Maritime provinces, director Pierre Gang's study of stifling rural society recently made its world premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. Sonya Salomaa plays Betty, a waitress at a diner in the gloomy town of Riverton. A manhunt described as the country's biggest is making everyone jumpy, including the local police and the folks who frequent the diner. Retuers 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. "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight) $1,480,193 wknd ($25,521 per scrn) 2. "Quinceanera" (Sony Pictures Classics) $95,400 wknd ($11,925 per scrn) 3. "Another Gay Movie (TLA Releasing) $50,069 wknd ($10,014 per scrn) 4. "The Bridesmaid" (First Run) $9,046 wknd ($9,046 per scrn) 5. "13 (Tzameti)" (Palm Pictures) $7,710 wknd ($7,710 per scrn) 6. "Wondrous Oblivion" (Palm Pictures) $6,752 wknd ($6,752 per scrn) 7. "Changing Times" (Koch Lorber Films) $31,205 wknd ($5,201 per scrn) 8. "Boynton Beach Club" (Roadside Attractions/Samuel Goldwyn Films) $163,220 wknd ($4,411 per scrn) 9. "The Puffy Chair" (Roadside Attractions) $12,004 wknd ($4,001 per scrn) 10. "Beowulf & Grendel" (Truly Indie) $3,799 wknd ($3,799 per scrn) 
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Tribeca's Peter Scarlet to Host "Cinemondo" via Satellite

Link TV announced today the launch of "Cinemondo," a new world cinema series, to be hosted by Peter Scarlet, executive director of the Tribeca Film Festival. Cinemondo will feature 11 movies that explore the "distinctly human side of critical social and political issues that people face in [a diverse array] of countries." The series will launch on Link TV on Saturday, August 26, premiering one film per week through November 4. Films slated include, "Stolen Life" by Li Shaohong (China); "Beautiful City" by Asghar Farhadi (Iran); "Wrong Side Up" by Petr Zelenka (Czech Republic); "The President's Last Bang" by Im Sang-soo (S. Korea); "Rana's Wedding" by Hany Abu Assad (Palestine); "Fuse" by Pejr Zalica (Bosnia); "Almost Brothers" by Lucia Murat (Brazil); "May 6th" by Theo Van Gogh (Netherlands); "Border Cafe" by Kambuzia Partovi (Iran); "Waiting for Happiness" by Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania); and "Hostage" by Constantine Giannaris (Greece). Link TV is a nationwide, non-commercial satellite television network available in more than 28 million U.S. homes. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

NY Times: Facing Voters, Georgia Congressman Gets an Assist From Documentary

The money, endorsements and opinion polls favor her opponent, but Representative Cynthia A. McKinney, who represents Georgia's Fourth District, has been counting on a movie for last-minute help with the Democratic primary runoff vote here on Tuesday. The movie, "American Blackout," is a documentary that embraces Ms. McKinney as a progressive heroine while chronicling the alleged disenfranchisement of black voters in Florida and Ohio in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. After winning prizes on the festival circuit, including a special jury award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the movie, directed by Ian Inaba, was headed for commercial release on cable television until Ms. McKinney's scuffle with a Capitol police officer last March helped put a damper on that plan. Brenda Goodman reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

The Guardian Interview: Penelope Cruz in "Volver"

Seven years ago, Pedro Almodovar told Penelope Cruz he had the perfect role for her. He was planning to write a film about a woman married to an abusive loser who molests their teenage daughter. Almodovar told her that, even though she was in her mid-20s, she was made to play the daughter. Last year, Almodovar got back in touch with Cruz to say he had the perfect role for her. He had finally written the screenplay about a woman married to an abusive loser who molests their daughter, and Cruz was made to play the mother. As so often with Almodovar, she couldn't believe what he was proposing. After all, Cruz is only 32, and could easily pass as 22. And it does take some believing the first time you see Cruz on screen as Raimunda, the sexy, tough, mendacious, vulnerable, melodramatic mamma. But by the end of the film, "Volver," she has given the performance of her life. Simon Hattenstone speaks with Penelope Cruz. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]