AFP: Europe's Oscars pit Almodovar, Loach and German newcomer

The European Film Awards, the continent's version of the Oscars, will Saturday pit international arthouse names Pedro Almodovar and Ken Loach against German newcomer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The ceremony in the Polish capital will combine the glitzy and highbrow in a celebration of the finest of Europe's movie industry. Almodovar's "Volver" has six nominations. The comical drama is shortlisted for best European film, the Spaniard is up for best director and his star Penelope Cruz for best actress. Loach is shortlisted for best film for "The Wind That Shakes The Barley," his hard-hitting story of two brothers during Ireland's 1920s struggle for independence from Britain and ensuing civil war. At the Cannes Film Festival in May, "Volver" took best screenplay and best actress awards for Cruz and her three co-stars, while Loach won the top prize, the Palme d'Or. Jonathan Fowler reports. 
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Austin Film Society to Honor Ann Richards, Linklater, Paxton and Buckley at March Ceremony

The Austin Film Society (AFS) today announced that its seventh annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards will pay tribute to the Honorable Ann Richards, former governor of Texas, who acted as the ceremony's emcee for four years. Columnist Liz Smith, who Richards inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in 2001, will serve as emcee at the March 9, 2007 awards show, which recognizes actors, directors, screenwriters, filmmakers and films from, influenced or inspired by the Lone Star State. Also attending this year's ceremony will be honorees Elizabeth Avellan, Richard Linklater, Bill Paxton and Betty Buckley. They will be honored for their "immense contributions to Texas filmmaking" and join fellow Hall of Fame honorees such as Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Dennis Quaid, Marcia Gay Harden, Tobe Hooper and Willie Nelson. Richards, a film enthusiast and organization supporter, was unable to attend last year's event after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer; she passed away Wednesday, Sept. 13. [Brian Brooks] 
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Le Clef Joins Fortissimo Films in Paris

Fortissimo Films has appointed Catherine Le Clef as senior vice president, TV and ancillary sales. Le Clef will join the International Film and TV outfit on January 1st and will be based in Paris. The film sales company already has a presence in Hong Kong, London, New York, Sydney as well as its main office in Amsterdam. Besides running Fortissimo's existing TV activities, Le Clef is expected to expand the TV side to include documentaries for TV and made for TV movies. Le Clef joins Fortissimo from Paris based Doc & Co, an international distributor of documentaries. In this capacity, she oversaw international distribution of "The Staircase" by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade; "Salvador Allende" by Patricio Guzman; "The Mother's House" by Francois Vester; and "Hothouse" by Shimon Dotan. Prior to this, she was with Film Transit International in Canada where she worked for 15 years. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

AP: Morgan Freeman releases new movie on Web

Just two weeks after "10 Items or Less" opens in theaters Friday, it'll be available for digital download from Clickstar, a company that Morgan Freeman's production company and Intel have founded to bring small movies to those who live far from boutique cinemas. The film, directed by Brad Silberling, is a short, independent movie about independent movies. Freeman's character is an actor who has been out of the movie biz for four years who's considering signing onto "a little independent thing." Jake Coyle reports. 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Powell Joins Goldwyn/Roadside

Samuel Goldwyn Films and Roadside Attractions have hired Nathan Powell as VP of Marketing, based at IDP in New York. He previously served as a VP at Terry Hines & Associates and has also worked at Wellspring, Artisan, Miramax Films and Sony Pictures Classics. 
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Hard Times for Screenwriters?

On the heels of Hollywood's recent, record $4 mil deal to Akiva Goldsman, Nikki Finke in the LA Weekly writes that many top screenwriters are "in the shit."

Others are trying the indie route, but that's more like a nightmare than a dream. Scribes are being pushed by managers and agents to put movies together with a director and a star and try to find financing. "But the reality is that, of all the finished films submitted to Sundance, maybe four got distribution deals. And, in the process, you've watched three years of your life get away as you fucking try to get a yes from Andy Garcia," a screenwriter complains.

 
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The Reeler at The Gothams: "'Half Nelson''s hat trick rescues long night, raises hard questions"

A hard look at the Gotham Awards from Stu VanAirsdale at The Reeler:

If, as IFP executive director Michelle Byrd has been at pains to stress of late, "independence" is more abstraction than brand name, awards like Babel's and Norton's and Kate Winslet's likely confused the relative values of each quantity beyond calculation. Such ambiguity does more than make the room safe for majors, however; it imposes an authority vacuum that makes the organization's primary fundraiser an essentially irrelevant event. Worse yet, beyond the tide of unlikely red-carpet walkers (except that the carpet was blue, natch) like Bahrani and So Yong Kim, the Gothams "experience" itself isn't even that interesting. As more than one attendee asked me during and after the show, who can you root for in a rigged game? Half Nelson won three prizes not only because it's excellent, but because it had to -- for the same reason Babel couldn't leave empty-handed. IFP cornered itself into the unadulterated disgrace of stiffing the Shortbus cast, which staked its careers on a movie (a New York movie, by the way) that literally had no precedent before sitting and watching the derivative, deep-pocketed globe-trotter Gonzalez Inarritu walk away with their rightful recognition. What's left after that but a shrug and a yawn?

 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Events ]

"This is England" Takes Top Prize at British Independent Film Awards

Shane Meadows' "This is England" won the "Best British Independent Film" award Wednesday night at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) at Hammersmith Palais in London. Kevin Macdonald took the best director prize for "The Last King of Scotland," while "Red Road" stars Tony Curran and Kate Dickie won the best actor and actress nods. Best supporting actor/actress went to Leslie Phillips for "Venus," and the promising newcomer award was presented to Thomas Turgoose for "This is England." Peter Morgan took best screenplay for "The Queen," and best foreign independent film went to "Hidden" (Cache) by Michael Haneke. "Road to Guantanamo" by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross won best documentary, and best debut director went to Menhaj Huda for "Kidulthood." [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

SF360: Otto motives, a Preminger perspective

In an ideal world, privilege ought to come hand-in-hand with kindness--but in this one, being handed a seat at the top of the heap seldom makes for a pleasant personality. Director, producer and sometime actor Otto Preminger enjoyed a pretty painless ride from well-off family circumstances to well-connected professional beginnings, which then led without great struggle to his being one of Hollywood's biggest behind-the-camera names for several decades. Dennis Harvey reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

IFC Entertainment and Red Envelope Take Rights to "An Unreasonable Man"

North American rights to directors Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan's "An Unreasonable Man" has been picked up by IFC Entertainment in partnership with Red Envelope Entertainment from Submarine Entertainment and William Morris. Day and date distribution label IFC First Take will simultaneously premiere the film theatrically and on local cable's On Demand platform. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently short listed the film for consideration in the documentary category for the 79th Academy Awards. The doc looks at the life and career of controversial figure, Ralph Nader. A team of historians working for Atlantic Monthly magazine recently included Nader on its list of the 100 most influential Americans of all time, one of only three living people to make the list. "'An Unreasonable Man' is a documentary sure to strike a chord with Americans in the way that only Ralph Nader can," stated IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring. "It represents the true independent spirit of filmmaking and furthers the rapid expansion of our First Take slate." [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

PARK CITY '07 | More Sundance Lineups Today

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

The competition lineup for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival was unveiled yesterday here at indieWIRE.com and the rest of the feature film roster will be announced later today, at 4 p.m. EST, including films in the Premieres, Spectrum, New Frontier, and Park City at Midnight sections. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, Park City ]

Morgan Spurlock Presents 2007 Line up Announced

Hart Sharp Video and Oscar nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock in association with his production company, Warrior Poets, announced the 2007 Morgan Spurlock Presents… line-up. The program is a series of documentary and narrative feature films handpicked by Spurlock and and Hart Sharp's Joe Amodei that have "distinct social relevance and importance to society and the world today." This year's line up includes "Class Act," "The Future of Food," "Chalk," "Czech Dreams," and "The Third Wave." "These movies blew me away when I saw them and I am thrilled that even more people will get a chance to experience their importance, humor and originality," commented Spurlock in a statement. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

AFP: Serbian festival pulls Chinese film after warning

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

The organisers of a Belgrade film festival have been forced to withdraw a Chinese movie about the 1989 Tiananmen square democracy protests after a warning from the country's embassy in Serbia, state-run media reported. The movie, "Summer Palace," was scheduled to open the Author Film Festival on Tuesday night, but the showing was cancelled after the Chinese embassy complained to authorities. AFP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

European Film Awards to Honor Garrel, Pell and Rozenbaum December 2

The European Film Academy Critics' Award 2008 Prix FIPRESCI will go to Philippe Garrel's "Les Amants Reguliers," the event announced. Additionally, the prize for Artistic Contribution 2006 will go to Pierre Pell and Stephane Rozenbaum in recognition of their production design for Michel Gondry's "The Science of Sleep." Both nods will presented during the European Film Awards, taking place in Warsaw, Poland on December 2. "Philippe Garrel made his first film when he was 16, and by 20 had earned the reputation of the Nouvelle Vague's Wunderkind and 'younger brother of Godard,'" Andrei Plakhov, president of FIPRESCI commented in a statement. "His sophisticated cinematographic style, with long concentrated frames, is unique. His films are like fake detective stories, where mystery lies, not in the plot but in the style." [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

H'Wood Reporter: Indie world's Gotham Awards suffer identity crisis

When the Gotham Awards are handed out in New York Wednesday, the winners won't necessarily be independently produced movies with a local flavor. That was the original mission of the event when it was established 16 years ago but times have changed, to the chagrin of some observers. This year's lineup of best feature contenders pits Sony's $40 million costume drama "Marie Antoinette" against indie label ThinkFilm's $1 million no-frills drama about a drug-addicted teacher, "Half Nelson." To some in the independent film community, this is a fair playing field where the best film wins. Gregg Goldstein reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

"Good Boys" and "Love Sick" share image+nation LGBT Prizes

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Israeli director Yair Hochner's "Good Boys" and Tudor Giurgiu's "Love Sick" shared the grand jury prize at the just completed 19th edition of the image+nation, Montreal's LGBT Film Festival. American Ash Christian won the "Coup de Coeur" prize for "Fat Girls," while Frederic Moffet's "Jean Genet in Chicago" took the grand jury prize in the shorts category. "Loving Annabelle" by Katherine Brooks won the audience prize for best feature, while Larry Grimaldi and Kirk Marcolina's "Camp Out" and Nancy Nicol's "La Politique du Coeur" shared the best doc nod. Sebastien Gauthier's "Vaguement Romantique" won best short in the audience category. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, Queer Cinema ]

Reuters: Sony Classics picks up Swiss drama

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up North American rights for "Vitus," Switzerland's official selection for the 2007 foreign-language Oscar nomination race. The movie recently screened at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles, where it won the audience award for best feature. Scott Roxborough reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, World Cinema ]

H'Wood Reporter: Dramas aplenty vie for Golden Globe attention

With nominations for the Golden Globe Awards just weeks away--announcements are set for the early morning hours of December 14--a clear front-runner has yet to emerge for one of the ceremony's top two prizes, namely the best drama of the year. Unlike the musical/comedy race, in which the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. will surely fete Paramount/DreamWorks' big-screen adaptation of the award-winning Broadway production "Dreamgirls," the dramatic categories remain decidedly murky, and almost no one is willing to go on record supporting any particular movie as a lock for a best picture trophy. Stephen Galloway reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, 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 three day 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. "Volver" (Sony Pictures Classics) $512,127 wknd ($17,071 per scrn) 2. "Dhoom 2" (Yash Raj Films) $979,001 wknd ($15,540 per scrn) 3. "The History Boys" (Fox Searchlight) $101,523 wknd ($14,503 per scrn) 4. "Two or Three Things I Know About Her" (Rialto) $10,764 wknd ($10,764 per scrn) 5. "The Aura" (IFC First Take)" $4,734 wknd ($4,734 per scrn) 6. "Little Children" (New Line Cinema) $141,586 wknd ($4,567 per scrn) 7. "The Last King of Scotland" (Fox Searchlight) $70,092 wknd ($4,123 per scrn) 8. "Samoan Wedding" (Magnolia Pictures) $8,001 wknd ($4,001 per scrn) 9. "The Queen" (Miramax) $2,587,471 wknd ($3,962 per scrn) 10. "Broken Sky" (Strand Releasing) $21,928 wknd ($3,123 per scrn) 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Magnolia Pictures Takes US Rights to "Tears of the Black Tiger"

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights for Wisit Sasanatieng's 2001 Cannes feature "Tears of The Black Tiger" from Miramax Films in a deal that resurrects a title considered vanished following Miramax's initial acquisition. The first Thai film to be accepted to Cannes, the company took the rights to the film in several territories including the U.S. Miramax and Magnolia previously teamed up to release Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Pulse" in 2005. Magnolia will release the original uncut version of the film on January 12th at New York's Film Forum with a national rollout to follow. The distributor's head of acquisitions Tom Quinn and head of business affairs Jason Janego negotiated the deal with Rosalind Lawton, VP of business affairs and Peter Lawson, VP of acquisitions on behalf of Miramax Films. Described as a "pad thai" Western, the film is the story of a handsome bandit who is in love with a high society sweetheart whose father is trying to keep them apart. The film was digitally tinted in post-production to achieve its signature, super-saturated look, according to Magnolia. "'Tears of The Black Tiger' is an amazing stylistic triumph," commented Magnolia chief Eamonn Bowles in a statement. "It's one of those exceedingly rare films about which can be said: 'There's truly nothing like it.'" [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

AFP: Hong Kong films sweep Chinese 'Oscars'

Hong Kong director Peter Chan, twice nominated for best director, finally garnered the award for his musical, "Perhaps Love" about a country girl striving to become a star and her relationships with two men at the 43rd annual Golden Horse Film Awards, dubbed the Chinese-language "Oscars." The film led the nominations with 12 nods, and ended up winning four awards. Hong Kong actor and singer Aaron Kwok won his second consecutive award for best actor with his impressive portrayal of a single and abusive father who indulges in gambling in "After This Our Exile." Amber Wang reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

"Family Ties" and "On a Friday Afternoon" Among 47th Thessaloniki Festival Winners

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

South Korean film "Family Ties" (Gajokeui Tansaeng) by Kim Tae-yong won the Golden Alexander for best feature film at the 47th Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece Sunday, concluding the fest, which ran November 17-26. The prize includes 37,000 euros. Iranian Mona Zandi Haghighi's "On a Friday Afternoon" (Asre Jomeh) won the Silver Alexander, and Polish filmmaker Slawomir Fabicki took best director for "Retrieval" (Z Oszysku). The film's star, Antoni Pawlicki won best actor for his role, while best actress went to the ensemble cast of "Family Ties." Additionally, "Family Ties" shared the best screenplay award with "Suely in the Sky" (O Ceu De Suely, Brazil/Germany/Portugal/France). "Suely," by Karim Ainouz, also took this year's FIPRESCI prize. Extended coverage from this year's Thessaloniki will be published in indieWIRE later today. [Brian Brooks] 
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"The Only One" and "Sons" Take Mannheim-Heidelberg Fest Prizes

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Belgian director Geoffrey Enthoven's "The Only One" (Vidange perdue) won the "Main Award of Mannheim-Heidelberg" at the 55th International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg (November 16-25) in Germany. The fest's "Rainer Werner Fassbinder Prize" went to Norwegian Erik Richter Strand for "Sons" (Sonner), while special jury awards went to "Stealth" (Comme des voleurs) by Lionel Baier (Switzerland) and "Thicker Than Water" (Blodboend) by Arni Olafur Asgeirsson (Iceland). Danish director Peter Schonau Fog's "The Art of Crying" (Kunsten at graede i kor) won the festival's audience prize, while "A Summer Day" (Un jour d'ete) by Franck Guerin (France) took the FIPRESCI award. 60,000 visitors attended screenings, and this year's Mannheim Meetings, a co-production market that runs concurrently with the event, included 63 projects from 39 countries. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

AP: Gyllenhaal and Gosling Among Winners at Stockholm Fest

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Maggie Gyllenhaal won the best actress award for her performance in "Sherrybaby" at the 17th annual Stockholm International Film Festival this weekend, while the feature, directed by Laurie Collyer, was named best picture. Ryan Gosling won best actor for his role in Ryan Fleck's "Half Nelson." The festival, which ended Sunday, showcased 170 films from nearly 40 countries. AP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]