Searchlight Gets Carney's "Once"

Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.

In a deal that closed late Thursday, Fox Searchlight has acquired North American rights to John Carney's Sundance '07 hit, "Once." The film won the world dramatic competition audience award last week and Carney recently discussed the movie in an indieWIRE interview. Produced by Martina Niland and executive produced by David Collins, the film is set for release later this year and was acquired in a deal with Summit Entertainment, which is handling international sales and distribution. In a statement, Fox Searchlight COO Nancy Utley said, "'Once' swept the entire Searchlight team off its feet. From acquisitions to production to marketing, distribution and music, we passionately wanted to be part of 'Once'. The film is so beautiful and haunting, it's unforgettable. We couldn't be more thrilled." Fox Searchlight SVP of acquisitions Tony Safford and EVP of business affairs Stephen Plum brokered the deal with Summit CEO Patrick Wachsberger and EVP Andrew Matosich. [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Lead Story, Park City, World Cinema ]

SF360: 15 minutes of YouTube

YouTube--be it a landfill of desperation and lousy editing or goldmine of hidden talent--has undoubtedly produced stars. What follows is a by-no-means exhaustive or definitive list of the individuals who've enjoyed more than their 15 minutes on the site, but a collection of individuals who caught my eye in an intense week of YouTube scouring. Most have gotten upwards of 1,000,000 views and have tens of thousands of subscribers. Justin Juul reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

The Guardian: UK cinemas pull Stiller comedy

Major UK cinema chains are pulling the family blockbuster from their schedules after a row broke out with distributor 20th Century Fox. The furore follows Fox's decision to release the film on DVD barely three months after its debut in cinemas. The typical release "window" between theatrical and DVD release remains four months, and shortening it is regarded by cinema chains as a big no-no because it limits their revenue streams. The Guardian reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

H'Wood Reporter: Inaugural Drake film fest gets June berth

The first Drake International Film Festival, focusing on independent film and projects using 'cutting-edge' technologies, will take place in June near Naples, organizers said Thursday. The festival, which will be headed by longtime Venice Film Festival industry section head Laura Marcellino, will feature 12 competing films and more than 300 screenings June 23 - 30. Organizers vow to have at least six world premieres at the event, along with visits from several A-list Hollywood talents. The Hollywood Reporter reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

AP: British to show Al Gore movie in schools

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's global warming documentary will be sent to every secondary school in England as part of a campaign to tackle climate change, the government said Friday. British Environment Secretary David Miliband and Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced plans to distribute Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth" (by Davis Guggenheim) on the day the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was published in Paris. The report by leading scientists, said global warming has started and is "very likely" caused by humans. AP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

Australian Doc Conference Spotlights Guests at Upcoming Event

Filmmakers Fredrik Gertten ("The Socialist, The Architect and the Twisted Tower," Sweden), Rolf de Heer ("Ten Canoes," Australia), Australian film historian Dr. Paolo Cherchi Usai and director Leonard Retel Helmrich ("Promised Paradise," Netherlands) will be "special guests" of the 20th Australian International Documentary Conference, taking place in Adelaide, South Australia February 23 - 26. The directors have films screening at the Adelaide Film Festival, taking place concurrently with the conference. For more information, visit their website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Documentary, Festivals ]

Hot Docs to Host International Delegations at Upcoming Event

Hot Docs will host official delegations from Germany, Italy and Brazil at its upcoming festival and conference, April 19 - 29. The delegations, each a total of approximately 20 - 30 established producers and broadcasters working in social, cultural and political documentary genres, will partake in networking opportunities, market events and conference sessions, including the Toronto Documentary Forum, Hot Docs' renowned international co-financing market event. International Co-Production Day, taking place April 23, 2007, is a day-long gathering of Canadian and international producers. Featuring case studies, producer-to-producer meetings, and special presentations by the visiting delegations from Brazil, Germany, and Italy, the intent of this event is to "spark and facilitate new co-productions among attending delegates." [Brian Brooks]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Documentary, Festivals ]

Toronto International Film Festival Group Begins 'Festival Centre' Construction

Construction on TIFFG's Festival Centre began Thursday with fencing placed around the property that borders King and John Streets in Toronto, the Toronto International Film Festival Group, which organizes the yearly film festival in September as well as other yearly events announced Thursday. An official groundbreaking ceremony co-presented by the King and John Festival Corporation is planned for spring to celebrate and acknowledge all those who have participated in the project to-date. "This truly is a momentous occasion for TIFFG and all our partners involved in this project," said Piers Handling, director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival Group in a statement. "We have eagerly awaited this day since launching our campaign in 2003. Seeing all the activity on the site realizes a dream for this organization and Toronto. Once completed, the building will be a state-of-the-art structure filled with filmmakers, cinephiles, children, educators, arts enthusiasts, international tourists, and the best programming in the world." [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Fortissimo Gets "Blood Brothers"

Alexi Tan's first feature "Blood Brothers" has been acquired for worldwide sales, outside of Asia, by Fortissimo. The $10 million Chinese language film was acquired from CMC Entertainment and Lions Rock Productions (Terrence Chang and John Woo's company). Fortissimo intends to launch sales of the film at the European Film Market in Berlin next week. The cast includes Liu Ye, Daniel Wu, Chang Chen, Shu Qi, and Tony Yang. The director studied in London and at NYU, starting his career as a still photographer. His first short film, "17.17," screening at the Brooklyn International Film Festival in 2000 and he has since directed TV commercials and music videos, as well as the 2003 short, "Double Blade." In the words of a description, "Blood Brothers" is set in 1930s Shanghai, "Three innocent young men have arrived to this seeming paradise in search of a better life. As time passes, each is forced on a different path, but all face a life of crime...With the backdrop of decadence, life takes a difficult turn for all when a forbidden love affair is exposed. Friends turn against friends, brother against brother. The days of innocence have passed; they must stand up as men and make their choices. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Berlin, World Cinema ]

CineMart Honors 3 Projects

The International Film Festival Rotterdam's CineMart closed last night in The Netherlands, awarding the Prince Claus Film Fund Grant and two Arte France Cinema Awards. The grant of 15,000 Euro was presented to the CineMart '07 project "Independencia" by Raya Martin (Cinematografica Independiente en Filipinas, Philippines). In the words of a description, "Set against the backdrop of the American occupation of the Philippines in the early 20th century, the project concerns a small family that has taken refuge in the woods in search of a quiet life. The story depicts their daily struggle for survival while simultaneously engaging with the more universal struggles for identity, freedom and humanity." Recipients of the 10,000 Euro Arte France Cinema awards are "A Rational Solution" by Jorgen Bergmark (Hepp Film, Sweden) and "Les pieds nus sur les limaces" by Fabienne Berthaud (Agat Films & Cie, France). [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

Gyllenhaal and Howard Named Honorary Co-Chairs of 2007 Film Independent Spirit Awards

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Terrence Howard will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs for the 2007 Film Independent's Spirit Awards, Dawn Hudson, executive director of Film Independent, announced As Honorary Co-Chairs, Gyllenhaal and Howard will host the nominee reception on Thursday, February 22, as well as present at the Spirit Awards ceremony. The 2007 Film Independent's Spirit Awards will take place in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 24, 2007. As previously announced, Sarah Silverman will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the second year in a row. The show airs live beginning at 2:00 pm PST on IFC (Independent Film Channel). [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, People ]

"Mark of Cain" Given "Movie That Matters" Nod from Rotterdam

International Film Festival Rotterdam selection "The Mark of Cain" (2007)by British director Marc Munden has been given the "Movies that Matter Award," the festival announced Wednesday. The film was chosen out of ten films on human rights within the festival selection. Selected for its "raw realism," the film spotlights how "our own soldiers" can also commit war crimes. Honorable mention was given to "Bil' in My Love" by Shai Carmeli Pollak (Israel, 2006). [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

LA Times: Celebrity Wrangling

Experts give a how-to for snagging a star for your event. Wrangling celebrities during award season is much like herding skittish, overly pampered cats. Veteran event organizers must coax stars early and often with the soft purr of endearments, and the scent of a gravy train worth of media coverage. One of the most fraught, yet undocumented rituals of the award season is the sport of celebrity hunting. In-town press agents such as Ronni Chasen, Carol Marshall, Lisa Taback, Michele Robertson and Lea Yardum, among others, can help open the lines of communication between studios, event organizers, celebrity publicists and the media. Sheigh Crabtree reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Biz ]

Kerry Weldon Named Administrative Director at NewFest

Kerry Weldon has signed on to the job of Administrative Director for NewFest. In her new post as a co-director of the organization, she will oversee finances, development, and administration in partnership with Artistic Director Basil Tsiokos. Weldon begins at the organization on February 1st, working on fundraising and corporate relations leading up to NewFest 2007 - The 19th annual New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, which will take place May 31 - June 10, 2007 in New York City. "I am very happy with the addition of Kerry Weldon to NewFest's year-round staff," commented Tsiokos in a statement. "Her years of experience in New York City's film and TV industry make her the perfect choice to continue NewFest's expansion as we approach our 20th anniversary in 2008." Weldon spent nine years as Managing Director, Development at IFP. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

AMPAS Mails Final Oscar Ballots Wednesday

Final ballots for the 79th Academy Awards were mailed today to the 5,830 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization announced Wednesday. Completed ballots must be returned to Pricewaterhouse-Coopers by 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 20. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted. Listed on the ballots are nominees in 19 Oscar categories. Separate ballots for five Awards categories (Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Animated and Live Action Short Films) will be distributed after verification of mandatory member attendance at screenings. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Biz ]

First Asian Film Awards Looks to March Launch at Hong Kong Fest

The first Asian Film Awards will launch March 20 on the opening night of the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival, Wilfred Wong, chairman of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society has announced. Organized by the HKIFF and held in conjunction with Entertainment Expo, the awards will honor Asian work from the past year. Awards will recognize films and filmmakers from all over Asia--from Iran to China to India--in ten categories including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenwriter, Best Cinematographer, Best Production Designer, Best Composer, Best Editor and Best Visual Effects decided by a panel of 17 "well-known" film professionals. Vying for best picture this year are "Curse of the Golden Flower" (Hong Kong/China), "Exiled" (Hong Kong), "The Host" (South Korea), "Love and Honor" (Japan), "Opera Jawa" (Indonesia/Austria) and "Still Life" (China). For more information and a list of all nominees, visit the Asian Film Awards' website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Festivals ]

SilverDocs to Fete Jonathan Demme at June Event

Jonathan Demme ("Neil Young: Heart of Gold") will receive SilverDocs honors at the Charles Guggenheim Symposium, a centerpiece of the six-day documentary festival, which takes place in June outside Washington, D.C. The symposium, named after the late, four-time Academy Award winner, honors a filmmaker who has "mastered the power of the documentary to capture current events and frame history and who inspires audiences with powerful explorations of the complexity of the human experience." [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

IFC First Take Adds "Wild Tigers I Have Known" for February

IFC Entertainment officially announced Tuesday its North American rights acquisition to the coming-of-age drama "Wild Tigers I Have Known" from Genius Products. The film will join the day and date distribution banner IFC First Take where it will simultaneously premiere theatrically and on local cable's on demand platform. IFC is eyeing a February 28th release date for the film. The deal was negotiated by Elizabeth Nastro and Ryan Werner for IFC with Genius Products and executive producers Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

The Guardian Interview: Leonardo DiCaprio

A child-star first Oscar-nominated at 19, Leonardo DiCaprio has"'come of age'" with every movie since then. On eco-ethics, Martin Scorsese and even growing up, he's every inch the leading man these days--and far too charming to brag about his new nomination, for "Blood Diamond." "I aggressively went after 'Gangs of New York' to try to work with the guy, because I remember seeing 'Taxi Driver' at a very young age when I was about to work with De Niro, and I remember saying to myself, 'wow, I've never forgotten that I was an audience member when watching a movie before.' I've never felt that suspension of disbelief dissolve. I felt like I was in that character's head." Carole Cadwalladr reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, People ]

Reuters: Oscar race watchers put spotlight on "Sunshine"

Hollywood's Oscar race for best film appears to be wide open heading into its final month with several award watchers on Tuesday giving comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" a slight edge over "The Departed" and "Babel." ob Tourtellotte reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Movies ]

MoMA Plans Major Kiarostami Retrospective

The Museum of Modern Art has announced the exhibition Abbas Kiarostami: Image Maker, described as a major retrospective (and spanning five decades), of the films, photography, exhibition and installation of the Iranian director and artist. The film retrospective will run from March 1 - May 26, 2007 at MoMA, with a companion media installation at the Midtown Manhattan museum. Meanwhile, at P.S.1 in Queens, a photo and media installation will run from February 11 - April 29, 2007. Born in 1949, Abbas Kiarostami is known for, in the words of a MoMA announcement, "a distinct personal style, employing contemplative, philosophical themes coupled with a lyrical translation of Neorealism into modernist terms." The restrospective will present 33 of the director's shorts and feature, including "Through the Olive Trees" (1994); "A Taste of Cherry" (1997), "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999); and "Ten" (2002). Abbas Kiarostami: Image Maker was organized by Jytte Jensen, Curator, Department of Film, and Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator, Department of Media, The Museum of Modern Art, and Chief Curatorial Advisor, P.S.1. For more information, please visit the MoMA website. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events, World Cinema ]

AFP: World War II, globalization in focus at star-studded Berlinale

Next month's Berlin International Film Festival will be a star-studded showcase of movies on the impact of globalization and the ongoing struggle to come to terms with the horrors of World War II, its director has told AFP. Dieter Kosslick said in an interview ahead of the February 8 to 18 event that he saw a deep desire among contemporary filmmakers to tackle themes of people's isolation in oppressive systems and their everyday heroism. Deborah Cole reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Berlin, Festivals ]

AP: Who's won what leading up to the Oscars

The Oscars are almost as much about momentum as the films themselves. Here's a list of what honors the top movies are winning this awards season... The Associated Press lists the awards film by film in case you've had some difficulty keeping up. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Movies ]

SF360: Noir City5, fun with Dicks and Janes

The screen comes painted in startling collisions of black-and-white, but the truth is never anything but gray. It's classic film noir--courtesy of Noir City5, the fifth edition of San Francisco's prominent annual noir fest--and its indelible contrasts color the world to this day in iconic images as definitive as the light cut by a Venetian blind. The term film noir, at least as applied to its original or "classic" phase, came along to define a genre only after the fact. But as aficionados and even novices know, it more or less neatly encompasses a rash of Hollywood crime stories, often B movie fare, that dealt in moody, sultry ways with the shadow side of the otherwise fluorescent American landscape of the 1940s and early '50s. Robert Avila reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

AFP: Film is dead, long live digital movies says David Lynch

He's created some of the most memorable and enigmatic works ever committed to celluloid, but as far as David Lynch is concerned, film is dead. The maverick Hollywood director famed for disturbing movies which explore the dark side of human nature such as "Blue Velvet," "Eraserhead" and "The Elephant Man" says he has become part of the digital revolution. Rob Woollard reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

iW VIDEO: Sundance Award Winners, Festivalgoers Name Their Favorite Films, and More

In the final issue of iW: VIDEO On The Scene at Park City, "Padre Nuestro" and "Manda Bala" win top prizes as iW VIDEO checks out the Sundance Film Festival awards ceremony, festivalgoers name some of their favorite films, and more. Watch the large screen version here.  
[permalink]   [ filed under indieWIRE: VIdeo ]

The SAG Award Winners

In Los Angeles tonight, the Screen Actors Guild presented its annual SAG Awards. The film winners include:

Lead actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"
Lead Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"
Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"
Cast: "Little Miss Sunshine"
Life Achievement: Julie Andrews

Get the latest from Awards Season in indieWIRE's special Awards Watch section. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

"Volver" Wins Best Picture in Spain

Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" won the best picture prize at the Goya Awards in Spain, while the film's star Penelope Cruz received the best actress prize at the country's national equivalent of the Oscars, according to an AP article (via the International Herald Tribune). Accepting her award, Cruz said, "This award is very important, very special for me...I am going to try not to cry because I'm a disaster, and these 30 seconds are not going to be enough." Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" won seven awards at the ceremony. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]