iW NEWS | "Aviva" Wins At Israel Film Festival

The 22nd edition of the Israel Film Festival in New York announced the winners of their festival awards at a ceremony at Clearview Cinemas Thursday night, with director Shemi Zarhin's "Aviva My Love" earning the Panavision Audience Choice Award for best feature film, earning the most votes from New York, Miami and Los Angeles audiences. Zarhin and the film's producer, Eitan Evan were awarded a full month's use of a 35mm Panavision camera package, worth $60,000. Other winners included Arik Henig's "Rabin-Peres," which won best documentary, and "A Touch Away", which won for best television drama. This year's festival was the most successful edition in over 20 years with over 50,000 in attendance at screenings in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iW NEWS | Palm Springs To Honor Weintraub, "Juno"

The 19th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, which runs January 3-14, 2008, announced that it will honor Jerry Weintraub with the Patrons of the Arts Award presented b the Screen Actors Guild Foundation at the festival's awards gala. The award is given to a person who has contributed significantly to the support of persons or projects that encourage and recognize the commitment to excellence in the film industry. Sydney Pollack was last year's recipient. Additionally, the festival announced Jason Reitman's film "Juno" will recieve the Chairman's Vanguard Award. Reitman, writer Diablo Cody and the film's ensemble cast will be presented the award. "Little Miss Sunshine" was last year's winner. The gala will be hosted by Mary Hart on Saturday, January 5, 2009 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

iW THIS WEEK | In The News: AFI Fest, AFM, A Change in Denver, and Strike!

The big news in the business this week was the start of a Writers Guild of America strike (now heading into its 5th day) against the Hollywood studios and TV networks. indieWIRE detailed the action ahead of Monday's walkout. Meanwhile, in L.A., we reported on AFI Fest, which continues through Sunday. A trio of filmmmakers (Alex Cox, Alex Holdridge and Matt Ogen) balanced culture and commerce, as we reported earlier this week and also from AFI Fest, Werner Herzog offered some candid remarks on documentaries. Also this week, "Joe Strummer" topped the indie/specialty box office, Denver Film Festival co-founder Ron Henderson announced his coming retirement, Arthouse Films acquired Neil Ortenberg & Daniel O'Connor's "Obscene" and MoMA's Raj Roy joined the selection committee for the annual New Directors/New Films series, run by MoMA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under iW This Week ]

iW THIS WEEK | Awards Watch Re-Cap: "No Country"; European Film Awards; WGA Strike and Oscar

Looking at happenings on the Awards Watch front... Among this week's news, the European Film Award nominations were announced, with "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," among the films leading the pack; Movie City News' Gurus o' Gold (including our own Eugene Hernandez) had their third offering of Oscar prediction charts, with "Atonement" edging "No Country for Old Men" for the big prize. Tom O'Neill and Jeff Wells discussed the accuracy issues in bonafide Oscar contender (and box-office champion) "American Gangster," Entertainment Weekly spoke with "Juno" writer and Oscar's likely first former-stripper screenwriting nominee, Diablo Cody, while Nikki Finke asked how the WGA strike will affect the Oscars. And here at indieWIRE, we introduced this season's Awards Watch coverage with an article highlighted by discussion of "No Country For Old Men" and supplemented by a first round of predictions on both myself and Eugene's blogs. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, iW This Week ]

iW THIS WEEK | New in Theaters: "Pencil," "No Country" and"War/Dance"

Among this week's specialty release openers are Oscar nominee Michele Ohayon's ("Colors Straight Up") "Steal a Pencil for Me." Earlier this week, she told indieWIRE that love letters between a couple in a Holocaust concentration camp "blew me away" and inspired her to tell a unique love story. The Coen Brothers' anticipated "No Country for Old Men" opens as well and Michael Koresky called it the Coen's "most fleet, vital film since 'The Big Lebowski,'" in his review in iW. And Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine's "War/Dance," which won the couple a directing prize at Sundance hits screens in limited release. They called their project "an opportunity to shed light on a horrific situation in their interview with indieWIRE. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under iW This Week ]

AP: Writers strike hits Hollywood workers

They're not on screen or on strike, but somewhere way behind the scenes in Hollywood, legions of workers are off the job as writers strike against studios. A growing number of caterers, hairdressers, set builders, crew members and people who rent everything from trucks to portable dressing rooms have been idled in this industry town, as filming shuts down and studios yank funding from production companies. With no deal is sight, the toll will only mount. Gary Gentile reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

NYT: French Architect Picked for Film Museum

At a board meeting on Tuesday night the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose the architect, Christian de Portzamparc, and his Paris-based firm to design the grand movie museum it is planning for a site just south of Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Michael Cielpy reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

LAT: Governor, mayor lack roles in writers strike

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa seem perfectly positioned to help resolve the Hollywood writers strike. But so far the former movie star and the onetime labor negotiator are at best bit players in the 4-day-old walkout that threatens the region's economy and, possibly, the political fortunes of the two elected leaders. Duke Helfand and Marc Lifsher report. 
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iW NEWS | 12 Titles Submitted for Animated Oscar Consideration

Twelve features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 80th Academy Awards including: "Alvin and the Chipmunks" directed by Tim Hill, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters" directed by Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis, "Bee Movie" directed by Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith, "Beowulf" directed by Robert Zemeckis, "Meet the Robinsons" directed by Stephen J. Anderson, "Persepolis" directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, "Ratatouille" directed by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava, "Shrek the Third" directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui, "The Simpsons Movie" directed by David Silverman, "Surf's Up" directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, "Tekkonkinkreet" directed by Michael Arias and "TMNT" directed by Kevin Munroe. "Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Beowulf" and "Persepolis" have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying run. Under the rules for this category, a maximum of three films can be nominated in a year in which the field of eligible entries numbers at least eight but fewer than 16. Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category also may qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture. Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22 at 5:30 a.m. PST. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Biz ]

SF360: New Italian Cinema

Italy arguably had a larger hand than any other single country in the creation of a post-World War II U.S. audience for foreign "art" films. Nothing drove that growth at first more than Italian "neorealist" films by Roberto Rossellini ("Open City," "Paisan"), Vittorio de Sica ("Shoeshine," "The Bicycle Thief") and others. when arthouse cinema was really catching fire, Italy offered Fellini, Antonioni, Visconti, Pasolini, Bertolucci, and so forth. Their movies were arthouse "events," must-sees to be endlessly discussed by everyone from liberal-arts students to urban boho types to, eventually, the more culturally savvy suburbanites. Dennis Harvey reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

iW NEWS | "Battle in Seattle" and "Juno" Bookend 4th Bahamas Festival

Writer/director Stuart Townsend's drama "Battle in Seattle" will open the 4th Bahamas International Film Festival, the festival's founder and executive director Leslie Vanderpool announced Wednesday. The festival, taking place December 6 - 13, will showcase 83 films from 26 countries, including 54 that are world or international premieres in dramatic, doc and short film categories. Jason Reitman's "Juno" will close the event, which has been extended to seven days for the first time. For a full line up of this year's festival, visit their website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iW NEWS | Participant Productions to Offer Grants in 08's "Pangea Day"

Participant Productions will take part in "Pangea Day," a one-day global film event showcasing short films from around the world that is the brainchild of "Control Room" director Jehane Noujaim. The event, slated for May 10, 2008 with venues in Cairo, Dharamsala, Kigali, London, New York City, Ramallah, Rio de Janeiro, and Tel Aviv, will be linked to produce a live four-hour program of films, speakers, and music, and the program will be broadcast live through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones. For the "Outstanding Filmmakers Awards Program," Participant will select five filmmakers, each representing a different continent (with Australia included with Asia) to receive a $5000 filmmakers grant to provide support for these filmmakers to continue making films. In addition, Participant will invite all the filmmakers whose films appear on Pangea Day to submit a treatment for a feature film or documentary. The company will then reward one winner with the "Filmmaker Grant" of $20,000 to continue the development of the treatment and a non-binding first look deal with Participant for the treatment. Noujaim created "Pangea Day" after winning the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) prize which granted her a wish to change the world -- no restrictions. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events ]

iW NEWS | Estefan to Sing at New Dubai Fest Event

The Dubai International Film Festival will host a new event dubbed "Rhythm and Reels" at its event taking place December 9 - 16 in the United Arab Emirates city. Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan will travel to the Emirate to perform following the premiere of "90 Millas" (90 Miles), directed by her record producer husband, Emilio Estefan. The three-day event during DIFF 2007 will bring "unusual and cutting-edge film" together with live musical performances. "90 Miles" is the distance between Cuba and Florida, and Estefan's film delves into the experience of Cuban musicians in exile in the United States, who are so close yet worlds away from their birthplace. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iW NEWS UPDATE | Denver Fest Founder Henderson Retires; Erickson Named Fest Director as '07 Fest Gears up

Ron Henderson, one of the founders and the longtime artistic director of the Denver Film Society (DFS) and the Starz Denver Film Festival is stepping down from his role at the end of '07, though he will remain at DFS as a senior programming consultant. Henderson served 30 years in which the festival has grown from a three-screen event with 78 films to this year's upcoming event which will include 179 films on 12 screens with an estimated 40,000 in attendance. Henderson will be recognized for his years at both the society and the festival as the recipient of this year's John Cassavetes Award at a special presentation on opening night Thursday, November 8. Meanwhile, Britta Erickson, currently serving as DFF's director of media and industry relations, has been appointed to the role of festival director by the DFS board of directors. Scott Rowitz remains the executive director. Before joining the staff in 1999, Erickson was the founding executive director of the Acoma Center (later the Curious Theatre Company), a non-profit performing arts organization in Denver. "I am excited by the challenges and opportunities this new position offers me," said Erickson in a statement. "Already the premier film organization in Colorado, the Denver Film Society has so much more it can offer to the diverse communities we serve. We are already hard at work defining the next steps in our growth and development." EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated to indicate Scott Rowitz remains executive director, while Britta Erickson has been named fest director. We apologize for the error. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iW NEWS| Scheidlinger Named EVP of Business Affairs at Weinstein Co.

The Weinstein Company has named veteran producer and former CAA agent Rob Scheidlinger as executive vice president of business affairs and production, co-chairman Harvey Weinstein announced. In his role, Scheidlinger will work closely with Eric Roth, EVP and co-head of business affairs, to manage business affairs for TWC and will work closely with co-president of production Michael Cole. Scheidlinger will be based in the company's Los Angeles office and will report to Harvey Weinstein and Michael Cole. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

iW NEWS | "Savages" to Kick off 30th Starz Denver Film Festival Thursday

The 30th Starz Denver Film Festival will open with Tamara Jenkins' "The Savages," a look at the fate of two grown siblings who are forced to re-examine their lives when they have to team up to care for their aging father. "Savages" opens Thursday launching an 11-day festival that will host 175 films including six world, seven North American and three U.S. premieres from 36 countries. DFF highlights this year include an effot to break the Guinness Book of World Record for largest toy drive as part of its Saturday-at-the-Movies event, which will also include a sneak screening of "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium," starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman. Director Jason Reitman will attend a screening of "Juno" as part of the fest's "Big Night Film." The evening includes a fundraising gala dinner hosted by Starz. Norman Jewison will be presented with DFF's Mayor's Career Achievement Award following a 40th anniversary screening of "In the Heat of the Night," while experimental filmmaker Phil Solomon will take the event's Stan Brakhage Vision Award. Cannes favorites "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and "Persepolis" are slated to screen in the festival's line up. To view a full list of this year's slate, visit the DFF website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iW NEWS | Tommy Lee Jones To Be Honored at SBIFF

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor actor Tommy Lee Jones with the American Riviera Award at the 23rd edition of the festival, which runs January 24 to February 3, 2008. The award, established to recognize an actor who has had a strong influence on American Cinema, will be presented on February 1st. Recent recipents include Philip Seymour Hoffman and Forest Whitaker, who both went on to win Academy Awards. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

iW NEWS | Arthouse to Take "Obscene" Worldwide

Worldwide rights to Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O'Connor's Toronto '07 doc "Obscene" have been acquired by Arthouse Films, the company announced from AFM Tuesday. Arthouse's David Koh negotiated the deal with Lilly Bright of Curiously Bright Entertainment and Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment. The film centers on enigmatic figure Barney Rosset who is one of the greatest American publishers of the twentieth century. Arthouse Films is an independent production and distribution company based in NY and LA. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

LAT: Art-house Depression

Something has gone horribly wrong in the specialty film business. Movies are dying left and right, with even the modest successes doing half of the business they used to do. What's worse, this isn't just a two-month slump. This is a real art-house depression. You have to go back to the fall of 2006, when "The Queen" and "Babel" were released, to find a specialty-division drama that made as much as money as a forgettable piece of fluff like the Jessica Alba comedy "Good Luck Chuck." Patrick Goldstein reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

SF360: Jumping the Shark

I had always thought I'd like to be thrown to the sharks when I died. Turns out, that plan wouldn't work so well: As I learned in Rob Stewart's alarming, moving, gorgeously shot documentary about the rapid decline of sharks, these animals do not actually really eat humans. And, with the stunning popularity of shark fin soup, we are eating them into extinction. Stewart's "Sharkwater," which combines the cinematography chops of a "Winged Migration" or a "March of the Penguins"...in which the connection between a shark's diet and the oxygen in our air becomes clear. (Believe it or not, we actually need sharks to breathe). Doug Young reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

iW NEWS | Roy Joins ND/NF For 37th Edition

Rajendra Roy, the Museum of Modern Art's new chief film curator will join the six-member selection committee for the 37th New Directors/New Films series, which will take place March 26 - April 6 in New York. The discovery festival, presented by MoMA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center is also accepting submissions from new filmmakers November 15 - January 9. "New Directors/New Films is a huge challenge for any curator," commented Roy in a statement. "The opportunity to put adventuresome filmmakers in front of the most discerning audiences in the world is very exciting. While emerging directors are being presented virtually every day, this series provides an opportunity for the industry and the city to celebrate the most innovative new voices in cinema." For more information on submission information, visit the Film Society's website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

"No Country for Old Men"'s Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem @ Apple Store SoHo

Actors Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem, who star in Joel Coen and Ethan Coen's latest film, "No Country for Old Men," will appear at Apple Store SoHo this Thursday, November 8 at 3:00pm to screen scenes from the movie and discuss the making of the film, which is adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel. Following the discussion, Brolin and Bardem will take questions from the audience. GQ magazine Senior Editor Mickey Rapkin will moderate the event. "No Country for Old Men" opens in select theaters on November 9.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Events ]

NYT: Writers on the Picket Line Would Feel a Varying Pinch

Among the Writers Guild's 12,000 members are television writer-producers like Shonda Rhimes, the creator of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice," who take home up to $5 million a year. On the other extreme are junior writers who -- if they work at all -- make $50,000 or less. About 48 percent of West Coast members are unemployed, according to guild statistics. (No such statistics exist for East Coast members.) The economic disparity within the Writers Guild complicates the union's job as it seeks increases in residual payments for the use of movies and TV shows on DVDs and online, among other issues. Brooks Barnes reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Guardian Interview: Sean Penn

"The way I see it," Penn says, calmly, "if you believe in democracy, you got to do something. We have people running the country now who really should be in prison for what they are doing to democracy. If you define our country by the constitution, we have enemies of the state in the White House, the defence department and the state department. That's where we are now." Sean O'Hagan speaks with Sean Penn. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

AP: Picketing begins in NY in writers strike

Noisy pickets appeared outside the "Today" show set on Monday as a strike by film and television writers got under way. Writers' demands for a bigger slice of DVD profits and revenue from the distribution of films and TV shows over the Internet has been a key issue. The strike is the first walkout by writers since 1988. That work stoppage lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million. Karen Matthews reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates: "Gangster" Love; "Strummer" Strong

Ridley Scott's likely Oscar contender, "American Gangster," turned the box office around after a dreadful October, opening with a whopping $46.3 million. It was a record opening for both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, and more impressive considering its 157 minute length and "R" rating. Of the more limited releases, "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten" looks like a contender to top the iW BOT tomorrow, earning an estimated $20,400 from 2 screens. Sidney Lumet's "Before The Devil Knows Youre Dead" expanded from 2 to 43 screens and maintained a strong average of $9,348, while Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's "Bella" continued to surprise, averaging $5,381 on 186 screens, only a mild drop from last weekend. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]