NYT | Deal to End Hollywood Writers' Strike May Be Near

Citing a breakthrough in negotiations yesterday, the New York Times is reporting today that the WGA may be nearing a deal with the AMPTP, which would end the more than three-month long writer's strike. "Informal talks between representatives of Hollywood's striking writers and production companies have eliminated the major roadblocks to a new contract, which could lead to a tentative agreement as early as next week," the NY Times reported. 
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iW NEWS | "Wonderful," "Flower" and "Peace" Take Top Rotterdam Awards

Thai film "Wonderful" by Aditya Assarat, Malaysian film "Flower in the Pocket" and Danish film "Go with Peace Jamal" (Ma Salama Jamil) won the VPRO Tiger Awards at the 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam at the event's awards ceremony Friday night. Each prize comes with a prize of 15,000 euros and guaranteed broadcast by Dutch public television network VPRO. The festival's KPN Audience Award will be announced Saturday. In other nods, the first Dioraphte Award went to "Mutum" by Sandra Kogut. The winner was selected from the twenty-two Hubert Bals Fund supported films in this year's official IFFR selection. "What on Earth Have I Done Wrong" by Niu Doze Chen-zer, meanwhile took the award from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC), while "The Sky, the Earth and the Rain" by Chilean director Jose Luis Torres Leiva took the FIPRESCI award. "Ah, Liberty!" by Ben Rivers (UK), "As I Lay Dying" by Ho Yuhang (Malaysia) and "Obervando el Cielo" by Jeanne Liotta (US) won the Tiger Awards competition for short film. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | Strand Takes Rights to "Help Me Eros"

Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Lee Kang-Sheng's "Help Me Eros" at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, sales company Fortissimo Films announced Friday. The film, about a stock broker who loses everything in a market crash and turns to the marijuana he grows in his closet for comfort, won the Grand Prize at the Gijon Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize at the Bangkok Film Festival. Additionally, Strand also acquired reissue rights to the controversial gay film "For a Lost Soldier" directed by Roeland Kerbosch, which it has been distributing for Fortissimo for a number of years. The film will be remastered and a special edition will be created. The deals were done between Fortissimo's co-chairman Wouter Barendrecht and Strand's co-president Marcus Hu. In other Fortissimo news, Kim Longinotto's "Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go" has been sold to a number of territories including Yle 2 (Finland), VRT (Belgium), IKON (Netherlands), NHK (Japan), Swedish Educational Channel (Sweden) and Noga (Israel). The deals were done by Fortissimo's SVP, TV and Ancillary Sales Catherine Le Clef. [Brian Brooks]" 
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SF360: Cinequest Announces Program for 18th

Cinequest announced yesterday in San Jose its 2008 program, emphasizing its role as a "discovery" festival that culled its 153 features and shorts from 1,800 submissions. The festival continues to offer distribution to a select set of films from its festival after the festival is completed. The festival, which runs Feb. 27-March 9, features a rich set of panels for filmmakers. Its Maverick Spirit Award goes this year to John Leguizamo and his film "Where God Left His Shoes" screens. It also features conversations with screenwriter Michael Arndt ("Little Miss Sunshine") and screenwriter/actor/producer ("Million Dollar Baby") Bobby Moresco. Susan Gerhard reports. 
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HR: No growth in film jobs for women: report

Women working in the entertainment industry have yet to break through the "celluloid ceiling," making up just 15 percent of those in powerful behind-the-scenes roles, according to a study released Thursday by San Diego State University. Hollywood Reporter reports. 
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iW NEWS | "Persepolis" Wins "Young People's" Prize in Rotterdam

Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's "Persepolis" has been given the MovieSquad Award of the young people's jury at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The five jury members, aged between 16 and 19 years, voted the film as best out of the twenty-two festival films they considered for the prize. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | Robert Downey Jr. ShoWest's Male Star of the Year

ShoWest has named Robert Downey Jr. their Male Star of the Year. Downey Jr. will be presented the award at the festival's closing night ceremony on Thursday, March 13, 2008 in Las Vegas. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | NonStop Paddles "Ping Pong"

Scandinavian-based sales company NonStop Sales has signed international distribution rights to Swedish director Jens Jonsson's "The King of Ping Pong," which won the world cinema jury prize in the dramatic category as well as a world cinematography award at the recent Sundance Film Festival. NonStop Sales will have the film's market premiere at the European Film Market coinciding with the Berlinale. The film centers on an ostracized and bullied teenager who excels only in ping pong descends into an acrimonious struggle with his younger, more popular brother when the truth about their family history and their father surfaces over the course of their spring break. In other NonStop news, the company is touting the box office success in Norway for "The Kautokeino Rebellion" and "Switch," both of which will screen in the European Film Market. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | Celluloid Dreams Takes International "FLOW"

Celluloid Dreams will represent the director Irena Salina's Sundance '08 entry, "FLOW: For Love of Water" internationally. Filmed in 12 countries, "FLOW" is represented in North America by Josh Braun/Submarine. Additionally, it was announced that the film will be the first theatrical film to collaborate with the global environmental initiative 1% For The Planet for its eventual commercial release. 1% is a growing global movement of 782 companies worldwide who have committed to donate 1% of their profit to a network of more than 1,500 global environmental organizations. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | "Fighting" Doc To Benefit Woodruff Fund

The American Film Foundation has announced that 10% of each ticket from Terry Sanders' documentary, "Fighting For Life," will go to The Bob Woodruff Family Fund, a charity that assists service members injured while serving the United States Armed Forces. "Fighting" details the experiences of doctors and nurses fighting on the frontlines. The film will open in New York City on March 7th with an expansion to follow. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Efron & Danes Head Linklater's "Orson Welles"

Zac Efron and Claire Danes will star in Richard Linklater's "Me & Orson Welles," a romantic comedy that will begin shooting February 24th in the Isle of Man. The screenplay was written by Holly Gent Palmo and Vincent Palmo Jr. and is the based on the novel by Robert Kaplow set in the New York theatre world. Cinetic Media will handle domestic sales and Cinetic and Odyssey Entertainment will jointly represent foreign sales. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Fox Searchlight Begins "Bees"

Fox Searchlight announced that principal photography has begun on "The Secret Life of Bees," from writer-director Gina Price-Bythewood. Based on Sue Monk Kidd's novel, the film stars Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys. The film will be released later this year. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Lelouch's "Roman de Gare" to Open 13th Rendez-Vous in New York

The U.S. debut of Claude Lelouch's "Roman de Gare" will open the 13th Rendez-Vous with French Cinema series Friday, February 29 in New York. French filmmakers Sandrine Bonnaire, Nicolas Klotz, Noemie Lvovsky and Claude Miller are also attending the screening. The film will be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the spring. The film stars Dominique Pinon and Fanny Ardant as bestselling author Judith Ralitzer, who is being interrogated by the police because of some uncomfortable similarities between events in her novels and the actions of 'The Magician,' a serial killer known for luring victims with card tricks and sleight-of-hand. Rendez-Vous with French Cinema spotlights new French films and is presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance, USA. Fifteen films are slated for this year's event taking place February 29 - March 9. [Brian Brooks] 
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BBC: Oscars team prepares back-up show

A contingency plan for the Oscars has been put in place in case the traditional red carpet event is cancelled due to the writers' strike. The back-up show would include a history of the Oscars and film clips. BBC reports. 
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AFP: Oscars ballots mailed to voters as awards near

Final ballots to pick the winners of the movie industry's most sought-after awards -- the Oscars -- were sent to voters on Wednesday, four weeks out from Hollywood's biggest night of the year. The ballots, sent to 5,829 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, list nominees in 19 categories for the Oscars, which will be announced on February 24. AFP reports. 
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GUARDIAN | Back into the light

In The Guardian, B Ruby Rich looks at the recent Sundance Film Festival: "...2008 turned out to be the year that Sundance returned to its roots. The best films in the US competitions restored the spirit of the festival's early days: regionally shot films on restricted budgets with new or non-actors, by film-makers more passionate about what they were shooting than where their career was heading." 
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iW NEWS | Weinsteins Set to Work With Woody Allen for Sixth Time

North American rights to Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" have been acquired by The Weinstein Company. The new film, called "funny, sexy and smart" in a statement by Harvey Weinstein, stars Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson, Penelope Cruz, Kevin Dunn, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Messina. In the film, two young American women (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson) become entangled with an artist (Javier Bardem) and his crazy ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) while spending a summer in Spain. It was written and directed by Allen and produced by Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, and Gareth Wiley, as well as Jaume Roures. Currently in post-production, the film will be released later this year. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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SF Chronicle: Picturing Harvey Milk

"Milk," which stars Sean Penn as the groundbreaking gay politician, won't be in theaters until some time next year. But the making of the film on the streets of San Francisco excavates a potent piece of the city's history. Steven Winn reports. 
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AFP: Abu Ghraib documentary to premiere at Berlinale

A picture about the prisoner abuse scandal at Iraq's Abu Ghraib jail will become the first documentary ever to enter the competition at the Berlin Film Festival next month, organisers said Tuesday. "Standard Operating Procedure" by Oscar-winning director Errol Morris uses recovered footage, reenactments and the notorious photographs published round the world... AFP reports. 
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AFP: Diane Kruger, Sandrine Bonnaire to join Berlin film festival jury

Hollywood actress Diane Kruger and French star Sandrine Bonnaire will join the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival next month, on a panel led by Greek-French director Costa-Gavras, organisers said Tuesday. AFP reports. 
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iW BOT UPDATE | "4 Months" Tops Chart

Cristian Mungiu's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" was high atop the iW BOT in its opening weekend for IFC First Take, according to final numbers posted this afternoon at indieWIRE.com. "4 Months," opening on 2 screens, averaged $25,856. Behind it was Jia Zhang-ke's "Still Life," which earned $9,019 from its second week at New York's IFC Center for a cumulative total of $30,211. And still in the top ten after nearly two months was Jason Reitman's "Juno," which topped $100 million. This week's indieWIRE box office article was posted yesterday. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | First Run/Icarus Takes on "Operation Filmmaker"

"Operation Filmmaker" by Nina Davenport has been picked up by First Run/Icarus Films, the company's president Jonathan Miller announced Tuesday. The film, which will have its theatrical run beginning June 4 at the IFC Center in New York, was negotiated by Miller and Films Transit International's Diana Holtzberg on behalf of Davenport. The film was best doc at the AFI Fest in November as well as a special mention at the 2007 Chicago International Film Festival and the Dutch Film Critics' prize at the 2007 International Film Festival Rotterdam. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | "Eastern Promises," "Shake Hands" Lead Genie Nods

Nominations were announced for the 28th annual Genie Awards (Canada's Academy Award equivalent), with David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" and Roger Spottiswoode's "Shake Hands With The Devil" leading with 12 nods each. This marks the first time in many years that English-Canadian films led instead of French-Canadian films, with other notable nominees included Sarah Polley's "Away From Her" with seven nominations and Bruce McDonald's Ellen Page starrer, "The Tracey Fragments" with six. Denys Arcand's Oscar shortlister "Days of Darkness" trailed with four noms. And in a rare Oscar-Genie grossover, both Viggo Mortensen and Julie Christie got acting nods, with Christie again competing against Page, except that Page is nodded here for "Tracey." For a complete list of nominations, visit the Genies' website. Winners will announced at ceremony at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on March 3, 2008. For the first time ever, the Genie Awards will be broadcast on the E! Television Network and IFC. [Peter Knegt]  
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iW NEWS | "No Country" Takes 2 SAG Awards

"The Coens are freakly little people and we made a freaky little movie, whether you like the ending or not," actor Josh Brolin said when accepting "No Country For Old Men"'s award for best ensemble cast at the Screen Actors Guild awards. "No Country" also took an award for best supporting actor for Javier Bardem. Other winners in the film categories included Julie Christie for best actress for her work in "Away From Her," Daniel Day-Lewis for best actor for his work in "There Will Be Blood," and Ruby Dee for best supporting actress for "American Gangster." [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates: "4 Months" Soars To Top Of iW BOT

According to indieWIRE Box Office Tracking (iW BOT) estimates from Rentrak, Cristian Mungiu's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" is set to top this week's iW BOT. The IFC Films release grossed $48,200 on just 2 screens, averaging $24,100. Also opening was Jieho Lee's ThinkFilm release, "The Air I Breathe," which took in $21,500 on 7 screens, for an average of $3,071. Several Academy Award nominees expanded, with Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" the per-theatre-average leader. "Blood" added 496 screens for a 885 screen total, grossing $4.88 million for an average of $5,522. The film now stands with a $14.76 million total. Joel and Ethan Coen's DGA-winning "No Country For Old Men" added 289 screens to gross $2.50 million, averaging $2,261 and bringing its cumulative gross to $52.03 million, while Joe Wright's "Atonement" took in $3.96 million on 1,400 screens, averaging $2,832 and totalling $37.91 million. Meanwhile, Jason Reitman's "Juno" rode a best picture nomination to top $100 million over the weekend, grossing 3.5% more this weekend than last, despite actually losing 108 screens. indieWIRE publishes its weekly box office column on Mondays and final weekend numbers for specialty and limited release films on Tuesdays. Get the latest in the indieWIRE Box Office section. [Peter Knegt]  
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