|
| |
|||||
 May 24, 2008 CANNES '08 | "Tulpan" Wins Un Certain Regard Prize
Sergey Dvortsevoy's "Tulpan" won the Prize of Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival tonight in France, while Kurosawa Kiyoshi's "Tokyo Sonata" won the jury prize. Other prize winners include Andreas Dresen's "Wolke 9" (Heat Throb Jury Prize), James Toback's "Tyson" (The Knockout of Un Certain Regard) and Jean-Stephane Sauvaire's "Johnny Mad Dog" (The Prize of Hope). The Un Certain Regard section presented 20 films that were judged by a jury lead by filmmaker Fatih Akin, who offered the statement, "Our mission was to attribute three prizes for Un Certain Regard, but considering the quality and richness of the offerings, and as a testimony of our great enthusiasm, the jury requested of the festival permission to recognize two more films with honors." [Eugene Hernandez]  [permalink] [ filed under Cannes, Festivals ] INSIDE WORD | Magnolia Planning "What Just Happened" Release
Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened," which will close the 2008 Cannes Film Festival this weekend, is being positioned for an October theatrical release via Magnolia Pictures. Pending other possible offers for the 2929 Productions film, the company is planning a release through corporate sibling Magnolia and is tapping former New Line Cinema executive Russell Schwartz to work on the autumn release, according to sources. Execs involved would not comment on the plan. "What Just Happened," which debuted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, is a movie industry tale starring Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, John Turturro, Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, and Stanley Tucci. [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Biz, Cannes ] INSIDE WORD | Sony Classics Closing Three Cannes Deals
Even as Variety proclaimed a dearth of Cannes dealmaking for U.S. based companies, Sony Pictures Classics was closing deals for three festival titles. Word on the Croisette Friday had the company acquiring North American rights to The Dardenne Brothers' "The Silence of Lorna" from the Cannes competition, James Toback's documentary "Tyson" and Bent Hamer's Un Certain Regard section film, "O'Horten." Company execs wouldn't comment on the record yesterday, but SPC had already sealed two of the three sales by Friday. [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Cannes ] INSIDE WORD | Madonna's Malawi Doc Headed to Sundance Channel
Nathan Rissman's "I Am Because We Are," in Cannes this week after a recent debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, is headed for a Sundance Channel deal after a round of negotiations. Madonna, writer, producer and narrator of the documentary about the children of Malawi, engaged in dealmaking with CAA and international sales company Fortissimo Films late in the festival. A formal announcement about the sale is expected soon according to reps for Sundance Channel and Madonna. [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Cannes ] May 23, 2008CANNES '08 | Fri PM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES
DOUBLE BILL DELIBERATION
FILM REVIEW: ADORATION
CAREFUL COIFS May 22, 2008iW NEWS | LAJIFF Hands Out Audience Awards
The third annual Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival (LAJFF) announced their awards Friday. Lynn Roth's "The Little Traitor" won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. "Traitor" opened the festival on May 8th with a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Israel and an award ceremony honoring the work of Theodore Bikel who starred in the film. Laura Bialis's "Refusenik won the Audience Award for Best Documentary, and Jochen Alexander Freydank's "Spielzeugland" ("Toyland") won the Audience Award for Best Short Film. The festival ended on Thursday May 15th with a Closing Night screening of Paul Weiland's "Sixty Six." [Peter Knegt] [permalink] [ filed under Festivals ] iW NEWS | Cannes a la Flip Announces Winners
The Cannes a la Flip contest, which was held in partnership with Short Film Corner, gave away 250 free Flip Video camcorders to filmmakers and challenges competitors to shoot a 3-minute short with the camera within 7 days of the festival. The winners were announced Friday, with Vincenzo Costenino's "The Flip Trip" taking the grand prize, worth $10,000, along with HP presenting a 30-inch monitor workstation to the director. You can view the winning video here. [Peter Knegt] [permalink] [ filed under ] CANNES '08 | Thurs AM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
SPIKE'S PRICKLY WORDS
LYNCH ON LYNCH
OH, I THOUGHT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT MARADONA
FILM REVIEW: GOMORRAH
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section. May 21, 2008iW NEWS | IFC Gets "Hunger" in Cannes
IFC Films has announced its latest deal in Cannes, acquiring Steve McQueen's "Hunger" which opened the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard section last week. Set in Northern Ireland, the film looks at life in Maze Prison and the 1981 hunger strike led by Bobby Sands. Produced by Laura Hastings-Smith and Robin Gutch as a Blast! Films production for Film4, the film was made in association with Northern Ireland Screen, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and the Wales Creative IP Fund. IFC's Arianna Bocco and Betsy Rodgers negotiated the deal with Jonathan Page and Ariel Veneziano from Icon Entertainment International and Cassian Elwes of William Morris Independent. IFC has dominated U.S. acquisitions at this year's Cannes festival and market, acquiring Arnaud Desplechin's "A Christmas Tale," Olivier Assayas' "Summer Hours," Josh Safdie's "The Pleasure of Being Robbed," and Anna Melikyan's "Mermaid." [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Cannes ] CANNES '08 | Wed PM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE DOWN
WE ALL KNOW YOU'VE TRIED AND FAILED...
ON A WIM (WENDERS)
BAREFOOT WANDERER
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section. iW NEWS | Liberation Gets "Buried"
Liberation Entertainment announced the acquisition of U.S. rights to Chaz Thorne's "Just Buried." "Buried," which premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, is a comedic horror film that stars Jay Bucharel and Rose Byrne. "We are greatly looking forward to bringing this wildly funny film to audiences in the U.S. with Liberation," said Thorne in a statementwriter. The film was produced by Trilogy Entertainment and Standing 8 Productions. [Peter Knegt] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions ] CANNES '08 | Wed AM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
TRAILER: HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE
UNDER THE SHROUD OF GOSSIP LIES A REAL FILM FESTIVAL
THE EPITOME OF FANDOM
WOODY SPEAKS
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section. iW NEWS | Lee Names Babelgum Online Winners
Tuesday in Cannes, Spike Lee, head of the jury for the first Babelgum Online Film Festival, announced the winners in seven categories: The Babelgum Looking For Genius Award went to Andrea Lodovichetti's "Sotto Il Mio Giardino;" The Babelgum Short Film Award went to Richard Recco's "Officer Down;" The Babelgum Social/Environmental Award went to Brian Deane's "Without Words;" The Babelgum Animation Award went to Remy Schaepman's "Quidam Degomme;" The Babelgum Documentary Award went to Emanuel Exitu's "Greater - Defeating AIDS;" The Babelgum Music Video Award went to Antonin de Bemels' "Mouthface." Aside from their awards, the winning filmmakers were each handed a cheque for 20,000 euros by Spike Lee. Over a thousand entries from 86 countries were uploaded for this on Babelgum, the new independent web TV platform available to anyone with broadband, reaching a potential global audience of 360 million. [Peter Knegt] [permalink] [ filed under Festivals ] May 20, 2008iW NEWS | IFC Expands Distribution With Amazon
IFC Films announced that it is joining forces with Amazon Unbox, Amazon.com's digital video service. The deal intends to make IFC's extensive library available for either purchase or rent. Amazon Unbox makes television and film available through either downloads to computers, TiVo boxes or portable media players. "This partnership with Amazon reinforces our commitment to creating the widest possible audience for independent films using multiple media platforms," said Lisa Schwartz, vice president of sales and business development for IFC, in a statement. Select IFC titles will make their digital debut through the deal, including Cristian Mungiu's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" and Alfonso Cuaron's "Y tu mama tambien." [Peter Knegt] [permalink] [ filed under Industry Moves ] iW BOT UPDATE | "Reprise" At The Top
Joachim Trier's "Reprise" from Miramax Films is atop the weekly iW BOT box office chart, which was published this afternoon. The film earned $16,769 on 1 screens over the weekend. More in this week's box office column, which was published last night. [Peter Knegt] [permalink] [ filed under Biz ] CANNES '08 | Tues PM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
REVIEW: CHANGELING EXCHANGES TITLES
GWYNETH PALTROW RETURNS TO "ART"
MOVIE STARS MAKE WAY...
A DIVA IS BORN
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section. CANNES '08 | Tues AM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
PEACE DRIVE
WHAT SHIA THINKS
QUESTIONING PRESS CONFERENCE QUESTIONS
PEACE AND CHAOS
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section. iW NEWS | Liberation Takes "Tokyo!"
Liberation Entertainment announced Tuesday that they have acquired the North American rights to "Tokyo!," which had its world premiere at Cannes. The film reflects city life in Tokyo through three narratives by three directors: Michel Gondry, Bong Joon-ho, and Leos Carax. "We're thrilled to be working with three of the most inventive directors working today," said Liberation Entertainment's Vice President of Acquisitions, Rob Williams in a statement. "This is exactly the sort of film that we are looking for as a company, and we look forward to bringing it to its largest possible audience." Liberation was launched in 2006 by media entrepreneur Jay Boberg. The company plans a theatrical release in 2008. [Peter Knegt] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions ] May 19, 2008CANNES '08 | Mon PM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
FILM REVIEW: LORNA'S SILENCE
HALFWAY THERE
ALL THE KING'S HORSES
STRUGGLING UNDER DEADLINES
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section. IW NEWS | IFC Films Catches "The Chaser" in Cannes
IFC Films has announced a deal for all North American rights to "The Chaser," continuing a very busy Cannes with the recent acquisitions of "A Christmas Tale,"Summer Hours," "The Pleasure of Being Robbed," and "Mermaid. The Korean title screened as a midnight film here at Cannes this past Saturday. From first time director NA Hong-jin, "Chaser" tells the story of a detective turned pimp who finds himself in trouble when several of his girls disappear without paying him. "There's a reason that this film is already being remade. It's an ingeniously plotted twist on the serial killer genre," noted Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Films. "We are thrilled to introduce NA Hong-jin to an American audience and hope this is the beginning of a long relationship." [James Israel] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Cannes ] iW NEWS | First Independent Snags "Sixty Six"
It was announced on Monday that First Independent Pictures ("New York Doll," "Edmond") has acquired US distribution rights for the coming of age/Bar Mitzvah film, "Sixty Six," from Working Title Films. Directed by Paul Weiland ("Made of Honor"), the comedy's title refers to the singular year that England won the World Cup. Already garnering attention from US Jewish Film Festivals, the film, originally intended for international audiences, seems potentially viable as a crossover title. Executive produced by Richard Curtis ("Bridget Jones' Diary," "Love Actually," "Notting Hill"), the cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Rea, Catherine Tate, and up and comer Gregg Sulkin. The film is planned to be released in New York, then Los Angeles, early August of this year. [Jenny Sung/indieWIRE] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions ] CANNES '08 | Mon AM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
THE GLAMOUR NEVER ENDS
THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO THE COIN
DIFFICULT TO PRONOUNCE, HOPEFULLY FUN TO WATCH
SODOM IS NEXT
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section. May 18, 2008iW NEWS | Hamptons Fest & indieWIRE Partner To Toast Barendrecht
The Hamptons International Film Festival and indieWIRE will be partnering again to "celebrate a person who best exemplifies the spirit of the independent film world." This year's "Toastee" will be Founder and Co-Chairman of Fortissimo Films, Wouter Barendrecht. "Having recently honored Marcie Bloom, Bob Berney and Ted Hope, three of the most respected executives in the New York film business, we faced a tough decision in regards to this year's Industry Toast," exclaimed Festival Executive Director, Karen Arikian. "With thoughts of broadening our geographical scope, Wouter Barendrecht immediately stood out as an individual whose experience, body of work and the respect garnered from his peers around the world skyrocketed him to the top of our list." The honoree has guided films such as "In the Mood for Love," "Super Size Me," and Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones film "Shine a Light" to international success with his company. The 16th annual HIFF runs this year from October 15th-19th with the toast occurring on the 16th of the same month. [Jenny Sung] [permalink] [ filed under Honors ] iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates: "Reprise" Heads iW BOT
Joachim Trier's "Reprise" lead the specialty-focused iW BOT, according to those films that submitted numbers to indieWIRE Box Office Tracking (iW BOT) estimates from Rentrak this afternoon. The Miramax release grossed $47,100 from 3 locations for an impressive $15,700 average, which beat even the average of overall box office leader "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." Also opening was Christopher Zalla's 2007 Sundance winner "Sangre de Mi Sangre," which grossed $9,249 on 1 screen for IFC Films. Among holdovers, Claude Lelouch's "Roman De Gare," distributed by IDP and Samuel Goldwyn, continued to pull good numbers, grossing $105,600 from 24 screens for a $4,400 average. And two continued expansions showed strength. Tom McCarthy's "The Visitor" cracked the top ten overall with a $687,000 gross from 224 screens. The Overture Films release's average of $3,067 was just under Helen Hunt's ThinkFilm release, "Then She Found Me," which is finding audiences as it expands. "Me" grossed $527,980 on 148 screens for an average of $3,567. 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] [permalink] [ filed under Biz ] CANNES '08 | Sun PM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CANNES 2008
ANOTHER STAR TO ADD TO THE "WATCH OUT FOR" LIST
YOU CAN BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF
LATIN AMERICA MAKES ITS PRESENCE KNOWN
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section. CANNES '08 | Focus Spotlights Amenabar's "Agora"
Alejandro Amenabar's latest, "Agora," has landed at Focus Features International, the company announced this afternoon in Cannes. A English-language historical epic set in Roman Egypt in the 4th century AD, the film stars Rachel Weisz and is currently in production in Malta. Focus' deal includes worldwide rights with the exception of Spain and North America, joining the company's slate here at the Marche du Film. Weisz stars as real-life Hypatia of Alexandria, the Western world's first female astronomer and philosopher. Also in the cast are Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Ashraf Barhom, Michael Lonsdale, Rupert Evans, and Homayoun Ershadi. Amenabar co-wrote the film with frequent collaborator Mateo Gil and it produced by Amenabar's longtime producer Fernando Bovaira. Spain's Telecinco Cinema is the primary producer of the movie with Fernando Bovaira's Mod Producciones and Amenabar's Himenoptero, with the participation of Sogecable. Focus is in Cannes with a slate of projects that includes the latest from Fernando Meirelles ("Blindness"), Lucretia Martel ("La mujer sin cabeza"), Jim Jarmusch ("The Limits of Control"), Pedro Almodovar ("Broken Embraces"), Gus Van Sant ("Milk"), Sam Mendes's untitled comedy, and The Coen Brothers ("Burn After Reading"). [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Cannes ] CANNES '08 | Sun AM Roundup
indieWIRE offers a select take of Cannes 2008 news around the world.
POSTER PANDEMONIUM
NEW LINE IS OLD NEWS
WORLDWIDE WANDERER
THE MIDDLE EAST IN SOUTHERN FRANCE
Get the latest from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in indieWIRE's special section.
| |
