Press Releases Archive for September, 2010

ACADEMY ANNOUNCES NICHOLL SCREENWRITING FELLOWSHIP FINALISTS FOR 2010

Beverly Hills, CA – Ten writers have been selected as finalists for the 25th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Their scripts will now be read and judged by the Academy’s Nicholl Committee, which may award as many as five of the prestigious…

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THE 4TH ABU DHABI FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES COMPLETE LINEUP

Secretariat and Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Bookend Three Feature Competitions and Exciting Sidebar Sections September 27, 2010, New York, NY – The 4th Abu Dhabi Film Festival will present 70 feature films from over 28 countries. 12 films will have their World Premieres, 4 of which were co-produced with SANAD,…

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“Social Network”, the Facebook movie, connects with 32% of Fandango ticket sales (as of 11 a.m. today)

David Fincher’s widely-praised Facebook movie, The Social Network, currently leads today’s ticket sales on Fandango, the nation’s leading movie ticketing destination. According to an ongoing survey posted on Fandango’s Social Network ticket-buying page, these moviegoers are picking Jesse over Justin: 66% said they’re most curious to see Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg;…

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GRAHAM KING AND PETER SCHLESSEL ANNOUNCE FORMATION OF FILMDISTRICT ℠

Bob Berney Joins Leadership Team; Company To Release Films Directly and Through Sony Pictures CULVER CITY, CA – Graham King and Tim Headington’s GK Films, in partnership with Peter Schlessel, President of GK Films, announced the formation of FilmDistrict, a multi-faceted acquisition, distribution, production, and financing company. Bob Berney joins as President of Theatrical Distribution reporting to Schlessel,…

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THE 4TH ABU DHABI FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES COMPLETE LINEUP

Secretariat and Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Bookend Three Feature Competitions and Exciting Sidebar Sections September 27, 2010, New York, NY – The 4th Abu Dhabi Film Festival will present 70 feature films from over 28 countries. 12 films will have their World Premieres, 4 of which were co-produced with SANAD,…

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AURORA CINESTREEM LAUNCHES THE PREMIERE ANTI-PIRACY DEVICE TO STREAM CONTENT

Industry Veterans Bring Patented Technology with Significant Studio Support to the Marketplace Los Angeles, September 23, 2010: Aurora CineStreem Corporation announced the launch of the Aurora CineStreem Professional Set-Top Box today, a device designed to securely bring streaming content to film industry professionals via a standard Internet connection. The first of its kind, the device’s…

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IFC FILMS EXPANDS HUMAN CENTIPEDE CHAIN

IFC FILMS EXPANDS HUMAN CENTIPEDE CHAIN BY TAKING NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS TO TOM SIX’S THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE PART 2 (FULL SEQUENCE) New York, NY (September 24, 2010) – Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Films, announced today that the company has acquired the North American rights to Tom Six’s much anticipated sequel THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE PART…

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KINO INTERNATIONAL ACQUIRES U.S. RIGHTS TO MY JOY

PREMIERING AT THE NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL ON SEPT. 30 For Immediate Release New York, NY – September 24, 2010 – Kino International is proud to announce the acquisition of MY JOY (2010), the fiction film debut of veteran Russian documentary filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa. The film premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival where it…

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Beckinsale Back For Underworld 4

Pasted below, please find a fact sheet that is going out wide announcing that Kate Beckinsale is coming on board to star in the fourth installment of the UNDERWORLD franchise. UNDERWORLD 4 Reprising her role as the character Selene, Kate Beckinsale will take the lead in Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment’s fourth installment of the…

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EUGENE HERNANDEZ JOINS THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND CO-FOUNDER OF INDIEWIRE ANNOUNCED AS DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY September 23rd 2010 – The Film Society of Lincoln Center today announced that Eugene Hernandez will join the Film Society of Lincoln Center in the newly created role of Director of Digital Strategy. “Eugene is an innovative leader in digital media and one of…

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VULTURE LAUNCHES AS STAND-ALONE ENTERTAINMENT SITE

New York Magazine Culture Blog Spun Off as Vulture.com New York, NY, September 22, 2010 — Last night Vulture launched as a full-fledged entertainment web magazine in its own right, completing its evolution from culture blog to a more complete multimedia experience. Vulture is unique in its sensibility, pedigree, and purpose, and positioned to serve…

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Registration for 2011 Sundance Film Festival Passes & Ticket Packages is Open

Park City, UT – Registration for Sundance Film Festival passes and ticket packages is open! The Festival will take place January 20 -30, 2010 with screenings and events in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Registration for individual tickets will occur in November. What is registration for passes and ticket packages? In…

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The Zombies are Coming! The Zombies are Coming!

DEBUT OF ZOMBCON INTERNATIONAL 2010 – SEATTLE ANNOUNCED WORLD’S FIRST-EVER ZOMBIE CULTURE CONVENTION – HALLOWEEN WEEKEND TRIBUTE TO THE GOD FATHER OF ZOMBIE FILMS, GEORGE A. ROMERO (IN ATTENDANCE) 25TH ANNIVERSARY GALA SCREENING OF DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRITY GUESTS INCLUDE BRUCE CAMPBELL, MAX BROOKS, MALCOLM MCDOWELL, LADIES OF “THE EVIL DEAD”, CHUCK PALAHNIUK OVER…

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BRACE YOURSELF FOOLS – We Are About to Unveil the Truth About Chris Kringle

Dear Jews and Gentiles, Stand tall and prepare to absorb the truth. O-Scope just bought the newly unearthed actual Santa Clause, and he is a force to be reckoned with. We also nabbed the North American distribution rights to Jalmari Helander’s RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE hot off of it’s World Premiere at the Toronto…

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O-SCOPE CAPTURES EVIL SANTA

New York, NY (September 19, 2010) – Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired all North American rights to Jalmari Helander’s RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE, hot off the World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. A re-imagining of the most classic of all childhood fantasies, the film is a darkly comic gem…

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LIONSGATE AND ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS JOIN FORCES TO TAKE ON WILL FERRELL STARRER EVERYTHING MUST GO

Steve Beeks, President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Lionsgate Films, and Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff, co-Presidents of Roadside Attractions, jointly announced today that the companies have partnered to acquire U.S. distribution rights to the Will Ferrell-starrer EVERYTHING MUST GO which recently had its World Premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Adapted and directed by…

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WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, WEST ANNOUNCES 2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION RESULTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) has announced the results of its 2010 WGAW Board of Directors election. The following eight members were elected to the WGAW’s Board of Directors: Robin Schiff (754 votes), Katherine Fugate (749 votes), Aaron Mendelsohn (741 votes), David A. Goodman (740 votes), Kathy…

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IFC FILMS TAKES RIGHTS TO BARRY AVRICH’S UNAUTHORIZED: THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN PROJECT

IFC FILMS TAKES RIGHTS TO BARRY AVRICH’S UNAUTHORIZED: THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN PROJECT Toronto, ON (September 16, 2010) – Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Films, announced today that the company has acquired worldwide rights, excluding Canada, to UNAUTHORIZED: THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN PROJECT, Barry Avrich’s much-anticipated documentary about the legendary co-founder of Miramax Films.  UNAUTHORIZED is a…

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IFC FILMS ACQUIRES U.S. RIGHTS TO WERNER HERZOG’S CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS

IFC FILMS ACQUIRES U.S. RIGHTS TO WERNER HERZOG’S CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS in 3-D A Film Produced by Creative Differences for HISTORY Films in Association with More 4 Toronto, ON (September 15, 2010) – IFC Films, the leading American distributor of independent and foreign films, announced today it has acquired all U.S. rights, excluding television,…

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FIRST PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN IFC MIDNIGHT AND FANTASTIC FEST TO BRING FILMS FROM THE LARGEST U.S. GENRE FESTIVAL TO A NATIONAL AUDIENCE

‘Direct From Fantastic Fest’ to Premiere Four New IFC Midnight Acquisitions Simultaneously at Fantastic Fest and Nationally via IFC Films’ On Demand New York, NY (September 12, 2010) – IFC Midnight, the new genre label of IFC Films, today announced its first partnership with Austin’s Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the U.S….

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon