Press Releases Archive for November, 2010

Paramount Digital Entertainment and MTV to Launch JACKASS 3.5 in March 2011

JACKASS 3.5 Follows the Worldwide Box Office Success of JACKASS 3D with All New Antics from Johnny Knoxville and Crew to Be Released Digitally LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30, 2010 – Paramount Digital Entertainment in association with MTV, both part of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) announced today that it plans to add another original…

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PETER CRAIG TO ADAPT FRENCH-CANADIAN MOTION PICTURE PHENOMENON “FATHERS AND GUNS”

CULVER CITY, Calif., November 30, 2010 – Peter Craig has been tapped to adapt the French-Canadian blockbuster Fathers and Guns for Sony Pictures, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures. The film is being developed and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall along with Denise Robert and Emile Gaudreault, producer…

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10 LIVE ACTION SHORTS STAY ALIVE IN 2010 OSCAR® RACE

November 30, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 live action short films will advance in the voting process for the 83rd Academy Awards®. Seventy-six pictures had originally qualified in the category. The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by…

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10 ANIMATED SHORTS MOVE AHEAD IN 2010 OSCAR® RACE

November 30, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 animated short films will advance in the voting process for the 83rd Academy Awards®. Thirty-three pictures had originally qualified in the category. The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title,…

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2011 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

LOS ANGELES (November 30, 2010) – Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations this morning for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards.  Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner served as presenters and 2011 Spirit Awards host Joel McHale was also on hand.  Nominees for…

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2010 GOTHAM INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED

New York, NY (November 29, 2010) – The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, announced today the winners at the 20th Anniversary Gotham Independent Film Awards ceremony in New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street. Presented by IFP, the Gotham Independent Film Awards™ is one of the leading awards…

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SUNDANCE INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL FILM FORWARD SLATE OF FILMS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 29, 2010 Among the Ten Films are Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, Cherien Dabis Amreeka,  Havana Marking’s Afghan Star and Lixin Fan’s Last Train Home LOS ANGELES, CA – Following up on last month’s announcement of the Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue initiative, Sundance Institute announced today the ten films selected to participate…

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FRANCO, HATHAWAY TO HOST OSCAR® SHOW

November 29, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Beverly Hills, CA – James Franco and Anne Hathaway will serve as co-hosts of the 83rd Academy Awards®, Oscar telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced today. Both have previously appeared on the telecast but not in hosting capacities. “James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation…

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HIGHRISE, the NFB’s innovative documentary experiment, wins at IDFA 2010

Toronto, November 26, 2010 – HIGHRISE, the National Film Board of Canada’s innovative documentary experiment that examines the human experience in global vertical suburbs, has won the first DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. The world’s largest documentary film festival, on now through November 28, spotlights HIGHRISE’s first international…

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IFC FILMS GETS U.S. RIGHTS TO YVES SAINT LAURENT L’AMOUR FOU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New York, NY (November 23, 2010) – IFC Films, the leading American distributor of independent and foreign films, announced today that the company is acquiring the U.S. rights to Pierre Thorentton’s French documentary YVES SAINT LAURENT L’AMOUR FOU.  Produced by Kristina Larsen of Le Films du Lendemain and Hugues Charbonneau of Les Films de…

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ROGER EBERT RECEIVES “GOLDEN CIUPAGA” AWARD FROM THE POLISH FILM FESTIVAL IN AMERICA

Roger Ebert, one of the most respected and widely-read film critics in the world, is the recipient of the 2010 Golden Ciupaga Award, for his contribution in promoting European cinema in the United States, including works by Polish filmmakers. This prestigious prize is being presented by the Polish Film Festival in America, which hosts the…

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ACADEMY AWARD WINNER DANIEL DAY-LEWIS TO STAR AS LINCOLN FOR DREAMWORKS STUDIOS

Los Angeles, CA (November 19, 2010) – Two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis will star as the 16th President of the United States in DreamWorks Studios’ Lincoln to be directed by Steven Spielberg.  The announcement was made today by Spielberg and Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios. “Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been…

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The Academy’s Documentary Feature Shortlist…

Links to shortlisted features’ websites are below. Most of them have trailers and other materials, including press kits. Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 83rd Academy Awards®. One hundred-one pictures had qualified…

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TWC FORCED TO ACCEPT NC-17 RATING IN ORDER TO BEGIN APPEALS PROCESS; SPECIAL HEARING GRANTED ON THE KING’S SPEEC

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 18, 2010) – In response to the ratings given to two of its upcoming films, The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has engaged a formidable legal team to challenge the NC-17 rating for BLUE VALENTINE and the R rating for THE KING’S SPEECH given by the Motion Picture Association…

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CROSS CREEK PICTURES AND VERTEBRA FILMS TO FINANCE ELI ROTH’S “CLOWN” AND “AFTERSHOCK”

Los Angeles (November 16, 2010) – Brian Oliver, President of Cross Creek Pictures and Steven Chester Prince, President of Vertebra Films announced today they have partnered to fully finance two horror projects with Eli Roth producing. Cross Creek Pictures will handle all distribution rights for the two films in conjunction with CAA. Financing will be…

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MIMRAN SCHUR PICTURES ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION DEAL FOR HENRY’S CRIME WITH MOVING PICTURES FILM & TV

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Acquired by Maitland Primrose Group, film stars Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga and James Caan and premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival Los Angeles, CA (November 17, 2010) – It was announced today that Maitland Primrose Group acquired the North American rights to HENRY’S CRIME, which will be distributed by Moving…

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Amazon.com Launches Amazon Studios

Amazon.com Launches Amazon Studios — a New Online Business to Discover New Talent and Develop Motion Pictures Amazon Studios will award filmmakers and screenwriters $2.7 million with the purpose of developing movies under a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures SEATTLE—November 16, 2010 — Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today launched Amazon Studios, a new online…

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IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES HAMMER’S THE RESIDENT STARRING ACADEMY AWARD® WINNING ACTRESS HILARY SWANK

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 9, 2010) — Image Entertainment, Inc. (OTCQB : DISK) has acquired all U.S. rights to Hilary Swank-starrer The Resident from Exclusive Media Group’s Hammer Films (“Hammer”).  In addition to two time Academy Award® winner Swank, The Resident also stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen, P.S. I Love You), Hammer Films icon Sir Christopher Lee (The…

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THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY ACQUIRES “APOLLO 18” AT AFM

Santa Monica, CA (November 7, 2010) – The Weinstein Company has acquired “Apollo 18,” the sci-fi thriller based on the screenplay by Brian Miller, winner of the inaugural Astana International Action Film Festival screenplay competition, founded by “Wanted” director Timur Bekmambetov.  Trevor Cawood is set to direct the project. Bekmambetov and Michele Wolkoff, President of Development…

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BT VISION SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The winners of the BT Vision Sheffield Doc/Fest awards were announced last night at the Lyceum Theatre at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2010. THE SHEFFIELD YOUTH JURY AWARD Awarded to Laura Fairrie for THE BATTLE FOR BARKING BCS DIGITAL REVOLUTIONS COMPETITION Winners of the BCS Digital Revolutions short film competition,devised to encourage people to look more closely…

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Press Releases

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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