Press Releases Archive for March, 2012

Screen Media Films Acquires Award-Winning Festival Favorite “SHUFFLE”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New York, March 29, 2012 – Suzanne Blech, president of Screen Media Films, has announced the acquisition of North American distribution rights to Kurt Kuenne’s thriller SHUFFLE with an eye towards a release in 3Q of 2012.  The film stars TJ Thyne as a man who wakes up at a different age…

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SAG, AFTRA Members Approve Merger to Form SAG-AFTRA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LOS ANGELES (March 30, 2012) — The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild are pleased to announce that members of both organizations have overwhelmingly voted to approve a merger, creating a new entity, SAG-AFTRA. SAG members voted 82 percent in favor of the merger. AFTRA members favored…

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ACADEMY ACQUIRES 70,000 VINTAGE PRODUCTION STILLS FROM BISON ARCHIVES

March 29, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has acquired more than 70,000 photographs from the Bison Archives, the private collection of renowned film historian Marc Wanamaker, Academy COO Ric Robertson announced today. The images document nearly every facet of film production between 1909 and…

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TROPFEST PARTNERS WITH TOP TIER SPONSORS, MEDIA AND INDUSTRY LEADERS TO BRING WORLD’S LARGEST SHORT FILM FESTIVAL TO NEW YORK

Citi, STARZ CINEMA, NBC 4 NEW YORK, WNYC, Thompson Hotels become Tropfest New York Partners and Film Society of Lincoln Center becomes Industry Partner New York – March 28, 2012 – Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival, today announced it will collaborate with prominent media outlets STARZ CINEMA, NBC 4, and WNYC Radio as…

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MARTIN SCORSESE TO RECEIVE 2012 MOTH STORYTELLING AWARD AT STAR-STUDDED MOTH BALL GALA ON MAY 8

NBC’s Bonnie Hammer to be honored; Al Sharpton to present Moth scholarship to NYC high school student; Simon Doonan to host New York, March 29, 2012 – The Moth will present Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese with the 2012 Moth Award, Honoring the Art of the Raconteur, at its annual Moth Ball on Tuesday, May…

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ACADEMY ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS FOR SCOTT MILLER AND KIMBERLY ROUSH

March 28, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has promoted Scott Miller and Kimberly Roush to senior management positions, COO Ric Robertson announced today. Miller, who will continue to serve as Assistant General Counsel, has also assumed the role of Managing Director of Administration, while…

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MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS TO CLOSE 2012 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL ON APRIL 28

For Immediate Release Local Heroes Invited as Special Guests Epic Action-Adventure Directed by Joss Whedon Stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury New York, NY – March 28, 2011 – The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF),…

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AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PREMIERES NEW CELLO CONCERTO BY HOWARD SHORE APRIL 27 & 28

For Immediate Release March 28, 2012 MYTHIC GARDENS COMPOSED FOR CELLIST SOPHIE SHAO, COMMISSIONED BY ASO On April 27 and 28 the American Symphony Orchestra and Music Director and Conductor Leon Botstein present the world premiere performances of Howard Shore’s Mythic Gardens at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Arts at Bard College. Commissioned by the Orchestra thanks to a generous gift from Stuart and Linda Nelson, Shore composed the concerto…

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WORLD PREMIERE OF “TOTAL RECALL” TRAILER THIS SUNDAY DURING CELTICS-HEAT GAME ON ABC

CULVER CITY, Calif., March 27, 2012 – Moviegoers will begin their Recall experience on Sunday, April 1, as Columbia Pictures debuts the trailer for the highly anticipated action thriller Total Recall during the NBA game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat broadcast nationally on ABC, it was announced today by Marc Weinstock, president…

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MAYOR BLOOMBERG OPENS FIVE NEW SOUNDSTAGES AT STEINER STUDIOS AND ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAMS TO HELP NEW YORKERS GET JOBS IN ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 26, 2012 No. 104 www.nyc.gov Five New Stages in Brooklyn Navy Yard Total over 45,000 Square Feet $500,000 in Training Grants, Expanded Mini-MBA Program and New “Made in NY” Media Center Will Help Support and Grow Industry in New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine…

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PARAMOUNT’S INSURGE PICTURES AND TWITTER INVITE KATY PERRY’S FANS TO BE A PART OF THE UPCOMING 3D FEATURE FILM “KATY PERRY: PART OF ME”

For Immediate Release In A First of its Kind Partnership, Katy Perry’s Millions of Twitter Fans Have an Opportunity to be Integrated into the Movie, Releasing this Summer HOLLYWOOD, CA (March 26th, 2012) – Paramount’s Insurge Pictures and Twitter announced today they have partnered to give Katy Perry’s fans on Twitter an exclusive opportunity to…

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IFC FILMS TAKES NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS TO STEPHEN ELLIOTT’S CHERRY

New York, NY (March 22, 2012) – IFC Films announced today that the company is acquiring North American rights to acclaimed author Stephen Elliott’s directorial debut CHERRY. The film stars Ashley Hinshaw, Dev Patel, Heather Graham, and James Franco. Produced by Jordan Kessler and Elizabeth Destro, in association with Enderby Entertainment, Elana Krausz, Gordon Bijelonic/Datari…

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FAMED LEGAL DUO DAVID BOIES AND TED OLSON LEND SUPPORT TO FIGHT AGAINST MPAA RATING OF “BULLY”

“THEY BETTER SHAPE UP OR HERE WE COME” March 20, 2012 (NEW YORK, NY) – Tonight at The Paley Center for Media legal powerhouses David Boies and Ted Olson spoke out against the MPAA’s R rating of the documentary film BULLY, at a special screening. In front of a high-profile audience including cohost Meryl Streep…

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“The Hunger Games fans join Oxfam America, Harry Potter Alliance to say: “Hunger is Not a Game”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Groups mark movie opening with campaign to fight hunger March 20, 2012 — This week, hundreds of young volunteers will set up shop at movie theatres across America to bring fans of the highly anticipated film The Hunger Games on-board a new campaign to fight hunger. The “Hunger is Not a Game” campaign…

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EMIL ELMÉR JOINS FOCUS FEATURES AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL SALES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LONDON, March 19, 2012 – Emil Elmér is joining Focus Features as senior vice president, international sales. Focus Features International (FFI) co-president Alison Thompson made the announcement today. Mr. Elmér will report to Ms. Thompson at the FFI offices in London, where he will be based beginning this week. FFI is readying…

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ACADEMY GRANTS FUNDING FOR BOOK PROJECTS

March 16, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Beverly Hills, CA – The history of documentary filmmaking in Cambridge, Mass., and the growth of “orphan” films will be the topics explored by Scott MacDonald and Dan Streible, respectively, who have been named Academy Film Scholars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy’s Institutional…

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TITANIC IN 3D TO SET SAIL FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT IN SELECT IMAX® THEATRES ON APRIL 4

One of the Most Beloved Films of All Time to be Released in the Immersive IMAX® 3D Format Re-release Commemorates Centennial of Titanic’s Maiden Voyage Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 15, 2012 – IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX), Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox announced today that James Cameron’s Oscar®-winning film, Titanic will be digitally…

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Statement on Luck

It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series LUCK. Safety is always of paramount concern.  We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horseracing anywhere with many fewer incidents than…

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ACADEMY SETS 85TH ACADEMY AWARDS® DATE

March 14, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Beverly Hills, CA – The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, and the Oscar® telecast will be presented on Sunday, February 24th. The ceremony will take place at the Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC…

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SXSW Film Announces 2012 Award Winners

SXSW FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2012 AWARD WINNERS Austin, Texas – March 13, 2012 – Jury and Audience Award-winners of the 2012 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony, presented by Veam and hosted by comedian and actor Doug Benson. The Awards took place at the Vimeo…

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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