Archives for 2015

IRAN PICKS RISE OF ISLAM EPIC ‘MUHAMMED: THE MESSENGER OF GOD’

Iran has selected ‘Muhammad: The Messenger Of God’, the controversial blockbuster about the birth & the rise of Islam directed by Majid Majidi, as its entry for the foreign language Academy Award. Considered the most expensive Iranian movie ever made, the $40 million epic was lensed by Vittorio Storaro and features a score by Indian composer Allah Rakha Rahman. The film recently prompted a fatwa from a Muslim group in India and has also sparked other forms of disapproval from Sunni religious authorities. Many Muslims consider any depiction of Muhammad to be taboo, even fleeting glimpses, such as those in the film. Iran is largely Islam, with the vast majority belonging to the Shiite sect. The partly Government financed ‘Muhammad: The Messenger Of God’ is playing on more than half of Iran’s roughly 320 screens after opening the Montreal Film Festival on 27 Aug, 2015. Box office receipts have hit over 70 billion Iranian Rials, roughly $2 million in 1 month, according to the Government controlled Tehran Times. If that figure is accurate, it’s a nice haul. The Muslim ban on images of Muhammad caused concern in Iran during the 7 year gestation of the religious blockbuster, which depicts the future prophet from birth through the age of 12. In her review, Variety critic Alissa Simon wrote, “Majidi respects Islamic convention by never showing Muhammad’s face and shooting him mostly from the back.” Majidi has said that through the biopic, he aimed to remove the “violent image” of Islam created by jihadist groups.

“PLAYMOBIL” PRODUCTION LAUNCHED

Backed by Wild Bunch & Pathe, Dimitri Rassam & Aton Soumache’s Paris based ON Animation Studios has launched the production of $75 million franchise based movie ‘Playmobil: Robbers, Thieves & Rebels’ on the heels of Toronto, where the project was snatched up by a flurry of international distributors. Cross Creek has acquired distribution rights to ‘Playmobil: Robbers, Thieves & Rebels’ for a wide release in US. The tiny – toy movie follows Lego’s big screen lead. ‘The Lego Movie’ opened to a whopping $69.1 million and grossed $468.8 million worldwide last year. Following a short story presentation at Toronto, ‘Playmobil: Robbers, Thieves & Rebels’, the ambitious 1st animated feature based on the iconic toy brand, locked pre -sales in other major territories, including Germany (Concorde), Latin America (Leda), Benelux (Belga), Switzerland (Impuls) & Middle East (Shooting Stars). Pathe will release the movie in France, while Vincent Maraval’s Wild Bunch handles international sales and will seal more deals at AFM in Nov, 2015.

LANTICA TO CO – PRODUCE ‘GRAN HOTEL’

Driving into higher end international drama under Chris Philip, tapped Jan, 2015 to head up production & distribution, Televisa USA is teaming with Lantica Media to adapt & co -produce TV series format ‘Gran Hotel’. From an original screenplay by Stephen Kornish, Televisa USA’s ‘Gran Hotel’ will be transposed from the original’s Spanish Belle Epoque milieu to the licentious 1950s pre -Castro Havana. Series will be shot at Lantica’s Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios. Lantica are now all set to co -develop & co – finance multiple projects with global producer & distributor Televisa USA. “We are thrilled to be in business with Televisa USA on this and future projects, said Antonio Gennari, CEO of Lantica Media. A romantic murder mystery melding danger & passion, Televisa USA’s ‘Gran Hotel’ 1950s Havana will forseebly amp up format’s crime gristle & licentiousness: Many Havana hotels were built by the mob, including Cuban kingpin Meyer Lansky, taking advantage of lax Cuban gambling laws. In plot, ‘Gran Hotel’ will turn on Julio who, following his sister’s disappearance, ends up searching for her at the opulent Gran Hotel in Havana, where he falls into the arms of the sexy daughter of its wealthy owner.

‘THE WALK’ HEADS TO ROME

Robert Zemeckis’ ‘The Walk’ which opens the New York Film Festival this Sat, will launch into Italy from the Rome Film Festival which has secured several other Italo bows of pics with Oscar buzz and will honor hot Chilean auteur Pablo Larrain with a complete retro. ‘The Walk’, which stars Joseph Gordon – Levitt as famous high wire artist Philippe Petit who performed on a tightrope connecting the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center, will screen at the Rome fest in 3D, ahead of its 22nd Oct, 2015 Italian release via Warner Bros. Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz & Charlotte Le Bon also star. As previously announced, James Vanderbilt’s ‘Truth’, starring Robert Redford as Dan Rather & Cate Blanchett as his producer Mary Mapes, in a depiction of the “Memogate” controversy that ended Rather’s career as CBS News anchorman, will open the recently reconfigured Rome fest on 16th Oct, 2015. The 16th – 20th Oct, 2015 Eternal City event has a new artistic director, Antonio Monda, who is New York based Italian jouro, writer & academic and also boasts a beefed up market component called MIA – an acronym for Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo. Pablo Larrain, who is 39, will be on hand for the 1st complete retro of his works comprising of ‘Tony Manero’, ‘Post Mortem’ & ‘No’, which form a trilogy on the rise & fall of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. His ‘El Club’, which is about Catholic Church abuses in Chile, won the Silver Bear this year in Berlin and is Chile’s candidate in the foreign language category at the upcoming Academy Awards.

‘JUNUN’ TO DEBUT ON STREAMING PLATFORM MUBI

Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film ‘Junun’ will have its exclusive worldwide premiere on subscription streaming platform MUBI on 9th Oct, 2015 following its 8th Oct, 2015 opening at New York Film Festival. Earlier this year, Anderson, whose credits include ‘Inherent Vice’, ‘There Will Be Blood’ & ‘The Master’, joined his friend & collaborator Jonny Greenwood, guitarist with the band Radiohead & Israeli musician, composer & poet Shye Ben Tzur on a trip to Rajasthan in North – Western India, where they were hosted by the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Their destination was the 15th century Mehrangarh Fort, where Greenwood, with the help of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and a group of musicians drawn from across the Indian sub – continent, worked on Ben Tzur’s album, which will be released by Nonesuch in Nov, 2015. The band assembled a makeshift studio at the fort and over the following 3 weeks created the collaboration that became the music and film of ‘Junun’. (The word “junun” is an alternate spelling of “junoon” the Arabic, Persian, Urdu & Hindi word for “mania,” or “the madness of love”).

‘ANGELO RULES’ SEAON 3 LAUNCHED

UK kids / family entertainment distributors Cake Entertainment & France’s TeamTO, one of its leading CGI animation studios, will unveil Season 3 of ‘Angelo Rules’, one of TeamTO’s evergreen franchises, at this weekend’s Mip Junior. Launch comes as the partners confirmed recently that toon series’ 3rd season had sold to prestige partners: Super RTL for Germany & Cartoon Network EMEA for Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Cake will screen 1 episode of Season 3 in Mip Junior’s video library. Others will be available at its stand. Animated series will be ready for delivery by late 2015 and air in 2016 in France, Germany and around Europe. Going into production in 2008 and a TeamTO / Cake co – production for Gallic pubcaster France Televisions & Teletoon Plus, ‘Angelo Rules’, was an instant hit selling to over 100 countries. In 2010, over 1 million viewers in France watched its 1st episode, which punched a 30% 4 – 14s market share. Skein snagged a Pucinella Award for Best Kids TV Series at the 2010 Cartoons on the Bay Festival and a 2013 Emmy Kids Awards nomination. Season 3 once more turns on Angelo, aged 11, a sweet talking genius who, along with best friends Sherwood & Lola, uses planning, irreverence, a rebellious nature, optimism and above all charisma to extricate them from trouble.

SWIPE PICKS UK RIGHTS

Independent distributor Swipe Films has acquired UK rights to Maeve Murphy’s comic crime drama ‘Taking Stock’, which has its world premiere at Raindance Film Festival on 4th Oct, 2015. The 3rd feature by Belfast born director, the film stars Kelly Brook as a struggling actress who is inspired by the legend of gangsters Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow to rob the furniture store where she works part time. Star Brook, who recently landed a major role in NBC’s ‘One Big Happy’, produced by Ellen DeGeneres, is a UK actress & model whose diverse screen credits include ‘School for Seduction’, ‘Smallville’, ‘Piranha 3D’ & ‘Keith Lemon: The Film’, alongside West End stage appearances in ‘Calendar Girls’ and Neil La Bute’s ‘Fat Pig’. Murphy said: “I’m so pleased that ‘Taking Stock’ is premiering at Raindance Film Festival and will get released. The festival’s joyous indie spirit fits ‘Taking Stock’ very well. Kelly really shines and it’s a good platform for people to see it. Essentially it is a fun film which shows, in a light hearted way, some of the issues & dilemmas young people are currently facing in UK today.” Swipe, which handled TV sales for Murphy’s 2nd feature ‘Beyond The Fire’ in 2009, plans to release the film in Dec, 2015 subject to Brook’s availability. Known for its alternative marketing strategies, for its recent release of Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s ‘The President’.

GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS SALE OF CHANNEL 4

The UK Government is considering a sale of the publicly owned broadcaster Channel 4, it emerged recently, when a Government official was photographed holding a document identifying privatization as an option. Culture secretary John Whittingdale, who is in charge of UK broadcasting policy, has previously denied that a sale is being considered at present. Last month, he said at the Edinburgh Internal Television Festival: “The ownership of Channel 4 is not currently under debate. Do I say there are no circumstances in which I would ever consider it? No I don’t.” He added: “What I do say is the remit of Channel 4 is a priority and it’s not going to change.” Contradicting Whittingdale’s statement, the photographed document indicates that a sale is being considered. It states: “Work should proceed to examine the options for extracting greater public value from Channel 4 Corporation, focusing on privatization options in particular, while protecting its ability to deliver against its remit.” An insider with the governing Conservative Party commented: “John Whittingdale is interested and wants to do it,” the Guardian newspaper reported recently.

SONY & DISCOVERY INK A PACT

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment & Discovery Communications have inked a multi – year physical home entertainment distribution pact for Discovery’s catalog and future release slate. Beginning this fall, SPHE will distribute Discovery content on physical formats for the home entertainment marketplace throughout Europe, Middle East & Africa. Discovery’s upcoming release slate includes ‘Racing Extinction’, a politically charged documentary from the Oscar winning director of ‘The Cove’, Louie Psihoyos, as well as ‘Bear Grylls: Breaking Point’, in which the survival expert takes ordinary people on a journey to face their fears & ‘Manhunt’, which pits former Navy SEAL Joel Lambert against some of the world’s most experienced hunting & tracking units. Additional releases will include returning franchises such as ‘Through The Wormhole’, ‘Deadliest Catch’ & ‘How the Universe Works’. “We look forward to leveraging our strong distribution channels throughout the EMEA for Discovery’s distinct slate of world class product,” said Man Jit Singh, president, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

BARRY ON SHOOTING ‘NEWCOMER’

Extraordinarily for an opening night film and extremely heartening for aspiring filmmakers everywhere, Kai Barry’s 1st feature ‘Newcomer’ came to Raindance Film Festival programmers’ attention though open submissions. But after his film’s debut at the festival, Barry won’t be under the radar for much longer. Filmed in Belgrade and starring ‘My Brother The Devil’s James Floyd, ‘Newcomer’ tells the story of Alex, an apparently bright young man who finds himself over his head when he applies for a job with a private firm protecting secret information. Barry says: “The original thing was, I read a stat that said, in US, 70% of the intelligent budget goes on independent contractors. Just reading that statistic, I thought, ‘There’s got to be a lot of confusion here, right?’ And I started to wonder: what is that world? Obviously there’s the James Bond world, but what about this world, where nobody knows who anybody really is? Misinformation can be as powerful as shooting people, or blowing things up, and that was the side of the spy world that I wanted to play with and I wanted to keep everything as real as possible from that point forward.”

‘AURORA BOREALIS’ RECEIVES $2 MILLION

The Hungarian National Film Fund, which backed Cannes’ Grand Prix winner ‘Son Of Saul’, has granted 580 million HUF ($2.07 million) in production funding to Marta Meszaros’ ‘Aurora Borealis’. The feature film project starts to shoot next month. Meszaros is the director of ‘Adoption’, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1975, ‘Nine Months’, which won the Prix Fipresci at Cannes in 1977 and ‘Diary For My Children’, winner of the Grand Prix Special Du Jury at Cannes in 1984. ‘Aurora Borealis’ stars Mari Torocsik, who toplined last year’s local box – office hit ‘Swing’ by Csaba Fazekas. Torocsik won best actress at Cannes with ‘A Locsei Feher Asszony’ in 1976. As in her previous films, Meszaros examines a social taboo in ‘Aurora Borealis’, this time the story of children fathered by occupying Russian soldiers. It centers on Olga, who lives in Vienna. She realizes that there are secrets in her family past and she will not be able to put her own life in order until she works out the truth of what happened. After returning to Hungary, her elderly mother did everything in her power to keep the past a secret from her daughter and lied to her for years, but when she falls into a coma, Olga finds a mysterious photograph and starts to search for the truth.

‘NO LONGER HEROINE’ OVERTAKES “ATTACK ON TITAN”

‘Heroine Shikkaku’ (“No Longer Heroine”), climbed atop the Japanese box office this weekend in its 2nd week of release. Based on a best – selling comic by Momoko Koda about the love troubles of its title teen heroine, the film earned $1.95 million on 196,496 admissions from 268 screens, with Warner Japan distributing. This was only 12% down from last weekend, with teenaged girls accounting for most of the audience. ‘No Longer Heroine’ is now expected to finish near $25 million mark. ‘No Longer Heroine’ bumped ‘Attack On Titan: End Of The World’, the 2nd of a 2 part action / fantasy epic, distributed by Toho, after only 1 week at No. 1. Playing on 427 screens, the film took in $1.3 million from 112,487 admissions, compared with $2.7 million from 237,016 tickets for its opening frame. Even this latter figure was down 45.7% from the opening weekend of the 1st film, which bowed on 1st Aug, 2015. Also in its 2nd week of release, Disney’s ‘Ant – Man’ recorded $1.1 million on 96,575 admissions to hold onto the number 3 slot. There were no new entries to the top 10, reflecting distributors’ decisions to open their strongest films prior to the Silver Week holiday, which ran from 19th Sept, 2015 to 23rd Sept, 2015.