April 13, 2012
Tim Roth to preside over ‘Un Certain Regard’ at CannesPARIS (AP) — Festival organizers say actor and director Tim Roth will head the jury for the Cannes Film Festival’s “Un Second Regard” competition.
The panel led by the 50-year-old Briton — perhaps best known for his roles in Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” — will view 20 movies that will be selected for the contest.
The secondary “Un Certain Regard” competition was set up in 1978 to recognize aesthetics and original ideas in film. The prize will be awarded May 26.
Satirical Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti is heading the jury for the overall Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 16-27 in the French Riviera resort town.
569 Films In Competition for 2012 Student Academy Awards
Beverly Hills, CA — Fifty-one entries from 29 countries, along with 518 entries from students representing 105 U.S. colleges and universities, are in competition for the 2012 Student Academy Awards. The competition — now in its 39th year — will culminate in the awards presentation, on Saturday, June 9, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The presentation will include screenings of the winning films.
The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal awards and corresponding cash prizes may be presented in each of five categories: Alternative, Animation, Documentary, Narrative and Foreign Student Film.
Past Student Academy Award® winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared eight awards. At the 84th Academy Awards earlier this year, 2011 Student Academy Award winners Hallvar Witzø and Max Zähle were nominated in the Live Action Short Film category for “Tuba Atlantic” and “Raju,” respectively. James Spione, a Student Academy Award winner in 1987, earned a nomination in the Documentary Short Subject category for “Incident in New Baghdad.”
The 39th Annual Student Academy Awards ceremony on June 9 is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are required. Tickets will be available starting May 1, online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.
Lions Gate Entertainment names international execs
LOS ANGELES (AP) Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. said Thursday that it reorganized its international feature film operations as part of its integration of Summit Entertainment, which it bought in January.
The new team will be led by Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairman Patrick Wachsberger and executives from Lionsgate and Summit.
Lions Gate said Helen Lee Kim, its former head of international operations, has decided to leave later this year. She will continue to represent the movie studio at the film market during the Cannes Film Festival in May and help with the transition of her duties to the new team, the company said.
Wachsberger will lead the international sales team, while Executive Vice President Jill Jones oversees marketing and publicity. Brad Kembel, an executive vice president and a former Summit executive, will be in charge of distribution.
The film and TV production company’s acquisition of Summit brought teen movie hits “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight” under one roof. More than two-thirds of Lions Gate’s revenue comes from the movie business. The company also produces the TV show “Mad Men.”
Shares of the Santa Monica, Calif., company added 2 cents to $12.80 in morning trading Thursday.
‘Marley’ to stream on Facebook while in theaters
NEW YORK (AP) — The Bob Marley documentary “Marley” will stream on Facebook simultaneously during its theatrical opening, a signal that social media may also play a role in shifting movie release windows.
Such day-and-date releases have become increasingly common in recent years for smaller independent films. But this will be the first such U.S. film to stream concurrently on the social media behemoth while opening in theaters.
The film, directed by Kevin Macdonald (who is repped for commercials by Chelsea), will be available for a $6.99 rental beginning April 20th, which is the day it opens in theaters. A portion of the proceeds from Facebook sales will benefit Save the Children, the charity for needy children.
“Marley” is also being released via video-on-demand on April 20th.
Facebook began hosting movie rentals in March 2011. Digital delivery of new releases and older films has been a highly competitive frontier, particularly among Google Inc.’s YouTube, Apple Inc.’s iTunes and subscription service Netflix.
Vitec Acquires Camera Corps LtdBury St Edmunds, UK — The Vitec Group plc (“Vitec”) has acquired the UK based company, Camera Corps Ltd (“Camera Corps”) to sit within its Vitec Videocom division.
Camera Corps supplies speciality remote cameras and remote tracking systems, camera support systems and full service facilities to broadcasters of international and regional events. The company is renowned for its delivery of high quality broadcast solutions through its continued investment in new camera systems, and the development and manufacture of bespoke camera systems.
Camera Corps will operate within the company’s Vitec Videocom division, which brings together some of the most respected, sought-after and innovative brands in the camera support industry. The acquisition will complement the existing range of Vitec Videocom products, its high-quality equipment includes lighting, power, tripods, robotic cameras and prompting solutions for the broadcast, media and entertainment markets.
Vitec Group brand Bexel, a company that rents and sells high quality broadcast equipment, will also work alongside Camera Corps Ltd. Bexel will incorporate Camera Corps key products such as the small, flexible robotic cameras, into its rental range to enhance its existing rental portfolio for broadcast.
Ridley Scott teases media with 3D ‘Prometheus’ excerptsLONDON (AP) — Sir Ridley Scott has launched his spaceship “Prometheus” in London.
The British director showed a 3D montage of his much-anticipated sci-fi thriller Tuesday for the first time — his return to the genre after classics like “Alien” and “Bladerunner.”
Stars Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace were also there to see themselves onboard “Prometheus” in 3D.
The excerpts showed their mission to a distant planet, following clues from ancient civilizations about signs of alien life.
Scott admits the film developed out of his earlier sci-fi stories, but says it evolved from a prequel or a sequel into a far distant relation. He says “now the actual connection to the original ‘Alien’ is barely in its DNA.”
“Prometheus” is due for release this summer.
Leibovitz, Bourdain To Be Honored at 2012 CLIO AwardsNEW YORK–Photographer Annie Leibovitz and chef, author and television host Anthony Bourdain will receive honorary CLIO Awards at the 53rd Annual CLIO Awards, taking place at New York’s American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, May 15 at 6:30 PM. The CLIO Awards, which celebrate creative professionals in the advertising, design and communications industries, also recognize visionaries in fields as diverse as photography, fashion, food, travel, literature and film.
Leibovitz and Bourdain will be honored for their outstanding bodies of work, which have encouraged people around the world to think differently. Comedy icon Joan Rivers will host the event.
Ukraine freezes release of Russian war movie
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine is freezing the release of a controversial Russian movie depicting a legendary match between Soviet soccer players and Nazi soldiers, saying it could aggravate tensions.
“The Match” is based upon a 1942 game in which top Kiev football players defeated a team of Nazis and, some say, paid for it with their lives.
The movie was set to premiere in Kiev in May, just weeks before Ukraine co-hosts the Euro 2012 soccer championship. But the Ukrainian film agency said Tuesday it will take another month to decide whether to release the movie.
Some officials say the film portrays Ukrainians as Nazi collaborators. They also fear it may stoke anti-German sentiments ahead of the championship.
Clinton praises movie on Myanmar’s Suu KyiWASHINGTON (AP) — French film director Luc Besson’s biopic of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee) has won an unusual endorsement.
Hillary Rodham Clinton says she watched the movie, “The Lady,” as she flew to the military-dominated country in December on the first trip there by a U.S. secretary of state in 56 years.
She said: “It was a moving experience for me and I think it will be for you.”
Clinton was speaking before a screening to a select audience in Washington, attended by Besson and the movie’s star, Michelle Yeoh, who plays Suu Kyi.
Clinton said it was an opportunity to celebrate “this extraordinary woman’s struggle to bring democracy to her people.”
Jolie’s wicked turn in ‘Maleficent’ gets 2014 date
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Angelina Jolie is turning wicked as one of Disney’s most-famous villains in “Maleficent,” a live-action twist on “Sleeping Beauty” that’s set for release just under two years from now.
Walt Disney Studios announced Monday that “Maleficent” is due in theaters on March 14, 2014.
The film will spell out the back story of the evil enchantress in Disney’s animated classic “Sleeping Beauty.”
Production designer Robert Stromberg, a two-time Academy Award winner for “Avatar” and “Alice in Wonderland,” is set to direct.
Photo project aims to capture the world in a day
By Jill Lawlesss
LONDON (AP) – Robyn is turning photographer, for a day.
The Swedish pop singer is joining an anti-apartheid icon, a former Irish president and thousands of people around the world in an attempt to capture a day in the life of the planet.
The project – aday.org – is inspired by the “Family of Man,” a 1955 exhibition of international photography that became a multi-million-selling book.
Since then, digital technology and the Internet have made millions of people published photographers, and the project’s organizers hope to harness many of the estimated 1 billion digital cameras now in the hands of people around the world.
Amateur and professional photographers are being encouraged to capture images of their home, family, travel or work on May 15. The uploaded images will be published on the Internet and compiled into a touring exhibition and a book.
Organizer Jeppe Wikstrom hopes it will provide a record of our common humanity – and of the details of everyday life that photojournalism doesn’t always capture.
“Sensationalism has become more common in media, with celebrities and catastrophes and reality TV,” said Wikstrom, a Swedish publisher and photographer who helped organize a similar 2003 project in his homeland, “A Day in the Life of Sweden.”
“A few months ago we were looking for everyday pictures of Paris from a major photo agency, the first thing we got was thousands and thousands of pictures of Paris Hilton,” he said. “It’s an indication of our time.”
Celebrity participants in the project, run by a Swedish charity, include Virgin boss Richard Branson, former Irish President Mary Robinson and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said the photos would help people connect with one another and “transcend the barriers of language, age, gender and culture.”
Wikstrom says those signed up to take part range from Andre Kuipers, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, to scientists in Antarctica and climbers on Mount Everest.
Robyn, who admitted being an infrequent photographer, said she plans to take pictures of her life in Stockholm on May 15.
She said she was backing the project because, “I thought there was something very democratic about it, and modern.”
The images will be published on the Internet, compiled into a book and buried down a Swedish cooper mine as a time capsule for future generations to uncover.
