Film News

Entertainment giants will be focusing on key brands like the Green Lantern at next week's Licensing International Expo.

Walt Disney president and CEO Bob Iger said here Wednesday that early TV upfront advertising sales for the ABC network have been good.

The Nantucket Film Festival, which runs June 17-20, will present Robert Duvall with its Compass Rose Acting Award, which recognizes actors who have inspired writers.

Sky Movies Indie HD is working with the Edinburgh International Film Festival to have mirror screenings of festival selection Dead Happy on the channel.

Marvel Entertainment has promoted Joe Quesada to the post of chief creative officer.

The Tribeca Film Institute and Gucci announced the recipients selected for the 2010 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund on Wednesday.

 Universal Studios Home Entertainment has begun production on the DVD title “Honey 2,” a dance movie directed by Bille Woodruff based on the 2003 feature of the same name and starring Katerina Graham of the CW’s “The Vampire Diaries.”

Leading producer/distributor Wanda Films has taken Spanish theatrical rights to Abbas Kiarostami’s Cannes competition title Certified Copy from MK2 and documentary The Field Of Enchantment from Wild Bunch.

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Yony Leyse's documentary "William S. Burroughs: A Man Within." The film, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival, will be released theatrically in the fall and also broadcast as part of PBS' "Independent Lens" series.

Screen Digest’s research notes that total iInternational consumer spending on packaged media fell 2.9 per cent (at fixed exchange rates) to $17.1bn in 2009.

"Eat Pray Love," the new Julia Roberts feature that Sony will release Aug. 13, has successfully appealed the R rating it was originally awarded by the Classification and Ratings Administration of the MPAA.

Following the likes of Sundance and Tribeca, the Edinburgh International Film Festival will introduce an online element as part of this year’s festival.EIFF is partnering with online VOD site Projector.tv, owned by Future Film Group, which will create a secure, branded EIFF platform. Selections from past festivals as well as this year’s programme will be available.“Each year we look to do something new and different with the Festival, and this online partnership is just one exam

The UK’s first MA course dedicated to producing specialist factual documentaries is to launch in September 2010 as part of a joint deal between the Film Studies Department at Queen Mary, University of London and Mandrake Films.

Outfest 2010 will kick off with "Howl," Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's portrait of Allen Ginsberg, and close with J.B. Ghuman's high school-set musical "Spork."

Cannes hit was number one at the Danish box office with a three-day gross of $287,936 on 56 screens.

 

Director McG has bought the film rights to a soon-to-be-published novel called The DUFF.

No, it’s got nothing to do with a certain Hilary (nor with McG’s undercooked back catalogue... or Homer's favourite beer), the title instead being slang for Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Nice.

The book was written by 20-year-old author Kody Keplinger, and follows the life of 17-year-old Bianca Piper, who realises that the boy she hates is the boy that she really likes. She’s obviously just watched Bringing Up Baby.

McG plans on producing the project over at his Wonderland Sound And Vision studio. An odd choice for the action movie director, but with action pal Michael Bay also recently snapping up some book rights, McG evidently wanted in on the literary loving.

No writer(s) or director are attached yet. Keplinger’s novel is due out this autumn.

Fancy a McDuff?

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Richard Starkings has spoken out about the movie adaptation of his Elephantmen comic book series.

The series, which is published under Image Comics, is set two hundred years in the future where human-animal hybrids are being bred in North Africa. The resultant Elephantmen are trained as soldiers and killers, and are at the centre of a war between the MAPPO corporation and the U.N.

Discussing the adap with DS at the MCM Expo, Starkings revealed that the film will be a mix of live action and CGI.

"It may even involve men in suits because they did it really well in Where the Wild Things Are," he said.

"I'm not precious - I trust the producers - but I did hold out. I had offers for standard cell animations, but I didn't want it to be dumbed down. I wanted it presented as a heavy, science fiction, futuristic, dark fantasy.

"It's in my contract that I get to write the story treatment. I didn't really want to write a screenplay because I'm so involved with putting out the comic book and I didn't want it to slow me down."

A release date has yet to be set for Elephantmen, and no director is currently on board.

Screaming "I am not an animal!" with joy? Drop us a comment...

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Singer and film composer Randy Newman can add a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to his collection of honors.

Munich-based Cinepool made its first sales on two stereoscopic 3D animation films in a raft of deals at a busy Cannes market.

State government sets aside A$20m per year to help entice international films and local productions from other parts of Australia to NSW.