All the News.
White Irish Drinkers, now has a US Spring 2011 theatrical release date, after Screen Media Films acquired North American rights. The film which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival, was written and directed by John Gray,and stars Nick Thurston, Geoff Wigdor and Leslie Murphy.
Robert De Niro will be honored at next January’s Golden Globe® Awards telecast with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment field. Philip Berk, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), was joined by Golden Globe Award-nominated actor Kevin Spacey in making the announcement this morning.
Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer” took the lead at the 23rd European Film Awards with seven nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor for Ewan McGregor. Now on DVD in the US, The Ghost Writer is a political thriller starring Ewan McGregor as a ghost-writer who researches and works to complete the biography of former Prime Minister Adam Lang, played by Pierce Brosnan. Eventually the writer, played by McGregor, becomes suspicious that there may be more to Lang’s story than meets the eye.
Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” grossed $265,925 from just 4 theaters in New York and Los Angeles, the year’s second-highest per-screen average of $66,481, and the best per-theater-average, of director Danny Boyle’s career. “The Kids Are All Right” holds the record for the year’s best per-theater-average of $70,282 from 7 screens in July.
Two-time Academy Award nominated actress Jill Clayburgh, has died of leukemia, aged 66. Clayburgh’s husband, the playwright David Rabe, told the New York Times she died at her home in Lakeville, Connecticut.
IFC Midnight, the genre label of IFC Films, announced that the company is acquiring North American rights to two films: Manuel Carballo’s supernatural chiller EXORCISMUS and Miguel Angel Vivas’ powerful and shocking home invasion flick KIDNAPPED. Both films will be released through the IFC Midnight label theatrically and on their video on demand platform in early 2011.
Nominations were announced last night in the United Kingdom for the 2011 Cinema Eye Honors, recognizing excellence in artistic achievements in nonfiction filmmaking.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday as part of a reorganization plan that would help it shed more than $4 billion in debt and hand control over to a group of hedge fund creditors.
“Box Elder,” a movie about “dudes being dudes” and highlighting Columbia college is headed to video-on-demand, which is an excellent thing for an independent film. Starting Monday, the film will be available for at least 90 days on cable and satellite Video On Demand throughout the U.S. and Canada. The number of people who view the film during its 90-day trial will determine how long it will remain available on cable and satellite Video On Demand.
This probably won’t help the majority of true independent films, but The Weinstein Company announced on Monday that they are partnering with Icon UK Group to launch a new film finance and production fund to buy or produce films with budgets between $5 million and $20 million.
The nominations and jury members for the thirteenth annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced today, Monday 1st November at St Martins Lane, London by Jared Harris.
George Hickenlooper, director of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, Dogtown, Mayor of Sunset Strip and Factory Girl, died suddenly in Denver on Saturday at the age of 47. Hickenlooper was in Denver to promote his latest film, Casino Jack, at the Starz Denver Film Festival. The 33rd Starz Denver Film Festival will be devoted to director George Hickenlooper, the Denver Film Society announced Saturday night.