The White House attempts to dissuade Roy Moore from running to Senate in Alabama in Saturday Night Live's cold open sketch that mocked the candidate who faces allegations that he had a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old when he was in his 30s.
"It's hard to convince people you're not into young girls when you dress like Woody from Toy Story," Beck Bennett's Vice President Mike Pence tells Mikey Day's Moore.
After placing Moore in the group of powerful men – like Louis C.K. – "acting like monsters," Pence...
"It's hard to convince people you're not into young girls when you dress like Woody from Toy Story," Beck Bennett's Vice President Mike Pence tells Mikey Day's Moore.
After placing Moore in the group of powerful men – like Louis C.K. – "acting like monsters," Pence...
- 11/12/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Kristen Stewart's debut as a Saturday Night Live host last month didn't go exactly as planned, and now she's opening up about the experience.
While the 26-year-old actress' overall performance went well, her opening monologue ended on a low note when she accidentally dropped an F-bomb live on air, breaking the cardinal rule of broadcast television.
Watch: Kristen Stewart Drops F-Bomb, Calls Herself 'So Gay,' Mocks Donald Trump Twitter Feud on 'SNL'
"We've got a good show and I totally care that I'm here because it's the coolest f**king thing ever," Stewart said on the NBC sketch show.
"I felt so bad about it," Stewart admitted to USA Today. "I just came offstage apologizing profusely and being like, 'I'm so sorry. That's not something I thought was going to happen.' And they were really nice about it. They were like, 'We still have an entire show to do. Don't think about it.'"
Fortunately...
While the 26-year-old actress' overall performance went well, her opening monologue ended on a low note when she accidentally dropped an F-bomb live on air, breaking the cardinal rule of broadcast television.
Watch: Kristen Stewart Drops F-Bomb, Calls Herself 'So Gay,' Mocks Donald Trump Twitter Feud on 'SNL'
"We've got a good show and I totally care that I'm here because it's the coolest f**king thing ever," Stewart said on the NBC sketch show.
"I felt so bad about it," Stewart admitted to USA Today. "I just came offstage apologizing profusely and being like, 'I'm so sorry. That's not something I thought was going to happen.' And they were really nice about it. They were like, 'We still have an entire show to do. Don't think about it.'"
Fortunately...
- 3/9/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
"If you have a job where you can work in your pajamas, take it. Don't think about it, just take it." Kristen Bell said that jovially, but not entirely jokingly when talking about what brought her to voiceover roles for movies, television, and video games. In this case, the film we were there to discuss was the upcoming Disney animated movie, "Frozen," where Bell gets to be a Disney princess. As for what it's like to enter that pantheon of characters, she told us "It's very flattering," and then added "I have loved Disney animation since I was five years old and...
- 11/18/2013
- by Josh Lasser
- Hitfix
Adding another cover to her credit, Jennifer Lopez fronts Cosmo for Latinas Winter 2013 issue.
During her Q&A session with the publication, the "Waiting for Tonight" songstress dished about her heritage and shared how she dealt with harsh critics slamming her famous curves.
Check out a few highlights from Miss Lopez's interview below. For more, be sure to visit Cosmo for Latinas!
On her Latina inspiration:
"I was really moved watching 'West Side Story' as a young girl and seeing Puerto Ricans star in it. Even though it wasn't the best depiction of us, they still have the passion and love that I relate to - not to mention the singing and dancing! Rita Moreno became a hero to me."
On her body's insecurities:
"Early on, my family really made me love who I was and what I looked like. My body was nothing out of the ordinary in my neighborhood.
During her Q&A session with the publication, the "Waiting for Tonight" songstress dished about her heritage and shared how she dealt with harsh critics slamming her famous curves.
Check out a few highlights from Miss Lopez's interview below. For more, be sure to visit Cosmo for Latinas!
On her Latina inspiration:
"I was really moved watching 'West Side Story' as a young girl and seeing Puerto Ricans star in it. Even though it wasn't the best depiction of us, they still have the passion and love that I relate to - not to mention the singing and dancing! Rita Moreno became a hero to me."
On her body's insecurities:
"Early on, my family really made me love who I was and what I looked like. My body was nothing out of the ordinary in my neighborhood.
- 10/22/2013
- GossipCenter
Jim Carrey has made some curious choices through his career, and the very worst of them to date screens on TV this evening. Stuart Heritage provides a primer
Spoiler Alert: This blog is published ahead of the screening on Channel 4 tonight (Sunday) at 10pm. Do not read if you have not seen the film and don't want to know anything about it.
"Of course, time is just a counting system … numbers with meaning attached to them" – Walter
For the most part, you know where you are with a Jim Carrey comedy. There's a man who can only tell the truth or say yes or looking after some penguins instead of just giving them to a zoo like a normal person. But when Jim Carrey drops the zaniness, all bets are off. You might get something clever like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or brave like I Love You Phillip Morris,...
Spoiler Alert: This blog is published ahead of the screening on Channel 4 tonight (Sunday) at 10pm. Do not read if you have not seen the film and don't want to know anything about it.
"Of course, time is just a counting system … numbers with meaning attached to them" – Walter
For the most part, you know where you are with a Jim Carrey comedy. There's a man who can only tell the truth or say yes or looking after some penguins instead of just giving them to a zoo like a normal person. But when Jim Carrey drops the zaniness, all bets are off. You might get something clever like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or brave like I Love You Phillip Morris,...
- 8/11/2013
- by Stuart Heritage
- The Guardian - Film News
Horror fans don't grant new performers legendary status on a regular basis. We cling to our heroes like treasures and limit inclusion into the upper echelon of the genre to a very select few. But people do manage to break through and win our undying respect and admiration, and Bill Oberst, Jr., is doing just that right now.
After appearing in the Academy Award-winning short film Take This Lollipop (if, for some ungodly reason, you haven't seen it yet, absolutely check it out Asap!), Oberst's popularity exploded; and he now has over 100 films to his credit, most within the past five years. This whirlwind of energy and excitement sat down with Dread Central recently to discuss his career, his fears and his upcoming films.
"I did theater for 14 years on the East Coast, and theater was all I ever wanted to do," Oberst Jr. said. "I was a big horror fan privately,...
After appearing in the Academy Award-winning short film Take This Lollipop (if, for some ungodly reason, you haven't seen it yet, absolutely check it out Asap!), Oberst's popularity exploded; and he now has over 100 films to his credit, most within the past five years. This whirlwind of energy and excitement sat down with Dread Central recently to discuss his career, his fears and his upcoming films.
"I did theater for 14 years on the East Coast, and theater was all I ever wanted to do," Oberst Jr. said. "I was a big horror fan privately,...
- 7/8/2013
- by Scott Hallam
- DreadCentral.com
They were one of the '90s most beloved rock bands, and they are coming back for more. Darius Rucker recently told Billboard that Hootie & the Blowfish will record new music.
"There's one more Hootie record and tour that we're going to do," said Rucker, who has spent the last four years as a country star. "I don't know when, because country music is my day job -- it's what I want to do."
The band has never really broken up, as they still perform together with some regularity (they are scheduled for two shows in August).
Cracked Rear View, Hootie & the Blowfish's first studio album debuted in 1994. It was a massive commercial success, topping the Billboard chart and selling over 10 million copies to date. It also included three top 10 singles: "Hold My Hand," "Let Her Cry" and "Only Want To Be With You."
All told, Hootie put out five studio albums.
"There's one more Hootie record and tour that we're going to do," said Rucker, who has spent the last four years as a country star. "I don't know when, because country music is my day job -- it's what I want to do."
The band has never really broken up, as they still perform together with some regularity (they are scheduled for two shows in August).
Cracked Rear View, Hootie & the Blowfish's first studio album debuted in 1994. It was a massive commercial success, topping the Billboard chart and selling over 10 million copies to date. It also included three top 10 singles: "Hold My Hand," "Let Her Cry" and "Only Want To Be With You."
All told, Hootie put out five studio albums.
- 7/27/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
'Be willing to look stupid,' Anthony Mackie, who plays Lincoln's best friend in the film, warns.
By Kevin P. Sullivan
Benjamin Walker in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"
Photo:
Working with a director like Timur Bekmambetov guarantees a few things. You'll probably take part in some insane action sequences. And there will definitely be slow-motion.When MTV News sat down with Benjamin Walker and Anthony Mackie, from Bekmambetov's latest film, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," they shared some helpful hints about how to properly act in super-slo-mo."Don't think about it," Walker said right off the bat. He probably had the most to do at the slow speed as our 16th president and first commander in vampire slaying, Abraham Lincoln.
But it's never that simple, as Mackie was able to attest. "Be willing to look stupid," he warned.The final sequence of the film finds Abe and his best friend, Will Johnson (Mackie), atop a locomotive,...
By Kevin P. Sullivan
Benjamin Walker in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"
Photo:
Working with a director like Timur Bekmambetov guarantees a few things. You'll probably take part in some insane action sequences. And there will definitely be slow-motion.When MTV News sat down with Benjamin Walker and Anthony Mackie, from Bekmambetov's latest film, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," they shared some helpful hints about how to properly act in super-slo-mo."Don't think about it," Walker said right off the bat. He probably had the most to do at the slow speed as our 16th president and first commander in vampire slaying, Abraham Lincoln.
But it's never that simple, as Mackie was able to attest. "Be willing to look stupid," he warned.The final sequence of the film finds Abe and his best friend, Will Johnson (Mackie), atop a locomotive,...
- 6/21/2012
- MTV Music News
'Be willing to look stupid,' Anthony Mackie, who plays Lincoln's best friend in the film, warns.
By Kevin P. Sullivan
Benjamin Walker in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"
Photo:
Working with a director like Timur Bekmambetov guarantees a few things. You'll probably take part in some insane action sequences. And there will definitely be slow-motion.When MTV News sat down with Benjamin Walker and Anthony Mackie, from Bekmambetov's latest film, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," they shared some helpful hints about how to properly act in super-slo-mo."Don't think about it," Walker said right off the bat. He probably had the most to do at the slow speed as our 16th president and first commander in vampire slaying, Abraham Lincoln.
But it's never that simple, as Mackie was able to attest. "Be willing to look stupid," he warned.The final sequence of the film finds Abe and his best friend, Will Johnson (Mackie), atop a locomotive,...
By Kevin P. Sullivan
Benjamin Walker in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"
Photo:
Working with a director like Timur Bekmambetov guarantees a few things. You'll probably take part in some insane action sequences. And there will definitely be slow-motion.When MTV News sat down with Benjamin Walker and Anthony Mackie, from Bekmambetov's latest film, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," they shared some helpful hints about how to properly act in super-slo-mo."Don't think about it," Walker said right off the bat. He probably had the most to do at the slow speed as our 16th president and first commander in vampire slaying, Abraham Lincoln.
But it's never that simple, as Mackie was able to attest. "Be willing to look stupid," he warned.The final sequence of the film finds Abe and his best friend, Will Johnson (Mackie), atop a locomotive,...
- 6/21/2012
- MTV Movie News
This is Andrew Bird's universe -- we just live in it. So states the indie singer-multi-instrumentalist's new animated video for "EyeonEye," which is equal parts "The Fantastic Voyage" and "Powers of Ten." In it, the viewer is taken inside a very cool paper cut-out of Bird (hey, where's the rest of the band?), where a number of micro-men control his internal workings -- and keep the universe in order. Once the machine breaks (should you 'break it yourself'?), fireworks of musical creativity go off and the video becomes a seemingly endless loop of universes spawning universes. Don't think about it too much...
- 5/30/2012
- by Dave Lewis
- Hitfix
The Movie Pool loves the little felt people in The Muppets Blu-ray!
The Set-up
After years apart, the Muppets (Kermit the Frong, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, you know the rest) reunite to save their old theater from being torn down by greedy oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper). Stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams.
Directed by: James Bobin
The Delivery
The Muppets faded in popularity after their heyday throughout the 1980s, which saw a number of theatrical box office hits. The rise of big-budget visual effects films and high-concept children's entertainment left little room in the modern world for Jim Henson's kids. However, the recent recession and a flood of disappointing original ideas from Hollywood seems to have made audiences feeling nostalgic for some solid entertainment from their past. It seems now is the perfect time for the Muppets to return to save us from boring CGI epics and reality show sensibilities,...
The Set-up
After years apart, the Muppets (Kermit the Frong, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, you know the rest) reunite to save their old theater from being torn down by greedy oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper). Stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams.
Directed by: James Bobin
The Delivery
The Muppets faded in popularity after their heyday throughout the 1980s, which saw a number of theatrical box office hits. The rise of big-budget visual effects films and high-concept children's entertainment left little room in the modern world for Jim Henson's kids. However, the recent recession and a flood of disappointing original ideas from Hollywood seems to have made audiences feeling nostalgic for some solid entertainment from their past. It seems now is the perfect time for the Muppets to return to save us from boring CGI epics and reality show sensibilities,...
- 3/17/2012
- by feeds@themoviepool.com (Victor Medina)
- Cinelinx
Rome -- Matteo Garrone's organized crime thriller "Gomorrah" dominated the David di Donatello awards Friday, taking home seven prizes, including a near-sweep of the major categories.
"Il Divo," the biopic from Paolo Sorrentino, also won seven awards, meaning the two films that burst onto the scene a year ago in Cannes combined to win 14 of the 18 categories in which they were eligible for a prize.
But "Gomorrah" -- which was Italy's selection for the Oscars' foreign-language-film category -- was the biggest winner, earning best film, best director for Garrone, best screenplay (for six writers), and best producer for Domenico Procacci.
The top prize for "Il Divo" went to Toni Servillo, for his portrayal of icon Italian politician Guilio Andreotti. Co-star Piera Degli Esposti was named best supporting actress. The film's other prizes include photography and musical score.
Alba Rohrwacher won the best actress prize for her role as Giovanna...
"Il Divo," the biopic from Paolo Sorrentino, also won seven awards, meaning the two films that burst onto the scene a year ago in Cannes combined to win 14 of the 18 categories in which they were eligible for a prize.
But "Gomorrah" -- which was Italy's selection for the Oscars' foreign-language-film category -- was the biggest winner, earning best film, best director for Garrone, best screenplay (for six writers), and best producer for Domenico Procacci.
The top prize for "Il Divo" went to Toni Servillo, for his portrayal of icon Italian politician Guilio Andreotti. Co-star Piera Degli Esposti was named best supporting actress. The film's other prizes include photography and musical score.
Alba Rohrwacher won the best actress prize for her role as Giovanna...
- 5/8/2009
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rome -- Paolo Sorrentino’s bio-pic “Il Divo” and “Gomorra,” the organized crime thriller from Matteo Garone, dominated the nominations for Italy’s David dei Donatello awards, it was announced Thursday, with a total 27 noms between them.
The two films have combined to win multiple awards over the last year, starting with the 2008 Festival de Cannes, where they won the Special Jury Award and Grand Prix prize, respectively.
“Gomorra” has earned more notoriety internationally, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Foreign Film and being selected as Italy’s official candidate for the Oscars. But it is “Il Divo” that can boast the most nominations for Italy’s highest film honor with 16, compared to 11 for “Gomorra.” The maximum number of categories an Italian film is eligible for is 19.
Both films were nominated in the best film category, with Fausto Brizzi’s romance “Ex,” Paolo Virzi’s comedy “Tutta la Vita Davanti...
The two films have combined to win multiple awards over the last year, starting with the 2008 Festival de Cannes, where they won the Special Jury Award and Grand Prix prize, respectively.
“Gomorra” has earned more notoriety internationally, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Foreign Film and being selected as Italy’s official candidate for the Oscars. But it is “Il Divo” that can boast the most nominations for Italy’s highest film honor with 16, compared to 11 for “Gomorra.” The maximum number of categories an Italian film is eligible for is 19.
Both films were nominated in the best film category, with Fausto Brizzi’s romance “Ex,” Paolo Virzi’s comedy “Tutta la Vita Davanti...
- 4/10/2009
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Eastern European Distributors at the San Sebastian Film Festival
The European Film Promotion (EFP) and the San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 18-27) launched a new promotion initiative entitled "European Distributors: Up Next".
Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.
• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.
Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.
• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.
• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.
Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.
Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”
• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.
Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.
• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.
Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.
Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.
Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.
Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”
Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.
Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”
• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.
Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.
The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.
• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.
Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.
Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.
• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.
There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.
• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).
The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.
• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.
In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.
Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.
• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.
Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.
• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.
• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.
Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.
Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”
• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.
Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.
• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.
Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.
Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.
Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.
Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”
Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.
Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”
• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.
Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.
The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.
• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.
Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.
Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.
• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.
There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.
• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).
The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.
• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.
In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.
- 10/11/2008
- Sydney's Buzz
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.