Screendaily movie news 4/1/03
Jaime Jeske
Liz Shackleton in Hong Kong 01 April 2003
Hong Kong actor and singer Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing reportedly leapt to
his death from a Hong Kong hotel on Tuesday. He was 46.
According to Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK, Cheung jumped from the Mandarin
Oriental hotel in the Central district of Hong Kong Island in the early
evening. He was certified dead after arriving at the Queen Mary
Hospital. Police said that a suicide note was found on the body.
One of Asia's most popular Canto-pop performers, Cheung also had a
distinguished acting career with film credits including Chen Kaige's
Farewell My Concubine and three films directed by Wong Kar Wai - Ashes
Of Time, Happy Together and Days Of Being Wild.
He first came to notice as an actor in 1986 when he starred opposite
Chow Yun-Fat in John Woo's A Better Tomorrow.
***
Spain's Filmax tools up Brad Anderson's next picture
Jennifer Green in Madrid 01 April 2003
Spanish mini-studio Filmax will produce and handle world sales on the
next film from US director Brad Anderson, The Machinist.
Christian Bale (American Psycho) is expected to lead a mixed US, UK and
Spanish cast. Casting and budget are still being closed, but the film -
a tale of suspense about a factory worker suffering from insomnia whose
workplace nemesis is a man no one else can see - is set to begin
shooting May 19 in and around Barcelona.
The Machinist represents the kind of international projects Filmax has
become known for over the last few years through its various genre
divisions: English- and Spanish-language fare with higher-than-average
budgets shooting in Spain with mixed casts and crews.
DP Xavi Gimenez (Mortadelo & Filemon, Darkness, Intacto) and art
director Alain Bainee (Off Key, The Art Of Dying) are already on board
for The Machinist.
Anderson's previous film, the horror title Session 9, took an impressive
Euros 1.4m at the Spanish box office through distributor Lauren Films,
following its best director win at the Sitges International Film
Festival of Catalonia in 2001.
His other credits include Happy Accidents starring Marisa Tomei and
Vincent D'Onofrio and Next Stop Wonderland which starred Hope Davis and
Philip Seymour Hoffman. Both were official selections at the Sundance
Film Festival.
***
Malaysia bans Ghobadi's Marooned In Iraq
Mike Goodridge in Los Angeles 01 April 2003
The Malaysian censorship board, Censorship Film Malaysia, has banned the
local release of Marooned In Iraq, Bahman Ghobadi's acclaimed drama
which details the impact of Saddam Hussein's devastating chemical
attacks on the Iraqi Kurds.
A personal film retitled from Cannes 2002 where it played in Un Certain
Regard as Songs From My Homeland, Marooned In Iraq follows an old
Iranian Kurd musician who sets out in search of his long estranged wife
who crossed over into Iraqi Kurdistan years earlier. When he finds her,
it emerges that she has been badly deformed by the chemical attacks of
March 1988 which killed 15,000 Kurds.
The film had been bought by Suraya Film Production from international
sales agent Menemsha Entertainment as part of a three-picture deal, but
the censorship board last week barred its theatrical release, labeling
it a weapon of US propaganda which could "dangerously jeopardize
relations between Malaysia and Iraq."
"This film is an attempt to prove that Saddam Hussein's government
possesses the chemical weapons which contravene international law," said
the ruling sent to Suraya. "It tries to prove that Saddam is an inhumane
person who needs to be punished and corroborates President Bush's
suggestions that Saddam is still using chemical weapons. The screening
of this film would affect relations between Malaysia and Iraq and Iran."
"Chief minister of Malaysia Dr Mahadir Mohamad wants a peaceful
settlement with Iraq and banning this film is consistent with that. Our
political situation at present supports peace in Iraq and not war and
for that reason we have banned Marooned In Iraq."
Sales agent Neil Friedman, who runs Menemsha, was startled at the
decision. "There are two or three distributors in Malaysia, and Suraya
buys all the films from Islamic countries whether they be Turkish,
Iranian, Iraqi or Kurdish," he told Screendaily yesterday. "Not in a
million years did he think this would happen since the film has nothing
to do with this war or the US and merely shows life in Kurdistan,
another part of the Islamic world."
Wellspring plans to release the film in the US on April 18. Ghobadi is a
renowned Kurdish film-maker whose previous film A Time For Drunken
Horses was one of the most acclaimed of new Iranian cinema and won the
Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000.
***
Mango Yellow wins top prize in Toulouse
Jennifer Green in Madrid 01 April 2003
Brazilian Claudio Assis picked up the grand prize at the 15th annual
Latin American Film Screenings of Toulouse, France (March 21-30) for his
film Mango Yellow (Amarelo Manga).
The prize comes with Euros 3,000 for the film's subtitling and
distribution in France. Yellow, which is sold internationally by
Brazil's Grupo Novo, won five top awards at last November's Festival de
Brasilia including best film, actor (Chico Diaz), cinematography,
editing and the public's prize.
A separate French critics' jury gave its prize to Ana Katz's The Chair
Game (El Juego De La Silla), an Argentinean film which participated in
last year's Films in Progress (Cine en Construccion) program, a joint
venture between Toulouse and Spain's San Sebastian International Film
Festival to help find financing for unfinished Latin American films.
The public's prize went to Diego Arsuaga's The Last Train (El Ultimo
Tren), Uruguay's nominee to this year's foreign-language Oscar. Other
films awarded prizes from special interest groups included Columbian
Luis Alberto Restrepo's La Primera Noche, Mexico's Una Bala by Edgar San
Juan and Ibon Antunano and a special mention to Jane Malaquias' No Passo
Da Veia from Brazil.
***
Oscars push up Chicago international business by 25%
Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles 01 April 2003
Fresh from its haul of six Academy Awards, including one for best
picture, Chicago's international box office leapt 25% over the weekend
according to Miramax International.
The Broadway musical adaptation grossed an estimated $7m in markets over
the weekend to raise its international running total to approximately
$80m.
Combined with the picture's $144.5m US gross, which is the highest ever
achieved for a Miramax Films title (Screendaily Mar 30), the worldwide
total now stands at $224.5m.
According to early estimates, Chicago climbed 30% in the UK, 26% in
Australia and 23% in Germany in the first weekend after the Oscars.
While still in its early stages in most territories, the picture is
already the highest grossing Miramax title of all time in the UK, where
it has amassed $25m. It is scheduled to open in Japan on Apr 19.
"We're thrilled with the surge of business that Chicago has enjoyed
following the best picture win at the Oscars," Miramax chief operating
officer Rick Sands said in a statement.
"The Academy Awards have provided a seal of approval for moviegoers -
especially among younger demographics domestically and for our
international audiences."
On the domestic front, box office climbed by 20% and grossed $7.4m on
2,701 theatres in its 14th week on release.
This is the highest ever score on the Miramax Films label, overtaking
Good Will Hunting ($139m) and becoming the second highest in company
history behind Dimension Films' Scary Movie ($157m).
Miramax's two previous best picture Oscar winners, The English Patient
and Shakespeare In Love, achieved respective domestic grosses of $79m
and $101m.
CD soundtrack sales also received a boost, rising 40%. The soundtrack
has already gone double platinum, recording more than two million sales
in the US.
Copyright Screen International 2003.
Jaime
Jaime Jeske
Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles 01 April 2003
The Oscar winning screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is to receive NBC's
Screenwriter Tribute at the eighth annual Nantucket Film Festival (NFF),
which runs from Jun 19-22.
Jhabvala won best adapted screenplay Oscars for A Room With A View in
1987 and Howards End in 1993. She was nominated for The Remains Of The
Day in 1994.
Jhabvala's next project is Fox Searchlight's upcoming comedy Le Divorce,
which teams her once again with director James Ivory and producer Ismail
Merchant.
"Ruth has adapted some of the most challenging and complex classics into
award winning screenplays, bringing her novelistic sensibility to the
cinematic medium. We are honored to announce Ruth Prawer Jhabvala as our
2003 NBC screenwriter's honoree," the festival's artistic director
Mystelle Brabbee said in a statement.
Previous recipients of the NBC Screenwriter Tribute include Paul
Schrader, Walter Bernstein and James Schamus.
***
UK's Metrodome picks up The Hard Word, Spellbound
Adam Minns in London 01 April 2003
Fresh from the UK theatrical success of Donnie Darko, indie distributor
Metrodome has picked up The Hard Word from Beyond Films and Academy
Award-nominated documentary Spellbound.
Metrodome is planning a late-summer release for Hard Word, a story of
three fraternal bank robbers which stars Guy Pearce and Rachel
Griffiths. The film will be released in the US by Lions Gate in June.
Jeff Blitz's Spellbound, which was nominated for best documentary
feature at this year's Oscars, follows eight children on their quest to
win the National Spelling Bee in Washington DC.
The titles mark the first acquisitions by the company since former BSkyB
executive Andrew Keyte joined as managing director.
Metrodome is now controlled by German TV outfit TV Loonland, which
recently increased its stake in the AIM-listed company from 54% to 83%.
The distributor grossed more than £1.5m with Donnie Darko on limited
release in the UK.
***
Celluloid Dreams takes world rights on Facing Windows
Nancy Tartaglione in Paris 01 April 2003
Paris-based sales house Celluloid Dreams has picked up worldwide rights
to Ferzan Ozpetek's Facing Windows. The film, produced by Tilde Corsi
and Gianii Romoli's R&C Produzioni, is currently at number two at the
Italian box office with more than 1 million tickets sold for a take of
Euros 6.4m.
Facing Windows is a also a front runner at Italy's upcoming Donatello
awards on April 9 with 11 nominations - the most for any film this
year - inclduing Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay for Gianni
Romoli and Ozpetek, Best Actress for Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Best Actor
for Massimo Girotti and Best Supporting Actress for Serra Yilmaz.
***
Chouchou continues to dominate French box office
Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles 01 April 2003
In its second week in France the comedy Chouchou, which is being
distributed by Warner Bros, held on to top spot, grossing an estimated
$4m (Euros 3.8m) for a $10.2m (Euros 9.6m) running total.
In Paris and the suburbs the picture recorded 127,500 admissions on 46
screens, while nationwide the figures were 650,000 admissions on 531
screens.
The picture, which was produced by Les Films Christian Fechner, enjoyed
a 46% market share nationwide, beating off Daredevil in its second week
and local opener Effroyables Jardins which stars Jacques Villeret, Andre
Dussolier, Thierry Lhermitte and Benoit Magimel.
Chouchou stars Gad Elmaleh as a North African transvestite who enters
France illegally and gets work at a Parisian nightclub and falls for the
man of his dreams, played by Alain Chabat. Directed by Merzak Allouache,
the film is sold in international territories by Roissy Films.
Jaime Jeske
Robert Mitchell in London 01 April 2003
Buena Vista International's CIA thriller The Recruit expanded from one
to 381 sites in its second weekend on release in the UK and swept
straight to the top of the chart with $1.4m (£920,472).
The wide opening of The Recruit kept other new hopefuls, including
day-and-date launch The Core, off the top and knocked last week's
leader, romantic comedy Just Married, into second. The Recruit had
previously been platformed for a single week in London's Odeon Leicester
Square and has grossed $1.5m (£975,789) to date.
The Core, distributed by UIP, dug its way into third place with an
underwhelming $914,166 (£583,238). Playing at 395 sites the disaster
movie scored a lacklustre average of $2,314 per location. It performed
well below comparable disaster titles Volcano ($1.5m opening from 309
sites in Oct 1997), Dante's Peak ($1.5m from 298 in March 1997) and Deep
Impact ($2.8m from 379 in May 1999) which went on to gross $4.95m
(£3.2m), $6.4m (£4.1m) and $16m (£10.2m) respectively.
Romantic comedies formed the mantle this weekend, surrounding The Core
on both sides. 20th Century Fox's Just Married dropped off 34% from its
launch weekend and took $951,298 (£606,928) from 333 sites for second
place. Meanwhile Columbia TriStar's Maid In Manhattan - Jennifer Lopez's
biggest UK hit - followed suit also dropping 34% for fourth place and an
$843,487 (£538,145) weekend. After four weeks on release Wayne Wang's
comedy has grossed $10.7m (£6.9m) in the UK and Ireland.
Jet Li actioner Cradle 2 The Grave, released by Warner Bros, claimed
fifth, opening with $587,677 (£374,938). Playing at 201 sites the film
showed an average of $2,924 per location.
The only other opener to hit the top 15 was Icon Film Distribution's The
Rules Of Attraction. Roger Avary's uncompromising adaptation of Brett
Easton Ellis' novel of the same name took seventh place with $356,632
(£227,531). Showing at 103 venues the film, which garnered positive
reviews, scored an average of $3,462 - second only in this weekend's top
15 chart to The Recruit ($3,787). The Rules Of Attraction played
especially strongly at 12 venues in London's West End where the film
ranked second for the weekend (again behind The Recruit) with $77,281
(£49,305) - an average of $6,440.
The previous weekend's Oscar results gave a boost to BVI's Chicago
(which won best picture amongst its six gongs) and Pathe's The Pianist
(best director/actor/adapted screenplay) which saw rises of 44% and 71%
respectively. Chicago added just two addition sites to record a weekend
(its 14th) of $379,199 (£241,929) from 270 venues for sixth place. The
musical has taken $24.5m (£15.6m) since opening on Dec 26 last year. The
Pianist added 14 sites this week, taking it to 93, for a return into the
chart with $192,448 (£122,782) in 13th.
Two limited release openers played well outside the chart. Michael
Winterbottom's In This World, recipient of this year's Golden Bear at
the Berlin film festival, was released in five locations by ICA for a
three-day result of $20,558 (£13,116) - an average of $4,112, the best
of any film on release over the weekend. Meanwhile Bollywood release Ek
Aur Ek Gyarah, from Eros International, claimed $56,808 (£36,243) from
15 sites for a $3,787 average.
Overall the box office for the top 15 dropped off another 4% from last
weekend and was down 53% down from the same weekend in 2002 - although
that was Easter weekend when Blade II opened and Ice Age and Ali G In da
House where in their second week's capitalising on school holidays which
are yet to come this year with Easter not falling until April 20.
***
Ned takes $1.5m in Australian opening weekend for Universal
Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles 01 April 2003
Ned Kelly followed up its powerful opening day (Screendaily Mar 28) with
a $1.5m opening weekend.
Buoyed by an intense publicity campaign featuring Heath Ledger and most
of the cast, the Universal Pictures/Endymion Films production opened in
252 theatres and went on to claim a 30% market share over the weekend.
It was the third highest opening day for an Australian picture behind
Moulin Rouge and Crocodile Dundee II.
The debut was 33% bigger than Ledger pic A Knight's Tale and 13% ahead
of The Patriot in which he starred with fellow Aussie Mel Gibson. Naomi
Watts and Geoffrey Rush also star in Gregor Jordan's biopic, which
charts the bushranger Kelly's life and times.
The picture is due to open in Romania on Apr 4, Venezuela on May 14 and
Japan on May 24. Most remaining international markets will follow in the
autumn.
Roman Polanski's The Pianist benefited from its triple Oscar haul in
Australia and New Zealand. The wartime drama held on to seventh place in
Australia, where it grossed $221,000 in 53 theatres, rising 28% for a
25-day cumulative score of $1.2m.
In New Zealand it finished eighth, taking $47,000 in seven sites and
rising 44% for a 25-day total of $192,000.
Meanwhile in other international news for the studio, Universal added
$1.6m from 1,041 theatres in 13 markets over the weekend to bring its
international total to $106.3m.
The Life Of David Gale opened number five in Hong Kong on $35,000 in 15
venues, a decent return considering the local outbreak of SARS, a
respiratory virus that has resulted in the deaths of 54 people
worldwide.
In its third week in the UK the death row drama grossed $311,000 in 240
venues, dropping 56% for an 11th place finish. To date the picture has
taken $3.2m in the territory.
David Gale has grossed $7.6m internationally and is set to open in
France and Belgium on Apr 23.
***
Fox's Daredevil scores $6.6m over weekend
Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles 01 April 2003
The acrobatic antics of Daredevil were too much for the competition over
the weekend as Fox's action picture scored a string of number one
openings, grossing $6.6m on 3,661 international screens for a $45.9m
running total.
Among the highlights was the United Arab Emirates, where the picture
grossed $254,000 on 23 screens for Fox's second highest opening ever.
Daredevil also took $251,000 on 65 screens in South Africa for Fox's
seventh highest opening ever and $54,000 on 15 screens in Ecuador for
Fox's fifth highest opening of all time.
Die Another Day opened number one in its final territory, Venezuela,
scoring $177,000 on 65 screens. It was the distributor's second highest
opening ever and the industry's fifth highest debut in the all-time
rankings.
To date the highly successful 20th James Bond instalment has grossed
$264.5m at the international box office.
The romantic comedy Just Married took $1.8m on 772 international screens
over the weekend, raising its total to $18.9m.
Opening number one in Singapore on 22 screens it took $179,000, while
the number one Philippines bow yielded $142,000 on 31.
Solaris took $447,000 on 100 screens in Italy, finishing sixth and
raising Steven Soderbergh's sci-fi remake to a $10.9m cumulative score.
The action picture Taxi 3 opened top of the table in Taiwan on $537,000
on 66 screens.