The European Union's state aid chief says he wants to expand the scope of EU film subsidies to cover all stages of a production from story idea to cinema projector.
EU Commisioner Joaquin Almunia also said Thursday production powerhouses like France and Italy will have more say in defining what will be covered by the movie subsidies which are exempt from normal economic rules because they are considered cultural products intrinsically linked to the identities of the 28 member states.
The United States has frequently criticized the European movie industry because of lavish state subsidies of about 3 billion euros ($4 billion) a year.
The EU is insistent that the movie industry stay out of the current trans-Atlantic trade negotiations with the United States, despite Washington's objections.
News Briefs
- Friday, Nov. 15, 2013
- Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013
Don Cheadle will play Miles Davis in a biopic the actor has long planned on the innovative jazz pioneer.
BiFrost Pictures told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it will finance and produce "Kill the Trumpet Player," with Cheadle also making his directorial debut. Cheadle has been trying to make the film for years, but production is finally set to begin in June.
The production company said the movie won't be a traditional biopic, but will focus on when Davis temporarily retired from making music and then re-emerged in 1979. The script is written by Cheadle and Steven Baigelman.
Ewan McGregor will co-star as a Rolling Stone reporter, and Zoe Saldana will play Frances Davis, the trumpet player's former wife.
The film is being made with the collaboration of Davis' family. Davis collaborator Herbie Hancock will also be involved in the production.
Davis died in 1991 at age 65.
- Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013
The release of the big-screen adaptation of "Fifty Shades of Grey" has been postponed until 2015.
The film had been scheduled to open in August next year, but Universal Pictures announced Wednesday that it will now debut on Valentine's Day in 2015.
The production of "Fifty Shades of Grey" has not gone according to plan. "Sons of Anarchy" star Charlie Hunnam dropped out of the project shortly after his high-profile casting as billionaire Christian Grey. Jamie Dornan replaced him, and the start of production was pushed from November to December.
A Valentine's Day release is fitting for the erotic romance, but it also moves the film out of the lucrative summer movie-going months. February is often a dumping ground for Hollywood's less prestigious releases.
- Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013
A group of international film directors are protesting outside Iran's embassy in Stockholm against that government's censorship of Iranian film maker Mohammad Rasoulof.
Around 20 directors, including Sean Gullette of the U.S. and Sweden's Tarik Saleh, stood blindfolded outside the Iranian embassy Tuesday, after learning that Iranian authorities have confiscated Rasoulof's passport, prohibiting him from traveling to the Stockholm Film Festival.
The blindfolds were a reference to a scene in Rasoulof's latest film, "Manuscripts Don't Burn," that will be screened at the festival.
Rasoulof's films are banned in Iran, where he has been accused of "making propaganda" against the ruling system.
The chairman of the festival jury, Kristian Petri, said the directors wanted to "show that it is unacceptable to prevent filmmakers, artists and journalists from performing their work."
- Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013
Plota Productions has announced that Ringling College of Art and Design student Ailish Reilly won the studio shoot-out held on October 15th, 2013 and will be awarded a full-day all-resource access studio session at Plota Productions studios in Sarasota to shoot a project of her own creation.
Troy Plota and the Plota Productions crew introduced their Studio Production Workflow Process to Ringling College students on October 15 and began the session by throwing the Ringling Digital photography students attending into a "Live" advertising shoot scenario where pairs of students had 20 seconds or 10 frames to capture each other on the professionally lit set.
Ailish and other Ringling students' fashion photography will be featured at the PH_ashion1121 show Thursday, November 21st, 2013 from 7pm-9pm, with a Runway Show at 8pm in the Diane Roskamp Exhibition Hall on the Ringling College of Art & Design Campus.
"It's always a More
- Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013
A&E network is feasting on the Wahlberg brothers, who will star in a new reality show titled, "Wahlburgers," and set in the family's Boston restaurant.
For the show, actor brothers Mark and Donnie Wahlberg head back to their hometown to join forces with older brother Paul in the hamburger venture.
A&E says all eyes will be on these Wahlbergs, who are determined to make their restaurant brand a success in Boston and beyond. Now they just have to agree on a second location.
"Wahlburgers" is set to premiere Jan. 22.
- Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013
Jennifer Lawrence will not only star in the upcoming film adaptation of Jeanette Walls' 2005 best-selling memoir "The Glass Castle," the project will also mark her first time as a producer.
"I don't know if I will be any good, but I'm trying it," Lawrence said of her new post in an interview with The Associated Press at a recent publicity event in Beverly Hills. "So far I am not sure if I am because I am very instinctual, but not very verbal. But producing is something that I have really wanted to do."
The actress attached herself to the adaptation after her mother, Karen Lawrence, fell in love with Walls' story and suggested she read it.
"My mother is like the lucky charm with these kinds of things," said the 23-year-old star of the upcoming "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." ''She read 'Winter's Bone' and 'Hunger Games' and when I read 'The Glass Castle' I thought it was amazing, so we found Gil Netter, the producer who More
- Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013
Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee believes the modest clout of the premier awards for Chinese-language films will grow as the market for such films increases.
The Taiwanese filmmaker spoke Tuesday in Taipei ahead of next week's 50th annual Golden Horse Awards, which showcases films from Taiwan, mainland China, Singapore and Hong Kong. The event is the equivalent of the Oscars, and Lee will be a juror selecting winners in 22 categories, ranging from Best Feature Film to Best Action Choreography.
Asked about Hollywood's relative indifference to the Golden Horse event, Lee says that will change as the market for Chinese films grows.
"I think in 10 years' time our market is bigger than the Hollywood market," he said. "So it comes naturally."
While the Golden Horse event is a staple for Asian film fans, with glitzy local television coverage and legions of screaming fans blanketing the award venue to get a close More
- Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013
Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee believes the modest clout of the premier awards for Chinese-language films will grow as the market for such films increases.
The Taiwanese filmmaker spoke Tuesday in Taipei ahead of next week's 50th annual Golden Horse Awards, which showcases films from Taiwan, mainland China, Singapore and Hong Kong. The event is the equivalent of the Oscars, and Lee will be a juror selecting winners in 22 categories, ranging from Best Feature Film to Best Action Choreography.
Asked about Hollywood's relative indifference to the Golden Horse event, Lee says that will change as the market for Chinese films grows.
"I think in 10 years' time our market is bigger than the Hollywood market," he said. "So it comes naturally."
While the Golden Horse event is a staple for Asian film fans, with glitzy local television coverage and legions of screaming fans blanketing the award venue to get a close More
- Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013
When it comes to learning about the evils of Internet piracy, Hollywood studios and the major music labels want kids to start young.
A nonprofit group called the Center for Copyright Information has commissioned a school curriculum to teach elementary-age children about the value of copyrights.
The curriculum, still in draft stage, includes lesson plans, videos and activities for teachers and parents to help educate students about the "importance of being creative and protecting creativity," with topics such as "Respect the Person: Give Credit," ''It's Great to Create," and "Copyright Matters."
The nonprofit is backed by the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and others, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Some critics say the curriculum, called "Be a Creator," would promote a biased agenda. Others contend it would use up valuable classroom time when public More