The New Zealand Film Commission has named the recipients of its one-off business development scheme Boost, with total funding of more than $NZ450,000.
The scheme is designed to accelerate the slates of active producers and to enable screen businesses to move films more quickly into production.
Applicants were invited to apply for $NZ50,000 - $NZ130,000 per business. At least 50 per cent of the money must be allocated to third party development costs and the commission expects the entire amount to be spent within 12-18 months.
The recipients are Jump Film and Television, Centron Pictures, Pop Film, Four Knights Film and Firefly Films.
Making the announcement at the Big Screen Symposium conference, Nzfc CEO Dave Gibson, said that screen companies in New Zealand are growing in number and scale and he expects the five Boost companies will contribute to this growth.
Founded by Robin Scholes, Jump Pictures is completing Lee Tamahori...
The scheme is designed to accelerate the slates of active producers and to enable screen businesses to move films more quickly into production.
Applicants were invited to apply for $NZ50,000 - $NZ130,000 per business. At least 50 per cent of the money must be allocated to third party development costs and the commission expects the entire amount to be spent within 12-18 months.
The recipients are Jump Film and Television, Centron Pictures, Pop Film, Four Knights Film and Firefly Films.
Making the announcement at the Big Screen Symposium conference, Nzfc CEO Dave Gibson, said that screen companies in New Zealand are growing in number and scale and he expects the five Boost companies will contribute to this growth.
Founded by Robin Scholes, Jump Pictures is completing Lee Tamahori...
- 10/11/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
A still from The Crow’s Egg
The Crow’s Egg is named so because we take the bird for granted, its colour making it under- privileged compared to its peers. It is all pervasive but leads an obscure existence. M Manikandan’s fresh story and clever script is founded on this analogy. Its lead characters, just like the crow, are sidelined and misunderstood.
Two little boys (they have been referred to as the Small crow’s egg and Big crow’s egg throughout- no real names) from the slums in Chennai eat crow’s eggs so that they can become big and strong. Their father is in the prison and their mother struggles to run the household and bail him out. She has some help in the form of an old mother-in-law who looks after the children and home.
The brothers spend their day collecting coal alongside the railway...
The Crow’s Egg is named so because we take the bird for granted, its colour making it under- privileged compared to its peers. It is all pervasive but leads an obscure existence. M Manikandan’s fresh story and clever script is founded on this analogy. Its lead characters, just like the crow, are sidelined and misunderstood.
Two little boys (they have been referred to as the Small crow’s egg and Big crow’s egg throughout- no real names) from the slums in Chennai eat crow’s eggs so that they can become big and strong. Their father is in the prison and their mother struggles to run the household and bail him out. She has some help in the form of an old mother-in-law who looks after the children and home.
The brothers spend their day collecting coal alongside the railway...
- 12/16/2014
- by Hiral Sachde Thakkar
- DearCinema.com
ITV has apologised for repeating an episode of Benidorm that referenced Rolf Harris.
The edition - originally broadcast in 2012 - was aired the day after Harris was convicted for indecent assault.
A repeat was pulled from ITV+1 which was set to air the show an hour later.
ITV released a statement saying: "This was a repeat episode of Benidorm and we wish to apologise for this oversight."
The show featured Tim Healy's character singing 'Two Little Boys' on karaoke, which was introduced as "a classic Rolf Harris number".
Another scene saw character Jacqueline talking about a rock star and asking: "Didn't his wife have an affair with Rolf Harris?"
Writer Derren Litten wrote on Twitter: "Extremely unfortunate timing of a Benidorm repeat tonight. Apologies to anyone who was offended."
He added: "An apology was appropriate as ITV went from a song made famous by Rolf Harris straight...
The edition - originally broadcast in 2012 - was aired the day after Harris was convicted for indecent assault.
A repeat was pulled from ITV+1 which was set to air the show an hour later.
ITV released a statement saying: "This was a repeat episode of Benidorm and we wish to apologise for this oversight."
The show featured Tim Healy's character singing 'Two Little Boys' on karaoke, which was introduced as "a classic Rolf Harris number".
Another scene saw character Jacqueline talking about a rock star and asking: "Didn't his wife have an affair with Rolf Harris?"
Writer Derren Litten wrote on Twitter: "Extremely unfortunate timing of a Benidorm repeat tonight. Apologies to anyone who was offended."
He added: "An apology was appropriate as ITV went from a song made famous by Rolf Harris straight...
- 7/2/2014
- Digital Spy
The New Zealand Film Commission is getting out of the business of selling feature films and shorts internationally as part of a wide revamp of the agency.s structure and mission.
The Nzfc will seek to place the new and recent films it represents with sales agents and is hiring a consultant with sales experience to manage the transition. That process will start on April 1.
The organisation, which has 129 films under its care, will continue to handle sales of at least some of the older titles. The Commission has sold the films it produced or invested in for more than 40 years, including An Angel at My Table, Bad Taste, Vigil, Once Were Warriors, Sleeping Dogs, Smash Palace, The Navigator, The World's Fastest Indian and, more recently, Black Sheep, Eagle vs Shark, Two Little Boys and Fresh Meat.
Lindsay Shelton, who served as marketing director from its inception in 1979 until 2001, was...
The Nzfc will seek to place the new and recent films it represents with sales agents and is hiring a consultant with sales experience to manage the transition. That process will start on April 1.
The organisation, which has 129 films under its care, will continue to handle sales of at least some of the older titles. The Commission has sold the films it produced or invested in for more than 40 years, including An Angel at My Table, Bad Taste, Vigil, Once Were Warriors, Sleeping Dogs, Smash Palace, The Navigator, The World's Fastest Indian and, more recently, Black Sheep, Eagle vs Shark, Two Little Boys and Fresh Meat.
Lindsay Shelton, who served as marketing director from its inception in 1979 until 2001, was...
- 3/7/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Spanish stars Paz Vega, Carmen Maura and Antonio de la Torre together with Edward James Olmos and Love Child.s Jessica Marais head the cast of Jim Loach.s movie which starts shooting in South Australia on March 3.
Scripted by Judy Morris (Happy Feet 2, The Eye of the Storm), the plot revolves around a multi-generational, dysfunctional Spanish family and a 12-year-old boy, Savino, who realises he has to escape to effect change. Sydney newcomer Michael Crisafulli will play Savino with Jarin Towney (Two Little Boys, Underbelly) as his buddy Skeet.
It.s the first film from Timothy White (Son of a Gun, The Boys are Back) and Anna Vincent.s Southern Light Alliance, an unofficial co-production with Stewart le Maréchal and Anna Mohr-Pietsch of the UK.s Met Film.
Vincent tells If that White was introduced to the project from an international contact, she then met the UK producers in...
Scripted by Judy Morris (Happy Feet 2, The Eye of the Storm), the plot revolves around a multi-generational, dysfunctional Spanish family and a 12-year-old boy, Savino, who realises he has to escape to effect change. Sydney newcomer Michael Crisafulli will play Savino with Jarin Towney (Two Little Boys, Underbelly) as his buddy Skeet.
It.s the first film from Timothy White (Son of a Gun, The Boys are Back) and Anna Vincent.s Southern Light Alliance, an unofficial co-production with Stewart le Maréchal and Anna Mohr-Pietsch of the UK.s Met Film.
Vincent tells If that White was introduced to the project from an international contact, she then met the UK producers in...
- 2/20/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
London — Rolf Harris, a veteran entertainer who has released hit singles and painted Queen Elizabeth II's portrait, has been arrested as part of a police investigation into sexual abuse allegations stemming from the Jimmy Savile scandal, British media reported Friday.
Major media outlets followed The Sun newspaper in identifying Harris, an Australian-born artist, musician and television host who is a household name in Britain.
He was first questioned by police in November but not arrested. He was arrested in March and released on bail pending further inquiries.
Asked about Harris, London's Metropolitan Police said they would not name suspects who have not been charged.
Police said an 82-year-old man in Berkshire, west of London, was arrested March 28 as part of Operation Yewtree, an investigation launched after revelations that Savile targeted hundreds of young victims over five decades. Savile died in 2011 at age 84.
Police said the allegations against the man...
Major media outlets followed The Sun newspaper in identifying Harris, an Australian-born artist, musician and television host who is a household name in Britain.
He was first questioned by police in November but not arrested. He was arrested in March and released on bail pending further inquiries.
Asked about Harris, London's Metropolitan Police said they would not name suspects who have not been charged.
Police said an 82-year-old man in Berkshire, west of London, was arrested March 28 as part of Operation Yewtree, an investigation launched after revelations that Savile targeted hundreds of young victims over five decades. Savile died in 2011 at age 84.
Police said the allegations against the man...
- 4/19/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
There's a pernicious misapprehension afoot that the Brits are the polite ones while Yanks are inclined to brusqueness or brashness, but a comparison of the varied reactions to the deaths of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher would seem to give the lie to this. While "The Great Communicator" was hailed for ending the Cold War (something surely Mr. Gorbachev deserves some credit for), with little mention of his disastrous economic policies and illegal covert wars, Thatcher has received her due as a "divisive" figure, even on the BBC. And, as I write this, there is a genuine chance that "Ding Dong, The Witch is Dead," will reach number one in the UK charts.
Nor were the British uniformly polite about her when she was alive. The Tories gave no encouragement to the art of cinema, or most of the other arts. Invited to talk about her favorite works of art on television,...
Nor were the British uniformly polite about her when she was alive. The Tories gave no encouragement to the art of cinema, or most of the other arts. Invited to talk about her favorite works of art on television,...
- 4/18/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
From horror to doco, Colin Delaney speaks to five film-makers about their feature length debut.
Director Kevin Smith famously funded his first film, Clerks, by selling off his prized comic book collection. Pedro Almodovar’s first foray into features was so technically flawed, he reportedly put it down to personal style. And finishing Hard Eight was a baptism of fire, according to Paul Thomas Anderson, who has been quoted as saying: “I learned all the lessons I needed to learn on the first film about protecting myself and how to keep a lock on the editing room door.” Such are the trials and trade offs of film-makers when it comes to making their first feature.
The reality, according to Screen Australia, is that between 1970 and 2011, approximately 70 per cent of first-time producers, directors and writers didn’t go on to make a second film. Martha Coleman, head of development at Screen Australia,...
Director Kevin Smith famously funded his first film, Clerks, by selling off his prized comic book collection. Pedro Almodovar’s first foray into features was so technically flawed, he reportedly put it down to personal style. And finishing Hard Eight was a baptism of fire, according to Paul Thomas Anderson, who has been quoted as saying: “I learned all the lessons I needed to learn on the first film about protecting myself and how to keep a lock on the editing room door.” Such are the trials and trade offs of film-makers when it comes to making their first feature.
The reality, according to Screen Australia, is that between 1970 and 2011, approximately 70 per cent of first-time producers, directors and writers didn’t go on to make a second film. Martha Coleman, head of development at Screen Australia,...
- 12/19/2012
- by Luke
- Encore Magazine
Here's a key problem with Robert Sarkies' black comedy Two Little Boys: Based on title alone it comes across as something most likely to appeal to either the Disney set or pedophiles. Or both. It is not. Recently nominated for a whopping eleven New Zealand Film Awards, the film stars Bret McKenzie (Flight Of The Conchords) and Hamish Blake (Hamish And Andy) in an adaptation of a novel written by the director's brother, Duncan. And given the presence of McKenzie and Blake it comes as no surprise that things are both funnier and darker than the title implies.Set in Invercargill, New Zealand in the early 1990's, the film follows Nige and his best mate Deano's riotous misadventures as they struggle with their imploding long-term friendship which...
- 11/24/2012
- Screen Anarchy
The final Twilight takes $12.5m on opening weekend
The final instalment of the The Twilight Saga has had a massive opening weekend at the box office.
Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, distributed by Hoyts/StudioCanal, took $12.49m, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
Across a huge 655 screens, the film had a $19,070 screen average.
The film wasn’t a series’ best, however. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the second film in the series, released three years ago, made $16.109m on its opening weekend to be the second-highest grossing opening film in Australian box office history, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which made $18.364m in its first weekend.
However, Breaking Dawn is the third-highest opening weekend film in Australia for 2012. Batman film The Dark Knight remains the top opening weekend film for 2012, taking $15m. The Avengers took $13m.
Elsewhere, two Australian films and one New Zealand...
The final instalment of the The Twilight Saga has had a massive opening weekend at the box office.
Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, distributed by Hoyts/StudioCanal, took $12.49m, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
Across a huge 655 screens, the film had a $19,070 screen average.
The film wasn’t a series’ best, however. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the second film in the series, released three years ago, made $16.109m on its opening weekend to be the second-highest grossing opening film in Australian box office history, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which made $18.364m in its first weekend.
However, Breaking Dawn is the third-highest opening weekend film in Australia for 2012. Batman film The Dark Knight remains the top opening weekend film for 2012, taking $15m. The Avengers took $13m.
Elsewhere, two Australian films and one New Zealand...
- 11/19/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
New Zealander Bret McKenzie has won best song at the Oscars for his song Man or Muppet from feature film The Muppets.
McKenzie’s song beat out song Real in Rio from animate feature Rio, composed by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown with lyrics by Siedah Garrett.
McKenzie is one half of musical comedy act Flight of the Conchords.
The actor/musician will be seen next in Two Little Boys, alongside Australia’s Hamish Blake.
Hopscotch Films will distribute the film locally, directed by Robert Sarkies, produced by Vicky Pope and Tim White.
McKenzie’s song beat out song Real in Rio from animate feature Rio, composed by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown with lyrics by Siedah Garrett.
McKenzie is one half of musical comedy act Flight of the Conchords.
The actor/musician will be seen next in Two Little Boys, alongside Australia’s Hamish Blake.
Hopscotch Films will distribute the film locally, directed by Robert Sarkies, produced by Vicky Pope and Tim White.
- 2/27/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Those crazy New Zealanders, they do love their mullets, quirky comedies and jokes about sheep. Two of the three are very present in this trailer (although there is a shot of a herd of sheep, so something tells me there will be sheep jokes) for Two Little Boys. The movie features Brett Mackenzie from Flight of the Conchords and Hamish Blake. I’ve never heard of him before.
The synopsis of the film breaks down like this:...
The synopsis of the film breaks down like this:...
- 2/21/2012
- by Craig Dietz
- GetTheBigPicture.net
Trailer for 'Two Little Boys' directed by Robert Sarkies and based on the book by Duncan Sarkies, starring Bret McKenzie, Hamish Blake and Maaka Pohatu.
'Two Little Boys' is an irreverent comedy about Nige (Bret McKenzie -- Flight of the Concords) and his recently estranged best mate Deano (Hamish Blake). The film follows Nige and Deano's riotous misadventures as they struggle with their imploding long-term friendship which has been put under pressure by an unfortunate incident involving a hot meat pie, a ginger cat and the untimely death of a Scandinavian soccer star.
It opens 15 March 2012 in New Zealand, no word yet on a international release.
'Two Little Boys' is an irreverent comedy about Nige (Bret McKenzie -- Flight of the Concords) and his recently estranged best mate Deano (Hamish Blake). The film follows Nige and Deano's riotous misadventures as they struggle with their imploding long-term friendship which has been put under pressure by an unfortunate incident involving a hot meat pie, a ginger cat and the untimely death of a Scandinavian soccer star.
It opens 15 March 2012 in New Zealand, no word yet on a international release.
- 2/18/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (Flicks News)
- FlicksNews.net
Bret McKenzie has come a very long way -- after proving he was worth his elf salt in "Lord of the Rings," he went onto become one half of the most popular New Zealand folk comedy duo and is up for an Oscar for his catchy tune, "Man or Muppet." He's also the lead in a feature film, but... this one feels a bit off the path of success. In his next project, McKenzie is sporting a mullet and manning the immature comedy "Two Little Boys." Here he and his childhood bff (Hamish Blake) try to correct an initial blunder (killing someone) and end up getting into even more trouble. The film seems like New Zealand's take on "Dumb and Dumber," let's just hope it steers clear of (shudder) "Dumb and Dumberer." Sound off in the comments field below. "Two Little Boys"hits theaters in New Zealand March 15; there is no set American release date.
- 2/17/2012
- by Jessie Heyman
- Moviefone
Comes a Bright Day
"With another twelve world premieres and three international premieres, Generation’s feature-length film program is now complete," the Berlinale's announced today. "A total of 58 short and full-length films from 32 countries have been selected for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions." Straight from the release, then, with descriptions from the festival:
Generation 14plus
Comes a Bright Day (Great Britain, by Simon Aboud) – Against the backdrop of an armed robbery at a London jewellers, much more is at stake than money. Where diamonds are involved, love is not far. Cast: Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots, Kevin McKidd, Timothy Spall and others. World Premiere. Site.
Lal Gece (Night of Silence, Turkey, by Reis Çelik) – When the groom lifts the bride’s veil, he is looking into the face of a 14-year-old girl. As tradition has it, a night in the bridal chamber seals the marriage. Cast: Ilyas Salman, Dilan Aksüt and others.
"With another twelve world premieres and three international premieres, Generation’s feature-length film program is now complete," the Berlinale's announced today. "A total of 58 short and full-length films from 32 countries have been selected for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions." Straight from the release, then, with descriptions from the festival:
Generation 14plus
Comes a Bright Day (Great Britain, by Simon Aboud) – Against the backdrop of an armed robbery at a London jewellers, much more is at stake than money. Where diamonds are involved, love is not far. Cast: Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots, Kevin McKidd, Timothy Spall and others. World Premiere. Site.
Lal Gece (Night of Silence, Turkey, by Reis Çelik) – When the groom lifts the bride’s veil, he is looking into the face of a 14-year-old girl. As tradition has it, a night in the bridal chamber seals the marriage. Cast: Ilyas Salman, Dilan Aksüt and others.
- 1/12/2012
- MUBI
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