The Global Film Village

KATHRYN BIGELOW and MARK BOAL to create “The Hunt for Osama bin Laden” for COLUMBIA PICTURES

// May 25th, 2011 // Comments Off // Industry Event

By Marla Lewin

The answer to what is the next film from The Hurt Locker team was revealed today. Columbia Pictures has acquired US distribution rights to the untitled forthcoming motion picture from Oscar®-winners Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal. The film is based on the black ops mission to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. The team will bring the same level of intensity to the story of  this mission as in their previous film. Bigelow and Boal have been developing the project since 2008 and plan to incorporate recent events.

 

Boal and Bigelow will produce the project, along with Annapurna Picture’s Megan Ellison, and executive producer, Greg Shapiro producer of The Hurt Locker. Production is slated to start in the late summer of 2011.  The film will be released in the United States in the 4th quarter of 2012.

Amy Pascal of Columbia Pictures said, “With the death of Osama bin Laden, this film could not be more relevant.  Kathryn and Mark have an outstanding perspective on the team that was hunting the most wanted man in the world.  Mark is second to none as an investigative journalist, and Kathryn will bring the same kind of compelling authenticity and urgency that distinguished The Hurt Locker and made that film so memorable and special.”

Academy Slaps Hurt Locker Producer his invitations have been withdrawn

// March 2nd, 2010 // Comments Off // Awards

based on a Getty Images photo

by Marla Lewin

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that Nicolas Chartier, has been denied attendance at the 82nd Academy Awards® as a penalty for violating Academy campaigning standards. If “The Hurt Locker” becomes the latest recipient of the Best Picture award at Sunday’s ceremonies, only three of the picture’s producers will be present for the celebration. The fourth of the film’s credited producers credentials have been revoked. The Academy stopped short of recommending that the Academy governors rescind Chartier’s nomination. They had only recently made a ruling to allow four producers for the film rather than three. If “The Hurt Locker” is selected as Best Picture, Chartier would still be allowed receive his Oscar® statuette but at some point in the future after the ceremonies.

Chartier was found guilty of violating  Academy rules because he sent an email to certain Academy voters and other film industry figures in which he solicited votes for his own picture and disparaged one of the other contending films. Academy rules prohibit “casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film.” The executive committee of the Academy’s Producers Branch, at a special session late Monday, ruled that the ethical lapse merited the revocation of Chartier’s invitation to the Awards.

Shrinking Theatrical Windows to be BIG Topic at Showest

// February 12th, 2010 // Comments Off // Industry Trends

(c) The Walt Disney Co. All rights reserved.

by Marc Halperin

This week the Walt Disney Company announced that they would be shrinking the theatrical window on Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland which opens on March 5. Now 13 weeks after the film first hits theatres it will be available at your local video outlet. This is actually only 4 weeks shorter than usual and allows Disney to grab a bigger slice of the video rentals than would be traditionally available during the summer months. By timing their release in this manner many children are still in school. Once they are out for summer vacation their preferred movie viewing is in the theatres for the summer blockbusters.

What does this mean to exhibitors? They have seen an erosion of these windows over the years. Recently it was common for video to be six months after initial theatrical so Alice represents a halving of that. But now it is far more common for everyone but a few independents to adhere to the 17 week schedule. IFC and Magnolia have been making much of their Day and Date releases but this has meant that their films seldom if ever see the inside of a major theatre chains auditoriums. Independent theatres are the only ones willing to play their films and many of them only for a single week. (more…)

Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards Announced

// February 2nd, 2010 // Comments Off // Awards

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and 2008 Oscar® nominee Anne Hathaway took the stage at a 5:38 a.m. PT this morning, live news conference to announce the nominees in 10 of the 24 categories.

Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards (more…)

Kathryn Bigelow wins DGA Feature Film Award for The Hurt Locker

// January 31st, 2010 // Comments Off // Awards

by Marla Lewin

Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the DGA’s highest honor in its 61 year history. James Cameron  will just have to be content with having the two highest grossing films in history and the knowledge that his good friend and former wife has finally gotten the recognition that she deserves. He basically said that on the Jay Leno show last week.

Bigelow and Cameron are still widely considered the frontrunners for the Academy Award for Best Director. Avatar and Cameron won the top awards at the Golden Globes, where it was named Best Film Drama and he won the Director award. Most other critics awards have gone to The Hurt Locker, which has also won more of the crucial Hollywood guild awards. The DGA’s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally served as a near-perfect barometer for the Academy Award for Best Director. Only six times since the DGA Award’s inception in 1948 has the winner not gone on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director.

The other award winners are: (more…)