Daily Variety articles from January 2004

Daily Variety archives from January 2004

Music biz fails to hit higher notes in 2003.(Industry Overview)
January 2, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- Despite a 21% increase in sales of recorded music during the Christmas week, overall music sales last year fell 3.6% from 2002, marking a third consecutive down year for the beleaguered industry. Sales of CD albums, which...

Primetime pickle: TV biz faces wrenching change in '04.(Industry Overview)
January 2, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- Bruised and battered after a fall season from hell, network TV execs are no doubt hoping 2004 will be the year the Big Six bounce back. Unfortunately, 2003 was less a fluke and more likely a sneak peck at the pain to come for...

2004 could ad up to big b'cast year.(television advertising)(Industry Overview)
January 2, 2004... A new year always brings renewed optimism among ad sellers, and with the prospect of price-pumping events like the upcoming presidential election campaign and Olympic Games, broadcasters in particular have reason to be cheerful. The annual...

The comeback kids: 'Producers' return a walk down memory lane.(Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane in return engagement of 'The Producers' on Broadway)
January 2, 2004... They came back, they performed, they conquered. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick returned to "The Producers" Tuesday night for a three-month reprise. Tuesday night's audience gave Lane an ecstatic 60-second ovation when he first...

N.Y. Times, CBS in Jacko flap over interview story.(New York Times alleges CBS paid Michael Jackson for '60 Minutes' interview)
January 2, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- There they go again: CBS and the New York Times rang in the New Year locked in a war of words regarding the Eye's recent Michael Jackson interview. The latest salvo came Wednesday, after the paper published an article alleging...

Norville set for MSNBC.(Deborah Norville to host talk show for MSNBC)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Deborah Norville has signed up to host a talkshow on MSNBC every weeknight at 9--marking her return to the Peacock. Back in 1989, the widespread perception was that the young and beautiful Norville engineered the ouster of the older,...

Journo-scribe Dunne dies; wrote 'Studio'.(John Gregory Dunne)(Obituary)
January 2, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- John Gregory Dunne, the journalist and novelist who memorably chronicled the Hollywood movie industry in his 1969 book "The Studio" and went on to write for film, died on Tuesday night. He was 71. Dunne died of a heart attack...

Dunne's classic took rare look inside H'wood studio.(John Gregory Dunne's Hollywood expose, 'The Studio')
January 2, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- "The Studio," John Gregory Dunne's classic 1969 fly-on-the-wall account of 20th Century Fox, is a feat of journalism that's unlikely ever to be repeated. Dunne was granted a measure of access to the studio its board meetings,...

Towne to retrace '39 Steps'.(screenwriter Robert Towne to write remake of 'The 39 Steps' for Carlton International Media)
January 2, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- Robert Towne, the writer of "Chinatown" and "Mission: Impossible 3," has inked with Carlton Intl. Media to develop a contempo remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic "The 39 Steps." Agreement was unveiled earlier this week by...

Jerusalem, My Love.(Movie Review)
January 2, 2004... (JERUSALEM, MIN ELSKEDE) (Docu--Denmark-Finland) A Cosmo Film A/S, Hysteria Film production in association with DR (Denmark)/YLE (Finland). (International sales: DR TV Intl. Sales, Soburg. Denmark.) Produced by Anne Diemer, Rasmus...

Mask: a Field Report on Masked Performance.(Movie Review)
January 2, 2004... (Docu--China) A Third World Newsreel release of a Fengtu Film and Video production. Produced, directed by Liu Xiaojin. Camera (color, DV), Wang Xuemin. Reviewed on videocassette at Margaret Mead Film Festival New York. Nov 17, 2003 Running...

Nowhere to Go but Up.(Movie Review)
January 2, 2004... (HAPPY END) (France-Germany) A Mars Distribution release (in France) of an Alain Sarde and Frederic Robbes presentation of a Les Film Alain Sarde, FRP (France)/Pandora Film production. (International sales: Wild Bunch, Paris.)...

Comcast itchy to go: cabler wants to sell Time Warner holding.(Business)
January 2, 2004... Comcast Communications is looking for the exit doors from Time Warner Cable, and preferably sooner rather than later. In documents filed with the SEC on Wednesday, Time Warner said it had been notified by Comcast that the Philadelphia-based...

Mouse's tower float raises questions.(Business)(Walt Disney float in Rose Bowl parade raises memories of World Trade Center attacks)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- The "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" float in Thursday's Rose Parade was designed to advertise a Disney thrill ride. But the name evokes grim memories for some people who lost loved ones in the terror attacks on the twin towers...

'Itty bitty' Hearts Beat.(Business)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- Levy Mann Entertainment have announced publishing and merchandising deals arising from its children's animated series "itty bitty HeartBeats." The Beverly Hills-based producers said Tuesday they have secured a three-year deal...

CD anti-piracy tech spurs consumer suit.(Business)(consumer group Test Achats launches case against major music companies over anti-piracy technology being installed on compact disc recordings)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... BRUSSELS -- Belgian consumers association Test Achats is launching legal action against the world's top music companies--Sony, EMI, BMG and Universal--in an attempt to force them to drop anti-piracy technology it says is being installed on an...

Showbiz stocks: Wednesday, December 31, 2003.(Business)(Illustration)
January 2, 2004... SHOWBIZ STOCKS Wednesday, December 31, 2003 YTD Name Tkr PE Last Chg %Chg AMC AEN ... 15.21 -.17 +71.9 AcmeCm ACME 2 ...

Film production chart.(movies in the planning stage, directors, producers, actors)
January 2, 2004... Films in the Future PRODUCTION CHART KEY Abbreviations: EXP, Executive producer; PROD-Producer; COP-Co-producer; DIR-Director; AD-First assistant director; 2DIR-Second-unit director; SCR-Screenwriter; DP-Cinematographer; ED-Editor;...

Cleveland legiter ankles.(artistic director Peter Hackett leaves the Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland, Ohio)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... CHICAGO -- After 10 years as artistic director of the Cleveland Playhouse, Peter Hackett has called it quits. The 88-year-old resident playhouse announced Monday that Hackett has accepted a job as a professor of theater at Dartmouth...

2LDK.(Movie Review)
January 2, 2004... (Japan) An Office Crescendo, Duel Film Partners production. (International sales: Micott & Basara, Tokyo.) Produced by Yuuji Ishida, Kazuki Manabe, Susumu Nakazawa. Executive producer, Shinya Kawai. Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi;...

No hangover for hobbits: Mouse wore the top hat in flat 2003.(Disney Enterprises Inc)(Exhibitor Relations Co)
January 5, 2004... It's official: 2003 was a yawn at the box office. At least that seems the collective response of American moviegoers, with admissions off almost 5%. A handful of pies broke through the mass ennui. Disney/Pixar phenom "Finding Nemo" and the...

No Hangover For hobbits: 'King' rings in B.O. year to auld lang dollar signs.
January 5, 2004... New Line's franchise-capper "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" capped its domination of the holiday marketplace by three-peating atop the box office over the post-New Year's weekend. A Friday-Sunday haul estimated at $30.8...

Frodo's pals are minting foreign gold.
January 5, 2004... Barrelling through its third orbit overseas. "The Lord of the Rings" finale amassed an estimated $53 million last weekend, propelling its foreign cume to $385 million and lifting its worldwide take to $676 million. "The Return of the King"...

Hollywood's incredible shrinking audience: the holiday B.O. leads the biz to ask: has pop culture pooped out?(The Back Lot)
January 5, 2004... THE VAUNTED HOLIDAY MOVIE SEASON can best be summed up in three words: What went wrong? Hollywood felt it had a sure-fire scenario for the holidays. An array of pricey tentpole pictures were teed up for release. And the third "Lord of the...

'Splendor' in awards game: Pekar pic tops NSFC's kudos as org fetes indies.(The National Society of Film Critics)(American Splendor)
January 5, 2004... The National Society of Film Critics dealt another wild card in the wide open poker game that is this year's awards race Saturday, naming "American Splendor" as best picture and screenplay of 2003 in an honors list skewed heavily toward indie...

New Haven dances with radical 'Giselle'.
January 5, 2004... NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A radical version of "Giselle" produced by Ireland's Fabulous Beast Dance Theater, the Dublin Theater Festival and London's Barbican Center, will be one of the highlights of the ninth annual Intl. Festival of Arts & Ideas in...

Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!(Movie Review)
January 5, 2004... A DreamWorks Pictures release of a Lucy Fisher/Douglas Wick production. Produced by Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher. Executive producers, William S. Beasley, Gail Lyon. Directed by Robert Luketic. Screenplay. Victor Levin. Camera (color,...

Airline.(Movie Review)
January 5, 2004... (Series: A&E, Mon. Jan. 5, 10 p.m.) Filmed in Los Angeles and Chicago by LWT. Executive producers, Charles Tremayne, Joe Houlihan; series producer, Chris Carey; producer, Anita Shah; producer-directors, James Dean, Jo inglon, John Mounter,...

B'cast crix tap Weir, Eastwood for kudos.(Broadcast Film Critics Assn, Peter Weir, Helmets Clint Eastwood )(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- Helmets Clint Eastwood and Peter Weir have been tapped for special kudos from the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. Eastwood will receive the org's lifetime achievement award, and Weir has been selected for the Lexus Passion in Film...

'Santa' hot, syndies not.(movie rankings)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... The holiday run-up took a toll on syndication ratings but gave a boost to a film based on a seasonal hero. Viewership for the week ended Dec. 21 was off by nearly 300,000 households from the previous week. Making its syndic debut, "The...

Praisers cook up kudos.(Motion Picture Showmanship Award)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- Union publicists have tapped Walt Disney Studios chairman Richard Cook to receive the org's Motion Picture Showmanship Award. Kudos will be presented at the Intl. Cinematographers Guild's 41st annual Publicists Awards luncheon...

Netflix going strong: DVD-by-mail renter shows 74% sub growth.
January 5, 2004... Is online DVD rentailer Netflix ready for Main Street? Having already wowed Wall Street with 400%-plus stock price gains in 2003, the subscription-based DVD movie rental club is quickly proving that its model not only works, but has plenty...

Showtime shakes up PR operation.(public-relations )
January 5, 2004... Showtime Networks' public-relations operation is getting its biggest shakeup in more than a decade with the signing of veteran Richard Licata as exec VP in charge of programming publicity for Showtime, the Movie Channel and all of their various...

Carrey, Kidman top exhibs' B.O. draw poll.(Jim Carrey and Nicole Kidman )(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Jim Carrey and Nicole Kidman were the top box office stars of 2003, according to a poll conducted by Massachusetts-based Quigley Publishing. Reps from major theater chains as well as smaller independents are asked to posit which thesps...

Mouse parks perk up: analysts see attendance rise in December.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Threats of terrorist attacks apparently didn't deter travelers from visiting Disney theme parks this holiday season. Credit Suisse First Boston sounded an upbeat note for Disney's most battered division Friday, citing a survey by travel...

Boll scores $47 mil.(Business)(Uwe Boll)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- Producer-director Uwe Boll announced he has raised $47 million through German film fund Boll KG 4. The financing will be put toward the production of the vidgame adaptations "Bloodrayne," from Majesco, and Gas Powered Games'...

ABC Cable Networks Group.(Exec Shuffle)(American Broadcasting Companies Inc)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... ABC Cable Networks Group has named Jill Casagrande senior VP of worldwide programming strategy. Based in Burbank, she reports to Anne Sweeney, prexy of ABC Cable Networks Group and Disney Channel Worldwide. Casagrande will be responsible...

Paramount Worldwide Pay Television.(Exec Shuffle)(Paramount Television Ltd)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Alex Fragen has been appointed VP of ancillary market sales for Paramount Worldwide Pay Television. He reports to the division's prexy, ,lack Waterman. Fragen most recently was executive director of cable sales and feature film planning...

MTV.(Exec Shuffle)(MTV Networks Inc)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... MTV has promoted Jeffrey Keyton to senior veepee, on-air design and oft-air creative, for MTV and MTV2. Keyton will oversee the creation of a vast array of materials for MTV programming. He also will continue to be responsible for the...

Oxygen Media.(Exec Shuffle)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Oxygen Media has upped Julie Insogna to senior VP of talent relations and music programming. Her responsibilities now include executive supervision of talent relations and music programming for all Oxygen celebrity-driven programming. ...

Court TV.(Exec Shuffle)(Courtroom Television Network Inc)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Court TV has upped Darren T. Campo from VP of programming and planning to senior veep of programming strategy and research. He oversees the network's programming research and planning departments and works with alternative programming to...

Media General stockholders protest buys.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Money manager Mario Gabelli is seeking to curb acquisitions by Media General, which owns newspapers and television stations in the southeastern U.S., saying the company's purchases haven't helped shareholders and requesting unanimous board...

Scotts, Atari gear up for 'Driv3r' promo pic.(video game)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Vidgame publisher Atari is teaming with Ridley Scott Associates, the commercial production company owned by helmers Ridley and Tony Scott, to create a short film to promote its upcoming game "Driv3r." Titled "Run the Gauntlet," the...

Most of the talk about interactive convergence may be focusing on the living room, but vidgame developer Majesco is thinking mobile.(video game)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Most of the talk about interactive convergence may be focusing on the living room, but vidgame developer Majesco is thinking mobile, signing a deal to bring video content to Nintendo's popular handheld Game Boy Advance. Company secured...

Showbiz stocks: Friday, January 2, 2004.(Business)(Illustration)
January 5, 2004... SHOWBIZ STOCKS Friday, January 2, 2004 YTD Name Tkr PE Last Chg %Chg AMC AEN ... 15.35 +.14 +.9 AcmeCm ACME ...

Curb Your Enthusiasm.(Movie Review)
January 5, 2004... (Series: HBO. Sun. Jan. 4, 9"30 pro) Filmed in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and New York by HBO. Executive producers, Larry David. Jeff Garlin, Gavin Prolone. Robert B. Weide. Larry Charles; producer, Tim Gibbons; co-producer, Enn O'Malley;...

Dragons.(Theater Review)
January 5, 2004... (Luna Stage. Montclair, N.J; 85 capacity; $30) A Luna Stage presentation of a musical in two acts with book, music and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Directed by James Glossman. Choreography, Susan Ancheta; set, Fred Kinney; costumes. Bettina...

A lawsuit by Haitian-American civil rights groups against the publisher of "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" has been moved to federal court at the request of the defendant, Rockstar Games.(Cyber Biz)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... A lawsuit by Haitian-American civil rights groups against the publisher of "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" has been moved to federal court at the request of the defendant, Rockstar Games. Suit was filed over a controversial line in the game...

Beyond the Rainbow.(musical presentation)
January 5, 2004... (AGGIUNGI UN POSTO A TAVOLA) (Teatro Sistina. Rome; 1,547 seat.s'; 40.7[euro] ($50) top) A Garinei and Giovannini presentation of a musical in two acts with music by Armando Trovaioli, lyrics by Pielro Garinei. Sandro Giovannini and...

The screening room.(academy awards screening)(Illustration)
January 5, 2004... THE SCREENING ROOM Screenings are open to Academy and guild members only. To RSVP for a screening, call the appropriate numbers below. List runs on Monday and Thursday. To submit schedules, email jfeiwell@reedbusiness.com five days...

Genius.(movie)(Movie Review)
January 5, 2004... All MTI Home Video/Delta Entertainment release of a Cambridge Feature Film production, produced by Babar Ahmed. Executive producer, Ali Javed. Directed, written by Babar Ahmed Camera (color. Supra 16 to-HD), Jonathan Belinski: music, Kathy...

Par TV ups prod'n exec.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... HOLLYWOOD -- Paramount Network Television has upped Reid Shane to exec VP of production. Shane, who had been senior VP, will remain in charge of physical production for all of the studio's pilots, series and longform productions--including...

The Friend.(Movie Review)
January 5, 2004... (BELL'AMICO) (Italy) A Buskin Film presentation of a Sorpasso Film production. Produced by Marco Risi, Maurizio Todesco. Directed, written by Luca D'Ascanio. Camera (color), Federico Schlatter; editor, Federica Lang; music, Palo...

"The Venture Brothers.".(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... "The Venture Brothers," a cartoon comedy-adventure television series produced by Gotham-based animation studio Noodlesoup Prods., won the animated television series award at Cineme 2003. Chicago's first animation film festival. Cartoon...

Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and its Children's Programming Peer Group have established the Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship in honor of the creator and longtime host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." The $10,000 annual...

Prism Generation Next Grand Fellowships.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... The Entertainment Industries Council has selected two student winners for its Prism Generation Next Grand Fellowships. The program instructs college-level screenwriting students on the importance of accuracy in depicting health and social...

New York Latino Film Festival.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... The New York Latino Film Festival is offering a $2,000 scholarship and internship opportunity to Latino high school seniors interested in film. Deadline for submission is Feb. 13. Entry forms are available at NYLatinofilm.com/screcnplay.html.

Scent of an Oak.(Movie Review)
January 5, 2004... (ROBLE DE OLOR) (Cuba-Spain-France) An ICAIC Producciones/Igeldo Komunikazioa /Les Films du Village production with the participation of Via Digital. (International sales: ICAIC, Havana.) Executive producer, Humberto Hernandez. ...

Peacock prez joins Net board.(Peacock TV station)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Peacock TV station prexy Jay Ireland has been named to the board of ValueVision Media, the parent company of on-air and online home shopping service ShopNBC. Appointment comes after the mid-December resignation of ValueVision director John...

Telefe boosts youth appeal in telenovela.(target marketing of youths)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... BUENOS AIRES -- Broadcaster Telefe, a subsidiary of Telefonica's Admira of Spain, is preparing to cast the winners of "Operacion triunfo" (Operation Triumph), a talent contest for singers that aired to high ratings last year, in a youth...

Exec leaves orbit: DeAPlaneta's distrib chief Blanco exits.(distribution)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... MADRID -- One of Spain's best-known distrib execs, Adolfo Blanco, has ankled as general manager of Spanish-Italian media giant DeAPlaneta. Blanco joined the Barcelona-based Planeta Group, a decades-old print and video publisher, in 1999...

Hi-def channel beams at Euro aud.(audience)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... LONDON -- Euro 1080, the first channel that broadcasts exclusively in high definition throughout Europe, launched Thursday with the broadcast of the New Year's concert of the Viennese Philharmonic Orchestra. Belgian company Alfacam...

China's latest film web leaps on air with 'Tiger'.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... SHANGHAI -- Changchun Film Group's movie channel kicked off Jan. 1 with a screening Ang Lee's Oscar winner "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Movie net, China's third to open in the space of a month, brings the nation's total to four. China...

Bundesliga kicks Infront licensing ties for soccer.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... COLOGNE -- The German soccer league Bundesliga will discontinue its cooperation with agency Infront for the licensing of TV rights. In late 2002 Swiss-based Infront took over rights packages covering two seasons from the former Kirch Sport....

Chinese tuning in to radio.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... SHANGHAI -- New statistics suggest radio reaches almost 1.2 billion of China's 1.3 billion people--up from just 700 million a year ago. Radio, like the TV industry, has consolidated in the past three years. There are 306 stations, with many...

Org is Rx for India docs.(nonprofit trade organisation)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... NEW DELHI -- Indian documentary filmmakers are launching a nonprofit trade org to promote commercial interests of Indian docu producers. More than 50 production companies will gather Wednesday here to form the Indian Documentary Forum. ...

China seals b'cast tech deals.(broadcast technology )(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... SHANGHAI -- The new year has prompted a run of broadcast technology deals in China. Panasonic parent company Matsushita announced it will develop a digital broadcasting system in partnership with China's state broadcaster, China Central...

TVE-1 dips, still tops Spanish market share.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... MADRID -- TVE-1, Spanish pubcaster RTVE's general-entertainment channel, was the most watched TV channel in Spain last year, taking a 23.4% audience share. But its share was down 1.3% on 2002, a mark of the creeping erosion of terrestial...

Norman Burton.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Actor Norman Burton died Nov. 29 in Mexico in a traffic collision. He was 79. Burton studied at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg and appeared in several Broadway plays including "The Wedding Breakfast," "Sound of Hunting" and "Anna...

Les Tremayne.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Les Tremayne, well known radio actor of the 1930s and '40s, died of heart failure Dec. 19 in Santa Monica. He was 90. Tremayne, born in England, moved as a child to Chicago, where he won his first radio role on the show "Night Court" while...

Earl Hindman.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Actor Earl Hindman, best known for playing the neighbor whose face was forever obscured by a fence on long-running sitcom "Home Improvement," died of lung cancer Monday in Stamford, Conn. He was 61. As the mysterious Wilson, he dispensed...

Dave Dudley.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Dave Dudley, who had a hit record in the 1960s with the truck-driving song "Six Days on the Road," died Dec. 22 of an apparent heart attack. He was 75. Dudley recorded more than 70 albums during his career. He formed the Dave Dudley...

Wah Ming Chang.(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Wah Ming Chang, an animator who worked on Oscar winner "The Time Machine," died Dec. 22 in Carmel, Calif. He was 86. Chang worked as an artist for more than seven decades, including stints on three Walt Disney films and as a Hollywood...

Rita Burton.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Rita Burton, longtime TV and pic exec, died Dec. 5 of cancer in her Port Washington, Wis., home. She was 57. After graduating from U. of Wisconsin in 1968, Burton moved to the West Coast, where she began a 23-year tenure at the Eye web. ...

Phil Goldman.(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Phil Goldman, a Silicon Valley engineer who co-founded WebTV before launching an email service that promised to block unwanted spam, died Dee. 26 at home in Los Altos Hills, Calif. He was 39. Cause is under investigation. Over the course...

Pete Moraga.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Pete Moraga, longtime L.A. broadcaster, died Sept. 27 after collapsing. He was 77. Moraga joined KNX-CBS Radio in 1969 as a reporter and weekend anchor. He moved to KMEX-TV Los Angeles for 18 months, then returned to KNXAM. He became KMEX...

Gisele MacKenzie.(Obituary)
January 5, 2004... Canadian-born singer-actress-musician Gisele MacKenzie, a regular on 1950s TV musical show "Your Hit Parade" and WHO starred in her own NBC variety series, died from colon cancer Friday Sept. 5 in Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center in...

Star News gets 10-year India uplink OK.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... NEW DELHI -- Rupert Murdoch's Star News india has received permission to uplink from the country for 10 years. His Star News channel was embroiled in controversy over the uplinking issue throughout 2003. Star News has been surviving on...

Kirch to take on Breuer.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... COLOGNE -- Following his initial legal victory against Deutsche Bank in December, ex-media tycoon Leo Kirch has made another move aimed at the bank's former CEO, Roll Breuer. According to daily Handelsblatt, Kirch has filed an appeal at...

Not of this earth: though unprecedented, the final 'Rings' saga begs the question: will Oscar finally warm to fantasy?
January 5, 2004... With the arrival of Peter Jackson's trilogy-capping "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," has the time finally come for fantasy films to be legitimized by top-tier Oscar recognition? That's what New Line is hoping as it positions...

Goliath's revenge: studios make comeback in quest for Oscar gold.(eye on the Oscars best picture)
January 5, 2004... If 1996 was the year of" the independent--with such films as "Fargo," "Secrets & Lies," "Shine" and eventual winner "The English Patient" vying for the Academy's top honor--then 2003 is shaping up as the year the conglomerates are reclaiming...

Size matters: drawn by scale, and its own sense of preservation, Hollywood often equates 'best' with 'biggest'.(eye on the Oscars best picture)
January 5, 2004... At its first ceremony in 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences handed out two distinct top awards. One--discontinued after that year--was designated artistic quality of production, and went to F.W. Murnau's expressionistic...

Seafaring films and Oscar: with the potential Oscar success of this year's "Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World" and "The Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl," we take a look at how other nautical films have fared with the Academy.(eye on the Oscars best picture)
January 5, 2004... flagship James Cameron's "Titanic" (1997) holds the record for Oscar success among seafaring movies, earning best picture, director and nine other statuettes. tying it with 1959's "'Ben-Hur" for the most Academy Awards won. The garguantan...

Artistic temperament: Pollack, Minghella run Mirage like a filmmaking salon.
January 5, 2004... Winter 2003 may be remembered as the moment Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella's production company, Mirage Enterprises, crossed the Rubicon and blossomed as a major force. Mirage not only produced one of the year's major Oscar hopefuls,...