Monday, December 22, 2003

screenselect.co.uk acquires In Movies Ltd

Online DVD rental company screenselect.co.uk today announced that it has acquired the business of In Movies Ltd, the longest established industry player, resulting in the creation of the industry market leader.

Screenselect.co.uk launched in September 2003 with a mission to
"amazon" high street video rental. Backed by Simon Murdoch, the founder of amazon.co.uk, and with a number of the original amazon.co.uk launch team on board, screenselect.co.uk now offers the ‘largest DVD library on the planet’ with over 16,000 unique titles (over 10x more than the average video rental store).

In Movies was founded in 1999 by Laurence Penn and became the first UK business to offer an online DVD subscription service. With immediate effect, Laurence Penn is joining the screenselect.co.uk board. Screenselect.co.uk will also own In Movie’s exclusive editorial content, which has been built up over the past four years.

"The success of Netflix in the United States demonstrates that online rental has the potential to transform the way consumers watch, rent and own DVDs," says Laurence Penn. "Screenselect.co.uk has the funding and the know-how to be as successful in the UK and this deal allows all of us at In Movies to be part of the UK market leader."

"This is an important milestone for Screenselect.co.uk,” says managing director William Reeve. “First of all we can benefit from the invaluable expertise of Laurence and the In Movies team. Secondly, we're able to bulk up our customer and stock numbers much faster than we can do organically. And finally, this deal secures our market leadership in the UK - it makes us the biggest player, allowing us to benefit from economies of scale by deploying our sophisticated proprietary fulfillment technology across a larger operation."

Screenselect.co.uk offers 24/7 online ordering, free delivery and
returns and no late fines - ever. With Screenselect.co.uk’s £14.99 monthly fee, subscribers keep a revolving library of three DVDs at a time, which they can exchange as often as they like. Screenselect.co.uk offers not only the largest selection of titles but also the best value available in the UK.

After signing up, subscribers to screenselect.co.uk build a list of
titles that they wish to see from the 16,000+ titles on offer and
prioritise which they want to see first. Screenselect.co.uk sends out 3 immediately and once a subscriber has finished with a disc, they simply mail it back in a pre-paid envelope and the next title from the customer’s wish-list is sent out first class in the post.

As subscribers watch and rate DVDs they also benefit from
Screenselect.co.uk’s unique personalisation technology which recommends other titles for them.

With the aim of further accelerating its growth, screenselect.co.uk has embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign that has seen inserts placed in several hundred thousand DVD player boxes to be sold in the run up to Christmas. Screenselect.co.uk is also currently offering anyone who signs up a free, no obligation trial to the service.

I have been using this service in the last few weeks and it has worked very well. Their website makes selecting the movie you want very easy, and they email you when they send out a new DVD.

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

From Bradford With Love...

James Bond 007 film producer and screenwriter Michael Wilson was amongst leading figures from the worlds of arts, fundraising and film to receive Honorary Degrees from the University of Bradford recently.

The University also honoured Bill Huntley, Peter Layton and Blake Morrison.

Director of the British Film Institute Amanda Nevill, who gave Mr Wilson’s oration, said: “I am delighted that Michael Wilson has been recognised by the University of Bradford, both for his contribution to the British film industry through the iconic James Bond Films and also for his influential guidance and support to the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.”

Michael Wilson completed his undergraduate work in Electrical Engineering at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, USA, and received a law degree from Stanford University in 1966.

He practised at a New York firm where he specialised in international taxation, before joining Eon Productions Limited where he became the assistant to the producer on a film about a fictional British spy called James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me.

Mr Wilson went on to executive produce Moonraker and the next two Bond movies. Alongside veteran screenwriter Dick Maibaum he co-wrote For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. He co-produced A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill with his stepfather, the late Albert “Cubby” Broccoli.

When Bond returned to the screen six years later, Mr Wilson joined his sister Barbara Broccoli to produce GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day, which coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Bond series.

Mr Wilson is also a leading expert on 19th-century photography, which he began collecting in the late 1970s. In 1998 he formed the Wilson Centre for Photography which hosts an archive to preserve early photographs and provides study and research facilities for students and researchers.

Mr Wilson is recognised for his contributions to the film industry through his development of the globally recognised and enjoyed Bond franchise. He is also recognised for his key role in the development of Bradford’s National Museum of Photography, Film and Television and its educational and curatorial agendas.

Professor Chris Taylor, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: “We are pleased to be able to recognise the achievements of someone who has contributed so much to the film industry through the magnificent James Bond franchise. We are delighted to welcome Michael Wilson as an Honorary Graduate of the University.”
Is It Hobbit Forming?

Major International Lord of the Rings research project launches today

It’s Christmas, precioussss… and it’s the season for Hobbits, Elves and Dark Lords. Amidst all the movie hype an international team of academics is on a quest to find out what on Middle Earth people actually get from viewing Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Academic researchers across 20 countries and five continents want audiences around the world to tell them about their experiences of the film.

Led by the UK team at The University of Wales, Aberystwyth, today (December 17th) will see the launch of a multi-lingual (13 languages) web questionnaire expecting to attract over 100,000 responses world wide. (www.lordoftheringsresearch.net ).

Their research is part of a major international research project using the release of the third film to investigate, for the very first time, the ways in which film fantasy plays a part in people’s lives. Each research group is monitoring the media coverage and marketing strategies that accompany the film’s release, watching the build-up of expectations in each country. Later, in-depth interviews will be carried out, to give a rich picture of why the film matters to different people.

The project’s director is Professor Martin Barker. This is the latest in a series of studies by Professor Barker, many of which have focused on audiences responses to films. Amongst them are Judge Dredd (1995), Crash (1997) and the 1999 comedy Being John Malkovich. He is currently researching responses to A Clockwork Orange and Straw Dogs, two notorious films from 1971 that recently have been re-released.

Other principal researchers, Ernest Mathijs and Janet Jones, have just completed international research into audience response to the hit reality TV show Big Brother.

According to Professor Barker, central to the work will be questions about how the Lord of the Rings, which is essentially a fantasy, connects with people’s lives.

“The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers have been enormous international box office successes, yet they pose some interesting questions. The story’s background and mythology are undeniably English, yet the film is set in New Zealand with financial backing from Hollywood. It has unquestionably become a celebration of New Zealand’s rugged terrain.”

“We will be asking questions about how audiences respond the mixing of English modern myth, American cultural imperialism and New Zealand’s striking physical presence. Where in all this is Middle Earth, and what does it signify to people?

And as New Line Cinema, the film’s producers, said in their promotional programme on the film, “Now The Lord of the Rings trilogy belongs to the audience.”

The project ‘Launch and Reception of Lord of the Rings III, the functions of film fantasy’, is being funded by a £40,000 grant from the Economic and Social Research Council.

Friday, December 12, 2003

THE LOS ANGELES FILM SCHOOL INVITES THE PUBLIC TO SHORT FILM EVENT TONIGHT: 12 December 2003

One of the World's Best Equipped Film Schools Continues to Celebrate its Commitment to Spotlighting Independent Filmmaking at Monthly Event.

Come see LA's Hottest Shorts. The Los Angeles Film School has opened its doors since November 16, 2002 to the world's newest
filmmakers providing a 350 seat state-of-the-art screening arena.

This Friday Night Shorts will feature

Pings Ben Hope
Seafood Heaven Angela Lane Stablein
Deadbeat Deavid Rolland
7th Bottle Gustavo Camelot
Hide and Secrets Joey Velazquez


When: Friday, December 12th, 2003
What time: 7:00pm
Where: The Los Angeles Film School R Theater
6363 Sunset Blvd. (One block east of Cahuenga)
Entrance on Ivar, adjacent to parking garage.
Cost: $2 admission

*If you would like to submit a film or would like more information on
this event, please contact Iris Green 323.860.0789.

6363 Sunset Blvd. Suite 400
Hollywood, California 90028
www.lafilm.com

Thursday, December 11, 2003

Scottish films enjoy success in first year of new scheme

New Found Films, a digital feature scheme launched by Scottish TV & Grampian TV in collaboration with Scottish Screen at the beginning of the year has reaped rich rewards for both the commissioners and the producers.

'Afterlife' and 'Blinded' are the two features developed and produced under New Found Films, which is an evolution of the New Found Land half-hour drama scheme.

Afterlife produced by Gabriel Films, stars Kevin McKidd, Lindsay Duncan, Shirley Henderson and Paula Sage. It premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August where it won the 'Audience Award'. Since then interest in the film has gathered pace and Afterlife was invited to screen at the London Film Festival. Acclaimed by critics and public alike, the film also attracted interest from America with an invitation from
the American Film Institute International Film Festival in Los Angeles which saw Afterlife premiere in the States last month. Scottish TV can exclusively reveal that following its successful screening in LA, Afterlife has been chosen to appear at the prestigious Palm Springs Film Festival in January, one of the largest festivals of its kind in America.

The second New Found Film, Blinded, starring Peter Mullan, Jodhi May, Anders Berthelsen, Samantha Bond and Phyllida Law is produced by Oscar Films. Recently completed, Blinded has successfully undergone a small number of test screenings where reaction from the audience has been extremely positive. It is expected that Blinded will enjoy festival and cinema success in 2004.

Imation To Sponsor 'MTV at the Movies'

Imation Europe B.V. has concluded an exciting new contract with MTV Networks Europe to sponsor 'MTV at The Movies'. The pan-European package is part of its strategy to broaden the reach of the Imation brand within the digital consumer market.

The sponsorship will comprise on-air sponsorship billboards attached to MTV Movie Specials, MTV Making the Movie and MTV Movie Awards programming and dedicated advertising spots across all MTV Networks. On-line integration across MTV's nine European web sites will include banner ads, reciprocal links to regional Imation websites, E-newsletters, and competitions. An integrated presence at both the MTV party at the world famous Cannes Film Festival and the MTV Film Awards in Hollywood is also included.

Thursday, December 04, 2003

Moving Conversations - Poetry in Motion

Lively panel discussion about poetry with some of Scotland’s leading arts and cultural figures, followed by cult 1995 film Il Postino

Venue: The Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh
Date: Friday 12 December, 2003
Time: 8pm

Tickets: £6.50 per ticket (£5.50 Concessions) call 0131 228 2688 to book.

Edinburgh based Futurist Cinema Company is running another of its popular Moving Conversations on 12 December. This time the venue is Edinburgh’s Filmhouse and the subject for a lively panel discussion is poetry, arranged in conjunction with The Scottish Poetry Library. The panellists, who will each identify their essential poetic movie will be acclaimed Scottish poet,
Donny O’Rourke; former SNP culture spokesman, Mike Russell; journalist and cultural commentator, Brian Morton and director of The Scottish Poetry Library, Robyn Marsack. The discussion will be followed by a showing of the art-house hit Il Postino.

The event fits well with the Scottish Poetry Library’s continued mission to take poetry out into the wider Scottish community. Il Postino, which was a hit film in 1995 celebrates the life of exiled Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda. It is fitting therefore that the event takes place on the cusp of Neruda’s centenary celebrations in 2004.

Robyn Marsack, Director of the Poetry Library is excited by the prospect of Moving Conversations: “When Mike brought the idea to us, we jumped at the chance to reach a wide and different audience for poets and poetry. I am very pleased to be amongst such distinguished company on the panel and look forward to hearing about their choices of film.”

To widen awareness about the work of the Scottish Poetry Library and Moving Conversations, the multimedia poem Twenty Blessings will be shown on the video screens in the Filmhouse bar throughout November. Also, on the night itself, a Scottish Poetry Library bookshop will be open in the cinema foyer selling some of Scotland’s leading contemporary verse publications.

Moving Conversations starts at 8pm on Friday 12 December. Tickets cost £6.50 (£5.50) concession and can be obtained from the Filmhouse box office (Tel: 0131 228 2688).

As the old saying goes, “Robert Burns….doesn’t he.”

Tuesday, December 02, 2003

What's on at the Science Museum, London, UK: December 2003 and January 2004

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition
To 11 January 04

To celebrate the UK premiere of The Return of the King, the Science Museum is offering half price entry to The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition to anyone who dresses up as character from the trilogy. The special offer will apply on Thursday 11 December, the day the film's real stars gather in London for the premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square.

To qualify for half price entry, visitors must convince staff that
they resemble a character from the famous films. Visitors in fancy dress can also take a free photo of themselves shrunk to the size of a hobbit on Gandalf's famous cart.

Hundreds of props from the movies including models, armoury and
costumes are on display alongside interactive computer demonstrations of the cutting-edge technology used to bring the story to life.

The family exhibition has opened before the final instalment of the
film trilogy and the Science Museum will be its only European venue.

Visitors also have a chance to see the first two films of the trilogy at the Science Museum's cinema.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition has
already sold more advance tickets than any previous exhibition at the Science Museum. We have extended the weekend opening hours of the exhibition and, although some Tickets will be available at the door, advanced booking is the only way to guarantee entry.

The fascinating exhibition includes:

* Demonstrations of special effects, including the combining of 'real' and 'digital' action and CGI (computer-generated-image technology).
* A scaling interactive explaining one way that the films managed to make characters seem different heights, and which allows visitors to become Hobbit sized in a scene from The Fellowship of the Ring - and then buy a print of themselves.
* A display on the prosthetics which transformed actors, including Hobbit hands and feet.
* Weapons belonging to Arwen, Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn.
* Outfits including Arwen's riding costume, Galadriel's stunning dress and Gandalf's robes.

The exhibition culminates with a face-to-face encounter with the central icon from the films - The One Ring.

Tickets can be pre-booked on 0870 906 3890 24 hours (booking fee applies) or at www.sciencemuseum.org.uk


Films showing at the Science Museum IMAX Cinema

Santa vs. the Snowman (U) until 16 January 2004.
He's a busy man but Santa has made an entry in his diary to make a special return visit to the Science Museum IMAX cinema this Christmas. That's right, Santa is back in glorious 3D with his old arch enemy the Snowman and his snow minions to battle for the rights to Christmas. If you didn't see Santa vs. the Snowman last Christmas you must get yourself down to the Science Museum this year for the festivities. Santa vs. the Snowman is a perfect family film with humour for all ages and 3D digital technology that brings Christmas to life. So get yourself to the Science Museum and you could be ducking snowballs, jet-propelled reindeer and hot
chocolate squirt-guns all without leaving your seat!

Bugs! 3D (U)
Join Heirodula and Papilio, a praying mantis and a caterpillar, for a
rainforest adventure like no other and discover the ups and downs of being an insect. Delve into their miniature life enlarged on the giant IMAX screen and see the world through their eyes where grass towers like skyscrapers and raindrops are the size of cannon balls. You may find that creepy crawlies are not as creepy as you think!

Ghosts of the Abyss (U)
Join Hollywood actor Bill Paxton and a crew of diving experts as they embark on a journey to one of the most famous shipwrecks of all time - the Titanic.
Directed by James Cameron, Ghosts of the Abyss captures the awe and wonder of the crew as they see the Titanic for the first time and follows their story as they attempt to get closer to the wreck using the latest technology. With a digital surround sound system and 3D imagery, you will feel that you are actually accompanying them in their underwater voyage.

Everest (U)
Everest is the true story of a team of climbers who found hope in the wake of tragedy. Their successful ascent of Mount Everest just days after fellow mountaineers died there, is a compelling story about the human spirit and a mountain they love, respect and sometimes fear.

Everest takes audiences across creaking icefalls, gaping chasms and up towering cliffs, through a harrowing rescue, and into the danger zone of oxygen-thin altitude.

Find out more at www.everestfilm.com

Space Station 3D (U)
Prepare for the launch of the first ever 3D IMAX movie to be filmed in Space and experience life onboard the new International Space Station. Float alongside the first men and women to inhabit the new station and see how the astronauts shower, shave and keep fit without gravity to help them. Film sponsored by Lockheed Martin and filmed in association with NASA.

T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (U)
Join Ally, the daughter of a museum curator, as she attempts to carry out her own research into dinosaurs with a science experiment that goes disastrously wrong. When Ally finds herself transported into the Cretaceous period she discovers what dinosaurs were really like and learns more than her father could ever imagine. With state-of-the-art 3D technology you can
be there too experiencing the roar of a T-Rex and the tremors of its footsteps. If you missed this amazing 3D adventure last time, don't make the same mistake again!

SOS Planet 3D (U)
From the ocean floor to the heart of the rainforest, experience the plight of our fragile planet and its changing environments in this 3D animated extravaganza. Join polar bears, pandas, turtles and monkeys in this thought-provoking journey that highlights the most pressing environmental issues of our time!

Imax Booking Line 0870 870 4771
More info: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/imax
Prices: £7.10 adults and £5.95 children/concessions

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Events

Science Museum visitors can discover the secrets of camera trickery and filmmaking at a special series of adult and children's events linked to The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition

Christmas Holidays 27 December - 4 January

27 - 29 December, 2 - 4 January
Inventing the Image (demonstration)
Enter a giant camera obscura, handle objects from the museum's collections and join in with this action packed investigation of how the movies come to life.
11.30 - 12.15
13.30 - 14.15
15.15 - 16.00

28 - 31 December, 3 - 4 January
Top of the props! (workshop)
There are only two days left until filming begins and the Props
Department have forgotten to make helmets for the actors. Pass your young prop makers exam, and you can make your own helmet then use a simple special effect to add a touch of magic.
11.00 - 11.30
13.00 - 13.30
14.30 - 15.00

30-31 December, 2-4 January
Lights, Camera, Action (drama)
Do you know how a film is put together? Spectrum Film Productions
don't! Their latest film is going badly wrong. Join them as they attempt to fix it and watch the end results.
12.30 - 13.00
14.30 - 15.00
15.45 - 16.15

NB: Events cannot be pre-booked and entry is on a first come first
served basis. Admission to the Science Museum is free for all visitors. A charge applies to the Science Museum IMAX® Cinema, simulator rides and The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy - The Exhibition.

Tickets can be pre-booked on 0870 906 3890 24 hours (booking fee applies) or at www.sciencemuseum.org.uk