Study: California Production Incentives a Success...

The program has generated more than 20,000 jobs and $200 million in tax revenues, as well as lured productions like "Body of Proof" back to the state. The California Film and Television Tax Credit Program, first passed in 2009, has generated $3.8 billion in economic activity statewide and created more than 20,000 jobs and over $200 million in tax revenues in two years, according to a study released Tuesday by the Calif. production incentives earmarked for '11 The...

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Supreme Court Strikes Down California Law Banning Violent Video Games To Minors.

In a long-awaited decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court sent a clear message to state governments looking to regulate the sale of violent video games to minors: Treat video games like movies, books, music, and any other artistic medium. The Supreme Court struck down California's law banning the rental or sale of violent video games to children under the age of 18 by a decisive 7-2 margin. In doing so, the court's justices emphasized in its decision the primacy of...

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10 Things That Matter at CineEurope...

With international box office booming, the Amsterdam-based annual exhibition confab will tackle Hollywood's hot topics. 1. Prometheus Ridley Scott will screen the first footage of his red-hot and ultra-secret sci-fi horror film June 28. He has been guarding the Prometheus plot like it was nuclear launch codes, so expect CineEurope attendees to go all Comic-Con for the first peek at the 2012 feature starring Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron and The Girl With the...

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Samsung pumps $15 million into L.A.-based 3-D company MasterImage...

Tired of watching 3-D movies in theaters? How about watching 3-D films and sporting events on your smart phones -- without the glasses? That's the vision of L.A.-based MasterImage 3D, which announced Tuesday that it had received a $15-million investment from Samsung Ventures, a division of the South Korean consumer electronics giant that recently introduced its own 3-D television sets. The infusion will allow MasterImage to develop new 3-D technology for mobile phones,...

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Four Hollywood Marketers Launch Investment Firm AngelVision...

Founded by Ant Farm co-founders Barbara Glazer and Mike Greenfeld, Aspect Ratio co-founder Bob Israel and Creative Domain founder Albert Litewka, the company will invest in companies in the entertainment, marketing, advertising and technology fields. NEW YORK - Four Hollywood marketing executives on Tuesday unveiled the launch of LA-based investment group AngelVision Investors, which will invest in startups and emerging growth-oriented companies in the entertainment,...

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Festival Paris Cinéma du 2 au 13 juillet

La 9e édition du Festival Paris Cinéma, présidé par Charlotte Rampling, se tiendra du 2 au 13 juillet dans une quinzaine de salles et lieux parisiens. Jouez avec Courrier international pour gagner des places pour les séances du festival*. Retrouvez l'intégralité de le programmation sur le site de Paris Cinéma et découvrez un aperçu du programme mexicain ci-dessous : LE MEXIQUE À L'HONNEUR Après le Brésil, la Corée du Sud, le Liban, les Philippines, la Turquie et le...

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Call for Films (by and/or about Arabs and Arab Americans) for the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival

Marhaba Filmmakers! The 7th Twin Cities Arab Film Festival is now accepting submissions. The film festival will take place November 10-13, 2011 at the historic Heights Theatre in the Twin Cities Metro Area (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN). The Twin Cities Arab Film Festival is the largest and longest-running in the Upper Midwest. The Twin Cities Arab Film Festival is presented by Mizna, an Arab arts organization whose mission is to promote Arab and Arab American culture,...

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Writers Guild Foundation Elects Barbara Corday as New President...

The Foundation, a charitable organization legally separate from the WGA, also elected other officers and trustees. Barbara Corday has been elected president of the Writers Guild Foundation, the organization announced today. Her term is two years. The Foundation is a charitable corporation separate from the WGAw and is funded by voluntary contributions from writers and others. Among its programs are a library located at WGA headquarters, seminars and conferences, a...

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Film Industry, Led By Electronic Delivery, Will Grow in Every Category Through 2

Netflix and other streamers, as well as 3D, Blu-ray, kiosks and cinema advertising will each do their part to make sure the film industry prospers domestically and worldwide for the next several years, according to PwC. The film industry domestically and worldwide will grow at a healthy clip through 2015 as Blu-ray and electronic-delivery make up for waning DVD sales and rentals, 3D helps box office revenue grow despite stagnant ticket sales and in-theater advertising...

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Demian Bichir’s Performance in "A Better Life" Oscar Worthy

Opens in Limited Release Friday, June 24th Bel Hernandez bhernandez@latinheat.com Demain Bichir’s performance in director Chris Weitz newest film A Better Life is being touted as an Oscar worthy performance and has Hollywood insiders, who can make that happen, talking. Opening in a limited release this Friday, June 24th, A Better Life, the powerful drama about an a family looking to embrace the American dream, only to see it ripped from their grasp, will leave you...

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On Location: L.A. film shoots jumped 20% last week...

On-location shoots in the Los Angeles area climbed 20% last week, led by a continued upswing in commercial and feature film activity. Commercial shoots on streets and non certified soundstages in the city and unincorporated areas of the county generated 135 production days last week, up 68% over the same period a year ago, according to data from FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles film permits. It marked the fourth consecutive week of gains for commercial...

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American Film Market Announces Conference Details..

FM reveals partial lineup details relating to its five-day conference in Santa Monica taking place in November. Looking to expand and improve on its conference programming, the American Film Market will present a five-day conference program during the 2011 market covering finance, production, marketing, distribution and pitching program and movie ideas. 'Beast' rears head at AFM 'Difficult market decisions' at AFM The market, expected to attract about 8,000 attendees,...

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Incentives Update: NEW NEW MEXICO FILM COMMISSIONER

NEW NEW MEXICO FILM COMMISSIONER Nick Maniatis, former executive director of the New Mexico Independent Power Producers, has been named director of the New Mexico Film Office. (NM Independent Power is a lobbyist for electrical power, and not a film production company). Maniatis was executive producer of "Cruel World," a film shot in New Mexico; he has worked on many film projects in the state and was an appointed board member of the Governor's Council on Film and...

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On Location: One of Hollywood's oldest studios gives birth to a new soundstage

A clutch of city officials and film industry promoters gathered Monday morning on the same lot in East Hollywood where Mary Pickford once worked to celebrate a rare occurrence: the opening of a new soundstage in Los Angeles. Hollywood-based Occidental Entertainment Group Holdings, which owns a dozen local soundstages and other entertainment businesses, unveiled a 14,000-square-foot, 54-foot high soundstage on the historic Occidental Studios lot, along with 6,000 square...

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PayPal shuts down accounts of online retailers selling pirated DVDs...

PayPal is cracking down on Chinese retailers who are using the company's online pay service to sell bootleg DVDs. The San Jose-based company has closed the accounts of dozens of merchants making unauthorized use of PayPal's global payment service in violation of the company's policy, according to a statement from the Motion Picture Assn. of America's Asia Pacific Office in Singapore. The action followed a joint operation with the MPAA's Asia Pacific Office that investigated...

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Senate Committee Votes to Make Illegal Streaming of Movies, TV a Felony...

The Commercial Felony Streaming Act is supported by AFTRA, the DGA and other Hollywood unions. Moving to close a possible loophole in the laws against the pirating of movies, TV shows and other intellectual property, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved making illegal streaming of video over the internet a felony in most cases. The proposed law will now go to the full Senate for consideration. The Commercial Felony Streaming Act (S. 978), introduced...

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Subsidies for U.S. Productions at Stake...

European Commission opens public consultation into state aid funding. LONDON – The multi-billion dollar annual support for the making and distributing of movies provided by European Union member states has come under public scrutiny. The European Commission has launched a public consultation as the first step of a review of the criteria used to apply European state aid rules to the cash support from member states. Areas in the spotlight from the old laws include...

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Prosecutors Say Telemarketers Duped Old Folks Into Investing $2

Federal prosecutors have indicted 18 individuals accused of conducting a boiler-room telemarketing operation that allegedly took $25 million from the elderly. The indie film realm has been subject to allegations of duping investors in the past, but perhaps never like this. According to Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Cazares, the alleged fraud took place in southern California and Florida. Between 100 and 200 telephone operators cold-called old folks and...

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