Comcast launching new subscription VOD service

Comcast launching new subscription VOD serviceStreampix in the mold of Netflix businessBy ANDREW WALLENSTEINComcast is announcing a new subscription VOD service that is aimed squarely at countering Netflix but requires already paying for cable.Streampix will launch across the nation's largest video distributor this week with movies and TV content from past seasons licensed from its own programming unit, NBCUniversal, as well as Disney, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures.With...

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Netflix inks pact with Weinsteins

Netflix inks pact with Weinsteins'The Artist' included in multiyear dealBy JILL GOLDSMITHNetflix and The Weinstein Company Tuesday announced a new multi-year licensing agreement, their first, to make foreign language, documentary and certain other movies from TWC exclusively available for Netflix members in the U.S. to watch instantly."The Artist" will make its pay TV debut exclusively on Netflix rather than on traditional premium cable.The pic, written and directed...

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British Film Institute poised to get more coin

British Film Institute poised to get more coin Rising lottery sales to boost arts funding By ADAM DAWTREY LONDON -- The British Film Institute could be set for a dramatic increase in its funding, thanks to a boom in sales of National Lottery tickets, according to the latest U.K. government estimates. Culture minister Ed Vaizey announced that the BFI is now projected to receive £240 million ($380 million) in lottery coin from 2012-13 to 2016-17, up 20% from the previous...

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Canadian Union Takes Bite Out of U.S. Actors' Residuals (Exclusive)...

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists charges American actors and other non-members a 25 percent processing fee, while members of the Canadians-only organization pay a fraction of that amount. The union blames "U.S. actors coming up and taking Canadian jobs." An Arctic blast swept in from Canada last week as that country's largest performers union rebuffed efforts by American actors seeking refunds of a 25 percent "service charge" the union...

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Phone brings cinematography to masses

Phone brings cinematography to masses Latest model improves image, sound, records in high-def By CHRIS MORRIS Korean thriller 'Paranmanjang' was shot entirely via iPhone by director Park Chan-wook. As studios continue the transition from film to digital, the indie filmmaking community is going through a metamorphosis of its own. The introduction of video recording options on Digital SLR cameras opened a lot of doors for budding auteurs on a budget, but advances to...

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H'wood buying up Argentinean titles

H'wood buying up Argentinean titles By JOHN HOPEWELL Hollywood's majors have begun an export drive on Argentine pics in return for the studios' bringing movies into Argentina for exhibition there. Disney has taken select Latin American rights to "All In" from Argentinean helmer Daniel Burman. It has also snapped up animated feature "Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe," an Argentina-Uruguay co-production. In all, Disney has committed to export five Argentinean films...

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Pablo, a beautifully designed documentary by Richard Goldgewicht

A wonderful delve into the life and talent of the renowned film title designer, artist, trailer maker and full-on bohemian Pablo Ferro, this enthralling documentary is a must for any lover of cinema and is likely to spark retrospectives and tributes at cinematheques around the world.An astute and entertaining blend of interviews, extracts and animation, Richard Goldgewicht’s film is – appropriately – delightfully designed and quite brilliantly narrated by Jeff Bridges,...

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