Berlin’s Studio Babelsberg, one of Europe’s largest studio complexes, has revealed that its senior management has been rejigged. Recent movies to shoot at the studios include “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “The Matrix Resurrections.”
Founded in 1912, Babelsberg is one of the oldest studios in the world. Among the films it has hosted are “Metropolis,” “The Blue Angel,” “The Pianist,” “The Bourne Supremacy” and “Bridge of Spies.” Babelsberg comprises 21 studios and sound stages, various backlots and exterior sets across more than 42 acres.
Babelsberg revealed Tuesday that Carl “Charlie” Woebcken and Christoph Fisser, who have run the studios since 2004, have stepped down from their positions on the board of directors at their own request and in mutual agreement.
At the end of 2021, they sold their majority stake in Babelsberg to Tpg Real Estate Partners. Last year, Babelsberg was integrated into the production facilities company Cinespace Studios,...
Founded in 1912, Babelsberg is one of the oldest studios in the world. Among the films it has hosted are “Metropolis,” “The Blue Angel,” “The Pianist,” “The Bourne Supremacy” and “Bridge of Spies.” Babelsberg comprises 21 studios and sound stages, various backlots and exterior sets across more than 42 acres.
Babelsberg revealed Tuesday that Carl “Charlie” Woebcken and Christoph Fisser, who have run the studios since 2004, have stepped down from their positions on the board of directors at their own request and in mutual agreement.
At the end of 2021, they sold their majority stake in Babelsberg to Tpg Real Estate Partners. Last year, Babelsberg was integrated into the production facilities company Cinespace Studios,...
- 1/16/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Charlie Woebcken and Christoph Fisser have resigned from the management board of Germany’s Studio Babelsberg in the wake of their sale of the storied German backlot to Tpg Real Estate, owner of Cinespace Studios.
Their resignation, announced Tuesday, comes 20 years after Woebcken and Fisser acquired ´ Babelsberg in 2004. Under their guidance, the legendary German backlot was transformed into a modern international studio, attracting such blockbuster productions as Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Wes Anderson’s The Budapest Hotel or Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies. More recently, Keanu Reeves-starrers The Matrix Revolutions and John Wick: Chapter 4 both shot there.
In late 2021, Woebcken and Fisser sold their majority stake in the studio to Tpg Real Estate Partners, which folded Studio Babelsberg into its Cinespace Studios network of backlots, encompassing some 109 active stages with additional operations in Chicago, Toronto, Atlanta and Wilmington.
Former Pinewood and APA International executive Andy Weltman took...
Their resignation, announced Tuesday, comes 20 years after Woebcken and Fisser acquired ´ Babelsberg in 2004. Under their guidance, the legendary German backlot was transformed into a modern international studio, attracting such blockbuster productions as Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Wes Anderson’s The Budapest Hotel or Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies. More recently, Keanu Reeves-starrers The Matrix Revolutions and John Wick: Chapter 4 both shot there.
In late 2021, Woebcken and Fisser sold their majority stake in the studio to Tpg Real Estate Partners, which folded Studio Babelsberg into its Cinespace Studios network of backlots, encompassing some 109 active stages with additional operations in Chicago, Toronto, Atlanta and Wilmington.
Former Pinewood and APA International executive Andy Weltman took...
- 1/16/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Universal City, California – Continuing its theatrical run, the charming comedy starring Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Hanks, Focus Features’ Asteroid City is available tomorrow, July 11, 2023 to buy or rent at home on digital platforms nationwide from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Packed with humor, an eclectic cast of characters, and an extraordinary alien encounter, the film marks the return of seven-time Oscar® nominated writer and director Wes Anderson and his signature unique visual style.
A “delightfully profound desert charmer” (Indiewire) that “packs a punch with its ensemble cast” (Slash Film), Asteroid City showcases a star-studded, critically acclaimed supporting cast alongside Schwartzman, Johansson, and Hanks, including Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan and Jeff Goldblum.
A fictional American desert town, circa 1955. Junior Stargazers...
A “delightfully profound desert charmer” (Indiewire) that “packs a punch with its ensemble cast” (Slash Film), Asteroid City showcases a star-studded, critically acclaimed supporting cast alongside Schwartzman, Johansson, and Hanks, including Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan and Jeff Goldblum.
A fictional American desert town, circa 1955. Junior Stargazers...
- 7/11/2023
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Munich-based sales agency Beta Cinema has launched the international trailer (below) for “In a Land That No Longer Exists,” which has its international premiere on Oct. 21 in the competition section of the Rome Film Festival.
Aelrun Goette’s feature debut, which was released in Germany on Thursday by Tobis, is inspired by the director’s own experiences in East Germany during the late 80s, when she worked as a model for fashion magazine Sibylle, the so-called “Vogue of the East.”
The action takes place in East Berlin in the early summer of 1989, a few months before the fall of the Wall. Eighteen-year-old Suzie is thrown headfirst into the vibrant fashion scene in socialist East Germany when a photograph of her ends up on the cover of Sibylle.
Together with the glamorous Rudi, she dives into the underground subculture working on their own fantastic fashion designs. When she falls in love...
Aelrun Goette’s feature debut, which was released in Germany on Thursday by Tobis, is inspired by the director’s own experiences in East Germany during the late 80s, when she worked as a model for fashion magazine Sibylle, the so-called “Vogue of the East.”
The action takes place in East Berlin in the early summer of 1989, a few months before the fall of the Wall. Eighteen-year-old Suzie is thrown headfirst into the vibrant fashion scene in socialist East Germany when a photograph of her ends up on the cover of Sibylle.
Together with the glamorous Rudi, she dives into the underground subculture working on their own fantastic fashion designs. When she falls in love...
- 10/10/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Cinespace Studios has made leadership changes at Germany’s Studio Babelsberg, including installing former Pinewood International executive vp Andy Weltman as co-ceo and co-chairman.
Weltman, a veteran of Hollywood deal-making, is also a former managing director of APA International, where he oversaw the U.S. talent agency’s U.K. and European operations. Weltman, Ashley Rice, co-managing partner and president of Cinespace, and André Bleeker, CFO of Germany’s A&o Hotels and Hostels, will also join co-ceo Carl L. Woebcken and COO Christoph Fisser in running the German film studio via its management board.
Marius Schwarz, former CFO of Studio Babelsberg, stepped down on June 30, 2022 and will continue to serve the studio as an advisor. And Ty Warren, former head of global production at Netflix and recently installed on the Cinespace board, joins Studio Babelsberg’s supervisory board alongside existing members Michael Abel and Maria Terzini.
Cinespace Studios has made leadership changes at Germany’s Studio Babelsberg, including installing former Pinewood International executive vp Andy Weltman as co-ceo and co-chairman.
Weltman, a veteran of Hollywood deal-making, is also a former managing director of APA International, where he oversaw the U.S. talent agency’s U.K. and European operations. Weltman, Ashley Rice, co-managing partner and president of Cinespace, and André Bleeker, CFO of Germany’s A&o Hotels and Hostels, will also join co-ceo Carl L. Woebcken and COO Christoph Fisser in running the German film studio via its management board.
Marius Schwarz, former CFO of Studio Babelsberg, stepped down on June 30, 2022 and will continue to serve the studio as an advisor. And Ty Warren, former head of global production at Netflix and recently installed on the Cinespace board, joins Studio Babelsberg’s supervisory board alongside existing members Michael Abel and Maria Terzini.
- 9/2/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On Saturday, film and TV funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg celebrated the six films that it funded running in the official program of the Cannes Film Festival.
These were Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” in Competition, Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider,” in Competition, Emily Atef’s “More Than Ever,” in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Un beau matin,” in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s “The Natural History of Destruction,” in Special Screening, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ “Mariupolis 2,” in Special Screening.
Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding the films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”
Speaking about the type of films Medienboard likes to fund, she said: “Not very original but true – we prefer films that bring something original to an audience.
These were Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” in Competition, Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider,” in Competition, Emily Atef’s “More Than Ever,” in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Un beau matin,” in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s “The Natural History of Destruction,” in Special Screening, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ “Mariupolis 2,” in Special Screening.
Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding the films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”
Speaking about the type of films Medienboard likes to fund, she said: “Not very original but true – we prefer films that bring something original to an audience.
- 5/25/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The annual budget for German Motion Picture Fund is set to rise from €50m to €75m.
The boom in series production in Germany has prompted a 50% hike in the annual budget for the German Motion Picture Fund (Gmpf) which supports the production of high-end TV and VoD series and films, to €75m.
Claudia Roth, the new state minister for culture and media under nely-elected federal chancellor Olaf Scholz, announced the Gmpf’s annual budget is set to rise from €50m to €75m as part of a proposed overall 10% increase in the federal government’s budget for arts and media for...
The boom in series production in Germany has prompted a 50% hike in the annual budget for the German Motion Picture Fund (Gmpf) which supports the production of high-end TV and VoD series and films, to €75m.
Claudia Roth, the new state minister for culture and media under nely-elected federal chancellor Olaf Scholz, announced the Gmpf’s annual budget is set to rise from €50m to €75m as part of a proposed overall 10% increase in the federal government’s budget for arts and media for...
- 3/18/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The annual budget for German Motion Picture Fund is set to rise from €50m to €75m.
The current boom in series production in Germany has prompted a 50% hike in the annual budget for the German Motion Picture Fund (Gmpf) which supports the production of high-end TV and VoD series and films.
Claudia Roth, the new State Minister for Culture and Media under Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, announced that the Gmpf’s annual budget is set to rise from €50m to €75m as part of a proposed overall 10% increase in the federal government’s budget for arts and media for 2022.
Notification...
The current boom in series production in Germany has prompted a 50% hike in the annual budget for the German Motion Picture Fund (Gmpf) which supports the production of high-end TV and VoD series and films.
Claudia Roth, the new State Minister for Culture and Media under Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, announced that the Gmpf’s annual budget is set to rise from €50m to €75m as part of a proposed overall 10% increase in the federal government’s budget for arts and media for 2022.
Notification...
- 3/18/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Sony recently unveiled the first poster for its adaptation of Uncharted, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, which is scheduled for release in the U.S. on February 18.
The film based on the beloved PlayStation video games created by Naughty Dog follows a young Nathan Drake (Holland) on his first adventure with his fellow treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Wahlberg), watching as the pair go in dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.
Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Sophia Ali, Patricia Meeden and Sarah Petrick also star in the film from director Ruben Fleischer, which was scripted by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.
Charles Roven and Alex Gartner produced for Atlas Entertainment with Avi Arad and Ari Arad for Arad Productions. Fleischer, Holland, Marcum and Holloway exec produced alongside PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan,...
The film based on the beloved PlayStation video games created by Naughty Dog follows a young Nathan Drake (Holland) on his first adventure with his fellow treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Wahlberg), watching as the pair go in dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.
Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Sophia Ali, Patricia Meeden and Sarah Petrick also star in the film from director Ruben Fleischer, which was scripted by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.
Charles Roven and Alex Gartner produced for Atlas Entertainment with Avi Arad and Ari Arad for Arad Productions. Fleischer, Holland, Marcum and Holloway exec produced alongside PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan,...
- 12/16/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Pictures unveiled a new poster for The Matrix Resurrections via its official Twitter account.
“Step back into the Matrix with this new poster for The Matrix Resurrections,” read the photo caption. “Watch it in theaters and on HBO Max* this Christmas. #TheMatrix.”
Resurrections is the fourth film in the iconic sci-fi franchise which comes 18 years after the release of the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and 22 years after its launch with The Matrix.
It’s set 20 years after the events of Revolutions, and finds Neo (Keanu Reeves) living a seemingly ordinary life as Thomas A. Anderson in San Francisco, where his therapist prescribes him blue pills. Neither he nor Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) recognize each other. Subsequently, however, Morpheus offers him the red pill and reopens his mind to the world of the Matrix.
“Step back into the Matrix with this new poster for The Matrix Resurrections,” read the photo caption. “Watch it in theaters and on HBO Max* this Christmas. #TheMatrix.”
Resurrections is the fourth film in the iconic sci-fi franchise which comes 18 years after the release of the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and 22 years after its launch with The Matrix.
It’s set 20 years after the events of Revolutions, and finds Neo (Keanu Reeves) living a seemingly ordinary life as Thomas A. Anderson in San Francisco, where his therapist prescribes him blue pills. Neither he nor Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) recognize each other. Subsequently, however, Morpheus offers him the red pill and reopens his mind to the world of the Matrix.
- 11/17/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
German co-productions are making a strong showing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, among them Leos Carax’s opening film, “Annette,” Wes Anderson’s star-studded “The French Dispatch” and Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi’s “The Story of My Wife.”
Fabian Gasmia’s Berlin-based Detailfilm is among the producers on “Annette,” which stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The musical shot throughout the German state of North RhineWestphalia, including at the Ordensburg Vogelsang, a former Nazi military academy that doubles for a high-security U.S. prison in the film. The production received €500,000 from regional funder Filmstiftung Nrw in addition to support from the German-French Minitraité.
“The French Dispatch” marks Anderson’s third collaboration with co-producer Studio Babelsberg after “Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Isle of Dogs.” The competition entry also partially shot at the studio. Studio Babelsberg’s Christoph Fisser, Henning Molfenter and Charlie Woebcken, who secured funding for the production...
Fabian Gasmia’s Berlin-based Detailfilm is among the producers on “Annette,” which stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The musical shot throughout the German state of North RhineWestphalia, including at the Ordensburg Vogelsang, a former Nazi military academy that doubles for a high-security U.S. prison in the film. The production received €500,000 from regional funder Filmstiftung Nrw in addition to support from the German-French Minitraité.
“The French Dispatch” marks Anderson’s third collaboration with co-producer Studio Babelsberg after “Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Isle of Dogs.” The competition entry also partially shot at the studio. Studio Babelsberg’s Christoph Fisser, Henning Molfenter and Charlie Woebcken, who secured funding for the production...
- 7/9/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Hundreds of film crew members in Germany contracted to work on “The Matrix 4” are threatening legal action against Germany’s Studio Babelsberg after their work on the Warner Bros. tentpole was terminated due to the coronavirus outbreak shutting down production. According to Variety, terminated crew members from “The Matrix 4” and the video game adaptation “Uncharted” have formed a working group to demand financial aid from the studio. Both films were in preproduction but never started filming in Germany. “The Matrix 4” was gearing up for a Berlin shoot when production was shut down by Warner Bros.
Studio Babelsberg CEO Charlie Woebcken said to Variety in a statement that it was impossible to say “when, if or to what extent” the production of “The Matrix 4” and “Uncharted” would begin. The production shutdown forced the studio to terminate all of its employment agreements with independent crew members. The terminated...
Studio Babelsberg CEO Charlie Woebcken said to Variety in a statement that it was impossible to say “when, if or to what extent” the production of “The Matrix 4” and “Uncharted” would begin. The production shutdown forced the studio to terminate all of its employment agreements with independent crew members. The terminated...
- 3/30/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Germany’s Studio Babelsberg is seeking to find a settlement with hundreds of film crew members following the shutdown earlier this month of Warner Bros.’ “The Matrix 4” and Sony Pictures’ “Uncharted” amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The production stop has left many independent film crew members without pay and more than 300 have formed a working group that is threatening legal action unless it reaches an agreement with the studio.
Lana Wachowski’s follow-up to her and Lilly Wachowski’s hit sci-fi trilogy, starring Keanu Reeves, and Ruben Fleischer’s “Uncharted,” featuring Tom Holland – known officially at Studio Babelsberg under their respective working titles, “Project Ice Cream” and “Girona” – had not yet begun actual filming before they were shut down, but both had been in preproduction, with “Uncharted” only days away from the start of principal photography.
In a statement to Variety, Studio Babelsberg CEO Charlie Woebcken said it was not possible to say “when,...
The production stop has left many independent film crew members without pay and more than 300 have formed a working group that is threatening legal action unless it reaches an agreement with the studio.
Lana Wachowski’s follow-up to her and Lilly Wachowski’s hit sci-fi trilogy, starring Keanu Reeves, and Ruben Fleischer’s “Uncharted,” featuring Tom Holland – known officially at Studio Babelsberg under their respective working titles, “Project Ice Cream” and “Girona” – had not yet begun actual filming before they were shut down, but both had been in preproduction, with “Uncharted” only days away from the start of principal photography.
In a statement to Variety, Studio Babelsberg CEO Charlie Woebcken said it was not possible to say “when,...
- 3/30/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Actors Gerard Butler (pictured above with Soho House’s Dominic Hofer and Studio Babelsberg’s Christoph Fisser), Daniel Brühl and Tom Wlaschiha, who played Jaqen H’ghar in “Game of Thrones,” were among the guests at the Studio Babelsberg Night Friday at Berlin’s Soho House.
Other actors at the party included Thomas Kretschmann, Emilia Schuele, Elyas M’Barek, Iris Berben, Max von der Groeben, Sebastian Koch, Sabin Tambrea, Sonja Gerhardt, David Schuetter, and Hannah Herzsprung.
The directors at the event were Tom Tykwer, Ruben Fleischer, Baran bo Odar, Stefan Ruzowitzky, Lars Kraume, Marco Kreuzpaintner, and Jan-Ole Gerster.
Among the politicians and business execs were Michael Mueller, Mayor of Berlin, Monika Gruetters, Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Charles Rivkin, chairman of the Motion Picture Assn., David Goldman, VP, original series at Netflix, Martin Bachmann, managing director at Sony Pictures Releasing in Germany, and Kirsten Niehuus, M.D. at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
Other actors at the party included Thomas Kretschmann, Emilia Schuele, Elyas M’Barek, Iris Berben, Max von der Groeben, Sebastian Koch, Sabin Tambrea, Sonja Gerhardt, David Schuetter, and Hannah Herzsprung.
The directors at the event were Tom Tykwer, Ruben Fleischer, Baran bo Odar, Stefan Ruzowitzky, Lars Kraume, Marco Kreuzpaintner, and Jan-Ole Gerster.
Among the politicians and business execs were Michael Mueller, Mayor of Berlin, Monika Gruetters, Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Charles Rivkin, chairman of the Motion Picture Assn., David Goldman, VP, original series at Netflix, Martin Bachmann, managing director at Sony Pictures Releasing in Germany, and Kirsten Niehuus, M.D. at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
- 2/25/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
“Dark” creators Baran bo Odar (left) and Jantje Friese (right), “Berlin Station” actress Emilia Schuele and actor Nikolai Kinski, and Michael Mueller, Mayor of Berlin, were among the guests at the Studio Babelsberg Night Friday at Berlin’s Soho House. Hosting the event were Studio Babelsberg’s president and CEO, Charlie Woebcken, and its COO, Christoph Fisser. Canada Goose was event partner.
Speaking about Babelsberg’s year ahead, Fisser said: “We are in talks for several international and German productions, including feature films and high-end drama series, like the third season of Netflix’s ‘Dark.'”
He added: “We hope that Germany’s film production support system will continue to improve in order to meet the demands of a variety of productions.”
Other guests included actresses Franka Potente, Lea van Acken, Antje Traue, Claudia Michelsen, Iris Berben, Heike Makatsch, Nora von Waldstaetten, Christiane Paul and Jessica Schwarz.
The actors present included Mark Waschke,...
Speaking about Babelsberg’s year ahead, Fisser said: “We are in talks for several international and German productions, including feature films and high-end drama series, like the third season of Netflix’s ‘Dark.'”
He added: “We hope that Germany’s film production support system will continue to improve in order to meet the demands of a variety of productions.”
Other guests included actresses Franka Potente, Lea van Acken, Antje Traue, Claudia Michelsen, Iris Berben, Heike Makatsch, Nora von Waldstaetten, Christiane Paul and Jessica Schwarz.
The actors present included Mark Waschke,...
- 2/10/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
David Garrett’s Mister Smith boards period drama, currently in post-production.
David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment has boarded international sales to Terrence Malick’s upcoming Second World War drama Radegund.
Sales are set to commence at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Radegund will follow the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector who refused to fight for the Nazis and was executed by them in 1943.
The film marks Malick’s return to the Second World War period following acclaimed 1998 drama The Thin Red Line.
From Malick’s screenplay, the film stars August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter, Valerie Pachner as his wife Fani, Matthias Schoenaerts as Captain Herder and Bruno Ganz as Judge Lueben alongside Martin Wuttke, Maria Simon, Karin Neuhäuser and Alexander Fehling.
Malick’s production partner Grant Hill is producing together with Dario Bergesio, Marcus Loges, Josh Jeter and Elisabeth Bentley.
Studio Babelsberg are co-producing. Adam Morgan, [link...
David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment has boarded international sales to Terrence Malick’s upcoming Second World War drama Radegund.
Sales are set to commence at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Radegund will follow the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector who refused to fight for the Nazis and was executed by them in 1943.
The film marks Malick’s return to the Second World War period following acclaimed 1998 drama The Thin Red Line.
From Malick’s screenplay, the film stars August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter, Valerie Pachner as his wife Fani, Matthias Schoenaerts as Captain Herder and Bruno Ganz as Judge Lueben alongside Martin Wuttke, Maria Simon, Karin Neuhäuser and Alexander Fehling.
Malick’s production partner Grant Hill is producing together with Dario Bergesio, Marcus Loges, Josh Jeter and Elisabeth Bentley.
Studio Babelsberg are co-producing. Adam Morgan, [link...
- 1/23/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Duncan Jones has begun principal photography in Berlin on Netflix’s upcoming 2017 thriller.
Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux star in the project about a mute man searching for a missing person in the year 2052 while duelling with two villains.
Jones co-wrote the Mute script with Michael Robert Johnson. The filmmaker’s longtime business partner Stuart Fenegan produces for Liberty Films.
Charles J.D. Schlissel serves as executive producer along with Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken and Christoph Fisser of Studio Babelsberg.
Mt. Philo Films has cast Pierson Fode and Sedale Threatt Jr. in It’s Time. Fritz Mitchell is directing from a script by Jeff Sarokin the true story of a friendship that arose from a tragic accident during a 1989 American football college game between Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Mitchell’s Mt. Philo Films partner Wendy Yamano produces.Rlj Entertainment’s Acorn brand has licensed all Us television, digital and home entertainment rights to ITV Studios’ six-part...
Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux star in the project about a mute man searching for a missing person in the year 2052 while duelling with two villains.
Jones co-wrote the Mute script with Michael Robert Johnson. The filmmaker’s longtime business partner Stuart Fenegan produces for Liberty Films.
Charles J.D. Schlissel serves as executive producer along with Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken and Christoph Fisser of Studio Babelsberg.
Mt. Philo Films has cast Pierson Fode and Sedale Threatt Jr. in It’s Time. Fritz Mitchell is directing from a script by Jeff Sarokin the true story of a friendship that arose from a tragic accident during a 1989 American football college game between Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Mitchell’s Mt. Philo Films partner Wendy Yamano produces.Rlj Entertainment’s Acorn brand has licensed all Us television, digital and home entertainment rights to ITV Studios’ six-part...
- 10/12/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan stars in The Boy, and we have details on the horror film's upcoming premiere. Also in this round-up: Hellions Blu-ray / DVD info, Cavity Colors' Starry Eyes shirt, Cinefamily's X-Files marathon, acquisition details for Christophe Gans' Beauty and the Beast, and Diamond Select Toys' Alien Minimates.
The Boy Premiere: Press Release: "(Burbank, January 11, 2016) - Stx Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment have arranged a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans to see the new horror movie The Boy at 15 exclusive red carpet screenings before the general public has an opportunity to see the film. The PG-13 rated motion picture opens in theaters nationwide on January 22.
All 15 screenings will occur simultaneously and will take place on one night only- Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - starting at 6Pm Et / 3Pm Pt. Tickets to this event are now available online at TheBoyFanPremiere.Movie. The announcement was made today by Jack Pan, President of Marketing for Stx Entertainment.
The Boy Premiere: Press Release: "(Burbank, January 11, 2016) - Stx Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment have arranged a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans to see the new horror movie The Boy at 15 exclusive red carpet screenings before the general public has an opportunity to see the film. The PG-13 rated motion picture opens in theaters nationwide on January 22.
All 15 screenings will occur simultaneously and will take place on one night only- Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - starting at 6Pm Et / 3Pm Pt. Tickets to this event are now available online at TheBoyFanPremiere.Movie. The announcement was made today by Jack Pan, President of Marketing for Stx Entertainment.
- 1/14/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
International film and TV co-production fund opens as Studio Babelsberg begins work on new backlot.
Germany’s standing as an international film location has been given a welcome boost by a multi-million euro package of measures.
This week saw the German Federal Film Board (Ffa) accepting applications from producers for funding from the new €10m German Motion Picture Fund (Gmpf) which was launched by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy at the beginning of the month.
The fund will focus on internationally co-produced features with budgets of more than €25m and high-end TV series of at least six episodes with each episode budgeted at €1.2m or above.
According to Ministry official Frank Fischer, applications to the fund can be made by (co-)producers who are resident or have a registered office in Germany.
Producers could expect as a rule to receive up to €2.5m as a non-repayable grant from the automatic scheme, although the funding...
Germany’s standing as an international film location has been given a welcome boost by a multi-million euro package of measures.
This week saw the German Federal Film Board (Ffa) accepting applications from producers for funding from the new €10m German Motion Picture Fund (Gmpf) which was launched by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy at the beginning of the month.
The fund will focus on internationally co-produced features with budgets of more than €25m and high-end TV series of at least six episodes with each episode budgeted at €1.2m or above.
According to Ministry official Frank Fischer, applications to the fund can be made by (co-)producers who are resident or have a registered office in Germany.
Producers could expect as a rule to receive up to €2.5m as a non-repayable grant from the automatic scheme, although the funding...
- 12/16/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Every year Villa Aurora follows its own long tradition of welcoming the German community and friends to socialize and celebrate the German contribution to American culture.
The German co-production “Citizenfour” by Laura Poitras (De/Us, Praxis Films, Br, Ndr) was awarded the Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature yesterday. “Citizenfour” has also received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” by Wes Anderson (Gb/De, Neunzehnte Babelsberg Film), another German co-production, picked up four Academy Awards® in the categories Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Make-Up as well as Best Original Score. It had been nominated in nine categories.
A day before the Oscars®, German Films joined forces with the Villa Aurora and the German Consul-General in Los Angeles to hold their traditional reception in honor of the German Oscar® nominees at the garden of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles.
The teams of “Citizenfour” comprising the German producers Dirk Wilutzky and Mathilde Bonnefoy, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” with the producers Carl Woebcken, Henning Molfenter and Christoph Fisser, the representatives of the German regional funders Carl Bergengruen of Mfg Baden-württemberg and Kirsten Niehuus of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg as well as the director Wim Wenders, who was nominated for Best Documentary Feature for “The Salt Of The Earth," celebrated there with guests from the German and international film industry.
The beautiful Spanish Deco home at 520 Paseo Miramar in the Pacific Palisades was bought by the famed author, Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta in 1943 the same year that he published The Devil in France, the account of his imprisonment by the Nazis in the South of France before he fled to the U.S.
In September of 1940, with the support of Varian Fry and the U.S. Vice Consul in Marseille, Hiram Bingham, Lion and Marta were able to join another group of exiles in crossing the Pyrenees on foot. They made their journey from Lisbon to New York on different ships. From there, they traveled to Los Angeles, and in 1943 moved into the Villa Aurora, which soon became a focal point in the lives of many intellectuals and artists who had fled from Germany including Bertold Brecht, Thomas Mann and his brother Heinrich Mann, Marlene Dietrich.
Their German passports had been confiscated by the Nazis. In the McCarthy era, Feuchtwanger was scrutinized as a “premature antifascist” by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Fearing that he would not be allowed to return, he never traveled outside the U.S. again. After years of immigration hearings, Feuchtwangers application for American citizenship was finally granted, but the letter informing Feuchtwanger of the fact was not received until a day after his death.
Marta bequeathed to the University of Southern California the library and the house in exchange for the life-long right to live in the Villa. She was appointed curator of the Villa and was politically and culturally active. The Villa remained a social destination in Los Angeles. In 1987 she died at the age of 96.
"So, in my fiftieth year, I literally arrived in the U.S. on foot. Has that made me a U.S. citizen? Can a piece of paper change half a century of my life? I don’t believe it. Now, that I have only 10 years to complete the second half of the century, I feel, it is good to have the citizenship of a country that unites my German routes with the ones of many other nations. Being American is very close to being a citizen of the world."
Source: Marta Feuchtwanger: Only a Woman, Years Days Hours, Aufbau Verlag Berlin Leipzig, 1984
Celebrating the Academy Award Nominees at the same time as 20 years of present ownership of the Villa Aurora and at the same time as 25 years after German reunification, restoration of the famed Babelsberg Studios made this year especially notable.
At the party, I had the chance to speak with Mariette Rissenbeek, Managing Director or German Films.
How long have you been with German Export?
I started in 2002, 13 years ago. I was in charge of festivals and public relations. The position gave me rewarding insights into festivals and I was able to meet many producers.
What changes have you seen in your time there?
I started a year after “Good Bye Lenin” and “Nowhere in Africa”. In the 2000s, German films became very popular internationally. Since 2011 I have been the Managing Director which involves lots of administration and politics.
How do German films do abroad?
Every year two to three titles work well. “Phoenix” is doing very well in France. “Hannah Arendt” and “The Lives of Others” did well worldwide. This year we have “Elser” (“Thirteen Minutes”) which just premiered in Berlin and of course “Salt of the Earth” and “CitizenFour” (winner of the 2015 Spirit Award for Best Documentary), “Victoria” which Adopt Films acquired for U.S.
Germans have consistently won Academy Awards since 1929 when Emil Jannings won for Best Actor in “The Way of All Flesh” and “ The Last Command”.
I also had the chance to speak with the Director of Villa Aurora, my friend since her days at Goethe Institute.
How long have you been Director of Villa Aurora ?
Three years in May.
You moved over from Goethe Institute and have changed Villa Aurora significantly. Can you tell us what changes it has undergone since you took over as its director?
When I applied for the position, I gave my vision for the Villa in various areas which included increased visibility, and renovations, as the home was in a rather neglected state. I also wanted our guests to network more with the Los Angeles arts community. So now their work appears in galleries, they give master classes and they show their work.
I had support from the Berlin headquarters and the German Foreign office and so we could renovate, landscape and install better lighting. I love creative work and this has been very satisfying.
Similarly as at the Goethe Institute, I still network and organize events, but I am also a “den mother” to the fellows. At this time we have five artists in residence. Four are here for three months and one is here for eight months – a writer in exile who cannot live in the native country of birth. We have had a writer from Syria living in Turkey; last year we had someone from Viet Nam and before, a blogger from Belarus living in Poland.
We also have an agreement with Cal Arts to send an artist to Germany to work and present their work.
Once again the congeniality and milieu brought together Hollywood and Germany, a partnership which goes back to the first days of the Hollywood we know today.
The German co-production “Citizenfour” by Laura Poitras (De/Us, Praxis Films, Br, Ndr) was awarded the Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature yesterday. “Citizenfour” has also received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” by Wes Anderson (Gb/De, Neunzehnte Babelsberg Film), another German co-production, picked up four Academy Awards® in the categories Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Make-Up as well as Best Original Score. It had been nominated in nine categories.
A day before the Oscars®, German Films joined forces with the Villa Aurora and the German Consul-General in Los Angeles to hold their traditional reception in honor of the German Oscar® nominees at the garden of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles.
The teams of “Citizenfour” comprising the German producers Dirk Wilutzky and Mathilde Bonnefoy, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” with the producers Carl Woebcken, Henning Molfenter and Christoph Fisser, the representatives of the German regional funders Carl Bergengruen of Mfg Baden-württemberg and Kirsten Niehuus of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg as well as the director Wim Wenders, who was nominated for Best Documentary Feature for “The Salt Of The Earth," celebrated there with guests from the German and international film industry.
The beautiful Spanish Deco home at 520 Paseo Miramar in the Pacific Palisades was bought by the famed author, Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta in 1943 the same year that he published The Devil in France, the account of his imprisonment by the Nazis in the South of France before he fled to the U.S.
In September of 1940, with the support of Varian Fry and the U.S. Vice Consul in Marseille, Hiram Bingham, Lion and Marta were able to join another group of exiles in crossing the Pyrenees on foot. They made their journey from Lisbon to New York on different ships. From there, they traveled to Los Angeles, and in 1943 moved into the Villa Aurora, which soon became a focal point in the lives of many intellectuals and artists who had fled from Germany including Bertold Brecht, Thomas Mann and his brother Heinrich Mann, Marlene Dietrich.
Their German passports had been confiscated by the Nazis. In the McCarthy era, Feuchtwanger was scrutinized as a “premature antifascist” by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Fearing that he would not be allowed to return, he never traveled outside the U.S. again. After years of immigration hearings, Feuchtwangers application for American citizenship was finally granted, but the letter informing Feuchtwanger of the fact was not received until a day after his death.
Marta bequeathed to the University of Southern California the library and the house in exchange for the life-long right to live in the Villa. She was appointed curator of the Villa and was politically and culturally active. The Villa remained a social destination in Los Angeles. In 1987 she died at the age of 96.
"So, in my fiftieth year, I literally arrived in the U.S. on foot. Has that made me a U.S. citizen? Can a piece of paper change half a century of my life? I don’t believe it. Now, that I have only 10 years to complete the second half of the century, I feel, it is good to have the citizenship of a country that unites my German routes with the ones of many other nations. Being American is very close to being a citizen of the world."
Source: Marta Feuchtwanger: Only a Woman, Years Days Hours, Aufbau Verlag Berlin Leipzig, 1984
Celebrating the Academy Award Nominees at the same time as 20 years of present ownership of the Villa Aurora and at the same time as 25 years after German reunification, restoration of the famed Babelsberg Studios made this year especially notable.
At the party, I had the chance to speak with Mariette Rissenbeek, Managing Director or German Films.
How long have you been with German Export?
I started in 2002, 13 years ago. I was in charge of festivals and public relations. The position gave me rewarding insights into festivals and I was able to meet many producers.
What changes have you seen in your time there?
I started a year after “Good Bye Lenin” and “Nowhere in Africa”. In the 2000s, German films became very popular internationally. Since 2011 I have been the Managing Director which involves lots of administration and politics.
How do German films do abroad?
Every year two to three titles work well. “Phoenix” is doing very well in France. “Hannah Arendt” and “The Lives of Others” did well worldwide. This year we have “Elser” (“Thirteen Minutes”) which just premiered in Berlin and of course “Salt of the Earth” and “CitizenFour” (winner of the 2015 Spirit Award for Best Documentary), “Victoria” which Adopt Films acquired for U.S.
Germans have consistently won Academy Awards since 1929 when Emil Jannings won for Best Actor in “The Way of All Flesh” and “ The Last Command”.
I also had the chance to speak with the Director of Villa Aurora, my friend since her days at Goethe Institute.
How long have you been Director of Villa Aurora ?
Three years in May.
You moved over from Goethe Institute and have changed Villa Aurora significantly. Can you tell us what changes it has undergone since you took over as its director?
When I applied for the position, I gave my vision for the Villa in various areas which included increased visibility, and renovations, as the home was in a rather neglected state. I also wanted our guests to network more with the Los Angeles arts community. So now their work appears in galleries, they give master classes and they show their work.
I had support from the Berlin headquarters and the German Foreign office and so we could renovate, landscape and install better lighting. I love creative work and this has been very satisfying.
Similarly as at the Goethe Institute, I still network and organize events, but I am also a “den mother” to the fellows. At this time we have five artists in residence. Four are here for three months and one is here for eight months – a writer in exile who cannot live in the native country of birth. We have had a writer from Syria living in Turkey; last year we had someone from Viet Nam and before, a blogger from Belarus living in Poland.
We also have an agreement with Cal Arts to send an artist to Germany to work and present their work.
Once again the congeniality and milieu brought together Hollywood and Germany, a partnership which goes back to the first days of the Hollywood we know today.
- 2/26/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Welcome, beloved guests. The time has come to check-in to The Grand Budapest Hotel. Upon arrival, be sure to take in the beautiful world surrounding you, as created by director and co-writer Wes Anderson, as well as the wonderful hotel aesthetic, brought to you by production designer Adam Stockhausen. This week, Wamg and a few members of the press sat down (in a roundtable discussion) with Anderson and Stockhausen to talk about Anderson’s all new caper The Grand Budapest Hotel. Check it out below!
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest...
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest...
- 3/7/2014
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Welcome, beloved guest-to-be. Upon your check-in to The Grand Budapest Hotel on Friday, you might meet a very important attorney that goes by the name of Deputy Kovacs, who is played by Jeff Goldblum in Wes Anderson’s new caper about friendship, honor, and promises fulfilled. This week, Wamg and a few members of the press sat down (in a roundtable discussion) with Goldblum to talk about the working with Anderson, upcoming projects, and memes. Check it out below!
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest confection of a love affair — all...
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest confection of a love affair — all...
- 3/6/2014
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Upon your check-in to The Grand Budapest Hotel on Friday, you will be greeted by a young lobby boy named Zero – a bright brave, resourceful boy who immigrated on foot from Aq-Salim-al-Jabat. Played by actor Tony Revolori, the character of Zero serves under concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) in Wes Anderson’s new caper about friendship, honor, and promises fulfilled. Yesterday, Wamg and a few members of the press sat down (in a roundtable discussion) with Revolori to talk about the incredible cast, slap takes, and mustaches. Check it out below!
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains,...
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains,...
- 3/6/2014
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
credit: Sara Wood / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Is it too soon for George Clooney to win back-to back Oscars?
In what will undoubtedly be a major awards season player and possible Best Picture winner, Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that The Monuments Men, a Smokehouse production directed by and starring George Clooney, has started production in Berlin, Germany. Due in theaters on December 18th, the action-thriller is written by Clooney & Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter. Clooney and Heslov also produce the film through their Smokehouse Productions. It is their first production since winning the Academy Award® for Best Picture for their work on Argo.
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history,The Monuments Men focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by Fdr with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces...
Is it too soon for George Clooney to win back-to back Oscars?
In what will undoubtedly be a major awards season player and possible Best Picture winner, Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that The Monuments Men, a Smokehouse production directed by and starring George Clooney, has started production in Berlin, Germany. Due in theaters on December 18th, the action-thriller is written by Clooney & Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter. Clooney and Heslov also produce the film through their Smokehouse Productions. It is their first production since winning the Academy Award® for Best Picture for their work on Argo.
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history,The Monuments Men focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by Fdr with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces...
- 3/5/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that The Monuments Men , a Smokehouse production directed by and starring George Clooney, has started production in Berlin, Germany. The action-thriller is written by Clooney & Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter. Clooney and Heslov also produce the film through their Smokehouse Productions. It is their first production since winning the Academy Award® for Best Picture for their work on Argo . Barbara A. Hall is executive producer. The Monuments Men is a co-production with Germany.s Siebente Babelsberg Film GmbH, a subsidiary of Studio Babelsberg Ag. Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter serve as co-producers. Sony Pictures will release the film domestically, with...
- 3/5/2013
- Comingsoon.net
Check out the trailer as well as images and the poster in the gallery for Werner Herzog's Happy People: A Year in Taiga. Directed by Dmitry Vasyukov and Herzog, the documentary from Music Box Films which premiered at the 2011 San Francisco Green Festival, opens January 25th in theaters. The film's produced by Christoph Fisser, Vladimir Perepelkin, Charlie Woebcken and Nick N. Raslan. Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) serves as executive producer alongside Klaus Badelt, Yanko Damboulev and Herzog. With Happy People: A Year in Taiga, Werner Herzog takes viewers on yet another unforgettable journey into remote and extreme natural landscapes. The acclaimed filmmakerpresents this visually stunning documentary about the life of indigenous people living in the heart of the Siberian Taiga.
- 1/11/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Check out the trailer as well as images and the poster in the gallery for Werner Herzog's Happy People: A Year in Taiga. Directed by Dmitry Vasyukov and Herzog, the documentary from Music Box Films which premiered at the 2011 San Francisco Green Festival, opens January 25th in theaters. The film's produced by Christoph Fisser, Vladimir Perepelkin, Charlie Woebcken and Nick N. Raslan. Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) serves as executive producer alongside Klaus Badelt, Yanko Damboulev and Herzog. With Happy People: A Year in Taiga, Werner Herzog takes viewers on yet another unforgettable journey into remote and extreme natural landscapes. The acclaimed filmmakerpresents this visually stunning documentary about the life of indigenous people living in the heart of the Siberian Taiga.
- 1/11/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Shakespeare authorship question is a debate that started over one hundred years ago surrounding the identity of the works traditionally attributed to the bearded Bard from Stratford-Upon-Avon, William Shakespeare. Was he really the genius behind Hamlet.s tragic life, Romeo.s burning love, and Lady Macbeth.s plaguing guilt? Could the intellectual behind literature.s most brilliant characters be this very ordinary man from Stratford?
So little is known about the man from Stratford that many find it impossible to believe that the son of an illiterate tradesman was the author of such literary masterpieces as .The Merchant of Venice,. .King Lear,. and .Henry V.. His education from a village school could never have provided Shakespeare with a vocabulary extensive enough to write the most talked about literature in the world and there is no proof that he travelled to foreign lands let alone learnt to speak their native tongues.
So little is known about the man from Stratford that many find it impossible to believe that the son of an illiterate tradesman was the author of such literary masterpieces as .The Merchant of Venice,. .King Lear,. and .Henry V.. His education from a village school could never have provided Shakespeare with a vocabulary extensive enough to write the most talked about literature in the world and there is no proof that he travelled to foreign lands let alone learnt to speak their native tongues.
- 10/19/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I had the pleasure of seeing Joe Wright’s fourth feature tonight, the action/drama/thriller Hanna starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, and Eric Bana. While I’m embargoed from sharing any thoughts, Focus Features shared a new clip and a variety of images from the film. The clip features some of the fantastic The Chemical Brothers score, and a snippet from one of my favorite scenes in the film. Check them out below, followed by production notes from the film. Click for hi-resolution versions.
Synopsis
A teenage girl goes out into the world for the first time – and has to battle for her life. Director Joe Wright weaves elements of dark fairy tales into the adventure thriller Hanna, filmed on location in Europe and Morocco.
Hanna (played by Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan of Atonement, also directed by Joe Wright) is 16 years old. She is bright, inquisitive, and a devoted daughter.
Synopsis
A teenage girl goes out into the world for the first time – and has to battle for her life. Director Joe Wright weaves elements of dark fairy tales into the adventure thriller Hanna, filmed on location in Europe and Morocco.
Hanna (played by Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan of Atonement, also directed by Joe Wright) is 16 years old. She is bright, inquisitive, and a devoted daughter.
- 2/16/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Face the Unknown with Liam Neeson and January Jones in this new trailer from Warner Bros. Pictures.
Synopsis:
Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn’t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run.
Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he’s willing to go to uncover the truth.
Academy Award® nominee Liam Neeson (Schindler’S List), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) and January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”) star in the contemporary thriller Unknown. The film also stars Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), Bruno Ganz (The Reader) and Oscar® nominee...
Synopsis:
Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn’t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run.
Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he’s willing to go to uncover the truth.
Academy Award® nominee Liam Neeson (Schindler’S List), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) and January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”) star in the contemporary thriller Unknown. The film also stars Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), Bruno Ganz (The Reader) and Oscar® nominee...
- 10/25/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Babelsberg, Germany -- Berlin's film business is booming, with low production costs, generous subsidies and cultural cachet attracting some of the world's top filmmakers scouring for funds in the wake of the crisis.
Internationally acclaimed directors from Quentin Tarantino to Roman Polanski are flocking to film in the German capital, churning out hits like "Inglourious Basterds" and "The Ghost Writer," while home-grown talent such as Til Schweiger and Roland Emmerich have returned from Hollywood to join the party.
And what Berlin's film industry lacks in size, ranking well behind Hollywood, it makes up for in prestige, landing dozens of prizes in the past few years including a handful of Oscars.
"Berlin has some key success factors: one is the city itself -- people simply want to be in Berlin," said Carl Woebcken, the chief executive of Babelsberg, the world's oldest large-scale studio complex just a short train ride from the city center.
Internationally acclaimed directors from Quentin Tarantino to Roman Polanski are flocking to film in the German capital, churning out hits like "Inglourious Basterds" and "The Ghost Writer," while home-grown talent such as Til Schweiger and Roland Emmerich have returned from Hollywood to join the party.
And what Berlin's film industry lacks in size, ranking well behind Hollywood, it makes up for in prestige, landing dozens of prizes in the past few years including a handful of Oscars.
"Berlin has some key success factors: one is the city itself -- people simply want to be in Berlin," said Carl Woebcken, the chief executive of Babelsberg, the world's oldest large-scale studio complex just a short train ride from the city center.
- 8/18/2010
- by By Sarah Marsh, Reuters
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Principal photography is underway on the thriller Unknown White Male under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra ( Orphan ). The film stars Liam Neeson ( Schindler's List , upcoming Clash of the Titans ), Diane Kruger ( Inglorious Basterds ), January Jones (TV's "Mad Men"), Aidan Quinn (TV's "The Book of Daniel"), Bruno Ganz ( The Reader ) and Frank Langella ( Frost/Nixon ). The film is being produced by Joel Silver, under his Dark Castle Entertainment banner; Leonard Goldberg; and Dark Castle's Andrew Rona. Steve Richards, Sarah Meyer and Peter McAleese are serving as the film's executive producers, with Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter co-producing. The screenplay is by Oliver Butcher & Stephen Cornwell and Karl Gajdusek, based on...
- 2/11/2010
- Comingsoon.net
Press release:
Principal photography is underway on the thriller “Unknown White Male,” under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (“Orphan”). The film stars Oscar® nominee Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List,” upcoming “Clash of the Titans”), Diane Kruger (“Inglorious Basterds”), January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”), Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), Bruno Ganz (“The Reader”) and Oscar® nominee Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”).
The film is being produced by Joel Silver, under his Dark Castle Entertainment banner; Leonard Goldberg; and Dark Castle’s Andrew Rona. Steve Richards, Sarah Meyer and Peter McAleese are serving as the film’s executive producers, with Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter co-producing. The screenplay is by Oliver Butcher & Stephen Cornwell and Karl Gajdusek, based on the novel Out of My Head by Didier van Cauwelaert.
Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that...
Principal photography is underway on the thriller “Unknown White Male,” under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (“Orphan”). The film stars Oscar® nominee Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List,” upcoming “Clash of the Titans”), Diane Kruger (“Inglorious Basterds”), January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”), Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), Bruno Ganz (“The Reader”) and Oscar® nominee Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”).
The film is being produced by Joel Silver, under his Dark Castle Entertainment banner; Leonard Goldberg; and Dark Castle’s Andrew Rona. Steve Richards, Sarah Meyer and Peter McAleese are serving as the film’s executive producers, with Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter co-producing. The screenplay is by Oliver Butcher & Stephen Cornwell and Karl Gajdusek, based on the novel Out of My Head by Didier van Cauwelaert.
Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that...
- 2/10/2010
- by Reel Loop News Staff
- ReelLoop.com
Potsdam, Germany -- The Babelsberg film studio was bursting with pride Wednesday after Quentin Tarantino's anti-Nazi farce "Inglourious Basterds," filmed here last year, got eight Oscar nominations.
Carl Woebcken, CEO of the world's oldest large-scale studio complex, said the record haul should give the 98-year-old film site an important shot in the arm as an international production center and help erase memories of some difficult decades.
"We're all ecstatic," Woebcken told a group of foreign journalists after a tour of the historic studio just south of Berlin. "That a film made in Babelsberg got so many Oscar nominations is something noticed around the world."
Tarantino's $70 million film, a violent and darkly comic revenge fantasy, got eight nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including best director for Tarantino and best supporting actor for Christoph Waltz.
"He's having an incredible run," said Christoph Fisser, chairman of Studio Babelsberg...
Carl Woebcken, CEO of the world's oldest large-scale studio complex, said the record haul should give the 98-year-old film site an important shot in the arm as an international production center and help erase memories of some difficult decades.
"We're all ecstatic," Woebcken told a group of foreign journalists after a tour of the historic studio just south of Berlin. "That a film made in Babelsberg got so many Oscar nominations is something noticed around the world."
Tarantino's $70 million film, a violent and darkly comic revenge fantasy, got eight nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including best director for Tarantino and best supporting actor for Christoph Waltz.
"He's having an incredible run," said Christoph Fisser, chairman of Studio Babelsberg...
- 2/3/2010
- by By Erik Kirschbaum, Reuters
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Summit Entertainment has picked up North American distribution rights to "The Ghost Writer", the project that director Roman Polanski was in the final stages of work on before his arrest a few months ago.
Here is the full press release.
Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio will distribute the thriller The Ghost Writer, directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski, in North America. Polanski produced the film along with long time collaborators Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde. Summit International, which has a long-standing relationship with Polanski representing the sales of the rights to his films outside of North America, acted as sales agent for The Ghost Writer. Sales have been made in all major territories around the globe. The North American rights to the film were represented by Icm. Current plans call for Summit to release the film during the first half of 2010.
The movie thriller tells the...
Here is the full press release.
Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio will distribute the thriller The Ghost Writer, directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski, in North America. Polanski produced the film along with long time collaborators Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde. Summit International, which has a long-standing relationship with Polanski representing the sales of the rights to his films outside of North America, acted as sales agent for The Ghost Writer. Sales have been made in all major territories around the globe. The North American rights to the film were represented by Icm. Current plans call for Summit to release the film during the first half of 2010.
The movie thriller tells the...
- 12/13/2009
- by Kellvin Chavez
- AMC - Script to Screen
Cologne, Germany -- Studio Babelsberg producer Henning Molfenter, scheduled to attend the Zurich Film Festival as a member jury judging German-language films, is boycotting the festival to protest Saturday's arrest of director Roman Polanski.
Fellow jury members -- actor Til Schweiger and composer Niki Reiser -- are expected to follow suit.
"There is no way I'd go to Switzerland now. You can't watch films knowing Roman Polanski is sitting in a cell 5 km away," Molfenter told The Hollywood Reporter.
Zurich's international jury -- headed by actress Debra Winger -- will make a statement on Polanski's arrest at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Swiss police arrested the 76-year-old Polanski on Saturday night as he entered Switzerland to attend the Zurich festival. He is being held on a U.S. warrant connected to a decades-old charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.
Studio Babelsberg is a co-producer on Polanski's latest,...
Fellow jury members -- actor Til Schweiger and composer Niki Reiser -- are expected to follow suit.
"There is no way I'd go to Switzerland now. You can't watch films knowing Roman Polanski is sitting in a cell 5 km away," Molfenter told The Hollywood Reporter.
Zurich's international jury -- headed by actress Debra Winger -- will make a statement on Polanski's arrest at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Swiss police arrested the 76-year-old Polanski on Saturday night as he entered Switzerland to attend the Zurich festival. He is being held on a U.S. warrant connected to a decades-old charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.
Studio Babelsberg is a co-producer on Polanski's latest,...
- 9/28/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Berlin -- German politics is usually about as sexy as Helmut Kohl in tight lederhosen. That is to say, not. But ahead of national elections on Sunday, German parties have tried to sex up their campaigns.
First there was the conservative candidate who showed off her credentials -- and those of Chancellor Angela Merkel -- in a revealing campaign poster featuring both women with plunging necklines. The catch line: We have a lot to offer.
Then there's "Steini Girl" -- a viral YouTube video of a well-endowed young lady in tight shorts and spaghetti-strap top swooning over Merkel's challenger, Social Democrat Franz-Walter Steinmeier. (The video can be viewed below.) The video, which the Social Democrats have disavowed, included the unfortunate line "You're a Pimp/You're a Hero." Not likely the slogan Steinmeier wants voters to remember him by.
With its deliberate aping of the Obama Girl online phenomena, Steini Girl...
First there was the conservative candidate who showed off her credentials -- and those of Chancellor Angela Merkel -- in a revealing campaign poster featuring both women with plunging necklines. The catch line: We have a lot to offer.
Then there's "Steini Girl" -- a viral YouTube video of a well-endowed young lady in tight shorts and spaghetti-strap top swooning over Merkel's challenger, Social Democrat Franz-Walter Steinmeier. (The video can be viewed below.) The video, which the Social Democrats have disavowed, included the unfortunate line "You're a Pimp/You're a Hero." Not likely the slogan Steinmeier wants voters to remember him by.
With its deliberate aping of the Obama Girl online phenomena, Steini Girl...
- 9/24/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Quentin Tarantino's World War II action adventure Inglourious Basterds stars actor Brad Pitt as an American officer, leading a squad of renegade Us soldiers behind enemy lines. The film's ensemble cast includes Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sönke Möhring, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet and Cloris Leachman. Basterds reunites Tarantino with Academy Award-nominated editor Sally Menke, Academy Award-winning Dp Bob Richardson and production designer David Wasco. Also joining Tarantino for the first time is Academy Award-nominated costume designer Anna Sheppard. Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Bender produced the film with Erica Steinberg and Lloyd Phillips. Co-producers are Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter, with Pilar Savone, associate producer. The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures,...
- 6/17/2009
- HollywoodNorthReport.com
Variety is reporting that Germany’s Studio Babelsberg has drawn up a five-year, fifteen-film production agreement with producer Joel Silver. The films will be produced under the banner of Dark Castle and are planned to be distributed by Warner Bros.
Details are few on exactly what films are planned, and there was no word on whether the new movies would be exclusively shot at the company’s studio facilities near Berlin. Carl Woebcken, speaking for Babelsberg, did say that the first of the fifteen new films is expected to begin shooting there in the spring.
It’s interesting to note just how significant fifteen new films means to Dark Castle; fifteen just so happens to be the number of films they have produced or are currently producing to date. This contract then effectively plans to double the amount of films they’ve done over the last decade, all in the next five.
Details are few on exactly what films are planned, and there was no word on whether the new movies would be exclusively shot at the company’s studio facilities near Berlin. Carl Woebcken, speaking for Babelsberg, did say that the first of the fifteen new films is expected to begin shooting there in the spring.
It’s interesting to note just how significant fifteen new films means to Dark Castle; fifteen just so happens to be the number of films they have produced or are currently producing to date. This contract then effectively plans to double the amount of films they’ve done over the last decade, all in the next five.
- 12/4/2008
- by Tristan Sinns
- DreadCentral.com
Cologne, Germany -- Joel Silver has signed a five-year co-production deal with Germany's Studio Babelsberg for the features he produces under his ongoing agreement with Warner Bros.
The deal is in addition to Babelsberg's standing co-financing arrangement with Silver for the 15-film slate produced by his Warner-backed genre label Dark Castle.
Silver has shot three of his last three features in Babelsberg: "Ninja Assassin," "Speed Racer" and "V for Vendetta." The first film under the new deal will start production at the venerable German studio next spring.
"This new arrangement with Joel Silver is part of our strategy to establish long-term slate deals with established, successful Hollywood producers," Studio Babelsberg CEO Carl Woebcken told The Hollywood Reporter. "On the one hand, it helps us guarantee a certain number of big films shoot here and on the other it allows us to participate in the success of these productions."
Babelsberg is in negotiations with another,...
The deal is in addition to Babelsberg's standing co-financing arrangement with Silver for the 15-film slate produced by his Warner-backed genre label Dark Castle.
Silver has shot three of his last three features in Babelsberg: "Ninja Assassin," "Speed Racer" and "V for Vendetta." The first film under the new deal will start production at the venerable German studio next spring.
"This new arrangement with Joel Silver is part of our strategy to establish long-term slate deals with established, successful Hollywood producers," Studio Babelsberg CEO Carl Woebcken told The Hollywood Reporter. "On the one hand, it helps us guarantee a certain number of big films shoot here and on the other it allows us to participate in the success of these productions."
Babelsberg is in negotiations with another,...
- 12/3/2008
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
According to Variety, Germany's Studio Babelsberg has pacted with Joel Silver and his production outfit Dark Castle Entertainment for a five-year, 15-pic co-production deal. All films will be released by Warner Bros. which has used Babelsberg for Speed Racer , V for Vendetta and the upcoming Ninja Assassin . The company said a key part of the deal with Silver is that it will have "influence on the script, casting and other relevant decisions." "With the agreement, we're not only taking a stake in the earnings from Dark Castle films, but they will also strengthen our position as a producer," Babelsberg's Carl Woebcken tells Variety. The upcoming production slate has not been revealed, however, the first picture could get rolling as soon as next spring....
- 12/3/2008
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Quentin TarantinoÂ.s Inglourious Basterds began principal photography last week on location in Germany.
{sidebar id=1}The ensemble cast of Inglourious Basterds includes Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sönke Möhring, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet and Cloris Leachman.
Inglourious Basterds reunites Tarantino with Academy Award-nominated editor Sally Menke, Academy Award-winning director of photography Bob Richardson, and production designer David Wasco. Joining Tarantino for the first time is Academy Award-nominated costume designer Anna Sheppard.
Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Bender is producing Inglourious Basterds. Erica Steinberg and Lloyd Phillips, and Bob and Harvey Weinstein are the filmÂ.s executive producers. The co-producers are Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter. Pilar Savone...
{sidebar id=1}The ensemble cast of Inglourious Basterds includes Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sönke Möhring, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet and Cloris Leachman.
Inglourious Basterds reunites Tarantino with Academy Award-nominated editor Sally Menke, Academy Award-winning director of photography Bob Richardson, and production designer David Wasco. Joining Tarantino for the first time is Academy Award-nominated costume designer Anna Sheppard.
Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Bender is producing Inglourious Basterds. Erica Steinberg and Lloyd Phillips, and Bob and Harvey Weinstein are the filmÂ.s executive producers. The co-producers are Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter. Pilar Savone...
- 10/14/2008
- by IESB Staff <alyson@iesb.net>
- IESB.net
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