PRESS RELEASE: The 2007 Hamptons International Film Festival celebrates its 15th anniversary – a decade and a half of premieres, screenings, programs & events, tucked away amongst the changing leaves and quiet beaches of fall in the East End. The Hamptons is where talent, industry and audiences come together exchanging ideas, experiences and cinema in what has now become one of leading international film festivals of the world. This year’s Hamptons fest runs October 17th through 21st, 2007, in East Hampton, New York with additional venues in Southampton, Sag Harbor and Montauk.

[Highlights from the festival press release continue below.]

Monday, October 1, is the deadline to submit entries in the Live Action Short Film, Animated Short Film and Foreign Language Film categories to be considered for the 80th Academy Awards. Complete entries must arrive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by 5 p.m. PT that day.

[The rest of the AMPAS press release is available below.]

At Box Office Mojo, a list of theater counts for the upcoming weekend:

Resident Evil: Extinction (Sony / Screen Gems) / 2,828
Good Luck Chuck (Lionsgate) / 2,612
Sydney White (Universal) / 2,102
The Jane Austen Book Club (Sony Classics) / 25
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros.) / 15
Into the Wild (Paramount Vantage) / 4
The Last Winter (IFC) / 2

Variety reports on the departure of Dimension Films president Richard Saperstein: "Ending a drama that took most of the summer to unfold, Richard Saperstein has officially left his post as president of Dimension Films. After two months of emphatic denials that Saperstein had been relieved of his duties by co-chairman Bob Weinstein, Dimension has acknowledged that it has reached the end of the road with the exec."

In the Los Angeles Times, Mark Olsen talks with Richard Kelly about "Southland Tales" and the film's infamous debut in Cannes last year: "'Even with all that happened, I don't regret it', Kelly said recently of the experience. 'Now that all the dust has settled, the movie is actually better off because of it. Honestly, it is. The hope is we can still somehow recover and the movie can find an audience.'"

Alan Ball's "Nothing is Private" has been acquired by Warner Independent Pictures, in a deal just announced at the Toronto International Film Festival. The company said tonight that it is in final negotiations to partner with Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment on a deal that includes North American rights and multiple other territories. The deal is the second acquisition of a provocative American film today in Toronto, on the heels of Overture Film's acquisition of North American rights to Tom McCarthy's "The Visitor."

indieWIRE takes a closer look at both films in a story published this evening. Read the full article at indieWIRE.com.

Magnolia Pictures is launching Magnet, a new label for its genre film productions and acquisitions, distinguising horror, action, comedy and Asian cinema titles from the independent and documentary films released under the Magnolia label. First up under the new banner will be Jeremy Saulnier's "Murder Party," on DVD next month, followed by a new slate of theatrical and DVD releases that will include Hitoshi Matsumoto's "Big Man Japan," Tony Stone's "Severed Ways," Ringo Tam, Johnnie To, and Tsui Hark's "Triangle," Olivier Assayas' "Boarding Gate," and Mark Hartley's "Not Quite Hollywood. [Eugene Hernandez]

More at indieWIRE.com.

In Toronto tonight, Miramax Films may be celebrating this evening's TIFF debut of The Coen Brothers' "No Country For Old Men," but company president Daniel Battsek can also toast his pre-buy of U.S. rights to filmmaker Fernando Meirelles' "Blindess." Adapted from Jose Saramago's acclaimed novel by celebrated Canadian writer, actor and director Don McKellar, the film stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal. The movie is produced by Niv Fichman, Andrea Barata Ribeiro, and Sonoko Sakai and executive produced by Gail Egan and Simon Channing-Williams. [Eugene Hernandez]

Get more on the deal now in the indieWIRE.com Buzz section.

Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" won the Golden Lion as the 64th Venice Film Festival came to a close tonight in Italy, the second time the director has won the prize in the last three years. The festival's Silver Lion for Best Director went to Brian De Palma for "Redacted," while a special jury prize went to Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There" and Abdellatif Kechiche's "La Graine et le mulet." Acting prizes were presented to Cate Blanchett for her role in Haynes' "I'm Not There," while Brad Pitt was honored as best actor in Andrew Dominik's "The Assassination of Jesse James." [Eugene Hernandez]

Get the complete story now at indieWIRE.com.

IFC Entertainment confirmed a deal today for Baltasar Kormakur's "Jar City," jumpstarting dealmaking here in Toronto. The company nabbed the film, which won the top prize at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival back in July, prior to "Jar City"'s popular U.S. debut at last weekend's Telluride Film Festival. An unconventional detective story, it follows an aging police detective's search for a loner's murderer and covers events spanning thirty years. [Eugene Hernandez]

Get the complete story now at indieWIRE.com

indieWIRE's Toronto Festival coverage is available anytime in a special Toronto '07 section.

Variety reports on Apple's announcement of a new iPod roster on Wednesday, but noted: "Event focused on the company's holiday hardware lineup, including an array of upgraded iPods and a new partnership with Starbucks.In the background, however, was a development with which Jobs is likely concerned: Two years after Apple started selling TV shows via iTunes and a year after it added movies, Hollywood is still not fully aboard with his vision and has chafed, in some cases, against Apple's firm grip on the high-end content download-on-demand biz."

In Variety, Michael Fleming reports, "In a $2 million deal, producer Scott Rudin has acquired screen rights to the Robert Graves historical novel 'I, Claudius'. It's expected that 'The Departed' tandem of Leonardo DiCaprio and Oscar-winning scribe William Monahan will become attached; they were part of a rival bid made by Warner Bros."