Thompson on Hollywood

Relativity's Ammer Out as Overture's Adee Moves In

There's only enough room at any distrib for one head of marketing, so recent Relativity Media hire Geoff Ammer, a well-liked marketing vet who was hired as worldwide marketing president by CEO Ryan Kavanaugh in January, is out, as Overture marketing chief Peter Adee moves in.

By Anne Thompson
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August 10, 2010 11:09 AM
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CBS Films Acquires Statham Actioner The Mechanic

Adding testosterone to its upcoming line-up, CBS Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Jason Statham actioner The Mechanic from Avi Lerner's Millenium Films (The Expendables). CBS plans a spring opening after the George Tillman, Jr. revenge thriller Faster, starring Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton and Carla Gugino (November), and writer-director Daniel Barnz's Beastly, based on Alex Flinn's Beauty and the Beast-inspired novel, starring Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer annd Mary-Kate Olsen (March 2011).

By Anne Thompson
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August 9, 2010 4:39 AM
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Cameron Talks Avatar Redux

Avatar is coming back on August 27 with nine minutes of new footage, mostly set on Pandora. Hell, I'd see it again in a nano-second. Has anything you've seen since you saw Avatar been nearly as good? The extra footage includes the death of the Na'vi warrior Tsu'tey, Cameron told MTV News (audio on jump), among several outlets he did phoners with late Friday afternoon:

By Anne Thompson
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August 7, 2010 12:45 PM
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Media Watch: Deadline and PMK Add Segall and Koltai-Levine, Newsweek Sells, Forbes Loves Blogs

It's a smart move for Mail.com CEO Jay Penske to bring on trade-savvy Lynne Segall as vice president/publisher, who was unaccountably let go by the LA Times, where she launched The Envelope, among other cash cows.

By Anne Thompson
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August 3, 2010 8:14 AM
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Chelsea Clinton Wedding Photos

Mediaite has posted photos of the Chelsea Clinton/Marc Mezvinsky wedding Saturday attended by 500 guests in Rhinebeck, New York. The London Daily Mail does a good ramp-up with shots from outside the rehearsal dinner. Here's the NYT. UPDATE: Here's The Daily Beast.

By Anne Thompson
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August 1, 2010 2:42 AM
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Sad But True: Miramax is Dead

It's a sad day. Miramax is no more.

By Anne Thompson
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July 30, 2010 6:30 AM
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Relativity Media's Rogue Pacts with New Virgin Production Arm

Wasting no time, Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media, having acquired Universal's Rogue label and Overture's distribution and marketing divisions, has pacted with Richard Branson's Virgin Group, which has formed a new film and television production arm. The next step for Relativity may be going public.

By Anne Thompson
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July 30, 2010 5:42 AM
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Bob Kerrey Ends Negotiations for MPAA CEO Position

As of today, former U.S Senator Bob Kerrey is no longer in negotiations to take over the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), even though he suggested to Don Imus just two weeks ago that he was in final stages of negotiating.

By Sophia Savage
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July 29, 2010 7:57 AM
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Cinereach Project at Sundance Institute Announces 11 Grants

The Cinereach Project at Sundance Institute has announced 11 grants to support documentary and narrative feature films as part of a three year, $1.5 million initiative that focuses on projects with global cultural and social impact from innovative new storytellers. Sundance considers this initiative with Cinereach an extension of their ongoing programs geared toward nurturing emerging voices (including the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Directors Lab). The grants are awarded to projects in various stages of development, production and post-production. A complete list of grant winners is below.

By Anne Thompson
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July 27, 2010 6:42 AM
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Polanski Is Free At Last

The nightmare of being imprisoned since September 2009 is over for Roman Polanski. The Swiss will not extradite the filmmaker to the U.S. on charges from a 1977 rape case in Los Angeles. The authorities are releasing him from house arrest at his chalet in Gstaad. Here's the NYT, which reported that at a press conference in Bern on Monday Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told reporters: “He’s a free man."