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Top law firm to close UK media division
Law firm SJ Berwin is to close its UK media division which specialises in media asset finance work. The division's areas of expertise include slate financing of studio pictures, acting as production counsel on films with budgets ranging from USD10…
SAG national executive director loses job
Doug Allen, national executive director of SAG, was fired this week. He had been at the centre of SAG’s bitter polarisation between those who urged strike action and moderates who proposed settlement through negotiation. The moderate faction of the actors…
Michigan studios to be built
Michigan is on the verge of completing a deal that will see three film and television studios, worth an estimated USD80 million, built in the southeast of the state. One of the facilities would be a multi-studio complex that would…
Zentropa to open Norway office
Zentropa, the Danish production company founded by director Lars Von Trier, is due to open its first Norwegian office under the name Zentropa Norge. The new office will further increase Zentropa's already substantial European presence. Their existing offices in Germany,…
UK production spend down by 35%
Although the UK box office is seeing record sales, GBP949.5 million was spent in 2008 which equates to a 5% increase on 2007, its production is certainly not. In 2008, 111 pictures were produced in the UK, down from 126…
New Mexico reassured by report
The long-awaited study by Ernst & Young on the economic return by the state’s film and media incentives found that for every USD1 extended in state tax credits, state and local governments received USD1.50. The results will be a great…
Is the UK film tax credit system failing?
A report produced by Oxford Economics indicates that the UK's film tax credit system is having a negative effect on co-productions and actvities overseas. The report shows a loss of about USD105 million in co-production activity and suggests that the…
Commercials hold steady in Chicago
While fears of an impending SAG strike in the USA and the global credit crunch may be slowing the number of big budget fillms going into production, there are signs that the commercial industry is having a slightly better time.…
Director achieves DGA first
David Fincher has become the first director to be nominated for a Director's Guild of America award in both the film and commercial categories. Fincher has been nominated for his film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as well as…
Abu Dhabi creates Middle East film division
Imagenation, a subsidiary of the recently launched Abu Dhabi Media Company, has created a division which will focus on developing film and digital content. Five to seven projects will be funded, and the aim is to introduce local creative talent…