Weekend Newsreel: November 18, 2005

Compiled by the FilmBuffOnLine Staff

 

     Film Memorabilia For Sale: Lots of important film memorabilia showing up at auctions recently and in the near future. . . A rare original poster for the 1927 German science-fiction classic Metropolis was sold this past week for a record $690,000 to a private collector in the United State, announced a London art gallery which arranged the sale. Designed by graphic artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, the poster is one of four copies known to exist- New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Berlin’s Film museum each own one while the remaining poster is owned by a private collector. . . Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat and cane used by his Little Tramp character hit the auction block on Wednesday at Bonham’s in London as part of a large auction of rock and roll and pop culture memorabilia and was expected to fetch upwards to 150,000 pounds. . . The Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965) will be going up for auction in Arizona on January 20, 2006. The car is one of four Aston Martins that were modified with an array of gadgets for use in the films and for promotional appearances. Two of the other cars are owned by private collectors while the fourth was stolen in 1997 from the Florida airport hanger where it was being stored by its owner, another private collector, and has never been recovered.

 

 

     Academy Makes Donation To ‘Orphan’ Films: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a donation of $250,000 to the National Film Preservation Foundation this past Monday. The money will go towards the preservation of so-called ‘orphan’ films- movies whose studios no longer exist and they have fallen into public domain. "Film preservation is an activity closest to the Academy's heart," said Academy President Sid Ganis in an Academy press release. "And we feel particularly fond — and proud — of the work the NFPF is doing to preserve the historically and culturally significant films that no one has an economic incentive to save. This effort represents the last line of defense against the complete disappearance of major moments in the history of our art form." This is the third such contribution that the Academy has made to Foundation in the 8 years of the Foundation’s existence.

 

 

     Academy Announces Best Animated and Documentary Oscar Contenders: The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences has announced the list of films eligible for nomination for the Best Animated Feature and Best Documentary Feature 2006 Academy Award. You can see the list of films in consideration for Best Animated Feature here  and for Best Documentary Feature here.

 

 

     Kung Fu Hustle Sweeps Golden Horse Awards: Comedian/actor/director Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle won five Golden Horse awards- the Chinese language film equivelant of an Academy Award- including Best Director and Best Picture. You can read FilmBuffOnLine’s full coverage here.

 

 

     Déjà View: An English-language remake of the hit Japanese film The Mission from director Johnnie To has been announced by Universal Studios who will be producing the film in conjunction with Vertigo Entertainment. Dario Scardapane, who penned the Mario Van Peeples 1993 western Posse, will be scripting with Peter Berg set to direct. The story centers on an aging mobsters bodyguards and how their loyalty to one another is tested when it appears that one of them has betrayed their trust. . . Walden Media and New Line have announced a modern adaptation of the classic Jules Verne novel Journey To The Center Of The Earth entitled Journey 3-D to be shot in the same 3-D cameras developed for James Cameron’s documentaries Ghosts Of The Abyss and Aliens Of The Deep. Eric Brevig will direct from a script by D. V. DeVincentis. The novel had been previously filmed by Hollywood in 1959 with James Mason.

 

In Remembrance-

 

Moustapha Akkad- The Syrian-born producer who backed the Halloween slasher franchise has passed away at age 75.

Sheree North- The platinum blond who was originally hired to be a replacement for Marilyn Monroe but went on to forge her own screen persona has passed away at age 72.

 

 

Opening This Week-

 

November 18

  • Blackmail Boy (NY)

  • Breakfast On Pluto (LA)

  • Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

  • Moonlight (limited)

  • Paradise Now (top 25 markets)

  • Private (NY)

  • Taj Mahal- An Eternal Love Story (limited)

  • Walk The Line

 

November 23

  • 39 Pounds Of Love (NY)

  • The Ice Harvest

  • Just Friends

  • Pride And Prejudice (wide)

  • Rent

  • Streets Of Legend (LA)

  • Syriana (limited)

  • Yours, Mine And Ours