Ujbm Fantastic Four leads UK box office with $4.2m
Italian production outfit Juppiter is back in business. Here in Cannes, the production outfit behind several classic Italian movies including key works by Ettore Scola and Tornatore has relaunched with a three film slate.Roberto Bessi, CEO of Juppiter Generale Cinematografica, is aiming to take advantage of new fiscal incentives likely to be available in Italy from the autumn onwards to drive Juppiter forward.The biggest project that Juppiter is pushing is Born Equal, a film about Italian eighteenth century adventurer Philip Mazzei, a surgeon, merchant and diplomat who reputedly helped Thomas Jefferson draft the US con
stanley usa stitution. Depending on casting, the budget for the project could be as high as $50m. Joshua Sinclair Cry The Beloved Country has scripted the film, based on an idea by Francesco Fulcini, who will be executive producer. Immagina Agency is partnering with Juppiter on the film.Meanwhile, Juppiter is also pushing ahead with romantic comedy Cupid in Manhattan, a co-production with Bavaria Media Italy. Budgeted at around $2m, this is about the romantic misadventures of Italian students in the Big Apple. This will be directed by highly rated newcomer Edoardo de Angelis. Shooting begins in New York in October.The third project from the reborn Juppiter is Aphrodite s Secrets, a Chocolat-like romantic drama about a glamorous, middle-aged Ame
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stanley cup l. The project is being supported by Consorzio Olio Di Garda, the Spyt Half Nelson dominates New York s Gotham Awards
Oscar-winning producer held a masterclass in Z
stanley mug urich to talk about his career to date.
stanley us Greg Shapiro, Oscar-winning producer of The Hurt Locker, the Harold Kumar franchise, Rules of Attraction, The Conspirator and upcoming films including Nightingale and Zero Dark Thirty, was the subject of a Zurich industry master class yesterday.Shapiro started out in the industry as Nick Noltes assistant on the Lee Tamahori-directed thri
stanley uk ller Mulholland Falls: It was the best vantage point, I got to learn a lot, said the producer. Soon after that, I set up a production company and started calling myself a producer and it became what I did. There wasnt a real design to it. Shapiro discussed some of the intriguing production and release back-story to The Hurt Locker, which picked up six Oscars in 2010: In the beginning I didnt think it would be possible to make the film, he confessed. We sent it to Nicolas Chartier [Voltage Pictures] and he loved it, saying he could raise $12m for it. But that clashed with Bigelows desired $18m, so I went round the world looking for other backers. When none worked out, the project went back to Nicolas. While Jeremy Renner was at the time an unlikely choice for a film with The Hurt Lockers budget, the actor quickly convinced Bigelow and Shapiro that he was perfect for the part: I flew to London as a favour for a friend to meet Jeremy to discuss the part. In the course of an hour he so impressed me with his knowledge of the character that I immediately