Author: CWB News Department

As of Dec. 20, there were 40,917 screens in mainland China, according to a report that cited the film bureau of China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. China is now home to more movie screens than any other country in the world, Chinese state media reported Tuesday. As of Dec. 20, there were 40,917 screens in the Chinese mainland, according to the Global Times [2], which cited the film bureau of China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). The Chinese daily counted 40,759 screens in the U.S., referencing a May report from the National…

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the first 11 films that will run in its Panorama section. The fest says two prominent themes have already emerged among the films selected to date: “a fresh historically reflective approach to the history of black people in North America, South America and Africa” and “Europa Europa,” which explores “how progressive forces might best defend themselves in light of a zeitgeist that makes it seem as if yesterday never went away.” Among the titles selected are Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro; Vazante, the solo directing debut of Walter Salles collaborator Daniela Thomas; and the James Schamus-produced, Casting…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced a shortlist of nine pictures competing for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Oscars, Asghar Farhadi’e Salesman is among the 9:Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directorsCanada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, directorDenmark, “Land of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, directorGermany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, directorIran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, directorNorway, “The King’s Choice,” Erik Poppe, directorRussia, “Paradise,” Andrei Konchalovsky, directorSweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, directorSwitzerland, “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras, directo

Nominations for the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards were annouced today, Monday December 12th. Asghar Farhadi’s Salesman, were among nominees for the best Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language: Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language:“Divines” – France“Elle” – France“Neruda” – Chile“The Salesman” – Iran/France“Toni Erdmann” – Germany Other nominees: Best Motion Picture – Drama:“Hacksaw Ridge”“Hell Or High Water”“Lion”“Manchester By The Sea”“Moonlight”Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:“20th Century Women”“Deadpool”“La La Land”“Florence Foster Jenkins”“Sing Street”Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama:Casey Affleck – “Manchester By The Sea”Joel Edgerton – “Loving”Andrew Garfield – “Hacksaw Ridge”Viggo Mortensen – “Captain…

LOS ANGELES (December 8, 2016) – The Producers Guild of America (PGA), announced today the 2017 Stanley Kramer Award will honor the feature film LOVING produced by Ged Doherty, p.g.a. & Colin Firth, p.g.a.; Sarah Green, p.g.a.; Nancy Buirski, p.g.a.; and Marc Turtletaub, p.g.a. & Peter Saraf, p.g.a. The Focus Features release is written and directed by Jeff Nichols, and stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga. The Stanley Kramer Award will be presented to LOVING at the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles. The Stanley Kramer Award was established in 2002 to…

Afterimage marks the final film by late Polish film director Andrzej Wajda who died in early October at the age of90 from pulmonary failure. Four of his movies were nominated for best foreign language Oscars: 1975’s The Promised Land, 1979’s The Maids of Wilko, 1981’s Man of Iron (1981) 2007’s and Katyń (2007), and once again Poland is appropriately submitting the filmmaker’s latest Afterimage as its Oscar contender this year. Sixteen years ago, Wajda received an honorary Oscar for his canon. Wajda was part of the Polish Film School, a filmmaker collective, inspired by the Italian Neorealists like Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini, that spanned the mid…

A senior executive at Alibaba Pictures has been detained by Chinese police under alleged corruption charges. According to local Chinese media reports, Kong Qi, a VP of Alibaba Pictures and general manager of Tao Piaopiao, the company’s online ticketing service, was detained by police in July under the suspicion of taking bribes of $1.45M (RMB 10M). Alibaba Pictures told Deadline that the alleged offences occurred prior to Kong joining the company. “Alibaba Pictures would like to clarify that, the incidents being mentioned by the media did not take place during Kong Qi’s tenure at Alibaba Pictures and are not in any way related…

Fox Networks Group Europe and Africa has greenlit its first regional scripted commission The Nine (working title), from Rogue creator Matthew Parkhill and American Odyssey producer Simon Maxwell. The new 8×60 drama, described as an intense, character-driven espionage thriller, will air on Fox in more than 50 European and African countries. This first scripted project has been commissioned by Jeff Ford, SVP Content and Development and Sara Johnson, VP Scripted Drama for FNG, Europe & Africa and will go into pre-production in the new year. Set in the UK, U.S., Iran, Lebanon and France, the story centers on Max Easton, an ex-spy who is brought back into the game…

Sling TV will be rolling out a cloud base DVR beta program.Available starting in December, the cloud DVR beta program will roll out first on Roku streaming players and Roku TVs. Customers who subscribe to Sling Orange and/or Sling Blue using Roku devices may request an invitation for the beta program by visiting www.sling.com/dvr. At launch, customers selected for the beta program will receive 100 hours of cloud DVR storage at no charge.What will the cloud DVR beta program include?Here are some of the benefits you’ll see from our cloud DVR:• Entertainment on your time – Record movies, episodes, full…

Sling TV has added NBA TV, the National Basketball Association’s 24-hour digital television network, to Sports Extras. · More than 95 professional basketball games – NBA TV brings live professional basketball games to Sling TV subscribers at home and on the go with Sports Extra, still $5 per month for Sling Orange subscribers and $10 per month for Sling Blue subscribers.· Signature studio shows, original programming and special events coverage – In addition to live games, NBA TV brings original programming like “Game Time,” breaking news, and events like NBA Global Games, NBA Draft, NBA Summer League and more.· Access to…