The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
| S. Africa film industry boom draws Charlize Theron home Posted: 23 Nov 2012 04:22 PM PST CAPE TOWN: South Africa's fast-growing film industry has hit a milestone with its largest commercial production to date, starring homegrown Hollywood actress Charlize Theron, the trade minister said Friday. South African-born, Oscar-winning actress Theron is currently shooting a fourth "Mad Max" film, "Fury Road", in Cape Town - which has also hosted the likes of fellow Academy Award winners Hilary Swank and Denzel Washington. "This film is significant because it is the largest commercial film that has been produced in South Africa," said Minister Rob Davies at the Cape Town Film Studios, which opened two years ago. "It's a major Hollywood production. Its presence here is going to be creating 800 jobs in South Africa for the duration of that particular film. So I think this marks a milestone in an evolving programme of support for the film industry." South Africa's film industry has more than trebled its contribution to the economy to eight billion rand between 2008 and 2012, up from 2.4 billion rand over the previous four years. The country offers incentives to draw films and hosted 49 productions between 2004 and 2008, of which 52 percent were foreign. Since 2008, it has approved 271 productions. The incentives include rebates on local spending, such as 20 percent for investments by foreign films - which Davies said had made the country a competitive destination. He said more than 30,000 jobs had been created. "South Africa is now very, very well-positioned, and that is beginning to have an impact in terms of the films that are produced here and the jobs that those films create in South Africa. So this is a significant growth sector," said Davies. - AFP |
| Hit Paraguay movie to miss out on Oscars Posted: 23 Nov 2012 04:21 PM PST ASUNCION: Paraguay's most successful movie of all time will miss out on a chance to win an Oscar because the country doesn't have a selection committee recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Tana Schembori, the director of "7 Boxes" - seen by more people in this South American country than Hollywood blockbuster "Titanic" - told AFP that culture officials had called for the creation of such a panel and asked the academy to make an exception in the meantime. But, according to a spokesman for the production, this did not happen. "Unfortunately, this exception was not granted," Macarena Galindo told AFP. The film, which premiered in the capital Asuncion in August, has drawn 250,000 filmgoers, according to the firm Ultracine, which compiles data on film attendance in Latin America. By contrast, "Titanic" attracted 150,000. "It was really a phenomenon... all cinemas were full," said entertainment journalist Maripili Alonso. Set in the country's busiest market in the capital Asuncion, a metropolis of some 2.5 million people, the movie combines action, suspense and humor. The storyline centers around a teenager named Victor who is offered 100 dollars to transport a mysterious parcel from one section of the market to another. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, countries can submit their best motion picture after its selection is made "by one organization, jury or committee that should include artists and/or craftspeople from the field of motion pictures." "A list of the selection committee members must be submitted to the Academy no later than August 1, 2012, except newly formed committees wishing to enter the competition for the first time, which must submit their paperwork to the Academy by April 1, 2012," it says on its website. There is still hope however for snagging other high-profile prizes. The film, which had a budget of $650,000 and has a style similar to that of award-winning hit film "Slumdog Millionaire," will try to compete for a Golden Globe, said Schembori. It may also vie for Spain's Goya Awards in the "Best Latin American Film" category. - AFP |
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