William Hjortsberg, screenwriter of the 1985 Tom Cruise fantasy film Legend and 1987 Mickey Rourke devilish noir Angel Heart, died last month of pancreatic cancer at age 76. The death was reported by The Livingston Enterprise, newspaper of Hjortsberg’s hometown Livingston, Montana.

Hjortsberg, born in New York, was a n…

EXCLUSIVE: A decade after StudioCanal acquired Optimum Releasing to establish a base in the UK, the company is consolidating its position as the country’s leading indie. Buoyed by the full support of deep-pocketed corporate parent Vivendi, StudioCanal UK is becoming a content powerhouse across film an TV.

Its slate inc…

UPDATED, 12:13 PM: Universal said today that the Movie Formerly Known as A Meyers Christmas has been retitled Almost Christmas. True to the new moniker, the family holiday comedy produced by Will Packer is keeping its November 11 release date. The ensemble pic from director David E. Talbert tells the story of a…

Studiocanal has expanded the role of its UK chief, Danny Perkins, and tapped Matthew Gledhill to join the Euro film player as SVP of international production. The moves come as the company looks to grow its already busy English-language slate under new head Didier Lupfer. Gledhill joins from One World Films, where he…

The BFI published figures Thursday showing strong performances for UK indies in what overall was a record year for the British box office. Local independent films had 11% market share, the third highest since records began. They <img class="alignright size-dl-article-body wp-image-1201404748" src="https://s0.wp.com/wp-…

Todd Haynes' Carol conquered the specialty box office this weekend, boasting the third-biggest opening of 2015 in terms of theater average. The Weinstein Company release grossed more than $248K in four New York and L.A. theaters. The title clearly dominated the weekend's new releases. Universal opened director Brian…

While Paris continues to reel from the horrific terror attacks of Friday night, film premieres continue to be cancelled and TV episodes pulled out of respect for sensitive issues.

Studiocanal’s Legend, which sees Tom Hardy in a lauded dual performance as the Kray twins Ronnie and Reggie, is no longer going forward…

After scoring cheers at its Toronto International Film Festival premiere, Universal’s Legend starring Tom Hardy as British gangster twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray is moving off its October 2 release date to Friday, November 20 where it will open in New York and Los Angeles. This is not a slap in the face to the film, in…

Playing twins on the big screen can get hokey and turn comical, especially if you don’t have the right actor. So when looking for the guy who would play twin gangster brothers Ronnie and Reggie Kray,  Legend director/writer Brian Helgeland went for the jugular and sought Tom Hardy. Helgeland caught the actor’s turn in…

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Working Title was working overtime this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival. They along with their Universal Studios/Focus Features partners in  love and crime held back to back premieres here of The Danish Girl (with Focus), followed by Legend (with Universal). I went to The Danish Girl party which…

The nascent 2015 Oscar race has only been taking baby steps since Cannes, but it started to learn to walk with this morning’s massive Toronto Film Festival announcement of 15 Galas and 34 Special Presentations. And this is just the first wave of those TIFF press releases that will detail, if the past is any…