reported by Sarah Cooley, CyberScreenwriter.com

Frontal Lobe Films announces has launched its website, FrontallobeFilms.com, which will be a place for both filmmakers and film-lovers to congregate.

Included on the website is an industry-related blog, which allows and encourages comments from independent film-lovers and filmmakers. Also included on the site are interviews with industry insiders, called the Film 411. It is so named because the interview includes 4 videoed questions and 11 additional written questions with answers -- the Film 411. Website visitors will also be asked to submit questions that will be considered for upcoming interviews, making the Film 411 a unique interactive feature for people who love cinema.

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reported by David Hillsboro, CyberScreenwriter.com

Blip.tv, the video sharing site focused on independently produced shows, has introduced a new way for content creators to make money through online videos. The model, "do-it-yourself targeted advertising," allows shows to promote products, services and causes that are directly relevant to their content. The do-it- yourself (DIY) ads can be used by shows to sell t-shirts, DVDs or other promotional products in addition to promotion for pledge drives, charities or content partners.

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reported by Tanner Shorer, CyberScreenwriter.com

John Culton, Chairman of the Hollywood based entertainment portal, FilmStew.com, has purchased the screen rights to Erich Maria Remarque's novel "Spark of Life." Remarque, author of "All Quiet on the Western Front" and one of the premiere novelists of the twentieth century, wrote thirteen novels, twelve of which were made into motion pictures ("All Quiet on the Western Front" was produced for the screen three times including the classic 1930 version, and again for television in 1979). "Spark of Life", his eighth novel published in 1952, is the compelling story of starving slave laborers finding hope enough to live out the last days of World War II.

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reported by Dana Horton, CyberScreenwriter.com

At the recent NATPE Convention which was held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Del Weston of the Action On Film International Film Festival and Glen Hartford of the Cinamour Entertainment Company signed an initial deal which will give Cinamour Entertainment First Look rights to all films and filmmakers submitting work to the 2007 Action On Film Festival.

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Barbara A. Schloman, Cyberscreenwriter.com

Concerned about the number of aspiring African American filmmakers struggling with lack of access to capital and training, 99 Ways Entertainment, a new film company telling urban stories, is working to break down barriers for young directors and producers. The firm will host a star-studded screening of its latest feature, MVP, an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, at February's NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. The screening is a kick-off of its "Make it Happen Tour," which will bring panel discussions on filmmaking to five major cities across the U.S. in conjunction with VIBE Media Group. MVP, a film by award-winning director-writer Harry Davis, was produced by a team including basketball greats Charles Oakley and Kevin Edwards who, in building their own second careers as producers, aim to build 99 Ways into the "Def Jam" of independent film companies.

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reported by Sam Burke, CyberScreenwriter.com

Writer/Director/Producer Jeff Nimoy has signed with Artist International for representation in all areas.

Jeff Nimoy wrote, directed, and served as story editor for the top rated Fox Kids show "Digimon: Digital Monsters." In addition he wrote and directed the 20th Century Fox theatrically released animated feature "Digimon: The Movie," and "Digimon: Revenge of Diaboromon" for the Disney Channel and Jetix.

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reported by L. Davenport, CyberScreenwriter.com

Danny Fisher, CEO of New York-based City Lights Pictures, has acquired North American distribution rights to the dramatic thriller "Brooklyn Rules."

"Brooklyn Rules," set in 1985 with the mob world as a backdrop, is a powerful story about three lifelong friends whose different ambitions threaten to shake their enduring bond as they struggle with questions of love, loss and loyalty.

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reported by George Hamilton, CyberScreenwriter.com

DVD growth is slowing, but hi-definition discs and Internet distribution are set to drive new increases in worldwide film entertainment revenue over the next several years. Worldwide U.S. major studio feature film revenue will climb at a compound annual growth rate of 4.3%, from $35 billion to nearly $42 billion between 2006 and 2010, according to Adams Media Research?s Film Entertainment Worldwide: The Impact of New Technologies.

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reported by Sarah Cooley, CyberScreenwriter.com

City Lights Pictures announced that THE TEN has been acquired for domestic distribution by THINKFilm, in partnership with City Lights' recently announced joint venture with WEA, a division of Warner Music Group. The acquisition price of the deal was $4.5 million, plus a substantial P&A commitment. THINKFilm plans to release the film in summer 2007.

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reported by Sarah Cooley, CyberScreenwriter.com

THINKFilm has acquired North American rights to IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, a documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker David Sington that brings together the surviving crew members from the Apollo missions to tell their stories by interweaving stunning archival footage with first-hand testimony. The deal was announced by the company's President and CEO, Jeff Sackman, who plans to release the film in theatrical engagements in 2007 in association with Discovery Films.

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