reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

Michel Shane of Handpicked Films announced the company has entered into a multi-year deal with New York-based hedge fund Ginepri Capital Partners. Handpicked Films, based in Los Angeles and run by film veterans Michel Shane and Anthony Romano, will act as Executive Producers and have oversight over the first GINEPRI MOTION PICTURE SLATE. The first array of 11 films values at approximately $110 million dollars with three more slates lined up to follow.

The range of film budgets is $5 million to $40 million. Michel Shane is working hand in hand with Ginepri Capital managing partner S.K. Dean in financial structuring and evaluating various distribution avenues for the pics. Ginepri and Handpicked will continue on an ongoing basis to develop slates of films for the term of the deal.

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reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is happy to announce the call for entries for the Texas High School Film Competition. This will be the fourth year for this very popular program, which is now a regularly featured component of the Film Festival, scheduled March 7-15, 2008 in Austin, TX.

The deadline for entering films for the 2008 SXSW Texas High School film competition is December 20, 2007. High School films can be submitted via a special Web site: http://2008.sxsw.com/film/submit/texas_students. The competition is open to all Texas high schools students enrolled in the 9th through 12th grades for the full 2007-2008 academic year. Only films completed in 2007 will be considered. All films that are chosen as finalists will be shown in a special program as part of the regular SXSW Film 2008 schedule. Final round judging will be done by independent filmmakers and industry professionals.

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reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenWriter.com

Synchronis.tv made history as the first company to stream a scripted drama live over the Internet. Using three Panasonic DVX 100's mixed in real time and streamed live to Ustream.tv via a Tri-Caster Studio, Synchronis.tv presented "35", 10, 10 minute episodes shot over 12 consecutive evenings.

Written by award winning writer Sharr White and directed by Adam Forgash, Synchronis.tv's first series "35" introduces us to Christian and Sarah, a couple, who on the cusp of their long awaited success, are visited by an unwelcome houseguest whose presence unearths their deeply-buried skeletons, paving the way for a razors-edge triangle of possession, deceit and retribution.

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reported by Melissa G., CyberScreenwriter.com

Red Bird Cinema will produce a feature film based on the life story of boxing legend, Sugar Ray Leonard, and has enlisted Pulitzer Prize winning author H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger to write the screenplay. Bissinger recently wrote the New York Bestseller, Three Nights In August, about baseball and 2006 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinal manager Tony La Russa. Actor/writer Kevin Pollak did the screenplay adaptation, which Red Bird Cinema is also producing.

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reported by Melissa G., CyberScreenwriter.com

Imperia Entertainment, Inc., in conjunction with its sale of an equity interest in Muller Media, Inc., has acquired Muller's film and television library, by assignment of all copyrights owned by Muller to Imperia, in exchange for a royalty agreement. The titles include the sci-fi cult classic, "A Boy and His Dog," starring Don Johnson, "A Man of Passion," starring Anthony Quinn, and "Under Milkwood," starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole.

Other titles include "The Being," "Final Terror," "Day of the Cobra," "Final Terror," "L.A. Bounty" and "Rush Week." The company will seek to exploit these titles in television, cable and DVD distribution, as well as remake rights. "It is often more attractive to a distributor when a production company has a library of films," said Gregory Webb, Vice President and Head of Production.

"Imperia is also seeking to acquire a distribution company with an established sales staff to exploit its films and those of other production companies," he added. The company recently announced that it did not intend to seek new capital through stock sales, that it did not intend to reverse split the stock, and that it has launched a new private placement up to $5 million, which provides investors a return of capital plus interest, and equity participation in its motion picture, "Never Submit."

reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

With the migration of Hollywood films to Arizona comes an influx of talent scams. Hopeful actors are often all too quick to buy into the promise of easy success. Matthew Dearing, (owner/head instructor of Dearing Acting Studio) provides tips on insider information on the Arizona acting schools and the film market. "As a teacher in various Arizona acting schools for over six years, I have seen many eager, talented individuals disillusioned by scam agencies." says Dearing. "They've come to believe that there is no career possible outside of the Los Angeles market." Are all Arizona acting schools a hoax? Absolutely not. There are credible Arizona acting schools that can give you the training you need.

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reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

Kiefer Sutherland, Stephen Colbert, and Kevin Bacon are just a few of the many celebrities joining thousands of producers to help create "The 1 Second Film," an online-based non-profit art project being called the "largest collaboration in filmmaking history." On September 20th, the non-profit collaboration began a 10,000 mile quest to ask Oprah Winfrey to join their list of producers, simply by donating $1.

One dollar is the minimum amount to be credited as a producer of the innovative micro-collaborative project, which is using the internet to allow anyone in the world to make a movie together. To date, the production has raised over $222,315.34 of a $1 million goal with the help of over 8,084 producers from 50 countries. But will Oprah join them? That is the question the filmmakers are preparing to drive 10,000 miles to find out.

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reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

Fresh from writing two episodes of the Doctor Who spin-off show The Sarah Jane Adventures, Philip Gladwin is offering free membership of a one-on-one email Mentor program for the first fifty people to buy his Screenwriting Goldmine package.

This multi book and CD course contains a powerful step by step method detailing how to write a screenplay. It takes screenwriters all the way from generating the initial concepts through to the end of their first draft, and is priced at $97. It can be found at http://www.screenwritinggoldmine.com

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reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

YouTube has launched Project Direct, its first international film promotion, sponsored by HP, that aims to discover the top filmmakers within its community. (http://www.youtube.com/projectdirect)

Now through Friday, Nov. 9, filmmakers from Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States can submit their best original works that showcase their personal style and creativity. Jason Reitman, director of "Thank You For Smoking" and upcoming Fox Searchlight release "Juno," along with a panel of experts, will narrow the field of entries down to 20 finalists. The YouTube community will then vote on the finalists from Friday, November 23 through Sunday, December 2. The winners will be unveiled on Wednesday, December 5.

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reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

First Look Studios has acquired THE AMATEURS, which is slated for theatrical release on November 30, 2007. THE AMATEURS, a comedy by first time director/writer Michael Traeger, 'exposes' how a small town is brought together by a common dream... to create their own adult film.

Gary Hirsch, executive vice president of Acquisitions, negotiated the deal on behalf of First Look Studios. Rob Cain negotiated the deal on behalf of producer Aaron Ryder for Raygun Productions.

reported by Brian Scott, CyberScreenwriter.com

First Look Studios has acquired DAY ZERO, which is set for theatrical release on January 18, 2008. DAY ZERO, a selection in this year's Tribeca Film Festival, explores the story of three lifelong friends (Chris Klein, Jon Bernthal and Elijah Wood), drafted into the military. This film is directed by Bryan Gunnar Cole, written by Robert Malkani and produced by Anthony Moody of Indalo Productions.

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The US motion picture production and distribution industry includes about 11,000 companies with combined annual revenue of $33 billion. Major companies include Disney, Sony Pictures, MGM, Paramount, FOX, Universal, and Warner Bros. The top motion picture studios are generally part of larger media companies. The industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for about 80 percent of industry revenue. Most companies are small and privately held. Most of the industry, including many independent firms, engages in both production and distribution; about 500 firms are solely distributors.

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reported by Jesse Desi, CyberScreenwriter.com

Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent, announced today the third-annual Filmmaker Forum will be held October 19-21 at the Directors Guild of America, giving attendees access to some of the most innovative names in indie filmmaking.

"Our Filmmaker Forum is not your conventional 'How to Make it in the Business’ seminar," said Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent. "It’s an honest, off-the-record discussion about a filmmaker's options. Our highly respected panel won't sugarcoat the potential pitfalls of filmmaking, and will empower the participants to make the best choices possible."

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