Hellboy in Hungary

Helllboy 2: The Golden Army will be the first film shot at Korda Studios near Budapest, Hungary.

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Pan's Labyrinth, said he selected Korda over Prague's Barrandov Studios. Del Toro shot Hellboy and the vampire movie Blade II at Barrandov.

Luke Goss has been cast as the main villain opposite Ron Perlman. Goss worked with del Toro in Blade II.

The second installment of the comic-inspired film will have some parallels to Pan’s Labrynth, according to Cinematical.

So what’s the appeal of Korda Studios? The Etyek, Hungary-based complex includes six studios of different size (2,205 sqm, 961 sqm, 1,769 sqm and 1,946 sqm) and equipment levels. It features a 5,546-sqm (59,696 sq.ft.) giant water stage, with Europe's largest indoor watertank for filming - 3,850 sqm (41,441 sq.ft.) with depth of 1.5 metres.

Adjacent to the sound stages will be 8,500 sqm (91,500 sq.ft.) of production support buildings, featuring production offices, make-up and hair facilities, dressing rooms, post-production facilities, screening rooms and various multifunctional areas. The studio's total area is 19,811 sqm (428,522 sq.ft.).

This Just In: DVD Release

Zoo (2005), Japan
Five different directors adapt the works of Japanese author Otsuichi in this collection of unconventional live-action and animated shorts. A woman is murdered under odd circumstances in the title film, "Zoo"; twin sisters are treated differently in "Kazari and Yoko"; two siblings find themselves trapped in "Seven Rooms"; a survivor learns about life and death in "When the Sun Shines"; and parents lose the ability to see each other in "So Far."

Italy's Silver Ribbons

Nominations are out for Italy’s , awarded by the national film journalists union SNGCI. The Silver Ribbons are the country’s oldest film award.
Directors recognized, include:
Marco Bellochio, Il Regista di Matrimoni
Saverio Costanzo, In Memoria di Me (In Memory of Me)
Emanuele Crialese, Nuovomondo
Nanni Moretti, Il Caimano
Giuseppe Tornatore, La Sconosciuta.
Il Caimano (The Cayman) and La Sconosciuta (The Unknown) both received nine nominations.
Thirty-nine films received nominations and awards will be presented in June.

Indonesian marketability

Kamal and Sugiono

An Asian film group has set out to create films that appeal to multiple countries in the Asian market.
Tipu Kanan ... Tipu Kiri, the second film fitting this formula, stars Indonesian actors Christian Sugiono, Titi Kamal, Catherine Wilson and Irene Kleefstra.
The film is targeting Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and India for release this June.
Here’s a synopsis from New Straits Times online: "This latest effort is a musical/romantic comedy about a married Indonesian pop star, Wulan, who accepts a recording contract in Kuala Lumpur with a “no marriage” clause.
"The problem is, she is already married to dashing Rudy (Sugiono). To hide their married status, Rudy hires Sara (Natasha Hudson) to pose as his girlfriend. Lies beget more lies until all of them, especially Wulan and Rudy, get into a fine mess."

Texas Film Taxes

The Texas House has tentatively approved a bill authorizing tax incentives for film and TV producers if they shoot in Texas.
The bill, authored by Rep. Dawna Dukes, D-Austin, would provide $20 million to the Texas Film Commission over the next couple years to attract productions to the Lone Star State.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, my hometown paper, “To qualify for a grant, a film or TV show would have to generate at least $10 million in in-state spending. A commercial or video game would have to generate at least $500,000. In addition, at least 70 percent of the production crew, actors and extras must be Texas residents. A video game is not eligible if it is considered excessively violent or sexually explicit. Adult films are also not eligible.”
Twenty-six states have tax incentive programs, with Louisiana and New Mexico boasting the most aggressive programs.
The whole push for incentives came about when producers of Dallas the movie, decided not to film in North Texas. Sad to think John Travolta (J.R.) and Jennifer Lopez (Sue Ellen) will have to go elsewhere to film Dallas.
Currently TV shows Friday Night Lights and Prison Break shoot some scenes in Texas. Walker Texas Ranger was the last show to regularly film in Fort Worth.
According to the ST, Texas gained about $200 million in revenue from film and TV productions in 2006.. That could rise to $500 million if the incentives bill becomes law.

Werewolf of Germany

A fun and kitchy part Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse double feature are the fake trailers for fictional movies.
Sandwiched between Tarantino’s Death Proof and Rodriguez’s Planet Terror is a fake trailer for Werewolf Women of the S.S. featuring German actor Udo Kier, directed by Rob Zombie.

Kier is a prolific actor and has eight films in production or waiting for distribution. American audience know him from Blade, Johnny Mnemonic, Barb Wire, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

Silky Smooth

Nakatani in a scene from Memories of Matsuko.

Recent film season award success has lead to additional films for Japanese actress Miki Nakatani.
Nakatani who won the best actress trophy at the recent Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong for Memories of Matsuko has finished filming Silk.
Silk is the film adaptation of Italian author Alessandro Baricco's novel of the same name, according to the folks at Wikipedia. Nakatani will play Madame Blanche in the film, which will be released in 2007 through New Line Cinema, and is directed by the Red Violin director, Francois Girard.
The American actor Michael Pitt will star in the lead role of the French silkworm smuggler Hervé Joncour and the British actress Keira Knightley will appear as the Hélène, wife of Hervé. Japanese actor Koji Yakusho has also been cast. Exterior Japanese scenes were filmed in the city of Sakata. Knightley's scenes were filmed in Sermoneta, Italy, a small medieval village near Latina.