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After taking a break following her run in TV's Ally McBeal, Calista Flockhart is back to work with her first major film role since the end of the series, signing on to star in the independent feature Fragile. Shooting starts in Barcelona at the end of the month with Jaume Balaguero directing from a script he wrote with Jordi Galceran. The Filmax project will see Flockhart topline as a nurse who takes a new job at a desolate children's hospital during its closing days. She struggles to keep the kids safe and uncover the mystery behind apparent attacks of an unknown origin that hurt the kids so that they cannot leave the premises. Richard Roxburgh, Yasmin Murphy and Gemma Jones are also on board to star. Joan Ginard is executive producing with Julio Fernandez, Carlos Fernandez and Antonia Nava handling producing chores. Flockhart and Balaguero are repped by ICM. The actress next appears in a small role opposite Matthew Broderick in the Walt Disney release The Last Shot. She is additionally repped by attorney Barry Tyerman.

After taking a break following her run in TV's Ally McBeal, Calista Flockhart is back to work with her first major film role since the end of the series, signing on to star in the independent feature Fragile. Shooting starts in Barcelona at the end of the month with Jaume Balaguero directing from a script he wrote with Jordi Galceran. The Filmax project will see Flockhart topline as a nurse who takes a new job at a desolate children's hospital during its closing days. She struggles to keep the kids safe and uncover the mystery behind apparent attacks of an unknown origin that hurt the kids so that they cannot leave the premises. Richard Roxburgh, Yasmin Murphy and Gemma Jones are also on board to star. Joan Ginard is executive producing with Julio Fernandez, Carlos Fernandez and Antonia Nava handling producing chores. Flockhart and Balaguero are repped by ICM. The actress next appears in a small role opposite Matthew Broderick in the Walt Disney release The Last Shot. She is additionally repped by attorney Barry Tyerman.

MADRID -- After its strong performance at Sundance and Berlin, Brad Anderson's Spanish production The Machinist has found U.S. distribution via Paramount Classics, the company announced Thursday. Paramount, which bought North American rights for the film as well as rights for the United Kingdom, South Africa, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, plans a late 2004 release. Produced by Julio Fernandez's Filmax International, the film stars Christian Bale and is the latest installment of the thriller, horror, sci fi production label Fantastic Factory. "We are extremely proud to be working with Brad, a director of incredible vision," said Paramount Classics co-presidents Ruth Vitale and David Dinerstein in a statement. "His film is powerfully unique and evocative. Bale's work is equally impressive. We believe this will be a performance to be reckoned with come awards season." Upcoming productions from Filmax International to be presented at this year's AFM include the ghost story, Fragile, the new film by Jaume Balaguero; Bloodline, a horror film directed by Nacho Cerda; and the ambitious new animation feature film Donkey.Xote, in which the donkey Rucio tells the "true" story of Don Quixote.

MADRID -- El Cid was a legendary Spanish hero who conquered lands for the Spanish king during the crusades against the Moors. It is thus fitting that "El Cid, the Legend" be the first feature released by Filmax Animation, the fledgling cartoon arm of Spanish industry conquistador Julio Fernandez. Fernandez, Filmax's founder and president, has spearheaded skirmishes into new territories in recent years, first with his genre production label Fantastic Factory and now with his animation venture. When Filmax releases "El Cid" here on Friday, it will not only be the culmination of a three-year development and production process but also the beginning of a new era in Filmax's business. "Filmax Animation complements the Filmax studio by further completing the overall content offer with international sale potential we provide," Fernandez says. "The Filmax umbrella now covers everything from fantasy to music to TV to animation to feature film. It's completely integrated."...

MADRID -- Spanish mini-studio Filmax said Thursday it will expand its activities to the music industry, launching the record label Filmax Music. Filmax president Julio Fernandez told reporters he plans to start producing music and use his animation studio, Bren Entertainment, to create video games and content for mobile phones. Fernandez has previously announced his intention to launch Filmax Family, to specialize in family-oriented material, and Filmax TV, to bolster its television production capabilities.

MADRID -- Jaume Balagero's Darkness opened the Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia on Thursday night, marking not only the world premiere of the much-anticipated Spanish film but also helping to raise the status of the event on Spain's northeastern Mediterranean coast. Balaguero and his producers, Julio Fernandez and Brian Yuzna of Filmax's Fantastic Factory, inaugurated the festival with the gala opening, which took place in the auditorium of the Hotel Melia in the beach town. Also present were festival director Angel Sala and Vin Diesel, on hand to present Rob Cohen's XXX, which is screening in the non-genre specific Gran Angular section.