News

China Film Co’s patriotic omnibus My Country, My Parents came in second with $90.6m over four days.

Bona Film Group’s The Battle At Lake Changjin topped the China box office over the National Day holiday weekend, according to figures from theatrical consultancy Artisan Gateway, grossing $234.8m in four days.

The patriotic blockbuster, co-directed by Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam, opened on September 30 and grossed $31.6m on its first day, followed by an additional $203.2m over the three-day weekend (October 1-3). China’s National Day holidays, celebrating the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in...

Aidan Gillen, star of “The Wire” and Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish in “Game of Thrones,” is attached to play one of the leads in “The O’Neill,” a Gaelic Ireland epic turning on its greatest hero, Hugh O’Neill.

Stephen Saint Leger, director of “Vikings,” “Vikings: Valhalla” and the climactic “The Battle” episode of “Barbarians,” is also on board, set to helm the series’ pilot and a number of episodes.

Set up at Dublin’s Revolution Media, headed by Jack Armstrong who originated the series concept, and at top Irish producer Subotica, “The O’Neill” will be showrun by Tim Loane, a showrunner on Canal Plus’ “Versailles” Season 3 and lead writer on Sky/Hulu’s “Das Boot” and currently “Marcella.”

Armstrong will present the series on Tuesday at Conecta Fiction’s Pitch Copro Series, the meet’s industry centerpiece, where it weighs in as the biggest and most ambitious of titles...

There’s a punctuation party raging throughout Hollywood, which is in desperate need of a colon cleanse. This year alone, Hollywood will release 20 films with colons in their titles, which appears to be a record. The colon proliferation is indicative of the industry’s reliance on sequels and reboots that need to distinguish themselves from their predecessors with a pair of dots and a subtitle. And we’re not even counting all the foreign films and documentaries released in less than 100 theaters, projects like “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks,” “Cinco de Mayo: La Batalla” and “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.

The Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences (Amacc) confirmed that Amat Escalante's Heli is Mexico's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards. Heli was chosen over such films as Eugenio Derbez's Instructions Not Included, Claudia Sainte-Luce's The Amazing Catfish (winner at Tiff 2013), Rafa Lara's Cinco de Mayo: La Batalla, Hari Sama's The Dream of Lu, and Paula Markovitch's The Prize. Mexico has never won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, achieving only eight nominations in the history of the award: Macario (1960), The Important Man (1962), Tlayucan (1962), Letters from Marusia (1976), Amores Perros (aka Love's a Bitch, 2000), The Crime of Father Amaro (2002), Pan's Labyrinth (2006) and Biutiful (2010). The 86th Academy Awards will announce its nominations on January...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Get ready to relive Cinco de Mayo.

Mexican director Rafael Lara’s new film “Cinco de Mayo: The Battle” hits 500 theaters across Mexico and the United States on May 3. The film tells the story of the 1862 battle that gave the holiday it's name, in which Mexican soldiers defeated French invaders.

To judge from the trailer, it’s an epic historical recreation. The film has already played in festivals in Miami and San Diego and will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Terra reports.

“You’ll know what we Mexicans are made of,” the Spanish version of the film poster reads.

Cinco de Mayo, celebrated mainly in the city of Puebla, is not a federal holiday in Mexico but has a wide following in the United States.

The filmmakers are clearly hoping that will translate to commercial success on both sides of the border.

Lara calls the movie “a film...

Watch new spots from Rafa Lara's Cinco de Mayo: The Battle. The film stars Pablo Abitia, Angélica Aragón, Kuno Becker, Liz Gallardo, Ginés García Millán and Noé Hernández, finding theaters via Pantelion Films on May 3rd. On May 5th, 1862, a few thousand Mexican soldiers put their lives on the line against the world’s largest and most powerful army in one legendary battle for freedom and for Mexico. Cinco de Mayo, La Batalla chronicles the story of Mexico’s Battle of Puebla, the most important battle in Mexico’s history. When the unbeatable French army invades Mexico to set up a monarchy, General Ignacio Zaragoza played by Kuno Becker (Goal!, From Prada to Nada), must defend the city of Puebla, commanding a poorly armed and outnumbered troop of men. Meanwhile, two young Mexican lovers manage to find love amidst the chaos of war. Cinco de Mayo, La Batalla chronicles...

We have photos and the poster for Pantelion Films' Cinco de Mayo: The Battle, starring Pablo Abitia, Angélica Aragón, Kuno Becker, Liz Gallardo, Ginés García Millán and Noé Hernández. The war drama opens May 3rd under the direction of writer Rafa Lara, who also produces with Paco Gallástegui. On May 5th, 1862, a few thousand Mexican soldiers put their lives on the line against the world’s largest and most powerful army in one legendary battle for freedom and for Mexico. Cinco de Mayo, La Batalla chronicles the story of Mexico’s Battle of Puebla, the most important battle in Mexico’s history. When the unbeatable French army invades Mexico to set up a monarchy, General Ignacio Zaragoza played by Kuno Becker (Goal!, From Prada to Nada), must defend the city of Puebla, commanding a poorly armed and outnumbered troop of men. Meanwhile, two young Mexican lovers manage to find love amidst the chaos of war.