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While Universal was working on the second sequel of Jaws (1975), the franchise famously created by Steven Spielberg then passed on to Jeannot Szwarc in 1978, poliziesco specialist Enzo G. Castellari shot L’ultimo squalo between the U.S. and Malta, creating quite a few headaches within white-collar Hollywood. The film did overwhelmingly and surprisingly well, grossing $18 million in the first month of programming, a fact that greatly annoyed Universal, which filed a lawsuit for plagiarism. To be precise, this was the studio’s second attempt at blocking the film. Universal attempted to stop distribution by Film Ventures before its U.S. premiere on March 5th, 1982, but the request was denied in the U.S. district courts. If, on the one hand, the filiation of Castellari's film from the original one is quite evident (with similar characters and narrative solutions), on the other it is also clear that Universal activated its legal team...

The EnergaCamerimage fest’s main lineup, its competition for best cinematographer, covers a vast range of styles, and honors several fresh visual stylists along with many legends in the field.

As festival director Marek Zydowicz puts it, this year’s selection “was particularly tough because of the variety of visual means used to enhance the stories being told. I am still amazed of the number of possibilities modern equipment give to cinematographers to complete their vision without going to any compromise.”

With entries shot in monochrome and others “sparkling with color,” he says, “we have films presenting different points of view, cultures, ways of living.”

Those screening represent films gleaned from “quite a long, long list of films” by veteran cinematographers, “and the lesser known but truly beautiful artists of light and camera who astonished me with their visions.”

In addition, the fest’s traditional audience, consisting of a high...

The Poland-set event runs from November 10-17.

Poland’s Camerimage film festival has announced the main competition lineup for the 26th edition (November 10-17).

Among the titles are Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, which won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival last month and is Mexico’s entry for the best foreign language film award at the Oscars.

Selected other titles appearing after a Venice bow include Paul Greengrass’ 22 July, about the 2011 Utøya massacre in Norway; Julian Schnabel’s Vincent van Gogh story At Eternity’s Gate starring Willem Dafoe; the Coen brothers’ anthology western The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs...

What’s the greatest killer shark movie of all time? Jaws (1975) of course, and no one has ever disputed it. Try ranking number 2 through 114 however, and everyone has a different answer. Most folks will quickly marry Jaws 2 (’78) to its predecessor and follow up with the usual suspects: Deep Blue Sea (1999), The Shallows (2016), etcetera and so on. Just make sure you put Jaws: The Revenge (’87) last, okay? Or don’t; as we all know, at the very least it bought Michael Caine a nice house and had Mario Van Peebles trot out a gratuitous Jamaican accent as a Bahamian diver. Speaking of gratuitous (in regards to accents and all other matters), let’s take a look at Great White (1981), my favorite Jaws movie that I can’t call Jaws for fear Universal will sue or shut me down.

Released in its native Italy in April, with a world wide rollout...

Check out photos for Disney's The Lodge TV series, coming to Disney Channel, in September and October. In the Us, the first season of The Lodge premieres Monday, October 17, 2016 at 5:00pm Edt. In UK and Canada The Lodge debuts Friday, September 23, 2016. Check local listings.A music-filled mystery drama series, filmed in Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland, The Lodge stars: Sophie Simnett, Jade Alleyne, Thomas Doherty, Luke Newton, Jayden Revri, Joshua Sinclair-Evans, Bethan Wright, Clara Rugaard, Sarah Nauta, and Tom Hudson.The supporting cast includes Martin Anzor, Emma Campbell-Jones, Marcus Garvey, Dominic Harrison, John Hopkins, Cameron King, Geoff McGivern, Dan Richardson, Laila Rouass and Ellie Taylor.Read More…...

Los Angeles and Paris-based Keller Edde Studios has hired Joshua Sinclair to write, direct and produce upcoming Holocaust biopic, A Rose In Winter.

The film recounts the life of Edith Stein, who was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz in 1942 after years of standing up for women’s rights.

Keller Edde Studios’ principals George Edde and Max Keller and Micheline Keller will produce.

Three-time Academy Award-winning cinematography Vittorio Storaro and Oscar-winning composer Enrico Morricone are attached.

Keller Edde Studios is an investor in upcoming Cannes screening Hands Of Stone.

The 4th Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, which runs April 23-30, will kick off with a screening of Joshua Sinclair’s Jump, starring Ben Silverstone (of the coming-of-age gay drama Get Real) and Patrick Swayze. Jump will screen on Thursday, April 23, at 8:00 pm at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. Based on a real story, the film (co-written by Sinclair and Ryan James) follows the biased murder trial of the young Jew and future celebrity portrait photographer Philippe Halsman (Silverstone), who was accused of murdering his father in late 1920s Austria. Swayze plays the young man’s Jewish attorney. Also in the Jump cast: Martine McCutcheon, and veterans Stefanie Powers, Richard Johnson, and Sybil Danning. Among the La Jewish film festival’s other scheduled entries are: Eran Riklis‘ David di Donatello nominee The Lemon Tree (above), the story of a Palestinian woman’s fight to preserve her lemon...