14/10/2005

The second feature film by Scottish director Saul Metzstein is taking its chance today on UK screens with Metro Tartan Distribution spreading 34 prints across the country.
The black comedy about a soldier mistakenly posted to an Arctic military based won the Best film and Best actor awards (for Jason Biggs) at the last Taormina Film Festival and had also a big UK premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival. According to Jule Jhartung from Tartan Films, the marketing campaign for the film was completely promotional-led - unlike Bergman’s Saraband released by Tartan last week which was completely review-led- aimed at the mainstream audience and in particular students, with a strong internet campaign with games and jokes to send to people. A strong fly postering, bus-shelter campaign was also twined with press ads and special tie-ins with radio stations. The film is a co-production between Film and Music Entertainment and The Spice Factory in the UK, The Icelandic Film Corporation in Iceland and Wizz Film in Canada.
But the film will have another major competitor in Nicolas Cage vehicle Lord Of War, another anti-war/anti-gun film and UK critics favourite released by Momentum Pictures.

Today is also a ‘Grand day’s out’ for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were Rabbit [+see also:
trailer
film profile] released by UIP and for Tony Scott’s crime thriller Domino starring Keira Knightley, Jacqueline Bisset and Mickey Rourke. The French/US coproduction between Samuel Hadida’s Davis Films, New Line and Tony Scott’s company Scott Free Production is a biopic about the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey who left her privileged life to become a bounty hunter. Entertainment Film Distributors handles the UK release.

Other European films or co-productions released today include French/Moroccan award-winning film Le grand voyage released by Parasol Peccadillo on three screens, and Robert Heath’s low budget Uk film Out On a Limb released with five prints by Guerilla Films.

Meanwhile, last Friday’s big openers Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist [+see also:
trailer
film profile] was the third biggest grosser at the UK box office, scoring over £692,494 (€ 1m) for Pathé from 350 screens, while Julian Jarrold’s Kinky Boots took the number 5 position with £626,163 (€ 900,000) from 292 screens for BVI. Pride & Prejudice continues to play fantastically with over £11,3m (€ 16,5m) gross for UIP and Danny Cannon’s football film Goal! has passed the £1.5m (€ 2,2m) for BVI.