Father Geek here with our Euro-office's 2nd report of the day. Ol' Elgard was away from the keyboard sooooo long that he just has to file another report for us all... cooool! Any way here he is again with more news from the Euro-film scene...

Euro AICN

Hi folks... Edgard here again; but this time for the regular Euro AICN column with fresh news.... Today's news are mostly from France (with interesting news for Harry on the BROTHERHOOD OF WOLF which has been already much talked about here in our columns) and of course from our Irish offices.... If you except the American blockbusters, Summer is always a slow season for European movies... but late August & September should bring us many interesting festivals, so Euro AICN readers keep your eyes open and send us your reports ! And let's start now by the very fresh first report (I just got it 2 minutes ago) from Holy Martin from the Edinburgh Film Festival. Hopefully Holy Martin will tell us what's going on over there, let's wish him to have fun... (and let's thank him also for keeping us informed).

UK

* Holly Martins here. Well it was a sweaty train ride. I was, note, carrying one DV camera in aluminium case, one tripod with remarkable ability to dig between shoulder blades when held on said shoulders, one SLR stills camera, one beautiful little graphite iBook, one suitcase, one shoulder bag and a luke warm coffee. And why, dear reader, should I be taking the protracted ride from London? Because this week starts the 54th Edinburgh Film Festival, the longest continuously running film festival in the world. Yes, Edinburgh International Film Festival, running August 13th to 27th, is 54 this year and the UK's second largest festival (after London) playing host to a vast selection of UK international and world premieres, as well as masterclasses, Q&As, script workshops, short screenings and a delegate programme to help foster new partnerships and connect buyers and sellers in the British film industry. And your very own Holly Martins is with a press ass to freedom, to cover this mecca of movies especially for you. icking of the fest is the UK premiere of Lars von Trier's Palme D'Or inning Dancer in the Dark. Bjork has impressed audiences and critics alike with her performance of a young émigré factory worker who, losing her sight, finds solace in the all-singing, all-dancing Technicolor world of her imagination. Also from Cannes is Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love, taking the closing night slot with a film described as 'Brief Encounter without the encounter'. Edinburgh has long been the first point of call for Scotland's burgeoning film scene - last year premiering Lindsey Ramsay's multi-award winning Ratcatcher - and this year is no different. There is the world premiere of the much anticipated debut feature from Edinburgh filmmaker Bernard Rudden, Daybreak. It's a neon noir of a film for the clubbing generation about another night out for a best-of-friends trio, but as things begin to get out of hand, their lives are soon plunged into a tailspin. As night fades into daybreak and the blistering house and techno soundtrack fades out, they realise nothing can be the same again. Also from Scotland is May Miles Thomas' self-financed One Life Stand which, like Daybreak, was shot digitally. The Little Vampire, a Scottish-German co-production starring Jonathon Lipnicki - the kid from Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little - is the Families Gala Premiere. Finally from Scotland is House of Mirth, a bitter tale of a fall from grace starring Gillian Anderson, adapted from the Edith Wharton original by director Terence Davies. Set in New York in the 19th century, it was shot in Glasgow and financed by the Scottish Lottery and Glasgow Film Fund. Also enjoying their world premieres at the festival are There's Only One Jimmy Grimble, County Kilburn and Beautiful Creatures. There's Only One Jimmy Grimble gives a new spin to adolescent confusion from director John Hay. Newcomer Lewis McKenzie shines as Jimmy Grimble, trying hard to grapple with the complexities of family life amongst dreams of being a great footballer. Sadly he's not, and British favourites Robert Carlyle, Gina McKee and Ray Winstone are on hand to help him out. County Kilburn is the rough and ready comic story of one of the 63 Irish pubs in London's Kilburn. Mickey (Ciarin Mcmenamin of How To Be A Rock Star) is forced to deal with Kilburn1s eccentric locals. Eagerly awaited is Beautiful Creatures, the first feature from lottery franchise DNA which combines the producing talents of Duncan Kenworthy (Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral) and Andrew MacDonald (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, The Beach). Rachel Weisz and Susan Lynch lead as a UK Thelma and Louise running not with a car but a dog.. Other highlights include UK Premieres of Mike Figgis' Timecode and Miss Julie, Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man, the Coen brother's O Brother Where Art Thou, and Steven Daldry's Billy Elliot (formerly Dancer). Mike Figgis presents a live sound mix of Timecode, and Paul Verhoeven will be in town to give a Q&A. Lynne Ramsay returns to the festival to host a Script Factory masterclass on adapting Alan Warner1s novel Morvern Callar for the silver screen. In association with the BFI, Edinburgh is also hosting a major Max Ophuls retrospective. Screening for the eighth year will be the Tartan Shorts programme supported by BBC Scotland. Morag Mackinnon will be following her fantastic BAFTA winning short Home with her first self-scripted project, Birthday. Other screenings include The Lovers from Ewan Morrison who made the short film The Proposal, and Rice Paper Stars by Andy Goddard who directed Little Sisters in 1997. With the film festival coinciding with the famed Edinburgh Fringe, the Military Tattoo and the International Festival the city at this time of year is a carnival of culture unlike little else.

And yours truly, Holly Martins will be posting updates from the fest as often as I can grab a phone socket to plug my curvaceous graphite iBabe into.

* From Screendaily : SALSA, featuring Cuban band Sierra Maestra, opens September’s Latin American Film Festival, the London-based event has announced. Directed by Joyce Sherman Bunuel, the film follows a young composer’s obsession with salsa. This year’s festival runs September 1-14 in London and then around the UK. Other highlights include a focus on Brazilian films, which will include Claudio MacDowell’s magic-realistic parable The Call Of The Oboe (O Toque do Oboe). Argentine films screening include Sergio Bellotti’s My Treasure (Tesoro Mio), based on the true story of a bank executive who robs the place he has worked in for 22 years.Spain is represented by such films as Monxto Almendariz’s Secrets Of The Heart (Secretos Del Corazon) and Fernando Leon De Aranoa's Barrio, about a tough, poverty-stricken district of Madrid. The festival is headed by Cuban-born Eva Tarr Kirkhope.

EUROPE

* From Screendaily (www.screendaily.com) : Jose Miguel Ribeiro's The Suspect (Portugal), Benoit Feroumont's Bzz (Belgium), Fabien Drouet's Ponpon (France), Siri Melchior's Passport (UK) and Jonathan Hodgson's The Man With The Beautiful Eyes (UK) have been nominated for this year's Cartoon D'Or, the only European prize specific to the animation industry. Award-winning films at Europe's seven most important animation film festivals - Annecy, Brussels, Espinho, Fredrikstad, Stuttgart, Utrecht and Genzano di Roma - compete automatically for the prize. This year's jury comprises Stefan Fjeldmark (Denmark), Thilo Rothkirch (Germany) and Jacques-Remy Girerd (France). The Cartoon D'Or trophy, presented by the Media Programme's Cartoon initiative, is accompanied by a Euros25,000 cheque, designed to help the winning director embark on a TV series or feature.

FRANCE

* This report comes from Grozilla on the very much awaited BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF : This mail just to add some on the Gans' article read today: "the Brotherhood of the wolf" (Le pacte des loups) will be delayed. Heard that Gans has been sort of out of schedule and needed more time on editing. So the french, and first world release of it will be now on 20th december (was supposed to be first half of october). And by the way, it seems that right after the promotion of this film, Gans could be on board again for NEMO, his unbelievable project about why Captain Nemo left the human society to sail under the sea on the Nautilus. The trailer of Brotherhood... has so amazed some worldwide producers that Gans has know kind of "cheque en blanc" to do any of his project. At Cannes, Samuel Hadida, pal and producer of Gans' movies said a few times that he wanted Nemo to be done as soon as it can be. Well I can understand that : The script of Nemo is one of the best I know, a kind of crossover between Ridley Scott's The duellists, Fleischer's "20.000 leagues under the sea", and some samurai films. If Brotherhood can smash some box-office, Nemo will be soon greenlighted. If Gans can at last get his Nemo. At the time of the clash with the english producers, he has pu on his A-List guys like Billy Crudup and Russel Crowe. Even if Crudup still need to be a star, he's charismatic. For Crowe no need to talk by now... So now who Gans has in mind to pilot the Nautilus ? Wait & see. I guess that we'll know soon after the release of Brotherhoood if this ambitious project will be definitely sunk or shall raise again from the depth...

* From Screendaily... it seems TAXI 2 still rides fast ! : Luc Besson's record-breaking French film Taxi 2 is enjoying considerable success from its release in Taiwan. Directed by Gerard Krawczyk, the French-language film saw off new entries The Patriot and Titan AE to take the top spot in the chart after its July 21 release. After 17 days it has scooped $1.5m, but dropped to number two after Gone In Sixty Seconds' four-day opening of $1m. The original Taxi was distributed in Taiwan in June 1998, and grossed $1.06m, almost double the $570,000 box office for Besson's Leon (aka The Professional) in 1995, but significantly less than the $3.76m The Fifth Element grossed in 1997. Taxi 2 is slated for a significant release in Japan through Nippon Herald and in Hong Kong, where the original Taxi took $190,000 (HK$1.4m) from five screens, becoming the fourth-highest grossing French film of the decade.

* French magazine Premiere (www.premiere.fr) reports that Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, the two producers of AMERICAN BEAUTY have convinced Steven Spielberg to direct BIG FISH, from a Daniel Wallace novel. Spielberg should direct this one only after A.I. and MINORITY REPORT, which means this pushes again INDIANA JONES IV and MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA. BIG FISH tells the story of the relationship of a son and his bragging dying father.

* GLADIATOR is so far the biggest success of the Summer in France, with more than 4 millions tickets sold, it's the fourth biggest success of 2000 after Taxi 2, The Sixth Sense and Toy Story 2.

* Now that he finished PRINCE DU PACIFIQUE (with Thierry Lhermitte, Patrick Timsit and Marie Trintignant) Alain Corneau ("All the Mornings of the World") should work on the adaptation of the Fredric Brown sci-fi novel "Martians, Go Home!". Or how to get rid of a billion of Martians living on earth and menacing the human stability by always saying the truth. This one will surely be as far as you can get from Independence Day.

* After having made a few movies abroad (like HIDEOUS KINKY with Kate Winslet), Said Taghmaoui (LA HAINE) is coming back in France for G@MER, a comedy about a young lout, passionate about video games, whose great game idea get stolen. This film should be full of F/X.

GERMANY

* Werner Herzog is back !! After last year's documentary on his relationship with actor Klaus Kinski (MY BEST FRIEND), the German director is now working on his first fiction film since 10 years ago. His new project is called INVINCIBLE and will tell the story of a jew weightlifter in the Berlin of the 30's. He's blond and his look makes him a perfect symbol for the Aryan propaganda, so the Nazis ask him to play the character of Siegfried (from the Niebelungen). Finnish weightlifter Jouko Ahola could play the title role and Tim Roth might also join the casting.

*** THE OZYMANDIAS CORNER ***

* From our friends at popcorn.co.uk the latest Harry Potter casting rumours (and they were spot on when it came to Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane) - you can almost see it now, can't you? Snape whirls back into the room in a fit of temper: "And cancel Christmas!" Still think Jason Isaacs is their man...... Alan Rickman and Richard Harris are the latest actors to enter talks to star in 'Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone'. Rickman is in line to play mysterious potions expert Professor Snape, while Harris is in discussions for the role of Dumbledore, the head of Hogwarts. Tim Roth was previously in talks to play Professor Snape but opted instead for a starring role in Tim Burton's 'Planet Of The Apes' remake. Alan Rickman is still fondly remembered in Hollywood for his scene-stealing performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham in 'Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves', while Harris remains one of the most irascible talents in the business. Although no one has been officially cast in the film yet, Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith are known to be in line to play games keeper Hagrid and Professor MacGonagall respectively.

* This one from the gang at Empire Online (http://www.empireonline.co.uk) : Director Guy Ritchie is leaving guns and gangsters behind and turning back the clock for his next movie. Ritchie, whose new film Snatch is released in the UK on 1 September 2000, told Time Out magazine that his next movie would be a gory medieval epic. There's only one problem - finding the finance. 'Authentic carnage is so expensive,' he told the interviewer. The motivating factor behind Ritchie's decision to choose a new subject matter was seeing Ridley Scott's Gladiator. 'That opening scene was just the [gonads],' he said, 'I was like pig in shit watching that. I so rarely go into a cinema and just get lost...you don't get that often.'

* From Colin McKenzie : I found an interesting information about Hollow Man. I read it in a newsgroup, but i trust the author of the post. Hollow man was presented at the Locarno Film Festival. This person asked Verhoeven what we have to expect from the Dvd. The director said that in Dvd we might find some deleted scenes, his commentary, the musics by Goldsmith and some surprise. He said that the famous scene of the rape by the invisible man is a web legend, but afterwards he declared that we'll find this scene in the Dvd. So, this scene exists? I don't know, but i'm looking forward to see the movie.

* From Paul : Here is some news that will be of interest to the UK/Euro readers of AICN. A new UK film festival is taking place @ The Prince Charles Cinema in London over the August Bank Holiday weekend 25th to 28th. It is called FrightFest and it will showcase 16 preview horror,SF and Fantasy movies including the World Premiere of Ed Gein with director Chuck Parello and star Steve Railsback introducing. Also Lighthouse, Ring 2, Argento's Phantom Of the Opera, sneak preview of Scary Movie, Pitch Black, Blood, The Criminal, Anatomie (starring Franka Potente from Run Lola Run, the INCREDIBLE Japanese film Audition, Cut the Australian Scream starring Kylie Minogue and Molly Ringwald, the World Premieres of The 13th Sign and 2 new documentaries in Dario and Mario Bava plus more films, short films, trailers, guests, promo reels, massive give-aways and tons more!!! The website is online @ wwwfrightfest.co.uk and tickets are on sale now.

* For those AICN readers not living in the UK this particular story got at least as much coverage in the UK media as the Fox "Multimillionaire" show did in the US.... : I'm not sure if you were aware of a crazy competition held last year by Birmingham's BRMB radio station - the so-called "blind-date" wedding contest. It involved the winners, two complete strangers, getting married and winning several prizes, including a Caribbean honeymoon, luxury apartment and a car. The couple separated after a few months and are reportedly now about to divorce. I was surprised today to read in my local newspaper that Paramount are developing a picture based on these events starring Julia Roberts! She is said to be close to signing a deal and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are reported to be her co-stars. Paramount are reported to be working with a Birmingham based production company called KPA TV Ltd. They produced a TV documentary on the wedding. Also the groom, Gregg Cordell, who is currently reported to be living in Erdington, Birmingham is said to be working with the sciptwriter. He is reported to have said that he "told him (the scriptwriter) about my experience, warts and all, nothing held back". This was reported in the Sutton Coldfield Observer, published by Central Independent Newspapers Ltd, Tamworth, Staffordshire.

* From iftn.ie: Windmill Lane Goes Into Orbit - Windmill Lane Limited, Ireland’s premier post-production facility has been chosen to produce special effects for the internationally acclaimed MGM television series ‘Stargate SG 1’. With the new appointment of top FX animator, Matthew Talbot Kelly, Windmill Lane Limited are gearing themselves up to produce the complex 3-D environments demanded by Hollywood. Tim Morris, FX producer at Windmill Lane Limited, says, ‘We are delighted to welcome Matthew to our team. When he was previously based in Canada he worked on special effects projects such as ‘Poltergeist’, ‘The Twilight Zone’, ‘Bride of Chucky’ and ‘Dr. Who’. Therefore he has extensive knowledge and wealth of talent previously unseen in Ireland. Windmill Lane Limited has combined Matthew’s appointment with a heavy investment in hi-tech equipment to substantially increase our potential as special effects producers’. Windmill Lane Limited design team will be building the planets, spaceships, aliens and death rays for a forthcoming episode of the sci-fi programme under the supervision of James Tichenor, MGM’s Senior Visual FX Supervisor. The work commissioned for ‘Stargate SG-1’ signifies the post-production facility’s entrance to a new realm of FX work and introduces Windmill to the huge demands of Hollywood. ‘We are very excited about this new project. Matthew is experienced in working for this environment and Windmill Lane has geared itxself up to meet the increased demands that will be made’ comments Tim Morris.

L8r,

Ozymandias

Euro AICN Ireland/UK Office, Penthouse Suite, Ozymandias Towers, Dublin, Ireland.

If you're involved in the Irish or UK movie industries I want to hear from you!

Mail me at ozymandias@dublin.com

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That's it for this week's European News... Do not forget to send us everything from Scandinavia to Italy, from Portugal to Russia, or anywhere else on the European continent... The Euro AICN offices in Paris wait for your contribution... so send everything to euroaicn@yahoo.com !!

Edgard out