Government drives Brazil pic boom

While many filmmakers around the world are struggling for coin, biz in Brazil is booming thanks to a generous mix of federal, state and municipal film funds, grants and tax shelters. The range of options, combined with a rise in the amount of money available, has allowed the local industry to release an average of 80 pics a year for the past few years. For instance, Paulinia, a town with a population of just 82,000 in Sao Paulo state, is about to dole out 9.6 million reals ($6.1 million) to 10 local pics, and has spent $22.4 million partially funding 43 pics since 2007. The town's investment illustrates one of the increasing variety of financing sources available to Brazilian producers -- a far cry from the 1990s, when there were just two federal tax shelters. "We now have several options, which make film funding more democratic," says Fabiano Gullane, prexy of Gullane Filmes. "For each type of film, there is a suitable set of options." Gullane has produced or co-produced 16 features, and plans to make five a year in the next five years. The boom is driven by the federal government, which creates new funding systems while keeping the existing ones in place. The country's film tax incentive system dates back to the pioneering Audiovisual and Rouanet laws of the 1990s. To apply for those incentives, producers must present a project to the National Cinema Agency (Ancine) with script, budget and other specifics. The Audiovisual Law allows two ways to invest in film: Through Article 1, any company based in Brazil can invest part of its tax liability into local pics; Article 3 is focused on Brazil-based foreign distributors, including the Hollywood majors, who can put part of the taxes they owe toward local productions. Introduced last year, Article 3-A extends the breaks to TV production companies. Rouanet is similar to Audiovisual's Article 1, except that the company funding the pic gets a rebate on production spending. In 2003, the government created further incentives: Funds to Finance the National Film Industry, or Funcines, capital market instruments that foster and develop the industry in Brazil, in which companies can invest up to 3% of their income tax liability (individuals can invest up to 6%). The financial institutions that manage the Funcines invest in projects and, if the project is profitable, the investors share in that wealth. All these incentives combined to pump $105.7 million into the industry in 2010, up 30% from the previous year. Added to this is the government's Sector Fund, which is fed with taxes and mandatory fees paid by telcos and producers of TV content and commercials. It invests in pic production, distribution, P&A and indie TV production. In 2009, the fund paid out $18.7 million; $51.6 million in 2010. It's expected to release as much as $53.8 million this year. On the municipal front, the town governments of Paulinia and Rio de Janeiro lead the pack. Paulinia houses Brazil's largest oil refinery and has one of the nation's highest incomes per capita. The local government used part of the town's plentiful tax revenues to build a large film production center in 2008. Paulinia now has a state-of-the-art theater, five studios, an arts school, a film commission and the thriving Paulinia Film Festival, which hosts Brazil's most important competitive screening of local pics. Fest wrapped its fourth edition July 14. The list of competitors vying for $420,000 worth of prizes included Selton Mello's "The Clown"; Juliana Rojas' and Marco Dutra's "Hard Labor," which screened in Cannes' Un Certain Regard; Claudio Assis' "Rat Fever"; Andre Ristum's "Meu pais," a Gullane Filmes' Brazil-Italy co-production; documaker Vladimir Carvalho's "Rock Brasilia"; Carlos Alberto Riccelli's comedy "Onde esta a felicidade?"; and Nando Olival's "Os 3," a Fernando Mereilles' O2 Filmes' production. Marcos Paulo's "Assalto ao Banco Central" screened out of competition. Paulinia partially funded all these pics, which by contract must hold their Brazilian premieres in the town. "Paulinia is making a great contribution to the Brazilian film industry," says Paulinia's secretary of culture Emerson Alves. "But the town is also profiting, as each production creates 150 to 200 jobs here." He says the town grants up to $890,000 to each film, and the producer must spend half of the money in town and partially lense the feature there. Paulinia also supports the productions via its film commission, and allows them to use the local studios free of charge. Rio, which has a population of 6.3 million and houses Brazil's largest audiovisual production center, invests in pics via city government-owned RioFilme. In 2009-2010, RioFilme plowed $19.7 million into local pics, and granted another $4.1 million via a tax-shelter incentive. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Disney Appeals $319 Million 'Millionaire' Verdict The Way It Hopes to Overturn the Ruling (Analysis)

Getty Images"Who would like to Be considered a Uniform" Last This summer, The Wally Disney Co. experienced a $270 million calamity whenever a California jury ruled that the organization had scammed Who Would Like To Be Considered A Uniform producer Celador Worldwide out of profits. Disney's discomfort then got worse whenever a judge upped that add up to $319 million, including pre-trial interest, declining to re-hear the situation red carpet many years of protracted lawsuit.  Now Disney is appealing. Can the organization escape having to pay Celador this type of whopping figure? On Tuesday, its lawyers offered five explanations why the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals should overturn the verdict. The Uniform situation would be a watershed moment in Hollywood, a public indictment of how Disney paid for for profits on the hit show. Within the suit, Celador stated that Disney and it is susidiaries ABC and Buena Vista Television brokered sweetheart deals among themselves, thus operating a "shell game" whereby huge amount of money in revenue were hidden from Celador's grasp. Per month-lengthy trial featured a who's who of Hollywood about the witness stand, including Disney Boss Robert Iger and a few of the top television agents in the commercial. In opening its 96-page brief towards the Ninth Circuit, Disney calls the $319 judgment "astonishing not just due to its size, but additionally due to the way it came into being: The district court committed a cascading down number of errors that produced a verdict that significantly changed the parties&rsquo carefully discussed allocation of risks and reward." Particularly, Disney has five arguments -- dare we are saying, lifelines -- why the Ninth Circuit should turn back decision. These are: The situation must have never reached a jury to begin with: Disney thinks that the judge must have recognized the "plain text from the contract," so it states only titled Celador to consider 50% of BTV's profits, not 1 / 2 of both BTV and ABC's profits. The judge permitted Celador to provide to some jury a larger interpretation from the deal rather than depending upon the contractual language and also the word from the William Morrris agents who brokered it. Disney thinks it will happen to be made the decision on summary judgment that Celador shouldn't have any bit of ABC's action about the Uniform success. The trial judge wrongfully excluded evidence: Talking about individuals then-William Morris agents (Greg Lipstone and Ben Silverman), Disney states they accept its point of view by what the offer meant, which all of them agreed in early stages. Disney argues it's a miscarriage of justice that the jury never reached see purported recorded evidence of that. Quite simply, if your jury saw individuals documents, Disney argues, there could have been without doubt that Celador never must have expected anymore in the agreement it had created using BTV. Disney also adds there have been documents excluded that will have proven "the parties&rsquo bargain was better to Celador Productions than Complaintant brought the jury to think." The trial judge erroneously permitted testimony with an inflated damages assessment: Disney highlights that Celador known as two different experts towards the stand. One calculated damages prospectively in the point of view of the license fee discussed following the show grew to become popular. Another calculated damages retroactively to the very first episode. The cumulative result was an inflated estimate of total damages depending on greater costs had the package been renegotiated in the show's beginning, something which Disney thinks is within error and from the usual protocol of foreseeing this stuff out. The trial judge must have taken more responsibility in interpretation anything ought to be law and precluded among the claims: Within the pretrial phase of the situation, numerous Celador's claims were tossed out, although not all. Disney is upset the judge permitted Celador to pursue accusations that BTV violated its contract by incorrectly subtracting retailing expenses. Disney points to understanding by Celador's agents of the items is at the offer and also to a court's conclusion that there is no "bad belief" involved. It thinks the complaintant didn't have sufficient to determine an acceptable claim about this point. It had been prosecuted through the wrong entity: Disney highlights the suit was filed by Celador Worldwide on the contract produced by Celador Productions. The complaintant stated to become a "successor-in-interest," but Disney is arguing this fact, stating that Celador Worldwide is really a "separate corporate organization now under distinct possession." The brief was filed on Disney's account by Seth Waxman at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Celador's fact is likely to come prior to the finish of September. E-mail: eriqgardner@yahoo.com Twitter: @eriqgardner

Little Ashes

In 1922, 18-year old Salvador Dalí (Robert Pattinson) arrives at university in Madrid. The Residencia de Estudiantes, or Students' Residence, is a modern environment which encourages Spain's brightest young minds. Salvador, who is determined to become a great artist, soon catches the attention of the Resi's social elite – poet Federico García Lorca (Javier Beltran) and aspiring filmmaker Luis Buñuel (Matthew McNulty). Together they form the nucleus of the most modern group in Madrid.

Their private lives become increasingly complex as Federico ignores the advances of devoted friend and writer Magdalena (Marina Gatell), and Salvador himself feels the pull of García Lorca's magnetism. Luis, becoming increasingly isolated by the duo's closeness, decides to move to Paris to fulfil his own artistic ambitions. Meanwhile, Salvador and Federico leave Madrid to spend the summer at the seaside village of Cadaques, at the home of Dalí's family.

Federico finds himself accepted[1] into the Dalí family as he and Salvador grow closer until, one night, their friendship becomes romantic.[2] Even as they draw closer, their relationship appears doomed. Luis visits them at university and becomes more suspicious and appalled by their apparent closeness.

Dalí finds García Lorca's obsession with him more than he is prepared to handle and moves to Paris. Consumed by the high society and decadence, Dalí is soon entangled with Gala (Arly Jover) a married woman with a penchant for celebrities. When García Lorca visits, he finds his friend is a changed man, in his life and his politics.