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CINEMA

ENTERTAINMENT___________________________________

Further entrenching its place as a major player in the television industry.

By JOHN MCKAY

TORONTO (CP) -- Further entrenching its place as a major player in the television industry, Toronto's Alliance Atlantis Entertainment says it's thrilled that its two major projects of the past season, the two top-rated CSI drama series and the Hitler: The Rise of Evil miniseries, nabbed seven Emmy Award nominations each. "It's becoming a habit, that's a good thing," Peter Sussman, CEO of the Alliance Atlantis Entertainment Group, said Thursday. While there were some disappointments -- no nomination for Hitler star Robert Carlyle or for Montreal director Christian Duguay -- Sussman is pleased not only about the Emmy acclaim but the fact that all the advance controversy over the Hitler project has since dissipated. "In the end, just about every significant leader in the relevant communities -- whether they be Jewish organizations or historical organizations, in fact many of whom spoke out without the proper knowledge or without seeing the miniseries -- all came to not only tolerate or accept the miniseries but to embrace it. And it was quite the remarkable turnaround. "Hitler was nominated in the best miniseries category and for Peter O'Toole's supporting performance and also for costumes, picture editing, music, sound editing and art direction. Sussman says the nomination is the real victory because the whole notion of selecting the best is kind of dumb. "People used to say the win is not important, it's the nomination. I actually believe that. If the world knew the rules and the manner in which how things got voted for, the world would agree that it is a bit of a game and not a true assessment of what's best. "Alliance Atlantis, meanwhile, is a co-producer of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation -- U.S. television's top-rated prime-time series these days -- and its successful spin-off CSI Miami. Ironically the original series, despite successful producer Jerry Bruckheimer at the helm, almost didn't make it to air, until Alliance Atlantis entered the picture and saved it. Sussman also boasts of his company's foresight in backing a spin-off. "We were wise enough to recognize there was franchise potential in this series and the trick was to exploit the franchise in a manner that wouldn't compromise the mother ship. And it was our instinct and research and investigation that concluded that the time we launched Miami was exactly the right time. "The original CSI has nabbed six Emmy nominations, with one for CSI Miami, which premiered as the highest-rated new drama series on any network in years. Besides being a 50 per cent equity partner with CBS in CSI, Alliance Atlantis is the worldwide distributor for the series.

TOP TEN BOX OFFICE_________________________________________

The Pirates of the Caribbean

2 hours, 30 minutes

Jack Sparrow (Depp) has his ship stolen by his nemesis Barbossa (Rush). Jack also finds that Will Turner's (Bloom) friend Elizabeth (Knightley) has been taken captive by Barbossa because of an amulet she wears. Barbossa and his crew are cursed- and the curse can only be lifted when all of their plundered treasure is returned- and the amulet is key to breaking the curse. Together, Jack and Will travel to save Elizabeth and recover the ship.

CAST

DIRECTOR:  Gore Verbinski

RELEASE DATE: Wed. Jul. 9, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Action, Adventure

LANGUAGE:  English

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

1 hour, 40 minutes

A team of extraordinary figures culled from great adventure literature (including Alan Quatermain, vampiress Mina Harker from Dracula, an Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde, an American secret service agent named Sawyer, Captain Nemo and Dorian Gray), are called to stop a villain intent on turning the nations of the world against one another.

CAST

DIRECTOR:  Stephen Norrington

RELEASE DATE: Fri. Jul. 11, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Fantasy, Adventure, Action

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  Twentieth Century Fox

Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines

1 hour, 40 minutes

Now 25, Connor (NICK STAHL) lives with no record of his existence- no way he can be traced by Skynet out of the shadows of the future steps the T-X (KRISTANNA LOKEN), Skynet's most sophisticated cyborg killing machine yet. Now Connor's only hope for survival is the Terminator (ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER), his mysterious former assassin. Together, they must triumph over the technologically superior T-X and forestall the looming threat of Judgment Day.

CAST

DIRECTOR:  Jonathan Mostow

RELEASE DATE: Wed. Jul. 2, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Science Fiction, Action, Thriller

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  Warner Bros. Pictures

Legally Blonde 2

1 hour, 40 minutes

Now a rising young lawyer, Elle (Witherspoon) is about to make partner at her firm, she and Emmett (Wilson) are still in love, and her hair is still super healthy. But when she finds out her beloved Bruiser's canine relatives are being used as cosmetic test subjects, Elle heads to D.C. to accessorize her rights and take matters into her own well-manicured hands.

CAST

DIRECTOR:  Charles Herman-Wurmfeld

RELEASE DATE: Wed. Jul. 2, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Comedy

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Finding Nemo

Nemo (Gould) is a clownfish who has been taken away from his coral reef home. His father Marlin (Brooks) must travel through underwater worlds filled with danger to rescue him. On the way, Dory (DeGeneres), a fish with no short term memory, helps Marlin on his quest. CAST

DIRECTOR:  Andrew Stanton

RELEASE DATE: Fri. May. 30, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Animated, Comedy, Family, Adventure

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  Walt Disney Pictures

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

1 hour, 40 minutes

The Angels (Liu, Barrymore, Diaz) are ready to go undercover to retrieve 2 missing silver wedding bands containing valuable encrypted information- the new identites of every person in the Federal Witness Protection Program. When witnesses start to turn up dead, only the Angels can stop the perpetrator using their expertise as masters of disguise, espionage, and martial arts.

CAST

DIRECTOR:  McG 

RELEASE DATE: Fri. Jun. 27, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Action, Comedy

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  Columbia Pictures

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

1 hour, 40 minutes

Sinbad (Brad Pitt) is the most daring and notorious rogue to ever sail the seven seas. Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones) joins Sinbad on this, his greatest adventure. Together, they must battle Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer), the powerful goddess of Chaos, to save the fabled Book of Peace and the life of Sinbad's best friend- and most dangerous rival- Proteus (Joseph Fiennes).

CAST

DIRECTOR:  Patrick Gilmore, Tim Johnson

RELEASE DATE: Wed. Jul. 2, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Adventure, Animated, Action, Fantasy

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  DreamWorks Pictures

28 Days Later

1 hour, 52 minutes

A virus accidentally released from a research facility has devastated the entire planet. The human race is faced with extinction. A handful of survivors are left to salvage a future from the apocalypse.

CAST

DIRECTOR:  Danny Boyle

RELEASE DATE: Fri. Jun. 27, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Drama, Science Fiction, Horror

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  Fox Searchlight

The Hulk

1 hour, 40 minutes

Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down) stars as scientist Bruce Banner, whose inner demons transform him in the aftermath of a catastrophic experiment. Jennifer Connelly portrays Betty Ross, whose scientific genius unwittingly helps unleash The Hulk; Nick Nolte plays Banner' brilliant father, who passes on a tragic legacy to his son; and Sam Elliott portrays the commander of a top-secret military research center.

CAST

DIRECTOR:  Ang Lee

RELEASE DATE: Fri. Jun. 20, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Action, Fantasy

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  Universal Pictures

The Italian Job

1 hour, 51 minutes

Mastermind thief Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) pulls off an amazing gold bullion heist from a heavily guarded palazzo in Venice Italy, only to be doublecrossed by one of his crew. Seeking revenge, Charlie recruits Stella (Charlize Theron), a beautiful nerves-of-steel safe cracker, and along with his former gang, follows the backstabber to California where they plan to re-steal the gold by manipulating traffic lights and creating havoc on the streets of Los Angeles.

CAST

DIRECTOR:  F. Gary Gray

RELEASE DATE: Fri. May. 30, 2003

RELEASE: WIDE

GENRE:  Crime/Drama, Suspense, Drama, Adventure, Action, Crime

LANGUAGE:  English

DISTRIBUTOR:  Paramount Pictures  

Data/Report: Entertainment Canada.com

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