World Briefs
UNITED KINGDOM
The Arts Council of England has awarded £2 million ($3.2 million) to co-finance "Night of the Creatures," the second pic from U.K. lottery franchise DNA Films.
The $6.4 million project is on the fast track to shoot early this summer. It's based on an original screenplay by Simon Donald, who previously scripted Miramax's "My Life So Far." Pic is a darkly comic contempo thriller about two women in violent relationships who accidentally kill one of their partners.
Worldwide distribution will be handled by Polygram Filmed Entertainment, now under Universal Pictures. PFE has a global output deal with DNA.
ITALY
After a string of negative verdicts, Silvio Berlusconi scored his first small victories in court last week when he was acquitted of charges of fraud and falsification of accounts.
A Milan judge cleared the Italian TV-tycoon-turned-politico along with 14 other people of all charges related to the acquisition of the tycoon's villa in Macherio, near Milan. In another case involving Berlusconi and bribery charges, a judge declared a mistrial for technical reasons.
