FRANCE
Oliver Stone will head the jury of the detective and thriller film festival in Cognac, southwestern France, next month.
French-speaking Stone, whose film "Any Given Sunday" opens the Paris film festival on March 27, will dash down to Cognac on April 6 for the three-day fest that features such films as John Frankenheimer's "Reindeer Games" and Thaddeus O'Sullivan's "Ordinary Decent Criminal."
"Any Given Sunday" opens in France on April 12.
GERMANY
RTL to invest in Internet
Commercial web RTL plans to invest DM500 million ($250 million) in Internet activities.
Company will kick off by starting an Internet service available via WAP technology for mobile phones in the next few months.
Beyond that, RTL is planning to exchange advertising time for shares in Internet ventures via its Internet subsid. RTL New Media.
LATIN AMERICA
Producers ask for aid in ad rev losses
Canal Fox is sponsoring a contest for young Latino filmmakers, the winner of which will be given the chance to pitch 20th Century Fox execs.
Film profs from the Universidad del Cine in Argentina and the film division of the ECA-USP in Brazil will submit 10 student shorts. Canal Fox will select five from each school, to be showcased within a weekly half-hour block in May.
The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a trip to L.A. to pitch studio execs.
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