Peace Arch® Entertainment Group Inc. (AMEX: PAE) (TSX: PAE), an integrated global entertainment company, today announced that it has completed licensing agreements in key international territories for 31 motion pictures and television series at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and Market in Cannes, France (May 14-25).

New licensing agreements closed by Peace Arch at Cannes include the romantic comedy "The Deal" (William H. Macy, Meg Ryan) to Scanbox for Scandinavia, to Videovision Entertainment for South Africa, to Wooriful Venture Capital for South Korea, and to Myndform for Iceland; drama "Winged Creatures" (Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson) to VR Films & Studios for India and to Myndform for Iceland; drama "Chapter 27" to Tandem for Bulgaria; sports drama "Goal 3" (Kuno Becker) to Videovision Entertainment for South Africa, to Film Media S.A. for Poland and to Alliance for Singapore; and dark comedy "The Babysitters" (John Leguizamo) also to Alliance for Singapore, to Videovision Entertainment for South Africa and to Tandem for Bulgaria.

Additional deals include the snowboard comedy "Shred" (Tom Green), horror-thriller "Devil's Mercy" (Stephen Rea), war drama "Time Bomb" (Jake Busey), and thrillers "Final Draft" (James Van Der Beek) and "Passion's Web" (Julie Warner) to Lusomondo for Portugal; DVD rights to the crime drama mini-series "Guns" (Elisha Cuthbert, Colm Feore) closed with Klockworx for Japan; dramas "All The Good Ones Are Married" (Darryl Hannah) and "Our Fathers" (Christopher Plummer, Brian Dennehy and Ted Danson) sold to Red Ant for Australia; the drama "Guantanamero" (Rupert Evans, Sir Derek Jacobi) to EIC-Lime-Light for Benelux; "All The Good Ones Are Married," horror "Ultimate Killing Machine" (Michael Madsen), thriller "Never Forget" (Lou Diamond Phillips) and "Passion's Web" to Videoconcept for CIS; family drama "Ace of Hearts" and war drama "The Four Horsemen" to Film Media for Poland: horror-thriller "Never Cry Werewolf" (Kevin Sorbo) to BS Filmcilik for Turkey; "Shred 2" (Tom Green) to ITV for Central Europe; "Guns," "Just Business" (Gina Gershon), family drama "Ace of Hearts" (Dean Cain), "Animal 2" (Ving Rhames), "Luna: Spirit of The Whale" (Jason Priestley, Graham Greene, Adam Beach) and crime drama "The Last Hit Man" (Joe Mantegna) to Tandem for Bulgaria; the romantic comedy "Watching The Detectives" (Cillian Murphy, Lucy Liu) sold to Bowline for Czech Republic and Slovakia; comedies "Shred" and "Shred 2," drama "Shadows In The Sun" (Harvey Keitel, Joshua Jackson, Giancarlo Giannini), drama "Guantanamero, and drama "All The Good Ones Are Married" sold to D Productions for Turkey; drama "Animal 2," "Bottom Feeder," "Shred" and "Shred 2," thriller "The Cradle" (Lukas Haas), "Devil's Mercy," "Final Draft" and crime drama "Just Business" to Hollywood Entertainment for Greece; and a seven title package to Horizon for Turkey consisting of four war dramas "The Four Horsemen," "The Veteran," "American Soldiers" and "Time Bomb" plus the dramas "Animal 2," "Hollywood Flies" and "Just Business."

Production is underway for Walt Disney Pictures’ “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” starring actress-singer Miley Cyrus in her first full-length feature film. Filming in and around Nashville, Tenn., and Los Angeles, “Hannah Montana: The Movie” is slated for a Spring 2009 release.

Director Peter Chelsom (“Serendipity,” “Shall We Dance?”) helms this music-filled comedy adventure based on Disney Channel's blockbuster television series, “Hannah Montana,” in which Cyrus stars as a teenage girl who lives a secret life as a pop star. The film also features “Hannah Montana” series regulars Emily Osment (“Spy Kids2: Island of Lost Dreams”), Jason Earles (“National Treasure”), Mitchel Musso (“Secondhand Lions”) and Moises Arias (“Nacho Libre”) and Billy Ray Cyrus (“Doc”).

Also starring are Melora Hardin (“The Office,” “Seventeen Again”), Margo Martindale (“The Riches,” “Million Dollar Baby,”), Barry Bostwick (“Spin City”), Peter Gunn (“Ever After”) and Lucas Till (“Walk the Line”) and Vanessa Williams (“Ugly Betty”).

Written by Dan Berendsen ("Twitches," "The Initiation of Sarah"), the film follows Miley Stewart as Hannah Montana’s soaring popularity threatens to take over her life. With a little urging from her father, the teenager travels back to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tenn., to rediscover what’s really important.

Producers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, whose film screenwriting credits include the upcoming "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," "Spider-Man 2" and "Shanghai Noon," are producing the film, marking the duo's first feature under their Walt Disney-based production company, Millar/Gough Ink. The duo also created and served as executive producers of the critically acclaimed action-adventure series, "Smallville," which is now in its eighth season.

The film is executive produced by David Blocker (“Don King: Only In America,” “Into the Wild”), Michael Poryes and Steve Peterman. Director of photography is David Hennings (“Blue Crush”) and the production designer is Caroline Hanania (“Serendipity,” “Shall We Dance?”). The costume designer is Christopher Lawrence (“Cellular”), the editor is Virginia Katz (“Dreamgirls”), and the choreographer is Jamal Sims (“Hairspray,” “Step Up,” “Step Up 2: The Streets”). The composer is Grammy-winner Alan Silvestri (“Cast Away,” “Forrest Gump”).

It’s not every day that millions of dollars of glittering jewels appear on a movie set, but the gems were instrumental wardrobe pieces for the stylish women of “Sex and The City.” And “Iron Man” Tony Stark needed more than a high-tech suit of armor to protect him from multiple explosions, high powered missiles and high speed car chases.

These were only two scenarios covered by Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, the largest insurer of Hollywood films, which provided coverage for many of this summer’s flicks.

“Every movie we insure is unique, and this summer’s lineup – action films and comedies, many shot in international locations that pose particular challenges – was no exception,” said Joseph Finnegan, vice president of the entertainment division for Fireman’s Fund.

With an over 80-year history of insuring major Hollywood studio films, Fireman’s Fund entertainment division underwriters and loss control experts are dedicated to helping producers and studios achieve the artistic results they are seeking, yet also ensuring they are filmed safely, finished on time and on budget. This is done by analyzing risks and finding solutions to cover specific exposures. Without insurance, studios and financial backers would never invest in big budget productions where a simple accident would result in a substantial financial setback.

Image Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISK), a leading independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming in North America, announced today the theatrical release plans for Stuart Gordon's "Stuck" starring Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea. The film opens May 30 in New York and Los Angeles, expanding to twenty of the top U.S. markets on June 6. Image has engaged ThinkFilm to release the film theatrically.

Writer-director Stuart Gordon ("Edmond" and the forthcoming "House of Re-Animator") has crafted a taut thriller inspired by true events ripped right from the headlines. "Stuck" is the story of two unlikely opponents thrown together through a macabre set of circumstances. Hardworking Brandi (Suvari) hits a homeless man, Tom (Rea), with her car while driving home late at night. Brutally smashed headfirst into Brandi's windshield, impaling shards of glass keep Tom stuck as Brandi speeds home and hides car and victim in her garage. Making a snap decision knowing there were no witnesses to the event, she decides to let Tom slowly bleed to death in her garage. Meanwhile, Tom begins to realize the true horror of his absurd fate and tries to free his battered body from the car. "Stuck" accelerates into a bloody battle of wits and survival that leads to an unexpected and life-shattering conclusion.

Image will bring the film to home video and digital throughout the U.S. in fall 2008. Prodigy Pictures, co-producer of the film, in conjunction with Image will represent U.S. television sales. Rigel Entertainment is handling International sales.

BMI, the leading U.S. performing right organization, honored the composers of music featured in the past year’s top-grossing films, top-rated prime-time network television series and highest-ranking cable network programs tonight at its annual Film & Television Awards. Held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the black-tie gala was hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Film/TV Relations Vice President Doreen Ringer Ross, who handed out more than 80 BMI Crystals throughout the evening.

A highlight of the ceremony took the form of the Richard Kirk Award presentation to esteemed composer Christopher Young. Named after late BMI Vice President Richard Kirk, the prestigious award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. As the 2008 honoree, Christopher Young joins an elite list of peers that includes George S. Clinton, Harry Gregson-Williams (PRS), Jerry Goldsmith, Thomas Newman, Michael Kamen, Mark Mothersbaugh, Danny Elfman, Alan Menken, Mike Post, Lalo Schifrin and John Williams.

BMI also presented the Classic Contribution Award to Peter Golub in recognition of his progressive direction of the Sundance Institute’s Film Composers Lab for the past ten years. An accomplished composer of film, theatre, ballet and concert works, Golub is a natural fit for the lab, which aims to enhance the role of music in independent film.

Suite101.com, a general-interest online magazine with over 8 million monthly visitors, features Robin Cowie as May’s Suite101.com Celebrity Writer.

In three Web-exclusive articles Cowie invites Hollywood to get with the times:

“Broadcast TV used to be the lifeblood of studios. It had the most concentrated, dependable audience and advertisers paid premiums to reach it. But this model is failing. People don’t watch the 6pm news anymore. They read a blog or an email or their Google or Yahoo home page to get the news.”

Full article text is available on Suite101.com:

Internet Replaces TV for Film Ads
The New Breed of Film Producers
How the Internet Changes Hollywood
“Robin Cowie is the best combination of renaissance man and dynamic innovator,” according to Suite101’s Film & Television Editor, Cindy McGlynn. “The wildly successful ‘Blair Witch Project’ may be the most famous feather in his cap, but it's one of many. He's a new media guru, a successful author, a filmmaker and a Webpreneur. We're excited to peek inside his world for an insider’s look at the Hollywood machine and learn about breaking into the quickly-evolving film industry.”

Suite101 features a new Celebrity Writer every month with an original article on “burning questions” in their field and an interview offering candid advice to freelance writers.

Jaman.com, a leading Internet movie service, today announced the creation of a Jaman channel, which will soon allow Skype users to select favorite movie scenes and share video clips with each other. With Jaman, Skype callers will be able to embed thousands of high-quality independent and international film scenes and trailers into their online conversations, or post them on user profiles. The service will be available in the coming months.

Jaman movie clips will be played directly within the Skype client, so users may add a video to their mood and share favorite movie trailers from Jaman with their contacts. While in a chat, Skype users will just click on the 'Insert Video' button, then select videos to share in conversations.

Viewers will be able to browse and select movies from Jaman’s premier library, featuring acclaimed independent comedies and dramas, Kung Fu action movies, cult classics, Bollywood films, art house favorites, provocative documentaries, and a collection of the world’s award-winning shorts.

“Sharing a favorite movie with friends and family is an expression of your personality and is a great conversation starter,” commented Faisal Galaria Jaman’s General Manager and VP Corporate Development. "Through Skype, Jaman will connect people around the world over the Internet, making it even easier for people to discover and enjoy film.”

Jaman has recently announced partnerships to distribute online premier film titles from Eros International, Magnolia Pictures, First Look Films, Arts Alliance America and BBC Worldwide.

Apptera, the voice and visual mobile advertising company, today announced the completion of a pilot program with Ignited, an El Segundo, Calif.-based full-service marketing agency, to deliver ground-breaking in-call advertising solutions on behalf of its client, Universal Motion Pictures. When callers to a movie show time application asked for the movie “Iron Man,” they heard an audio ad for another Marvel Entertainment production, “The Incredible Hulk,” coming to theaters on June 13th.

Apptera’s mobile advertising technology offers contextual multimedia promotions to callers when they interact with speech-enabled movie show time applications. In this case, when speaking the words “Iron Man,” callers triggered the audio ad for “The Incredible Hulk.” The ad asked the movie fan if he or she would like to receive a text-based reminder on their cell phones the day before the summer’s next big hero, “The Incredible Hulk,” arrives in theaters.

If a user pressed “1,” he or she received an immediate confirmation message, which could include a link to the movie’s mobile Website or voice portal. This text message will allow the fan to interact with the movie brand during the interim, before the requested movie comes out. Then, the day before the premiere, callers will get an SMS reminder, building the anticipation and encouraging them to see the movie on opening weekend.

Ignited, whose client Universal Studios produced “The Incredible Hulk,” saw an opportunity to extend and enhance their promotional reach by leveraging Apptera’s patent-pending voice and visual mobile advertising technology.

Image Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISK), a leading independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming in North America, announced today that it has entered into a U.S. distribution agreement with HanWay Films Ltd. to acquire the home video, broadcast, digital and non-theatrical rights to “Battle for Haditha.” The deal was finalized at the Cannes Film Festival.

“Battle for Haditha” is the true story of a U.S. Marine convoy’s violent retaliation against Iraqi insurgents who bombed their convoy, killing one of their most popular officers. Enraged by this loss, a group of young Marine buddies carries out a brutal response. Their violent house-searches lead to the massacre of 24 people, many of whom are women and children - tragic casualties of a war they cannot control. The Marines too are victim; attacked, wounded and forced to respond in the way they have been trained. But when events occur at great speed and under extreme stress, can Marines in the line of fire be accused of murder?

“Battle for Haditha” was directed, produced and written by Nick Broomfield (“Biggie And Tupac,” “Kurt & Courtney,” “Ghosts,” “Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer”). The film is cast entirely with non-actors: ex-Marines who served in Iraq (Elliot Ruiz, Andrew McLaren and Eric Mehalacopoulos), and Iraqi refugees who had recently arrived in Jordan (The Fuad Family, Oliver Bytrus, Shukrieh Hameed and Falah Ibrahim). The film was shot entirely on location in Jerash, Jordan.

Jaman.com, the leading online destination for quality international and independent entertainment, today announced the completion of an initial distribution deal with Magnolia Pictures. Magnolia Pictures is a holding of 2929 Entertainment owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban, and is renowned for their eclectic slate of films, including Academy Award nominated documentary ENRON: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Under the agreement, the Magnolia titles will be available online to rent or purchase via Jaman's site, which delivers films in better-than-DVD quality directly to viewers around the world.

“Magnolia recognizes the burgeoning growth of film viewers online,” commented Randy Wells of Magnolia Pictures. “Jaman has built a solid library of films and we are proud to be a part of their growth.”

“We're honored that Magnolia Pictures has selected Jaman to distribute its films,” said Gaurav Dhillon, founder and CEO of Jaman. “Jaman is committed to bringing quality films to our global audiences who through our extensive social network, discover, enjoy and share films with each other.”