Film Industry

Daniel Adams, the Cape Cod filmmaker convicted of fraud for illegally obtaining $4.7 million in state film tax credits, was sentenced Thursday to two to three years in state prison. Following his release, Adams faces 10 years of probation. He was also ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution to the state under the sentence imposed by Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Carol Ball. Adams's lawyer, James Greenberg, called the sentence fair, given that his client had no prior criminal history.

Daniel Adams, the Cape Cod filmmaker convicted of fraud for illegally obtaining $4.7 million in state film tax credits, was sentenced Thursday to two to three years in state prison. Following his release, Adams faces 10 years of probation. He was also ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution to the state under the sentence imposed by Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Carol Ball. Adams's lawyer, James Greenberg, called the sentence fair, given that his client had no prior criminal history.

State lawmakers and film industry leaders are urging Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the legislature to continue supporting and promoting the Connecticut film industry. Waterbury Democrat Rep. Jeffrey Berger joined members of the commerce committee at a news conference Tuesday to thank the governor for supporting the state's film tax credit and digital media industry. Former state House Speaker James Amann and industry professionals joined Berger in urging measures to help strengthen the state's film industry.

A movie director who has admitted he inflated expenses when he applied for Massachusetts film tax credits has been sentenced to two to three years in state prison. A Boston judge on Thursday also ordered Daniel Adams to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution and to serve 10 years on probation. The penalties had been announced when he pleaded guilty last month to charges including larceny and making a false claim. Attorney General Martha Coakley's office had accused Adams of exaggerating expenses for two films shot on Cape Cod, "The Golden Boys" and "The Lightkeepers," resulting...

LOS ANGELES - Marilyn Chambers, the pretty Ivory Snow girl who helped bring hard-core adult films into the mainstream consciousness when she starred in the explicit 1972 movie "Behind the Green Door," has died at 56. The cause of death was not immediately known. A family friend, Peggy McGinn, said Ms. Chambers's 17-year-old daughter found the actress' body Sunday night at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Canyon Country. Marilyn Chambers and fellow actresses Linda Lovelace and Georgina Spelvin shot to fame at a time in the early 1970s when both American social mores...

Martin Poll, 89; helped revive N.Y. film industry NEW YORK - Martin Poll, who helped revitalize film production in New York in the 1950s and '60s and later made his name in Hollywood, producing films like the Oscar-winning historical drama "The Lion in Winter," died in Manhattan on April 14. He was 89. The cause was pneumonia, his son Jon said. In 1956, after more than a decade working with his aunt Selma Tamber, a Broadway producer, Mr. Poll opened Gold Medal Studios in the Tremont section of the Bronx, on the site of what had been Biograph...

A movie director accused of inflating expenses when he applied for Massachusetts film tax credits has been sentenced to two to 3 years in state prison. A Boston judge on Thursday also ordered Daniel Adams to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution to the state and serve 10 years' probation. The penalties had been announced when he pleaded guilty last month to charges including larceny and making a false claim against the state. Attorney General Martha Coakley's office had accused Adams of exaggerating expenses for two films shot on Cape Cod, "The Golden Boys" and...

Although reports of Johnny Depp sightings have already begun, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez says filming of The Lone Ranger will begin next month. The film, which became a symbol of the flap between Martinez and the film industry, will shoot in and around Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Shiprock through the middle of August. In a press release Friday, Martinez says, "The Lone Ranger is proof New Mexico's film industry is alive and well. She says it also proves her commitment to the industry.

The next installment in the Iron Man superhero film franchise will shoot in a North Carolina soundstage beginning in a few weeks. Marvel Studios will film "Iron Man 3" starring Robert Downey Jr. in Wilmington, with pre-production starting soon and work in the state lasting about 10 months, Gov. Beverly Perdue and Wilmington's EUE/Screen Gems Studios said Thursday. The production is expected to create 550 jobs for tradesmen, technicians and other crew members and more than 1,000 spots for actors and other talent.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Tab Thacker, an NCAA championship wrestler who appeared in two "Police Academy" films and other Hollywood movies, died Friday after several years of declining health, according to North Carolina State University. He was 45. Mr. Thacker, who at 6 foot 4 once tipped the scale at nearly 450 pounds, got his first movie role when Clint Eastwood saw his photograph in Time magazine and took note of Mr. Thacker's enormous frame, which helped the three-time All-American finish his senior season 31-0 at N.C. State in 1984.

Daniel Adams, a Cape Cod filmmaker convicted of fraud for illegally obtaining $4.7 million in film tax credits, was sentenced Thursday to two to three years in state prison. His prison term will be followed by 10 years of probation, and he was ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution under the sentence imposed by Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Carol Ball. Adams's attorney, James Greenberg, said he felt the sentence was fair, given that his client had no prior criminal history.

A movie director accused of inflating expenses when he applied for Massachusetts film tax credits has been sentenced to two to 3 years in state prison. A Boston judge on Thursday also ordered Daniel Adams to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution to the state and serve 10 years' probation. The penalties had been announced when he pleaded guilty last month to charges including larceny and making a false claim against the state. Attorney General Martha Coakley's office had accused Adams of exaggerating expenses for two films shot on Cape Cod, "The Golden Boys" and "The...

Martin Poll, 89; helped revive N.Y. film industry NEW YORK - Martin Poll, who helped revitalize film production in New York in the 1950s and '60s and later made his name in Hollywood, producing films like the Oscar-winning historical drama "The Lion in Winter," died in Manhattan on April 14. He was 89. The cause was pneumonia, his son Jon said. In 1956, after more than a decade working with his aunt Selma Tamber, a Broadway producer, Mr. Poll opened Gold Medal Studios in the Tremont section of the Bronx, on the site of what had been Biograph Studios, where silent-film stars...

During a nostalgia-heavy Academy Awards ceremony Sunday - winners included not only a silent movie, but also veteran actress Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher - it was all too easy to forget the power Hollywood can have on current events. Yet the first Oscar for Iran has launched a new form of award: the Oscar as diplomacy. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, whose film "A Separation" won the best foreign film award, gave a mesmerizing speech in which he chastised war talk and intimidation "exchanged between politicians.

One year ago, as Oscar night arrived with numerous Boston-accented films vying for awards, many were hailing 2010 as a watershed year for moviemaking in the Bay State. Two of the 10 nominees for best picture - "The Social Network" and "The Fighter" - were born and raised in Massachusetts, and 16 total nominations could be linked to the state in some way. Fast forward to tonight's 84th Academy Awards show and you find few Oscar nominees that can even be linked to Massachusetts, save actors who are native or adopted New Englanders, including best actress nominees Viola Davis and Glenn Close, and best...

State lawmakers and film industry leaders are urging Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the legislature to continue supporting and promoting the Connecticut film industry. Waterbury Democrat Rep. Jeffrey Berger joined members of the commerce committee at a news conference Tuesday to thank the governor for supporting the state's film tax credit and digital media industry. Former state House Speaker James Amann and industry professionals joined Berger in urging measures to help strengthen the state's film industry.

Massachusetts gave fewer tax breaks to movie companies last year, largely due to a drop in the number of feature films made here, according to a new report from the state's Department of Revenue. In 2010, about $15 million in state tax credits were granted to 83 productions, including features, commercials, and television series - an 82 percent drop from the $83 million in credits granted in 2009, a banner year for movies made in Massachusetts. The main reason: Only six feature films were shot here last year, down from 13 in 2009.

Hong Kong's Ann Hui has won the best director award for her movie "A Simple Life" at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival. The jovial veteran director says she was surprised that Saturday's award did not go to one of the promising younger directors also nominated at the event for Chinese-language movies. "A Simple Life" also won Andy Lau the best actor award and Deanie Ip the best actress honor. Ip plays a domestic helper who copes with her own aging while serving her master, played by Lau. Lau said the awards would encourage Hong Kong's...

The Arizona Senate has approved a bill creating a tax credit for motion picture production in the state. The bill that passed Thursday afternoon proposes a 20 to 30 percent tax credit for filmmakers that spend at least $250,000 in qualified expenses. A similar bill was introduced last year and in 2010 but neither bill made it to the Governor's desk. A 2006 law created a motion picture tax credit in the state but the incentive expired in 2010. This year's bill would create a tax credit that lasts through 2041.