*Sunshine sells in Far East

Paramount Classics has extended its u.s. rights pickup of Istvan Szabo’s historical romance saga Sunshine to the Far Eastern territories of Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Serendipity Point Films producer Robert Lantos, who produced the $26-million movie along with Andras Hamori of Alliance Atlantis Communications, sold the American rights to Paramount shortly after last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Sunshine opened in Germany and Hungary last month, with additional European dates set for February. Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution is the Canadian distrib.

*CBSC vindicates Bubbles Galore

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council says the sexually explicit Canadian film Bubbles Galore, broadcast by Showcase Television, does not breach broadcast codes.

The Ontario Regional Council of the cbsc considered viewers’ complaints of ‘graphic sexual content’ in the film under the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Sex-Role Portrayal Code and the Violence Code, and found no breach of either.

The council also reiterated its reluctance to deal with matters of taste.

Bubbles Galore, the story of a filmmaking porn star, was directed by Cynthia Roberts and produced by Greg Klymkiw.

*Disney buys Keystone’s Duke

Disney Channel has picked up u.s. cable broadcast rights to The Duke, distributed by Vancouver’s International Keystone Entertainment.

The family film is about a dog that inherits a fortune from his late owner.

‘Keystone is very pleased to continue the relationship with Disney,’ says company ceo Robert Vince. ‘The Duke is the fourth family film in a row, commencing with Air Bud, that Disney has licensed.’