Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Time Warner has announced that Toby Emmerich has been named New Line Cinema president and COO. He will lead its reorganisation to become a stand-alone production entity as part of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

New Line will continue to maintain its own development, creative and production teams. In addition, New Line‘s marketing, publicity, distribution, business and legal affairs and physical production will report to Emmerich, but will closely coordinate with their Warner Bros. counterparts.

Emmerich will report directly to Warner Bros. president and COO Alan Horn. He will also work closely with Warner Bros. Pictures Group (WBPG) president Jeff Robinov as New Line will utilise WBPG‘s existing infrastructure to reduce costs and take advantage of Warner Bros.‘ industry-leading scale.

Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer says, “There isn‘t a better person than Toby to help us keep New Line vibrant, relevant and a key asset for Warner Bros. We are thrilled that he and New Line are now part of our family.”

Horn says, “Toby has played a major part in New Line‘s success over the last decade and helped define the company‘s taste and style in movies. Quite simply, he‘s a great film executive. He‘s highly respected, and he has solid relationships across the industry. Toby and New Line are both great additions to our Studio.”

Emmerich says, “I‘m very excited to lead the next chapter in New Line‘s history and am looking forward to the new challenges that lie ahead. This change is bittersweet, as so much of the company I‘ve worked at for the past 16 years is being reconceived, but I‘m committed to maintaining New Line‘s corporate DNA as a creative, aggressive entity.

“I plan to continue New Line‘s long and productive history as a company that can create hits in new niches–whether it‘s expanding the horror genre with films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Freddy vs. Jason, or turning an R-rated comedy like Wedding Crashers into a blockbuster. I want to thank Bob (Shaye) and Michael (Lynne) for the opportunities and support they generously provided through the years, and I‘d also like to thank Barry, Alan and Jeff for their collaboration and already making me feel welcome.”

New Line‘s upcoming films include Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (being released on 25 April), Sex and the City (30 May ), Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (11 July ) and Four Christmases (26 November).

New Line is widely credited with creating the genre of the R-rated comedy, based on the success of Wedding Crashers in 2005. The company is also one of the few studios that still works in the horror genre and is widely known for the iconic Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. It was recently announced that Michael Bay will produce a re-imagining of this classic. Under Emmerich‘s leadership, New Line released Freddy vs. Jason, has begun production on Final Destination 4 in digital 3D and has reunited The Texas Chainsaw Massacre team to recreate the original Friday the 13th.

Emmerich most recently served as president of production for New Line Cinema. He was named to that post in January 2001 and oversaw production during the most successful period in the company‘s history, which included the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Wedding Crashers, Monster-in-Law, Elf, and About Schmidt.

MUMBAI: Seventymm, a movie rental company, has tied up with foreign language film distributor Palador Pictures Ltd.

Through this tie up, Seventymm plans to augment its portfolio by adding films to its library made by renowned directors like Akira Kurosawa, Francois Truffaut and Wong-Kar Wai, whose works have not had a commercial release in India.

Seventymm COO Subhanker Sarker said, “World cinema has a niche but discerning audience and we will continue to enrich our offerings in this genre by bringing more exclusive titles for our consumers. Titles like Two English Girls and Shoot the Piano Player are truly rare in India and Seventymm is very excited to add this selection to its repertoire.”

Some of the films available on Seventymm include – Akira Kurosawa‘s Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, The Throne of Blood and Red Beard, and Wong-Kar Wai‘s The Mood for Love, Chun King Express and the romantic flick Happy Together. In addition, the other films available are movies like Run Lola Run, Beautiful Mind and Motorcycle Diaries.

Palador Pictures Ltd MD Gautum Shiknis, “Palador‘s effort is to make world cinemas legitimate in India. We are also in a quest to eradicate piracy as well as popularise the concept through innovative marketing tie-ups just like the one with Seventymm. Through this tie-up, we hope to achieve the goal we have started out with.”

Seventymm currently offers over 15,000 titles covering Hindi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Punjabi and Rajasthani movies.

MUMBAI: Tips Films‘ Race will run in 1,600 screens worldwide this holiday weekend-beginning 21 March 2008.
Race, being distributed worldwide by UTV Motion Pictures, is all set to release in 26 countries. The film will have 3,600 shows per day.

Starring Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif and Akshaye Khanna, the film will release across 1,300 screens in India, of which 450 are digitals. In the overseas market, it will release in almost 300 screens with 56 in the UK, 118 in the US, 30 in the Gulf, 14 in Australia and the balance in the rest of the world.

“Race is one of the most awaited releases of the year and we are releasing it during the festive season period. We have worked hard with the producers, exhibitors, partners, the media, brand associates to ensure it gets an unprecented promotion thrust and the widest possible distribution penetration worldwide,” says UTV Motion Pictures director Siddharth Roy Kapur.

MUMBAI: Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd (PSTL) has signed a memorandum of cultural co-operation with China Society of Music Research Board (CSMRB), ministry of culture, government of People‘s Republic of China.

Under this agreement, PSTL will bring cultural specialists in the field of arts, film, TV, music and dance. CSMRB will also offer policy guidelines and business consultations for PSTL‘s foray in China‘s cultural industry.

Further to the agreement, a new JV company Jiangsu Pyramid Longzhe Group, supported and approved by CSMRB, has been formed to operate theatres and distribute films, and engage in other entertainment, arts and cultural activities in China.

PSTL MD PS Saminathan said, “It is a matter of great pride for our company to sign the agreement with CSMRB. It is a great honour to the Pyramid Saimira Group to get entry into China‘s highly regulated growing culture and entertainment industry. Pyramid Saimira always believed in faster growth and expanding in uncharted territories. China has great entertainment potential given the growing affordability of the entire population and the willingness of new generation to avail multi-faceted entertainment product and services. We will create a huge theatre chain network, food courts, gaming parlours and offer other entertainment services. We will also bring international content to China, and will also showcase and market local Chinese content across the world. This entry will strengthen the growing exhibition and content business of our group and will in a very short time make us the largest exhibitor in the world.”

MUMBAI: Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) has joined hands with DQ Entertainment (DQE) to co-develop and co-produce six movies in the next 3 to 4 years time.

Within a budget of $45 million (around Rs 1.8 billion), these films will be in animation and live action, and each project will be separately announced once the global co-production budgets are closed.

The understanding will see the two companies co-produce movies in both the animation and live action space.

PNC chairman Pritish Nandy says, “DQE is a world leader in the high-end animation and film content space, and the range and quality of their work has impressed us. We are delighted to associate with their team of 3,000 professionals across the globe. We are also exploring gaming extensions for all platforms to be co-developed with DQE including comic book spin-offs.”

DQ Entertainment had also signed an MoU with Percept Picture Company earlier to produce three animated films with a total budget of around $25 million (approximately Rs 1 billion).

MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms and Popkorn Entertainment have locked in Milan Luthria to direct the second out of their three-film co-production deal.

Based on gangsters, the movie is being written by Rajat Arora who has recently worked on Hattrick, Taxi 9211, Family and Bluffmaster.

Mission Istanbul, which is being directed by Apoorva Lakhia, is the first project under the deal between the two.

On being asked about the film‘s similarity with Shootout At Lokhandwala, Balaji Telefilms CEO Ramesh Sippy says, “It will be better than Shootout. The film will hit the floors sometime in September.”

With regard to the budget, he adds, “Since it is a multi-starrer project, it will be big budget. However, numbers will be finalised once the script is complete.”

MUMBAI: Percept Picture Company (PPC) has joined hands with Vishesh Films for their forthcoming film Jannat, scheduled for release on 2 May 2008.

PPC has acquired the global distribution and commercial rights of this film. The music and home video rights will be released by Sony BMG.

It is the first time that Vishesh Films has outsourced entire rights to one studio.

PPC MD Shailendra Singh says, “We are extremely excited to associate ourselves with Vishesh Films. This milestone earmarks Percept Picture Company‘s expertise for international distribution of Indian films. Vishesh Films have always been a respectable banner which has churned quality cinema for the global viewers. We are confident that with Jannat, we will be offering differentiated entertainment to the discerning audiences.”

Vishesh Films co-owner Mahesh Bhatt adds, “We are thrilled to join hands with Percept Picture Company, who have a distinctive approach in motion pictures production and distribution, with an acute proficiency and understanding of the Indian entertainment landscape. Along with Percept Picture Company, we aim to bring in a unique transformation in Indian cinema by providing quality entertainment to the masses.”

On being asked about the four-film deal between PPC and Vishesh Films which was reported lately, PPC distribution head Ashok Ahuja says, “That‘s not true. We will just be distributing Jannat for now, but as we go along, we will work together.”

MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures‘ Jodhaa Akbar has grossed a revenue of Rs 1.2 billion in 31 days.

Out of this, Rs 900 million is from India, and the rest from the overseas box office.

“Jodhaa Akbar is an epic not merely by virtue of the timeless story it tells, but also because of the tremendous tribulations its creation entailed. But the response Jodhaa Akbar has received not only in India but world wide by both critics and viewers is worth all the hard work,” said UTV Motion Pictures director Siddharth Roy Kapur.

Jodhaa Akbar, a co-production between UTV Motion Pictures and Ashutosh Gowariker Productions, was released across 25 countries in 1,500 screens. It was dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, Dutch and Arabic.

MUMBAI: US luxury spirits brands Skyy Spirits has announced a marketing deal with New Line Cinema to serve as the official spirits sponsor and promotional partner for the highly anticipated new film Sex and the City.

The film releases on 30 May and is an extension of the HBO show. Skyy Spirits’ flagship product Slyy Vodka will serve as the official spirit brand of the movie.

Skyy Spirits CEO Gerry Ruvo says, “There couldn’t possibly be a better promotional tie-in this year for our brands, particularly Skyy Vodka, than Sex and the City. We are pleased to be able to give consumers the chance to experience this cultural phenomenon through exciting, targeted marketing programmes that also give us a chance to highlight our premium spirits brands.”

To further enhance Sex and the City’s famed cocktail culture, Skyy Spirits will support the film’s release through a multi-dimensional marketing campaign, including product placement of Skyy Spirits’ expansive portfolio in the movie, featuring appearances by such iconic brands as Skyy Vodka and Cabo Wabo Tequila.

Skyy Spirits’ promotional partnership will include national print, outdoor and online advertising featuring Skyy Vodka and Sex and the City. A consumer sweepstakes tied to the advertising and on- and off-premise promotions will give fans a chance to win tickets to the star-studded New York City premiere in late May. Consumers can sign up now in the membership section of http://www.skyy.com to receive more information.

New Line Cinema president of domestic marketing Chris Carlisle says, “When we considered partners for the film, Skyy Vodka was a natural choice. The iconic cocktail of Sex and the City is the cosmopolitan and Skyy Vodka is the perfect elixir for Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda.”

Skyy Spirits and Slyy Vodka will host charity screenings of Sex and the City in Los Angeles and San Francisco just prior to the film’s rollout. The gala screenings, open to the public, will benefit local community charities.

MUMBAI: Tamil actor Raghuvaran, who essayed varied roles, died at a private hospital this morning in Chennai of cardiac arrest.

The actor was 59 and is survived by his divorced wife and former actor Rohini and a son.

Raghuvaran, who had been suffering from diabetes and other complications, was rushed to a private hospital this morning, where he collapsed. His family members were at the bedside when the end came around 8:30 am.

The body was later shifted to his residence at T Nagar where the Tamil film world paid their last respects.

Nadigar Sangam president Sarathkumar, his wife Radhika, Satyaraj, Radha Ravi, Thalai Vasal Vijay, comedian Vivek and several others placed a wreath on the body and paid their homage.

Raghuvaran had acted in several Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films, and has been praised as a natural actor. His mortal remains would be consigned to flames this evening.

He became famous with his role as the protagonist of a Tamil soap opera Oru Manidhanin Kadhai, the story about a well-to-do man who becomes an alcoholic and faces the consequent difficulties.

Raghuvaran, who had taken a sabbatical from active films due to ill health, made a comeback last year in the film Sivapathigaram and later acted in a number of big films including Rajnikanth‘s blockbuster Sivaji – The Boss. His last films were Sila Nerangalil and Bheema, which were released recently.