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Category: Hollywood

  • Christie partners Shanghai International Film Festival

    Christie partners Shanghai International Film Festival

    MUMBAI: Christie will serve as the exclusive digital projection partner for the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) for the seventh consecutive year. 

     

    The Christie Solaria CP4230 DLP 4K Digital Cinema Projector will screen the opening and closing films at the event, which takes place from 13 – 31 June, 2015.

     

    Known as China’s only non-specialized competitive international film festival accredited by the Paris-based Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films (FIAPF), the festival kicked off in style with the screening of veteran Hong Kong director Derek Yee’s new film, I Am Somebody, while China-Russian co-production Ballet in the Flames of War will close the event.

     

    Shot on location at Zhejiang Hengdian World Studios, I Am Somebody is a comedy about the lives of extras working at China’s largest film studio. The film is self-financed by Yee and stars unknowns but has numerous star cameos, including celebrities Daniel Wu and Anita Yuen. On the other hand, closing film Ballet in the Flames of War is a romance set during the Second World War. Directed by China’s Yachun Dong and Russia’s Nikita Mikhalkov, the film opened the Chinese Film Festival in Moscow last month.

     

    Christie Asia Pacific vice president Lin Yu said, “Christie is honored to present this premium movie-screening experience to all the guests at this year’s SIFF. With over 85 years of experience in the movie industry, Christie’s digital cinema projectors have achieved illustrious success in the entertainment industry. Every year, the best film professionals around the world gather in Shanghai for this dazzling event and we are delighted to be associated with the SIFF, which is one of the most prominent film festivals in the world.”

     

    A star-studded lineup of local and international movie celebrities is expected to attend this year’s SIFF red carpet ceremonies, including Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Fan Bingbing, Yao Chen, Jackie Chan, Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai, Liu Ye and Eddie Peng.

  • Musicians Union sues Paramount for outsourcing jobs

    Musicians Union sues Paramount for outsourcing jobs

    MUMBAI: The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) has filed a suit against Paramount Pictures, Inc for recording the score toSame Kind of Different As Me in Slovakia.

     

    “Only weeks after we filed suit against Paramount for offshoring jobs in other films, they did it again. This total disrespect for musicians is shameful. It is nothing more than corporate greed,” said AFM International president Ray Hair.

     

    The complaint, filed earlier this week in Los Angeles, claims Paramount breached its collective bargaining agreement with musicians that required Paramount films produced in the United States or Canada to be scored in the United States or Canada.

     

    Same Kind of Different As Me, directed by Michael Carney and starring Renée Zellweger, Greg Kinnear and Jon Voight, is in post-production and scheduled for release next April. The film, based on the bestselling novel of the same name, was filmed in and around Jackson, Mississippi but was scored in Bratislava, Slovakia last month.

     

    Hair explained that profitable film producers are increasingly offshoring scores simply to drive up profits at the expense of musicians. He pointed to Same Kind of Different As Me as a prime example of this alarming trend, which cheats musicians.

     

    The AFM is seeking breach of contract damages, including wages and benefits that should have been paid to musicians in the US or Canada.

  • Redbox re-news disc deal with 20th Century Fox till 2017

    Redbox re-news disc deal with 20th Century Fox till 2017

    MUMBAI: Redbox has inked a new agreement with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, maintaining a 28-day window on Blu-ray Disc and DVD titles through 30 June, 2017.

     

    “We look forward to working with Fox to utilize our digital marketing network and national kiosk footprint to help Fox monetize their feature film properties in the high value transactional window. As a leader in the category with over 700 million transactions per year, Redbox is actively working with our studio partners to maintain a strong base of value for their new release movies,” said Redbox president Mark Horak.

     

    “This arrangement with Redbox upholds our retail and rental strategy, while allowing us to continue to deliver the best available movies and TV shows in the market to our customers. We aggressively seek out ways to provide the greatest access to all our content while ensuring it makes the best sense for our business,” added Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment president worldwide Mike Dunn.

     

    Horak concluded, “Fox is a terrific partner and we look forward to continuing to work closely with them to satisfy consumer demand for their high quality content at a great value from Redbox.”

  • Curtains down for showman Christopher Lee at 93

    Curtains down for showman Christopher Lee at 93

    MUMBAI: Actor Christopher Lee, who immortalised Count Dracula in the minds of viewers even generations later, through his stunning act in the film, died in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, on 7 June after being treated for respiratory problems. 

     

    Not only did he become synonymous as Count Dracula after his stunning portrayal of the role in Hammer Horror films, he is well known amongst Bond lovers as Scaramanga from Man With The Golden Gun (1974). His other notable roles include a part in the seventies British horror classic The Wicker Man as the eccentric and evil Lord Summerisle, and, more recently in Lord of the Rings.

     

    Born in Belgravia, Westminster, London, Lee was hard to manage as a child and therefore he would often be reprimanded by his teachers at school, which he accepted as  “logical and therefore acceptable” for being the rule breaker that he was. After his parents’ divorce he lived with his mother and sister in Switzerland and later went to Miss Fisher’s Academy in Territet, where he played his first role, as Rumpelstiltskin. 

     

    Before establishing his career as an actor Lee volunteered with the Finnish forces in World War II and later assisted SAS in their operations  —  a part of his life he kept to himself with an air of secrecy. After returning to London, he did not find his calling in office work, nor did he find himself fit to teach at the University like other war veterans of his time. It was during a lunch meeting with his cousin Nicol? Carandini, now the Italian Ambassador to Britain, that the prospect of him being an actor came out. 

     

    Initially worried that he was too tall to be an actor, Lee found instant fame after his first feature film The Curse of Frankenstein for Hammer Horror films. And there was no looking back for him post that.

     

    Lee wasn’t just fit for the fantasy roles he played, he was an avid fantasy reader as well. In fact he re-read Lord of the Rings trilogy every year, and was the only member of the film cast to have met the author JRR Tolkien. While he is known for his astounding roles as an actor, Lee also tried his luck at single and faired pretty well. This multi-lingual talent had also rendered his voice for many animated movies as well. 

     

    According to many, he was often dubbed as the ‘real life James Bond’ thanks to his exploits as a war veteran and his close association with James Bond author and his cousin Ian Fleming.

     

    While Twitter and Facebook flooded with comments from industry and fans alike, pouring down their grief at the loss of this great artiste, Lee’s family has refrained from giving any comment.

  • Sony Pictures Animation to release ‘Open Season: Scared Silly’ in Spring 2016

    Sony Pictures Animation to release ‘Open Season: Scared Silly’ in Spring 2016

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Animation will be releasing Open Season: Scared Silly, the fourth installment in the titled series in Spring 2016.

     

    This latest production brings back Elliot, Boog and all of the beloved woodland creatures in a new comedy adventure, with David Feiss directing and John Bush producing.

     

    Feiss said, “My affection for these characters has only grown since we introduced them in Sony Pictures Animation’s first feature. We’re having a lot of fun bringing them back for a new adventure—it feels like a big party with old friends.”

     

    Most recently, Feiss directed four mini-movies for the home entertainment release of Sony Pictures Animation’s Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2, entitled Steve’s First Bath, Super Manny, Attack Of The 50ft Gummy Bear and Earl Scouts.

     

    Open Season: Scared Silly opens with Elliot telling a campfire story about the legend of the Wailing Wampus Werewolf that lives in Timberline National Forest. Domesticated Boog is terrified by the story and decides to “chicken out” of their annual summer camping trip until he knows the werewolf is gone. Determined to help Boog overcome his fears, Elliot and their woodland friends band together to scare the fear out of Boog and uncover the mystery of the Wailing Wampus Werewolf. 

     

    Canadian computer animation and design company Rainmaker Entertainment, Inc. is serving as the animation facility for the production of Open Season: Scared Silly.

  • Sixteen new European films at European Panorama festival in New York

    Sixteen new European films at European Panorama festival in New York

    NEW DELHI: Sixteen new feature films are being screened at the ongoing Panorama Europe 2015 in New York, the seventh edition of new European cinema (formerly known as Disappearing Act).

     

    Presented by Museum of the Moving Image and the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), the Festival commenced at the Museum and the Bohemian National Hall on 29 May and will conclude on 14 June.

    The festival includes films from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Spain.

     

    The Closing Night film is Bas Devos’s award-winning VioIet (Belgium, 2014), which is screened as part of this year’s New Directors/New Films series. The screening will be preceded by live music by the Flemish band St. Grandson in the Museum’s courtyard and followed by a reception.

    “This year’s Panorama Europe lineup is exceptional,” said Chief Curator David Schwartz, who programmed the festival. “Many of the films are fascinated with questions of identity and history, on both personal and national levels. And this year, many films use humor, often dark, to explore their subjects.”

    The festival continues its mission of showcasing the best in European filmmaking by introducing a wide-ranging selection of contemporary cinema in varying genres that cover many current social and cultural themes. Panorama Europe offers New York audiences what may be their only chance to see these acclaimed films on the big screen.

     

    Some of the highlights of this year’s edition include Petr Václav’s 2015 Czech Lion best film The Way Out, Panos H. Koutras’s multiple award-winning Xenia (Greece), Virág Zomborácz’s Afterlife (Hungary), Ignas Jonynas’s The Gambler (Lithuania), with star Oona Mekas attending, and Breathe (Respire) (France), the sophomore feature directed by the actress Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds, Beginners).

    The festival Board, headed by Kristýna Milde and chaired by the Czech Center, is comprised of the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Czech Center, the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Goethe-Institut New York, the Hungarian Cultural Center, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Onassis Foundation (USA) and Consulate General of Greece, and the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

    Additionally, festival partners include the Albanian Institute, the Arte Institute, the Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia and Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Consulate General of Estonia, the Consulate General of Spain, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania, the General Representation of the Government of Flanders to the U.S., the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia and Slovenian Film Centre, and Instituto Cervantes.

  • JAKKS bags licensing rights of ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’

    JAKKS bags licensing rights of ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’

    MUMBAI: US toymaker JAKKS Pacific, Inc. has inked a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to manufacture, distribute and market a line of toys and products based on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and RatPac Dune Entertainment’s feature film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. 

     

    The movie, which is scheduled to hit theaters on 25 March, 2016, pairs the two Super Heroes for the first time on the big screen and is directed by Zack Snyder. It stars Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman.

     

    The agreement, which covers the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice film, also includes a domestic and international renewal for the full DC Comics franchise. The multi-category license includes large-scale action figures and vehicles, accessories, games, wagons and more. JAKKS plans to launch its Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice product line in Spring 2016 to coincide with the film’s worldwide theatrical release. New DC Comics product lines will also be available at retailers in Fall 2015.

     

    “We could not be more excited to be part of the eagerly awaited Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice franchise and welcome the opportunity to bring to life two of the most epic Super Heroes of all time. We look forward to continuing our legacy of creating innovative and character-specific toys for the DC Comics line, especially in our highly detailed and collectible Big Figures line,” said JAKKS Pacific executive vice president of marketing John Blaney.

     

    “JAKKS consistently brings a larger than life statement to the toy aisle and we look forward to expanding our existing DC Comics offerings and building upon this partnership by bringing the epic Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to life with an all-new Big Figures line,” added Warner Bros. Consumer Products executive vice president Karen McTier.

  • 28 animation films in competition at Annecy in France

    28 animation films in competition at Annecy in France

    NEW DELHI: Eight feature films and around 20 short films from all over the world are to compete for the 26 awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France this month.

     

    The Festival is being held in Annecy in France from 15 to 20 June.

     

    Held once every two years, the Festival became an annual feature in 1998. It specialises in animated films – shorts, medium, and feature length.

     

    The feature films are: Adama (France by Simon Rouby), Avril et le Monde truque (France, Canada), Belgium (Franck Ekinci and Christian Desmares), Mune (France – Alexandre Heboyan, Benoit Philippon), Pos eso (Spain – Sam Orti), Sabogal (Colombia – Juan Jose Lozano, Sergio Mejia Forero), Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai (Japan – Keiichi Hara), The Case of Hana & Alice (Japan – Shunji Iwai) and Tout en haut du monde (Denmark, France – Remi Chaye).

     

    Apart from juries for features and non-features, there will be a jury of FIPRESCI (international Federation of Film Critics) and two separate juries of children between eleven and sixteen years of age for judging features and shorts.

     

    There will also be a market for animation films during the festival, apart from some Master classes by experts in animation. The emphasis will also be on women making animation films, and there will be a large number of films out of competition.

  • James Wan to direct Jason Momoa in Warner’s ‘Aquaman’

    James Wan to direct Jason Momoa in Warner’s ‘Aquaman’

    MUMBAI: James Wan will direct Warner Bros. Pictures’ upcoming Aquaman feature film, which stars Jason Momoaas the sea-dwelling Super Hero.

     

    Warner Bros. Pictures president, creative development and worldwide production Greg Silverman said, “We’ve been so lucky to have worked with James, first on New Line’s The Conjuring and now on their upcoming The Conjuring 2,and are thrilled to have him on board as we continue to expand our DC slate. The Aquaman film will be a major tentpole picture for us and James’s span of work has proven him able to take on any manner of project, bringing his incredible creative talent and unique voice to the material.”

     

    Wan will also be supervising the script by Kurt Johnstad. The film is being produced by Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder and Zack Snyder.

     

    Rovensaid, “James is not only a great storyteller but can make action truly explode on the big screen, and Jason has a dynamic presence that commands your attention.Together, they willbring an undeniable vitality and energy to this characteras he headlines his first feature film.”

     

    Currently set for a 2018 release, the film is based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment.

  • Clint Eastwood to direct film on heroic pilot Chesley Sullenberger

    Clint Eastwood to direct film on heroic pilot Chesley Sullenberger

    MUMBAI: Clint Eastwood will helm Warner Bros. Pictures’ as-yet-untitled drama about the life of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who became an American hero when he landed his disabled jet on the Hudson River,saving the lives of everyone aboard.

     

    Eastwood will direct the film from a screenplay by Todd Komarnicki, based on the book Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, by Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow. The film is being produced by Eastwood and Tim Moore, for Malpaso; Frank Marshall, under the Kennedy/Marshall banner; and Allyn Stewart, for Flashlight Films. Flashlight’s Kipp Nelson and RatPac-Dune’s Steven Mnuchin are serving as executive producers.

     

    Warner Bros. Pictures president, creative development and worldwide production Greg Silverman said, “Simply put, Clint Eastwood is at the top of his game, not to mention a global treasure.On the heels of his extraordinary work in American Sniper, it is tremendously exciting to see him explore the life of another captivating true-life hero.It is also great to be collaborating with Frank Marshall and Allyn Stewart to produce this compelling script by Todd Komarnicki.”

     

    The film will go beyond Sullenberger’s almost impossible and much-heralded achievement of safely landing a jumbo jet on the water, which was captured on video and viewed around the world.But behind the scenes, a drama was unfolding that could have cost him his reputation and his wings.

     

    Sullenberger said, “I am very glad my story is in the hands of gifted storyteller and filmmaker Clint Eastwood, and veteran producers Allyn Stewart and Frank Marshall.The project could not have found a better home than Warner Bros. Pictures. This is truly a dream team.”