ITV

Category: Hollywood

  • Jackie Chan’s son charged for drug offense

    Jackie Chan’s son charged for drug offense

    MUMBAI: The 32-year-old son of Hollywood actor Jackie Chan has been charged with a drug offense. Jaycee Chan was prosecuted in Beijing for allegedly providing a venue for drug users. The prosecution happened three months after he was arrested following a drugs bust at his residence in the capital. It is said that Chan could face up to three years in jail.

     

    Beijing police had detained Jaycee Chan and Taiwan movie star Ko Chen-tung for drug offenses earlier this year in August. Chan and Ko Chen-tung tested positive for marijuana and both admitted to taking the drug. Police seized more than 100 gm of marijuana at the junior Chan’s home. Ko Chen-tung was released 29 Aug after 14 days of administrative detention.

     

    Following Jaycee Chan’s detention, Jackie Chan released a statement on microblog Sina Weibo, saying he was “angered and shocked” by the news.

     

    Commenting further on the issue, Kung Fu star Jackie Chan said that he felt shamed by his son’s behaviour and hoped that he will behave in the future.

     

    “As Jaycee’s father, I feel ashamed and heartbroken. I hope that teenagers will draw lessons from Jaycee and stay away from drugs,” read the statement.

     

    He further added, “I hope that in the future, he could become an anti-drug spokesman and tell his experiences to young people.”

     

    Chan maintained that he never used any connections to help Jaycee Chan out.

     

  • Adam Sandler is highest paid actors: Forbes

    Adam Sandler is highest paid actors: Forbes

    MUMBAI: As the year comes to an end, Forbes listed Hollywood’s highest paid actors of 2014. Forbes compiled the annual ranking by looking at the estimated salaries of Hollywood’s top stars, the budget and revenue of the last three films each actor starred in before June 2014 to determine a return on investment for each actor.

     

    For the second consecutive year, comedian Adam Sandler topped the list, leaving behind stars Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks. According to Forbes, for every $1 Sandler was paid, he returned an average of $3.20 approximately.

     

    Adam Sandler’s latest film Grown Ups 2 was a hit, raking $246m at the global box office.

     

    Depp, the star of the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean films, came in second, returning an average of $4.10 for each dollar paid, because of recent flops like The Lone Ranger and Dark Shadows.

     

    Comedian Ben Stiller, whose film Night at the Museum: Secrets of the Tomb opened in US theaters earlier this month, ranked third with a $4.80 return, due to Tower Heist and The Watch, which did not perform well at the box office.

     

    Ryan Reynolds, who starred in Green Lantern, was fourth with $4.90 for each dollar paid, followed by dual Oscar winner Tom Hanks, who pulled in a $5.20 return, rounding out the top five.

     

    Animated and limited release films and movies featuring cameo roles were not included in the calculations.

  • Sony mulls alternate distribution options for ‘The Interview’

    Sony mulls alternate distribution options for ‘The Interview’

    NEW DELHI: Sony Pictures is still considering options for distributing controversial comedy The Interview following the decision to pull its theatrical release in the wake of a rumoured North Korean hacking attack.

     

    David Boies, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, said Sony had “only delayed” any release. “Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed,” Boies claimed. “How it’s going to be distributed, I don’t think anybody knows quite yet, but it’s going to be distributed.”

     

    Midweek, following the theatres owners’ decision not to screen the movie, Sony Pictures said it had “no further release plans for the film,” and company representatives declined to elaborate on Boies’ remarks.

     

    Nevertheless, Sony did refute a New York Post report that it was seeking to release the film for free via ad-supported online video site Crackle, which it owns. “No decisions have been made. Sony is still exploring options for distribution,” said a spokesman.

     

    Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton told CNN on Friday 19 December that the studio had not “given in” to pressure from hackers and was still considering ways to distribute the movie.

     

  • Third ‘Star Trek’ movie to be directed by Justin Lin

    Third ‘Star Trek’ movie to be directed by Justin Lin

    MUMBAI: Justin Lin, the fame behind directing many of the Fast and Furious films, has signed on to direct the third Star Trek movie. He has replaced Roberto Orci, who exited the project in early December.

     

    The first two instalments in the Paramount, SkyDance Productions and Bad Robot Star Trek franchise were helmed by J.J. Abrams, who did not return for the third so he could direct the new Star Wars film.

     

    Lin helmed Fast and Furious 6, Fast Five, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and 2009’s Fast and Furious. He was most recently attached to The Bourne Betrayal, which was to star Jeremy Renner, but plans have been put on hold as another Bourne film, starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass, moves forward.

     

    Lin is repped by CAA, Cinetic Management and Sloss Eckhouse.

  • Third ‘Star Trek’ movie to be directed by Justin Lin

    Third ‘Star Trek’ movie to be directed by Justin Lin

    MUMBAI: Justin Lin, the fame behind directing many of the Fast and Furious films, has signed on to direct the third Star Trek movie. He has replaced Roberto Orci, who exited the project in early December.

     

    The first two instalments in the Paramount, SkyDance Productions and Bad Robot Star Trek franchise were helmed by J.J. Abrams, who did not return for the third so he could direct the new Star Wars film.

     

    Lin helmed Fast and Furious 6, Fast Five, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and 2009’s Fast and Furious. He was most recently attached to The Bourne Betrayal, which was to star Jeremy Renner, but plans have been put on hold as another Bourne film, starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass, moves forward.

     

    Lin is repped by CAA, Cinetic Management and Sloss Eckhouse.

  • ‘Hollywood Chaos’ to release in Feb 2015

    ‘Hollywood Chaos’ to release in Feb 2015

    MUMBAI: Hollywood Chaos, which features actress Vanessa Simmons, is set to release in February 2015. Simmons, who has previously acted in television series like Dysfunctional Friends, Daddy’s Little Girls and Run’s House,  will be making her lead role debut with this movie.

     

    The film, which is an intimate portrayal of deception, faith, love and the chaos in Hollywood, also stars Tyler Lepley from the cast of Tyler Perry’s The Haves & The Have Nots, who will play Simmons love interest.

     

    Mykel Shannon Jenkins from The Bold & the Beautiful and Tangi Miller from Madea’s Family Reunion also have significant roles in the feature film.

     

    In the movie, Simmons plays the character of Alexis Burns, an entertainment journalist who is desperate for a promotion that she exposes the secret lifestyles of her celebrity friends. When she realizes the consequences, she is torn between progressing in her career and damaging her friendships.

     

    Hollywood Chaos has been directed by Abel Vang who won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowship. It is a Breaking into Hollywood (BiH) Entertainment’s debut film, produced in association with Olivia Entertainment. The movie also has an original soundtrack and score by Sony music producer Bruce Automatic and Ebony Rae Vanderveer of Inrage Entertainment.

     

    Hollywood Chaos was recently acquired by Breaking Glass Pictures (BGP) for worldwide distribution. 

  • Oprah Winfrey starrer ‘Selma’ addresses racial crises and struggles

    Oprah Winfrey starrer ‘Selma’ addresses racial crises and struggles

    MUMBAI:  Oprah Winfrey’s new movie Selma centers on a key moment in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

     

    The film, which is slated to open on Christmas Day this year, will mirror the struggle in the age of Ferguson and Garner and dramatise how King (David Oyelowo) rallied peacefully in 1965 against Southern racism and Alabama governor, George Wallace (Tim Roth) in order to get President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to pass the voting rights act and ensure black enfranchisement.

     

    Talking about how even today protesters fill the streets to protest police killings of unarmed black men, Winfrey says, “You look out of your window and see people protesting, and then look at Selma and it looks similar. It’s a wonderful thing that people are protesting”.

     

    “When they say, enough is enough and that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, it reiterates what Martin Luther King said in Selma,” she adds.

     

    The issue is certainly close to Winfrey’s heart. Her message of empowerment is a part of everything she does. Winfrey, who herself was born poor to a family in Mississippi, began her career as a Chicago newsreader 30 years back. Today, the 60-year-old magnate is a successful talk show presenter and a multi-faceted personality.

     

    Selma is set to release on 25 December 2014.

  • HBO’s ‘Selfie in Space’ contest sends winning picture into space

    HBO’s ‘Selfie in Space’ contest sends winning picture into space

    MUMBAI: To celebrate the HBO blockbuster movie of the year, Gravity, premiering on 21 December 2014, HBO is organising the first ever ‘HBO Selfie in Space’ contest which gives viewers a once in a lifetime opportunity to send their selfie to space.

     

    The winner’s selfie will travel to space and a video of the same will be taken and uploaded to capture the voyage.

     

     The participants can upload their photograph along with a caption and the hashtag #SelfieInSpace on HBO India’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HBOIndia) or HBO South Asia’s website (http://www.hbosouthasia.com/selfieinspace/).

     

    The contest allows the participants to upload more than one photo and it is on till the midnight of 21 December 2014. In addition, participants can also stand to win an Xbox 360 with Kinect.

     

    One of the world’s all-time biggest blockbusters, Gravity featuring George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, Ed Harris, Amy Warren, won seven Oscars including best visual effects, best sound editing, best sound mixing, best cinematography, best film editing, best original score and best director.

     

    Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney). On a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes when the shuttle gets destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space!

     

    Gravity will air this Sunday at 1 pm and 9 pm on HBO.

  • Sony Pictures unveils exciting 2015 line-up

    Sony Pictures unveils exciting 2015 line-up

    MUMBAI: Starting the year with the comedy Sharafat Gaye Tel Lene hitting theatres on 16 January 2014, Sony Pictures has a fantastic lineup of movies that include Hollywood comedy The Wedding Ringer about a best man on hire, starring top comic Kevin Hart, Josh Gad and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting.

     

    That is not all! Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie with Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel and Hugh Jackman is next on the list, featuring a story about a robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.

    Summer releases include the successful horror franchise Insidious, which takes the story back to the beginning. This will be followed by Pixels, a unique action comedy about aliens, directed by Chris Columbus and the comedy Grimsby, co-written by Sacha Baron Cohen.

     

    After which, the film, Ricki and The Flash directed by Jonathan Demme will feature a story about an ageing rocker played by Meryl Streep.

    The last quarter of the year will see Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ben Kingsley, based on the true story of high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s attempt to cross the Twin Towers of    the World Trade Center in 1974.

     

    The year ends with a bang with the highly anticipated James Bond film, Spectre releasing in early    November, followed by the Genndy Tartakovsky-directed follow-up to the record-smashing Hotel Transylvania.

    Sony Pictures India managing director Kercy Daruwala said, “In 2014 we released the biggest film of the year with The Amazing Spiderman 2 and consolidated our leadership position with five out of the top ten Hollywood films in India of all time. Our 2015 line-up promises an even more exciting year ahead, with the distribution of some local films, the scope of a sure-shot blockbuster like Spectre plus a very rich variety of other promising titles.”

    Sony Pictures India director of marketing Divya Pathak added, “2014 was a very exciting and challenging year for us in which we took movie marketing where it’s never gone before, to all corners of the   country, with franchises like Spider-Man. We are enthusiastic about   our diverse and unique 2015 line-up and look forward to reaching new heights in marketing innovation.”

    Sony Pictures India director of sales Appu said, “Our fantastic slate in 2015 holds equal promise for both audiences and exhibitors. With the Bond film slated for a release in the next diwali season, we intend to literally light up the box office.”

  • Sony permits theatres to cancel screenings of ‘The Interview’

    Sony permits theatres to cancel screenings of ‘The Interview’

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Entertainment has given the permission to domestic theater owners to cancel any and all the screenings of James Franco and Seth Rogen’s upcoming film,”The Interview” if they feel unsafe.

     

    The release of Sony’s upcoming film on Christmas day has been facing threats made to deliver a “9/11” attack on theatres that show the movie due to which theater owners are hysterically canceling the screenings.

     

    There have been suspicions that North Korea is behind the threats, as they are unhappy with the controversial content in the film. James and Seth play celebrity journalists who go on a mission to assassinate North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.

     

    Movie theaters have been cautioned, and Sony has also warned people to stay far away from places where the film may be shown. James and Seth cancelled their media appearances for the controversial comedy; the film’s New York premiere has reportedly been cancelled as well.