ITV

Category: Hollywood

  • Seth Meyers of ‘Late Night’ will host the 66th EMMY Awards

    Seth Meyers of ‘Late Night’ will host the 66th EMMY Awards

    MUMBAI: Television producer Don Mischer, best known for steering big galas such as the Super Bowl halftime shows, Olympic Games openings and the Academy Awards, will join the just announced host Seth Meyers for the 66th Primetime EMMY Awards.

     

    “Seth’s expertise and ease in front of a live audience during ‘Saturday Night Live (SNL),’ as well as his comedic brilliance both as a writer and in front of the camera, makes him the perfect choice to host the EMMY,” said Late Night president and NBC Entertainment alternative programming Paul Telegdy in a press statement. “Plus, with Don’s vast experience at putting these types of big productions together, we’ll be in great hands.”

     

    Primetime EMMY winner Meyers took over hosting duties on NBC’s Late Night in February following Jimmy Fallon’s jump to the Tonight Show. He also voices the character Prock on Hulu animated original The Awesomes, the superhero series he executive produced and co-created with Mike Shoemaker.

     

    Widely recognised as the longest serving anchor on iconic Saturday Night Live segment “Weekend Update”, the Northwestern University alum also served as head writer for SNL for nine of his 13 seasons with the series.

     

    Meyers won a Primetime EMMY for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for SNL host Justin Timberlake’s musical monologue in 2011 and has 10 additional EMMY nominations for television writing to his credit. Earlier today, Meyers was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2014.

     

    Acclaimed television and live events producer Mischer returns for his twelfth Primetime EMMYs run and his eighth time as executive producer.

     

    He has been honoured with 14 EMMY Awards, a record 10 Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, 2 NAACP Image Awards and a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. Mischer is also the recipient of Europe’s prestigious Golden Rose of Montreux and the 2012 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America.

     

    “Seth is such a talented performer and writer, and we know he will bring something unique to hosting the Primetime EMMY Awards,” said Television Academy chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum.

     

     “We are also excited to welcome Don back this year and very much look forward to the collaboration as we celebrate television’s biggest night during one of the most transformative years in Television Academy history.”

     

    Mischer has also produced specials with Beyoncé, Bono, Jennifer Hudson, Rihanna, Britney Spears, James Taylor, Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Garth Brooks, Mary J. Blige, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Barbra Streisand, the Black Eyed Peas and Carrie Underwood, among others.

     

    The 66th Primetime EMMY Awards will air live on Monday, 25 August from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

  • ‘The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants’ becomes everlasting

    ‘The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants’ becomes everlasting

    MUMBAI: The director of the original film, The Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants, Ken Kwapis (He’s Just Not That Into You) will return to direct, with Liz Garcia (The Lifeguard) writing the script, The Wrap reports. Les Morgenstein, president of Alloy Entertainment, and Elysa Dutton, vice president of Alloy Features, will produce along with Christine Sacani.

     

    From the New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares, comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation in Sisterhood Everlasting. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

     

    Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

    Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

     

    As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.

     

    Alloy, along with Alcon Entertainment, was responsible for the first two Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films, which starred Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls, Mad Men), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) and Amber Tamblyn (Two and a Half Men). The first film was released in 2005 and earned $42 million worldwide, and the sequel followed in 2008, earning $44.4 million worldwide.

     

    “The Sisterhood series is one of Alloy’s most cherished properties and we are looking forward to continuing its legacy with Sisterhood Everlasting nearly a decade after the first film was released,” said Morgenstein in a report. “The original film brought together an incredible group of talent who we hope to unite for fans once again.”

  • Emerging technologies create problems for release of new films

    Emerging technologies create problems for release of new films

    NEW DELHI: Over 350 different versions of Captain America: The Winter Soldier was created in just 17 days, in order to play in all its formats in theatres across the United States and internationally.

     

    Those formats include: 2D, 3D, film and digital. Other variants might include 4D, IMAX, and high frame rate. In the near future, laser light projectors, Dolby Atmos, and Barco Auro will require even further versions of feature films. These can include any combination of 2D, 3D (typically at least two versions at different light levels), possibly Imax and in the case of The Hobbit, a high-frame-rate option. If one has a “4D” release, each of the three 4D companies — CJ 4DPlex, MediaMation and D-Box — require their own proprietary version.

     

    With tight turnaround times, and an ever-increasing number of variables to consider, executives are not seeing an end to this problem, though they are hoping that standards will help alleviate at least some of the workflow.

     

    “Standards will help with some of the chaos,” says an executive. “But we can’t afford to stay static. This is the new normal. We get it done, but it’s not easy. We learn, we get more efficient, and then something new comes along. It’s a cycle.”

     

    With more than 95 per cent of the cinema screens in North America now converted to digital, executives find the situation is getting chaotic.

     

    “Controlled chaos” is how one studio exec (who was not involved with The Winter Soldier) describes the situation as. The reason is that the various options afforded by digital technologies means that multiple versions of a movie are needed. “The number has skyrocketed.”

     

    Several sources confirmed that it is not uncommon for a studio to create roughly 15 different versions of a movie for a domestic release — and some recent tentpoles have exceeded 30 different versions just for North America.  

     

    Meanwhile, laser light projectors with the promise of offering brighter images will be made available this year — and that may require another version. Barco’s recently unveiled Escape system (which creates a sort of Cinerama experience) would require another.

     

    Film prints are still needed for the remaining theatres, though domestic distribution of a typical tentpole title to 4,000 screens generally means fewer than 100 film prints are being created. “It’s getting harder because all of this takes time,” admitted one studio executive. 

  • Danny Boyle may direct biopic on Steve Jobs

    Danny Boyle may direct biopic on Steve Jobs

    MUMBAI: According to a report filed by The Hollywood Reporter (THR) negotiations are mid-way with Danny Boyle on the Steve Jobs biopic with Aaron Sorkin attached to write the screenplay, based on Walter Isaacson’s New York Times bestselling book. The deal is not yet sealed, but the studio is moving quickly to get this to the start line.

     

    A report in THR says Leonardo DiCaprio is the choice to star, and his name was in circulation at the very beginning when the book first was optioned by Sony with producers Mark Gordon and Guymon Casady, who were joined by Scott Rudin when Sorkin came aboard to adapt. However, DiCaprio has just committed to The Revenant with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu directing scheduled for the fall, so the timing might not work.

     

    Walter Isaacson’s bestseller is based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years, as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues. The author has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

     

    He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering. Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against.

     

    His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted. Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.

  • “There is not a single nude scene in Love & Passion,” clarifies David Wolfe

    “There is not a single nude scene in Love & Passion,” clarifies David Wolfe

    MUMBAI: Veteran Hollywood director David S Wolfe is livid. And very rightly so. He sacked his PR agent in Mumbai for running a story titled ‘Bengali bombshell actress Anjana B almost nude for a Hollywood film’, which was very widely reported in the online media. Wolfe who has done almost 100 short films and documentaries in a career spanning over 30 years in Hollywood is directing his first Bollywood film with a well-known male actor in the main lead, says content agency IndyaNewz.com. Bollywood actress and dancer Anjana B has been signed on as the female lead.

     

    Anjana has acted in films like Zilla Gaziabad, Right Ya Wrong, Chashme Baddoor and others and is a renowned theatre artiste and Indian classical dancer. She has been trained for over 10 years in Bharat Natayam and Kathak and has given about 250 Indian classical performances till date. Wolfe in a statement to the content agency said, “I signed on Anjana as she is a very good actor after auditioning for three days in Mumbai and meeting almost 50 prospective actors who were shortlisted by the casting agents in Mumbai. She has done theatre in Mumbai and Kolkata for several years and is an established classical dancer. She has a great figure, but that does not mean there is any nudity in my film. The PR agent goofed up in her enthusiasm to get the news published causing great harm to my project. She even spelt the lead actresses name incorrectly.”

     

    “We are making this film at a budget of over Rs 100 crore. It is a big budget film and will be screened both in India as well as all over the world. It is in two versions – one for the Hollywood market in English and another version or edition for the Indian market,” Wolfe explained.

     

    Love & Passion will be aesthetically shot in locales like Scotland, Thailand and in southern parts of India including Goa and Pondicherry, Wolfe revealed.

     

    Wolfe is the producer and owner of Weeping Shadow Films from Sussex, Great Britain and has tied up with a Hollywood studio for international distribution of Love & Passion. The film is expected to be released in November 2014 and will go on floor in late June this year.

  • Jane Campion to head feature jury, Abbas Kiarostami chairs short jury at Cannes Film fest

    Jane Campion to head feature jury, Abbas Kiarostami chairs short jury at Cannes Film fest

    NEW DELHI: The Cannes film festival that is scheduled between 14 May to 25 May this year will see ‘Titli’ by Kanu Behl as the only Indian film to have made it to the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.

     

    The two-hour film will be screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival in the seaside French resort.

     

    It will feature 19 films in competition opening with Grace De Monaco by Olivier Dahan; 18 films in competition opening with Party Girl by Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger, and Samuel Theis; and one film to mark the 70thanniversary celebration of the Le Monde newspaper. In addition, there will two out of competition, three midnight, and five special screenings in the Festival which is considered the top film festival in the world.

     

    The New Zealand director, producer and scriptwriter Jane Campion is to preside over the Jury of the 67th Cannes Film Festival, while the 2014 Cinefondation and Short Films Jury will be presided over by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami from Iran, and Argentinean scriptwriter, producer and director Pablo Trapero, will preside over the Jury for Un Certain Regard.
            

    The short film jury will be presided over by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami from Iran, and Argentinean scriptwriter, producer and director Pablo Trapero, will preside over the Jury for Un Certain Regard.

     

    Some of the films in competition are ‘Winter Sleep’ by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Adieu Au Langage by Jean Luc-Godard, The Homesman by Tommy Lee Jones, and Jimmy’s Hall by Ken Loach.

     

    The Salt of the Earth by Wim Wenders is in the Un Certain Regard section, while Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home is in the out of competition section.

  • Selena Gomez signs with WME, Brillstein

    Selena Gomez signs with WME, Brillstein

    MUMBAI: The popular Wizards of Waverly Place lead Selena Gomez has decided to move on with a new management company after bidding adieu to CAA some time ago. Now, she will be handled by WME and Brillstein.

     

    Gomez is looking at giving her image a makeover from the teen idol image that is currently associated with her. She aspires to move into a more adult-oriented film and music. She was till now being managed by her mother and step father.

     

    The 21 year old actress has just finished shooting on Behaving Badly opposite Nat Wolff and Mary-Louise Parker. She has also been a part of Hotel Transylvania and Monte Carlo. Gomez has also released a few music albums with her first solo album debuting at first position on Billboard last year.

  • Serbian Film Delegation to visit India

    Serbian Film Delegation to visit India

    NEW DELHI: A Serbian delegation is visiting India later this month to help increase exchanges in cinema and television between India and Serbia.

     

    The five-member delegation will be in Delhi on 24 and 25 April and in Mumbai from 28 to 30 April.

     

    During their stay, the Serbs will meet prominent film/documentary/commercials producers, and interlocutors in film and TV industry.

     

    The delegation comprises Milos Djukelic of Red Production, Ana Krivokuca from Top Cut, Alek Bdimilic from Dream Dust, Gaga Djurkovic from Visionteam, and Milica Boni of the Serbia Film Commission.

     

    The Serbia Film Commission (SFC) was established in July 2009 as the independent non-profit association of the Serbia film industry. Members include the leading producers of feature films, television, TV commercials and animation. Today, the SFC has more than 80 members.

     

    The principal aim of the SFC is to promote and develop Serbia as a cost-effective, high-quality, competitive destination for international filmmaking, and to provide information and support to international filmmakers considering using Serbia for their productions. The commission is therefore dedicated to expanding the film location and crew/business database, improving skills and services and generally fostering a film-friendly environment in the country.

     

    SFC has created and is continually updating an extensive online database of film locations in Serbia, offering over 250 locations for shooting in Serbia, with over 3000 high quality photos.

     

    SFC is the only film commission in the region of Southeast Europe, and is a member of the AFCI (Association of Film Commissioners International) where its executive director Ana Ilic is a member of the Board of Directors. SFC is also member of the European Association of Film Commissioners.

     

    Red Production specializes in print, radio, television and outdoor commercials, industrial and promotional films, television shows, documentaries, short films and feature films. The company has worked successfully with numerous advertising agencies and production companies, earning recognition at a number of advertising and film festivals. It has made several films and commercials.

     

    Top Cut is one of the first international production houses to establish its branch offices in Belgrade. It is the only Cannes Lion awarded production house in Greece and Serbia and a Bronze winner at the New York Festival, while a large number of awards have been won in the Greek market, including ”Production House of the Year” award in 2006, 2007 and 2009 and the Production Grand Prix in 2007 and 2009. Since December 2012 Top Cut Belgrade office is able to offer its services on locations in Serbia.

     

    Dreamdust is a creative post-production studio located in the centre of Belgrade, Serbia. Studio of the new generation, focused on giving that magical touch to all kinds of videos, using the latest technologies for creation and communication. For 17 years its team has been providing full service to some of the biggest brands and a large number of creative agencies worldwide.

     

    Established in 2002, Vision Team is a full service film rental company offering a range of film and video equipment and production service for feature films, television series and commercials. The company became an ARRI rental partner in June 2007.  Vision Team enjoys partnerships with high quality services and equipment companies in Hungary, Germany and the UK.

    The company strives to provide production houses with high quality services related to camera, light and grip rental. Vision team offers an experienced staff, studio capacities, production and postproduction work, and complete in-house services for its clients.

  • Tongue-in-cheek film on ‘Indian Aussies’ highlight of St Kilda Festival this year

    Tongue-in-cheek film on ‘Indian Aussies’ highlight of St Kilda Festival this year

    NEW DELHI: Producer-director-writer Anupam Sharma’s short documentary ‘Indian Aussies’ – a mosaic that incorporates the faces and voices of Indian Aussies across Australia and generations’- will be screened at the St Kilda Film Festival.

     

     The 31st edition of the Festival is being held from 22 to 31 May in St Kilda in Australia.

     

     The documentary commissioned by the Australian National Maritime Museum is a tongue in cheek look at Indian Australians across the spectrum. It was commissioned for the May 2013 exhibition East of India – The Forgotten Trade with Australia.

     

    The documentary deals with everything from identity to racism, maintaining their roots to assimilation, and of course Cricket. The film is like a Bollywood film, with a twist and music at the end, according to South Asia Times.

     

    The short documentary film explores the width and breath of culture, education, and identity amongst Indian Aussies.

     

    The ‘Indian Aussies’ has been selected for the Festival as one of the top 100 Aussie short films.

     

    The St. Kilda Festival has screened films that went on to be Oscar winners and nominees, and Palme D’or winners at Cannes.

     

    Australia’s Top 100 prize pool totals over $40,000 in cash and in-kind craft awards, including a $10,000 prize for Best Short Film. Other prizes include Best Director, Best Achievement in Screenplay, Best Documentary, Best Animation, Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Indigenous Film Making, Best Comedy and Best Achievement in Sound Post.

  • ‘Gone Girl’ trailer finally released

    ‘Gone Girl’ trailer finally released

    MUMBAI: First shown at CinemaCon, the teaser trailer of David Fincher’s next film Gone Girl starring Ben Affleck and Neil Patrick Harris has finally been released online for the mass public.

     

    Having spent eight weeks on The New York Times bestsellers list at #1, Gone Girl – the principal suspense comes from an uncertainty about the main character, Nick Dunne, and whether he killed his wife, Amy Dunne when the latter goes missing on the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary.

     

    The book has a 3.93 rating based on 441, 306 ratings on Goodreads. The book is a “pathological, twisted freak-show of a relationship so demented that it leaves wanting for more”!

     

    Hairspray screenwriter Leslie Dixon read the manuscript of the novel in 2011 and brought it to the attention of Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Legally Blonde) in December of that year. Soon after, Academy Award winning actress Reese Witherspoon swopped in and bought the rights to the film adaptation of the blockbuster hit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Witherspoon was drawn to the script because of its strong female character and its use of multiple perspectives and non-linear structure.

     

    In January of 2013, it was announced that Witherspoon will only be producing, and will not be starring in the film. By May, Golden Globe Award winning director David Fincher (The Social Network, The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo) was attached to the project with another Academy Award winner Ben Affleck (Argo) soon joining the project as the lead, Nick Dunne along with Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice, Die Another Day) as his missing wife, Amy.

     

    In several interviews, Flynn has said she was interested in exploring the psychology and dynamics of a long-term relationship. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where Flynn worked as a television critic before bursting out as an author, she hinted that the film will have a different design than her twisty novel.

     

    Throughout the trailer, you might hear quite a few dialogues exchanged for more than a few seconds over Charles Aznavour serenading his classic English love song, “She”, but the haunting cover played in the background is by Richard Butler from The Psychedelic Furs.

     

    From the trailer, it becomes quickly evident the film will resonate the dark and haunting tone that is seen in most of Fincher’s films.