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Category: Hollywood

  • Ben Affleck reveals the first look of ‘Gone Girl’

    Ben Affleck reveals the first look of ‘Gone Girl’

    It was around this time two years ago that we saw the release of David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and while we haven’t seen a feature film from him since, the drought will end in 2014.

     

    The director is currently in the midst of crafting an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s acclaimed novel Gone Girl, and while the film will be released late next year, the studio, 20th Century Fox has unveiled a first look at the movie via their official twitter account.

     

    Being adapted by Flynn herself – making her screen writing debut – the thriller centers on the relationship between Nick and Amy, a married couple who have hit a rough patch. Moving to a small town in Missouri from New York after Nick loses his job, Amy is miserable away from the big city, but things become scary when she disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. To make things even worse, Nick is the prime suspect and there is plenty of evidence against him. Ben Affleck stars as Nick, while Rosamund Pike is playing Amy.

     

    The cast also includes Neil Patrick Harris, Missi Pyle, Tyler Perry, Patrig Fugit, Casey Wilson, Scott McNairy, Kim Dickens and Emily Ratajkowski. Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea, along with Leslie Dixon, are producing the movie.

  • Game of Thrones is the most pirated show of 2013

    Game of Thrones is the most pirated show of 2013

    With 2013 nearing its end TorrentFreak (TF) has released the list for their Top 10 Most Pirated Shows and Game of Thrones takes the crown again this year followed by Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Game of Thrones holds the honour of becoming the most downloaded TV-show for the third year in a row.

    With 5.9 million downloads via BitTorrent, the 2013 season finale beat the competition by a landslide. More than half the downloads happened in the first week after the show aired and apparently the total exceeds the number of traditional viewers in the US.

    Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead complete the top three with an estimated 4.2 and 3.6 million downloadsa are est respectively. The datimated by TorrentFreak based on several sources, including download statistics reported by public BitTorrent trackers.

    It doesn’t come as a surprise that Game of Thrones topped the charts as the show has broken two piracy records already this year, with over 170,000 people sharing a copy of an episode simultaneously.

    There are a wide variety of reasons why people download TV-shows, but to a certain degree one could claim that HBO is to blame for the massive piracy of Game of Thrones. The network prefers to keep access to the show exclusive and even Netflix wasn’t able to buy the rights no matter what they offered.
    Interestingly enough, TF also learned this year that the huge number of unauthorised downloads don’t bother the show’s makers much. Game of Thrones director David Petrarca previously  admitted to TorrentFreak that piracy generated much-needed “cultural buzz” around his show.

  • This Christmas, treat yourself with a Sherlock video tape!

    This Christmas, treat yourself with a Sherlock video tape!

    MUMBAI: Sherlock certainly knows how to make a re-entry. The acclaimed series is set to return next month for its third season on AXN India and, to further stoke anticipation; the BBC has released an enigmatic new mini-episode online. It tracks the return of Benedict Cumberbatch’s brilliant, socially-challenged detective from a grave that, one could deduce, he never filled.

     

    “Many Happy Returns” follows up “The Reichenbach Fall,” the Season two finale of January 2012 in which Sherlock faked his suicide in London. The 7 minutes 12 seconds episode is written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Moffat had earlier said that the new villain of the show will send a chill down the spines of the viewers. Now, years later, we open on a mysterious blonde drug smuggler uncovered among a group of monks – a stunning discovery that could only be attributed to Holmes, or so insists Detective Anderson (Jonathan Aris) – never a big fan of Sherlock’s – who tries to convince Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) that the detective isn’t dead after all.

     

    Anderson points to two other cases – including one murder involving ice cream “solved” by an inspector in New Delhi – that bear Holmes’ trademark reasoning and reluctance to accept any credit. Still, Lestrade remains unconvinced, even as Anderson traces a line of miraculously solved crimes that seem to indicate a return to London.

     

    After finishing his pint, Lestrade goes to see John Watson (Martin Freeman) and hands Holmes’ trusty sidekick an uncut version of a video message the detective once made for Watson’s birthday. In it, we finally see Sherlock, unsure how to tell Watson why he can’t attend his birthday party. (The real reason: because there will be people.) “So what do you want me to do at the end?” Holmes asks. “Shall I smile and wink? I do that sometimes; I’ve no idea why. People seem to like it. It humanizes me. Its fine, whatever.”

     

    After insulting his friend in the sweetest way possible, we see Sherlock’s message, in which he offers Watson many happy returns and promises, “Don’t worry, I’m going to be with you again very soon.” But just how the presumably deceased detective intends to rise from his apparent demise is hardly elementary. Then Watson is distracted by a ringing phone. So how does the clip end? With Holmes offering a wink and a smile, of course.

     

    Thanks to Sherlock, Cumberbatch has seen his Hollywood stock rise significantly in the past few years. He recently voiced the titular dragon in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, starred as the nefarious John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness, and made a turn as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate. Over the summer, Pacific Rim director Guillermo Del Toro said he was hoping to cast the actor in his upcoming adaptation of Frankenstein.

     

    Season Three of Sherlock will air on Friday nights on AXN starting 3 January.

  • Hugh Jackman quits the Houdini Broadway project

    Hugh Jackman quits the Houdini Broadway project

    MUMBAI: Actor Hugh Jackman has apparently quit the upcoming Broadway musical Harry Houdini. The actor, who won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for The Boy from Oz, was associated with Houdini since last two years and was supposed to portray the title role of the illusionist and escape artist, Houdini.

     

    However, he pulled out of the musical because of his scheduling demands commit to the time this role will require. The actor in a statement announced that he has tremendous respect and admiration for the creative team and wished everyone the best. He also said that the team is on its way to make something extraordinary.

     

    The producers of the as-yet-unscheduled show announced in January 2012 about the association of Jackman. The actor reportedly had been involved unofficially before this. Houdini has gone through several personnel changes since first being announced in 2008 with a planned 2010 premiere. Film composer Danny Elfman was originally announced to do the music, with lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Kurt Andersen. Jack O’Brien has remained as director, though Stephen Schwartz is now composing the songs, while David Ives provides the book. Aaron Sorkin had been attached as writer in 2012 when Jackman was announced.

  • AP names Jennifer Lawrence ‘Entertainer of the Year’

    AP names Jennifer Lawrence ‘Entertainer of the Year’

    MUMBAI: The battle for the Associated Press (AP) entertainer of the year came down to the Girl on Fire and the Queen of Twerk.

    Jennifer Lawrence edged out Miley Cyrus by one vote in the Associated Press annual survey of its newspaper and broadcast members and subscribers for “Entertainer of the Year”.

    There were 70 ballots submitted by US editors and news directors. Voters were asked to consider who was the most influential on entertainment and cultural front in 2013. Lawrence won 15 votes, Cyrus had 14, Netflix was a close third, earning 13 votes for altering the TV landscape with its on-demand format and hit original series.

    However, Lawrence, who started the year with an Academy Award for best actress, hit it big all through the year first with The Hunger Games Catching Fire and wrapped 2013 with a critically acclaimed performance in David O. Russell’s American Hustle that has just earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

    Lawrence was a favourite of many because of her diverse roles as well as her  Academy Award for Best Actress. She has since been nominated for both a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for American Hustle.

    The second in the list – Miley Cyrus also made headlines in 2013, but for many different reasons. She made her first splash in August  during the MTV Video Music Awards, but kept her twerking ways for the rest of the year. Cyrus later smoked pot onstage in Europe, continued to undress in many different situations and went through a very public break up with fiancé Liam Hemsworth.

    She also made fashion headlines with her pixie haircut.

  • Harry Potter 3 director gets VES Visionary award

    Harry Potter 3 director gets VES Visionary award

    Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional honorary society, named acclaimed filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron as the recipient of its Visionary Award in recognition of his extraordinary career including his landmark achievement on this year’s hugely acclaimed Gravity.

     

    The award will be presented to him at the 12th Annual VES Awards on 12 February, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

     

    The VES Visionary Award, bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, recognises an individual who has uniquely and consistently employed the art and science of visual effects to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work. VES will honor Cuaron for his consummate artistry, expansive storytelling and profound ability to use and pioneer technology and visual effects to bring his unique visions to life.

     

    A three-time Oscar nominee, Cuaron directed, co-wrote, produced and edited the drama Gravity, which is one of the most acclaimed films of this. The accolades that Cuaron and the film have received to date include: Best Director and Best Picture awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress (Sandra Bullock); and ten Broadcast Film Critics Association nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Art Direction.

     

    Cuaron made his feature film directorial debut in 1992 with Solo Con Tu Pareja, the biggest box office hit in Mexico that year, which brought him an Ariel Award as the film’s co-writer. Cuaron made his American feature film debut in 1995 with the widely acclaimed A Little Princess, followed by Great Expectations in 1998. He then wrote and directed Y Tu Mama Tambien for which he received his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay as well as BAFTA Award nominations for Best Foreign Film and Best Original Screenplay. He went on to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third film in the most successful motion picture franchise of all time. Cuaron’s 2006 hit, Children of Men was celebrated by critics and film fans for its groundbreaking techniques. The film brought two Oscar nominations to Cuaron, for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.

     

    “Alfonso pushes the known boundaries of filmmaking,” VES Board Chair Jeffrey A. Okun said in a release. “He has been at the forefront in using visual effects to tell remarkable, highly nuanced stories that change the way we think about what is possible to achieve. Throughout his career, Alfonso has shown a rare talent for using cutting-edge technology to engage us in his deeply visceral storytelling and create unforgettable cinematic experiences.”
    Earlier, Christopher Nolan and Ang Lee have won the VES Visionary Award.

  • Release of ‘Fast and Furious 7’ postponed until April, 2015

    Release of ‘Fast and Furious 7’ postponed until April, 2015

    MUMBAI: Vin Diesel, the star of the Fast & the Furious film series has announced a final release date for the last installment of the famous movie franchise.

     

    The untimely death of Paul Walker not only shocked fans all over the world, but it halted the final stretch in making the 7th installment of Fast and the Furious. As a tribute to Walker’s life, the makers decided to finish the film, and his co-star Vin Diesel has announced on his Facebook page that the movie will be released in April in 2015.

     

    “The last scene we filmed together…There was a unique sense of completion, of pride we shared… in the film we were now completing… the magic captured… and, in just how far we’ve come… Fast and Furious 7 will be released…April 10th 2015!” wrote Diesel with a photo showing him alongside Walker.

     

    Diesel concluded the post saying “P.s. He’d want you to know first.”

    Universal Pictures has confirmed the April 10 release date with E! News, and mentioned that 60 per cent of the film has been already shot before Walker’s death.

     

    The famous actor died in a fatal car accident on November 30 in East Los Angeles. Walker was on the passenger seat of a Porsche Carrera GT driven by friend, Roger Rodas, who also died in the scene. According to investigators leading the case, there was no mechanical issue involved in the accident, and that it was a result of solely too much speed.

     

    Immediately after Walker’s death, Universal released a statement saying that they will stop all movements in relation to the filming of Fast & Furious 7, to pay respect to the friends and relatives of the late actor, as well as to give support to the crew and filmmakers.

     

    However, the studio did say that “all options available to move forward with the franchise,” according to a report by E! Online. There are no final statements or press releases regarding on how the film will unravel its plot without its main character, Brian O’Connor, played by the late Paul Walker.

  • India’s The Good Road out of the Oscar race

    India’s The Good Road out of the Oscar race

    MUMBAI: Gyan Correa’s much publicised The Good Road is out of the race for the Foreign Language Oscars. Nine features will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 86th Academy Awards. Seventy-six films had originally been considered in the category.

     

    Even earlier, The Good Road, Correa’s directorial debut that intertwines three stories in the hostile and remote Kutch in Gujarat, had a bumpy ride – when it invited the wrath of The Lunch Box team, which felt that Correa’s work stood little chance at the Oscars.

     

    The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are: Belgium, The Broken Circle Breakdown, Felix van Groeningen, director; Bosnia and Herzegovina, An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, Danis Tanovic, director; Cambodia, The Missing Picture, Rithy Panh, director; Denmark, The Hunt, Thomas Vinterberg, director; Germany, Two Lives, Georg Maas, director; Hong Kong, The Grandmaster, Wong Kar-wai, director; Hungary, The Notebook, Janos Szasz, director; Italy, The Great Beauty, Paolo Sorrentino, director; Palestine, Omar, Hany Abu-Assad, director.

     

    Foreign Language Film nominations for 2013 are being determined in two phases. The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based Academy members, screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 16. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist. The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles.  They will spend 10 January to 12 January viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

     

    The 86th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on16 January, 2014, Thursday in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

  • Uncut version of ‘Nymphomaniac: Volume I’ to premiere at the Berlin Film Fest

    Uncut version of ‘Nymphomaniac: Volume I’ to premiere at the Berlin Film Fest

    MUMBAI: Lars von Trier’s hard-core director’s cut for his erotic epic Nymphomaniac won’t be going to Cannes but will instead premiere at the Berlinale in February. The 64th Berlin International Film Festival will present the world premiere of Volume I of the long uncut version of Nymphomaniac, out of competition.

     

    Alongside starring actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, numerous other international stars are part of the Nymphomaniac ensemble: Stellan Skarsg?rd, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman, Willem Dafoe, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier and many others. British actress Stcy Martin celebrates her big screen debut with Nymphomaniac.

     

    “Berlinale audiences will be the first to see the long uncut version of Nymphomaniac Volume I. Lars von Trier, a guest of the Berlinale for the first time in 1984, returns to the festival with this film. The aesthetic he has created in Nymphomaniac is impressive and radical,” said Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick in a release.

     

    Nymphomaniac is the wild and poetic story of one woman’s journey from birth to age 50, as told by the main character, self-diagnosed nymphomaniac Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg). One cold winter evening, the old and charming bachelor Seligman (Stellan Skarsg?rd) finds Joe beaten up in an alley. He takes her to his flat, where he tends to her wounds while asking about her life. He listens intently as Joe tells the lush, branched-out and multifaceted story of her life, in eight chapters.

     

    Von Trier, 57, won the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2000 for the death-row melodrama Dancer in the Dark starring Bjork and Catherine Deneuve and picked up its Jury Grand Prize for Breaking the Waves in 1996. The shorter version approved by Lars von Trier will open worldwide in cinemas starting 25 December, 2013.

     

    The Berlinale will open on 6 February with an all-star romp by US director Wes Anderson at the Grand Budapest Hotel and wrap up on 16 February.

  • Disneys upcoming movie to star Australian newcomer Mitchell Hope

    Disneys upcoming movie to star Australian newcomer Mitchell Hope

    Disney Channel has finally found its lead in the Australian newcomer, Mitchell Hope for its upcoming live-action adventure movie, Descendants. Hope has been cast to play Ben, the son of Beauty (Queen) and the Beast (King). Hope joins Dove Cameron (Liv & Maddie), who will star as Mal, daughter of Maleficent, the malevolent villain from Sleeping Beauty.

     

    Descendants is set in a present day idyllic kingdom, where the benevolent teenaged son of the king and queen (Beast and Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast) is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making offspring of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, the Evil Queen and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters. These villainous descendants (Carlos, Mal, Evvie and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan. However, the evil teens face a dilemma. Should they follow in their nefarious parents’ footsteps and help all the villains regain power or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?”

     

    The film will be written by Josann McGibbon whose earlier work includes: Runaway Bride and Desperate Housewives and Sara Parriott (The Starter Wife) and directed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical). The film’s scheduled to start production in 2014 spring and is slated for a 2015 premiere.

     

    Hope’s previous work includes TV mini-series Never Tear Us Apart: the Untold Story of INXS.