Category: Hollywood

  • Pierce Brosnan to star in IT

    Pierce Brosnan to star in IT

    Mumbai: The famous James bond actor Pierce Brosnan is all set to appear in a new movie ‘IT’ which is a revenge thriller that Stefano Sollima will be directing.

     

    Financed by Voltage Pictures, the role that Brosnan will be playing is that of a successful book publisher who has to face a young tech savvy IT consultant who is threatening Brosnan. The script is written by Dan Kay.

     

    The role of the antagonist is vacant and is being searched for. Shooting is aimed to begin early 2014. Voltage is also looking for a domestic studio partner for the movie.

  • Jane Fonda to receive AFI life achievement award

    Jane Fonda to receive AFI life achievement award

    Mumbai: Renowned actress Jane Fonda will be the 42 recipient of the AFI life achievement award. The ceremony is to be held on 5 July2014 in Los Angeles.

     

    Henry Fonda was the sixth recipient of the award and this makes the two the first father-daughter duo to get the prize. Fonda is a two time Oscar winner and a seven time nominee. The last nomination was Sidney Lumet’s ‘The Morning After’. She was most recently seen in ‘Mother-in-law’ with Jennifer Lopez in 2005.
    The ceremony will be aired on TNT and a repeat will be shown on TCM.

  • Bad Grandpa to open alongside The Counselor

    Bad Grandpa to open alongside The Counselor

    MUMBAI: Paramount’s Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, in which Johnny Knoxville punks strangers while in character as senior citizen Irving Zisman.

     

    The previous three Jackass films grossed $79mn, $84mn, and $170mn worldwide for Paramount – but they also kept to the show’s signature disconnected shocks and pranks vs. a Borat-esque hidden camera narrative.

    Bad Grandpa is scripted by Knoxville, director Jeff Tremaine, and Spike Jonze, and will open on 25 October against Fox and Ridley Scott’s The Counselor with no other major competition.

  • Ted 2 gets June 2015 release date

    Ted 2 gets June 2015 release date

    MUMBAI: Universal Pictures will release the follow-up to Seth MacFarlane‘s highest-grossing original R-rated comedy of all time on 26 June 2015.

     

    MacFarlane returns as writer, director and co-star of Ted 2 along with star Mark Wahlberg from Universal and Media Rights Capital. Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild return as scribes.

     

    MacFarlane produces alongside Bluegrass Films’ Scott Stuber, as well as John Jacobs and Jason Clark. The first film made about $550 million worldwide after its June 2012 release

  • Paramount Pictures goes in for a leaner structure

    Paramount Pictures goes in for a leaner structure

    MUMBAI: A part of the Viacom conglomerate, Paramount Pictures has decided to trim down its staff by 110 people. Just a memo was issued to people who have been sent back home.

     

    The reductions will be in the Finace, HR, IT, International home media distribution, legal and marketing departments. In a letter to its sacked employees the company CEO Frederick Huntsberry said that the layoffs were needed to manage business ‘with greater speed and flexibility as well as capitalise on opportunities in the global entertainment market’.

     

    The company has plans to re-enter into TV. Their performances on the big screen have just been average.

     

    Positions have been shed in their head office in LA as well as many international offices. Previously in 2011, the company laid off 120 people.

  • Chronicles of Narnias fourth installment in the franchise up next

    Chronicles of Narnias fourth installment in the franchise up next

    MUMBAI: In an announcement, the C S Lewis Company said that it will be joining hands with the Mark Gordon Company to produce the fourth installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series. The Silver Chair will be a film version of the fourth book from the adaptation of the fantasy series.

     

    Mark Gordon and Douglas Gresham (stepson of C S Lewis) will be producing along with Vincent Sieber. The three will work on the script together.

     

    The first three series have been a worldwide success grossing over $1.6 billion worldwide. The first movie got the best with $745 million. It was produced by Disney. The next two were distributed by Fox.

     

    An entirely new cast is set to appear in the movie set 50 years after the last one – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

  • Supergroup formed to create music for The Amazing Spider-Man 2

    Supergroup formed to create music for The Amazing Spider-Man 2

    NEW DELHI: Oscar-and Grammy-winning composer Hans Zimmer will work with Pharrell Williams, Johnny Marr, Michael Einziger, and Dave Stewart to create music for The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

     

    Making this announcement in Culver City, Sony Pictures Worldwide Music president Lia Vollack said the film, directed by Marc Webb from a screen story and screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.  

     

    The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be released in theaters in the United States on 2 May 2014, and international release dates commence 16 April 2014.

     

    Commenting on the announcement, Zimmer said, “Marc and I were talking about Spider-Man, and as the word got out, so many of our friends and musicians started calling us up, wanting to be a part of it because they love Spider-Man. That was the thing that united all of us – the great love for Spider-Man. With all of these hugely talented people wanting to join us, it was Marc who said, ‘Why not start a band?’ Marc and I have had a great start jamming with everybody, and we still have a few surprises up our sleeve.”

     

    Vollack added, “This kind of collaboration is only possible because of who Marc Webb is – not only a director but also a musician – combined with who Hans is and what Spider-Man means to so many people. Nobody has ever approached film music in this way before and this likely can never be replicated. We are huge fans of Hans, Pharrell, Johnny, Mike, and Dave, and when combined, we know the result will be truly unique… and amazing!”

     

    Zimmer, a nine-time Oscar nominee and winner for his work on The Lion King, previously collaborated with Williams on the film Despicable Me, as Williams produced four original solo songs and several other character-sung pieces. They later collaborated on the music for the 84th Annual Academy Awards. Marr played on Zimmer’s score for the hit film Inception, Einziger played on his score for The Lone Ranger, and Stewart played with Zimmer on the score for Madagascar 3.

     

    Hans Zimmer has composed the scores for more than 100 films taking in more than 17 billion dollars. His many credits include scoring the Pirates of the Caribbean blockbusters, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, 12 Years a Slave, Rush, Man of Steel, Sherlock Holmes, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Gladiator, The Thin Red Line, Rain Man, and many more. He has been honoured with an Academy Award, two Golden Globes and four Grammys. In 2003, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers presented him the prestigious Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement for his impressive and influential body of work.

     

    Pharrell Williams, a three-time Grammy winner, is one of the world’s most in-demand and influential music producers and recording artists. This summer, Williams became the 12th artiste to hold the #1 and #2 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously as he was featured on two songs – Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines, also featuring T.I., which Williams also produced, and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, which Williams co-wrote – both of which have been called the Song of Summer. He has previously composed songs and the score for the hit animated films Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2.

     

    Johnny Marr rose to fame as co-songwriter and founder member of The Smiths. Since then, Marr has continued to push boundaries and work with some of the world’s most exciting musical artistes, including Modest Mouse, The The, Pet Shop Boys, Talking Heads, and Beck. This year NME awarded Marr the Godlike Genius award. He recently released the critically acclaimed solo album, The Messenger.

     

    Michael Einziger is the founder/guitarist/songwriter for the groundbreaking band Incubus. Wake Me Up, the worldwide smash he co-wrote with Avicii, has been #1 in 70 countries. As an acclaimed record producer, he produced /co-wrote/executive produced three projects set for release in the coming months: Chuck Inglish, Yuna and the Internet (Odd Future). In addition to scoring the Josh Duhamel film Scenic Route he has scored Supremacy and is working on three additional film projects. Einziger previously collaborated with Zimmer on The Lone Ranger, for which he composed additional music.

    Dave Stewart is recognized as one of the most respected and accomplished talents in the music industry. “He’s the musician’s musician.”- Rolling Stone. Stewart’s music career spans three decades and more than 100 million album sales, highlighted by his collaboration with Annie Lennox in the groundbreaking pop-rock duo Eurythmics. Behind the scenes, he has produced albums and co-written songs for Bono, Bryan Ferry, Gwen Stefani, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Katy Perry, and Mick Jagger. Beyond his creative work as a musician, he is a renowned producer, author, director, photographer, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Stewart recently released a solo album, Lucky Numbers.

  • Francos Sal to release on VOD and iTunes on 22 Oct

    Francos Sal to release on VOD and iTunes on 22 Oct

    MUMBAI: James Franco directs the pic about 1950s teen idol and Oscar-nominated actor Sal Mineo, who rocketed to fame with his turns in Rebel Without A Cause and Otto Preminger’s Exodus before he was stabbed to death at age 37.

     

    Sal, scripted by Stacey Miller with a story by Miller, Franco, Vince Jolivette, and Val Lauren from Michael Gregg Michaud’s book on the actor, follows Mineo in his final hours as he struggles to regain career momentum. Lauren stars as Mineo alongside Franco, Jolivette, Miller, Jim Parrack, Trevor Neuhoff, and Raymond T. Williams.

     

    Tribeca Films will release the pic on VOD and iTunes on 22 October followed by a limited theatrical run 1 November.

  • Silver Linings Playbook producer boards Brian Epstein biopic The Fifth Beatle

    Silver Linings Playbook producer boards Brian Epstein biopic The Fifth Beatle

    MUMBAI: Academy Award-winning producer Bruce Cohen (American Beauty, Milk, Silver Linings Playbook) is set to produce The Fifth Beatle, about the life of Beatles manager Brian Epstein.

     

    The English entrepreneur Paul McCartney dubbed “the fifth Beatle” helped launch the career of the Fab Five and managed them until his death by accidental overdose in 1967. He was also a closeted gay man whose close relationship with John Lennon was the subject of the 1991 Sundance entry The Hours and Times.

     

    The Fifth Beatle will be the first feature film about the Beatles to obtain the rights to use their original songs. Pic is scripted by Tony-winning producer Vivek J. Tiwary (Green Day’s American Idiot, Mel Brooks’ The Producers) from his own forthcoming graphic novel with art by Andrew C.

     

    Robinson and cartoonist Kyle Baker, which Dark Horse releases 19 November. Tiwary will produce alongside Cohen, who won the Oscar in 2000 for American Beauty. Production is set to begin in 2014.

  • Tom Hanks brings real life sea adventure to reel with Captain Phillips

    Tom Hanks brings real life sea adventure to reel with Captain Phillips

    UMBAI: Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks will soon be seen playing the titular role in Sony Pictures’ upcoming adventure drama Captain Phillips. The movie is not just making news for its riveting storyline but is also being pegged as Hanks’ third shot at the Oscars for his portrayal of the real life Captain Richard Phillips. Based on the true incident of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009, this is yet another drama based on a true story featuring the actor who is self-admittedly fascinated by adaptations of real life happenings to the silver screen.

     

    Talking about the appeal non-fictional stories hold for him, the actor said, “I’m fascinated constantly by nonfiction entertainment. I’m the type of guy that reads the newspaper and sees a story that really happened and says, ‘Well, this is better than most movies.’” Commenting on his reasons to take up this movie, Hanks further added, “We’ve seen quite a few fictionalised versions of what can happen when bad guys try to take over a ship or a plane, but because this is a real event, it presents one of the biggest challenges a filmmaker can face, which is: what really happened and how do we make that so gripping that it warrants holding a place in commercial entertainment?”

     

    Directed by  Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips recounts the true-life ordeal of Richard Phillips, the captain of a US-flagged cargo ship, the MV Maersk Alabama, sailing with a 20-man crew and 17,000 metric tons of cargo that was bound for Kenya in April 2009 when it was abducted by four Somali pirates. The biopic is based on the memoirs of Captain Richard Phillips who was at the helm of the ship and was taken hostage by the pirates who fled the Maersk aboard one of the ship’s lifeboats.

    Captain Phillips releases in India on 18 October.