ITV

Category: International

  • MPAA releases statistic report

    MPAA releases statistic report

    MUMBAI: The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) has released its annual Theatrical Market Statistics Report for 2011.

    The report shows that global box office receipts for all films released around the world reached $32.6 billion, that shows an increase of 3% over that of 2010 due to ongoing growth of box office in international markets.

    Each international region experienced box office growth in 2011. Chinese box office grew by 35% in 2011 alone, by far the largest growth in major markets. “These numbers underscore the impact of movies on the global economy and the vitality of the film-watching experience around the world,” said MPAA Chairman and CEO Senator Chris Dodd.

    “The figures on box office reflect only one indicator of an extremely complex, and evolving movie industry.We‘re working harder and smarter to keep moviegoers coming back for more, whether at the cinema, at home or on the go,” ,” Dodd said.

    The U.S./Canada box office market finished at $10.2 billion, down 4% compared to last year, but up 6% from 5 years ago. 3D box office was down $400 million in 2011 in comparison to 2010, which is not surprising given that 2010 included Avatar‘s record-breaking 3D box office performance. 2D box office remained consistent from 2010 to 2011.

    Globally, cinema screens increased by 3% in 2011. Digital cinema continues its rapid growth so that just over half of the world‘s screens are now digital. The number of digital screens in the U.S. nearly doubled in 2011, now comprising 65% of all U.S. screens.

  • Animator Glen Keane to leave Walt Disney Animation

    Animator Glen Keane to leave Walt Disney Animation

    MUMBAI: Veteran animator Glen Keane is soon to leaving Walt Disney Animation.One of the key figures in the studio‘s animation revival, Keane worked on classics like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.

    Animator Glen Keane, a 38-year veteran of the Walt Disney Animation Studios who worked on such classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, announced Friday that he is leaving the company.

    In a letter sent to his co-workers, the 38-year old said that while the studio has been his “artistic home,” he had decided after “long and thoughtful consideration” that there are “endless new territories to explore” and so he is moving on.

    Confirming his departure, a Disney spokesperson said, “After an incredible 38-year career as an animator, storyteller, and filmmaking pioneer with Walt Disney Animation Studios, Glen Keane has decided that the time has come to take the next step in his personal exploration of the art of animation. As much as we are saddened by his departure, we respect his desires and wish him the very best with all his future endeavors.”

    Keane played a key role in the Disney animation renaissance of the ‘90s, and his departure came as a shock to many in the animation community. He brought to life such characters as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, the Beast in Beauty and the Beast and the title characters in Aladdin, Pocahontas and Tarzan.

  • Warner Bros. Pictures teams up with and Legendary Pictures for Hangover III

    Warner Bros. Pictures teams up with and Legendary Pictures for Hangover III

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are once again teaming up with Todd Phillips for The Hangover Part III, the third installment in the record-breaking comedy franchise.

    The Hangover Part III will star Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, who will reprise the roles of Phil, Stu and Alan, collectively known to moviegoers as the Wolfpack. In the previous two films, the three friends‘ attempts to plan a celebration have resulted in disaster for them, but led to a combined billion-dollar success at the worldwide box office.

    The announcement was made Warner Bros. Pictures Group by President Jeff Robinov. Said Robinov, “We are extremely pleased to have Todd Phillips and the guys back together again for another ‘Hangover,‘ and we look forward to collaborating with them on another great movie.””I‘m so excited to embark on another ‘Hangover‘ film with Bradley, Ed and Zach. We‘re going to surprise a lot of people with the final chapter we have planned. It will be a fitting conclusion to our three-part opera of mayhem, despair and bad decisions,”Phillips noted.

    A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures, The Hangover Part III will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

    The film is set to go on the floors in September and is slated for release on 24 May, 2013.

  • SnagFilms releases Confessions Of An Eco-Terrorist in US

    SnagFilms releases Confessions Of An Eco-Terrorist in US

    MUMBAI: SnagFilms, one of the world‘s leading distributors of independent films for digital platforms, has released its groundbreaking feature documentary Confessions Of An Eco-Terrorist on the US pay-on-demand platform on 22 April.

    Confessions Of An Eco-Terrorist takes viewers on an action-packed voyage with the world‘s most wanted environmentalist heroes, Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society – the stars of Animal Planet‘s Emmy-nominated hit series Whale Wars.

    Seen through the eyes of director, activist and longest serving Sea Shepherd crew member, Peter Jay Brown, the film features 30 years of never-before-seen insider footage of the most exciting, despairing and triumphant eco-campaigns in the world. During their voyages they‘ve been engaged in dramatic conflict including the boarding of ships, arrests, being fired upon by the Norwegian Navy and successfully ramming and/or sinking illegal whaling and fishing vessels worldwide. The group is also credited with stopping drift-netting worldwide and saving the lives of millions of marine wildlife.

    "We are extremely excited for audiences in the U.S. to be able to experience Confessions Of An Eco-Terrorist and its unmistakable environmental message," stated SnagFilms COO Stephanie Sharis. "Earth Day is the perfect time to premiere this truly revolutionary documentary," he observed.

    The film will be available on video on demand on Comcast, FiOS and iNDemand affiliates including Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks, as well as digital platforms, including iTunes, VUDU, Amazon and Xbox Live.

  • Malaysia govt. to give 30 per cent initiative to films shot in the country

    MUMBAI: The Malaysian Government has decided to give a production incentive of 30 per cent to international and local filmmakers who shoot their films in the country.
     
    Detailing, the incentive, information, communications and culture minister, Rais Yatim said that locally-made international films with a minimum cost of 5 million Ringgit shooting their films in Malaysia would be entitled to the incentive while local movies would have to spend a minimum of 2.5million Ringgit to qualify.
     
    “The move is to encourage the filming of international movies in Malaysia and the growth of the local movie industry,” he has reportedly said. He also said the expenses of the productions would be audited by relevant authorities before the rebate is given.
     
    Dr Rais said that creative productions such as animation and documentaries would also be entitled to an allocation of RM120mil under the ministry‘s ‘Creative Industry Grant‘.

  • Jessica Biel in Hitchock film

    Jessica Biel in Hitchock film

    MUMBAI: Hollywood actress Jessica Biel will play Vera Miles in Sacha Gervasi‘s Alfred Hitchock and the Making of Psycho.

    The 30-year-old has joined an all-star cast including Scarlett Johansson as screen icon Janet Leigh and Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock in the film that will be directed by Gervasi, it is understood.
     
    Miles played the role of Lila Kane, the sister of Janet‘s character in 1960‘s Psycho.
     
    Psycho was nominated for four Oscars upon its release. Biel will next be seen in the remake of ‘Total Recall‘ opposite Colin Farrell.

  • Vail fest to honour Fred Schepisi

    Vail fest to honour Fred Schepisi

    MUMBAI: The Vail Film Festival will honour director Fred Schepisi with the Vail Film Festival‘s Vanguard Award. Krysten Ritter, who plays a lead role in the Starz series Gravity, has been chosen to receive the festival‘s Excellence in acting award.
     
    Schepisi, whose films include Six Degrees of Separation and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, most recently directed The Eye of the Storm. The film, which will be released in the United States by Sycamore Entertainment, will have its US premiere as the festival‘s opening night film.

    Ritter‘s film credits include She‘s Out of My League, Confessions of a Shopaholic, What Happens in Vegas, 27 Dresses and Vamps. She stars in Kat Coiro‘s L!fe Happens, which will screen as the festival‘s closing night film.

    The festival, which runs from 29 March to 1 April in Vail, Colorado, will present the honorees at its awards ceremony on the closing night.

  • Cameron to go down 11km in the Pacific

    Cameron to go down 11km in the Pacific

    MUMBAI: James Cameron is soon to dive to the deepest place on Earth in a one-man submarine. His vessel, named the Deepsea Challenger, will carry him 11km down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific.
    The director will spend his nine-hour dive in a thick, metal sphere with an internal diameter of just 109cm (43in) where he will be unable to stretch his arms or legs. The rest of the sub is made from specially designed syntactic foam, similar to the material from which a surf board is made. It counterbalances the weight of the pilot‘s compartment, which will have to protect Cameron from 1,000 atmospheres of pressure.
    When Cameron attempts the Mariana dive, a science team headed up by Doug Bartlett from the Scripps Institute will be dropping a lander fitted with 3D cameras and baited to attract any passing life.
    Don Walsh, who made the first and the only manned mission to the Mariana Trench with Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard in 1960, has joined the team. Once they can get a few days of good weather, the team hopes to first make an unmanned 11km dive with the sub to check that it works properly and then send Cameron down.
    Cameron and his team had earlier performed a similar feat; taking a successful 8,200m test-dive in Papua New Guinea.

  • Connery voices for Scottish CGI film

    Connery voices for Scottish CGI film

    MUMBAI: The Sonoma International Film Festival, that runs from 11 to 15 April, will host the US premiere of Sir Billi, the first full-length animated feature produced entirely in Scotland.

    Said festival director Kevin McNeely in a statement, “We are thrilled to host the U.S. premiere of Sir Billi featuring the powerfully dynamic voice of Sir Sean Connery.”

    The highlight of the film is that it has Sir Sean Connery doing the voice over of the title role, a skateboarding grandfather and veterinarian trying to save the last beaver in Scotland with the help of his goat Gordon voiced by Alan Cumming. Sascha Hartmann has directed the CGI project from a screenplay written by his wife Tessa Hartmann.

    “Tessa and Sascha Hartmann have produced a highly entertaining, family oriented film that sizzles with fun, non-stop action and an awesome title track sung by Dame Shirley Bassey, which was composed by Sascha. Bring on the Scots!,” added McNeely.

    Averred Conneryin a reported message, “”I‘m excited to be a part of this incredible film and Scotland‘s first animated feature,” said Connery. “Sir Billi is truly a first-class film, with an exceptional cast, and is sure to delight audiences of all ages. There‘s an incredible amount of work that goes into animated productions and I am delighted that Sascha and his team have completed what has been a labour of love.”

    Sir Billi will screen at the 1930s Renaissance-style Sebastiani Theatre April 13.

  • Allen’s next titled To Rome With Love

    MUMBAI: Woody Allen‘s latest films title has been changed for the third time. What was initially The Bop Decameron that later was changed as Nero Fiddled is now To Rome With Love.


    The film will be released in the US on 22 June by Sony Pictures Classics and will now officially becomes the third of Allen‘s last fifth films to feature a city in the title (Midnight in Paris, Vicky Cristina Barcelona).


    Sony Classics explained the title change in a press release:
     
    ‘To Rome With Love was a name selected as an homage to the eternal city of Rome where the film was shot on location last summer. This will be used for its worldwide release. The film‘s former title, Nero Fiddled, while an appropriate and humorous phrase in the US is not a familiar expression overseas and many international territories preferred a more globally understood name.”


    The film follows a number of people in Italy; some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors and, as occurs in an Allen film, the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into.
     
    The film stars Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page.