ITV

Category: International

  • Chinese create $ 800 mn fund for investment in Hollywood

    Chinese create $ 800 mn fund for investment in Hollywood

    MUMBAI: China-based Sun Redrock Investment and Harvest Fund Management have decided to create a whopping $800-million fund to invest in tentpole productions in Hollywood and elsewhere that appeal to Chinese audiences.

    Harvest Seven Stars Media Fund will operate in three distinct areas – mergers and acquitisions, distribution in Asia and movie content either through equity investment in companies or operating capital investment.

    The fund meant for mergers and acquisitions will identify and take positions in niche dominant companies on a worldwide basis, enabling their consolidation and growth, particularly in the Chinese and Asian markets.

    So far as operations go, it will build a comprehensive distribution and marketing platform in all media across China and beyond.

    Announcing the deal, Wu said: “This new partnership emphasises our confidence in the strength and potential of the Chinese media industry and the wealth of talent within it. We look forward to cultivating this new joint venture and seeing it grow into one of the world‘s leading media funds.”

    He said that films like the recent Mission Impossible — Ghost Protocol, a huge hit in China, are the kind of stuff that the fund would seek to invest in. He said it would also be interested in alliances with companies such as DreamWorks.

    Harvest Alternative Investment Group is the alternative investment arm of Harvest Fund Management, marking it out as one of the first 10 fund management institutions authorised by the Chinese government as part of its strategy to open up and develop its financial sector.

    Sun Redrock Investment is part of Sun Media Group founded by Bruno Wu and Yang Lan operating five major divisions including Redrock Capital, Sun Enterprises Group, Sun Publishing Group and Sun Culture Foundation, a charitable foundation which promotes philanthropy and corporate social responsibility in China.

  • Princess Diana biopic in anvil

    MUMBAI: Enthused by the success of The Iron Lady- a film based on Britain’s ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, producer Stephen Evans is all set to make a film based on the life of Princess Diana.
     
    The film will be based on Diana’s bodyguard Ken Wharfe‘s memoirs from his book Diana: Closely Guarded Secret.
     
    “We are dealing with about 11 years of her life from just after she had Harry, when he‘s aged about two, and it‘s partly from the point of view of her protection bodyguard,” Evans has been quoted to have said.
     
    “The emphasis on this really is authenticity and to discover what she went through. Unless you are a Diana freak, quite a lot of it will be unknown to the audience. The movie‘s not saying she is unbelievably wonderful or she‘s a pain in the neck, the audience can make their own view,” he added.


    The Princess of Wales died in a car crash in August 1997.

  • MGM closes $500 mn revolving loan

    MGM closes $500 mn revolving loan

    MUMBAI: Ending its bankruptcy, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) has closed a $500 million revolving credit facility.

    The revolving credit facility replaces a term loan and a smaller revolving facility the studio received as part of a pre-packaged bankruptcy in which its lenders exchanged $4 billion in outstanding debt for equity valued at about $2 billion.

    Announcing the Studio’s endeavour, MGM co-CEO and co-chairmen Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum said, “A year ago MGM was in bankruptcy and to receive this oversubscribed facility just one year later is proof positive that through careful and efficient business decisions, we have earned the faith of the financial community.”

    The credit facility will be used to pay up debts and also to develop the film and TV businesses that will include films being made under a partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment including 21 Jump Steet, the next James Bond movie Skyfall, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (in partnership with Warrner Bros.) and GI Joe: Retaliation (with Paramount Pictures).

    Other films in development include remakes of Robocop, Carrie, Poltergiest and Teen Wolf, along with Punk Farm and Vikings.

    The restructuring of MGM was a long process that began in May 2009 when Moelis & Co, an investment bank, was hired to advice management. In August the same year, Stephen Cooper replaced CEO Harry Sloan who was said to be a turnaround expert.

    MGM was having problems meeting $300 million in annual interest payments. Moelis & Co. had to work out the bankruptcy with more than 140 creditors. The closing of the deal will trigger a payment of over $9 million to Moelis.

    The new loan was led by JP Morgan Chase, which reportedly put up $75 million of the new credit facility. The rest came from Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank of Canada, SunTrust Bank, Wells Fargo, CIT Bank, Union Bank, City National Bank and OneWest Bank.

  • Chronicle, Woman in Black top b-o collections

    Chronicle, Woman in Black top b-o collections

    MUMBAI: 20th Century Fox‘s high school superpower film Chronicle opened with a collection of $22 million. It was followed closely by CBS Films‘ Daniel Radcliffe’s horror-thriller The Woman in Black that brought in $21 million.

    Both the films over performed with total box office revenues up by 35 per cent compared to that of last year.

    For months, films have been skewing, bringing in a lot of worry to filmmakers. But that trend reversed on Friday.

    Both films proved to be victories for their respective companies. Fox only spent $12 million to produce Chronicle.

    While Chronicle received a B CinemaScore, Woman and Black received a B-. Woman in Black‘s performance is a boost for Radcliffe whose Harry Potter fans turned up to see the star, with females making up 59 per cent of the audience.

    Woman in Black, based on Susan Hill‘s novel of the same name, was produced by Hammer Film Productions and preemptively acquired by CBS Films just before the Cannes Film Festival last year.

    The third new film of the weekend is Universal and Working Title Films‘ family friendly whale film Big Miracle that opened at No. 4 with a muted revenue of $8.5 million.

    Beating Big Miracle for the No. 3 spot was Open Road Film‘s The Grey that grossed $9.5 million in its second weekend for a cume of $34.7 million. The film ‘s attendance fell roughly 40 per cent. The film received an A- CinemaScore.

  • Up There tops at Santara Barbara Intl film fest

    Up There tops at Santara Barbara Intl film fest

    MUMBAI: The 2012 Santa Barbara International Film Festival ended recently with Zam Salim‘s directorial debut Up There annexing the top prize.

    The film that received the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema, is all about the deceased Martin, who‘s stuck in a dead-end afterlife job but dreams of ascending “up there” — a hope that‘s dashed when he loses a soul and must figure out how to recover the new arrival.

    The award included a Panavision camera package worth $60,000.

    The Audience Choice Award, sponsored by the SB Independent, was lapped up by director Ken Scott’s Starbuck. The film is about a former sperm donor who discovers that he‘s the father of 533 children, 142 of whom have filed a class action lawsuit to determine the identity of their biological father, known only by the pseudonym Starbuck.

    The best Documentary Film Award went to Walter Matteson’s Pretty Old that follows four women aged 67 to 94, competing in the 30th year Anniversary of the Ms. Senior Sweetheart Beauty Pageant.

    A special jury prize for Artistic Distinction was given to Barrymore directed by Erik Canuel and starring Christopher Plummer. The Best International Film Award went to Free Men that is all about an Algerian Muslim immigrant who joins the French Resistance to save Algerian Jews.

    The jury included actor/comedian Dave Koechner; actor/director Brad Hall; actor/writer W. Earl Brown; actor Anthony Zerbe and his wife Arnette Zerbe; SBIFF originator Phyllis de Picciotto; director Glenn Jordan; actor Tim Matheson; online awards columnist Kris Tapley and writer/ director Perry Lang.

  • Jane Levy bags lead role in Evil Dead remake

    Jane Levy bags lead role in Evil Dead remake

    MUMBAI: Jane Levy of Suburgatory fame has won the lead role in Fede Alvarez-directed movie Evil Dead.
     
    Levy is replacing Lily Collins, who has opted out from the remake citing schedule issues.
     
    Levy will take over the role of Mia in the movie. The role was formally played by Collins.
     
    She will be casted along with Shiloh Fernandez who will play the male lead in the movie. Fernandez is no longer stranger to the woods as he was also in the horror film ‘Red Riding Hood‘, playing Peter.
     
    The production of the movie, ‘Evil dead‘ will begin sometime in March in New Zealand. The movie is slated to release on 12 April 2013.

  • Actor Ben Gazzara passes away at 81

    Actor Ben Gazzara passes away at 81

    MUMBAI: New York born on-screen and stage performer Ben Gazzara passed away on 3 February at Bellevue Hospital Centre, New York. He was 81 years old.

    Gazzara was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

    Starting his career in 1950s as a stage actor, Gazzara has worked in movies and television for over five decades.

    His credits include NBC‘s Run for Your Life (1965-1968), which earned him two Emmy nominations and TV movie An Early Frost (1985).

    During his career, Gazzara appeared in more than 100 feature films and TV movies, including the indie films he made with writer-director John Cassavetes. Husbands, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Opening Night which are his notable works. He also directed two mid-1970s episodes of Peter Falk‘s drama Columbo.

    He won an Emmy for 2002 HBO production Hysterical Blindness.

    Married thrice, Gazzara is survived by his third wife Elke, daughters Elizabeth and Danja, and brother Anthony.

  • “Released for Life” wins Washington’s Best Film competition

    “Released for Life” wins Washington’s Best Film competition

    MUMBAI: Student film “Released for Life,” produced by students attending The Documentary Center at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, was the winner at the Washington’s Best Film competition.

    Steve Knapp, President of George Washington University, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray and SnagFilms founder and chairman Ted Leonsis were also present for the award ceremony and screening of the film.

    Washington’s first-ever Best Film competition was created to celebrate Washington D.C.’s talented filmmakers and find original, diverse storytellers who display the spirit and quality that D.C.-based SnagFilms seeks out in all the films it showcases on its digital network.

    Above all, the competition was looking for dynamic stories focused on improving the world around us. Participating filmmakers had to be residents of Washington D.C. or have a production company based within the District.

    The winning film, “Released to Life,” tells several powerful stories of people returning home after incarceration. With the shadow of past convictions continuing to follow them, these recently released, D.C. based ex-offenders struggle to redefine themselves in a society that they no longer know.

    “This contest is the first of many that will highlight the incredible talent that exists here in our nation’s capital,” stated Mayor Vincent C. Gray. “I congratulate these extraordinary young filmmakers on successfully tackling such an important topic and being a shining example for budding filmmakers all over the District.”

    The student filmmakers who produced the film at The Documentary Center of The George Washington University were: Jason Wilder Evans, Jatryce Jackson, Kripa Koshy, Yavar Moghimi, Hua “Lily” Qin, Erika Rydberg, Rebecca Taylor and Greg Upwall. Nina Seavey is director of The Documentary Center.

    “SnagFilms joins the Mayor and the D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development in congratulating these young filmmakers, and The George Washington University, on having produced such an outstanding and important film,” stated SnagFilms’ founder and chairman Ted Leonsis.

    “We are proud to showcase ‘Released to Life’ on the SnagFilms digital network and shine a light on such a critical issue for our city and country. We hope the SnagFilms audience will watch this film, share it with others and be inspired to take action. It’s what we call ‘filmanthropy,’ and this film is a wonderful example of how ‘filmanthropy’ can engage our community and change our world.”

    The film will debut on Snagfilms.com and be available on demand, for free, worldwide. The film will soon be available on mobile devices via SnagFilms mobile apps for iPad, Android tablets, Kindle Fire and Android smartphones.

    “This is the greatest honor a first time filmmaker could want for their film! Not only is our film available to everyone online, but also the D.C. mayor and local legislators will be watching the film and taking the message back with them to City Hall,” said Yavar Moghimi, who produced the film along with his classmates as part of the 2010 GW Institute for Documentary Filmmaking.

    “We all went into documentary filmmaking because of its power to tackle tough social issues and inspire change. This recognition will help spread the film‘s ultimate message: that incarcerated people are transitioning back into society more than ever and we need to make sure they are prepared for the struggles that await them.”

  • Sequel to successful Insidous film on the anvil

    Sequel to successful Insidous film on the anvil

    MUMBAI: The makers of last year‘s American commercial success Insidous have revealed plans to return with a sequel for the supernatural horror after tasting success at the box office.
     
    Leigh Whannell, the writer of the successful project, will pen the story for the sequel. Jason Blum will produce the movie through his Blumhosue Productions, while the movie will be directed by Malaysian-born Australian producer James Wan.
     
    Canadian motion picture distribution/production company Alliance Films has come back to finance the sequel. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions and FilmDistrict has acquired U.S. rights to the movie.
     
    "We are all so lucky to have James and Leigh return to this great franchise they created," Blum said in a statement. "And of course we are all pleased to be back in business with our partners at Sony, FilmDistrict and Alliance Films."
     
    The movie goes into production this year for a 2013 release.
     
    The film starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Barbara Hershey had collected $100 million worldwide. It was made at a cost of $1.5 million.

  • Kodak seeks exit from Hollywood theatre sponsorship

    Kodak seeks exit from Hollywood theatre sponsorship

    MUMBAI: New York-headquartered digital imaging company, Eastman Kodak Company, has opted for a pre-mature exit from its 20-year naming rights deal worth $75 million for Hollywood‘s Kodak Theatre, which is also the home of Academy Awards.

    The development comes close on the heels of the company filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection and obtaining a $950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to enable it to continue trading.

    In a filing before U.S bankruptcy court judge, the company requested that it be relieved of the contract since company‘s debtors have determined that “any benefits on the rights does not exceed or equal the debtors‘ costs associated with the contract”.

    The 3,332 seat theatre was built by CIM Group, a leading real estate and infrastructure investment firm, at a cost of $94 million.

    A crown jewel of the Hollywood & Highland Center retail, dining and entertainment complex located in the heart of historic Hollywood, the Kodak Theatre was designed by the internationally-renowned Rockwell Group.

    The naming of Kodak Theatre, which was expected to run through to 2020, was believed to be one of the most significant non-sports corporate sponsorships of that time.