Category: International

MUMBAI: James Cameron is currently writing the scripts of for the sequels of his blockbuster movie Avatar.
 
Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 are expected to release in the Decembers of 2014 and 2015 respectively.
 
Disclosing his plans, Cameron is reported to have said, “”We‘re shooting two films back-to-back, so I‘m writing two scripts, not one, which will complete a [three]-film story arc…not really a trilogy, but just an overall character arc so I‘m pretty excited about that…We‘re doing a lot of preliminary work right now on new software and new animation techniques and so on. We‘re creating a new facility in Manhattan Beach so everybody that‘s not already dead is coming back.”
 
Cameron also explained as to how difficult it was to create a sequel to a blockbuster like Avatar. “There‘s always an expectation. I had to deal with that after The Terminator back in 1984. All of a sudden I had a big hit movie and it was ‘what are you doing next?‘ But my job is to take the audience on a journey and entertain them…The second I am sitting down writing, I just go to Pandora. I don‘t think about that stuff, about standing on a red carpet. It has its own life, really. The characters have their own lives,” he said.
 
The distinction between what Cameron defines as a trilogy and what he understands to be a group of three films telling a connected story is a bit muddled, but it’s exciting to hear that the two sequels intend carry on the tale organically.

MUMBAI: Actress Megan Fox, who was recently ousted by Steven Spielberg after she compared Transformers-director Michael Bay to Adolf Hitler, has been signed up to star in an upcoming movie The Dictator.
 
Fox is expected to play a cameo and will have Sacha Baron Cohen as her co-star.
 
The cast of the movie also includes, John C. Reilly, Ben Kinglsey and Anna Faris and is directed by Larry Charles.
 
The studio describes the movie as a “heroic” story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that his country, he lovingly oppressed, never gets democratised.
 
The story is inspired by the best selling novel “Zabibah and The King”, written by Saddam Hussein.
 
The book was described as being about “a benevolent, beloved king who falls in love with a beautiful, victimized girl who was raped by her cruel husband. Believe it or not, it‘s a subtle allegory for Iraq and the United States — the king (based, obviously, on Saddam) is the peaceful Iraq, while the cruel, rapist husband is the Gulf War-waging United States.”
 
Fox has been far from unemployed since her Spielberg-imposed sabbatical, Though Fox has already shot for the dramedy Friends With Kids, directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, she had been out of work for quite some time.

Fox has also recently signed up for Judd Apatow‘s next project, This Is Forty.

MUMBAI: The George Clooney-directed The Ides of March will open the 68th Venice Film Festival on 31 August.
 
Ides, based on Farragut North by Beau Willimon, stars Clooney as a governor with presidential ambitions, Ryan Gosling as his press spokesman and Paul Giamatti as a rival campaign manager. In addition to directing the film, Clooney wrote the screen adaptation with Grant Heslov and also served as one of the producers.
 
Clooney, who is expected to be present at the festival, will bring along the political drama. Two years ago, Clooney was there with The Men Who Stare at Goats, in which he starred. In 2005, he picked up a number of prizes for his Good Night, and Good Luck.
 
Sony is set to release the film on 7 October in America while Exclusive, that launched the film at last year’s American Film Market, is handling the international release of the film.

MUMBAI: Filmmaker Tarsem Singh, known for his films like Immortals and The Cell has started filming Relativity Media’s comedy action-adventure Untitled Snow White.

Untitled Snow White, starring Oscar winner Julia Roberts nd Lily Collins, is the story of an evil Queen (Roberts) who steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess (Collins) who nlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright in a spirited adventure comedy filled with jealousy, romance and betrayal.
 
The film also stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the object of their affection, Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen. Mare Winningham (Brothers) as Baker Margaret, Michael Lerner (Elf) as Baron, Mark Povinelli (Water for Elephants), Jordan Prentice (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), Danny Woodburn (Watchmen), Sebastian Saraceno (Bedtime Stories), Ronald Lee Clark (Epic Movie), Martin Klebba (Pirates of The Caribbean) and Joey Gnoffo (The Benchwarmers) comprise the Seven Dwarfs.

The film, being produced by Ryan Kavanaugh, Bernie Goldmann and Brett Ratner has script by Melisa Wallack and Jason Keller.
 
This year Relativity Media will release David Ellis’ Shark Night 3D on 2 September followed by the highly-anticipated Immortals on 11 November.
 
The production house’s 2012 slate also includes its House at End of the Street (i3 February), Untitled RavenProject (9 March), Untitled Farrelly/Wessler Project (13 April), Safe Haven (1 June) and Hunter Killer (21 December. The studio recently announced the groundbreaking action-thriller Act of Valor will join its 2012 slate, with an exact date to be announced.
 
Relativity also owns and operates Rogue Pictures, a company that specializes in films targeted to an audience between those between 13 and 25 year olds.

MUMBAI: Turkish film Hayde Bre won the Golden Goblet for best feature film, at the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) that concluded on Sunday.
 
The Chinese film Mr. Tree won its director Han Jie the best director award and also the Jury Grand Prix award at the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) that concluded on Sunday.

While the SIFF award for best screenplay went to Zhang Ming for The Young Man Sings Folk Songs in the Opposite Door, which also took home the best actress and the award for best music.

 
The award for best actor went to Sevket Emrulla in Hayde Bre.
 
While the award for best cinematography was bagged by Thai D.P. Tiwa Moeithaisong for his photography of Friday Killeram.
 
A gangster film paying tribute to Yuthlert Sippapak, which was directed by Quentin Tarantino took home the SIFF Jury Prize.

SIFF also awarded 10 winners in the event‘s inaugural cell phone short films competition that was launched to highlight a new media platform and provide young directors with international exposure.

Acclaimed Hong director Tsui Hark chaired the jury along with Chinese actress Zhao Tao and Thai film director Nonzee Nimibutr.

MUMBAI: The Ryan Reynolds superhero film Page One: Inside The New York Times grabbed the number one spot while the Paramount holdover Super 8 took over the second spot elbowing out Mr. Popper‘s Penguins.
 
Magnolia‘s Page One, released in two New York screens raked in $33,000, averaging $16,500 while Paramount‘s holdover Super 8, in its second weekend, grossed $21.3 million for a domestic total of $72.8 million. In overseas markets, it earned $22 million for a worldwide total of $94.8 million.
 
The 20th Century Fox film Mr. Popper‘s Penguins grossed $18.2 million. On the other hand, Warner Bros.‘ Green Lantern opened with an intake of $52.7 million debut, but fell sharply on Saturday.

Heading into the weekend, tracking suggested Green Lantern could open in the $57 million to $60 million range. The film got off to a strong start on Friday after it grossed $21.6 million but fell 22 per cent on Saturday.

 
“I would have loved to see $55 million, but we have to let things play out. Schools are out now, so if we left anything on the table, we should pick it up during the week,” Warners president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman has been quoted as having said.

Green Lantern, based on the DC Comics character, cost $200 million to produce before a sizeable marketing spend. At that level, the movie will need to generate big numbers, both domestically and internationally.

Overseas, Green Lantern, that opened in 15 territories, grossed $17 million. Placed at No. 1 in the UK, it lost out to Super 8 in Russia and to X-Men: First Class in Korea.

Popper‘s Penguins, based on the beloved 1938 children‘s book, will face stiff competition next weekend from Cars 2, while in terms of Carrey‘s box office track record, Yes Man totalled around $98 million domestically.

Warners‘ The Hangover Part II, that is fast approaching the $500 million mark at the worldwide box office, finished Sunday with a domestic total of $232.7 million and international total of $256 million for a total $488.7 million.

DreamWorks Animation and Paramount‘s Kung Fu Panda 2, is doing good business overseas, where it finished with the weekend with an international total of $280 million.

MUMBAI: Steven Spielberg is keen to make the fourth sequel of Jurassic Park and is reportedly working with writer Mark Protosevich to reboot the lucrative franchise.
 
Besides a possible revival of dinosaurs on the big screen, Spielberg is set to launch the television series Terra Nova.
 
Several years ago, Spielberg worked with Protosevich on a potential remake of Chan-wook Park‘s Oldboy that was to star Will Smith. The film ran into rights problems and didn‘t go beyond the thought process.
 
Spielberg, who directed the first two films of Jurassic Park while he was an executive producer on the third, he has met Protosevich twice to fashion a story for a potential fourth film in the Jurassic Park franchise.

MUMBAI: The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), that is to be held from 21 July to 7 August will screen 25 films that were screened this May at the Cannes Film Festival.

The films include films like Drive, a high-octane speed thriller that won the Director’s prize for Danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn, Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty, Maiwenn le Besco’s Polisse and The Kid with the Bike.

The festival has also acquired films like the jury prize-winning Russian film Elena, Bruno Dumont’s Outside Satan and Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlener.
 
From Director’s Fortnight, MIFF will screen the Belgian coming of age film The Giants, Natalia Almada’s El Velador and The Silence of Joan directed by Capitaine Achab director Philippe Ramos.

The entire programme will be announced on 5 July.

MUMBAI: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes for his film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Loves has been selected to head the jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti (Horizons) sidebar.
 
The section focuses on cutting edge international cinema. Incidentally, Weerasethakul had competed in the festival’s main section in 2006 with his film Syndromes and a Century.
 
Besides, Italian director Carlo Mazzacurati, whose La Passione competed in Venice last year, has been named president of the jury that will judge the Luigi De Laurentiis award for a debut film while Roberta Torre will head the jury for the Italian cinema showcase, the Controcampo Italiano selection. As announced earlier, Darren Aronofsky will serve as the president of the International Jury that award the Golden Lion and other official prizes.
 
The 68th Venice International Film Festival runs from 31 August to 10 September.

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the US rights of David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method from UK-based Hanway Films.
 
“David Cronenberg and Jeremy Thomas have made a film that not only has an impeccable cast and crew working at the height of their talents but also tells one of the most fascinating love triangles of the twentieth century. The American public will enthusiastically embrace this picture. We are delighted to be in business again with Jeremy and David,” stated Sony Pictures Classics in a statement.
 
Seduced by the challenge of an impossible case, Dr. Jung (Michael Fassbender) takes the unbalanced yet beautiful Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) as his patient. Jung’s weapon is the method of his master, the renowned Sigmund Freud. Both men fall under Sabina’s spell.
 
The film has been produced by Jeremy Thomas, who made films like The Last Emperor, and Sexy Beast, stars Viggo Mortenson, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, and Vincent Cassel.
 
Earlier, Sony Pictures Classics had released Cronenberg’s Spider as well as several films produced by Thomas like Brother, Don’t Come Knocking and Young Adam.