Category: International

MUMBAI: The 15th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) that kicked off last Thursday with an outdoor screening of Chinese‘s director Zhang Yimou‘s Under the Hawthorn Tree will have the presence of an array of international film stars dazzled on the red carpet.

Yimou set the scene for the nine-day film fest, declaring that the event, “the largest and greatest festival in Asia, was one that gives filmmakers opportunities.

Organisers have an eclectic line-up of films and special events laid out for the more than 150,000 film lovers expected to attend before the festival closes on 15 October.

This year there are 13 films vying for the award from as far afield as Iraq and Vietnam. The New Currents award will be announced on 15 October.

Heading the jury is Japanese costume designer Emi Wada, 73, who won an Oscar for her work on Akira Kurosawa‘s Ran.

The festival was founded to promote Asia‘s vast independent filmmaking scene and it offers a main jury prize of 30,000 dollars – the New Currents award – to two first or second time Asian directors.

MUMBAI: With the first screening of a restored copy and a retrospective of the glory days when Rome was called Hollywood , the Rome Film Festival will fete the 50th anniversary of Fellini‘s classic La Dolce Vita.

The 178-minute black and white La Dolce Vita, that premiered in 1960, has become an icon for film buffs.

The fifth edition of the festival will be held from 28 October to 5 November. It will open with Federico Fellini‘s Last Night.

Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg and Anouk Aimee, the film was considered scandalous at the time but is quite tame by the standards of today, where more flesh can be seen in a television deodorant advert.

The festival will also include twenty four Italian films made from 1952 to 1980 and a series of exhibitions throughout Rome on the way the city was when the jet set flocked to the capital to see and be seen.

Besides, Last Night the main competition includes Rabbit Hole directed by John Cameron Mitchell starring Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest and Aaron Eckhart.

While Last Night is a tale of sexual attraction, betrayal and jealousy in which a couple‘s fidelity is tested during a 36-hour period when they are apart and with other people, Rabbit Hole is the story of a couple who grapple with the sudden loss of their child as their already troubled marriage is further tested by the bereavement.

The Focus Section of the festival will spotlight Japanese cinema and culture and will hold a special event dedicated to filmmaker Akira Kurosawa‘s birth centenary. The festival will screen the restored version of Kurosawa‘s 1950 masterpiece, Rashomon.

The major attraction of the Rome Film Festival is that actress Julianne Moore will receive an acting award while Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes and Aaron Eckhart will walk the red carpet to present their new movies.

The festival that will go underway on 29 October will end on 6 November.
 

MUMBAI: Technicolor has announced a new action-comedy series targeted for children between six to eleven years titled Atomic Puppet.

The series will be produced by Technicolor Digital Productions, in association with Mark Drop and Jerry Leibowitz who created the characters and developed the series bible.

Atomic Puppet is about the exploits of 11 year old Joey Felt and his superhero sidekick Atomic Puppet (a magical puppet that comes to life every time Joey puts it onto his hand), as they travel cross-country with Joey‘s eccentric family in a run-down trailer, meeting dark forces along the way, while vigilantly fighting for truth, justice and quality goof-off time.

Initial plans for the series include making 52 episodes of 11 minutes each.

MUMBAI: In the next two weeks, more than 100 lenders of MGM will vote on whether to approve naming Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum of Spyglass as the studio‘s new keepers.

A detailed proposal by the Spyglass duo for taking over the studio and reshaping its operations was presented on Thursday to creditors. Finallly, the plan will be filed as a ‘prepackaged‘ Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganisation and turn nearly $4 billion in studio debt to lender equity.

Once the plan exits the bankruptcy Court, Spyglass and a related subsidiary would get a 4.7 per cent equity of the studio while Barber and Birnbaum would become co-CEOs of MGM.

The bankruptcy filing is expected by month‘s end, with the subsequent court process likely to take about 30 days.

Current owners of MGM including Providence Equity, TPG Capital, Sony, Comcast, DLJ Merchant and Quadrangle would have their hold on the studio erased, in the proposed reorganisation.

Hedge funds Anchorage, Highland, Davidson Kempner and Solis acquired about 35 per cent of MGM‘s publicly traded debt last year. 51 per cent of lenders have to approve a prepackaged bankruptcy representing two-thirds of the amount owed.

The studio is being currently run by an office of the CEO Stephen Cooper, CFO Bedi Singh and film personality Mary Parent. All of them would exit their posts after the studio‘s revamp.
 

MUMBAI: Filming of the new X-Men film had to be abruptly stalled after James McAvoy was involved in a freak accident on the set.

The shooting of X-Men: First Class was being held at the Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. However, the shooting came to a temporary halt after a buggy, which was taking McAvoy around the sets crashed. 

Though McAvoy was taken aback, he was not seriously injured. The shoot resumed later.
 

MUMBAI: Tom Cruise will team up with Jack Nicholson for a new comedy film El Presidente.

While Cruise has already been signed, Nicholson is considering an offer, it is understood.

The film follows a dedicated Secret Service agent, played by Cruise, who is dispatched to guard a former US president, the role being considered for Nicholson. The agent‘s day-to-day job is boring – until a serious threat is made on his client‘s life and they are forced to go on the run.

Cruise and Nicholson were previously seen together in A Few Good Men made in 1982.

MUMBAI: Emma Stone has been signed to play the female lead in Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios‘ upcoming film Spider-Man.

Stone will play the role of Gwen Stacy opposite Andrew Garfield who plays Peter Parker in the film to be directed by Marc Webb. The film will go on the floors in December and will be released in theatres nationwide in 3D on July 3, 2012.

Stone had, earlier, starred in Superbad, The House Bunny and Zombieland all for Columbia Pictures. Commented the director, “The chemistry between Andrew and Emma was stunning and made Emma the clear choice. At the heart of the story of Peter Parker is not only the amazing Spider-Man but also an ordinary teenager who is wondering what he has to do to get the girl. Andrew and Emma will bring everything audiences expect to these roles, but also make them their own. Much to my surprise, it was fun to find out that our choice for Gwen (Emma) is also a natural blonde.”
 

MUMBAI: Organizers of the Academy Awards are in plans for a potential move of the Oscars to late January or early February starting in 2012 and related logistics, including the idea to let voters watch and vote on contenders online to accommodate the accelerated schedule.

A possible date switch still needs approval by the Academy and has been complicated by the NFL‘s plans to add two games to its schedule.

But Academy officials have tentatively decided that nominations for foreign-language movies could be announced later than others under a possible new schedule. Because there may not be sufficient time to mail out DVDs and ballots, the Academy is looking for solutions on the internet.

A committee is looking at how online balloting could be done while avoiding possible tampering.
 

MUMBAI: Sylvester Stallone will be feted with a career achievement award on 20 October at the Hollywood Film Festival‘s 14th annual awards gala in Beverly Hills.

The event will also pay tribute to Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary of digital entertainment company Revelations Entertainment for its technological innovations. 

Director Tom Hooper will be honored with a helming award. Hooper‘s The King‘s Speech is being considered as a leading awards contender at the fest.

MUMBAI: Zack Snyder, known for his films like 300 and Watchmen has been chosen to direct the next edition of Superman that is being produced by Christopher Nolan for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures.

Snyder, who directed “300” and “Watchmen,” had been on the list of helmers ensconced in meetings with

Here it may me noted that executives of Nolan and Warners have been in talks with directors like Darren Aronofsky, Ben Affleck, Matt Reeves and Tony Scott.

It is also interesting that despite grossing $200 million domestically, Superman Returns was considered a disappointment.

Goyer is writing the script, which, like Superman Returns is said to have a connection to Richard Donner‘s Superman films. Nolan is producing the film with his wife and producing partner Emma Thomas, along with Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder‘s wife and partner.

Snyder had made his animated feature debut with Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga‘Hoole. The film opened softly but is generating strong word-of-mouth having fallen only 32 per cent in its second weekend.