Category: International

MUMBAI: According to data released recently, layoffs in entertainment jobs seems to have slowed down significantly.

In July, just 125 layoffs at media companies were announced compared to 708 in June. This shows that July has recorded the lowest number of layoffs so far this year, according to the data.

It may be noted that in the past six years, the media sector recorded lower number of job losses in March 2005 when 111 layoffs were announced. There was as much as 2,853 layoffs in July 2009 and 2,168 layoffs in July 2008.

The data Challenger, Gray & Christmas breaks down the US economy into 25 sectors among which ‘media‘ lost the fourth fewest jobs last month.
 
The company lists “entertainment/leisure” as a separate category that includes theme parks, movie theaters, hotels and casinos. Those industries laid off 680 people in July.

Also related to media and entertainment is the “telecommunications” category, which includes the cable and satellite TV companies. That category lost 1,199 jobs in July.

Disney, which shut down its Zemeckis Studio and laid off 450 workers, got rid of 400 jobs at ABC News and closed most of its ESPN Zone restaurants, causing another 294 layoffs.
Sony Pictures, which laid off 450 people in a restructuring.

Time Warner Cable, which laid off 350 in a restructuring.

Netflix, which cut 160 jobs in a consolidation.
Cinram, which cut 482 jobs in cust-cutting measures.
All 25 categories combined lost 41,676 jobs in July, bringing the total to 339,353 so far this year, 64% fewer jobs lost than in the same seven months last year. California is No. 1 in jobs lost, with 55,122 so far this year, and New York, at 52,481, is second worst.

Combining the categories of media, entertainment/leisure and telecommunications, 2001 was the worst year this decade, when 317,777 jobs were lost. Last year, a comparatively small 44,068 jobs were lost in those three categories combined and so far this year just 17,204 jobs were shed.
 

MUMBAI: Director Christopher Nolan and actor Michael Sheen will be feted this year by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Los Angeles at the BAFTA/LA Britannia Awards on 4 November.

While Nolan, riding on a wave of high acclaim for his box-office and critically acclaimed hit Inception will receive the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for artistic excellence in directing, Sheen will receive the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year. 

Sheen, who had earlier starred in Damned United appeared in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, did voiceover for the white rabbit in Tim Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland and bagged an Emmy nomination for his role of Tony Blair in HBO‘s The Special Relationship.
 

MUMBAI: Louie Psihoyos, who won an Oscar award this year for his dolphin-rights documentary The Cove has sued CBS and BBC alleging unauthorized use of a photograph he took in 1994 for National Geographic.

The photo depicts a vast bank of active television screens surrounding a person seated in a dark cavernous space.

According to a complaint, Psihoyos said that the photograph took him more than a month and $100,000 to create. He says it has been licensed “thousands of times” to Microsoft, IBM, Lucent, Sony, Time magazine, text books, pamphlets and Apple. Apple, later, agreed to license the image after being sued by Psihoyos over an iPhone application.

Psihoyos takes exception with an article that appeared on the BBC news website last September entitled “Future is TV-shaped, says Intel.” The article was accompanied by the famed photograph.

As for CBS‘ alleged misuse of the photo, Psihoyos says CBS Marketing appropriated it for commercial display at the 2009 Intel Developers Forum.
 

MUMBAI: Fox has acquire filming rights of Adena Halpern‘s 29: A Novel that would be produced by John Davis.

The novel centers on woman obsessed with remaining young. On her 75th birthday, she wishes she was 29 again, just for one day, and when it comes true, she teams with her young granddaughter to embark on an adventure. Meanwhile, the woman‘s middle-aged daughter and 75-year-old best friend believe her to be kidnapped and set out to search the lady and her grand daughter. 

The novel was released on 15 June.

No director or writer is attached, though the studio is hoping to turn the book into “an event movie for women.”

Davis has two of his films released this summer: Predators, that he produced with Robert Rodriguez and Marmaduke.
 

MUMBAI: Babelgum, a digital broadcast network, will launch the first ever tri-platform (online, mobile and offline) competition for animation and anime, named the Babelgum Animatron Film Festival.

The competition will run parallel to the Hamptons International Film Festival and culminate in a special public screening programme, The Hamptons Animation Showcase this October. 

“The Animatron Film Festival is an exciting new event for the animation community, and the popularity of animation and anime among both domestic and international audiences makes the Hamptons International Film Festival environment an ideal live venue for our cross-platform competition, which will be freely accessed, viewed, and voted on by anyone in the world,” said, Babelgum‘s Film Division SVP & General Manager Karol Martesko-Fenster in a press statement.

Entries will be eligible for an Audience Awards, as well as cash prizes from a select jury of leaders in the animation, film and television world.

Submission period has started from 2 August and will continue till 22 August. All submissions will be available for view at Babelgum‘s website.
 

MUMBAI: The 31st Durban International Film Festival concluded on 1 August. The festival that started from 22 July picked Iranian film The White Meadows as the best film.

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, the film was lauded by the International Jury as a timeless and poetic narrative. “The film conjures up a landscape that is visually stunning and intriguing because it is both harsh and beautiful. It is an enigmatic and poignant political allegory and takes the viewers through a journey on life‘s fundamental questions and beliefs,” the jury said. The Best Feature Film award carries a cash prize of R50,000.

The Best South African Feature Film was awarded to Oliver Schmitz‘s Life, Above All. Calling it a beautifully filmed and masterfully edited film with astounding performances, the jury highlighted the film‘s “universal resonance.” A cash prize of R25,000 was awarded to the film.

Thirteen year old Khomotso Manyaka who played the role of Chanda in the film was named Best Actress by the International Jury. “It was a natural and touching performance that movingly portrays the resilience, determination and integrity of her character,” claimed the jury.

The Best First Feature Film award went to Peepli Live directed by Anusha Rizvi. “Peepli Live is an ambitious and well-realised film that deals with serious political issues in a witty and entertaining manner. It creates an enchanting world of colourful characters, images and music that engrosses viewers throughout,” the jury noted.

The International Jury comprised producers Aihara Hiromi (Japan) and Christoph Thoke (Germany) and South African academic, writer and producer Bhekizizwe Peterson.

The jury awarded the Best Director award to Debra Granik for the US film Winter‘s Bone. “The director‘s vision shows a remarkable attention to the details that make up all the aspects of production, resulting in an intensely atmospheric and sensitive film,” the jury commented.

The best documentary award went to a UK/Brazil co-production Waste Land directed by Lucy Walker, Joao Jardim and Karen Harley. The documentary was also voted ‘Audience Choice Best Film by the DIFF audiences and additionally it was also awarded the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award that is awarded to the documentary film that best reflects human rights issues. The award carries a cash prize of 2500 euros.

MUMBAI: The board of Lions Gate Entertainment has straightaway rejected the latest tender offer from Carl Icahn to acquire all of its outstanding stock for $6.50 per share saying that the offer does not reflect the full value of the movie and television studio.

It also said that the timing was ‘opportunistic‘ because it comes at a time when a tough economic climate for media companies prevails. It also noted that the offer price was below Icahn‘s previous tender offer of $7 per share. 

It may be noted that shares of Lionsgate closed Monday at $6.72 per share up 12 cents.

Last week, in a hope of unwinding a recent transaction in which the company issued stock to board member Mark Rachesky in a debt-for-equity deal, Icahn filed a suit against Lionsgate in the Supreme Courts of New York and British Columbia.

The action increased Rachesky‘s stake to just below 29 per cent from 20 per cent and diluted Icahn‘s holdings to 33.5 per cent from 38 per cent making it more difficult for him to take control of the company.

Last Wednesday, the British Columbia Securities Commission denied Icahn‘s request for a 15-day cease trading order that would have prohibited Rachesky from selling any of the stocks he acquired in the transaction or from buying more shares. The order would have also prevented Lionsgate from issuing any new stock.

MUMBAI: Upon registering a boisterous opening in Germany, the UK, France and South Korea grossing $53.7 million on the weekend from some 7,500 screens in 51 markets, the Leonard Di Caprio starrer Inception climbed up to the No. 1 spot on the foreign theatrical circuit edging out Pixar/Disney’s Toy Story 3 to the second spot.

Christopher Nolan‘s sci-fi thriller raked in an accumulated gross total overseas of $170 million. In Germany the film bagged $7.1 million from 715 locations at a per-screen average of about $10,000.

In France, the film finished No. 1 in its second market round, grossing $4.8 million from 715 sites. The UK provided $5 million from 750 locations in the film‘s third frame for a market accomulation of $31.5 million. In South Korea the film roped in $5.1 million from 395 sites.

Dipping nearly 40 per cent from its prior weekend‘s No. 1 gross figure, Toy Story 3 drew in $39.1 million from 8,213 screens from 48 markets and $826.1 million worldwide.

The animation threequel finished No. 1 in its second UK making the film the third biggest-grossing animation title ever to play the territory. Toy 3 also continues to be at the top spotin Japan where in the fourth weekend the film grossed $7.1 million from 529 venues.

Stretching out overseas with openings in at least nine markets was the weekend‘s No. 3 title, Sony‘s Angelina Jolie-starrer Salt which grossed an overall $24.5 million from 2,850 screens in 29 territories.

Director Phillip Noyce‘s Cold War thriller took the No. 1 spot in six territories, including South Korea ($6.5 million from 531 sites), Russia ($5.5 million from 706 situations), the Philippines ($1.25 million from 80 screens) and Malaysia ($1.135 million from 110 spots). In Japan, the film opened with $3.9 million from 334 locations while in Brazil, the film came up with $2.3 million from 252 screens.

MUMBAI: Suso Cecchi D‘Amico, who emerged from the male-dominated post-war Italian cinema to become a celebrated artiste having contributed in films like Bicycle Thieves and The Leopard expired onSaturday at age 96. She died in her hometown, Rome while no cause of her death was given. She is survived by her three children.

Cecchi D‘Amico worked with some of the most renowned Italian directors, including Franco Zeffirelli, Michelangelo Antonioni and Mario Monicelli, whose film Casanova 70 got her an Oscar nomination.

She was equally successful at writing scripts for neo-realistic movies, art-house films and comedies like Big Deal on Madonna Street. Her work helped make the Italian post-war movie scene a vibrant and innovative one.

Among other titles, she contributed to was The Leopard, the sumptuous depiction of the decline of a Sicilian aristocratic family based on the book by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa starring Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon.

Said Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano that D‘Amico was a “great protagonist of one of the best seasons of Italian cinema.”

Claudia Cardinale, who starred in The Leopard praised her deep culture and generosity. Cecchi D‘Amico won several Italian awards and in 1994 the Venice Film Festival gave her a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.
 

MUMBAI: World premieres of films by directors Sofia Coppola and Darren Aronofsky are the highlights of this year‘s Venice film festival that will be held from 1 to 11 September.

Twenty-three films will vie for the top Golden Lion award at the 67th edition of the world‘s oldest film festival with Quentin Tarantino heading the jury that will pick the winner.

Aronofsky, who won the Golden Lion in 2008 with The Wrestler, will be opening the festival with his film Black Swan, a psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel and Winona Ryder.

Francis Ford Coppola‘s daughter Sofia, who won an Oscar for best original screenplay with Lost in Translation comes back with Somewhere that is the story of a jaded actor and his estranged young daughter.

Richard J. Lewis brings to the screen Mordecai Richler‘s book Barney‘s Version with Paul Giamatti playing the politically incorrect and irascible lead role.

Films by Vincent Gallo, Julian Schnabel and Abdellatif Kechiche will also be screened in the main competition that includes four Italian films and a mix of titles from Japan, China, Russia, Greece and Chile.

The festival,that has a budget of $16 million often serves as a launching pad for the Oscar awards.