Category: International

MUMBAI: Harischandrachi Factory and Chandni Chowk To China are among 69 foreign-language films that have qualified for the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. Of these, five nominees will be announced on 15 December. The awards will take place on 17 January next year.

Among the other films are Palme d‘Or winner The White Ribbon, A Prophet, Mother and City Of Life And Death, About Elly (Iran), Ajami (Israel), Baaria (Italy), Backyard (Mexico), Broken Embraces (Spain), Broken Promise (Slovak Republic), Can Not Live Without You (Taiwan), Cell 211 (Spain), Chameleon (Hungary), Chilango Chronicles (Mexico), City Of Life And Death (China), Coco Before Chanel (France), The Dancer And The Thief (Spain), Dawson, Island 10 (Chile), A Day At The Museum (France), Donkey (Croatia), Eden Is West (France), For a Moment, Freedom (Austria/France), I Galantuomini (Italy).

The Girl On The Train (France), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Sweden), God‘s Offices (France/Belgium), Grandpa Is Dead (Philippines), Grown Ups (France/Sweden), Hello Goodbye (France/Israel/Italy), Hipsters (Russia), I Killed My Mother (Canada), I Saw The Sun (Turkey), Il Grande Sogno (Italy).

John Rabe (Germany), Lebanon (Israel), Letters To Father Jacob (Finland), London River (Algeria), Louise-Michel (France/Belgium/Luxembourg), Made In Hungaria (Hungary).
The Maid (Chile), Max Manus (Norway), Micmacs (France), The Misfortunates (Belgium), Mother (South Korea), My Queen Karo (Belgium), Nobody To Watch Over Me (Japan) Police, Adjective (Romania), Prank (Hungary), Prince Of Tears (Hong Kong/Taiwan), A Prophet (France) Protektor (Czech Republic), Queen To Play (France/Germany), Refractaire (Draft Dodgers) (Luxembourg), The Reverse (Poland), The Road From Elephant Pass (Sri Lanka), Rudo And Cursi (Mexico), Samson & Delilah (Australia).

The Secret Of Her Eyes (Argentina), Secrets Of State (France), Someone I Loved (France/Belgium/Italy), Southern District (Bolivia), Terribly Happy (Denmark), Thirst (South Korea), Vincere (Italy), The Waltz (Italy), Ward No. 6 (Russia), Welcome (France), The White Ribbon (Germany), Winter In Wartime (The Netherlands), With A Little Help From Myself (France).

MUMBAI: UK-based Future Films is set to co-produce a feature biopic on opera diva Maria Callas with Italy-based De Angelis Group (DAP).

Future Films‘ Carola Ash and Albert Martinez Martin are producing under the company‘s 2B Pictures production arm, together with DAP‘s Nicola de Angelis.

Niall Johnson is adapting the screenplay for Callas from a Alfonso Signorini‘s biography of the singer So Proud, So Fragile.

The film will focus on the New York born Callas‘ tempestuous relationship with billionaire shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

It is the third biographical project in three years for Future Films, following Fifty Dead Men Walking and Goodbye Bafana that was a biographical look at Mandela‘s later years at Robben Island prison.

The cast and director of the film are yet to be announced.

MUMBAI: With a focus on multiplex development and the rollout of d-cinema systems in the mainland China market, which is currently enjoying 40 per cent box-office growth, the CineAsia distribution and exhibition conference got going in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

On an average, at least one new screen is being opened every day in China.

Rance Pow, president of theatrical consultancy Artisan Gateway, gave a visual depiction of the way that multiplexes are mushrooming across the country – 90 cinemas with 386 screens have opened so far this year – and argued that there is still plenty of room for further growth.

According to Pow, China currently has 1,635 cinemas with 4,483 screens, which is estimated to grow to 2,000 cinemas with 6,000 screens by the end of 2010. In comparison, the North America market, with a fraction of China‘s population, has around 5,400 cinemas with 39,000 screens.

Delegates also heard about the impressive rollout of d-cinema and 3D systems in mainland China, which is now the world‘s second biggest territory in terms of digital screens.
The rollout has been driven by the Chinese government that provides subsidies and other forms of support to help cinemas upgrade. As a result, local players such as Time Antaeus – a real estate turned exhibition company – have been encouraged to join the fray. Time Antaeus has already deployed 895 DCI-compliant screens across China and aims to hit 2,000 by the end of 2010.

According to Yang Buting, chairman of China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, China now has 1,388 2K D-cinema screens of which around 500 can play 3D. By November 2009, a total of 102 movies had been released in digital formats, grossing a combined $167m (RMB1.14bn), compared to 62 digital titles grossing $76m (RMB520m) in 2008.

The growth in traditional and d-cinema screens is having a direct impact on the mainland box office, which is on course to hit $882.4m by the end of 2009, a 40 per cent increase on the $635.5 haul in 2008. As of the end of November, with the normally lucrative month of December yet to come, box office had already reached $755.3m.

In addition to new cinemas, growth is also due to a strong line-up of Chinese movies and the fact that the Chinese authorities are allowing big-ticket US movies, such as Transformers 2 and 2012, for exhibition.

MUMBAI: Elijah Wood and Robin Williams are in negotiations to play thei respective roles as lead voices in Happy Feet 2, Warner Bros.‘ sequel to Village Roadshow‘s 2006 Oscar-winning animated hit. George Miller will again occupy the director‘s chair.

While Wood will play Mumble, the penguin who can‘t sing but can dance the tuxedo off of any waddler around him, Williams will essay the role of the hyper-acting and wise-cracking penguin Ramon.

 The actors will travel to Australia in late January/early February to record the voice tracks.

The original film grossed almost $198 million at the domestic box-office and won a slew of awards.

MUMBAI: Former director of television of ITV, Simon Shaps has been appointed as chairman of the National Film and Television School (NFTS) board. He replaces Michael Kuhn, who steps down after two terms.

The school has also announced that media financier Stephen Louis will succeed Peter Bazalgette as deputy chairman.
The new appointments take effect from 8 December.

Shaps, who was also recently appointed as chairman of documentary distributor MercuryMedia, held a variety of roles at ITV, the UK‘s largest commercial broadcaster, over a 20 year career.

As director of television, he was responsible for developing and commissioning shows across all genres, including Britain‘s Got Talent and Loose Women. He currently has a portfolio of roles with a number of media-related businesses, including advertiser-led programming companies Brand Apart.

Kuhn and Bazalgette joined the NFTS board in 2003 and served two terms each. During the tenure, the school committed to remaining at its Beaconfield site paving the way for the launch of new courses and the construction of a new building.

Said NFTS director Nic Powell, “Under their leadership, they stabilised funding, built its first news teaching building for more than 30 years, modernised its courses and added much-needed new ones.

“More importantly, they re-established the NFTS as one of the world‘s leading film schools producing multi award-wining graduates and work. The industry and school owe them a debt of gratitude.”

MUMBAI: Overture Films has lapped up the US rights of Stone, a thriller starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Milla Jovovich and Frances Conroy.

John Curran has directed the film written by Angus MacLachlan‘s script about a convicted arsonist who uses his beautiful wife to manipulate an older parole officer into securing his parole.

While Mimran Schur Pictures and Millennium Films have financed the project, Nu Image is handling its international sales.

“Curran is a gifted director working from a fantastic script and with a top-notch ensemble of actors,” Overture‘s CEO Chris McGurk and COO Danny Rosett said in a statement. “All of us at Overture are excited to be adding this exciting film to our slate for next year.”

“Chris and Danny have made clear their passion for Stone,” Schur added. “Overture is intent on presenting the film with vigour and grace, and figures to be a great fit for Mimran Schur”, they averred.

Stone will join the 2010 roster of Overture that includes The Crazies, Brooklyn‘s Finest and Jack Goes Boating.

MUMBAI: Jeff Bridges will receive the 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival‘s (PSIFF) Desert Palm Achievement Award. He is an awards contender for his portrayal of an alcoholic country music singer seeking redemption in Crazy Heart.

Bridges will collect The honour will be besotted on Bridges at the PSIFF awards gala on 5 January, when he will join a pantheon of previous honourees that includes Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, Liam Neeson, Nicolas Cage, John Travolta and James Stewart.

 
Said, festival chairman Harold Matzner of the four times Academy Award nominee, “Bridges‘ career is the very embodiment of the Desert Palm Achievement Award, which was created to acknowledge acting excellence, and years of consistent and memorable work.”

“This year, in his remarkable performance in Crazy Heart, he once again shows us why he is considered one of America‘s greatest actors.”

The festival will run from 5 to 18 January, next year.

MUMBAI: Leonardo DiCaprio will make his animated feature film debut as Jack Frost in DreamWorks Animation‘s The Guardians.

The film, a collection of storybook subjects who are also a band of superheroes, who possess their own special powers is based on The Guardians of Childhood, a series of books by William Joyce.

The Guardians produced by Christina Steinberg and Nancy Bernstein, and directed by Peter Ramsey is due for a November, 2012 release.

MUMBAI: Michael Chait will direct TMU Pictures‘ combat action-adventure film War Birds of which he himself has written the original story. The film to be produced and written by Josh Staman and Bryan Binder has screenplay by Richard Jefferies.

Birds follows an Air Force veteran-turned-reckless airshow re-enactment pilot as he gets pulled into the underground culture of illegal, real-life aerial combat. Shooting is scheduled for the summer in Michigan using all real airplanes and aerial sequences, including authentic P-51 Mustangs, P-38 Lightnings, F4U Corsairs and a B-17 Flying Fortress as well as modern military helicopters and jets.

The film will have Titanic cinematographer Russell Carpenter as a visual consultant.

“I love big, exciting, action-adventure movies, especially when they are shot live, in camera,” Chait said.

MUMBAI: Next year, Mel Gibson will make a film at a prison in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz in Mexico.

Veracruz Gov. Fidel Herrera said that a part of the Ignacio Allende prison will be emptied in January “because a grand production will be filmed there with our friend, the actor and producer Mel Gibson.”

Herrera gave no details on the film.

Gibson filmed his 2006 Mayan-language film Apocalypto in Veracruz.

Gibson visited the prison in April 2008.