ITV

Category: International

  • SAG elects Ken Howard president

    MUMBAI: Ken Howard has elected Screen Actors Guild president. Running mate Amy Aquino beat two-time incumbent Connie Stevens in the race for secretary-treasurer. Howard and Aquino will serve two-year terms beginning Friday.

    Howard bagged 12,895 votes, 3,989 more than that of Anne-Marie Johnson, who received 32.6 per cent of the 27,295 votes cast. Independents Seymour Cassel and Asmar Muhammad garnered 17.7 and 1.5 per cent respectively.


    Howard, who picked up an acting Emmy for his role in HBO‘s Grey Gardens on Sunday, campaigned on bringing a more collaborative approach to relationships with AFTRA, the DGA and WGA.


    Said Howard, “I campaigned on the promise that I‘d do everything in my power to strengthen our position at the bargaining table by building a greater unity with AFTRA and the other entertainment unions, and that‘s exactly what I intend to do.”

  • Disney releases Surrogates in nine key markets


    MUMBAI: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International has released Surrogates, a sci-fi thriller in nine territories.

    The Bruce Willis vehicle opened in Russia, Australia, Hong Kong and Israel on 24 September and will release in the UK on 25 September 25 when it also debuts in Spain, Poland, Turkey and the Philippines.


    Meanwhile the romantic comedy The Proposal has bagged $136.6m so far and executives will look to the 23 September release in France.

  • ‘Saint George Shoots The Dragon’ is Serbia’s entry to the Oscars

    MUMBAI: Srdjan Dragojevic‘s Saint George Shoots The Dragon has been selected as Serbia‘s entry to the Oscars in the foreign-language category. Initially, Darko Lungulov‘s Here And There was selected as the country‘s entry but was later withdrawn because it contained more of English dialogue.

    Thereafter the Serbian Academy of Film Arts and Sciences put Here And There forward last week but eventually decided to consult the Academy‘s executive director Bruce Davis, who advised that the film would not be eligible.

    The First World War epic is the not only the most expensive Serbian film ever made with a budget of $8.9m but was also the highest grossing title in the territory this year with 123,786 admissions and a intake of $475,507.

  • Weinstein Co. on a lay off spree

    MUMBAI: Next month the Weinstein Co. (TWC) will reduce its staff by 35 that will be spread across various divisions. This is in response to recommendations from its consultancy company Miller Buckfire that has been brought in to help the company bring its numbers to line.

    The consultancy company recommended that the mini-major cut down its theatrical releases to ten per year. The Weinstein Co has been releasing as many as several dozen and concentrates on its core business of producing and distributing films.


    As a result, a number of employees will be asked to go, though no decision has been taken on which divisions will bear the brunt of the cutbacks.


    The cutbacks will be in the form of layoffs as well as attrition, while some will go up their designations.


    The Weinstein Co. has had a round of layoffs this year and has currently a little more than 100 employees. After this round, the company will have a staff of between 70 to 80 people.

  • NGE bags distribution rights of ‘Blue Man Group: Mind Blast’

    MUMBAI: National Geographic Entertainment (NGE) has acquired the worldwide distribution rights of Blue Man Group: Mind Blast for the giant-screen, digital and Imax 3-D and 2-D theatres. The 3-D live-action comedy is slated for release in 2011.

    The film that will feature an original screenplay and score will star the group‘s original cast members. Blue Man Group: Mind Blast is the fourth major film acquisition for NGE this year, following the Sundance hit Amreeka that will open in select US cities throughout this month.


    City of Life and Death which screened last week at the Toronto Film Festival along with The Wildest Dream will release in 2010 on Imax and giant screens worldwide and also on 35 mm screens in the US.


    Blue Man Group has been impressing live audiences since 1990 with its wildly popular theatrical shows and concerts that combine music, comedy and multimedia theatrics in producing a unique entertainment experience.


    Blue Man Group: Mind Blast which begins pre-production in early 2010 will follow the bald and blue trio as they travel through a visually stunning 3-D brain, exploring its neural pathways, synapses and gooey brain structures. Music, physical humor and Blue Man antics abound as they make art, collect scientific facts and turn our brains upside down.

  • APA signs three stars for representation

    MUMBAI: Ethan Embry, Ryan Merriman and Tania Raymond have been signed by APA to represent it.

    Embry, most recently appeared in films like Eagle Eye and Heart of the Dragon. He also starred in the Showtime series Brotherhood. His films include Can‘t Hardly Wait, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Sweet Home Alabama.


    Merriman has appeared in Final Destination 3, Halloween: Resurrection and The Ring Two. He recently completed shooting for Elevator Girl for Hallmark and the indie film The 5th Quarter.


    Raymond has had recurring roles on the TV series Lost and Cold Case. She has appeared in the features The Garage, Wild Cherry and Elsewhere and will appear next in Trophy Kids.

  • Universal to guide Barbie to Hollywood

    MUMBAI: Hollywood studios are not just grabbing characters from popular comics to tap younger audiences. Universal Pictures is planning to take Barbie, the most famous icon for little girls, to the big screen.

    Toy manufacturer Mattel has entered into a deal with Universal to set a new role for the 50-year-old Barbie.


    Producer Laurence Mark will take up the production of the ‘family-friendly’ film. The movie possibly will take time as Mark, who just produced Julie and Julia, is involved in another project.

  • Barrymore’s no-show angers organizers of TIFF

    MUMBAI: Organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival were infuriated after Drew Barrymore failed to show at a press event for her directorial debut Whip It.

    Barrymore skipped the scheduled press junket for the upcoming roller derby movie at the Canadian festival over the weekend.

    Barrymore reportedly blamed a sore throat for the absence. However, reports suggest the actress was unwell after partying too hard at the star-studded festival earlier in the week.


  • China against screening of Rebiya Kadeer documentary

    MUMBAI: Retaliating against the organizers for screening a documentary about exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer, that Australian director Jeff Daniels worked on for seven years, last month Chinese hackers attacked the website of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

    And now after the Kaohsiung Film Festival announced that it would screen the documentary, The 10 Conditions of Love, Chinese forces in Taiwan have issued a series of threats.

    It is said that Chinese tourists cancelled thousands of room reservations in Kaohsiung because of the Dalai Lama‘s trip there and are threatening to do so again if the documentary is screened.

  • Akihiko Washington is exe VP Warner Bros Entertainment

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Entertainment has promoted Akihiko Washington as executive vice president, worldwide human resources of.

    Washington now serves in a bigger role, he being responsible for managing the company‘s worldwide human resources operation, which includes organizational readiness and development, recruitment, compensation and benefits, employee training and development, shared services, work-life initiatives and employee communications.


    He will also continue to work with Time Warner‘s human resources staff to facilitate career development programs across all Time Warner divisions to ensure that the company has an extensive, well-trained talent pool across various business categories at all times.


    Said Warner Bros chairman and CEO Meyer, “In many ways, human resources is the lifeblood of an organization, responsible for attracting, developing and retaining the best talent in the business, and Kiko has been integral to the success we‘ve had in that area and, consequently, as a company overall.”


    “Throughout his tenure at the Studio, Kiko has been a key member of our senior management team who has helped to move our businesses forward. He has also kept our human resources and employee programs among the best in the industry, and we look to his leadership to keep our workforce at the forefront of the many businesses in which we operate,” averred Warner Bros president and COO Alan Horn.