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Category: International

  • ‘Avengers 2’ will take on Marvel’s ‘Age of Ultron’ story

    ‘Avengers 2’ will take on Marvel’s ‘Age of Ultron’ story

    MUMBAI: Building on the unbelievable success of 2012‘s superhero fun-fest The Avengers, director Joss Whedon has complete agency to go buckwild with his geekiness for the developing sequel. As such, the filmmaker took the opportunity of 2013‘s San Diego Comic-Con to announce the subtitle and ostensible storyline for the follow-up: come 2015, Marvel fans will be graced with Avengers: The Age of Ultron.

    Ultron is a Marvel villain developed by Hank Pym, a scientist and superhero better known as Ant-Man. The mechanical Ultron became self-aware and contentious after his development, rebelling against the professor and setting out to take over the world. The Age of Ultron arc involves a slew of Marvel names, including the Avengers team we saw featured in 2012, plus Quicksilver (already confirmed to be added to the sequel), Wolverine and Spider-Man… neither of whom are particularly likely additions, barring Hugh Jackman‘s recent profession of a desire for a mash-up movie.

  • John Casablancas, pioneering supermodel agent, passes away at 70

    John Casablancas, pioneering supermodel agent, passes away at 70

    MUMBAI: John Casablancas, the modeling agent who helped launch the careers of Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer leaves for heavenly abode at 70.

    The founder of Elite Model Management died of cancer in Rio de Janeiro. The pioneering agent is largely credited with bringing about the age of the supermodel through Elite, founded in Paris in 1972.

    He steered the careers of women such as Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen and Andie MacDowell, turning models into recognisable celebrities in their

  • DC’s Batman and Superman to unite on the big screen

    DC’s Batman and Superman to unite on the big screen

    MUMBAI: Riding on the success of Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder has decided to have a clash of the two supermen in the next Warner Bros movie. A young batman and superman will be seen together in the movie which is slated to release in 2015.

    Henry Cavill from Man of Steel will be playing superman again while the person to play batman is under consideration.

    The announcement came as a surprise to all at San Diego Comic-Con 2013. Snyder is co-writing the story with David Goyer, who will then write the screenplay for it. “Let‘s face it, it‘s beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest Super Heroes in the world” said an excited Snyder.

    The new film brings back Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder as producers. This time, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas are serving as executive producers, along with Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan.

    The film is based on the Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and Batman character by Bob Kane.

    Man of Steel collected $630 million at the worldwide box office. Other details are not yet revealed.

  • Shawn Ryan’s Beverly Hills Cop is officially dead

    Shawn Ryan’s Beverly Hills Cop is officially dead

    MUMBAI: Shawn Ryan took to his Twitter page on Friday to announce that efforts to shop the pilot, which CBS passed on in May, have not been successful.

    “Sad to report that efforts to land Beverly Hills Cop pilot at another network have failed. This iteration is dead for now,” he wrote. “Good news for fans of franchise is that the pilot tested so well, it has caused Paramount to put another #BHC movie into development.”

    Additional details were not yet available about a potential Paramount movie.

    He added that he “loved” working with stars Brandon T. Jackson, who played Axel Foley‘s (Eddie Murphy) son, and the rest of the cast, including Kevin Pollak, David Denman and Christine Lahti, among others.

    CBS passed on the update, which would have followed Jackson‘s cop as he made a name for himself with the Beverly Hills Police Department.

    The drama was considered a sure thing to land on CBS‘ schedule as the Sony Pictures Television entry came with built-in brand recognition and a top producer attached in The Shield‘s Ryan. Despite the wattage of the talent involved, CBS passed. Sony and Paramount then shopped the project to other networks.

    CBS‘ decision is a blow to Paramount‘s effort to get back into television production. The studio has been out of that business since Paramount was split from CBS in 2005. Beverly Hills Cop was a logical starting point since it has been a successful movie franchise for Paramount for a decade starting in 1984. Paramount CEO Brad Grey announced in March that Paramount would partner with Sony Pictures Television to produce an existing pilot and potential series. The same day, Philippe Dauman, CEO of parent company Viacom, noted he would “get back, with very little investment, into the television production business.”

  • ‘The Conjuring’ takes the cake as ‘R.I.P.D.’ bites the dust

    ‘The Conjuring’ takes the cake as ‘R.I.P.D.’ bites the dust

    MUMBAI: James Wan‘s supernatural horror flick The Conjuring is easily winning the crowded North American box-office race, while Robert Schwentke‘s R.I.P.D. appears to be staring down the barrel, according to early Friday returns.

    The Conjuring, from New Line and Warner Bros, is touted to cross $30 million for the weekend, an outlandish number considering the film only cost $20 million to produce. The R-rated pic stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as paranormal investigators who help a family terrorized by a dark force. Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor also star.

    On the other end of the spectrum, Universal‘s R.I.P.D., which cost $130 million to produce, may only open in the $9 million to $12 million range. Based on the comic book Rest in Peace Department by Peter M. Lenkov, the movie stars Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as deceased police officers who must protect the living from evil spirits who refuse to move on. The movie, drawing comparisons to Men in Black, also stars Kevin Bacon and Mary-Louise Parker (who appears in Red 2 as well).

    Opening somewhere in between are the weekend‘s two other new entries, DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox‘s 3D animatedTurbo and Summit‘s Red 2. Both films are on pace to gross in the $20 million range for the weekend.

    That would put Turbo‘s five-day debut at a subdued $30 million, less than hoped for and one of the lowest openings for a Dream Works Animation (DWA) title (the toon opened Wednesday).

    Turbo – battling a glut of animated product – could lose to Universal‘s megahit Despicable Me 2 for the weekend itself. Having opened two weeks ago, Despicable Me 2 has already grossed $250 million domestically and $500 million worldwide.

    The film, which cost $135 million to produce and was directed by David Soren, is about an ordinary garden snail whose dream of racing in the Indianapolis 500 comes true. Reynolds voices the title role; Paul Giamatti, Snoop Dogg, Michael Pena, Maya Rudolph, Michelle Rodriguez and Samuel L. Jackson also lend their voices.

    In terms of R.I.P.D., Universal can certainly withstand a box-office disappointment, considering its otherwise outstanding summer. In addition to Despicable Me 2, Fast & Furious 6 has earned $704.4 million worldwide.

    Universal also minimised its risk by scaling back on its marketing campaign for R.I.P.D.

  • Rose Byrne to star in the remake of Annie

    Rose Byrne to star in the remake of Annie

    MUMBAI: Sony‘s remake of Annie will now have Rose Byrne as a part of the ensemble. She will be playing the role of Grace, the assistant to Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, played by Jamie Foxx.

    She is the fourth to sign on the movie which already has Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhane Wallis who became the youngest person ever to receive an Oscar nomination for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild and Cameron Diaz.

    The film is set to be released on Christmas this year and is produced by Jay Z and Will Smith. The adaption of the ‘Great Depression‘ era comic strip is set in modern times.

  • Vladimir Kulich to be a part of The Equalizer

    Vladimir Kulich to be a part of The Equalizer

    MUMBAI: The next addition to the cast of The Equalizer is Vikings actor Vladimir Kulich. The film is led by Denzel Washington as well as Martin Csokas, Melissa Leo and Chloe Moretz,

    Kuilch will play a Russian oligarch funding international black market enterprise. Produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Washington will be playinghttp://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/v.jpg?itok=pOm3w0KY Robert McCall who is a former agent helping out people in need.

    In addition to Vikings, Kulich was also seen in movies such as Ironclad, The 13th Warrior and TV‘s Angel. Kuilch is represented by Kazarian, Spencer, Ruskin and Associates and Open Entertainment.

    The movie directed by Antoine Fuqua is slateImage Propertiesd to be released sometime next year. Based on a TV series of the same name, filming has already started last month.

  • Josh Brolin and Jake Gyllenhaal to come together for ‘Everest’

    Josh Brolin and Jake Gyllenhaal to come together for ‘Everest’

    MUMBAI: The movie about a tragic attempt to climb Mount Everest is in closing negotiations with Josh Borlin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clark and John Hawkes. Based on a true story, Universal is talking to Emmet/Furla to co-finance the film and distribute Everest in North America.

    Baltasar Kormakur will be directing the movie. The plot is about two expedition groups who are climbing Mount Everest but are hit by a massive storm, leaving eight people in the two groups dead. The movie is most likely to be shot in Iceland which is also Kormakur‘s homeland.

    Jason Clarke, from Zero Dark Thirty, and Jake Gyllenhaal, from End of Watch, will be playing the roles of the two group leaders.

  • Psy moves from CAA to WME

    Psy moves from CAA to WME

    MUMBAI: Breaking records with ‘Gangnam Style‘ 2012 and crossing 1.7 billion YouTube views, South Korean pop star Psy has moved on from the talent agency CAA (Creative Artists Agency) to WME (William Morris Endeavour). He was the first ever person to reach a billion views on YouTube.

    The agency will represent Psy in all markets outside South Korea. The agency will be working to expand Psy‘s presence in the music industry as well as look for opportunities across platforms such as film, television, endorsements, books and digital media.

    His manager will still be Scooter Braun who also manages Justin Bieber. Psy had got the eyes of the world with Gangnam Style and then hit another score with ‘Gentleman‘. The Associated Press has put his earnings at $8.1 million, mostly due to YouTube advertisements and iTunes.

  • Toby Jones joins Fox’s ‘Wayward Pines’

    Toby Jones joins Fox’s ‘Wayward Pines’

    MUMBAI: The announcer from the Hunger Games films has joined the event series from M Night Shyamalan.

    In Fox‘s thriller Wayward Pines, Toby Jones will play Dr. Jenkins, a charismatic and mysterious psychiatrist who treats a secret service agent (Matt Dillon) who arrives in a small Idaho town looking for two missing agents.

    Jenkins believes brain damage suffered in a car wreck is the source of the visiting agent‘s paranoia. Then again, very little in the town of Wayward Pines is as it seems. Based on Blake Crouch‘s novelPines, the series also stars Carla Gugino and Melissa Leo and is set to debut next year.

    Along with The Hunger Games and its upcoming sequel, Jones‘ credits includeTinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frost/Nixon,My Week With Marilyn, the first Harry Potter film, and next year‘s Captain America: The Winter Soldier.