ITV

Category: International

  • Johnny Depp in talks to star in ‘Mortdecai’

    Johnny Depp in talks to star in ‘Mortdecai’

    MUMBAI: Johnny Depp is in negotiations to star in Mortdecai, Lionsgate‘sadaptation of The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery by Kyril Bonfiglioli.

    David Koepp will helm the project and Eric Aronson will be scripting it.

    Depp will also produce the movie with his Infinitum Nihil partner Christi Dembrowskias well as Andrew Lazar.

    Until earlier this year, the project was based at Warner Bros but the studio quietly put it into turnaround. 

    Depp will star as Charles Mortdecai, a debonair art dealer and part-time rogue who, according to the studio, “must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.” He also has to juggle angry Russians, the British Mi5, his impossibly leggy wife and an international terrorist.

  • India-born Gitanjali Thapa gets performance award at LA Film Festival

    India-born Gitanjali Thapa gets performance award at LA Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: Ryan McGarry‘s emergency room documentary Code Black and Janis Nords‘ coming-of-age drama Mother, I Love You have won the DirecTV Documentary and Narrative Awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival 2013.

    Audience Award winners include Short Term 12, American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs and Sony Pictures Classics‘ Wadjda. Awards for Short Film and Music Video were also given at the closing ceremony after the 11-day Festival.

    The Festival closed with The Way, Way Back, and the cast and crew – including Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash.

     

  • International co-production by Lebanese filmmaker gets top award at Edinburgh

    International co-production by Lebanese filmmaker gets top award at Edinburgh

    NEW DELHI: Mahdi Fleifel‘s A world not ours (Lebanon/UAE/Denmark/UK) has received the best film award in the International Competition of the 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival.

    The film had its British premiere at this year‘s festival. The award is given to filmmakers from outside United Kingdom in recognition of their imagination and innovation. Acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon-ho chaired the international feature film competition jury, which also included actress Natalie Dormer and film critic Siobhan Synnot.

    The award ceremony concluded the twelve-day festival, and the ceremony was hosted by Grant Lauchlan, producer and presenter of stv‘s Moviejuice. 

    The jury also gave a special mention to Elias Giannakakis‘ Joy (Greece) and appreciated the outstanding performance by Amalia Moutousi.

    The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film went to Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel‘s Leviathan (UK/USA/France), which received its UK premiere at the festival. A visually stunning documentary, it wins one of the longest-running film awards in the UK, honouring imagination and creativity in British filmmaking.

    The winner was chosen by the Michael Powell Jury, chaired by eminent Iranian director Samira Makhmalbaf and including actor and director Kevin McKidd and renowned film critic Derek Malcolm.

    The jury awarded a special commendation to Paul Wright‘s For Those In Peril for its passionate portrayal of a young Scots survivor of a tragedy at sea.

    The Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film was shared by Jamie Blackley and Toby Regbo for their performances as the dysfunctional schoolboys in uwantme2killhim? The performance awards were voted for by the Michael Powell Award Competition Jury.

    Reinstated in 2013 after a two-year absence, The Audience Award, supported by Sainsbury‘s Bank, went to Fire In The Night (UK) directed by Anthony Wonke for his deeply moving documentary detailing the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea. The film, which received its world premiere at the festival, skillfully combines archival footage, audio recordings and interviews with some of the 61 survivors of the disaster, some of whom are interviewed for the very first time.

    GHL by Lotte Schreiber won the Award for Best Short Film in the shorts category. The prize was one of the three awards bestowed by the short film competition jury, which included International Film Festival Rotterdam programmer Inge de Leeuw (chair), film critic Christoph Huber and independent film programmer Ricardo Matos Cabo.

    The award for creative innovation in a short film, given for the first time this year, was awarded to Doll Parts by Muzi Quawson, as voted for by the Shorts Jury.

    Another newly introduced award within the shorts category, The Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution to a Short Film, which celebrates imaginative and innovative work in short cinema, was awarded to Josh Gibson as Director of Photography of Light Plate, which he also directed.

    The jury also gave a special mention to three filmmakers whose work holds great promise for the future: Charlotte Rabate for Lucille In the Sky; Ivan Castineiras for The Border; and Anna Frances Ewert for Endless Day.

    As voted for by the audience, The McLaren Award for Best New British Animation, supported by the British Council, went to Marilyn Myller by director Mikey Please and co-animator Dan Ojari. Named after Scottish-born filmmaker Norman McLaren, the McLaren Award is the longest running award celebrating creativity amongst UK animation talent. The award was presented by Richard Williams, widely regarded as one of the world‘s greatest animators.

    The Student Critics Jury Award, supported by Morag and James Anderson, was awarded to Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari by Alexey Fedorchenko. The award was determined by a jury of seven aspiring film critics, Lewis Camley, Ruth Swift-Wood, Kathryn Craigmyle, Phil Kennedy, Catarina Mourao, Rebecca Lily Bowen and Vivek Santayana, who took part in a workshop on film criticism at EIFF under the guidance of Kate Taylor (Independent Cinema Office), Gabe Klinger (independent film critic and programmer) and Nick James (editor, Sight & Sound).

  • John Woo’s ‘Chinese Titanic’ begins shooting in Beijing

    John Woo’s ‘Chinese Titanic’ begins shooting in Beijing

    MUMBAI: John Woo‘s return to directing after a four-year hiatus with The Crossing is now underway in Beijing, the production companies behind the project announced in a statement.

    The big-budget project is being dubbed as the Chinese Titanic by local Chinese media, and stars a bevy of local A-listers, including Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiaoming, and Tong Dawei, along with South Korea‘s Song Hye Kyo; Japan‘s Masami Nagasawa; and Taiwan‘s Takeshi Kaneshiro.

    The film will be released in two parts – much like Woo‘s last project, historical epic, Red Cliff (2008), Red Cliff II (2009) – and tells the story of three couples cast aboard a ship in the South China Sea, fleeing China for Taiwan during the 1949 revolution. The screenplay is written by Wang Huiling, best known for co-writing Ang Lee‘s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and adapting Lust Caution.

    Originally titled 1949, and planned since 2009, the project was reportedly delayed due to challenges in getting the script approved because of political sensitivities in China surrounding any portrayal of the revolutionary era.

    The two-part film is budgeted at $40 million and jointly backed by Beijing Galloping Horse, China Film Group and Zhejiang Huace Film & TV, with Woo and Terence Chang‘s Lion Rock Productions banner attached.

    Woo already has his next film in the works, the long-planned World War II drama Flying Tigers, which is expected to go into production in 2014.

  • Turbo to set screens ablaze beginning 19 July

    Turbo to set screens ablaze beginning 19 July

    NEW DELHI: Turbo, a high-velocity 3D animation comedy about an underdog snail from the makers of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and The Croods, is being released on 19 July.

    It is about an underdog snail whose dreams kick into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. Turbo‘s single-minded goal is to compete in the greatest race in the world: the Indy 500. He even manages to get power to move at super-speed. But he soon learns that no one succeeds on his own. So he puts his heart and shell on the line to help his pals achieve their dreams, before Turbo-charging his own impossible dream: winning the Indy 500.

    The film is helmed by Paul Soren and stars a strong ensemble cast of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Paul Giamatti and others.
     

    The requisite comedic and dramatic acting chops, and bigger-than-life persona, are embodied by Hollywood Hottie Ryan Reynolds, whom Director Paul Soren describes as “the perfect match” for Turbo.

    “I was pitched the idea about this character who has an impossible dream of winning the Indy 500,” Ryan Reynolds remembers. “I asked, ‘What‘s impossible about that?‘ And he said, ‘Turbo‘s a snail.‘ And I said, ‘That‘s impossible!‘”

    “But it all really sounded amazing, and I fell in love with its classic underdog story, which Turbo takes to a new level,” Reynolds continues. “It takes a unique if not insane perspective to bring a snail to life in this way. What I love most about Turbo is his tenacity and refusal to give up on his dream. In fact, it doesn‘t even occur to him to give up. Talent is a collision between hard work and luck, and that‘s what Turbo is.”

    Turbo‘s other key relationship is with the collective known as the Racing Snails, who ultimately serve as his pit crew at the Indy 500.

    Before Turbo arrived on the scene, the leader and reigning champ of the Racing Snails was Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson). To be a member of Whiplash‘s crew, you must earn his respect, and until you do, you‘ll never experience the real Whiplash – a warm, jovial guy who treats his crew like family. 

    One of the final stages of the race to finish Turbo was the intricate sound design created by three-time Academy Award-winner Richard King (The Dark Knight, Inception, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World). King worked closely with Soren to further define the film‘s vibrant characters and environments through their sounds. Among their principal challenges was creating Turbo‘s signature powering-up racing sounds, and differentiating them from the terrifying and deafening engines of the thirty-two Indy 500 cars pitted against him. 

    Soren also employed cutting-edge techniques to create the Indy 500 crowd scenes – 300,000 people strong. (It‘s the biggest sporting event in the world.) “There are more crowds in Turbo than any in animated film history,” says the director. To accomplish that, “we devised a system that allowed us to cover huge crowds with relatively low amounts of rendering time, in a way never before possible.”

    This kind of technical wizardry was always in service of Turbo‘s colourful characters and classic-with-a-twist underdog tale. “I think audiences will really get behind Turbo‘s determination and dreams,” says Soren. “There‘s a quality about underdog stories where you just can‘t help but start rooting for the character, get swept up by them, and start rooting for them”.

  • Mexican cinema takes pride at Munich film festival

    Mexican cinema takes pride at Munich film festival

    MUMBAI: Mexican cinema took pride of place at this year‘s Munich International Film Festival, with Amat Escalante‘s drug drama Heli adding the festival‘s Arri/Osram best international film honor to his best director‘s win in Cannes and his fellow countryman Sebastian Hofmann taking the CineVision prize for his debut, the horror tale Halley. The CineVision award, meant to honor cinematic innovation, was also presented, ex aequo, to Slovakian director Mira Fornay for his second feature film, My Dog Killer.

    In the German film section, Jakob Lass‘ feature film debut, Love Steaks, a romantic comedy about a couple who fall in love at a health spa, swept the Forderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino honors, winning best director, best screenplay (Lass with co-writers Timon Schappi, Ines Schiller and Nico Woche), best production (for producer Golo Schultz) and best acting honors for stars Lana Cooper and Franz Rogowski.

    German director Fatima Geza Abdollahyan also took home multiple honors for his documentary, Freedom Bus, a look at Egypt ahead of the 2011 elections. The film won Munich audience award as well as the One Future Prize presented by Munich‘s Interfilm Academy.

    The CineVision award, meant to honor cinematic innovation, was also presented, ex aequo, to Slovakian director Mira Fornay for his second feature film, My Dog Killer.

    In the German film section, Jakob Lass‘ feature film debut, Love Steaks, a romantic comedy about a couple who fall in love at a health spa, swept the Forderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino honors, winning best director, best screenplay (Lass with co-writers Timon Schappi, Ines Schiller and Nico Woche), best production (for producer Golo Schultz) and best acting honors for stars Lana Cooper and Franz Rogowski.

    German director Fatima Geza Abdollahyan also took home multiple honors for his documentary, Freedom Bus, a look at Egypt ahead of the 2011 elections. The film won Munich audience award as well as the One Future Prize presented by Munich‘s Interfilm Academy.

  • Fourth of July weekend garners $229 mn for domestic BO

    Fourth of July weekend garners $229 mn for domestic BO

    MUMBAI: As predicted fireworks blazed at the Fourth of July box office which headed to $229 million (mn) domestic through Sunday (+16 per cent from last year) and a new three-day weekend record for the holiday. But there was only bad news for Disney‘s expensive The Lone Ranger (3,904 theaters) which opened disastrously Wednesday, remained weak on Thursday, did only $10.6 mn Friday, and flatlined for $10.7 mn Saturday. That‘s a very disappointing five-day holiday of $48.9 mn max. The two-quadrant Western won‘t cover its high $215 mn-$250 mn cost despite this holiday‘s 4x multiple. The Johnny Depp – Armie Hammer starrer‘s domestic cume is way below.

    Disney‘s initial lowball projection of $65 mn and the third big-budget bomb of summer 2013. (Two Sony pics – White House Down and After Earth – also were expensive bombs.) As Deadline first reported, the studio in August 2011 shut down Lone Ranger for six months after the budget ballooned out of control. Disney would have been better off scraping the pic altogether. Depp‘s worldwide popularity may help overseas where oaters usually don‘t excel.Lone Ranger opened day and date in 30 per cent of the foreign landscape but only four big markets: Italy and Russia (released 2 July) and Australia and Korea (4 July). It made $24.3 mn internationally for a global cume of $73.2 mn through Sunday. 

    The result for the no 1 movie was far different, Illumination Entertainment‘s and Universal‘s Despicable Me 2 (3,957 theaters) which only cost a very reasonable $76 mn. It is the no 1 film in the world this weekend, opening atop the US and Canadian box office with a record-breaking estimated gross of $142.1 mn. The 3D toon posted the biggest five-day opening for an animated film and the top three-day animated opening in July (earning $82.5 mn).

    Internationally, its gross widened to 6,849 dates in 45 territories to total $151.1 mn. The combined global cume is $293.2 mn. This marks Universal‘s second biggest international opening weekend ever behind Fast & Furious 6 ($161M). Not only is DM2 performing well ahead of the original film globally but also on par with such toon franchise megahits as Toy Story 3, Ice Age 4, Madagascar 3 and Shrek 4. And the sequel‘s opening is among the top animated openings of all time in every market.

  • Free ‘White House Down’ 4 July screening draws 100,000 military

    Free ‘White House Down’ 4 July screening draws 100,000 military

    MUMBAI: On Fourth of July, more than 100,000 active military service members and veterans saw White House Down in theaters for free.

    Sony Pictures offered free admission to service men and women on Independence Day as part of a special tribute to US troops.

    Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Theatres, Cinemark and Carmike Cinemas participated in the offer, providing military personnel a free ticket, along with a ticket for a guest.

    The Channing Tatum/Jamie Foxx action thriller, which grossed a disappointing $24.8 million in its first weekend, took in $3.5 million on the Independence Day holiday. The film has grossed $36.9 million domestically to date.

    Roland Emmerich‘s film follows a capitol police officer (Tatum) who is tasked with rescuing the president of the United States (Foxx) after terrorists infiltrate the White House.

  • Evans rides post apocalyptic train in ‘Snowpiercer’

    Evans rides post apocalyptic train in ‘Snowpiercer’

    MUMBAI: A plan to stop global warming has gone very, very wrong in Snowpiercer, which has debuted a new trailer.

    The post-apocalyptic sci-fi film from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho is set in a future in which a failed experiment to put an end to global warming has resulted in an ice age, killing off most of humanity. The only survivors live on Snowpiercer – a train that circumnavigates the globe and is powered by a perpetual-motion engine.

    A class system has developed, with the poor living in the train‘s tale and the rich living in the front. One man (Chris Evans) has had enough, and seeks to reach the front of the train to benefit everyone on it. Among those seeking to stop him is the strangely dressed Mason (Tilda Swinton). 

    It‘s the first English-language film for Bong, known for directing the Korean monster blockbuster The Host (2006)The film also stars Jamie Bell, Alison Pill, John Hurt, Octavia Spencer and Ed Harris. Frequent Bong collaborator Song Kang-ho plays Namgoong Minsu, a mysterious security specialist Evans‘ character seeks out for help.

    Snowpiercer is being released domestically by the Weinstein Company, which has not announced a release date. It hits South Korean theaters this summer.

  • Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 (3d) slated for year-end release

    Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 (3d) slated for year-end release

    NEW DELHI: Even as it is just picking pace in India, the sequel craze continues in Hollywood.

    Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, a comedy from the Sony Pictures Animation banner, had proved a hit when it was released. And now, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 picks up the tale. Inventor Flint Lockwood‘s genius is finally being recognised as he is invited by his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, where the best and brightest inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind.

    Chester‘s right-hand-gal – and one of his greatest inventions – is Barb (a highly evolved orangutan with a human brain, who is also devious, manipulative and likes to wear lipstick. It has always been Flint‘s dream to be recognised as a great inventor, but everything changes when he discovers that his most infamous machine (which turns water into food) is still operating and is now creating food-animal hybrids – “foodimals!” With the fate of humanity in his hands, Chester sends Flint and his friends on a dangerously delicious mission, battling hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, apple pie-thons, double bacon cheespiders and other food creatures to save the world again.

    Slated for release on 20 December, the animation film has been directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn. It will have the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Will Forte, Kristen Schaal, Terry Crews, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris and Benjamin Bratt.