ITV

Category: International

  • Next Bond film to come within three years

    Next Bond film to come within three years

    MUMBAI: MGM Studios has said that it expects to release the next James Bond film within three years. It also hopes to announce a new director who would replace Sam Mendes soon.

    MGM Chairman and CEO Gary Barber stated that the studio was developing the screenplay for the 24th film in the James Bond series in the 50-year-old franchise about the British secret agent. "We are very excited about the franchise, we look forward to announcing a director soon," Barber has been quoted to have said.
     
    "We are currently developing the screenplay and working with our partners. We look forward to developing the script soon and signing a director. We are hoping within the next 3 years it will be released," he added.

    Though he gave no details on the casting of the film, Daniel Craig has already signed on for two more films in the lead role as the suave 007 agent.

    Skyfall that starred Craig has made $1.1 billion at the global box office and impressed critics.

  • Martin Landau to be honoured at the Israel Film Festival

    Martin Landau to be honoured at the Israel Film Festival

    MUMBAI: Veteran actor Martin Landau, who was last seen in Have a Faith, will attend the upcoming Israel Film Festival and pick up a top prize at the opening night gala. The 84-year-old Oscar-winning star will accept the Career Achievement Award on 18 April.

    “He is one of the longest working, most highly regarded actors in the industry. For over 60 years, Landau has exemplified the best of Hollywood to audiences around the world,” said festival founder Meir Fenigstein.

    Former honourees of the award include actors Richard Dreyfuss and Bob Balaban.

    The event will also showcase more than 30 new Israeli films and documentaries.

  • Recording Academy to honour Jennifer Hudson

    Recording Academy to honour Jennifer Hudson

    MUMBAI: Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson will be honoured by the Recording Academy for her philanthropic efforts at the 2013 Grammys on the Hill Awards.

    The star known for her film Dreamgirls will collect the Recording Artists Coalition Award at a special ceremony in Washington, DC on 17 April.

    “We are elated to recognise Jennifer Hudson as not only a gifted musician and actress but as an extraordinary humanitarian who has selflessly contributed her time and talent to numerous worthwhile causes,” Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said in a statement.

    “She is one of the industry‘s most enduring, giving and gifted women, and we are privileged to be honouring her artistry, her commitment and her generosity,” he added.

    Hudson, delighted by the news, tweeted, “Im (sic) so humbled!!”

    The event will take place a day before the Academy‘s Grammys on the Hill Advocacy Day when industry professionals will meet legislators to discuss the need for policies benefiting the industry and its musicians.

  • Paul W.S. Anderson’s next to be Pompeii

    Paul W.S. Anderson’s next to be Pompeii

    MUMBAI: After helming films like Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator and Death Race, Paul W S Anderson‘s next will be Pompeii a 3-D action-adventure film that will recount one of history‘s greatest disaster stories.
     
    Set in 79 A.D., Pompeii stars Kit Harington as Milo, a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Flavia, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman General. As Mt. Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him.
     
    Starring alongside are Emily Browning as Flavia and Jared Harris as Lucretius, her father. This period film commenced shooting on 13 March in Pompeii, Italy and will later shift to Toronto, Canada on 28 March.
     
    The film will be released by PVR Pictures in India.

  • Lee Chang-dong to be dean of Asian Film Academy

    Lee Chang-dong to be dean of Asian Film Academy

    MUMBAI: Lee Chang-dong, who won an award at the last Cannes Fest for best screenplay for Poetry and Secret Sunshine, will serve as the dean of the 2013 Asian Film Academy (AFA).

    Held jointly with the annual Busan International Film Festival, AFA is an international education program that offers aspiring filmmakers the chance to develop different aspects of their craft. This year‘s edition will be held for 18 days from 26 September to 13 October.

    Lee will teach students about short film production and supervise master classes and lectures. Participants will also learn about the practice and philosophy of filmmaking during the intensive program. In addition to him, emerging Thai filmmaker Aditya Assarat, winner of the New Currents Award at the 2007 Busan Festival for Wonderful Town, will serve as a mentor.

    “With Lee Chang-dong‘s master vision combined with Aditya Assarat‘s enthusiastic energy, the AFA 2013 faculty promises the best education possible for its new prospective fellows,” said the Academy in a statement.

    Earlier those top Asian directors who have supervised the Academy are Korea‘s Im Kwon-taek, Japan‘s Kiyoshi Kurosawa, China‘s Jia Zhangke, Taiwan‘s Hou Hsiao Hsien and Iran‘s Moshen Makhmalbaf and Abbas Kiarostami.

  • Michael Gracey to direct Elton John biopic

    Michael Gracey to direct Elton John biopic

    MUMBAI: Director Michael Gracey has been roped in by Rocket Pictures to direct a biopic (musical) of British singer Elton John titled Rocketman.

    Gracey‘s film will follow John‘s journey as the five-year-old musical prodigy who won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 11.

    John, 65, teamed up with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriters to become one of the most successful artists of all time.

    “Michael has an innovative, imaginative and compelling vision for the film. We wanted to create an experience that surprises and moves audiences and knew immediately that he was the perfect director to take them on this journey,” said Rocket CEO Steve Hamilton Shaw.

    The film will feature fantastical choreographed sequences of John‘s biggest hits. “Everyone knows and loves Elton John‘s music, but the true story of his life is so incredible that it can only be described as a fantasy,” Gracey has been quoted to have said.

    The final cast of the film remains to be finalised.

  • Christian Bale likely to play Moses

    Christian Bale likely to play Moses

    MUMBAI: Fox Studio has reportedly approached Christian Bale to play the role of Moses in Ridley Scott‘s Exodus. The studio has also decided to bring forward the production of the film, it is reported.

    “What‘s interesting to me about Moses isn‘t the big stuff that everybody knows. It is things like his relationship with Ramesses [the pharaoh]. I honestly wasn‘t paying attention in school when I was told the story of Moses. Some of the details of his life are extraordinary,” Scott said.

    Steven Zaillian will now rewrite the script that was initially written by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage.

    The studio‘s attention is to get Scott to begin work on Exodus immediately after he completes The Counselor.

  • Tom Hooper to direct Freddie Mercury biopic

    Tom Hooper to direct Freddie Mercury biopic

    MUMBAI: Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper is in talks to direct an upcoming biopic on Freddie Mercury. If it succeeds, Hooper will reunite with Les Miserables star Sacha Baron Cohen.

    Cohen has been linked to play the flamboyant rock star who died aged 45 in 1991 following a long battle with AIDS.

    Hooper is reportedly being eyed by Sony Pictures and GK Films to oversee the long-planned film about the iconic singer who will be played by Cohen.

    Though no formal offer has been made to the director yet, Hooper is considered to be the studios‘ favourite for the role.

    The film will be produced by Robert De Niro along with Graham King, Tim Headington and Jane Rosenthal.

  • Ang Lee likely to replace Spielberg on Warner’s Gods & Kings

    Ang Lee likely to replace Spielberg on Warner’s Gods & Kings

    MUMBAI: Looks like Ang Lee is going through a nice phase. Soon after he received the best director Oscar award for Life of Pi, the director found himself a TV project.

    Lee is committed to making his TV directorial debut with the pilot for FX‘s Tyrant from award-winning producers Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff.

    And now it has come to light that Lee has been approached by Warner Bros to direct a biblical epic on Moses titled Gods and Kings. This after the studio failed to strike a deal with Steven Spielberg who was earlier tipped to direct the film.

    The 58-year-old filmmaker is said to be intrigued by the offer but things are yet to move to a formal level, it is said.

    Penned by Stuart Hazeldine and Michael Green, Gods and Kings is based on the Book of Exodus and other stories from the Old Testament. It follows the life of Moses from his birth to death.

  • Danny Boyle plans Trainspotting sequel in 2016

    Danny Boyle plans Trainspotting sequel in 2016

    Mumbai: To mark the 20th anniversary of his film Trainspotting which he made in 1996, filmmaker Danny Boyle has evinced hope of releasing the sequel titled Porno in 2016.

    Trainspotting was based on a novel by Irvine Welsh and the Slumdog Millionaire director‘s new film would loosely adapt his follow-up novel Porno, it is understood.

    “This has been a long time coming. The ideal time would be Porno in 2016 because it was 1996 when Trainspotting came out. 20 years… It‘s like, wow, where did that go?” Boyle said.

    The director said he is still waiting for the right script from his long-time collaborator John Hodge, who wrote several of Boyle‘s biggest films including Trainspotting and the upcoming heist thriller Trance.