Category: International

India-based British documentary wins second prize in Audience Awards at Berlinale

NEW DELHI: Salma, an India-based documentary by British filmmaker Kim Longinotto, has received the second place in Panorama Audience awards at Berlinale.

Salma chronicles the life of a woman from south India who was locked by her parents on reaching puberty and decided to fight her way back to the outside world twenty-five years later. She is now a well-known poet.

The Panorama Audience Award has been given since 1999. During the Berlinale, movie-goers were asked to rate the films shown in the Panorama section and over 28,000 votes were cast and counted altogether. This year the Panorama presented 52 productions from 33 countries, of which 20 were documentaries.

The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival will come to a close on February 16 with the presentation of the awards.

The first prize for documentaries went to The Act of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer which is a Denmark/Norway/Great Britain collaboration. The third prize went to A World Not Ours by Mahdi Fleifel (Lebanon/Great Britain/Denmark).

In fiction, the prizes went to: The Broken Circle Breakdown by Felix van Groeningen (Belgium/Netherlands); Reaching for the Moon by Bruno Barreto (Brazil) and Inch‘Allah by Ana?s Barbeau-Lavalette (Canada/France).

February 23, 2013
Warner Bros signs Adam Sandler for romantic comedy

MUMBAI: Warner Bros. has signed Adam Sandler to star in its untitled romantic comedy that centers on blended families.

The project, which was initially called Blended when it was set up in 2007, centers on a man and woman who, after a disastrous first date, get trapped at a family resort with their kids from previous marriages in tow. An attraction begins to grow despite comedic mishaps.

The film is to be produced by Happy Madison with Mike Karz‘s Gulfstream Pictures, and the project and has no director at this point of time. The move puts Sandler‘s Western comedy The Ridiculous 6, set up at Paramount, on the back burner for the time being.

The casting is in process to find the female lead. Sandra Bullock was previously attached to star when it was titled Blended. It is now understood that it would be Drew Barrymore, who co-starred with him in films like The Wedding Singer and Fifty First Dates.

February 22, 2013
Scorsese to present John Huston award to Darren Aronofksy

MUMBAI: Martin Scorsese will present the first John Huston Award for outstanding achievement in cinema to Darren Aronofksy at the First Time Fest scheduled to take place in New York from 1 to 4 March.

The festival will screen a dozen films competing and the jury and the audience will together select a grand-prize winner who will be offered theatrical distribution and full international sales representation from the American film distributor Cinema Libre Studio.

The fest will also present a series of first films from filmmakers who went on to become big names like Aronofsky‘s Pi, John Huston‘s The Maltese Falcon and Stanley Kubrick‘s Killer‘s Kiss.

The festival, which celebrates first-time filmmakers, was co-founded by Johanna Bennett and Mandy Ward and will be hosted by The Players, the club founded by actor Edwin Booth, author Mark Twain and artist John Singer Sargent in 1847 and located at Gramercy Park.

February 22, 2013
Filming Begins on Alcon Entertainment’s ‘Prisoners’

MUMBAI: Principal photography is underway on location in Georgia for Alcon Entertainment‘s ‘Prisoners‘, a Warner Bros. Pictures‘ release starring Oscar nominees Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, under the direction of Denis Villeneuve, who helmed the Oscar-nominated foreign language film ‘Incendies‘.

How far would you go to protect your child? Keller Dover (Jackman) is facing every parent‘s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces the only suspect‘s release.

Knowing his child‘s life is at stake, the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. The desperate father will do whatever it takes to find the girls, but in doing so, he may lose himself, begging the question: When do you cross the line between seeking justice and becoming a vigilante?

Led by Jackman and Gyllenhaal, the dramatic thriller "Prisoners" features an all-star cast, including Maria Bello as Keller‘s distraught wife, Grace; Oscar nominees Terrence Howard and Viola Davis as Franklin and Nancy Birch, whose daughter Joy went missing with the Dovers‘, Academy Award winner Melissa Leo as Alex Jones‘ Aunt Holly; and Paul Dano as Alex Jones.

Denis Villeneuve directs the film from an original screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski. Kira Davis, Adam Kolbrenner, and Academy Award nominees Broderick Johnson and Andrew A. Kosove are the producers, with John Starke, Ed McDonnell, Stephen Levinson, Robyn Meisinger and Mark Wahlberg serving as executive producers.

Villeneuve is supported by a top-flight creative team that includes 10-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins, Oscar-nominated production designer Patrice Vermette, Oscar-winning editor Joel Cox, editor Gary Roach, and costume designer Renée April.

Alcon Entertainment‘s ‘Prisoners‘ is scheduled for release on 20 September and will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

February 21, 2013
Regal Entertainment to acquire Hollywood Theaters for $191 million

MUMBAI: Regal Entertainment Group, a leading motion picture exhibitor owning and operating the largest theatre circuit in the United States, has entered into an agreement to acquire Hollywood Theaters.

The purchase price will consist of $191 million in cash, approximately $47 million of assumed lease obligations, comprised of capital leases and financing obligations, and certain working capital. The cash portion of the purchase price includes repayment of approximately $157 million of the sellers‘ debt and is subject to customary post-closing adjustments.

The proposed acquisition would add a total of 43 theatres with 513 screens to Regal‘s portfolio at a pre-synergy multiple of approximately 5.9 times cash flow and includes theatres in 16 states and three US territories. The consummation of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.

"We expect the acquisition of Hollywood Theaters to be accretive to cash flows and earnings and are pleased to announce an agreement to purchase these high quality assets," stated Regal Entertainment Group CEO Amy Miles.

"Accretive acquisitions are a key component of our overall business strategy and we look forward to a successful closing and integration of the Hollywood Theater assets during the second quarter," Miles continued.

February 21, 2013
Real life tale of Bruce Lee headed for big screen

MUMBAI: QED International in association with Groundswell Productions has set forth to tell the story of Bruce Lee through a film titled Birth of the Dragon.

The film has been inspired by the true-life duel between Lee and Wong Jack Man who was China‘s most famous kung fu Master. The no-rules fight took place in San Francisco in 1965, when the city‘s Chinatown was controlled by Hong Kong triads.

Scribes Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen Rivele have been asked to pen the tale. The writers are using this true incident as a jumping-off point for a wider-canvas action film in which Wong and Lee team up to battle a band of Chinatown gangsters.

The film will be produced by QED CEO Bill Block and Groundswell‘s Michael London along with Wilkinson and Rivele. “Stephen Rivele and Chris Wilkinson have taken a little-known chapter in the life of Bruce Lee and used it as a jumping-off point for a bold, exciting story about the making of an international legend,” said sources.

Wilkinson and Rivele are best known for writing bio pics. The duo‘s credits include Nixon, the 1995 drama directed by Oliver Stone and 2001‘s Ali, directed by Michael Mann.

February 20, 2013
Afghan kid heads for Oscars

MUMBAI: A 14-year old Afghan street kid Fawad Mohammadi is on his way to Hollywood to get the red-carpet treatment at the Oscars.

Fawad used to sell maps to passing foreigners on Kabul‘s famed Chicken Street to help feed his family when he met American director Sam French who cast him as one of the main characters in Buzkashi Boys, a film shot entirely in Afghanistan. It has been nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at this year‘s Academy Awards.

The film is about two youngsters growing up in Kabul who dream of becoming Buzkashi horseback riders in Afghanistan‘s dramatic national sport, which uses a headless goat in place of a ball in a wild version of polo. Both are forced to spend long hours in his father‘s dark workshop sharpening axe heads.

Fawad, whose ambition is to become a pilot, said he hoped to be able to visit the cockpit of the airplane during his flight to Los Angeles. He is the youngest of seven siblings. Their father died several years ago, and his five brothers also work. He started selling chewing gum on the streets and expanded his trade to selling maps and dictionaries to foreigners.

He learned English as he worked on Chicken Street, a popular destination for expats shopping for Afghan carpets, jewellery and craftwork.

February 19, 2013
Child’s Pose wins Golden Bear at Berlin Film Fest

MUMBAI: Child‘s Pose, a Romanian drama about a domineering mother using her social position to try to save her son from jail, has won the Golden Bear for best film at the recently concluded Berlin Film Festival.

The film directed by Calin Peter Netzer and starring Luminita Gheorghiu in the central role, had been among the favourites for the coveted prize.

In Child‘s Pose, Gheorghiu shines as the wealthy 60-year-old Cornelia who attempts to buy off the poor family of a boy killed by her son in a road accident.

“I‘m still shell-shocked,” Netzer reportedly told the press after she picked the award. “I haven‘t quite woken up to this new reality. It will probably take a couple of days for it to sink in.”

The veteran has actress also appeared in Cristian Mungiu‘s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, an abortion drama that put Romanian cinema firmly on the international map when it won the Palme d‘Or at the Cannes film festival in 2007.

The big surprise on the night was the best actor award for Nazif Mujic, a Bosnian Roma who had to be convinced to play himself in “An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker” about his own experiences on the fringes of society.

The film, a docu-drama directed by Danis Tanovic and made for 30,000 euros captured hearts in Berlin for its straightforward storytelling and moving account of the impoverished Mujic‘s desperate attempts to pay for his wife‘s emergency operation.

The awards ceremony brought to a close the 11-day cinema showcase, where hundreds of films were screened across Berlin.

February 19, 2013
Kelly Rowland joins presenters for Oscar awards pre-show

MUMBAI: Singer Kelly Rowland has announced that she has been invited to join actress Kristin Chenoweth, Entertainment Weekly managing editor Jess Cagle and ‘Good Morning America‘ anchor Lara Spencer to host the official Oscar pre-show, ‘The Oscars Red Carpet Live‘.

The show is executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, producers of the Oscar telecast, and produced by Charlie Haykel and Juliane Hare for Don Mischer Productions.

‘The Oscars Red Carpet Live‘ will take place on Monday 25 February in front of the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center and be televised live on Star Movies. The red carpet show will also be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

February 19, 2013
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper set to star again

MUMBAI: After their association in Silver Linings Playbook, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are due to come together in a yet untitled film to be directed by David O Russell.

The film, written by Eric Warren Singer (The International) and O Russell, centers on a 1970‘s FBI sting operation by the name Abscam. The operation, set up by a con artist, ultimately led to the conviction of several elected officials including a US senator and five members of the House of Representatives.

Lawrence will play the wife of co-star Christian Bale‘s character. Also in the star cast are Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams and Louis CK.

The new film also reunites O Russell and Bale, the pair having worked together earlier for The Fighter.

Lawrence, Cooper and O Russell have all received Oscar nominations for Silver Linings Playbook.

February 18, 2013