ITV

Category: International

  • Voters choose Harrison Ford to helm US in an entertaining poll

    Voters choose Harrison Ford to helm US in an entertaining poll

    MUMBAI: With Barack Obama edging out Mitt Romney to become the US president for the second time, a survey commissioned by The Credits, a website sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of America, asked voters which Hollywood president would they have voted for instead of Obama or Romney.
    Harrison Ford‘s tough Air Force One Commander in Chief James Marshall came out on top with 23 per cent of the votes. Coming behind was Morgan Freeman as President Beck in Deep Impact. Bill Pullman‘s act of President Whitmore from Independence Day came in third with nine percent.
    Though female candidates were put on the ballot, they didn‘t fare well. They took the last three places. They were Cherry Jones (Fox‘s 24), Geena Davis (ABC‘s Commander in Chief) and Mary McDonnell in SyFy‘s Battlestar Gallactica.

    The survey also opened up the voting to any actor, not just those who had played a president. In this, Denzel Washington came on top followed by Morgan Freeman and a two-way tie for third place between Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford. While both Eastwood and Ford were favoured by Romney supporters, the women heavily favoured Washington.
    There was also a question about which fictional character would best lead the country during a zombie apocalypse.
    Potential voters believed Samuel L. Jackson‘s experience in exterminating serpents in Snakes on a Plane would help him to deliver the nation from an undead plague. Milla Jovovich‘s character from the Resident Evil franchise came in at No. 2, while Tom Cruise‘s character from War of the Worlds rounded out the top three slots.

  • PGA set to honour J J Abrams with Norman Lear Achievement award

    PGA set to honour J J Abrams with Norman Lear Achievement award

    MUMBAI: The Producers Guild of America (PGA) will honour producer-director J J Abrams with the 2013 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television, a statement from the PGA chairperson Michael De Luca said.
    “J J Abrams has produced some of the most iconic and highest-rated television shows of the past decade and longer — series that have changed the landscape of television,” the statement read.
    “His talent is astonishing, and through his commitment to ingenious storytelling, compelling characters and television programming of the highest quality, he truly lives up to this award‘s namesake,” it added.
    “It is an incredible honor to be asked to accept the Producers Guild Norman Lear Award, especially since Mr Lear is one of my true heroes,” said Abrams. “I feel privileged to be included among the prestigious list of past recipients and look forward to celebrating the work of my fellow producers in January,” the statement maintained.
    Abrams is the founder and president of Bad Robot Productions, which he runs with his producing partner Bryan Burk. Formed in 2001, Bad Robot is partnered with Paramount and Warner Bros. and has produced films and television series such as Cloverfield, Star Trek, Morning Glory, Super 8, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, ABC‘s Alias and Lost, Fox‘s Fringe and CBS‘ Person of Interest. In 1998, he co-created his first television series, Felicity, with collaborator and longtime friend Matt Reeves.
    Past recipients of the Norman Lear Award include Don Mischer in 2012, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Dick Wolf, Jerry Bruckheimer, John Wells, Lorne Michaels, Bud Yorkin, Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, David L. Wolper, Don Hewitt, Garry K. Marshall, Aaron Spelling, Steven Bochco, David E. Kelley, Mark Burnett and Norman Lear.
    The award will be presented at the annual PGA Awards ceremony on 26 January.

  • Sequel of Casablanca on anvil

    Sequel of Casablanca on anvil

    MUMBAI: An American producer Cass Warner is planning to make a sequel to the 1942-made Hollywood classic Casablanca that starred Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
    The film — the lines of which like Here‘s looking at you kid and Play it again, Sam — are still quoted by film lovers, revolved around two star-crossed lovers Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund who reunite in Casablanca during the World-War II only to separate later.
    Warner is trying to find backers for a proposal written by the late Howard Koch, one of the three who got a screenwriting Oscar for the film.
    Titled Return to Casablanca, the sequel would follow the story of Richard Blaine, the son of Bogart‘s Rick Blaine and Ingrid Bergman‘s Ilsa Lund as he tries to find his father. The boy was conceived the night Ilsa came to Rick‘s place to plead for the Letters of Transit, and she kept it a secret from her husband Victor Laszlo, played by Paul Henreid.
    Among the skeptics about the remake is Stephen Bogart, the 64-year-old son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. “If they want to make a movie about intrigue in North Africa, that‘s fine, but bringing the specter of one of the greatest movies of all time into it makes it just another feeble attempt at Casablanca 2,” Stephen has reportedly said.

  • Skyfall grosses $ 156 mn from 56 destinations

    Skyfall grosses $ 156 mn from 56 destinations

    MUMBAI: Skyfall, the 23rd installment of the multi-billion-dollar James Bond franchise, expanded its offshore run by 56 markets and grossed an overwhelming $156 million.
    Markets handled by distributors, of the film, Sony delivered $139 million of the total with licensees of co-distributor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer raking in $17 million. IMAX reported that its weekend take at 132 locations in 36 territories was $4.3 million.
    In just 10 days of its overseas release, Skyfall, the third Bond outing, has made a whopping $287 million. This propelled Sony International to its best year ever on the foreign circuit with total 2012 box office of $2.160 billion.
    Skyfall‘s weekend, take this time, nearly doubled the $78.6 million opening foreign weekend gross last round from 6,354 locations in 25 markets, is the third highest of 2012 surpassed only by the offshore weekend revenues logged in late April and early May by Marvel/Disney‘s The Avengers.
    A No. 1 German opening delivered $23.9 million, which Sony said was the market‘s biggest-grossing 2012 debut. The U.K.‘s second weekend take was $25.7 million, lifting the 10-day cume there to $85.8 million. France kicked in $14.3 million for a two-round market cume of $30 million.
    Italy launched with $7.9 million, a market record for a Hollywood title this year. Russia came up with $5.2 million in Skyfall‘s second round there, pushing the market cume to $16.1 million. Openings in Switzerland, India, Holland and Mexico generated $5.3 million, $5.1 million, $4.4 million and $3.2 million, respectively.
    An MGM/Eon/Danjaq co-production, directed by Sam Mendes and filmed in the UK, Turkey, China and France, Skyfall is well on track to become the biggest Bond grosser ever on the foreign circuit.

  • John Cusack to play radio personality Limbaugh in biopic

    John Cusack to play radio personality Limbaugh in biopic

    MUMBAI: High Fidelity star John Cusack is on course to developing a biopic about controversial US radio personality Rush Limbaugh. The 46-year-old will star as the conservative host in the film Rush (2014).
    Cusack‘s casting as Limbaugh is quite surprising as the actor is widely known as an outspoken liberal while the radio host is famous for being a conservative.
    Physically, the two also have almost nothing in common. While Cusack is slender and dark-haired, the 61-year-old Limbaugh is much older, balding and portly.
    Betty Thomas, who will direct the film says that the production company is currently polishing the script and the production is set to kick off in 2013.
    Limbaugh is one of the most provocative media figures in the US. His radio show, The Rush Limbaugh Show, is the highest-rated talk-radio program. He is also the most-listened-to talk show host with a weekly audience of 15 million.
    The Missouri-born host often sparks controversy during his on air show. Recently, he mocked Republican New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, for having a “bromance” with US prez Barack Obama.

  • 21 animated films for Academy Awards consideration

    21 animated films for Academy Awards consideration

    MUMBAI: Twenty-one animated features, put alphabetically from Adventures in Zambezia to Zarafa, have been submitted for the consideration if the Academy Awards.
    The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
    Adventures in Zambezia, Brave, Delhi Safari, Dr. Seuss‘ The Lorax, Frankenweenie, From Up on Poppy Hill, Hey Krishna, Hotel Transylvania, Ice Age Continental Drift, A Liar‘s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python‘s Graham Chapman, Madagascar 3: Europe‘s Most Wanted, The Mystical Laws, The Painting, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits,The Rabbi‘s Cat, Rise of the Guardians, Secret of the Wings, Walter & Tandoori‘s Christmas, Wreck-It Ralph and Zarafa.
    Under the rules of the Academy, since more than 16 films have been submitted, a maximum of five films may be nominated when nominees are announced on 10 January.
    This year‘s submissions include entries from major animation houses like Pixar‘s Brave, Disney‘s Frankenweenie and Wreck-It Ralph, DreamWorks Animation‘s Madagascar 3: Europe‘s Most Wanted and Rise of the Guardians, Fox/Blue Sky Studio‘s Ice Age: Continental Drift, Universal/Illumination‘s Dr. Seuss‘ The Lorax, Sony Animation‘s Hotel Translyvania and Focus/Laika‘s ParaNorman.
    The entries also include a bumper crop of indie and foreign-made animated efforts. Like Adventures in Zambezia, made in South Africa has birds that live near Africa‘s Victoria Falls as its characters. Zarafa is a French-made film about a young boy who escapes slave traders and befriends a giraffe.
    Several of the films listed have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying runs. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements before they can advance in the voting process. Films submitted for animated feature may also qualify for Oscars in other categories, including best picture, provided they meet the requirements in those categories.
    The submissions will be reviewed by the Academy‘s animation branch to determine that they have met all the eligibility requirements and will be viewed by a screening committee or committees which will rate each film on a score of six to ten. Those movies rating an average score of 7.5 will be eligible for nomination.

  • George Clooney ropes in Daniel Craig for The Monuments Men

    George Clooney ropes in Daniel Craig for The Monuments Men

    MUMBAI: George Clooney has reportedly got actor Daniel Craig on board for his film The Monuments Men. Incidentally, Clooney is also the writer for the film.
    The film is based on author Robert M Edsel‘s novel‘The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes‘,‘Nazi Thieves‘and‘The Greatest Treasure Hunt In History‘ and is to be filmed in the backdrop of World War II.
    The film tells the story of a group of art experts chosen by the US government to retrieve works stolen by the Nazis, before Hitler destroys them.
    The rest of the star cast includes John Goodman, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and Jean Dujardin and Hugh Bonneville, reports deadline.com.

  • Life of Pi would have been incomplete without 3D: Ang Lee

    Life of Pi would have been incomplete without 3D: Ang Lee

    MUMBAI: Director Ang Lee has said that his latest offering Life of Pi would have been incomplete had it not been in 3D format.
    “It may have been cheap in 2D, but the output would‘ve been unsatisfactory. Thanks to 3D, I managed to take this film beyond imagination and new possibilities,” Lee said when promoting his film.
    To be released on 21 November, the film is based on the novel of the same name by Canadian writer Yann Martel. Its story tells the tale of a young boy named Pi, who is the only person to survive a sinking cargo ship. He finds himself on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger.
    Delhi-based Indian boy Suraj Sharma plays young Pi in the film while Tabu and Irrfan Khan feature in key roles.

  • Jodie Foster to receive Golden Globes honour

    Jodie Foster to receive Golden Globes honour

    MUMBAI: In recognition of her 40-year career as an actress, director and film producer, two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes ceremony next January, organiser Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has said.
    Foster, who will join the likes of earlier winners like Lucille Ball, Barbara Streisand, Al Pacino, Morgan Freeman and Judy Garland, will become the 2013 recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille award.
    “Jodie is a multifaceted woman that has achieved immeasurable amounts of success and will continue to do so in her career,” HFPA president Aida Takla-O‘Reilly said in a statement. “Her ambition, exuberance and grace have helped pave the way for budding artists in this business. She‘s truly one of a kind,” she added.
    The 49-year old Foster began her career filming commercials at the age of three and won international fame with her role as a streetwise teen in Taxi Driver. Since then she has appeared in more than 40 films winning best actress Oscars for her role as a rape victim in The Accused and as the FBI agent in The Silence of The Lambs.
    Foster also branched out into directing (Little Man Tate) and producing for both film and television through her production company Egg Pictures.
    The veteran actress will be presented with her award at the Golden Globes ceremony in Beverly Hills on January 13.

  • Craig trashes report of two-part Bond film

    Craig trashes report of two-part Bond film

    MUMBAI: British Daniel Craig has trashed reports of a possible two-part James Bond film after Skyfall. To prove his point, he has categorically said that there is no way a Bond film could be divided into two parts.
    “No, I don‘t know where that‘s come from. It‘s impossible to do a two parter, I heard that someone was talking about that we‘re doing a two parter, but that‘s the first I‘ve heard about it,” Craig said in a statement.
    “We can only do them one at a time, they take six months to shoot. You can‘t write one movie thinking about the next. All we‘re trying to do is get the next one sorted out and it‘ll stand on its own and if I‘m able I‘ll do another one after that,” he added.
    The 44-year-old has played 007 in the last three installments of the British spy film franchise.
    Rumors that Bond 24 and Bond 25 would present a storyline that crosses in two successive films first sparked when writer John Logan was confirmed to work on two more Bond films.
    The twenty-fourth installment will likely begin filming at Pinewood Studios next year and the film is projected for a fall 2014 release.