Mumbai: Canadian giant Entertainment One has entered into a four-year output agreement with DreamWorks Studios to distribute the studio‘s films in all media forms across the UK and Benelux.
“We‘re delighted to collaborate with Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider, Jeff Small and the innovative DreamWorks team in two of eOne‘s core territories,” said eOne‘s president of filmed entertainment Patrice Theroux.
Theroux described the pact as a “momentous opportunity” to be working with “such esteemed partners and broaden our international slate with top-quality commercial films for years to come.”
The first title to go out through the agreement with eOne will be the remake of Starbuck, starring Vince Vaughn, which is set to shoot October 2012 and release in 2013.
DreamWorks‘ U.S. distributor, The Walt Disney Co., will continue to handle North America, Latin America, Asia, Russia and Australia.
Reliance continues to bankroll production of DreamWorks‘ films and hold distribution rights in India.
Category: International
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Entertainment One in 4-year output agreement with Dreamworks Studios
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Ten films by newcomers to compete in Busan
New Delhi: Ten films are to feature in the New Currents Competition in South Korea‘s Busan International Film Festival next month.
The section in the Festival from 4 to 13 October is for first- and second-time directors. This year‘s selection comprises films by an unusual number of first-time directors.
The lineup includes two films from South Korea and two from Taiwan, and one film apiece from Thailand, Philippines, India and Japan, in addition to two titles – within the festivals‘s broad definition of Asia – from Iraq and Lebanon.
The Korean films are coming-of-age drama Fatal in which “sin, conscience and accountability take center stage”, and Your Time is Up about the “living avenging the dead”.
From Taiwan, Chang Rong-ji‘s Touch of the Light is about the relationship between a blind pianist and a female dance student. It is joined by another first feature, Hsu Chao-jen’s ensemble drama Together.
Thai scriptwriter Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit is taking 36 which “examines the power of memory to create reality” after a hard drive crash destroys a year worth of photographs.The Philippines‘ Vincent Sandoval is presenting his second film Apparition which is about an “act of brutal violence that shatters a convent‘s cloistered tranquility”. Its selection had already been announced in domestic media.
India‘s Filmistaan features “a kidnapped Indian production grunt who bonds with his Pakistani captors over their shared love of Bollywood”. From Japan, The Town of Whales is about a high-school student‘s quest for her missing brother.
BUSAN IFF‘S NEW CURRENTS COMPETITION 2012
• 111 Girls; dirs. Nahid Ghobadi & Bijan Zmanpira [Iraq]
• 36; dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit [Thailand]
• Apparition; dir. Vincent Sandoval [Philippines]
• Fatal; dir. Lee Don-ku [South Korea]
• Filmstaan; dir. Nitin Kakkar [India]
• Kayan; dir. Maryam Najafi [Canada/Lebanon]
• The Town of Whales; dir. Tsuruoka Keiko [Japan]
• Together; dir. Hsu Chao-jen [Taiwan]
• Touch of the Light; dir. Chang Rong-ji [Taiwan]
• Your Time is Up; dir. Kim Sung-hyun [South Korea] -
DreamWorks Studios bags filming rights of Shadow and Bone
MUMBAI: DreamWorks Studios has acquired the filming rights of Leigh Bardugo‘s debut novel Shadow and Bone. This was announced by Holly Bario, President of Production at the studio.
Shadow and Bone‘ is a riveting and wholly original adventure set in a breathtakingly imaginative world. In the film, a young woman must learn to control her newly discovered power in order to save her country from the Shadow fold, a creature-filled darkness that threatens to overrun the land.
Commented Bario, “At DreamWorks, we are always looking for great stories, and with Leigh‘s ‘Shadow and Bone‘ we found not just a fantastic story, but one set in a mystical and fascinating world that will translate well to the big screen. We are excited to begin adapting this book and look forward to working with David Heyman who has unparalleled proven success in this genre.”
Observed Bardugo, “I can‘t think of a better home for Shadow and Bone. From moment one, I knew the story would be in great hands, and I‘m truly thrilled.”
“Shadow and Bone” debuted on the New York Times‘ Best Sellers list with Bardugo being one of the few first-time authors to make that list this year. The book has been selling consistently since its 5th June publishing date and Macmillan went back for a third printing at the end of July. Amazon also selected Shadow and Bone as both an adult and children‘s ‘Book of the Month‘ pick and is the only title to have that distinction.
Internationally, the book was released simultaneously in the United Kingdom with ten more territories scheduled for release over the next year. The next book in the series, Siege and Storm is scheduled for release in June 2013 with the third installment coming in summer 2014. -
Star Trek sequel gets new name
MUMBAI: The Star Trek sequel has reportedly been named Star Trek Into Darkness. The follow-up to the 2009 film will once again star Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Mr Spock and Karl Urban as Dr McCoy. JJ Abrams returns as the director of the film.
Details about the film have been kept tightly under wraps.
Benedict Cumberbatch, best known for his work in mystery series Sherlock, will play the villain.
The film is scheduled for release on 17 May next year. -
Titanic director’s production firm files for bankruptcy
MUMBAI: Digital Domain Media Group Inc, the production outfit of Titanic director James Cameron has filed for bankruptcy protection and will be selling its operating business to a private investor for $15 million.
The company, which won Academy Awards for Titanic and has given special effects in films like Transformers and Pirates Of The Caribbean, filed for bankruptcy protection in the US bankruptcy court along with a Canadian court.
With operations in Florida, California, Canada, India, China and Abu Dhabi, the company has assets of $205 million and debt of $214 million in Chapter 11 papers filed by the company.
Private investment firm Searchlight Capital Partners has agreed to pay $15 million for Digital Domain Productions, the key operation outfit of Digital Domain Media Group. Currently there are three films in its pipeline that includes Ender‘s Game, The Giant Killer and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. -
IM Global and Reliance Entertainment’s Dredd 3D to release on 21 September
MUMBAI: Upcoming action extravaganza Dredd 3D, based on the iconic comic series Judge Dredd, returns the celebrated characters to the silver screen. The film is due for release on 21 September.
Produced by IM Global and Reliance Entertainment, Dredd 3D is directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point fame) and stars Karl Urban (Star Trek & Lord of the Rings), Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones).
The comic series Judge Dredd was created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra in 1977 and is set in 2000 AD. It has achieved a cult status millions of fans across the world and has many stories and characters. It has been voted best British comic and Best Comic in the World Ever at the National Comics Awards. -
Resident Evil – Retribution to hit theatres on 28 Sept
MUMBAI: The fifth instalment of the Resident Evil series – Resident Evil – Retribution, is set to hit the big screen on 28 September. The movie continues to star Milla Jovovich as the protagonist Alice and will be directed by Paul WS Wisemen.
The two are husband-wife in real life and this is their fourth outing as a director-actor duo for the Resident Evil series.
The Sony Pictures film also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Kevin Durand, Sienna Guillory, Shawn Roberts, Aryana Engineer, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb, with Boris Kodjoe, and Li Bingbing.
The 1 hour 35 minute film releases in 3D. The film is inspired by a game well-known for its gaudy images and heart shattering scenes clubbed with the dreadful looking zombies and is based on the fact that good wins over evil.
The character of Alice, which gained popularity immediately after the release of its original version, is a character which is non-existent in the. It is in fact is inspired by the Alice of Alice in Wonderland and is all in all Anderson‘s creation.
The creativity of the film comes from the use of different colour palette in each film. It adds new elements to each version so every time a new instalment in the film franchise is released it has a new location, new characters and a diverse colour palette that adds fun to the lore. Because of this distinctive feature the film has earned a place of appreciation even amongst the non-gaming crowds.
Another reason for the film gaining such popularity is the regular feedbacks received and a quick action taken by the team over the audience response. “We have always used the most popular creatures and the most popular characters that people have asked for. That is why the dogs and the Lickers were in the movie franchise. It‘s why Jill came into the movie franchise; it‘s why Leon, Ada and Barry are here. Because people were just clambering for them to be in the franchise,” adds Anderson.
Media reports say that the sixth instalment will soon go on the floors. Incidentally, the film being in its 10th year, has revived the spirit and craze for zombies amongst the audience. -
James Cameron releases 3D clips of his ocean dive
MUMBAI: Giving his fans a glimpse inside his record-breaking solo dive to the ocean‘s deepest point Challenger Deep (Marianas Trench), James Cameron has come out with his first 3D clips of the journey.
He screened 3D footage of the trip that included the moment his lone sub touched the bottom at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The video showed images of unique underwater life, as well as Cameron and his team building the sub in the months leading up to the dive.
“Why set a world record if you‘re not going to shoot it in 3D?” he is reported to have exclaimed.
The director of The Titanic and Avatar, had plunged seven miles (11 kilometers) underwater to reach the Mariana Trench of the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Guam, breaking his own previous record of five miles (8.2 kilometers) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, it is understood. -
Fox lines up 12 DWA titles till middle 2016
MUMBAI: 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation films (DWA) have expressed ambitious intentions to release three movies a year over the next four years so that 12 movies would have released by June 2016.
The 12 DWA films include The Croods (22 March, 2013), Turbo (19 July 2013), Mr. Peabody & Sherman (1 November 2013), Me and My Shadow (14 March, 2014), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (20 June, 2014), Happy Smekday! (26 November 2014), The Penguins of Madagascar (27 March 2015), Trolls (working title, 5 June 2015), B.O.O: Bureau of Otherwordly Operations (6 November 2015), How to Train Your Dragon 3 (18 June, 2016), Mumbai Musical (working title, 19 December 2015) and Kung Fu Panda 3 (18 March, 2016).
DWA chief creative officer Bill Damaschke was quoted by the Hollywood Reporter, “This is the moment when we can declare that we will have three films a year going forward on a continuing basis.”
“Everyone of the movies in our lineup – whether it is an original film or a sequel to one of our beloved franchises – comes from the unique and special vision of our filmmakers, and we look forward to joining together with Fox to make them available to family audiences starting next year,” Damaschke added.
Fox‘s upcoming in-house animation slate includes Epic (24 May 2013) and Rio 2 (14 April 2014). -
Skyfall to release on 26 October
MUMBAI: Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, producers of the latest James Bond film Skyfall, have announced that the 23rd installment of the Bond series will release in UK internationally on 26 October. The film will be distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Sony Pictures Releasing.
Prior to its release film will premiere will at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 23 October and the event will be graced by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall on 23 October.
In Skyfall, Bond‘s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
On the request of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, the premiere will benefit the charities that support former and serving members of the three intelligence agencies (the Secret Intelligence Service, the Security Service and GCHQ). His Royal Highness is Royal Patron of the Intelligence Services.Commented Wilson and Broccoli, “We are thrilled that His Royal Highness Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall have agreed to attend the World Premiere of our latest James Bond film, and are pleased this event will help raise funds to support The Prince‘s chosen charities.”
The premiere will be attended by the film‘s lead actors Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw, and director Sam Mendes.