MUMBAI: Imax, the Toronto-based giant screen exhibitor has partnered with Nongken Bona Film Investment to install a digital screen in the Nongken Bona International Cineplex in Tianjin, China.
The theatre, set to open in September, follows Imax screening Bona Film Group‘s 3D martial arts epic Flying Swords of Dragon Gate on its screens and setting an Imax Chinese exhibition record.
“With the incredible success of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, we have first-hand experience with Imax‘s ability to transform the movie-going experience, making audiences believe that they‘re a part of the film,” Bona Film Group founder and CEO Dong Yu said after his latest agreement with Imax for the Tianjin theatre in a statement.
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, which released in China in December 2011, became the fourth highest grossing Chinese-language film ever and the highest-grossing Chinese title digitally remastered into the Imax format.
Category: International
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Imax inks deal for another theatre in China
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Sophia Loren urged to help stop ship enter Venice lagoon
MUMBAI: Environmentalists have urged yesteryear actress Sophia Loren to help stop a big cruise ship named in her honour from entering the Venice lagoon because of potential damage to the city and the lagoon‘s delicate ecosystem.
The MSC Divina (Divine), which the actress christened last month in France, is a 139,500-tonne ship that can carry 3,500 passengers and a crew of 1,000.
“We can‘t believe that you want your name, which is a legend in Italy and the world, to be associated with a ship that contributes to the destruction of Venice, part of humanity‘s heritage,” said an open letter from the group, called the No Big Ships Venice Committee.
“We are asking you to give up your role as godmother of the ship. Venice and the world would see that as a divine gesture. Venice belongs to the world. Help us save it,” the group said in the letter to Loren.
Since the wreck of the Costa Concordia last January, environmentalists have stepped up their efforts to have large cruise ships banned from the lagoon which surrounds the historic centre of the canal city. -
Sony pulls out of distribution in Argentina
MUMBAI: After signing a sub-distribution deal with United International Pictures (UIP) regarding all film material, Sony Pictures has decided to pull out of its distributing operation in Argentina.
As of 1 July, UIP, that distributes films of both Universal and Paramount, will handle Columbia‘s films in the country that includes the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man.
An official announcement, pertaining to the matter, was jointly issued yesterday by Mauricio Duran, senior vice president (vp) for distribution and marketing at Universal Pictures International for Latin America, Mark Viane, senior vp at Paramount Pictures International for Latin America and Asia and Steve Bruno, senior vp of international distribution of Sony Pictures Releasing.
According to sources, Columbia wasn‘t having much success in the region and, except in cases like Smurfs or Men in Black, was releasing films as late as two months after their US release.
A similar situation occurred last year in Venezuela, when Paramount pulled out claiming the state‘s currency restrictions had made it impossible for them to do business in the country. -
Scorsese to partner with Weinsten Co
MUMBAI: Martin Scorsese has decided to partner The Weinstein Co. (TWC) to present Daniel Espinosa‘s Swedish crime thriller Easy Money that is scheduled to roll out in US. theatres next month.
“I was deeply impressed by Daniel Espinosa‘s Easy Money — by the harsh, elemental style, which reflects the milieu and the lives of the characters; by the powerful sense of fate, of well-meaning people who take one wrong turn and end up paying a terrible price; by the frightening and surprising evolution of the hero,” Scorsese observed.
TWC will release Easy Money on 11 Julyin New York and in Los Angeles on 13 July. Based on Jens Lapidus‘ best-selling book Snabba Cash (Easy Money is the English translation), the film interweaves the stories of three key players who are related to a Swedish drug trafficking ring. “This taut suspense thriller struck a chord with me, and I‘m excited that a visionary like Martin Scorsese shares my passion for this film,” TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein stated.
The film‘s adapted screenplay was written by Lapidus and Maria Karlsson. -
Animation Guild in a three-year deal
MUMBAI: The Animation Guild – also known as IATSE Local 839 has reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. The agreement provides for 2 per cent increase of annual wage and for pension, health, and secondary retirement plan (Individual Account Plan, or IAP) benefits to be provided under the terms of the IATSE Basic Agreement.
The three-year deal, that runs from 1 August this year till 31 July, 2015, was negotiated with animation producers represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), including ABC, Adelaide (Sony), Animated Productions (Paramount), Cartoon Network, Cast & Crew Payroll, CBS, Columbia, DeLuxe Laboratories, DreamWorks Animation, Entertainment Partners, FPS Services, Fox TV Animation, Legendary, MGM Animation, Muddy Water, NBC Universal, PES Payroll, Turner Films, Walt Disney Pictures and Warner Bros. Animation.
In a statement, the AMPTP said “Both sides worked through some difficult issues to reach an agreement that gives members of The Animation Guild the same benefits package and two percent annual wage increase as recently negotiated in the IATSE Hollywood Basic Agreement.”
Other provisions of the new agreement include a new storyboard revisionist classification, and changes to the talent development program and the DreamWorks Animation wage minimums. -
Hollywood set to familiarize China
MUMBAI: A groundbreaking and historic opportunity is in the anvil for members of the Hollywood community when they will be granted access to China‘s state run film, television and radio industry.
Black Card Circle‘s “Executive Leadership Exchange” in Shanghai is an intensive program in partnership with the China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP) and is coordinating a 5-day itinerary focused on the Chinese film and entertainment industry, that is to take place between 25 and 29 June in Shanghai.Relationships built at this exclusive event may open doors to many present and future opportunities. Attendees will gain valuable insight into Chinese film industry and culture, develop crucial relationships with Chinese government officials and top Chinese companies, and learn how to produce films and media with the support of the Chinese government.
Government officials and executives from China who are scheduled to attend include Ruihang Li (Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Government & Former President of Shanghai Television Station), Tong Tao (Director of Department of Investment Promotion, Shanghai Foreign Investment Promotion Centre), Tong Gang (President of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television), and Zhonglun Ren (President of Shanghai Film Group). Black Card founder Lotay Yang recently announced that Hollywood legends Andre Morgan (Enter the Dragon and Game of Death, both starring Bruce Lee) and Janet Yang (Joy Luck Club, Empire of the Sun) are now associated with this historic event bridging the United States and China.
“We not only provide access to vital relationships, but provide the knowledge on how to most effectively utilize those relationships so you know how to work within the system rather than against it, and possess the knowledge on what China‘s requirements are in terms of projects and production partners,” said active member of the prestigious Academy of Television Arts & Sciences marketing director for the BCC ELE program Jeffery Gund.This event is the result of over two years and around a dozen trips to China by Black Card Circle founder Lotay Yang, whose paternal grandfather was Air Force General for President Chiang Kai-Shek, and maternal grandfather was Chief of Police of Taipei.
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Ann Rutherford expires at 94
MUMBAI: Ann Rutherford, who played the sweetheart in the long-running Andy Hardy series and Scarlett O‘Hara‘s youngest sister in Gone With the Wind, has expired. She died of heart problems and had been ill for several months. She was 94.
Rutherford was a frequent guest at Gone With the Wind celebrations in Georgia and, as one of the few remaining actors from the movie, continued to attract fans from around the world. She was also known for the Andy Hardy series, a hugely popular string of comical, sentimental films, that starred Lewis Stone as a small-town judge and Mickey Rooney as his spirited teenage son.
Rutherford first appeared in the second film of the series, You‘re Only Young Once, in 1938 and went on star in 11 more. She played Polly Benedict, the ever-faithful girlfriend that Andy always returned to, no matter what other, more glamorous girl had temporarily caught his eye.(Among the other girls: Judy Garland and Lana Turner.)
Rutherford told the Times in 2010 that MGM head Louis B. Mayer was going to refuse her the role, calling it “a nothing part.” But Rutherford, who was a fan of the novel, uncharacteristically burst into tears after which he relented.In 1989, Rutherford was one of 10 surviving GWTW cast members who gathered in Atlanta for the celebration of the film‘s 50th anniversary.
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Paramount buys out screen rights of The Diviners
MUMBAI: Paramount Pictures has purchased the screen rights of The Diviners, an upcoming novel from bestselling author Libba Bray.
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will produce the film under their Fake Empire banner.Bray, who will adapt the screenplay, will also serve as executive producer.
Set in the 1920s, The Diviners follows a group of young New Yorkers with mysterious powers who play a dramatic role in a battle of good vs. evil when a series of occult-based murders begins to terrify the city.
The Diviners, the first in a four part book series, will be published this September by Little, Brown Books.
Lis Rowinski, who oversees Fake Empire‘s film business, and Fake Empire creative executive Jay Marcus, brought in the project. -
New Oscar venue Dolby Theatre opens
MUMBAI: The venue for the Oscars has been renamed. The 3,400-seat theatre, formerly known as the Kodak Theatre, re-opened on Monday with a new audio-visual system and new signage as the Dolby Theatre.
Dolby Laboratories Inc. announced a 20-year deal with Hollywood & Highland Center owner CIM Group last month to rename the theatre that has hosted the Academy Awards since 2002.
The audio-visual technology company outfitted the four-level venue with its Dolby 3D and Dolby Atmos projection and audio systems. Besides the Oscars, the Hollywood theatre is home to the Cirque du Soleil production Iris and will host the world premiere next Monday of the Disney-Pixar film Brave, which will be the first feature film released utilizing the Dolby Atmos technology.
“It‘s an incredible day for us,” sDolby President Kevin Yeaman has reportedly said after a demonstration Monday of the theatre‘s new audio-visual systems. “We‘ve been hard at work coming up with Dolby Atmos and Dolby 3D and looking for a way to tell that story and connect with audiences around the world. When this opportunity came up, we couldn‘t pass it up,” he added.
CIM Group dropped the Kodak name from the theatre ahead of the Oscars earlier this year after a bankruptcy court judge approved the early exit of 131-year-old Eastman Kodak Co. from a 20-year naming rights deal it signed with them in 1999.
The 85th annual Academy Awards is scheduled to be held at the Dolby Theatre on 24 February next year.
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Sequel of Snow white in offing
MUMBAI: After the original collected $55 million at the US box in the opening weekend, a sequel of Snow white and the Huntsman has been announced.
Kristen and Chris will return in the sequel although it is unclear if there will be a role for Charlize Theron‘s evil queen, it has been reported.
David Koepp has been commissioned to write the new script, which will pick up after the events of the first movie.
It is also not clear whether Rupert Sanders, who has directed part one, will wield the megaphone for the part two of the film.