ITV

Category: International

  • Madagascar 3 No. 1 in foreign theatrical circuit

    Madagascar 3 No. 1 in foreign theatrical circuit

    MUMBAI: DreamWorks Animation‘s Madagascar 3: Europe‘s Most Wanted stepped into the No. 1 box office position on the foreign theatrical circuit by roping in $75.5 million in its opening weekend at 10,148 venues in 28 countries.

    The second sequel in the Madagascar franchise took the No. 1 spot in nearly all of its opening markets with the biggest numbers coming from territories mostly outside continental Europe, claimed Paramount, distributor of the film.

    France came up as the best European territory where the film‘s opening accounted for $7.6 million from 685 locations. Still, the distributor noted that the France opening was 13 per cent below that of 2008‘s Madagascar: Escape To Africa that went on to gross $423.9 million overseas.

    Of the 28 opening territories, only five were Continental and Eastern Europe. Russia came in with $16.4 million from 881 spots while Brazil delivered a record opening of $11 million from 471 situations. The collections in China summed up to $10.4 million from 5,500 venues.
     
    The number two position was held by director-co-producer Ridley Scott‘s horror-sci/fi title Prometheus that loosely linked to his 1979 Alien – which drew $39.2 million in its second weekend on the foreign circuit, playing at 8,263 sites in 50 markets. The 3D title opened in 35 markets of which about eight were in Europe.

    It must be said that Prometheus claimed the No. 1 spot for the second straight weekend in the U.K. drawing $4 million in France from 665 situations for a market cume of $12 million over two rounds.

    A new market was Australia where Prometheus opened at the No. 1 spot with $6.8 million swept from 635 locations. Openings in 14 more markets including Mexico and Brazil are due this week. IMAX has claimed that Prometheus has grossed nearly $5 million so far at IMAX situations.

    At the No. 3 position was Men in Black III that fell 51 per cent from last weekend‘s action based on figures from all territories. The special effects extravaganza in 3D co-starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin drew $38.3 millionfrom 14,860 venues in 79 markets.

    At number four was Universal‘s Snow White and the Huntsman that collected $24.6 million from 5,261 situations in 52 territories thereby lifting the film‘s foreign box office collections to $83.5 million.

    At the No. 5 spot in the weekend was Marvel‘s The Avengers that captured $7.8 million in its seventh round in 54 territories. International cume stands at $824.4 million with the worldwide tally at $1.396 billion. Avengers is just about played out overseas although a key Japan bow is still in its future (17 August).

    Paramount‘s The Dictator, the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy, grossed $4.9 million in its fourth round overseas, playing at 2,091 locations in 32 territories and raising its foreign gross total to $70.3 million. Warner Bros.‘ Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp hit the $130-million foreign gross mark after a $4.56 million weekend at 3,268 in 52 markets. Openings in Latin America are due June 22.

  • Warner Bros opens new film and TV studio in London

    Warner Bros opens new film and TV studio in London

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. has formally opened its new film and TV studio in Leavesden, in the outskirts of London. Warner Bros. has filmed the Harry Potter series, Sherlock Holmes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Wrath of the Titans here, among others.

    The Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is ‘the first of its kind to be built in the U.K. in 70 years‘ and secures the future of over a third of the dedicated major feature film production stage space in the UK. It will help further position the country as a center of filmmaking excellence.”

    The Hollywood studio undertook a ?100 million ($155 million) revamp of the more than 250,000 square feet complex near Watford.

    The stages range in size from 10,000 to 36,000 square feet and the space also offers a series of workshops. The facilities in the studio include one of the largest heated underwater filming tanks in Europe. And the site provides a 100 acre back-lot, one of the most extensive in Europe, which the company says can be adapted for any production needs.

    The studio is also home to the recently opened Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, a walking tour that takes guests behind the scenes of the iconic Harry Potter movie series.

    It may be of interest to know that Warner used to rent the studio space but then bought the facility in late 2010.

  • George Clooney to helm The Yankee Comandante

    George Clooney to helm The Yankee Comandante

    MUMBAI: Following his directorial stint in the much appreciated The Ides of March, George Clooney is all set to once again helm a political film. The 51-year-old actor has been roped in to direct Focus Features‘ The Yankee Comandante.
     
    It is said that the production house is making a rights deal for Yankee Comandante that was an article written by David Grann in the 28 May issue of The New Yorker.
     
    The article, in question, centers on William Alexander Morgan who helped Fidel Castro and the Cuban rebels overthrow Fulgencio Batista. Morgan was the only American in the rebel army and the sole foreigner other than Che Guevara, the Argentinian icon. Morgan, whose motives for being in Cuba were subject to suspicion, was later imprisoned and charged with working for US intelligence.
     
    Not only will Clooney serve as the director, he is also likely to co-produce the same along with Grant Heslov, his Smokehouse partner. He also produced Ben Affleck‘s upcoming political drama Argo.
     
    Clooney will next be seen opposite Sandra Bullock in Alfonso Cuaron‘s Gravity.

  • Jamie Foxx set to play US Prez

    Jamie Foxx set to play US Prez

    MUMBAI: Jamie Foxx is reportedly in talks with Sony to play the US President in the upcoming action-drama White House Down. Though no formal offer has been made, it has been reported that the actor is intrigued by the presidential role.
     
    The film revolves around a secret agent who is in charge to save the president when 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is occupied by a paramilitary group.

    Channing Tatum is being tapped to portray the secret agent. The film is to be directed by Roland Emmerich.
     
    White House Down is said to be a rival project to Millennium Films` White House Taken that is scheduled to take off before the Sony film.
     
    The other film is being directed by Antoine Fuqua with Gerard Butler tackling the lead role.

  • Madagascar 3 likely to edge out Prometheus

    Madagascar 3 likely to edge out Prometheus

    MUMBAI: Hollywood could be in for a wild ride at the domestic box office with Madagascar 3 likely to beat Prometheus for the top place in the US box office. Elsewhere, MIB 3 is set to surpass its predecessor at the worldwide box office.

    Most box office observers believe Madagascar 3 will come in ahead of 20th Century Fox‘s Prometheus, although opinion is divided as to how close the race will be.

    A wide range of opening numbers are being offered up for both Ridley Scott‘s highly anticipated sci-fi epic Prometheus and animated event pic Madagascar 3: Europe‘s Most Wanted.
    DreamWorks Animation and Paramount have been predicting a $45 million to $50 million launch for Madgascar 3, but others believe it could play in the $55 million range or higher because of the popularity of the successful franchise.

    Madgascar 2: Escape to Africa debuted to $63.1 million in early November 2008, while the first Madagascar scored $61 million over the long Memorial Day weekend in 2005.

  • Melbourne Fest unveils 30 films on show this year

    Melbourne Fest unveils 30 films on show this year

    MUMBAI: The Melbourne International Film Festival, scheduled to be held from 2 to 19 August has announced its first 30 films.

    Besides The Sapphires, that will be the opening night film, two other Australian thrillers have been selected in the feature film section.

    While the first 100 Bloody Acres, the directorial debut by the Colin and Cameron Cairnes, is a gruesome comedy starring Angus Sampson and Damon Herriman, Last Dance, by first-time director David Pulbrook tells of the fallout of a terrorist attack on a synagogue by surviving bomber Sadiq Mohammad as he seeks shelter in the house of holocaust survivor Ulah Lippman.
    Joining the Australian films will be Sundance and Cannes winner Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin and Wes Anderson‘s Moonrise Kingdom.

    In the documentary section Paul Kelly: Stories of Me is pitted against Make Hummus Not War. They are accompanied by LCD Sound system documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits and This Ain‘t California.

    Yardbird, that premiered at the recent Cannes Film Festival will screen in the short film section along with a Disney short film Paperman and The Man that Got Away.

  • Brad Pitt to produce Marilyn Monroe biopic

    Brad Pitt to produce Marilyn Monroe biopic

    MUMBAI: Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik has signed Brad Pitt to produce his long-delayed biopic on Marilyn Monroe.

    Discussions about the project had been going on since 2010 but recently Pitt announced that his production company, Plan B, would finance the film with Dominik at the helm. We‘re going to get this one done,” quoted the 48 year old Dominik.

    Titled Blonde, the film started rolling in January 2011, with Australian actress Naomi Watts in the lead. Later it was stalled.

    Earlier, Pitt had worked with Dominik in The Assassination of Jesse James directed by the Coward Robert Ford and the gangster thriller Killing Them Softly that was pitted in the Competition Section for the Palme d‘Or at this year‘s Cannes Film Festival.

  • William McDonald named chair of FTVDM

    William McDonald named chair of FTVDM

    MUMBAI: The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television has appointed William McDonald as the chairman of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media (FTVDM). McDonald will assume office on 1 July.

    McDonald, who is currently FTVDM vice-chair of undergraduate studies and head of cinematography, succeeds film producer and Professor Barbara Boyle who successfully chaired the FTVDM for nine years.
     
    McDonald recently inaugurated the Cinematographer in Residence program and alliance with Kodak. He has also served as vice chair for production at TFT from 1998-2003, helping it to convert UCLA‘s post-production facilities from analog to digital technology.

    Commented UCLA dean Teri Schwartz in a statement, “While he has very tall shoes to fill in Barbara Boyle‘s long and illustrious time as chair, Bill‘s vision, talent, experiences and collaborative spirit position him perfectly to take the reigns of this outstanding department and build upon the excellence of the department‘s programs.”

  • Woody Allen’s latest has Cate Blanchet, Alec Baldwin

    Woody Allen’s latest has Cate Blanchet, Alec Baldwin

    MUMBAI: Veteran film director Woody Allen has signed Blanchett, comedian Louis C.K. and actor Alec Baldwin for his next yet-to-be-titled project.

    Allen has said that the film would be shot this summer in New York and San Francisco. Incidentally, the Oscar-winning director will use San Francisco as his backdrop for the first time since Take The Money And Run, his directorial debut in 1969.

    The new project will also see the 76-year-old filmmaker return to American soil after having filmed his last three projects in London, Paris and Rome.
     
    Although, details of the plot have not be given, the film‘s cast abounds of comedic and dramatic talent like British actress Sally Hawkins, Lost actor Michael Emerson and Green Lantern star Peter Sarsgaard.

    Allen has helmed more than 40 films over a career spanning six decades.

    His latest film To Rome With Love that stars him alongside Penelope Cruz and Jesse Eisenberg will hit US screens on 22 June.

  • Warner Bros, Fox to jointly operate in Brazil

    Warner Bros, Fox to jointly operate in Brazil

    MUMBAI: The international arms of two of Hollywood major studios Fox and Warner Bros. have decided to jointly operate in Brazil to distribute and market their respective film slates.

    Though the two entities will remain separate legal entities in Brazil, they will share their resources through the joint operation called Fox-Warner that will start functioning immediately.

    Patricia Kamitsuji, currently general manager of Fox Brazil, will serve as managing director of Fox-Warner.
    The jv was announced by Warner Bros. Pictures president, international distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg and Paul Hanneman and Tomas Jegeus, co-presidents of Fox International.
     
    “Warner Bros. Pictures is thrilled to be entering this new chapter at this exciting time in Brazil,” Kwan Vandenberg said. “We have enjoyed our successful partnership with Fox in various other countries and look forward to expanding upon it to further develop the business and meet the demands of the rapidly growing Brazilian market.”

    “Brazil‘s strong economy and growing demand for quality entertainment offers us a fantastic opportunity to take the local entertainment industry to new heights,” Hanneman and Jegeus said in a statement.