ITV

Category: Movies

  • Warner Bros, Vue, Tesco, NX Distribution forge partnership with CinemaNX

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros, cinema chain Vue, retailer Tesco and NX Distribution are in consultation with producer/financier CinemaNX to promote Richard Linklater‘s forthcomng film Me And Orson Welles.


    The film is a romantic drama about Richard (Efron), a young actor who crosses paths with young Orson Welles in the 1930s. 


    Warner Bros‘ Entertainment UK will be the theatrical distribution partner, while other branches of the company will help to support its distribution via video-on-demand and TV.


    Tesco, that has been given exclusive year-long retail rights, will promote the DVDs from spring next year and promote the tie-in book and soundtrack in the meantime.


    Vue, that has recently signed a promotional deal with NX, said that the film‘s cast which includes Zac Efron, is expected to attract a large number of youth.

  • Five films nominated to Golden Globe animated feature category

    MUMBAI: Five nominated films will vie for the best animated feature Golden Globe Awards after members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) voted to expand the category.


    The nominees for the 67th annual awards will be announced in Hollywood on 15 December before the prize-giving ceremony on 17 January next year.


    Under the amended HFPA rules, in order to qualify as an animated feature, eligible films must be 70 minutes and not longer and should contain not more than 25 per cent live-action.


    If less than eight animated films qualify the award will not be given. In that case the films would be eligible for best picture.
     

  • 24th Israel Film Festival to honour Elliot Gould and Paul Schrader

    MUMBAI: The 24th Israel Film Festival will open on 5 December in New York with the presentation of the IFF Lifetime Achievement Award to Elliott Gould and the IFF Achievement in Cinema Award to Paul Schrader.


    Kino International president Donald Krim will receive the IFF Visionary Award the same night.


    The opening film will be Sharon Maymon and Erez Tadmor‘s A Matter Of Size and the festival will screen more than 28 films and close on 13 December.

  • UTV to release ‘Kurbaan’ across 1700 screens globally

    MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures is set to release Kurbaan, a Dharma Productions film directed by Rensil D‘Silva, across 1700 screens globally.


    Of these 1700, the film will hit approximately 1500 screens in India while the rest will be split across 24 countries overseas including UK, US, UAE and Australia.


    Also, to create an aggressive promotional buzz, the film is being marketed with an extensive outdoor, TV and print campaign to ensure maximum visibility.


    Said UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, “We have immense faith in the films concept and its execution and have therefore supported it to the fullest in terms of marketing and distribution.”
     

  • ‘2012’ makes Rs 191.5 mn in opening weekend in India

    MUMBAI: Roland Emmerich‘s disaster epic 2012 has grossed Rs. 191.5 million in its opening weekend in India. The film comes a close second to another Sony Pictures‘ release, Spider-Man 3, which opened with Rs 191.7 million in 2007.


    2012 released simultaneously in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu across 715 screens with 676 prints.


    Said Sony Pictures India MD Kercy Daruwala, “The film has performed well in both metros as well as smaller centres appealing to a large range of audiences, including families who are drawn to the personal family storyline.”


    Commenting on the forthcoming weeks, he said, “Audiences are accepting that special effects can be enjoyed best in theatres. We expect the audiences who were not able to watch it due to houseful weekend shows to come in now. Moreover, the film has shown high potential for repeat viewing.”


    Distributed worldwide by Columbia Pictures, the movie casts John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jimi Mistry and Woody Harrelson.
     

  • Priya Entertainment to venture into multiplexes in Bengal and Bhutan

    MUMBAI:A Kolkata-based film production, distribution and exhibition company is foraying into the multiplex business with 12 screens planned in West Bengal and Bhutan, indicating that there is still space for players outside the big corporates.


    Priya Entertainment, the company that owns Priya Cinema in Kolkata, plans to invest between Rs 500-600 million for the 12 screens. It will roll out a six-screen Themeplex in Access Mall at Rajarhat near Kolkata on 25 December. Of the six screens, 4 of them will be theme-based.


    “We plan to invest Rs 500-600 million, most of which will be through internal accruals. At Rajarhat, we will have theme-based screens. We will, forinstance, have a screen that has a ‘Egyptian‘ theme. The second has an ‘Underwater‘ theme, the third a ‘Galaxy‘ theme while the fourth has a ‘Caves‘ theme,” says Priya Entertainments general manager Chaity Ghosh.


    Then there are two other projects – a 4-screen multiplex at Durgapur and a 2-screen multiplex at Thimpu in Bhutan that is being made by Tai Industries Ltd., Bhutan. “Priya Entertainment will run the multiplexes under a management contract basis,” conveys Ghosh.


    Priya Entertainment also plans to open a multiplex in Sonapur in Kolkata. The land is owned by the company.


    Priya Cinema, however, will not beconverted into a multiplex. “We don‘t find that there is any need to change the current single-screen into a multiplex because we upgrade our theatre from time-to-time and the cinema hall has all the required facilities today,” says Ghosh.


    Priya Entertainment will price its multiplex tickets at a maximum rate of Rs 70 and a minimum of Rs 50. “We would be able to cut down costs by 40 per cent by monitoring our electricity and maintenance costs. With a moderate pricing, we think that we will increase our viewership and with a mere 20-25 per cent occupancy per day, would enable the company to break even in the first three years of operation,” avers Ghosh.


    Priya Entertainment currently manages four multi-complexes in Bengal – Gitanjali Cultural Complex in Bolpur, two complexes in Burdwan (Shrishti Cultural Complex and Vidyasagar Memorial Hall) and one other in Dinajpur in North Bengal.



    It may be noted that PEPL, under its production house Poornima Pictures, produced award-winning films like Goopi Gaayin Baagha Baayin, Aranyer Din Ratri, Hatey Bazare in the past while its distribution wing Piyali Films has been distributing films of UTV, Walt Disney, NDTV Lumiere, Warner, Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures etc.
     

  • Veteran Edward Woodward dies at 79

    MUMBAI: Veteran actor Edward Woodward, most famous for this role in the cult 1973 horror film The Wicker Man, has died aged 79 years old.


    The Croydon-born star had been suffering from various illnesses including pneumonia and died in hospital, his agent Janet Glass has confirmed.


    Woodward was also well know for his role in 1980s American television series The Equalizer, for which he won a Golden Globe in 1987. Other film roles included Commander Powell in the 1982 film Who Dares Wins and the title role in the 1980 biopic Breaker Morant. More recently he appeared in the 2007 Edgar Wright comedy Hot Fuzz.


    He is survived by his wife Michele and four children.
     

  • Fans of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ get a blog

    MUMBAI: A new blog that has been opened for Sherlock Holmes fans is keeping them updated on the latest news about the new Sherlock Holmes film set for a Christmas release.


    Featuring movie trailers, film stills, reviews and more the site that gives information about Guy Ritchie‘s 2009 Sherlock Holmes film starring Robert Downey as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. John Watson.


    Said Anne Mitchell, the website developer and a Sherlock Holmes fan, “Although www.thesherlockholmesmovie.com i features the new Sherlock Holmes film, it has been built to celebrate Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from 1887 to the present.


    “He is still popular over 100 years later, so popular that they‘ve made a new movie based on his character. That is pretty remarkable I think. I want to share my love of all things Sherlockian on this website.”


    There have been over 200 Sherlock Holmes films made so far. This new Sherlock Holmes movie is based on a story by Lionel Wigram, inspired by the classic tales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and promises to bring the legendary detective to life as he has never been seen before.
     

  • ‘Paranormal Activity’ grosses $100 mn in US in five weeks

    MUMBAI: Paramount Studios has announced that Paranormal Activity has grown from its midnight-only showings to become this year‘s biggest movie phenomenon and has crossed $100 million at the box-office after five weekends of its US release.
    In so doing, the film has become the top grossing R-Rated thriller of the past decade.


    The film began released with midnight-only screenings in 12 college towns across the US and quickly became a hit with fans visiting the ParanormalMovie.com website and demanding the film be brought to their city.


    After more than 1 million such requests, Paramount expanded the film nationally where it has been playing to packed theaters ever since.


    Says Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Brad Grey, “What is truly amazing about Paranormal Activity is the depth of commitment from fans who demanded to see it. Adam Goodman, our head of production, believed in the film and championed it from the very first screening. This box-office milestone is also a testament to Oren Peli‘s considerable talents as a filmmaker. All of us at Paramount are proud to have been involved with his revolutionary project.”


    In the film after a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban “starter” tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly most active in the middle of the night.
     

  • Kristofferson honored with Stephen Bruton Award at Lone Star film festival

    MUMBAI: Last Friday, Kris Kristofferson was presented with the inaugural Stephen Bruton Award in the Lone Star International Film Festival.


    Said the 73-year-old Kristofferson, “I‘m very moved by the award, but I don‘t like the reason for it. I‘m here to honour Stephen.”


    A near-capacity crowd squeezed into the intimate Lola‘s Saloon Stockyards to pay tribute to Kristofferson. The Fort Worth singer-songwriter, producer and actor died in May at age 60 from complications from cancer.


    Designed by Bruton‘s friend, local architect Mark Gunderson, the award itself was an elegant homage, constructed from wood, steel and a bit of the counter from the Bruton family store, Record Town. 


    Bruton‘s mother, Kathleen, assisted by his brother Sumter, presented Kristofferson the award, telling him that he “could be halfway around the world playing a real good gig.”


    The audience was also treated to filmmaker J. Mitchell Johnson‘s lovingly assembled mini-documentary about Bruton‘s too-short life and his relationship with Kristofferson.
    The award is intended to honour artistes the careers of whom are anchored in music but also feature work in films, said Lone Star International Film Festival artistic director, Alec Jhangiani.


    A rotating committee made up of Bruton‘s family, friends and associates will meet to determine future recipients, with an eye toward launching a music component of the Lone Star International Film Festival in a few years.