ITV

Category: Movies

  • Taj Enlighten screens ‘Gone with the Wind’ at the NCPA

    MUMBAI: The Taj Enlighten Film Society, in collaboration with the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) got together director Imtiaz Ali and one of the most beloved, enduring and popular romantic tales of all time Gone with the Wind for the city‘s film buffs.

    The film was screened as a part of the Enlighten-NCPA thematic film screenings called Films of Romance at the NCPA on 22 September.


    In line with its core essence of connoisseurship, this exercise was part of the ongoing endeavour of Taj Mahal to promote excellence in cinema in association with Enlighten Film Society.


    Released in 1939, Gone with the Wind is a historical epic starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard and a host of other stars. The film made box-office history and is said to be the highest grossing film of all time.


    Imtiaz Ali spoke about his relationship with Gone with the Wind the film that created history in more ways than one. The film was screened after Ali introduced the film to the audience.


    Since February 2009, the NCPA and the Enlighten Film Society have started a series of thematic monthly film screenings that are accompanied by critical discussions on film and the reality it reflects.

  • ‘Saint George Shoots The Dragon’ is Serbia’s entry to the Oscars

    MUMBAI: Srdjan Dragojevic‘s Saint George Shoots The Dragon has been selected as Serbia‘s entry to the Oscars in the foreign-language category. Initially, Darko Lungulov‘s Here And There was selected as the country‘s entry but was later withdrawn because it contained more of English dialogue.

    Thereafter the Serbian Academy of Film Arts and Sciences put Here And There forward last week but eventually decided to consult the Academy‘s executive director Bruce Davis, who advised that the film would not be eligible.

    The First World War epic is the not only the most expensive Serbian film ever made with a budget of $8.9m but was also the highest grossing title in the territory this year with 123,786 admissions and a intake of $475,507.

  • Weinstein Co. on a lay off spree

    MUMBAI: Next month the Weinstein Co. (TWC) will reduce its staff by 35 that will be spread across various divisions. This is in response to recommendations from its consultancy company Miller Buckfire that has been brought in to help the company bring its numbers to line.

    The consultancy company recommended that the mini-major cut down its theatrical releases to ten per year. The Weinstein Co has been releasing as many as several dozen and concentrates on its core business of producing and distributing films.


    As a result, a number of employees will be asked to go, though no decision has been taken on which divisions will bear the brunt of the cutbacks.


    The cutbacks will be in the form of layoffs as well as attrition, while some will go up their designations.


    The Weinstein Co. has had a round of layoffs this year and has currently a little more than 100 employees. After this round, the company will have a staff of between 70 to 80 people.

  • NGE bags distribution rights of ‘Blue Man Group: Mind Blast’

    MUMBAI: National Geographic Entertainment (NGE) has acquired the worldwide distribution rights of Blue Man Group: Mind Blast for the giant-screen, digital and Imax 3-D and 2-D theatres. The 3-D live-action comedy is slated for release in 2011.

    The film that will feature an original screenplay and score will star the group‘s original cast members. Blue Man Group: Mind Blast is the fourth major film acquisition for NGE this year, following the Sundance hit Amreeka that will open in select US cities throughout this month.


    City of Life and Death which screened last week at the Toronto Film Festival along with The Wildest Dream will release in 2010 on Imax and giant screens worldwide and also on 35 mm screens in the US.


    Blue Man Group has been impressing live audiences since 1990 with its wildly popular theatrical shows and concerts that combine music, comedy and multimedia theatrics in producing a unique entertainment experience.


    Blue Man Group: Mind Blast which begins pre-production in early 2010 will follow the bald and blue trio as they travel through a visually stunning 3-D brain, exploring its neural pathways, synapses and gooey brain structures. Music, physical humor and Blue Man antics abound as they make art, collect scientific facts and turn our brains upside down.

  • APA signs three stars for representation

    MUMBAI: Ethan Embry, Ryan Merriman and Tania Raymond have been signed by APA to represent it.

    Embry, most recently appeared in films like Eagle Eye and Heart of the Dragon. He also starred in the Showtime series Brotherhood. His films include Can‘t Hardly Wait, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Sweet Home Alabama.


    Merriman has appeared in Final Destination 3, Halloween: Resurrection and The Ring Two. He recently completed shooting for Elevator Girl for Hallmark and the indie film The 5th Quarter.


    Raymond has had recurring roles on the TV series Lost and Cold Case. She has appeared in the features The Garage, Wild Cherry and Elsewhere and will appear next in Trophy Kids.

  • Universal to guide Barbie to Hollywood

    MUMBAI: Hollywood studios are not just grabbing characters from popular comics to tap younger audiences. Universal Pictures is planning to take Barbie, the most famous icon for little girls, to the big screen.

    Toy manufacturer Mattel has entered into a deal with Universal to set a new role for the 50-year-old Barbie.


    Producer Laurence Mark will take up the production of the ‘family-friendly’ film. The movie possibly will take time as Mark, who just produced Julie and Julia, is involved in another project.

  • 1,325 films certified in 2008: AMPTPP

    MUMBAI: A total of 1,325 films were certified in the one-year period ending 31 December 2008, reveals Association of Motion Pictures & TV Programme Producers (AMPTPP).

    Of the total films certified, 248 were in Hindi, 175 in Tamil, 286 in Telugu, 88 in Malayalam, 162 in Kannada, 66 in Bengali, 49 in Gujarati, 116 in Marathi, 10 in English, 20 in Oriya, 5 in Assamese, 3 in Konkani, 4 in Rajasthani, 68 in Bhojpuri, 11 in Punjabi, 2 in Lambani and 1 each in Chattisgarhi, Kortha, Santhali, Avadhi, Uttaranchali, Kumaoni, Korborok and Kodava.


    Meanwhile, the AMPTPP is holding its annual general meeting on 24 September to elect eight members to the Governing Council.


    The members who will retire include Subhash Ghai, Kamal Kumar Barjatya, Bharat Shah, Gordhan Tanwani, Karan Johar, Manish Goswami, Afzal Khan and Smriti Irani. These members who comprise one third of the Governing Council retire as they have been longest in office than other members in the Council.

  • UTV’s What’s Your Rashee well received at Toronto film fest

    MUMBAI: UTV and Ashutosh Gowariker‘s forthcoming romantic comedy What‘s Your Raashee? had its world premiere on 19 September at the Toronto Film Festival.

    Stars of the film Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra, along with Gowariker and producers Ronnie Screwvala and Sunita A. Gowariker graced the premiere.


    Commenting on the overwhelming response the film got at its screening, UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “What‘s your Raashee? has indeed made us proud with the stupendous response it received at the festival. Being one of the most anticipated films of the year, we are looking forward to an equally exciting response worldwide.”


    Averred Gowariker, “I feel especially privileged and honoured to be at the same festival twice – in this case, the Toronto Film Festival. I was here with Lagaan in 2001.


    “This time around what is special is that What‘s Your Rashee? is premiering at TIFF. So I was looking forward to the premiere where an audience close to 2000 viewed the film.”


    What‘s Your Raashee? based on a Gujarati novel ‘Kimball Ravenswood‘ by Madhu Rye is a story revolving around a young Gujarati man in pursuit of his dream girl with the catch to find her within 10 days in order to save his family from an unforeseen ordeal, which leads to an array of confusion, chaos and a hilarious joy ride.



  • Piracy net: Adlabs denies involvement; UFO sacks employee

    MUMBAI: In Saturday‘s raid to unearth piracy of the to-be-released film What‘s Your Rashee?, six people were apprehended by the social service unit of the Mumbai Crime Branch.

    The pirates revealed the names of some distributors who gave them information on the soon-to-be-released films and even helped procure copies of master prints.

    Crime Branch chief Rakesh Maria had reportedly said that this is the handiwork of people within the industry but they are still verifying their exact role and involvement. Maria thought didn‘t disclose their names.

    During investigation, names of two personnel, one from Adlabs and the other from UFO Moviez had cropped up. One of them was Adlabs business development manager Durgadas Bhakta while the other was UFO Moviez vice president (operations and digital mastering), Rajesh Chowdhry.

    While Adlabs processed What‘s Your Rashee?, UFO was entrusted with the job of digitising the film and releasing it in multiplexes by uplinking it to the satellite. Chowdhry allegedly made a copy of the film on his laptop and wrote it on a DVD.

    Ruling out any foul play from their end, a spokesperson of Adlabs said, “Adlabs‘ Film Processing Lab, Digital Lab, Digital Cinema Mastering facility as well as Adlabs‘ preview theatre are the only facilities in India to be accredited by FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft). Our security measures and FACT‘s recognition, place Adlabs as one of the most protected and safe environments for motion picture handling.

    “The incident regarding What‘s Your Rashee is not attributable to us in any manner. The film prints are recorded for and under the best possible security measures.”




    Taking a harder look at the string of incidents involving its name, UFO Moviez India Ltd. has dismissed Chowdhry from its services with immediate effect.


    UFO Moviez spokesperson Charuhas Satam, in a release, has thanked crime branch officials for nabbing the criminal element from his company and extended his company‘s full co-operation to the police in further investigations.


    The release states that it is significant to note that one of the pirated movies Aage Se Right was never released on UFO platform indicating that there are lapses elsewhere. “Nevertheless, it appears that this individual who was responsible for the content processing and had access to content before encryption prior to ingestion on UFO platform, may have misused his authority and betrayed the trust entrusted by the company on him.”


    According to Satam, UFO has communicated to the producers‘ fraternity separately and assured them that their business interests and intellectual property are of paramount importance to the company. “This unfortunate incident is in no way a challenge to the robustness of the fortress like digital security established by the UFO digital delivery platform.”

  • Barrymore’s no-show angers organizers of TIFF

    MUMBAI: Organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival were infuriated after Drew Barrymore failed to show at a press event for her directorial debut Whip It.

    Barrymore skipped the scheduled press junket for the upcoming roller derby movie at the Canadian festival over the weekend.

    Barrymore reportedly blamed a sore throat for the absence. However, reports suggest the actress was unwell after partying too hard at the star-studded festival earlier in the week.