ITV

Category: Movies

  • Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, Akon in Michael Jackson Tribute Concert

    MUMBAI: Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige and Akon are among the first group of artistes who will feature in the Michael Jackson tribute concert on 26 September 26 in Vienna. The show is being put together by the late pop singer‘s brother Jermaine Jackson.

    Organizers of the show also announced that veteran actors like Natalie Cole and Sister Sledge will perform outside the 17th-century palace of Schönbrunn in the Austrian capital.

    The first group of performers also includes boy band US 5, protégés of imprisoned boy-band impresario Lou Pearlman, and actress Angela Bassett, who portrayed family matriarch Katherine Jackson in the TV-film The Jacksons: An American Dream.

    The performers will be backed by Jackson‘s touring band with whom he had rehearsed for weeks before his untimely death on 25 June at the age of 50.

    Jermaine will sing a virtual duet with his late brother that he promises will be a “magic moment for all who loved his music.” Among the songs that will performed by various artistes are Man in the Mirror, Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller, Black or White, Earth Song, Smooth Criminal, Bad, Dirty Diana, Will You Be There, You Are Not Alone, Remember the Time, Heal the World, The Girl Is Mine and Scream.

  • The Hurt Locker wins journo Mark Boal a Gucci award

    MUMBAI: This year‘s Gucci Group Award has been bagged by journalist Mark Boal for his screenplay of Katheryn Bigelow‘s The Hurt Locker. The award was presented during the ongoing Venice Film Festival.

    The Gucci Group Award, in its fourth year, recognises an artist who has made a “remarkable” contribution to a film during the past 18 months.

    Boal was selected by a jury composed of actress Patricia Clarkson, director Zoe Cassavetes, photographer Mario Testino, editor Ingrid Sischy and Venice artistic director Marco Mueller.


    The Hurt Locker is based on Boal‘s experiences when he was with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit in 2004. Other nominees for the Gucci award included Shirin Neshat with Women Without Men and Pipilotti Rist‘s Pepperminta, both of which are in screening in this year‘s festival and Yann Arthus – Bertrand‘s Home.

    The Venice Film Festival that started on 2 September will on 12 September.

  • Australian actor Ray Barrett no more

    MUMBAI: Ray Barrett, one of the best-known veteran actors of the Australian film industry, died of a brain haemorrhage yesterday. He was 82.
    Though in his sunset years, Barrett preferred to keep working rather than retire. in Australia he played the father of Nicole Kidman‘s character.

    Barrett played a big role in the birth of the Australian film industry in the 1970s when he appeared in films like Don‘s Party and The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith, that fetched him the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award for best supporting actor in 1977.

    He won the AFI Award for best actor for Goodbye Paradise in 1982 and again in 1995 for Hotel Sorrento, and was nominated for AFIs for the films Brilliant Lies and In The Winter Dark.

    He was also the recipient of several major awards including the Kodak Eastman Award for outstanding contribution to the Australian film industry in 1995 and the Raymond Longford Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
    Barrett is survived by his wife Gaye, his two sons, Reg and Jon and daughter Suellen.

  • Network18 completes acquisition of 80% in AIM-listed IFC

    MUMBAI: Network18 Holdings, the subsidiary of Raghav Bahl-promoted Network18 Media & Investments, has increased its stake in the AIM-listed Indian Film Company (IFC) to 80.4 per cent.


    Network18 has received another 11.2 per cent stake offer, taking its “total valid acceptance of the offer” for a total of 44.4 per cent, or 24.4 million IFC shares.



    As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Network18 had increased its stake in the AIM-listed movie company by 19 per cent, through the offer, increasing its stake in the movie company to 69.2 per cent.


    Meanwhile, Netwok18 also announced that the offer is closed now. “The offer was declared wholly unconditional on 24 August 2009 and 14 days notice was given of the closing of the offer. Such notice having now expired, the offer is now closed,” it said.



    Network18 had also announced that it is open to cancel IFC’s quotation on AIM, once it acquires 90 per cent or more of the existing issued ordinary share capital of the company.


    Network18 had also said that it would not delist IFC from AIM even if it completes 75 per cent acquisition. “It is Network18‘s current intention to retain the company‘s AIM quotation even if the level of acceptances in respect of the offer increases the Network18 parties shareholding to 75 per cent or more of the existing issued ordinary share capital of the company.”


    However, it also mentioned that if shareholders do not accept the offer in respect of their own shareholding, they will be minority shareholders in a controlled company with a reduced number of shares that are held in public hands as a result of Network18‘s current level of shareholding. This may have a significant adverse impact on the liquidity and marketability of their shares in the future, the company added.


    Network18 had increased its stake in IFC to 35.99 per cent, following which it had to make a mandatory offer for all the remaining shares not owned by it, as per UK takeover code.



    IFC stated that settlement of the consideration due under the offer in respect of valid acceptances, which were received complete in all respects on or before 24 August 2009, has already been dispatched. Also, settlement of the consideration in respect of further acceptances which are valid and complete in all respects and received prior to 7 September, will be dispatched within 14 days of receipt.

  • Zeenat Aman and Kabir Bedi paired after 38 years

    MUMBAI: Sanjay Sharma‘s Dunno Y… Naa Jane Kyun does not just mark the comeback of two veterans Zeenat Aman and Helen. It‘s also after 38 years that Aman is being paired with Kabir Bedi.

    According to director Sharma, he needed a stylish and handsome actor to match up to Zeenat Aman and who better than Kabir Bedi? Dunno Y… Naa Jane Kyun has the duo meet after a gap of 40 years.


    Way back in 1970, Aman and Bedi appeared in a soap advertisement and then acted together in Hulchul made in 1971.


    However, Kabir was himself apprehensive about doing a film as senior artistes do not get roles like they used to earlier. But when he heard this script, he instantly liked the emotional role that he would be playing.

  • Excel releases DVD & Blu-Ray disc of Marley & Me

    MUMBAI: Excel Home Videos and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have jointly released Marley & Me, the movie adaptation of Josh Grogan‘s best-selling book on DVD and Blu-Ray disc.

    David Franknel, the filmmaker behind The Devil Wears Prada has directed the heartwarming journey of a family that learns a few important lessons of life from their adorable but naughty dog.


    The film starring Academy Award-nominee Owen Wilson and Emmy-Winner Jennifer Aniston has a good supporting cast in Alan Arkin (best supporting actor, Little Miss Sunshine), Eric Dane (Grey‘s Anatomy) and Kathleen Turner (best actress, Prizzi‘s Honor).


    The DVD and Blu-Ray will be available at all leading stores for Rs. 399 and Rs.1,199.00 respectively.

  • Hamptons Film Fest to honour Sharon Stone

    MUMBAI: 51-year-old actress, Sharon Stone who is remembered for her role in Basic Instinct will attend the Hamptons Film Festival and receive its outstanding achievement in acting award on 11 October at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor.
    Stone is scheduled to appear in “A Conversation With . . . ,” the festival‘s popular question-and-answer series, that last year featured Frances McDormand and Jacqueline Bisset. She will also participate in the ‘Breakthrough Performers Program‘ that involves mentoring young actors.

    “This is a great tradition,” Stone said of the program in a statement, “and I am humbled to be in the company of those who have mentored in the program before me, like Robert Altman and Gena Rowlands.”

    The Hamptons International Film Festival runs from 8 to 12 October.

  • Sally Potter’s Rage to premiere on mobile

    MUMBAI: Writer, director Sally Potter‘s Rage will release with a periodic premiere via Babelgum‘s free mobile application for iPhone and iPod devices from 21 September.The film will be shown in seven episodes with one episode per day for a full week through the application. This is the first time ever that a feature-length film will premiere on mobile phones.

    Rage is a behind-the scenes story of a New York fashion show through a series of intimate interviews.
    The film features Simon Abkarian, Steve Buscemi, Lily Cole, Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard, Jude Law, John Leguizamo and Dianne Wiest.

    A Rage mobile channel will launch on September 21, when the episodes also start rolling out.

    The mobile premiere will kick off a multi-platform, multi-territory release that includes the US DVD release on 22 September through Liberation Entertainment, an interactive satellite premiere in the UK on 24 September and the Adventure Pictures DVD release in the UK and Ireland on 28 September.

  • Revolver to launch production arm Gunslinger

    MUMBAI: UK-based distributor Revolver is going to launch a standalone production arm by the name of Gunslinger in order to develop, finance and produce feature films.The new outfit already has a number of projects in the pipeline, the first of which is action thriller Shank, the shooting of which has just commenced in London.

    Filmed entirely on location in South London, Shank is written by Paul Carter who is the co-producer of the film along with Revolver‘s Nick Taussig. The film is being directed by Mo Ali.

    The film tells the story of a gang member Junior, who trades in food but tries to avoid territory disputes and violence. He is forced choose between his principals or revenge after one his gang is killed.

    The film stars Adam Deacon, musician Ashley Thomas, Michael Socha, Kaya Scodelario, Jan Uddin, and Jennie Jacques.

    Revolver chief executive Justin Marciano said, “We have been quietly developing film projects for some time now. Gunslinger allows us to do what many others in the industry can‘t – by being in constant contact with the marketplace, we can essentially reverse engineer how we approach film production by delivering a product with the right sized budget to fit its market value.”


  • Final Destination rules at box-office

    MUMBAI: 3D horror The Final Destination is ranking top in the North American box-office for a second week, beating competition from romantic comedy All About Steve.

    Early figures show that the thriller, the fourth movie in the Final Destination franchise roped in $12.4m. All About Steve starring Sandra Bullock as a kooky crossword puzzle compiler in search of love, took in $11.2m (?6.8m) in its opening weekend. Sci-fi thriller Gamer starring Gerard Butler opened at number four.

    Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino‘s war film Inglourious Basterds dropped down by a place to number three roping in $10.8 (?6.6m) ahead of Gamer which amassed $9m (?5.5m).

    The top five is rounded out by District 9 which took in $7m (?4.3m). The extra-terrestrial film was produced by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.