ITV

Category: Movies

  • Bruce Cohen to produce ‘Governors Awards’ ceremony for Academy

    MUMBAI: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that producer Bruce Cohen has been tapped to produce the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ inaugural Governors Awards event on 14 November,

    The event would be held at the Governors Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland Center. As announced earlier, it will be on this evening that one or more of the Academy‘s highest honours – the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award – would be presented.


    Cohen says, “I want the evening to be an elegant, legendary night that the honorees and attendees alike will remember and cherish.”


    Cohen won a Best Picture Oscar for producing American Beauty



    and was nominated in the same category in 2008 for Milk both with his partner Dan Jinks.


  • Inglorious Basterds tops US box office charts

    MUMBAI: Director Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds opened as a top-grosser in theatres in the US and Canada last weekend, grossing a whopping $37.6 million.Built on $70 million, this is Weinstein Co’s first film to open at No. 1 this year. Starring Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger, the movie follows a band of Jewish-American soldiers who are out to kill Nazis in occupied France.

    The independent studio, run by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, ranks 10th at the box office this year with sales of $33.9 million as of 20 August.


  • Midas sets up fund to support marketing of small budget films

    MUMBAI: Delhi-based Midas Experiences has set up a small-sized fund of Rs 150-200 million to support promotions and marketing of films.
    The service providing agency will target small and medium-budget films who are struggling to find finance for promoting their movies.

    Says Midas Experiences MD Karana Verma, “India is the highest producer of films. But of late many of the small or medium budget films suffer mainly because they are not able to promote their films because of lack of funds. This is where we want to make our presence felt.”

    But will the agency fund any filmmaker? “No, we will decide on funding a film only after we find the authenticity of the production house, go through the film’s script and find out its distribution strength.”

    Midas Experiences has been in its existence since 1999 and has worked with various production houses and brands. The agency not only provides funds to films but also extends its other services like PR, marketing and media planning.

  • Sikh Heritage Film Festival in September in New York

    NEW DELHI: The two-day Sikh Heritage Film Festival in New York next month will feature three features and ten documentaries.
    To be held on 18 and 19 September at the Asia Society & Museum
    in New York, the Festival will have renowned filmmaker Mira Nair as the chief guest.

    The festival is aimed at celebrating the rich heritage, traditions and culture of Sikhs and the immigrant experience through a diverse mix of features, shorts and documentaries.

    The three features are – My Mother IndMia by Safina Uberoi, Flying Sikhs – A History of Sikh Fighter Pilots, and Nineteen Eighty-Four and the Via Dolorosa Project by The Sikh Twins.

    The documentaries include A Warrior‘s Religion, Not Every Time…, Turbanology and Who Do You Think You Are by Meera Syal, Bhangra Generation by Raj Paul Dhillon, and Street Smarts by Vandana Sood.

    Cash awards totalling $15,000 will be given away to winners in different genres by a distinguished panel of judges.

  • ‘Luck By Chance’ for Engendered Film Festival

    MUMBAI: Excel Entertainment‘s Luck By Chance is to be screened at the forthcoming Engendered Film Festival at New York. The Zoya Akhtar directed film will be the closing film at the festival that concludes on the 30 August.

    The Engendered Film Festival is a transnational arts and human rights organization aimed at creating awareness around gender and sexuality in the South Asian Diaspora.

    The festival brings together a body of bold and contemporary cinematic work that provides a new lens with which to view South Asian Cinema. Films to be screened at the festival range films from Bollywood to independent Hollywood to eclectic shorts and documentaries from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, as well as the Diaspora in the United States and Australia.


    Excel Entertainment is known for delivering quality cinema with contemporary themes the last one being Rock On.

  • James Cameron promoting 3D TV

    MUMBAI: With a desire to promote 3D TVs, James Cameron has recently signed a deal with Panasonic. The deal comes as Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox are aiming to break new ground with the release of Avatar, a film that is shot entirely in 3D.

    Parallely, Panasonic is trying to get consumers excited about three-dimensional viewing in the home — excited enough to buy new flat-panel sets and new Blu-ray disc players. Viewers will have to wear special glasses to experience the 3D effect. It‘s not clear how much 3D TVs would cost.


    Panasonic is planning to start selling 3D TVs next year. Sony, which has its own movie division and Samsung Electronics of South Korea have shown prototypes and may offer similar products.


    Several animation films are already being shown in the 3D format in theatres along with a handful of live-action movies. Avatar set for release 18 December will be the biggest Hollywood film to debut worldwide in both 2D and 3D.


    “I believe 3D is how we will experience movies, gaming and computing in the near future. 3D is not something you watch. It‘s a reality you feel you could step into,” Cameron said.


    Panasonic plans to have several trailer-vans driving around in the U.S. and Europe next month with large-screen 3D TVs inside showing Avatar. In Japan, footage from Avatar — a science-fiction romance set in a futuristic jungle inhabited by creatures will appear in ads for 3D TVs.

  • Del Prete sets up Coronet Films

    MUMBAI: With the start of the filming of Lifted, former Odd Lot Entertainment

    head honcho Deborah Del Prete has launched her own company to me known as Coronet Films.


    The film about a singing prodigy who gets inspired to win a contest when his marine father is deployed to Afghanistan is being directed by Lexi Alexander who had earlier directed Punisher: War Zone and Green Street Hooligans.


    The project that introduces twelve-year-old Uriah Shelton in the central role of Henry Matthews includes Dash Mihok, Nicki Aycox, James Handy and American Idol‘s Ruben Studdard and country music singer Trace Adkins.


    Said Prete, “Having made the award-winning Green Street Hooligans with Lexi, I am thrilled to work with her again on the first film for my new company. Lexi is an exceptional multi-talent and it is exciting to be able to support her vision for this very inspiring project.”


    Coronet Films is producing the film in association with Birmingham-based Hunter Films. Prete had earlier produced The Spirit, The Wedding Planner and Buried Alive.

  • Eros bags overseas rights of ‘Wanted’

    MUMBAI: Eros International has acquired the overseas rights of Boney Kapoor‘s Wanted.

    The Salman Khan-starrer has creating enough anxiety among people after the promos went on air and in theatres also.

    The Hindi remake of Telugu and Tamil film by a common title Pokiri, the film tells the story of an undercover cop who works for a mafia don.


    Salman Khan plays the lead role in the film which also has Ayesha Takia, Om Puri, Aseem Merchant and Mahesh Manjrekar among others.
    The film is set to release on 18 September.



  • Maharashtra Govt allows theatres to hike service charge

    MUMBAI: In a decision that would make theatre and multiplex owners happy, the government of Maharashtra has allowed theatres and multiplexes to levy an additional two rupees as service charge.

    The decision was taken to improve infrastructure at the theatres by amending the Mumbai Entertainment Tax Act.


    Says Cinemax CEO Devang Sampat, “It is true that there is news that the government has given clearance to theatre and multiplex owners to increase service charges, but that doesn’t mean that we are going to hike our ticket rates. After all, service charge is a benefit to theatre-owners. But we haven’t yet got a copy of the Government Resolution (GR).”


    Ordinary and air cooled theatres can collect service charge up to rupees five from earlier rupees three and air conditioned theatres up to rupees six from the earlier rupees four per ticket.


    “Yes there is a talk about the government’s decision. But we are not going to increase our ticket rates. As it is, we are likely to hike our ticket rates by Re 1. We had a talk on the same in a budget meeting held a few days ago, the approval of which is expected any day now,” avers Fun Cinemas CEO Vishal Kapur.

  • Universal and Mandalay Pictures bag films, music rights of Frank Sinatra

    MUMBAI: Universal Pictures and Mandalay Pictures have secured the life and music rights of crooner, actor Frank Sinatra from Frank Sinatra Enterprises.

    Interestingly, Oscar winner Martin Scorsese will produce and direct a film said to be the first ever on the life of Sinatra.


    The screenplay of the film is being written by Phil Alden Robinson who had earlier written the screenplay of Field of Dreams made in 1989.


    Though no actor has yet been named to play Sinatra, it is understood that Leonardo DiCaprio was an obvious choice for the role.


    Incidentally, DiCaprio has also featured in Scorsese‘s earlier films like Gangs of New York, The Aviator and The Departed. He will also be seen in Scorsese‘s upcoming film Shutter Island.


    Sinatra died in 1998 of a heart attack when he was 82 after a career that included hits as New York, New York; My Way; and Stangers in the Night, among others.


    Sinatra was nominated twice and won an Oscar for the best supporting actor for the World War II epic From Here to Eternity in a film career that spanned nearly 60 movies. But the crooner also known as ‘The Voice‘ was best known for his music selling 800 million records.