ITV

Category: Movies

  • Emmys move back to Sept. 20

    MUMBAI: It is one big “nevermind” as the 61st Primetime Emmys is returning to their original date, Sept. 13.

    Two weeks after CBS, which carries the awards show this year, and the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences took the rare step of moving the ceremony up a week to Sept. 13, they did an about-face, going back to their original Emmy plans.


    The decision was made after it became clear that MTV‘s Video Music Awards are slated for Sept. 13. The cable channel, part of Viacom and once a corporate sibling of CBS, is expected to make an official announcement about the date, venue and host of this years VMAs next week, but it told CBS about the plans in advance.


    “After we announced plans for Sept. 13, MTV informed us they were locked into the same day for the Video Music Awards, with venue and sponsorship agreements in place. We had the flexibility to move; they didn‘t,” said Jack Sussman, CBS‘ executive vp, specials, music and live events. “It‘s best for the industry and the audience that these events not compete against each other.”


    In addition to attracting top music talent, the VMAs, MTV‘s premiere annual event, draws big ratings. Last year, the award show hosted by Russell Brand, attracted 8.4 million viewers, most of them in the sought-after younger demographics.


    With the Primetime Emmys returning to the 20th, the Creative Arts Emmys, slated for Sept. 12, will go back to their original venue, the Nokia Theatre, which also hosts the primetime awards. (In the wake of the Primetime Emmys‘ move to Sept. 13, the Creative Arts Emmys were shifted to the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center to accommodate preparations for CBS‘ live broadcast the next evening.)


    The decision to move the Primetime Emmys to the 13th came after the NFL released its schedule and it featured a double-header on the 20th, which will be carried by CBS. Fearing a possible delay to the Emmy ceremony if the late afternoon game bleeds into primetime, the network opted to move the show to the 13th, where it also would‘ve faced the lower-profile Bears-Packers NFL game on NBC.

  • Sean Penn backs out of two films

    MUMBAI: Sean Penn is taking his Oscar and going home. The Milk star has dropped out of two high-profile films: MGM‘s The Three Stooges and Universal and Imagine‘s crime thriller Cartel.

    It is understood that the two-time Oscar-winning actor-writer-director is taking a leave from his Hollywood career to focus on his family. Penn has already informed the productions he will not be available. It‘s unclear how long the absence could last, though sources have said up to a year.


    Penn‘s moves now leave both projects in the lurch, though “Stooges‘ ” dilemma is potentially more serious.


    Peter and Bobby Farrelly have spent the better part of a decade trying to get Stooges off the ground, and in March they pulled off a major casting coup: Penn as Larry with Jim Carrey as Curly and Benicio del Toro as Moe.


    Now MGM and the Farrellys, who wrote the script and are slated to direct, need to decide whether they will wait for Penn or seek to find a new actor.


    Time and availability are the issues: Stooges was eyeing a late August start date, and MGM has slotted it for a 2010 release. If the studio does wait, it could risk losing Carrey and del Toro. On the other hand, half of Hollywood would poke their eyes out for the part.


    Universal and Imagine, meanwhile, plan to move ahead on Cartel without Penn and will recast the part. The script, which is still being worked on, follows a man who journeys to protect his son after his wife is murdered by Mexican drug cartels. Asger Leth is directing. The movie had no start date or release date.

  • Two cast in ‘Red Dawn’ remake

    MUMBAI: Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki have been cast in MGM/UA‘s remake of “Red Dawn,” set to begin filming in September. They join the already cast Chris Hemsworth in the story of a group of teenagers who form an impromptu insurgency when their town is invaded by Chinese and Russian soldiers.

    Peck will play Matt Eckert — the role originated by Charlie Sheen — the hotheaded younger brother of Hemsworth‘s Jed Eckert and star quarterback of their Spokane high school football team. Palicki will play Toni, the role first inhabited by Jennifer Grey. She‘s a tough fighter the brothers encounter who develops romantic feelings for Jed, a Marine home on leave and the group‘s unofficial leader.


    Dan Bradley, a stunt coordinator and second-unit director on The Bourne Ultimatum and Quantum of Solace will direct the revamp based on the 1984 Cold War-era film co-written and directed by John Milius. Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore penned the updated screenplay.


    Contrafilm‘s Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson are producing, and Vince Newman is executive producing. The film is scheduled to hit theaters Sept. 24, 2010.


    Peck, who is repped by UTA and the Collective, most recently appeared in The Wackness, Drillbit Taylor and What Goes Up. He again has provided the voice of Eddie in the animated sequel Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs which Fox releases July 1.


    Palicki, repped by UTA and Anonymous Content, co-stars on Friday Night Lights. She next appears in the Screen Gems thriller Legion in January.

  • Big Cinemas to screen Operas

    MUMBAI: Thanks to an innovative new deal between Big Cinemas and London-based More2Screen, leading specialist in arts-based alternative content programming for cinema, culture fans can now look forward to the first-ever screenings of world-class Operas in Indian cinemas.

    The first offerings of this partnership will be two high quality productions from England‘s internationally-renowned Glyndebourne Festival, the operas La Cenerentola (Cinderella) and Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar).


    This will be followed by an all-star tribute concert from Petra, Jordan, The Pavarotti Tribute Concert, honouring the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti featuring his former singing partners Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras along with Andrea Bocelli and Sting.


    Screenings will take place at Big Cinemas‘ plexes in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune. To be launched by the end of June, the screenings will pave the way for a new era of top-class, pre-recorded performances to be enjoyed on the big screen.


    “Global awareness among Indian audiences has made them desirous for distinct international experiences. By screening Operas at our plexes, we are not just providing an enriching cultural experience to our patrons but are also providing them a chance to enjoy Operas in the best seats and at very affordable rates,” said Big Cinemas COO Tushar Dhingra.

  • CBFC not certifying digital films as separate entity

    NEW DELHI: Although films are being made in digital format and the government is in favour of digitisation, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) still does not have any guidelines for censoring digital films as a separate entity.


    According to Prasan Sinha, who claims to have made the first full-length digital Hindi feature film Kismet – Ek Anokha Moad, the film was ultimately certified as a video film despite the fact that it has been produced for the large screen.



    Sinha told indiantelevision.com that he had drawn the attention of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry officials who saw the film when it was screened at the India Pavilion at the Cannes International Film Festival last month. He was assured that the CBFC was studying this issue.


    While films made in the film format are aimed for the large screen, those produced on video format are meant for television or for home viewing.



    Sinha said apart from the fact that digital technology is much cheaper, there is much more clarity in video and sound. This technology is also more suitable for special effects



    . Digital technology has also helped to fight the scourge of software technology, he added.




    Made on a budget of around Rs 4 million with new stars, the film is based in rural India and is about the effect of urbanisation. The film also sends a message about self-employment according to producer Abhay Yadav who has also acted in the meeting.


    Kismet – Ek Anokha Moad is slated for release towards the end of July.

  • UTV assembles 17 movies for 2009-10; 13 movies slated for 2010-11

    MUMBAI: Last financial year saw UTV Motion Pictures release 12 movies. And now, the studio has upped its slate to 17 movies that will be released between July 2009 and March 2010.

    Additionally, a further slate of 13 movies that is in various stages of development and production is scheduled for release in 2010-11.


    These include a film by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya, Rai along with another film by Anees Bazmee, starring Akshay Kumar. UTV is also working with other directors such as Anurag Basu, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Priyadarshan, Anurag Kashyap, Rajkumar Gupta, Rajkumar Gupta, Nishikant Kamat, Sourabh Narang and Prakash Jha.


    2010-11 will also see UTV release two animation films – Arjun, The Warrior Prince and Alibaba & the 41 Thieves and one kids film Chillar Party.


    Meanwhile, the slate for 2009 is: Ramgopal Varma‘s horror film Agyaat, Vishal Bhardwaj‘s musical thriller Kaminey, spoofy comedy Aage Se Right, romantic comedy Main Aur Mrs Khanna, Dharma Productions‘ romantic comedy Wake up Sid, Dharma Productions‘ thriller Qurbaan, Ashutosh Gowarikar‘s romantic musical What‘s your Rashee?, David Dhawan‘s comic thriller Hook Ya Crook, Ken Ghosh‘s dance musical, hilarious caper Season‘s Greetings, pulp thriller Peter Gaya Kaam Se, bio-pic Paan Singh Tomar, Deven Khote‘s directorial debut Phillum City and Prakash Jha‘s political drama Rajneeti.


    The year will also witness UTV release the Tamil and Telegu remake of A Wednesday, starring Kamal Hassan and Mohanlal. The production house will also have two co-productions with Aamir Khan Productions namely Delhi Belly and The Falling.


    Says UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, “The range of movies we have in store for audiences up until March 2010 is testament to the vision of UMP to produce movies across all genres and scales, with a relentless focus on combining the very best talent in the industry with great scripts. We are confident that 2009-10 will be a banner year for the company, after our dream run last year, during which all our movies, performed well both commercially and critically.”

  • Streaming content revenues to reach $78 Billion

    MUMBAI: The New Jersey-based The Insight Research Corporation estimates that revenues from streaming video and music over the Internet and on mobile devices will reach $78 billion in the U.S. over the next six years.

    The data contained in the report, Streaming Media, IPTV, and Broadband Transport: Telecommunications Carriers and Entertainment Services 2009-2014, does not include revenues from content downloads, where users own a copy of the material. The streaming market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 27 percent over the next five years, driven by on-demand audio, on-demand video and the accompanying advertising revenue.


    “Over the past seven years as we‘ve tracked the developments in streaming it has evolved from an esoteric niche to a mainstream market,” said Robert Rosenberg, the president of Insight Research. “What we predicted way back when is coming to fruition. The advertising revenue that long supported traditional TV is gravitating to this new medium, putting downward pressure on traditional TV distribution schemes.”

  • Hasselhoff to star in new series for ‘Living’

    MUMBAI: Living channel is slated to exclusively air a new six-part series centered on pop-culture icon and Baywatch alum David Hasselhoff, starting in September.

    The new series will follow Hasselhoff as he spends his summer in the U.K. along with his daughters, Hayley and Taylor-Ann, who are pursing a pop career. The fly-on-the-wall series watches as Hasselhoff immerses himself in British culture. The program will be filmed exclusively for Living by Summer Films.


    The commission follows the success of the two-part special The Hoff: When Scott Came To Stay on Living, which pulled a total combined audience of 2 million individuals.


    Virgin Media Television‘s head of commissioning, Mark Sammon said, “The Hoff is such a huge icon with an enormous British fan-base, so it‘s a major coup for Living to be continuing the story in its programming schedule. We were thrilled with the response to the last two-part special and with a whole six episodes planned, we hope to bring an unrivalled look into the real man behind the legend.”

  • Amberwood scores deal in South Africa


    MUMBAI: South Africa‘s M-Net has slated Amberwood Entertainment‘s animated series RollBots to air on KTV in September.


    Having premiered this past September on Canada‘s YTV, RollBots is slated for September launch in the U.S. on The CW in the morning block TheCW4Kids, alongside the launch on KTV in South Africa



    . The 26 half-hour episodes follow a ‘bot without a tribe who has many adventures as he rolls about Flip City.


    “KTV is the ideal home for RollBots in South Africa,” said Jonathan Wiseman, the senior VP at Amberwood. “They have been a great broadcast partner on other properties and we are excited to be working with them once again.”

  • Two cast in ‘Red Dawn’ remake

    MUMBAI: Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki have been cast in MGM/UA‘s remake of Red Dawn set to begin filming in September. They join the already cast Chris Hemsworth in the story of a group of teenagers who form an impromptu insurgency when their town is invaded by Chinese and Russian soldiers.


    Peck will play Matt Eckert — the role originated by Charlie Sheen — the hotheaded younger brother of Hemsworth‘s Jed Eckert and star quarterback of their Spokane high school football team. Palicki will play Toni, the role first inhabited by Jennifer Grey. She‘s a tough fighter the brothers encounter who develops romantic feelings for Jed, a Marine home on leave and the group‘s unofficial leader.


    Dan Bradley, a stunt coordinator and second-unit director on The Bourne Ultimatum and Quantum of Solace will direct the revamp based on the 1984 Cold War-era film co-written and directed by John Milius. Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore penned the updated screenplay.


    The film is scheduled to hit theatres 24 September.