ITV

Category: Movies

  • Jupiter Entertainment signs 3-year licensing deal with WB

    MUMBAI: In its endeavour to show films on local television, Japan-based Jupiter Entertainment has signed a three-year licensing deal with Warner Bros. International Television, a division of Warner Entertainment Japan Inc.

    The announcement was made by Jupiter Entertainment president and representative director Hiroyuki Nakatani and Warner Bros. International television VP and GM Mitsuru Oda.


    Jupiter has acquired the rights of more than 80 theatrical motion picture titles to broadcast on its movie special channel Movie Plus in Japan.


    Jupiter will have the rights to broadcast on its Movie Plus CS basic channel feature films



    distributed by the studio as well as pictures from the Warner Bros. entertainment collection, beginning spring 2009.



    “It is expected that the multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. will enhance customer satisfaction for Movie Plus in terms of its viewing households and contribute to the further growth of the multi-channel market in Japan,” said Nakatani.


    License issued for telecast of titles include movies like The Departed, Blood Diamond, The Bodyguard and the Steven Spielberg-presented/Richard Donner-directed Goonies, among many others.


    “We are happy to announce this multi-year deal with Jupiter‘s Movie Plus channel and look forward to working closely with the Japanese company to make our movies successful with consumers in Japan,” said Oda.

  • Ayangaran Intl. bags overseas rights of ‘Kanthaswamy’

    MUMBAI: The overseas rights of the Vikram-Shriya Saran starrer, Kanthaswamy, have been sold to London-based Ayngaran International for an amount of around Rs 50 million.

    Arun Pandian of Ayngaran International agreed that his company had bought the overseas rights. With a library of over 1,500 films, Ayngaran has distributed some of the Tamil movie industry‘s big banner films which include Sivaji, Chandramukhi, Gilli, Alaipayuthey and Billa 2007.


    Insiders feel that Kanthaswamy‘s valuation is exaggerated. The cost of overseas rights for a Vikram film is typically around Rs 20-30 million, he said. Global rights for Anniyan, which was the last hit of the actor was sold for around Rs 30 million as it had the backing of director Shankar.

    Apart from Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, the US and Canada, Kanthaswamy will also be distributed across Europe, Dubai and Sri Lanka. In addition to Tamil, the film titled Mallana (Telugu) will see simultaneous release in the Tamil Nadu and Andhra markets.


    While music rights of the film have been bought by Sony-BMG for Rs 9.1 million, Sun TV has bought the home DVD rights for Rs 45 million.

  • Insurance co. sues Cameroon

    MUMBAI: Western General Insurance Company is suing James Cameron and one of his employees, Oscar Escalante.
    According to the suit, the employee was driving a car registered at Cameron‘s address when he drove into a light pole and smashed it knocking out power the business in the town for three whole days.

    The company is suing the employee and Cameron for negligence, claiming the accident cost it nearly $125,000 while the power was out.

  • Hollywood studio hires help for debt

    MUMBAI: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has hired investment bank Moelis & Co to help it restructure mammoth debts of about $3.7 billion, several media reports say. The studio behind classics such as the James Bond films and The Wizard of Oz is paying almost $300 million a year in interest, and must make a $1 billion repayment in 2011.

    The revered studio was bought by a group of investors in 2004 for about $5 billion but the global credit crunch and recession has stymied efforts to raise equity in order to reduce its debts.


    MGM funds its movie production through its massive film library, which boasts about 4000 titles and more than 10,000 television episodes, an archive which earns the company about $500 million annually.

  • Lanny Noveck joins ICM

    MUMBAI: Lanny Noveck, head of scripted television at WMA has joined ICM where he will be an agent in the TV lit department. However it isn‘t clear as to how many of his clients will follow him to ICM, where he starts working today.

    Noveck, a 30-year WMA veteran, was one of the 100 or so agency staffers laid off a couple weeks ago as fallout of WMA‘s merger with Endeavor. He led WMA‘s TV literary department for 15 years before being named head of scripted packaging in 2005.

    The series he has helped package include The King of Queens and That ‘70s Show. In addition to Noveck, ICM took in another TV lit agent let go from WMA in the post-merger shuffle, Dan Norton. He joined ICM on 21 May. Three years ago Norton began his career at ICM before going over to WMA.

  • Richard Shepard to direct ‘The Angriest Man in Brookyln’

    MUMBAI: Richard Shepard has signed to helm Overture Films‘ dark comedy The Angriest Man in Brooklyn.

    The project, originally titled 92 Minutes and based on a 1997 Israeli film explores how a New York City man uses the last hour and a half of life he‘s been told he has left. Daniel Taplitz adapted the screenplay from writer-director Assi Dayan‘s original Mar Baum.


    Bob Cooper‘s Landscape Entertainment is producing the film with Daniel Walker of Force Majeure. Exec Lauren Kisilevsky is overseeing the project for Overture.
    “I love multi-toned films, and this is an extremely smart, unique and funny story,” Shepard said. “It is also very emotional, without an ounce of undue sentimentality.”


    Shepard, repped by Gersh and Industry Entertainment, wrote and directed The Matador and The Hunting Party. He also directed the pilots for Criminal Minds, In the Motherhood and Ugly Betty, for which he won an Emmy.


    Shepard‘s documentary about the late Godfather and Deer Hunter star John Cazale, I Knew It Was You premiered at Sundance in January and will air on HBO next year.

  • ‘Dark Knight’ tops Key Art noms

    MUMBAI: The Dark Knight earned 16 nominations, the most for any film, for The Hollywood Reporter‘s 38th annual Key Art Awards. Wall-E which garnered 15 nominations, just missed sharing the top spot with Knight.

    Ignition leads all agencies with 41 nominations while Warner Bros., Disney and Lionsgate each had very strong studio showings.


    Tropic Thunder with 10 nominations came in at No. 3 while Iron Man with 7 nominations rounded out the top four films receiving multiple noms.


    Winners will be announced June 12 during an awards ceremony at the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

  • ‘Bruno’ gets cheeky with Eminem live on MTV


    MUMBAI: Eminem apparently has flown the coop from the MTV


    Movie Awards after a close encounter with Sacha Baron Cohen.

    In character as flamboyant fashion reporter “Bruno,” Baron Cohen flew in above Sunday‘s award show audience on a wire – and in a pair of feathery white wings and his rear end mostly exposed.



    But the comedian crashed into an overhead obstacle, and he was lowered into the audience – right into Eminem‘s lap, his bare hindquarters in the rapper‘s face. Eminem seemed visibly upset at the mishap. Or was it a joke he was in on?


    Winners from the MTV Movie Awards: Villain: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight, Female breakthrough performance: Ashley Tisdale, High School Musical 3: Senior Year,Fight: Robert Pattinson and Cam Gigandet, Twilight, Male breakthrough performance: Robert Pattinson, Twilight, male performance: Zac Efron, High School Musical 3: Senior Year,WTF Moment: Amy Poehler, Baby Mama, song from a film: The Climb by Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana: The Movie, female performance: Kristen Stewart, Twilight, comedic performance: Jim Carrey, Yes Ma and best film: Twilight.

  • ‘Smithsonian’ keeps itself on top overseas

    MUMBAI: Pixar/Disney‘s animation film Up dipped its animated toes in international waters during the weekend but it was Fox‘s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian that claimed the top spot overseas for the first time with $37.2 million from 9,000 screens in 100 markets.

    The family comedy


    , a sequel to 2006‘s Night at the Museum opened at No. 1 in China grossing $7.4 million from 818 screens. The Ben Stiller starrer also finished first in at least 11 other territories, propelling its overseas gross past the $100 million mark ($106 million). Its worldwide gross to date is $211.3 million.

    After two stanzas atop the international circuit, Sony‘s Angels & Demons finished a close No. 2 this round, grossing $32.9 million from 10,145 screens in 101 territories. The follow-up to The Da Vinci Code ranked No. 1 in at least 14 markets, including Germany, where it tallied $4.8 for the weekend and Japan ($3.2 million). It has bagged $251.7 million overseas.


    Like DreamWorks Animation‘s Monsters vs. Aliens before it, Up the 10th title from Pixar/Disney, opened in Russia ahead of its domestic bow largely because of piracy concerns. It drew an animated $4.2 million from 560 screens, ranking No. 1 and marking the biggest weekend opening of a Pixar/Disney title in the territory.


  • Pixar’s ‘Up’ may feature in next Oscar

    MUMBAI: Up is only Pixar‘s 10th feature film but it could well win the studio its fifth Oscar for animated feature. Before audiences see Up they are being shown a teaser trailer for next year‘s Pixar picture Toy Story 3.

    All of the old toys are back – Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) and Hamm (John Ratzenberger) – along with newcomers Ken (Michael Keaton) and Barbie (Jodie Benson). The film is directed by Lee Unkrich who co-helmed Toy Story 2 with a script by Oscar winner Michael Arndt of Little Miss Sunshine fame.


    Both the original Toy Story (1995) and the equally successful sequel Toy Story 2 (1999) predate the separate animated film category at the Oscars. Toy Story contended for best original screenplay (The Usual Suspect ) as well as song and musical/comedy score (Pocahantas).


    Pixar does not intend to match the ramped-up output of DreamWorks Animation that promises at least eight new titles in the coming three years. Rather, the studio will stick to its proven schedule of one film every year or so.