Category: Movies

MUMBAI: Columbia Pictures has entered into an agreement with CBS Films to do a remake of the classic musical My Fair Lady.

The film will be produced by Duncan Kenworthy and Cameron Mackintosh. The announcement was made by Doug Belgrad
and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures. CBS Films will be actively involved in the development of the new film.

The new film will use the original songs of the Broadway show, and will not alter its 1912 setting. But Kenworthy and Mackintosh intend where possible to shoot the film on location in the original London settings of Covent Garden, Drury Lane, Tottenham Court Road, Wimpole Street, and Ascot racecourse.

The filmmaking team will also look to adapt Alan Jay Lerner‘s book more fully for the screen by drawing additional material from Pygmalion — George Bernard Shaw‘s play that served as the source material for the musical — in order to dramatise as believably as possible for present-day audiences the emotional highs and lows of Eliza Doolittle as she undergoes the ultimate makeover, transforming under the tutelage of Professor Henry Higgins from a Cockney flower girl to a lady.

Belgrad said, “My Fair Lady is not just the quintessential stage musical and classic film, but a fantastic story. We‘re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring it to the screen once again. There is no one alive who knows this material better than Cameron Mackintosh.

“He has staged two revivals of My Fair Lady, the first in 1979 directed by Alan Jay Lerner himself, and the second the award-winning adaptation that‘s now touring the United States. He and Duncan Kenworthy have already set out on the long journey of bringing a new version to the screen and we feel very lucky to be a part of it.

“This update will preserve the magic of the musical while fleshing out the characters and bringing 1912 London to life in an authentic and exciting way for contemporary audiences.”

Mackintosh says, “My Fair Lady‘s extraordinary tale of a man turning a flower girl into a lady, and then falling for her, combines one of the most powerful narratives in world literature with some of the wittiest and most winning songs ever written for the stage.

“People everywhere will fall in love again with Lerner and Loewe‘s miraculous songs set in a big, gorgeous film with contemporary stars, a more realistically achieved vision of Edwardian London, and a touch more Pygmalion at the heart of this powerfully emotional story of a girl‘s transformation. The classic story of a flower girl transformed into an instant sensation couldn‘t be more timely in a contemporary world obsessed with overnight celebrity.”

Kenworthy said, “When George Cukor shot his wonderful film entirely on sets inside Warner‘s Burbank soundstages, Lerner and Loewe‘s smash hit musical had been running on Broadway for seven years, and the film was appropriately reverential and inevitably theatrical.

“With 40 years of hindsight, we‘re confident that by setting these wonderful characters and brilliant songs in a more realistic context, and by exploring Eliza‘s emotional journey more fully, we will honor both Shaw and Lerner at the same time as engaging and entertaining contemporary audiences the world over. The casting of Eliza is crucial, and we are currently in discussion with a major international star to play the role.”

The musical in 1956 starred Julie Andrews, rocketing her to stardom, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. It was then adapted for the screen in 1963, directed by George Cukor, with Audrey Hepburn as Eliza and Rex Harrison as Higgins. The film won eight Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.

MUMBAI: AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) national committee has voted in favour of the uncertain primetime/TV agreement reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers last month. The contract has now been sent to 70,000 members for ratification.

Meanwhile, SAG (Screen Actors Guild) is planning to launch an anti-AFTRA deal campaign because SAG‘s plea “to delay the ratification until SAG negotiates its own feature-primetime deal was rejected by AFTRA”. SAG finds itself in an awry situation as it has to negotiate a new contract before its current one expires in June.

SAG‘s national executive committee voted with 13 members favouring and 10 against the launch of a campaign to oppose the AFTRA deal. SAG is the dominant actors‘ union with 122,000 members as compared to AFTRA which consists of 70,000 members. But AFTRA consists of recording artists, radio announcers and actors who work in the less-glamorous arenas of daytime and cable television.

There are around 44,000 members who belong to both unions and SAG will seek to target these dual members in the campaign that will cost the association more than $100,000. SAG Executive Director Doug Allen said in a statement that the union “will be educating SAG members about the impact of the AFTRA deal on our negotiations and on our effort to secure the best possible contract for actors.”

SAG believes that the AFTRA deal does not address key demands, including a boost in residuals that actors earn from the sale of DVDs and having consent over how products are pitched in TV shows and movies. SAG and AFTRA are negotiating separately for the first time in three decades due to bitter jurisdictional disputes for cable TV shows.

MUMBAI: The music of Apoorva Lakhia’s upcoming film Mission Istaanbul was launched at the ongoing International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Bangkok.

The music of this muliti-starrer film, launched under the T-Series label, has been scored by four music directors namely Annu Mallik, Shameer Tandon, Mika, and debutante Chirantan Bhatt.

The audio CD of the film is priced at Rs 160 containing seven tracks, six of which are originals and one remix.

Mission Istaanbul features Viveik Oberoi, Zayed Khan, Shriya Saran, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Nikitin Dheer, Suniel Shetty and Shwetta Bharadwaj.

MUMBAI: Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) is tapping the niche segment of viewers with a rollout plan of 50 movies over five years.

The films will be made under the Guerrilla Flicks brand. The series will be produced by Arindam Mitra (producer of Black Friday).

PNC believes the genre will attract young emerging audiences and has the potential to travel overseas.

The first eight films from the series will go on floors immediately. They will be directed by Abhijit Chaudhuri, Nikhil Bhatt (director and ad film maker), Shiv Subramanium (scriptwriter and playwriter), Somnath Sen (filmmaker) and Arindam Mitra. The project also includes first time directors like Debalaya Bhattacharya and Arjun Bagga.

The genres will vary from comedy and action to detective fiction and drama. “This is our way of staying one step ahead of market trends. We are anticipating the expectations of the new generation of movie viewers who are tired of Bollywood’s formula movies,” said PNC chairman Pritish Nandy.

Recently, PNC had inked a five film deal with actor-director Rajat Kapoor, three of which are currently under production stage. While Raat Gayi Baat Gayi is being directed by Saurabh Shukla, Saeed Mirza is directing Ek Tho Chance. A Rectangular Love Story is being directed by Rajat Kapoor. All the three films will be released this year.

PNC had also entered into two separate co-production deals with DQ Entertainment (DQE) and Sony Pictures.

While the deal between PNC and DQE states that the two companies will be co-developing and co-producing six movies within four years, the deal with Sony Pictures is for three films.

MUMBAI: National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is releasing Ashim Ahluwalia‘s John and Jane on 6 June. As part of the distribution programme ‘Cinemas in India‘, NFDC will release John and Jane in PVR Mumbai and Gurgaon.

National award winning documentary John and Jane is a film that follows the real life stories of six young call agents who work in a Mumbai call center.

The film has also won a European Media Award last year and has been screened at Toronto, Berlin and other major festivals.

In association with PVR Cinemas, the ‘Cinemas of India‘ programme is a distribution initiative by NFDC to deliver to the multiplex audience original, compelling, award-winning works of Indian filmmakers from across the nation on diverse subjects and in diverse languages with one new release a month.

Upcoming titles include Camera D’Or winner Murali Nair’s sociopolitical horror Arimpara or A Story that Begins at the End, Bipin Nadkarni’s Marathi film the effect of divorce and remarriage on a young boy A Home in the Sky, and a NFDC production about the birth of cinema in India Bioscope.

MUMBAI: Paramount Pictures has downsized its art-house division Paramount Vantage (formerly known Paramount Classics). Paramount seeks to combine the marketing, distribution and physical production operations.

Paramount Vantage has been responsible for benchmark releases like Babel, No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Paramount Vantage will continue as a production label under the administration of president Nick Meyer.

The move of combining the operations is to boost the strengths and resources and thereby reducing possibility of errors. The consolidation will eliminate three senior executive positions including distribution executive VP Rob Schulze.

Paramount also seeks to save $5 million to $10 million in expenses and will allow Vantage to produce about six to eight movies a year. The merged marketing department will be led by Paramount worldwide picture marketing president Gerry Rich.

Megan Colligan and Josh Greenstein will hold the post of co-presidents of marketing. The distribution operation will be led by Jim Tharp, and physical distribution will be supervised by Georgia Kacandes. Vantage employs about 80 people.

Last month, Warner Bros. announced that it would close Warner Independent Pictures, its specialty film division, and Picturehouse, the independent movie arm of New Line Cinema.

MUMBAI: Sahara One Motion Pictures has inked a five-film deal with producer Boney Kapoor, out of which three are already under production.

MUMBAI: Wizcraft International Entertainment is set to unveil “The Unforgettable Tour” on 18 July.

Conceptualised and promoted by Wizcraft, the tour (explained to be “an extravaganza of Indian Cinema‘s magic”), will set its first leg across 10 cities namely Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Trinidad & Tobago, Houston, Atlantic City, New York, Vancouver, London and Amsterdam.

Wizcraft director Viraf Sarkari said, “Indian cinema today, is highly sought after, across the world. The tour brings together, for the first time, the biggest film stars of Indian Cinema on one platform and is definitely a dream come true for millions across the globe. ‘The Unforgettable Tour‘ promises to bring alive Indian Cinema‘s magic on a global stage and will truly be a spectacle that needs to be seen to be believed.”

“The Unforgettable Tour” will bring together Bollywood‘s Bachchan family that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Amitabh Bachchan said,” The tour is an expression to show our gratitude to the fans of Indian cinema across the globe. It is a privilege to be on a platform that is committed to create thrilling performances for our fans across the globe.”

” It will be doubly joyous for me because I‘ll have my family and some of India‘s most sought after actors joining this tour. I am keenly looking forward to this tour which is truly going to be an “unforgettable” experience for the fans of Indian Cinema”, he added.

Actors Preity Zinta and Ritesh Deshmukh will also be a part of this “extravaganza”.

Each city that the tour travels to will have one celebrity guest performer. While Akshay Kumar will be performing in Toronto, Madhuri Dixit will perform in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Atlantic City, New York and Vancouver.

Dixit said, “I am thrilled to be a part of such a splendid event that promises to promote Indian Cinema on a global platform. An event of such a magnitude will surely be something to look out for and I am eagerly looking forward to it.”

The performances will be choreographed by Shiamak Davar and the music will be provided by Vishal and Shekhar.

Through this event, Wizcraft aims to put Indian cinema on a global platform, thereby acting as a catalyst to the integration of the Indian film industry with the world.

Also, an interactive website, theunforgettabletour.com, has been created to promote the tour. The site will allow film fans to blog and browse through star photo galleries, contests and “opportunities to win or buy star-endorsed merchandise.”

MUMBAI: Warner Bros Pictures India is entering the animation genre, setting in process its aggressive movie plans in India.

Warner Bros will fund, market and distribute worldwide the animated film which is to be directed by Jyotin Goel. The untitled film will be presented under the Warner Bros Pictures banner and produced by Jyotin Goel’s Geol Screencraft.

Earlier this year Warner Bros Pictures India had inked a multi-movie deal with Soundarya Rajnikanth‘s Ocher Studios to get a footprint across the four southern languages. The pact covers the production and distribution of live action South Indian language films.

“We are making an entry into the animation genre in India. We are delighted to associate with Jyotin for this film,” said Warner Bros Pictures India country manager Blaise Fernandes.

The post production will be handled by Interactive Realities International (IRIPL) that specialises in multimedia production, Internet applications, e-learning and web solutions in India.

Elaborating on the story-line of the film, director Jyotin Goel said, “This is a story of love and adventure, full of color, music, drama and comedy. The film is not based on the human kingdom but portrays the melodious world of birds and attempts to explore their lives from an unusual standpoint. It is a journey into the lives of birds as they soar over dense jungles and teeming cities, giving them a point of view of the world that is hilariously different from ours.”

Additionally, Warner Bros is also set to release two of its productions this year. While Warner Bros‘ solo production Saas Bahu Sensex is slated to release on 18 September, Chandni Chowk to China, a Warner Bros co-production with Mukesh Talreja and Ramesh Sippy, will hit the screens on 24 October.

Hollywood studios have been busy chalking out their movie plans in India, a market where they see high potential growth. Last year, Walt Disney signed a co-production deal with Yash Raj Films. As per the deal, the two companies would be releasing one animated movie per year.

MUMBAI: Eros International has announced the release dates of two of its forthcoming films God Tussi Great Ho and Drona.

While Rumi Jaffery‘s comedy God Tussi Great Ho, starring Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan and Sohail Khan, will be released on 15 August this year, Goldie Behl‘s Drona will hit the screens on 2nd October.

Drona, “the fantasy action film filled with VFX” and starring Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Jaya Bachchan and KK Menon, is a co-production between Eros International and Rose Movies.

Incidentally, both the films will be released during the “long holiday weekends” to drive in more viewers. Both God Tussi Great Ho and Drona will see their releases on the Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti weekends respectively.

Eros International India president Sunil Lulla said, “Both God Tussi Great Ho and Drona show huge potential and we were looking at perfect product spacing for these two much awaited releases. Audiences can now make the best of the long holiday weekends to enjoy both these spectacular and visually stunning films.”

The other releases from the Eros line-up in the coming quarter this year include Afzal Khan‘s Mehbooba starring Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan and Manisha Koirala on 11 July.

This will be followed by Ganesh Acharya‘s Money Hai Toh Honey Hai with Govinda, Aftab Shivdasani, Manoj Bajpai, Upen Patel, Celina Jaitley, Hansika Motwani and Archana Puransingh on 25 July.

29 August will see the release of action thriller Hijack directed by Kunal Shivdasani and starring Shiney Ahuja and Esha Deol.

Earlier, Eros International had announced a line-up of approximately 35 releases this year belonging to the genre of Hindi and Tamil films.