ITV

Category: Movies

  • Next two ‘Avengers’ movies to be shot with Imax cameras

    Next two ‘Avengers’ movies to be shot with Imax cameras

    MUMBAI: The upcoming two movies of the Avengers franchise – Avengers: Infinity War Parts 1 & 2 will be shot entirely with Imax cameras. This will mark the first time a feature film has been shot in full with Imax cameras.

     

    The footage will be captured with the Imax / ARRI next generation 2D digital camera. The camera is a customized digital version of ARRI’s new large format camera, the Alex 65. Before filming Avengers: Infinity War Parts 1 & 2, directors Joe and Anthony Russo will be using the Imax / ARRI 2D digital camera for select action scenes in the upcoming Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War (playing in Imax theatres May 2016).

     

    “The intent with the Infinity War films is to bring 10 years of accumulative storytelling to an incredible climax. We felt that the best way to exploit the scale and scope required to close out the final chapter of these three phases, was to be the first films shot entirely on the Imax/ARRI Digital camera.” said Joe and Anthony Russo.

     

  • Abu Dhabi restructures film industry; to invest $100+ million

    Abu Dhabi restructures film industry; to invest $100+ million

    MUMBAI: Abu Dhabi’s Media Zone Authority is restructuring its film business and has set aside a corpus of over $100 million (AED 400 million) for the next five years for the same.

     

    The money will be used for film and TV production in Abu Dhabi. Additionally it is also shutting down the Abu Dhabi Film Festival to make way in order to focus on for future targeted initiatives to further support local and Arab filmmakers and attract more film productions to Abu Dhabi in the region via the Sanad Fund. The move marks the next phase in the Abu Dhabi’s maturing film industry. 

     

    The Media Zone Authority will continue its efforts in supporting Emirati and Arab filmmakers through the Sanad Fund, which provides financial support for film projects during their development and post-production stages. The Fund enables filmmakers to develop and complete feature narrative or documentary films. Details of the next session of submissions for Sanad will be announced soon. Additionally, twofour54’s creative lab will continue its role in supporting local talent in the UAE.

     

    Going forward, the Media Zone Authority will focus on promoting Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a regional hub for film and TV productions through Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s 30 per cent cash-back rebate on all qualifying spend of films and projects shot in Abu Dhabi.

     

    Media Zone Authority CEO Noura Al Kaabi said, “Over the last few years we have built a strong foundation for a self-sustaining film and television industry. It is now the right time to deepen our commitment and further develop programmes to take the local industry to the next level. We attracted several major international and regional productions to shoot in the Emirate over the past two years alone, which brought large-scale investment, further built the film industry infrastructure in the region, and created significant opportunities for local talent. These projects include Universal Pictures’ Fast and Furious 7 and Disney’s Star Wars: Episode VII, as well as regional productions Al Ikhwa, Iftah Ya SimSim and ET Bil Arabi.”

     

    Al Kaabi also noted that the UAE is represented at international film festivals through Dubai International Film Festival and Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival.

     

    Image Nation Abu Dhabi chairman Mohamed Al Mubarak added, “Now that Image Nation Abu Dhabi has become part of the Media Zone Authority, our efforts towards building the media sector can be more coordinated and effective. Image Nation’s combination of Hollywood film relationships and its local talent and production knowledge is uniquely valuable to this new phase of our industry.”

     

    Image Nation Abu Dhabi invested approximately AED 30 million ($8.2 million) towards local production last year. Over the next five years, the Media Zone Authority partner anticipates injecting over AED 400 million ($108 million) into the UAE economy through direct spending in the country on film and television production and jobs creation.

     

    Local feature film production has hit a new stride with an impressive and aggressive slate. From A to B, directed by Ali Mostafa and co-produced by twofour54 and Image Nation, topped iTunes charts across the Middle East last week and is set to release theatrically in the UK and Italy this year. And Zinzana, helmed by Emirati first-time feature director Majid Al Ansari, is currently in post-production with a launch in the UAE planned later this year.

     

    twofour54 upgraded its post-production centre this month – the most advanced facility in the region with the latest editing, audio and colour correction capabilities. This first one-stop-shop for post-production will further enhance the industry ecosystem in Abu Dhabi.

     

    Training and development programs continue to expand for Emirati and regional filmmakers. In its fourth year, Arab Film Studio now includes both documentary and narrative programmes, and a new programme for Emirati high school students launches this summer at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

  • Bob Bain named executive producer for 2015 Creative Arts Emmy Awards

    Bob Bain named executive producer for 2015 Creative Arts Emmy Awards

    MUMBAI: Bob Bain has been named as the executive producer for the 2015 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

     

    This marks his first year as the executive producer of the awards. Among the categories recognized and awarded at the Creative Arts Emmys are those for excellence in television’s guest actors and actresses, choreography, costume design, music, and for the first time this year, Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.

     

    “Bob is one of the industry’s leading producers of ‘next generation’ event television. We are thrilled to have him on board,” said Television Academy chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum.

     

    Bain is revered as one of the most prolific and versatile event, variety and televised award show producers working in Hollywood. For over a decade Bob Bain Productions has been at the helm of the popular Teen Choice Awards, Kids Choice Awards and the Critics Choice Awards. Bain has also produced Fox’s New Year’s Eve LIVE Special as well as the Billboard Music Awards, Miss America Pageant, American Country Awards and numerous music specials.

     

    The Creative Arts Emmys will take place at the Nokia Theatre L.A. on 12 September.

  • Doodle Collection inks licensing deal with Yash Raj Films

    Doodle Collection inks licensing deal with Yash Raj Films

    MUMBAI: Doodle Collection has inked a licensing deal with Yash Raj Films Licensing to launch a limited edition range of diaries inspired from some of the studio’s films.

     

    Doodle Collection’s limited edition range of YRF diaries celebrate cinema and Bollywood in its most colourful, creative and quirky form. The diaries are inspired by YRF movies across genres – from the classic KabhiKabhie to the modern and spunky Band Baaja Baaraat. The typographic designs are inspired from Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year and Chak De! India.

     

    The highlight of the collection is the diary inspired by the cult hit DilwaleDulhania Le Jayenge.

    The diaries are available on the Doodle Collection website and at stationery retailers like Landmark and Crossword along with online portals like Flipkart, Amazon and Fashionara.

  • Salman Khan jailed for 5 years in hit-and-run case, gets two days’ interim bail

    Salman Khan jailed for 5 years in hit-and-run case, gets two days’ interim bail

    NEW DELHI: Actor Salman Khan was today convicted by a Mumbai Sessions court for five years for killing a homeless man in a 2002 hit-and-run case.

     

    The 49-year old actor who had been charged with culpable homicide was directed to be taken to jail today itself.   

     

    However, the Bombay High Court granted him interim bail for two days after his case was argued by senior counsel Harish Salve, who said no person could be jailed on the basis of a partial order. He said his client had only been read out the operative portion. 

     

    The dead man, 38-year-old Noor Ullah Khan, was among five people who were run over in the incident. Late on the night of 28 September 2002, Khan’s Toyota Land Cruiser hit the American Express Bakery in the Bandra area of Mumbai.

     

    Khan had sought to say his driver was behind the wheel, but Judge DW Deshpande said the actor was driving the car and was under the influence of alcohol at the time. 

     

    “You were driving the car; you were under the influence of alcohol,” he told the actor as soon as the court proceedings began.

     

    Khan has been booked under Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code (rash and negligent driving); 279 (rash driving); 337 (causing minor injuries); 338 (causing major injuries) 427 (negligence), and under Motor Vehicle Act Sections 34 (a), (b) read with 181 (driving vehicle in contravention of rules); 185 (driving at great speed after consuming alcohol).

     

    The arguments by lawyers on his sentence went on for about three years, during which time who was dressed in a white shirt remained calm and composed. His family and friends inside the court were hoping that he would get a jail term of three years or less.

     

    But Khan broke down when the judge pronounced his sentence and he was visibly upset when his sisters tried to comfort him.

     

    One of Bollywood’s busiest stars having appeared in more than 80 Hindi-language films, Khan’s jail sentence is bound to affect the film projects he was working in.

     

    The prosecution alleged that Khan had been driving the car while drunk, both of which charges the actor denied in court in March. But many witnesses disagreed.

     

    A constable attached to Khan’s security detail said in a statement to the police that the “drunk” actor had lost control of the car. The policeman died in 2007 of tuberculosis.

     

    In April, Khan’s driver told the court that he had crashed the car after a tyre burst but the court did not accept that version.

     

    Khan had been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder in October 2001 and arrested but granted bail. In May 2003, the Court rejected his plea to drop culpable homicide charge and but in June 2003 the Bombay High Court dropped culpable homicide charge but said he be tried for rash and negligent driving.

     

    Khan will also be taken for a medical examination before being sent to jail. His lawyers had told the court today that he had heart and neurological problems. The judge had remained unmoved.

     

    Khan is the second actor to have gone to jail recently, the earlier being Sanjay Dutt.

     

    In addition to his acting career, Khan is a stage performer and an active humanitarian through his charity organisation Being Human. 

     

    The actor has two film releases lined up for this year namely Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo.

     

    Apart from films, the actor also hosts the television reality show Bigg Boss on Colors.

  • Sabine Azéma to preside over Caméra d’or Jury at Cannes

    Sabine Azéma to preside over Caméra d’or Jury at Cannes

    MUMBAI: French actress Sabine Azéma will preside over the Caméra d’or Jury this year, to select the best first film presented in Cannes.

     

    Following in the footsteps of Bong Joon-Ho, Gael García Bernal, Carlos Diegues and Nicole Garcia, Azéma is getting ready to dedicate her enthusiasm and love of cinema to the directors of their first film.

     

    She will be accompanied by the director Delphine Gleize, the actor Melvil Poupaud, Claude Garnier representing the AFC (French Association for Cinematographers), Didier Huck, representing the FICAM (Federation of Cinema, Audiovisual and Multimedia Industries), Yann Gonzalez, representing the SRF (Society of Film Directors) and Bernard Payen, representing the SFCC (French Union of Cinema Critique).

     

    The Caméra d’or, created in 1978, is awarded to the best first film presented in the Official Selection (In Competition, Out of Competition and Un Certain Regard), during La Semaine de la Critique or the Directors’ Fortnight, which represents a total of 26 films in 2015.

     

    The Caméra d’or boosts a filmmaker’s career by offering him exemplary visibility and international opportunities. Jim Jarmusch, Mira Nair, Naomi Kawase, Bahman Ghobadi and Steve McQueen were awarded this in the past. In 2014, the award went to the French film Party Girl, presented in the Official Selection, Un Certain Regard.

     

    The Jury president will award the Caméra d’or 2015 during the Awards Ceremony on 24 May.

  • Prachi Desai to star in ‘Rock On’ sequel

    Prachi Desai to star in ‘Rock On’ sequel

    MUMBAI: Actress Prachi Desai, who made her Bollywood debut with the Farhan Akhtar-starrer, Rock On in 2008, is now all set to feature in its sequel Rock On!! 2.

     

    Desai said, “It is going to be a special project for me and Farhan as it was our first film together.”

     

    As she gears up for her upcoming projects, the actress explains why she has stayed away from the big screen. “It wasn’t a conscious move. There are a couple of films, which I was supposed to do, but didn’t happen for various reasons,” she said.

     

    Apart from Rock On!! 2, Desai will feature in cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin’s biopic starring Emraan Hashmi, where she will essay the role of Azharuddin’s first wife Naureen. “We know about Azharuddin’s life on field, but not much about Naureen. I’m getting to know a lot more about her from our director and writers,” said Desai.

  • South Korean trio sweeps Far East Asian awards in Italy

    South Korean trio sweeps Far East Asian awards in Italy

    NEW DELHI: South Korea swept the main awards at the 17th Far East Film Festival in Italy over the weekend.

     

    The Festival was held in Udine from 24 April to 2 May. The results were announced after midnight following a closing gala screening of The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D.

     

    With an average score of 4.44/5 from the audience, J.K. Youn’s Ode to My Father was the most popular film. The drama traces the remarkable globetrotting journey of a man who made immense sacrifices for his family.

     

    The runner-up awards went to Lee Won-suk’s The Royal Tailor and E J-Yong’s My Brilliant Life. Lee won the audience award two years ago with his debut film, How to Use Guys with Secret Tips (2013).

     

    Royal Tailor also won the My Movies Audience Award, voted by users of the Italian film website.

     

    Youn, E and Lee are former guests of the festival. Youn attended with Sex is Zero (2002); E has been a regular guest since An Affair (1998) at the event’s first edition; Lee has attended the event with both his films.

     

    With an average score of 4.15/5.00, Sotho Kulikar’s The Last Reel won the Black Dragon Award, chosen by the festival’s die-hard supporters who purchase premium passes. It is the first Cambodian film to have screened at the event.

     

    The festival also handed awards to Joe Hisaishi, Jackie Chan and Nansun Shi at this year’s edition.

     

    Hisaishi conducted a concert of his music on the eve of the festival. Shi attended last night’s closing film and held an on-stage talk with Marco Muller.

  • ‘Gabbar Is Back’ earns Rs 36.6 crore at BO

    ‘Gabbar Is Back’ earns Rs 36.6 crore at BO

    MUMBAI: Akshay Kumar’s oft repeated theme of anti-establishment Gabbar Is Back, has benefitted thanks to it being a kind of solo release for the audience starved of  commercial mass film with a popular star this year so far. 

     

    The film will enjoy a four day weekend in many states while it has a three day holiday run in other states (May Day on 1 May and Buddha Purnima on 4 May). The film opened to average response, dropping further on Saturday. 

     

    The collections got better on Sunday ending its first three days with Rs 36.6 crore. The negative word of mouth seems to have caught up with the film, which will limit its prospects as the week progresses.

     

    The other release of the week, Sabki Bajegi Band, remained a nonstarter with five to 10 occupants in the audience on the opening day.

     

    Jai Ho! Democracy proves to be a major disaster managing to collect just about Rs 18 lakh in its first week.

     

    Ishq Ke Parinde goes unnoticed causing heartburns to both, the makers as well as the exhibitors.

     

    Kagaz Ke Fools, it seems, marks the end of Vinay Pathak kind of comedies. The film manages just about Rs 40 lakh for its first week’s run.

     

    Mr X suffered due to its mediocre script and treatment and dropped to about a little less than 10 per cent of its first week figures in its week two. The film managed a bare Rs 2.4 crore to take its two week tally to Rs 20.95 crore.

     

    Margarita With A Straw sustains on the lower side, though. The film collects Rs 1.75 crore in its second week, taking its two week tally to Rs 5.25 crore. 

     

    Ek Paheli Leela adds Rs 30 lakh in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 21.14 crore.

     

    Dharam Sankat Mein has added Rs 25 lakh in its third week taking its three week tally to Rs 9 crore.

     

    Detective Byomkesh Bakshy has collected Rs 40 lakh in its fourth week to take its four week total to Rs 27.08 crore.

  • Shoojit Sircar tries Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s style in ‘Piku’

    Shoojit Sircar tries Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s style in ‘Piku’

    NEW DELHI: If at one time it was said that the stars made or unmade a film at the box office, it can now safely be said that the buzz created on the social media – especially by the stars of a film – contribute vastly to its success.

     

    More than a fortnight before the release date of Piku, Amitabh Bachchan had started sending out trailors of the film on his Twitter handle with messages like ‘Laughter! Enjoyment! Fun! That’s what happens when crazy people get together.’

     

    If the popularity of the trailer on social media is anything to go by, Piku is amongst the most anticipated films this year, particularly as it is reminiscent of the light-hearted films of the late Hrishikesh Mukherjee – even when he dealt with serious subjects.

     

    The film, which will release on 8 May, is produced by the makers of Vicky Donor starring Bachchan along with Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan. 

     

    Quirky and funny with oodles of situational humour, the film highlights the eccentricities within every Indian family, told in signature Shoojit Sircar style.

     

    While this film about a crazy father-daughter duo is packaged with ingredients that make for a perfect family comedy, Sircar seems to be bringing back the slice-of-life-cinema, which was made popular by filmmakers like Mukherjee.

     

    A huge admirer of Mukherjee’s work, Sircar explores a relatable story and human relationships reminiscent of Hrishikesh Mukherjee films like Gol Maal, Mili, Chupke Chupke and Guddi promising clean entertainment to the audiences after a long time.

     

    Sircar said, “Piku has got a universal connect because every Indian family or for that matter every family is quirky and crazy in its own way. In this case, Baba and Piku make for one of the craziest families around. All I have done is take the camera and place it between them as they go about living their life replete with events and situations that are bizarre, crazy and yet very familiar to you and me. Hrishikesh Da told the simplest stories in the most unusual and entertaining fashion, which is why audiences still swear by them. We hope to warm your heart and put a smile on your face through Piku!”