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Category: Movies

  • ‘Finding Fanny’ and ‘Haider’ to be screened at BIFF

    ‘Finding Fanny’ and ‘Haider’ to be screened at BIFF

    MUMBAI: Deepika Padukone starrer Finding Fanny and Shahid Kapoor’s Haider have been selected to be screened at the forthcoming Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea.

     

    The two films, along with Margarita, With A Straw, Labour Of Love, Goli Soda and Zahir from the country, will be showcased as part of the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ category at the fest.  The festival is scheduled to be held from 2-11 October 2014.  

     

    The director of Finding Fanny, Homi Adajania is ecstatic that his movie is among the projects chosen for the prestigious festival.

     

    “Yeehaa! @FindingFanny officially invited to the BUSAN International Film Festival! @arjunk26 @deepikapadukone @ankurtewari @Anaita_Adajania,” he tweeted.

     

    Finding Fanny is an off the wall, comical story about five people who venture out to find Stefanie Fernandes (Fanny). The movie stars Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Pankaj Kapur. The film has been produced by Maddock Films and is being presented by Fox Star Studios. Being hailed as the movie to watch out for, Finding Fanny is set to release on September 12.

     

    Meanwhile, Haider too is among the much-awaited Bollywood films this year. With Shahid Kapoor in the lead role, this Vishal Bhardwaj directorial is the Indian adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. The movie also stars Shraddha Kapoor, Tabu and Kay Kay Menon. The movie is produced by VB Pictures and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures. It will release on 2 October.

  • Date extended for co-production proposals at Film Bazaar in Goa

    Date extended for co-production proposals at Film Bazaar in Goa

    NEW DELHI: The Film Bazaar that will be held to coincide with the International Film Festival of India has extended the date for receiving projects for co-productions by another fortnight to 15 September.

     

    This year’s Bazaar will feature a Romance Screenwriters’ Lab with six scripts in the romance genre mentored by leading Indian filmmakers and writers.

     

    A new feature at the Bazaar this year is Film Offices for various states of the country for their film promotion and tourism boards, and film commissions for them to introduce their delegates to the visiting delegates, said National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) managing director Neena Lath Gupta.

     

    In addition, the Bazaar will have networking events where discussions are held informally, Work-in-Progress Labs for films that are in rough-cut stage, NFDC Knowledge Series Lectures by renowned film personalities, and a branding opportunity for those getting themselves associated with the Bazaar which gets delegates from all over the globe.    

     

    Other sections include exhibition stalls for showcasing products and meetings with other delegates, Screenwriters’ Lab which will also have six scripts; and a Producers’ Lab for producers to learn the facets of production from leading Indian and international producers.

      

    Aspiring film delegates include buyers and exhibitors, those looking for co-production opportunities, heads or representatives of International Film Festivals, film producers, and members of film distribution bodies. 

     

    The Film Bazaar has listed a large number of co-productions that have helped young filmmakers make a name for themselves in the international market, including Lunch Box by Ritesh Batra, Titli by Kanu Behl, Ship of Theseus by Anand Gandhi, Television by Mostofa Farooki, The Girl in Yellow Boots by Anurag Kashyap, Miss Lovely by Ashim Ahluwalia, Shanghai by Dibakar Banerjee; Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar, Karma by Prasanna Jayakody, Mumbai cha Raja by Manjeet Singh, and Paltadacho Munis by Laxmikant Shetgaonkar which have all won awards overseas and in India.

      

    The Bazaar will be held from 20 to 24 November at the Marriott Resort in Panaji. The Festival itself is being held from 20 to 30 November.

  • Clooney to direct a movie on UK phone hacking scandal

    Clooney to direct a movie on UK phone hacking scandal

    MUMBAI: Three years after Rupert Murdoch shut the News of the World, George Clooney is set to direct Hack Attack, an adaptation of the book by the same name by Guardian journalist Nick Davies, according to media reports. The book is an account of Davies’ investigation into the hacking scandal surrounding Rupert Murdoch’s news empire, which triggered the demise of its weekly News of the World.

     

    As per the reports, the 53-year old will also serve as co-producer for the movie, alongside Grant Heslov with whom he has worked on several previous films through their Smokehouse Pictures production company.

     

    Making a statement about his latest directorial venture, Clooney said, “This has all the elements – lying, corruption, blackmail – at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London. And the fact that it’s true is the best part. Nick is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider it an honour to put his book to film.”

     

    The phone-hacking trial was one of the most expensive in English legal history, spotlighting the close ties between the Murdoch empire and politicians and the no-holds-barred methods of Britain’s tabloid press.

     

    Those affected included the then Kate Middleton, who is now married to Prince William, James Bond star Daniel Craig and actor Jude Law. Murdoch shut the News of the World in 2011 after it emerged that what was then Britain’s biggest selling paper had illegally accessed the voicemails of a murdered schoolgirl.

     

    Two-time Academy Award winner Clooney is most well known for roles ranging from Ocean’s Eleven and its sequels to last year’s Oscar-winning Gravity. But in the last decade the heartthrob actor has moved behind the camera to direct a number of movies including Good Night, and Good Luck, The Ides of March and The Monuments Men.

     

    Shooting on the new movie will begin next year but no release date has been set.

  • Disney to come up with a sequel to ‘Frozen’

    Disney to come up with a sequel to ‘Frozen’

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney Animation Studios is returning to the world of Frozen by featuring Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and the warmth-craving snowman Olaf in a new short film.

     

    Titled Frozen Fever, the film is due in spring 2015. “It’s Anna’s birthday and Elsa and Kristoff are determined to give her the best celebration ever, but Elsa’s icy powers may put more than just the party at risk,” reads a plot description for Frozen Fever provided by Disney.

     

    The short- film will reunite the key forces from the original film directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, as well as producer Peter Del Vecho. The film will also include a brand-new song from Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the Oscar-winning duo behind Let It Go.

     

    The original movie Frozen released in theaters on 22 November and went on to gross $1.274 billion worldwide. It is the 53rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, the film tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on an epic journey alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer, and a hapless snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

     

    Frozen won two Oscars at the Academy Awards including Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (for Let It Go).

  • ‘Indiawaale’: Happy New Year’s latest launch

    ‘Indiawaale’: Happy New Year’s latest launch

    MUMBAI: After creating waves with its grand trailer, the Happy New Year team launched its theme song Indiawaale on 2 September.  Featuring the entire cast of the movie, the song is typical Farah Khan affair – grand and opulent.

    Penned by lyricist Irshad Kamil, Indiawaale has been composed by musical duo Vishal-Shekhar. The track is sung by Vishal Dadlani, KK, Shankar Mahadevan and Neeti Mohan.

    Excited about Indiawaale’s release, Shah Rukh Khan tweeted, “The first song will see the light of the world today from HNY, “Indiawaale.” Hope it entertains you all. Life is the dancer & you are the dance.”

    Talking to the media about the song release, director Farah Khan said, “Indiawaale is the first-of-its-kind song. A dance anthem for sure! It gives you goose bumps and also forces you to get up and dance. It was truly the most difficult song to crack as not only I but Vishal-Shekhar and Irshad Bhai (Kamil) had to think of today’s patriotism and make a song around that. Today what we feel for our country is so different from the sentiments of the ’70s and ’80s. It’s really a song that encapsulates all that makes us uniquely Indiawaale.”

    “I am so excited for everyone to hear the full song because we feel that ‘Indiawaale’ is a dance anthem that can be heard and danced to in a disco, stadium or a stage. It is a song for everyone!” said Shekhar Ravjiani prior to the release of the song at an event.

    Shah Rukh Khan’s much hyped film; Happy New Year is all set to hit the movie screens this Diwali, on 24 October. The movie will see the team of Farah Khan-Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone reunite after the 2007 blockbuster Om Shaanti Om. The key cast of HNY also includes Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff and Vivaan Shah.

    Happy New Year is produced by Red Chillies Entertainments and distributed by Yash Raj Films worldwide. The movie is slated to hit theatres this Diwali in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages.

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  • ‘Mary Kom’ is the most awaited film of 2014!

    ‘Mary Kom’ is the most awaited film of 2014!

    MUMBAI: With the release date just three days away, Priyanka Chopra starrer Mary Kom is already being received with raging enthusiasm across the country. The movie has been listed by various media firms as a film to look out for.

     

    Mary Kom has received immense support from every corner of the Indian film industry. Actors like Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh hailed Priyanka as the ‘#RagingBulbul’ and veteran filmmakers like Madhur Bhandarkar, Kunal Kohli have also expressed their eagerness to watch the film. With elements of intense ferocity intertwined with heart-warming romance, ‘Mary Kom’ is definitely the most awaited movie of 2014.

     

    Talking about the movie, Priyanka Chopra said that Mary Kom has been the “hardest movie of her life.” She trained for hours in the gym despite 18 hours of shooting for other projects over two years to achieve the body and body language of a boxer. All her hard work is paying off as every aspect of the film has been lapped up by fans and media alike.

     

    The movie has also taken social media by storm. Social media is alive with appreciation for the film; the first trailer having received over 45 lakh views on YouTube so far. Every music video has been widely shared and talked about, and #MaryKomFirstLook was the top trend on Twitter as early as 14 July 2014.

     

    ‘Mary Kom’, the film is about the Indian Boxer and Olympic Bronze medallist MC Mary Kom. Depicting her life, struggles, family and her perseverance to be the best – Priyanka Chopra stars as Mary Kom along with Darshan Kumaar, Sunil Thapa, Shishir Sharma and American actor Zachary Coffin. Directed by Omung Kumar, ‘Mary Kom’ is produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures & Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film is scheduled for release on 5 September 2014.

  • Frances McDormand honoured in Venice

    Frances McDormand honoured in Venice

    MUMBAI: Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand has been honoured with the visionary talent award at the Venice Film Festival, ahead of the premier of her new HBO mini-series, Olive Kitteridge which she called the culmination of her life’s work.

     

    McDormand, who is married to director Joel Coen and has starred in several Coen brothers films including Fargo and Burn After Reading, was presented with the Visionary Talent Award for a career that began on Broadway in 1984.

     

    Talking about her new project, McDormand said that she was gratified to be at a film festival with Olive Kitteridge.

     

    In Olive Kitteridge, McDormand plays a witty, acerbic maths teacher in a New England town in a story that spans 25 years, based on a Pulitzer prize-winning collection of short stories by Elizabeth Strout, and directed by Lisa Cholodenko. It is set to air in the US in November.

     

    The actress made her feature film debut 30 years ago in Coen’s Blood Simple. Talking about working in television she said, “Television has allowed all of us to reinvent on our own terms what we want our professional lives to be. For a female elder, action roles in films are limited, but television opens up new possibilities.”

     

    McDormand won the Best Actress Oscar for Fargo and has also been nominated three more times for Mississippi Burning (1988), Almost Famous (2000), and North Country (2005).

  • Mumbai Film Festival raises Rs 1.5 crore in two days

    Mumbai Film Festival raises Rs 1.5 crore in two days

    MUMBAI: Since the launch of a social media campaign to save the Mumbai Film Festival on 28 August, the festival has raised Rs 1.5 crore of the Rs 5 crore budget required. The campaign started after media reported that the festival had been called off due to lack of funds.

     

    The industry at large has pledged their support in ensuring the 16th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival will yet again be marked on the regions cultural and festival calendar.

     

    Well known producer-directors Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, producers Manish Mundra, Vivek Kajaria and Nilesh Navlakha, director Hansal Mehta and noted author and critic Anupama Chopra amongst numerous others have helped in the funding the film festival.

     

    Speaking on these developments, festival director, Srinivasan Narayan said, “I am extremely happy and humbled with the response that we have been getting from the film industry and film lovers in the city at large. We are delighted and grateful to Cinestaan Film Company, Anand Mahindra, Rohit Khattar and Manish Mundra for their generous contribution. Also we are extremely thankful to Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anupama Chopra, Vivek Kajaria and others for ensuring that the festival rises like a Phoenix. Today for the first time ever it truly feels that the Mumbai Film Festival belongs to the patrons and lovers of the festival. I thank each and every one of those who strive to ensure that the festival continues to present the best of World cinema to our Indian audiences”

     

    Cinestaan Film Company, promoted by Anand Mahindra and Rohit Khattar have also stepped in with their support and has committed Rs 60 lakh for the cause.

     

    Talking about the lack of funding in the festival, Cinestaan Film Company chairman Rohit Khattar said, “Anand (Mahindra) & I believe that a festival as important as this should not belong to one sponsor or studio. As the youngest film studio, we would appeal to the larger studios, production houses and, in fact, to all film lovers in Mumbai to take joint ownership. This is our festival and even the smallest contribution would help fulfill our mission. The Mumbai Film Festival has become an integral part of our cinema heritage and as an industry we need to come together to raise it to new heights and nurture it together.”

     

    The Mumbai Film Festival is organised by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) – a trust comprised of Indian film industry stalwarts and was founded in 1997 by late filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Noted filmmaker Shyam Benegal currently heads the organisation.

     

    To contribute, visit http://www.mumbaifilmfest.org/pledge . To contribute via cheque, write to director@mumbaifilmfest.com. The cheque will be collected by a festival representative.

  • No big win at the BO

    No big win at the BO

    MUMBAI: The law of averages catches up with Emraan Hashmi as he delivers another mediocre film. Kissing scenes cannot salvage a bad film. Despite being a stolen idea from a 1973 Hollywood classic, The Sting, the film lacked in scripting and content.

     

    Paresh Rawal made it a bit tolerable but not enough to salvage it commercially. Raja Natwarlal had a below average opening on Friday and dropped by about 20 per cent on Saturday which indicates total rejection. Its release with the onset of Ganesh festival was a bad idea. The film has ended its opening weekend with Rs 14.4 crore.

     

    Other films released, Identity Card, Last Benchers and Trip To Bhangarh met with ‘No audience no show’ status at most centres.

     

    Mardaani, the first ‘A’ only certified film from the Yash Raj banner, fails to generate audience enthusiasm. The film fared average at the box office, but seeing that it is an economically produced film and coming from Yash Raj, which has controlled releasing overheads, it should make the recovery stage. The film collected Rs 22.97 crore for its first week. It added another Rs 5.24 crore for its second weekend taking its ten day total to Rs 28.21 crore.

     

    Singham Returns manages to collect Rs 21.8 crore in its second week to take its two week total to Rs 131.8 crore. Entertainment has collected Rs 1.55 crore in its third week to take its three week tally to Rs 63.1 crore.

     

    Kick has added Rs 25 lakh in its fourth week to take its four week tally to Rs 226.35 crore.

  • Coming Soon: ‘Finding Fanny ‘- the novel

    Coming Soon: ‘Finding Fanny ‘- the novel

    MUMBAI: With the release date nearing, for the most anticipated movie, Finding Fanny, the director Homi Adajania revealed that the movie will also be released in the form of a 200-plus page novel next year.

     

    Homi while speaking about the same said in a statement, “My co-writer, Kersi Khambatta, wrote the novel based on my short story of Finding Fanny, and then we used that to develop the screenplay. My only issue was that I told him to keep the book on ice until the film was out.”

     

    He further added that although he prefers books over films, he wanted people to watch Finding Fanny on the silver screen first. “Now that it is releasing soon, Kersi can sell the novel to publishers. It’s a funny read, and way more convoluted than the script.”

     

    The duo reportedly has an offer by a leading publisher. The co-writer of the film Kersi Khambhatta while talking about his experience on writing the screenplay for the film said, “His process (of adapting a screenplay from a book) gave us a lot of colour, description and detail to play with. It eventually lent itself to a fatter and fuller screenplay as well. Our main motive was to make the movie first. Now that it is done, publishers have expressed an interest in reading the original manuscript of the novel.”

     

    Finding Fanny is all set to hit the theatres on 12 September 2014 starring Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Naseerudin Shah and Pankaj Kapur. The movie is about five quirky characters in the sleepy village of Pocolim. They go out on a trip to find the long last girlfriend, Fanny Fernandez, of one of the characters.