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Category: Movies

  • Uday Chopra’s Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman to open the 67th Cannes

    Uday Chopra’s Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman to open the 67th Cannes

    MUMBAI: French director Olivier Dahan’s Grace of Monaco is to open the next Festival de Cannes. The world preview will take place on Wednesday 14 May, 2014, in the Grand Théâtre Lumi?re of the Palais des Festivals, in the Official Selection category, Out of Competition. Grace of Monaco follows on from The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrmann.

     
    The film portrays a period in the life of American Actress Grace Kelly (played by Nicole Kidman) who became Princess Grace of Monaco when she married Prince Rainier III (Tim Roth) in 1956, in what was dubbed “the marriage of the century”. An Oscar winner, she was already a huge film star, having worked with the very greatest (John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Fred Zinnemann) and acclaimed the world over. Six years later, amid occasional difficulties in fulfilling her role, she was invited back to Hollywood by Alfred Hitchcock, to play in his new film Marnie. At the time, France was threatening to tax and even annex Monaco, the tiny Principality whose monarch Kelly had become. Was she still an actress? Was she really Princess of Monaco?
     

    Produced by Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Uday Chopra and Arash Amel, who also wrote the screenplay, Grace de Monaco sees Nicole Kidman play the role of Grace, with Tim Roth as Prince Rainier. Their co-stars include Frank Langella, Parker Posey, Jeanne Balibar, Sir Derek Jacobi and Paz Vega, who plays Maria Callas. The film was shot in Scope 2.35 using Kodak 35mm film. The Director of Photography was France’s Eric Gautier and the 16-weeks shoot took place in Monaco, South of France, Paris, Vintimille, Gand and Bruxelles.

     
    Born in 1967 in La Ciotat, Olivier Dahan previously directed La Vie en Rose (2007) which garnered Marion Cotillard the Oscar for Best Actress in 2008. Grace of Monaco will be released on the opening day of the Festival, Wednesday 14 May, in France and in several cities around the world. The opening ceremony will be broadcast to participating cinemas, with the kind cooperation of Canal+.

     
    Grace of Monaco is A Stone Angels and YRF Entertainment production. The film is co-produced by TF1 Films Productions, Gaumont, Lucky Red, OD Shots, Ufilm, and in association with Silver Reel – Ufund. Distributor in France is Gaumont and International Sales is with Lotus Entertainment.

     

  • Jai Ho ….Not Quite Salman

    Jai Ho ….Not Quite Salman

    MUMBAI: With an array of blockbusters behind him, the burden of delivering a bigger grosser grows every time a new Salman Khan film hits the screens. Keeping up with these expectations is not an easy task.

     

    Too add more to it, with his latest, Salman, also attempts to promote his personal image that of a charitable pure heart which he is building through Being Human Foundation. That makes Salman’s character too goody-goody; he is all sugar.

     

    Jai Ho has is a remake of Telugu film Stalin which borrowed the idea from  Hollywood film Pay It Forward (2000) about creating a chain wherein every person who receives a favour from someone does favours for three other people when given a chance. The idea is to multiply the do-gooders in the society. That is one side of Salman; the other is that of fighting the evil forces which is represented by Danny and his son, daughter and son in law. This is a dampener since people have stopped caring about politicians’ character.

     

    Salman is an ex-army man, discharged for disobeying the orders of his high command. His intentions were noble, though. He ventured into enemy territory and freed some children held captive there. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time for wherever he goes someone or the other is in need of help. For instance, he helps an armless student, Genelia D’Souza, write her exam paper as her writer has not turned up and Salman happens to be around, dropping his nephew to school. Next, Salman spots a car driver rudely pushing and hitting a young beggar girl. He beats up the driver and here onwards starts his enmity with Danny clan. The driver happened to be his man and soon Danny’s goons are looking for him. The fights are the usual South Indian films kind very much in vogue with Hindi films lately: hundreds of swords and sickles wielding goons vs. Salman and how he annihilates them.

     

    But, this pure heart hero’s heart also throbs for other reasons, the romantic kind. He finds his lady love in his sister’s (Tabu) neighbour, Daisy Shah. There is no coochi-cooing. The romance is pure Rajshri film brand with heroine around mainly to sing songs with Salman.

     

    In between song and dance, Salman has to fight off Danny’s dirty tricks. Salman’s mother (Nadira Babbar) is run over by Danny’s men to warn him to back off while on another occasion his nephew is kidnapped and while saving him Salman ebds up killing Danny’s son in law (Mukul Dev). This adds more fuel to the fire. Even as Danny is desperate to kill Salman, his idea of doing three favours to others catches on; and everybody including the chief minister (Mohnish Behl) are curious to know whose noble idea it was.

     

    The CM, unhappy with the war between Salman and Danny, decides to intervene. Having learnt Salman’s background as a decorated army man he does not think it fair to punish Salman nor does he want his party to suffer because of Danny’s antics. The meeting between the three, Salman, Danny and Mohnish ends with a compromise and Salman has been asked to wait till Mohnish gives Danny a piece of his mind behind closed doors. Danny puts his plan in to effect; kill Mohnish, take his place as the CM and frame Salman for the murder.

     

    The original, Stalin was released in 2006 and the concept has become outdated. What is more, like many South films, Jai Ho also tends to get preachy and that is not what fans of Salman’s one-liners want. There is not much to the story and the first half becomes boring. The villain and his goons provide some mass entertainment. Yes, and there are also some mushy moments. Music is weak with just one song worth a mention. The film lacks finesse. As for performances, the film hinges totally on Salman and he is at his usual physical and acrobatic best. Daisy is fair, this being her debut film. Nadira Babbar is stagy. Tabu and the rest are okay. The film has a few known faces doing cameo roles in Suniel Shetty, Aditya Panscholi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Genelia, Mohnish, providing variety.

     

    Jai Ho, despite Salman, has had a tepid opening response even from single screens; having been made to pay high MGs, the single screens stand to lose their earnings from couple of recent money spinners. 

     

    Producers: Sunil Lulla, Sohail Khan.

    Director: Sohail Khan.

    Cast: Salman Khan, Daisy Shah, Tabu, Danny Danzongpa, Nadira Babbar, Mukul Dev, Mahesh Thakur, Resham Tipnis, Ashmit Patel, Yash Tonk, Haroon Qazi, Genelia D’Souza, Suniel Shetty, Aditya Panscholi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sharad Kapoor.

  • John Abraham to attend the 11th Alumni Meet of Jai Hind College

    John Abraham to attend the 11th Alumni Meet of Jai Hind College

    MUMBAI: We all love memories! And if one gets a chance to revisit them, nothing could be more wonderful that that. Seems John Abraham is trying to just relive his college memories once again. The actor and producer would be a part of Jai Hind College’s 11th alumni meet as the chief guest.

     

    The event will be held at Nehru Centre Auditorium, Worli in Mumbai on February 1, 2014.

     

    John said in a release, “It is an honour for me to be present as chief guest at the alumni meet of my own college. It means a lot to me. Like every teenager I have lived my best and the toughest time in this college and there are a lot of memories associated with it. This reunion is such a great effort which gives us a chance to relive those memories.”

     

    The college boasts of having distinguished alumni including names like Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Isha Kopikar, Kajal Aggarwal, Malaika Arora Khan, Ramesh Sippy, Sunil Dutt, Neeta Lulla, Atul Kasbekar, Hiten Tejwani, Natasha Suri and Ajay Piramal associated with it.

     

    Every year, Jai Hind Alumni Association organises this get-together where the illustrious ex-students are acknowledged for their outstanding performances and for being the torch – bearers of Jai Hind College.

     

    “This is just an effort to build a strong association of the alumni who are now in different parts of the world and are proud to be Jai Hind- ites. This meet takes all of us down memory lane and everyone looks forward for this,” said Jai Hind College Alumni Association Secretary NW Shivdasani.

  • ‘American Hustle’ director soon to venture into TV drama

    ‘American Hustle’ director soon to venture into TV drama

    MUMBAI: Having recently won the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for American Hustle, David O. Hustle, the prolific writer, producer and director is now venturing into television. According to Deadline, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) has given a straight-to-series 13-episode order to a drama project from the American Hustle writer/director and Erin Brockovich writer Susannah Grant. The two are executive producing with Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly. The show, described as “an upstairs/downstairs soap centered on a private country club”, will be co-produced by CBS Studios and ABC Studios. This would be Timberman/Beverly’s fifth on-air series, joining Justified, Elementary, Unforgettable and Masters of Sex.

     

    This marks the first TV series for Russell, with rare back-to-back Best Picture Oscar nominees — American Hustle this year and Silver Linings Playbook last year accompanied by best writing and directing nominations both times. Along with his Golden Globe and SAG wins, Russell is nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Last year, his film, Silver Linings Playbook earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay; he also picked up a Best Director nomination in 2011 for The Fighter.

  • Sajid Nadiadwala’s production unit is like his “extended family”

    Sajid Nadiadwala’s production unit is like his “extended family”

    MUMBAI: Sajid Nadiadwala is busy juggling between outdoor schedules of multiple films, which are being shot all around the world. With such a choc-a-bloc schedule, one cannot help but wonder, how his crew members effortlessly manage to be away from their families for days, sometimes months, at a stretch.

     

    The producer says that the outdoor shooting schedules stretch for more than two to three months on an average. “We end up spending more time with each other than we do with our own families. This would be impossible without their dedication. They are, undoubtedly, my extended family,” says Sajid, who is also getting into direction with Salman Khan starrer Kick.

     

    The films in his bags include: Phantom, an action thriller starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif. The film recently finished its schedule in Beirut, Lebanon and has now commenced shooting in the snow-bound valley of Gulmarg in north Kashmir. Coincidentally, Heropanti, the film marking Tiger Shroff’s debut, is also being shot in Kashmir. It’s a ten-day shoot schedule for both, Phantom and Heropanti and they will be shot in different parts of Kashmir.

     

    Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor starrer 2 States was being shot in Delhi, Chennai and Pondicherry. The Salman Khan starrer Kick is being shot in Karjat and the production unit stays there, despite being only a few hours away from Mumbai. Imtiaz Ali’s directorial venture Highway is in the post-production stage. This film has been shot across maximum number of locations, planned for 60 days but finished in 52. 

     
    With extreme hard work and dedication of everyone involved, Nadiadwala Grandsons Entertainment is all set to present five movies spanning genres, this year.

  • AMC/Sundance Channel Global Announces Exclusive Acquisitions from 2014 Sundance Film Festival

    AMC/Sundance Channel Global Announces Exclusive Acquisitions from 2014 Sundance Film Festival

    MUMBAI: AMC/Sundance Channel Global, the international division of AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX), has announced numerous acquisitions from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival to premiere exclusively on Sundance Channel internationally shortly after the festival this spring. Bruce Tuchman, President of AMC/Sundance Channel Global, made the announcement from Park City, Utah where Sundance Channel is celebrating its biggest year of growth across its international television networks and video-on-demand (VOD) services.
     

    The company has acquired an exciting line-up of six independent films from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The Disobedient, Liar’s Dice, Memphis and This May Be the Last Time have been acquired for all international territories where Sundance Channel is seen. Drunktown’s Finest has been acquired for Asia (excluding Malaysia), Benelux, Eastern Europe, France, Iberia and Latin America. To Kill a Man has been acquired for Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
     

    Tuchman commented, “We’re excited to acquire a terrific selection of movies fresh from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival to debut exclusively on Sundance Channel this spring. The channel shares the same mission as the festival to support the growth of independent film. It also provides a global platform to showcase the compelling work of emerging filmmakers. We’re looking forward to providing an even greater choice of high quality independent films along with first run original drama on Sundance Channel in the months ahead.”
     

    Sundance Channel has experienced tremendous growth internationally in the past year. The network launched for the first time in Latin America and is now seen in seven countries throughout the region on numerous pay-TV platforms. The channel also just launched for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa in 24 countries. In addition, there have been recent agreements to increase distribution of its linear and VOD services throughout Asia and Europe, including Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, France, Belgium, Poland and Hungary.
     

    Below is additional information about each title acquired at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival to premiere on Sundance Channel.
     

    The Disobedient / Serbia (Director and screenwriter: Mina Djukic) — Leni anxiously waits for her childhood friend Lazar, who is coming back to their hometown after years of studying abroad. After they reunite, they embark on a random bicycle trip around their childhood haunts, which will either exhaust or reinvent their relationship. Cast: Hana Selimovic, Mladen Sovilj, Minja Subota, Danijel Sike, Ivan Djordjevic; Distributor: Visit Films

    Drunktown’s Finest / USA (Director and screenwriter: Sydney Freeland) — Three young Native Americans—a rebellious father-to-be, a devout Christian woman, and a promiscuous transsexual—come of age on an Indian reservation. Cast: Jeremiah Bitsui, Carmen Moore, Morningstar Angeline, Kiowa Gordon, Shauna Baker, Elizabeth Francis; Distributor: The Film Sales Co.

    Liar’s Dice / India (Director and screenwriter: Geetu Mohandas) — Kamala, a young woman from the village of Chitkul, leaves her native land with her daughter to search for her missing husband. Along the journey, they encounter Nawazudin, a free-spirited army deserter with his own selfish motives who helps them reach their destination. Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa, Manya Gupta; Distributor: 3 Monkeys

    Memphis / USA (Director and screenwriter: Tim Sutton) — A strange singer drifts through the mythic city of Memphis, surrounded by beautiful women, legendary musicians, a stone-cold hustler, a righteous preacher, and a wolf pack of kids. Under a canopy of ancient oak trees and burning spirituality, his doomed journey breaks from conformity and reaches out for glory. Cast: Willis Earl Beal, Lopaka Thomas, Constance Brantley, Devonte Hull, John Gary Williams, Larry Dodson; Distributor: Visit Films

    This May Be the Last Time / USA (Director: Sterlin Harjo) — Filmmaker Sterlin Harjo’s Grandfather disappeared mysteriously in 1962. The community searching for him sang Native American songs of encouragement that were passed down for generations. Harjo explores the origins of these songs as well as the violent history of his people in this moving documentary. Distributor: This Land Films

    To Kill a Man / Chile, France (Director and screenwriter: Alejandro Fernandez Almendras) — When Jorge, a hardworking family man who’s barely making ends meet, gets mugged by Kalule, a neighborhood delinquent, Jorge’s son decides to confront the attacker, only to get himself shot. Even though Jorge’s son nearly dies, Kalule’s sentence is minimal, heightening the friction. Cast: Daniel Candia, Daniel Antivilo, Alejandra Ya?ez, Ariel Mateluna; Distributor: Film Factory

    These deals were negotiated by Gail Gendler, Senior Director of Acquisitions, AMC/Sundance Channel Global.

    Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of first run original drama and other iconic programming, award winning and locally appealing independent films and documentaries. It is available to pay-TV operators as a standard and high definition linear television channel, VOD service and via mobile and online authenticated streaming.  Additionally, select VOD program offerings are available during theatrical windows so audiences can watch films that are still in theatres from the comfort of their own homes.  
     

    In addition to Sundance Channel, AMC/Sundance Channel Global offers WE tv in Asia, a women’s lifestyle focused network featuring top industry figures in food, weddings and fashion with acclaimed series by Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray and Joe Zee, inspiring viewers with their expertise and innovation.

  • Quentin Tarantino to publish script of ‘The Hateful Eight’ after it gets leaked online

    Quentin Tarantino to publish script of ‘The Hateful Eight’ after it gets leaked online

    MUMBAI: Quentin Tarantino, who won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar last year for Django Unchained, is extremely upset that the script of The Hateful Eight has leaked online and now instead of making the film; he will publish the script.

     

    The filmmaker reportedly is “depressed” as he didn’t want to shoot it until next winter and had just given the first draft to six people from where it got out.

     

    Tarantino learned of the leak after his agent started getting calls from other agents trying to get their clients in the film. Tarantino doesn’t know who leaked the script, but he has his suspicions.

     

    But the filmmaker’s fans shouldn’t be upset as now they will have a well-published script from him.

  • Poster of Varun Dhawan’s next released

    Poster of Varun Dhawan’s next released

    MUMBAI: The official poster of Varun Dhawan’s next Main Tera Hero was released today. The film is directed by his father- David Dhawan- and produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor and will see Ileana D’Cruz and Nargis Fakhri alongside the Student of the Year actor.

     

    Since the father-son duo are teaming up for the first time for this film, Main Tera Hero is being touted as one of the biggest entertainers of the year. In fact, the actor is gearing up to promote the film well.

     

    Along the lines of the film’s first poster that looks quite quirky, the actor was recently spotted at Mumbai’s Crawford market dressed as a vegetable vendor.

     

    He tweeted: “No no it’s just a thought guys I became a patiwala for a day and worked in Crawford market it really moved me. forget movies and heroes the real heroes are these people who toil everyday to earn their bread and butter its really really difficult.”

     

    We wonder if it a part of promoting the movie that is set to hit the screens on 4 April, 2014.

  • Sundance Institute and Mahindra choose 4 filmmakers for global recognition

    Sundance Institute and Mahindra choose 4 filmmakers for global recognition

    MUMBAI: With every passing day, the independent filmmakers are becoming a force to reckon with. The young, emerging filmmakers just don’t satisfy their passion for filmmaking but also put across the message they believe in through their films. And if the works of these young filmmakers are recognised, the work just gets better.

    The Sundance Institute and Mahindra did that only by announcing the winners of the 2014 Sundance Institute, Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, in recognition and support of emerging independent filmmakers from around the world. The four winning directors and projects are: Hong Khaou for the film Monsoon from Vietnam/UK; Tobias Lindholm for A War from Denmark; Ashlee Page for Archive from Australia; and Neeraj Ghaywan for Fly Away Solo from India.

    The awards were presented at a private ceremony at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A. by Mumbai Mantra chairman Rohit Khattar, Feature Film Program, Sundance Institute founding director Michelle Satter, and International Sundance Institute Feature Film Program director Paul Federbush.

    Ecstatic about the honour Neeraj Ghaywan posted on Facebook, “I kept this a secret for a long time but now it’s out. I am at Sundance film festival in Utah. I just got awarded the Global Filmmaker award by Mahindra Sundance. This is for my first feature film Fly Away Solo (Ud Jaayega). This is for us Varun Grover!! Thank you Anurag Kashyap, Dipa De Motwane, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena,Guneet Monga, Aparna Purohit, Avinash Arun, Utpal Pathak, Abhay Tripathi in helping me get to this point. Special thanks to a lot of the cast and crew, who I can’t mention here as of now.”

    Now in its fourth year, the Sundance Institute, Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award is part of a multifaceted collaboration that exemplifies a commitment to and support of world cinema by the Mahindra Group, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in India known throughout the world for its dedication to excellence and to social responsibility, and the nonprofit Sundance Institute, one of the world’s leading cultural organizations.

    The partnership, which also includes the establishment of the Mumbai Mantra, Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab in India, began in 2011. The Screenwriters Lab will announce the selection for its third edition in March. The lab brings together eight Indian screenwriters from across the world to develop their works under the guidance of accomplished international screenwriters in an environment that encourages storytelling at the highest level.
    Each of the four winning filmmakers will receive a cash award of $10,000, attendance at the Sundance Film Festival for targeted industry and creative meetings, year-round mentoring from Institute staff and creative advisors, eligibility to participate in a Sundance Institute Lab, and ongoing creative and strategic support from Sundance Institute’s renowned Feature Film Program.

    “Sundance Institute shares with Mahindra Group a joint global commitment to nurturing new artists,” said Sundance Institute President and Founder Robert Redford.  “India is one of the most extraordinary cultures in the world, with the support of Anand Mahindra and his group, Sundance Institute screenwriters’ lab can support the next generation of their storytellers.”

    “At a time when there is no dearth of issues around the world that are crying out to be heard, the Global Filmmaking award recognizes independent film-makers who give expression to those voices. The Mahindra Group is proud to assist the Sundance Institute in this endeavour, which, in line with the Group’s ‘Rise’ philosophy, aims to drive a positive change in communities across the world,” said Mahindra Group chairman & managing director Anand Mahindra.

     

  • Jimmy Shergill promotes his next with quirky tweets

    Jimmy Shergill promotes his next with quirky tweets

    MUMBAI: Actor Jimmy Shergill, who will be next seen playing a security officer in upcoming horror flick ‘Darr@The Mall’, found an amusing way to deal with the exhaustion on the sets of the film, which was mostly shot at night at various malls in the city.

     

    Jimmy said, “During the night shoots, we all used to be sleepy and exhausted as we had to go about our daily routine during the day too. So, whenever I used to see members of the cast catching a nap in a chair or something, I would click their pictures and put them up on social networking sites, with funny comments accompanying them about how the director was making us work so hard.”

     

    Apparently, Jimmy’s friends and associates found this quite amusing and they got back to him to tell him about how much they enjoyed the funny tweets. Hopefully, they will enjoy the movies that much as well.

     

    The film is directed by Pavan Kripalani and produced by MSM Motion Pictures and Contiloe Entertainment stars Nushrat Bharucha, Arif Zakaria, Asif Basra, Nivedita Bhattacharya, Shraddha Kaul and Neeraj Sood and is slated to release on 21 February.