ITV

Category: Movies

  • Legend Films colours Dev Anand’s Hum Dono

    MUMBAI: Barry Sandrew, founder of Legend films, has coloured the black and white version of Hum Dono with the most advanced technology in US.


    The process has used 65,000 colours while Mughal-e-Azam and Naya Daur had used a scheme of 16 and 32 colours respectively.
     
    Commented Sandrew, “I loved the film and must say that the coloured version has been enhanced a lot in quality and am sure will be a treat for his fans. They would love the film on big screen. It is looking spectacular.”


    Legend Films has coloured films like Holiday Inn, Reefer Madness, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Forbidden Zone and Night of the Living Dead.

  • PVR lines up 8 films for release

    MUMBAI: PVR Pictures has announced the line up of its Hollywood releases scheduled between 7 January and 18 March, selecting eight commendable films from across US and Europe.


    PVR has focused on the niche genres and storylines while selecting cinema from varied international markets for release in India.


    In the running for release in India shortly are Fair Game, Another Year, Somewhere, Rabbit Hole, Biutiful (Spanish), The Way Back, London Boulevard and The Eagle.


    Said PVR Pictures president Kamal Gianchandani, “Distribution at PVR Pictures will be a key focus area in the year ahead. Our selection is customised based on our understanding of the Indian market. Our recent releases like the Twilight series and Step Up were runaway hits and in the coming year moviegoers can expect more than 15 plus Hollywood titles and three in-house produced Hindi titles with reputed directors.”
     

  • Anne Francis passes a way at 80

    MUMBAI: Actress Anne Francis, better known for the 1950s science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet and later starred as a sexy private eye in Honey West on TV died at the age of 80.


    Francis, who had surgery and chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, died of complications of pancreatic cancer, it is understood.


    Forbidden Planet was hailed in Leonard Maltin‘s 2006 Movie Guide as one of the most ambitious and intelligent films of its genre.”


    In Honey West, Francis‘ private detective character was that of a female James Bond.


    Francis was nominated for an Emmy for the role, which lasted 30 episodes.
     

  • Warner Bros top studio for third year

    MUMBAI: For the third year in succession, Warner Bros. has topped the Hollywood studios by market share despite drop in ticket sales even as overall industry revenues were flat.


    The studio led the pack in North America with a $1.89 billion gross, giving it 18.3 per cent of the total revenue pie. Its top-grossing films were Inception ($292.5 million) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 ($283 million). In 2009, the studio claimed a 19.8 per cent share and a total take of $2.1 billion.


    Overall domestic revenue for last year came in just below $10.57 billion down less than 1 per cent from the record $10.6 billion earned in 2009. It was only the second time in history that domestic revenue has jumped $10 billion. However, attendance dropped more than 5.2 percent in 2010 from the previous year, the second biggest dip in a decade.


    The discrepancy was attributed to a stiff 3D-fueled increase in the average ticket price, from $7.46 in 2009 to $7.85 in 2010 (midyear, the average price jumped to $7.95, then went back down in the fall to $7.85).


    Paramount held at No. 2 in 2010 with roughly 16.1 per cent, as its films collected more than $1.67 billion. Its top performers were a pair it distributed for other studios, Marvel‘s Iron Man 2 ($312 million) and DreamWorks Animation‘s Shrek Forever After ($238 million).


    Thanks to Avatar, 20th Century Fox jumped one place to No. 3 with roughly $1.45 billion and a 14 per cent share. Besides, Fox had a lacklustre year domestically.


    Disney rose one place to No. 4, with $1.4 billion and a 13.6 percent share, up from $1.2 billion and 11.6% in 2009.


    Sony fell two places to No. 5 with $1.26 billion and a 12.3 per cent market share, down from $1.46 billion and a 13.7 per cent share in 2009.


    Universal bottomed the chart at No. 6 with 8.2 per cent and a $842.2 million haul.

  • Tees Maar Khan nets Rs 475 mn in opening week

    MUMBAI: Tees Maar Khan, which cashed in on its item number Shiela ki jawani… and the Christmas weekend, started dropping big time from Monday as the new week began.


    Having started off the opening Friday with an impressive Rs 130 million, it dropped to a mere Rs 40 million on Monday.


    Having collected Rs 375 million during the weekend, it added another Rs 100 million approximately to end the week with Rs 475 million.


    The other two films, Toonpur Ka Superhero and Isi Life Mein, went unnoticed, joined by last Friday‘s releases, Ada as well as Bhoot And Friends.

  • Film delegation meets state CM Chavan

    MUMBAI: A delegation led by filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Ramesh Sippy met the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan recently and apprised him of various issues including the high entertainment tax in the state, harassment by political parties and high-handedness of police at the government-run Film City at Goregaon.


    The CM was handed over a letter signed by Yash Chopra, Sippy and Bhatt listing their grievances. According to the film fraternity, the high-handedness has resulted in unhealthy environment prevailing in the Film City. They also complained about the arbitrary treatment and arrests of the workers to squeeze money by the local police.


    At the meeting, also attended by Industries Minister Narayan Rane, the CM assured the delegation that he would look into their grievances and said more discussions would be arranged to resolve issues affecting the industry.


    Talking to the press, an official of the revenue department stated that the issues were serious in nature and needed to be addressed immediately. “While the industry gets huge tax rebate and other incentives for shooting in other states, Maharashtra was known for levying huge taxes. “We have failed to have studios like Ramoji Filmcity in Andhra Pradesh in the state,” he exclaimed.

  • Two Indian films to vie for Tiger awards at Rotterdam Film Fest

    MUMBAI: The Image Threads by Vipin Vijay has made it to the Tiger Awards Competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2011.


    Other films in the Tiger Awards Competition are: The Journals of Musan by Park Jungbum (South Korea), Bleak Night by Yoon Sung-hyun (South Korea), Flying Fish by Sanjeewa Pushpakamara (Sri Lanka), Eternity by Sivaroj Kongsakul (Thailand), Rainy Seasons by Majid Berzagar (Iran) and Headshots by Lawrence
    Tooley Germany/Austria).


    Three equal Tiger Awards (15,000 Euros) will be awarded to the winning filmmakers in this category.


    Mumbai-born Natasha Mendonca’s Jan Villa has found a place in Tiger Awards competition for short films. In the short film category, the jury will hand out the three equal Tiger Awards for short films (3,000 Euros) to the winning filmmakers.


    More titles would be anounced later in January. The 40th edition of the festival will be held from 26 January to 6 February.
     

  • 5,755 Oscar ballots mailed

    MUMBAI: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has mailed Oscar nomination ballots to the group‘s 5,755 voting members. Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 pm on 14 January.


    Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted. 


    AMPAS said that PricewaterhouseCoopers has already taken steps to ensure that no duplicate ballots were mailed out and that none was missing. Additionally, the ballots are numbers to guarantee that each one is sent to the correct voter.


    The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on 25 Januarywhile the awards show will air live on 27 February.


     

  • Imax stocks surge

    MUMBAI: Amid reports that Sony Corp. and Walt Disney Co. were eyeing to acquire Imax Corp., the giant-screen exhibitor expressed surprise of its stocks drifting north wards.


    Upon asked by the Toronto Stock Exchange to explain recent heavy trading in its stock, including one last Friday when it recorded a high of $32.30, Imax said it “is not aware of any corporate developments to account for this activity.”It added that it does not comment on rumors or speculation, and so would not comment further. 


    It is reported that Sony may offer $40 per share for the large-format theatre chain, while the Walt Disney Co. was also ready to pay more.In 2009, Imax had denied that it was in acquisition talks with Walt Disney after it became the subject of faux press release issued online.


    The most recent takeover speculation swirling round Imax comes on the heels of the exhibitor‘s reaching a number of milestones following a long 70 mm film-to-digital transition and an impressive expansion in 3D exhibition.


    Imax, in recent quarters, has pointed to sustained earnings growth from joint revenue-share theatres and re-mastering and releasing Hollywood films in its extra-big format.


     

  • K Balchander to get ANR award

    MUMBAI: This year‘s ANR International award will be conferred on K Balchander, maker of films like Ek Duuje Ke Liye, Ek Nai Paheli and Haar Jeet in Hindi and Iru Kodugal, Apoorva Raagangal, Thaneer Thaneer, Achamillai Achamillai, Ethir Neechal, Sindhu Bhairavi and Arangetram in Tamil. 


    The award was announced by Telugu icon Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR), on whose name the award has been instituted.


    The award will be presented to Balchander on 11 January by the Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy at Shilpakalavedika in Hyderabad.


    Balchander had introduced Kamal Haasan to Telugu audience with Marocharithra. He also brought Jayaprada, Prakash Raj and Jayasudha in the industry.