ITV

Category: Movies

  • Duo behind Matrix working on Robinhood tale

    MUMBAI: Andy and Lana (formerly Larry) Wachowski , the duo behind The Matrix films are working on a modern, urban take on the Robinhood myth.


    Incidentally, the siblings have written the script for Hood and will direct the tale. In keeping with the working of the duo, Warner Bros. is not talking anything of the film. They are tapping actors and word is around that Will Smith is one of the actors of the film.


    The Wachowskis have been working on their Iraqi war movie CN-9, told from the point of view of archeologists piecing together events from the US. occupation of Iraq using found footage and includes two male soldiers falling in love and a plot to assassinate George W. Bush.


    Warners has been home to the Wachowskis ever since The Matrix.

  • 200 films from 83 countries at Kerala film festival

    MUMBAI: More than two hundred films from 83 countries will feature in the 15th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) that goes underway this Friday. The festival will have 16 categories under which 207 films would be screened.


    About 14 films including four Indian and five Latin American are expected to compete for the top honours. 


    African-American filmmaker Julie Dash will head the jury that would also include Mexican film director Maria Novara, Thai film director Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Sooni Taraporevala, Indian script writer and photographer.


    While the best director will win an amount of Rs 400,000 and the Silver Crow Pheasant Award an amount of Rs 1.5 million will be shared equally by the filmmaker and producer of the film winning The Golden Crow Pheasant Award.


    German filmmaker Werner Herzog would be conferred with a lifetime achievement award.

  • Tribeca Film Festival director in Mumbai to select films for fest

    MUMBAI: David Kwok, the director of programming, Tribeca Film Festival, is in India looking for films that could be screened at the festival from 20 April to 1 May.


    Says Kwok, “I am here to personally scout for Indian films that can be a part of the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011. I think there‘s enormous potential for Indian filmmakers to be part of a much broader spectrum.”


    Talking about Indian films Kwok avers, “We released Dev Benegal‘s Road, Movie in the US and it got a great response. I think the American audience is extremely curious to know what‘s happening in Bollywood. Films like 3 Idiots and My Name Is Khan have done really good business, opening avenues for other films. 


    About the parameters for selecting a film for the festival, Kwok observes, “There‘s a large chunk of Indian population in New York. Good cinema is good irrespective of where it comes from. My idea is to come to Bollywood and pick and choose a product that matches our sensibilities.”


    Kwock is looking forward to meet Aamir Khan for his film Dhobi Ghat. He is also meeting some filmmakers from South India.
     

  • Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours releasing in January

    MUMBAI: After the thumping success of Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle‘s next film 127 Hours will release in India in January next year by Fox Star Studios India.


    The film that stars James Franco is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston‘s (played by James Franco) remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.


    The theatrical trailer of 127 Hours is being shown along with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

  • Sunny Deol to copyright his voice

    MUMBAI: Taking a cue from Amitabh Bachchan who less than a month ago decided to copyright his characteristic baritone, Sunny Deol has undertaken to follow suit.


    After Bachchan, Deol is one of the most popular targets in comedy shows. He is also popular in radio stations which try to gain publicity by asking people to impersonate him.


    Avers Deol, “I have nothing against people imitating my voice. But then they should know their limits. What upsets me is when they cross the line.”


    The actor was indirectly taking a dig at the radio station that spoofed him and his father Dharmendra that didn‘t go down well with him. Last year, Deol even slapped a legal notice on a radio station asking for compensation damage of
    Rs 2 million.


    Currently busy with the dubbing and promotion of the family home production Yamla Pagla Deewana , Deol will look into the copyright aspect once his film releases on 14 January next year.
     

  • Rajnikant starrer Robot releases in Fiji

    MUMBAI: Indo-UK based production house Highground Enterprise has released Sun Pictures‘ Rajnikant-starrer Robot in the Fiji Islands. The film was released to full houses in four theatres.


    Highground Enterprise CEO Karan Arora stated that during the ongoing production recce for their forthcoming film Let‘s Talk Love which is to be shot extensively in the Fiji Islands and London, they created a strong bond with the Fijian Government due to which they successfully launched Robot. 


    The Fiji Islands, situated to the east of New Zealand, have a population of Indian origin consisting of mainly North Indians. In fact, there is a major Bollywood fan following in the islands.

  • Space Battleship Yamato claims top spot at BO

    MUMBAI: With an intake of almost 1 billion yen ($12 million) in the first five days since its 1 December release, live-action film Space Battleship Yamato has taken the top spot of the box-office elbowing down Harry Potter to the No. 2 spot.


    Opening on 440 screens, Space Battleship Yamato pulled in 791,012 cinegoers by 5 December.


    The big screen version of the classic 1974 film stars Takuya Kimura has already been sold to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, France and Germany, with negotiations in progress for a U.S. release.


    Elsewhere on the chart, Bushi no Kakeibo, a family samurai drama jumped up to third spot. Meanwhile, SP The Movie Yabohen dropped down from second to the fifth place after six weeks of its release.
     

  • Jafar Panahi invited as Jury for Berlin fest

    MUMBAI: Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been invited to join the International Jury of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival by Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick.


    “We hope Jafar Panahi will be able to attend the Festival and perform this important task on the International Jury of the 61st Berlinale,” said Kosslick in a statement. 


    Earlier this year the Cannes Film Festival had invited Panahi to join its jury but he could not accept due to his imprisonment.


    A winner at Cannes for his directorial debut The White Balloon and Crimson Gold, Pinahi has also been awarded by Berlinale with the Silver Bear for his 2006 film Offside.


    His latest short film, The Accordion had its premiere at this year‘s Venice Film Festival.

  • Seventymm.com appoints Bhawna Agarwal as COO

    MUMBAI: India‘s leading online movie entertainment company, Seventymm.com, has appointed Bhawna Agarwal as its chief operating officer.


    In her new role, Agarwal, who was the founding member of Yatra.com, will play a crucial role in expanding the company‘s business interests, developing growth strategies besides launching new products and initiatives.


    Speaking on her appointment Agarwal said, “Online movie entertainment has picked up globally, and in India it is now one of the top internet categories. Seventymm.com has seen good progress in recent past and I look forward to work with its management and board as we get into the phase of rapid growth.”


    Said Seventymm CEO Mudit Khosla, “Bhawna‘s knack of building businesses is well known. Under her stewardship, we look forward to furthering our position as thought leaders in movie entertainment space.”


    Prior to joining Seventymm.com, Agarwal worked with Yatra.com, where she was instrumental in building the business from scratch, providing leadership for corporate strategy, marketing, sales and product development.


    Seventymm.com is India‘s first online movie entertainment service, pioneering the online model in home entertainment. It offers the largest selection of original DVD / VCDs to its subscribers with over 20,000 titles in English, Hindi, and most regional languages.

  • Hindi version of Dhobi Ghat in anvil

    MUMBAI: Going by the fact that English dialogues in Hindi film don’t work, Aamir Khan is of the view that Dhobi Ghat should release in a Hindi version.


    The film, Kiran Rao‘s directorial debut, has about 40 per cent dialogue in English. This had set Khan thinking. He was nervous and apprehensive about the audience‘s reaction to the film.


    The actor-producer is currently busy dubbing the film in Hindi. Dhobi Ghat will be released as a bilingual (Hindi and English) as it was shot for international and multiplex audiences.


    The dubbed Hindi version, that will be ready in time with the original version, will be released in single screens and in the territories where English is not widely spoken.


    Dhobi Ghat releases on 21 January.