ITV

Category: Movies

  • Actors’ union and major studios avert strike-like situation in US

    MUMBAI: In order to avert a situation that would have narrowed into a strike, the kind that had paralysed the American entertainment industry for over 100 days two years ago in 2008, Hollywood actors‘ unions and major studios reached a new, three-year contract.


    The deal, that provided a six-per cent pay raise and a 10 per cent increase in contributions to the unions‘ health and pension plans, comes into effect from 1 July. 


    The understanding, though, came about after six weeks of negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP).


    “The deals offer increases in benefit contributions, wages and other areas critical to working performers while being responsive to the current challenges facing feature film and television producers,” the AMPTP said in a statement.


    In 2008, the inability of actors and producers to clinch a deal led actors to work without a contract for a year. It followed a strike by the screenwriters that became the country‘s entertainment industry‘s most damaging dispute in 20 years.


    “Strengthening the pension and health plans was our top priority in these negotiations — making such a significant gain in that area was a vital achievement,” said SAG president Ken Howard. “We had to make some difficult decisions, but working together, we?ve reached a deal that will protect our essential pension and health benefits for years to come,” he added.
     

  • Wienstein making Apollo 18

    MUMBAI: The Weinstein Co. has announced its decision to make Apollo 18, a sci-fi thriller that would be directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the Wanted director.


    Set to be shot documentary style, the film unearths lost footage from Apollo 18‘s undocumented and covert mission to the moon, revealing disturbing new evidence of other life forms.


    The film that has screenplay by Brian Miller would be produced by Bekmambetov and Michele Wolkoff, president of development for Bekmambetov Projects Ltd. (BPL).


    The film is slated to begin production this December and would be released in March next year.


    Bekmambetov‘s “found footage” movie deal comes a week after Heat Vision revealed that disaster-movie maestro Roland Emmerich was working on his own secret “found footage” film.
     

  • Action Replayy: Promising theme but low in substance






    Producer-Director: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
    Cast: Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai, Neha Dhupia, Aditya Roy
    Kapoor, Ranvijay Singh

    MUMBAI: Action Replayy has a reasonably promising theme, which could have become a joy ride from 2010 to 1975 and back. But, alas, it lacks in substance to build on this theme and lame efforts at comedy make it pure dullsville till the last few reels when the film gains some momentum.


    Aditya Roy Kapoor does not mind being in love, parenting a child or a live in relationship, but abhors the very idea of marriage. Randhir Kapoor, his girlfriend, Sudeepa Singh’s granddad, sets him a deadline till midnight next day to decide because after that he plans to proceed on time travel in the time machine he has invented. 


    Aditya’s reasons for avoiding marriage have a solid base; he has never seen his parents, Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai, happy or in love or not fighting with each other. His idea of a surprise party for his parents backfires when both fight in front of the guests. Aditya learns that the very beginning of their relationship/ marriage was wrong. He decides to set the foundation right. He hijacks Randhir Kapoor’s time machine and lands up back in time in 1975 when his parents were yet to be married!


    There, he finds his father-to-be is a shabbily dressed, idiotic looking man dominated by everybody, while his mother-to-be is a tom-boy with a couple of make-believe bullies who also treat his father shabbily. Aditya Roy Kapoor sets out to set things right, play cupid to his parents, make both of them fall in love with each other.


    The plot is lost as Akshay plays the buffoon to childish gags. The rest of the cast is too feeble to lead. It is only in the last few reels when Akshay Kumar comes into his element that the film generates some pace.


    Vipul Shah has tried to go into details to create 1975 ambience which is quite off the mark; dressing, hairstyle, peace pendants are more like 1960s rather than mid 70s; also twist dance went out of vogue long before that; Bori Bandar of the 70s with miles between two vehicles? That would be a car driver’s dream!


    Sets, miniatures and surroundings don’t convince. Playing Aandhi number in the backdrop to establish 1975 makes you wish Action Replayy had such songs too, at least one or two! Dialogue could have held this film together to an extent but it is only towards the end that you hear some witty repartees.


    Akshay Kumar is totally out of sync with the character of a loser despite being made to look like one. Aishwarya Rai tries to imitate mid-70s heroines (Zeenat Aman/Mumtaz?) instead of acting like one and manages to be a caricature at best; pouting and making eyes is not 70s acting. Aditya Roy Kapoor and Neha Dhupia are good. Ranvijay Singh is okay.


    Action Replayy falls far short of providing entertainment for most of its part and disappoints.
     

  • Big banner films hope to ride the Diwali festive mood

    MUMBAI: This year‘s Diwali has an air of excitement all around with two big-banner, big star-cast releases in the Rohit Shetty directed Golmaal 3 and Vipul Amrutlal Shah‘s Action Replayy.


    While Golmaal 3 has Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi and Tushaar Kapoor, Action Replayy has Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai displaying their acting prowess.


    For cinema theatres that tend to focus on cashing on the maximum during the opening weekend of a film‘s release, big-banner releases mean reaping in good business.


    Avers Fun Multiplex senior vice president Deepak Taluja, “After Dabangg and Robot, there is an air of expectation all around. People are excited of the two big releases and are in a gung ho spirit.”


    Although the amount of money at stake this year is half the production cost of the three films released last Diwali, the exhibition industry is hoping for a better show. As many as ten big films are due to hit the screens in the coming weeks with hopes pinned on the Diwali releases. Industry watchers say that as much as Rs 1 billion is riding on the two big releases.


    Says Cinemax CEO Sunil Punjabi, ” After a long time, this Diwali is set to be phenomenal. For most of our big properties like that of Versova, we have kept as many as 28 shows per film per day starting from 6.45 am. On the contrary, for our smaller properties like Sion we have lesser shows while for our single-screens we have planned as many as six shows per day divided between the two films.”


    Among the three releases last year, Blue and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna fared dismally at the box-office. All the Best, another big-budget film, managed to bring in the audience.


    This year has been a lacklustre year as far as films are concerned with a few big-banner films like My Name is Khan, Dabangg and Robot doing stupendous business at the box-office while a small-budget film Tere Bin Laden did considerable good business. Other films like Ishqiya and Raajneeti turned out to be average fare while the others fell by the way side.


    Says trade analyst Amod Mehra, “The year has not been so good. The success ratio has been very low. The worst period for the industry was in May and June when two films, Kites and Raavan, bombed badly at the box office. Dabaang and Robot has provided us a ray of hope. Things are looking very promising this festive season.”


    Following the Diwali weekend releases, November will see the release of the Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Guzarish besides Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part 1 in 3D. December will see Farah Khan‘s Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer Tees Maar Khan.

  • Reliance Big Pictures to release Skyline on 12 November

    MUMBAI: Reliance Big Pictures and its international subsidiary IM Global will release their first Hollywood film Skyline on 12 November. The film has been produced and directed by Colin and Greg Strause.


    While IM Global will release the film in the UK and US, in India it will be handled by Reliance Big Pictures simultaneously in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. 


    The film is about a group of friends, who after a night of partying are distracted when beams of light awake everyone in Los Angeles that then attract every person like a moth to a flame. As the night progresses, they soon discover that once exposed to the light they vanish into thin air, as well as extraterrestrial forces that later threaten to swallow the entire human race.


    The special effects of the film has been done by Hydraulx that has provided visual effects for some Hollywood biggies like Avatar, Iron Man 2, 2012, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 300, The Day After Tomorrow and X-Men Origins: Wolverine among several others.


    The film stars Donald Faison, Eric Balfour, David Zayas, Scottie Thompson and Brittany Daniel.

  • Palm Springs to honour Javier Bardem this January

    MUMBAI: This year‘s Cannes Film Festival award winner Javier Bardem for Biutiful, will be honoured with the International Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival‘s awards gala on 8 January next year.


    Said Palm Springs International Film Society board chairman Harold Matzner, “Having honed his skills in a family of film actors, Bardem brings a stinging intensity to his performances. He riveted audiences with his portrayal in No Country for Old Men and continues to raise the bar in his latest film Biutiful. Javier Bardem now ranks among the cinematic elite.”


    Bardem is currently working on a Terrence Malick‘s new untitled film.

  • Unified Pictures in 3-film deal with Bron Studios

    MUMBAI: Los Angeles-based production, sales and finance company Unified Pictures has entered into a three-picture deal with Canadian production and finance house Bron Studios. The deal will begin with A Million Reasons, a comedy film written and directed by Michael A. Nickles.


    While Unified will handle production and foreign sales of all three films, Bron will co-produce and finance the films.


    The film follows a young man on a desperate quest to unlock a memory, an obsession, which turns his life upside-down in surprising ways.


    The film, produced by Unified Pictures founder Keith Kjarval and Bron Studios chief Aaron L. Gilbert.


    The two entities first teamed together with Industrial Entertainment to finance and produce Janie Jones starring Abigail Breslin, Alessandro Nivola and Elizabeth Shue that was screened at this year‘s Toronto International Film Festival.
     

  • Reliance Big Pictures remaking Tamil hit Singam

    MUMBAI: Reliance Big Pictures is all set to remake the Tamil hit Singam with Ravi as director.


    For the project, the production house has signed Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty whose film Golmaal 3 releases this week. 


    Confirming the news, Shetty said that the project will start rolling in February next year. “I will start the scripting soon after my film is released and then we will start,” Shetty averred.


    Produced by K E Gnanavel Raja and Reliance Big Pictures, Singam released on 28 May by Sun Pictures. The film had superlative performance by Surya, Anushka Shetty and Prakash Raj and was a runaway success.
     

  • Ormax predicts bumper opening for Golmaal 3

    MUMBAI: Going by Cinematix, the weekly tracking tool that measures the awareness and interest to watch upcoming releases, Sri Ashtavinayak Cinevision‘s Golmaal 3 is set to receive a major opening on release date.


    The film, which stars Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Arshad Warsi and Kunal Khemu, is high on viewers mind as per the tool from media research firm Ormax Media.


    The film has touched an interest of 79 per cent, the highest ever for any film in the week-1 stage. 


    While Dabangg opened at 83 per cent interest in the week of its release, Golmaal 3 is likely to have a similar score. Therefore, there is a strong indication that the Rohit Shetty directed film will be the second biggest opening weekend grosser of 2010 so far, Ormax predicts.


    As per Cinematix, Golmaal 3 may open to around Rs 350 million net on the opening weekend surpassing movies like Raajneeti and Kites if it gets favourable word-of-mouth on its release day.


    On the other hand, Action Replayy is also slated for a good opening with a good unaided awareness of 46 per cent and interest of 54 per cent.

  • Peepli [LIVE] DVDs India’s first for visually and hearing impaired

    MUMBAI: The DVD of Aamir Khan Production‘s Peepli [Live] will be India‘s first DVD with option for the ‘Visually and Hearing Impaired‘ audiences.


    Released by Excel Home Entertainment, the DVD will carry an inbuilt option that narrates scenes with details about actions, colour, expressions, etc. interspersed with actual dialogues for the benefit of visually impaired audiences.


    Peepli [Live] will be released on DVD and Blu Ray formats and will have bonus features like a one hour documentary ‘Live from Peepli‘, deleted scenes, theatrical trailers, the music launch, interviews and production stills.


    The Blu Ray disc is priced at Rs 799, while the DVDs will cost Rs 299.


    Says Excel Home Entertainment Managing Director M.N.Kapasi, “We are
    honoured with continuing our association with Aamir Khan Productions, after the
    stupendous success of Lagaan on our home videos. We are proud to be part of this path-breaking DVD that will broaden and deepen the association of Indian cinema with visually and hearing impaired audiences.”


    Comments Aamir Khan, “In my interactions in the past with institutions catering to visually and hearing impaired people, we realised a dearth of serious entertainment modes available to them. The ironic situation was that Indian cinema was still a major source of entertainment, even in its unfriendly format for the visually and hearing impaired. We hope to reach out and bridge the gap and are hopeful that this will soon be a norm in all Home Entertainment formats in the coming months.”