ITV

Category: Movies

  • Latest Harry Potter film not in 3D

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros has cancelled its earlier plans of 3D conversion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 because it says that the process would have delayed the film‘s release. The film will now release in standard 2D format on 19 November.


    The studio said it could not complete the 3D conversion in time for its UK and US release date. 


    “Despite everyone‘s best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality. We do not want to disappoint fans who have long-anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey,” the studio said in a statement.


    “We, in alignment with our filmmakers, believe this is the best course to take in order to ensure that our audiences enjoy the consummate Harry Potter experience,” the statement added.


    The studio apparently does not want to rush the 3D experience that could have backfired by upsetting loyal fans not willing to shell out extra for the sake of technology.
     

  • Samoa’s first full-length film underway

    MUMBAI: Samoa, the Pacific Island is to get its first full-length feature film The Orator (O Le Tulafale), thanks to the hard work of its filmmaker Tauti Tusi Tamasese and a group of New Zealanders. The film, financed by the New Zealand Film Commission happens to be the first feature to be entirely shot in Samoa, in the Samoan language, with a Samoan cast and story.


    Tamasese previously made a short film titled Sacred Spaces (Va Tapuia) set in a cyclone- ravaged Samoan village.


    Said Samoa‘s deputy prime minister Misa Telefoni, “The film a beautiful and poignant love story that will provide a moving tribute to the magnificent splendor of Samoa and our people.”


    Produced by Catherine Fitzgerald with associate producers like Maiava Nathaniel Lees and Michael Eldred, the film is the story of Saili, a small man with a big heart, who must find the strength to speak up for those that he loves.


    The film, that will star newcomers Fiaula Sanote as Saili and Tausili Pushparaj as his wife Vaaiga will be shot by New Zealand-based cinematographer Leon Narbey.


    While Australia‘s Transmission Films will distribute the film in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, NZ Film, the sales arm of the New Zealand Film Corporation will handle the world sales of the film.


    The film will start rolling on 27 October.
     

  • Anuarag Kashyap film to open South Asian International Film Festival

    MUMBAI: After winning critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the Venice Film Festival, Anurag Kashyap‘s That Girl in Yellow Boots will be part of the seventh annual South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) in New York as its opening film. The festival starts 27 October.


    Says SAIFF programme director Galen Roesenthal in a statement, ‘Kashyap is at the forefront of independent South Asian cinema. Having his film premiere with SAIFF is an absolute honour. That Girl in Yellow Boots represents transition and Kashyap pushes cinematic boundaries in order to make that happen.”


    Set in Pune and Mumbai, the film is a moving story of the travails of a white-skinned foreign girl called Ruth who comes to India in search of her Bengali photographer father. On her journey, she bribes bureaucrats to extend her tourist visa and learns parlour massage. In her quest, she also supports a drug-addicted beau. However, things change when she comes on the radar of the underworld.


    The film also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Prashant Prakash, Gulshan Devaiya, Shivkumar Subramaniam, Divya Jagdale, Kumud Mishra and Kartik Krishnan in pivotal roles.


    Other movies to be screened at the gala include Saurabh Shukla‘s Paapu Can‘t Dance Saala and I Am 24, I Am Kalam, Paan Singh Tomar and Aamir Bashir‘s Harud amongst others.


    The festival concludes on 2 November.
     

  • Anil Kapoor in Mission Impossible 4

    MUMBAI: Anil Kapoor has been signed to play a prominent role in Mission Impossible 4. The film has Tom Cruise in the lead.


    Earlier there was speculation that Kapoor would be playing one of the villains. But it is now learnt that he will play a supporting role in the film. 


    Being directed by Brad Bird, the film will start shooting soon in Dubai. JJ Abrams will write the script of the film with Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum.


    Kapoor came into prominence when he was noticed in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire.
     

  • Dev Benegal in five-member jury of MFF’s short film section

    MUMBAI: Writer, director, editor Dev Benegal, known for his film English August, has been roped in as one of the judges in the short film section of the 12th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) starting from 21 October.


    Aimed at the youth of Mumbai under 25, the new section called Dimensions Mumbai includes films made on the city by aspiring directors. 


    Besides Benegal, others who form the jury of the particular section are Bishaka Dutta, Brahmanand S. Singh, Ashim Ahuluwalia and Manish Acharya.


    While Datta is a journalist; Singh is known for making a National Award-winning documentary on legendary composer R.D. Burman called Pancham Unmixed: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai. Ahluwalia is a screenwriter-filmmaker with credits like John & Jane and the soon-to-release Hindi film Miss Lovely. Acharya is known for his comedy Loins of Punjab Presents.


    Apart from short fiction, the competition is also open to documentary and animation films. The five jurors will select the top 20 films from the received entries that will be screened at the gala.


    The winner and the runner-up in the Dimensions Mumbai section will receive Silver Gateway trophies and cash prizes of Rs.100,000 and Rs.50,000 respectively.

  • Dabangg helps swell UP govt coffers

    MUMBAI: Arbaaz Khan’s Dabangg has raked in enough moolah all around. The film has done wonderful business in the hinterland, especially Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where it is based. 


    The Abhinav Kashyap-directed film has brought in a record breaking Rs 140 million as entertainment tax to the Uttar Pradesh government.


    In September, the state managed to generate almost Rs 230 million as revenue from entertainment tax, out of which Rs 140 million was generated from the screenings of the Salman Khan film.

  • Ishqiya to grace Cairo film festival

    MUMBAI: Starting 2010 as the first box-office hit, Ishqiya is set to make another international splash at the 34th Cairo International Film Festival starting from 30 November to 9 December.


    The film has already been screened in several International Film Festivals and has got a good response from the audience.


    Says Shemaroo Entertainment Director Hiren Gada, “We are getting an overwhelming response from people world wide. The film has already participated in around five international film festivals and is appreciated by all.”


    Cairo International Film Festival is the oldest festival in the Middle East and has been an inspiration to several other budding festivals.


    This year the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival will have actor Dr Ezzat Abou Ouf presiding over the event while Omar Sharif would function as honorary president.
     

  • PIFF off to a flying start

    MUMBAI: The 15th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) that kicked off last Thursday with an outdoor screening of Chinese‘s director Zhang Yimou‘s Under the Hawthorn Tree will have the presence of an array of international film stars dazzled on the red carpet.


    Yimou set the scene for the nine-day film fest, declaring that the event, “the largest and greatest festival in Asia, was one that gives filmmakers opportunities.


    Organisers have an eclectic line-up of films and special events laid out for the more than 150,000 film lovers expected to attend before the festival closes on 15 October.


    This year there are 13 films vying for the award from as far afield as Iraq and Vietnam. The New Currents award will be announced on 15 October.


    Heading the jury is Japanese costume designer Emi Wada, 73, who won an Oscar for her work on Akira Kurosawa‘s Ran.


    The festival was founded to promote Asia‘s vast independent filmmaking scene and it offers a main jury prize of 30,000 dollars – the New Currents award – to two first or second time Asian directors.

  • Rome Film Festival set to honour Fellini

    MUMBAI: With the first screening of a restored copy and a retrospective of the glory days when Rome was called Hollywood , the Rome Film Festival will fete the 50th anniversary of Fellini‘s classic La Dolce Vita.


    The 178-minute black and white La Dolce Vita, that premiered in 1960, has become an icon for film buffs.


    The fifth edition of the festival will be held from 28 October to 5 November. It will open with Federico Fellini‘s Last Night.


    Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg and Anouk Aimee, the film was considered scandalous at the time but is quite tame by the standards of today, where more flesh can be seen in a television deodorant advert.


    The festival will also include twenty four Italian films made from 1952 to 1980 and a series of exhibitions throughout Rome on the way the city was when the jet set flocked to the capital to see and be seen.


    Besides, Last Night the main competition includes Rabbit Hole directed by John Cameron Mitchell starring Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest and Aaron Eckhart.


    While Last Night is a tale of sexual attraction, betrayal and jealousy in which a couple‘s fidelity is tested during a 36-hour period when they are apart and with other people, Rabbit Hole is the story of a couple who grapple with the sudden loss of their child as their already troubled marriage is further tested by the bereavement.


    The Focus Section of the festival will spotlight Japanese cinema and culture and will hold a special event dedicated to filmmaker Akira Kurosawa‘s birth centenary. The festival will screen the restored version of Kurosawa‘s 1950 masterpiece, Rashomon.


    The major attraction of the Rome Film Festival is that actress Julianne Moore will receive an acting award while Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes and Aaron Eckhart will walk the red carpet to present their new movies.


    The festival that will go underway on 29 October will end on 6 November.
     

  • Anuranan director to make Bengali film Africa

    MUMBAI: National award winning-director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury is in the process of making his third Bengali film Africa and has signed up Rani Mukerji as the star actress.


    Africa is a female-centric film in which Mukerji will play the pivotal role. A few days ago, the director met Mukerji in Mumbai and gave her a story narration. He is visiting Mumbai again in the next couple of days for his next meeting with the actress.


    Talking about the film, Chowdhury says, “I am still working on the script. It‘s too premature to talk about it in detail. Rani is one of my favourite actresses and I would like to work with her.”


    The director is in plans to make two films in Bengali and one in Hindi and is currently working on the scripts. These include Dui Nari Haate Torowari and Ajaana Desh by noted Bengali novelist Sunil Gangopadhyaya, and his self-written Africa.
    Chowdhury‘s first film Anuranan won him a National Award for Best Bengali Film while his second film Antaheen bagged four similar awards for best film, best lyrics, best cinematographer and best singer.