ITV

Category: Movies

  • Multi starrers set to attract eyeballs at Toronto fest

    MUMBAI: The 35th Toronto International Film Festival, the ten-day event gets going today.
    During this period, several dozen movies of which many boasting marquee names in unexpected roles — will be screened.


    Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart will combat death of a child in John Cameron Mitchell‘s Rabbit Hole. The Conspirator – directed by Robert Redford will present James McAvoy as a reluctant attorney defending a woman (Robin Wright) accused of involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the other hand Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black makes his directorial debut with What‘s Wrong About Virginia that has Jennifer Connelly portraying a mentally-ill mother.
     


    Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor will share the screen as father and son in Mike Mills‘ Beginners — the surprise being that Plummer‘s character, rather late in life, comes out in the open. Then there is Will Ferrell, in Dan Rush‘s Everything Must Go playing a man who resorts to staging a yard sale as his life falls apart around him.


    Fox Searchlight will be showing off a fall lineup that includes Darren Aronofsky‘s Black Swan, Danny Boyle‘s survival story 127 Hours and the Hilary Swank starrer Conviction directed by Tony Goldwyn.


    Focus will be showing off the psycho-ward comedy It‘s Kind of a Funny Story directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck that stars Emma Roberts and Zach Galifianakis.


    Buyers expect Focus and Searchlight to be very selective about any purchases. SPC, though, is likely to be a much more active buyer, along with IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures, all of which left Cannes with multiple films.


    The Weinstein Co., that entered into a restructuring agreement with its lenders during the summer, will bemaking an impact with Tom Hooper‘s The King‘s Speech which has been getting rave reviews for Colin Firth‘s performance as King George VI.


    Sellers are waiting to watch whether Relativity Media, that acquired several assets from Overture in July and tapped Peter Adee as president of marketing and distribution, will emerge as a serious buyer at this year‘s fest.

  • Oliver Stone, Juliette Binoche to grace Pusan fest

    MUMBAI: The 15th edition of the Pusan International Film Festival, that is scheduled to open on 7 October, will have dignitaries like Oliver Stone and Juliette Binoche as the event‘s guests.


    The Pusan International Film Festival has said on its website that the annual weeklong event in the southern South Korean city will open with Zhang‘s Under the Hawthorn Tree, a love story set in China‘s decade-long ultra-leftist Cultural Revolution that will premiere in the country next week.


    The eight-day programme will close with Camellia, a three-part film shot in the festival‘s host city by directors from South Korea, Japan and Thailand.


    On the whole, the festival will feature 103 world premieres, 82 for feature productions and 21 for short films including special sections on Czech and Kurdish cinema.


    Organizers will also present their annual Asian Filmmaker of the Year award to Malaysian Tsai Ming-liang, best known for exploring isolation and loneliness in slow-paced art-house productions with minimal dialogue and music.
     

  • Biopic of Ronald Reagan planned

    MUMBAI: A biopic on Ronald Reagan has been planned. Mark Joseph, who bought the rights of the books four years ago will co-produce the film with Ralph Winter.


    The feature film, titled Reagan to be made in a budget of $30 million will show the ex-US president‘s life — from boyhood to Hollywood actor to leader of the free world will be based on two best-selling biographies of the 40th US President namely The Crusader and God and Ronald Reagan by Paul Kengor.


    Winter‘s producing credits include four X-Men films, two Fantastic Four films and the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes while Joseph, a marketing and development executive worked on films like Ray, Holes, Because of Winn-Dixie and The Passion of the Christ.


    The film will begin with the 1981 assassination attempt on the ex-president and tells Reagan‘s story through flashbacks and flash-forwards.


    It may be interesting to note that the Reagans miniseries starred James Brolin as the president and was supposed to air on CBS until a controversy erupted and it was shown on the premium cable outlet Showtime.

  • Walt Disney hires Galder to market new Pirates film

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney has hired veteran consultant Valerie Van Galder to handle the marketing of the fourth film of its flagship film franchise Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.


    Disney has had a tough summer with live-action films, with two of its disappointments — Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Sorcerer‘s Apprentice.


    The first two Pirates sequels were global blockbusters: 2006‘s Dead Man‘s Chest made $1.06 billion worldwide while 2007‘s At World‘s End made $960 million.
     

  • Dabangg banned from release in Pakistan

    MUMBAI: The hype of Salman Khan’s Dabangg in India and Pakistan is at an astronomical height, but unlike their Indian brethren, Pakistanis would be bereft of watching the film on Eid, thanks to the Pakistani government’s decision to ban Indian films from exhibition in the country.


    It may be interesting to note that the Pakistani government had recently increased the entertainment tax on Indian films from 35 to 65 per cent. As of now, most of the Indian television shows have also been banned from telecasting in the country.


    Khan’s last film Wanted, when last screened in Pakistan, turned out to be a big hit.

  • Marina Bay Sands to host Zee Cine Awards 2011

    MUMBAI: The Zee Cine Awards will be held at Marina Bay Sands on 14 January.


    The awards ceremony will be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in the Grand Ballroom with a simulcast to the Event Plaza, to allow thousands of fans to dance to Bollywood‘s best beats and get a glimpse of their favourite actors.


    The event, the grandest tribute paid to the world‘s largest film industry, will include a variety of performances from India‘s best choreographed dances to hit songs from the nominated movies of the year with a vibrant kaleidoscope of colour, expression, humour and music.


    Said Marina Bay Sands president and CEO Thomas Arasi, “The Indian market is extremely important to us. We believe that by hosting the Zee Cine Awards here at Singapore‘s new iconic landmark, we are reaching out to the world. We believe that by hosting the Zee Cine Awards here at Singapore‘s new iconic landmark, we have the unique opportunity to present Marina Bay Sands to over 500 million viewers all over the world.”


    Averred Zee Cinema Business Head Mohan Gopinath, “It is fitting that Zee Cine Awards 2011, which celebrates the emergence of Indian cinema on a global platform is partnering with the Marina Bay Sands.


    “Over 500 million viewers across India, USA, UK and Asia choose Zee Network to be the preferred choice of entertainment. This event showcases the cr?me de la cr?me of Indian cinema and provides a platform for the Indian film fraternity to interact with global fans and media.”
     

  • Box office faces dull week even with 6 releases

    MUMBAI: The week saw as many as six new releases, all faceless except Aashayein (John Abraham) and resultantly finding no takers. The films are: Aashayein, Hello Darling, Antardwand, Madholal Keep Walking, Soch Lo and Gumshuda, each having either sectional appeal or none at all.


    While Aashayein and Hello Darling managed to run through the week, the rest were either discontinued or had ‘no shows’ due to lack of audience. While Ashayein‘s collection for the week ranged from 6 per cent to 10 per cent of total capacity, the figures of Hello Darling ranged between 8 per cent to 20 per cent.


    While the much sought after 15 August weekend release date saw only one film release in Peepli Live, the week that followed also had just one, Lafangey Parindey. It is, hence, surprising to see six films cluttering the week. Trade veterans call it poor and suicidal release strategy. 


    3 September saw one major release, Karan Johar’s We Are Family, an adaptation of the Hollywood film, Step Mom. Adaptation notwithstanding, the story is old-fashioned Indian and treated routinely. The film had not been able to generate much heat within the trade during its pre-release stage and it failed to lure the moviegoers despite Kajol appearing in a movie after a long time.


    The opening day collections ranged between 5-15 per cent, peaking on Sunday and falling the same day. The weekend is reported to have fetched less than Rs 100 million.

  • Anil Kapoor in co-production deal with Kevin Costner

    MUMBAI: Anil Kapoor recently struck a two film co-production deal with Ben Stiller who has starred in, written, directed and produced over 50 films including Heavyweights, There‘s Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Dodgeball and Tropic Thunder.


    In his quest to tap more contacts from Hollywood, Kapoor has tied up with Kevin Costner to co-produce the latter‘s ambitious venture, The White Elephant.


    The duo seem to be bonding over the film that is set in India and is slated to be filmed extensively in the country.


    The White Elephant could be Kapoor‘s next brush with Hollywood after Slumdog Millionaire.

  • Pusan to screen six Czech films

    MUMBAI: This year the Pusan Film Festival (PIFF) has chalked out a special programme of Czech films to celebrate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and the Czech Republic.


    As part of the programme, six Czech films have been lined up viz Cinema of Liberalism, An Earthy Paradise for the Eyes, Walking too Fast and Kawasaki‘s Rose.


    PIFF runs from 7-15 October.
     

  • Jean-Luc Godard not to attend Governer’s awards

    MUMBAI: Jean-Luc Godard will not be attending the Governors Awards in Hollywood on 13 November when he is scheduled to be honoured with an Honorary Award said his companion and producing partner Anne-Marie Mieville.


    Though Godard received a letter from the Academy, notifying him of the honour, he has not yet directly responded to the Academy.


    But Mieville said Godard would respond to the Academy‘s letter notifying him of his honour and raised the possibility that someone from Godard‘s production team may accept the award in his place.