ITV

Category: Movies

  • Blu-ray Sales of Avatar creates record

    MUMBAI: After achieving the top spot as the highest grossing film of all time, Avatar has achieved something new. The Blu-ray discs of the title sold 2.7 million units after just four days in stores in North America. 


    Retail sales of the James Cameron blockbuster on Blu-ray and DVD have exceeded 6.7 million units since it launched last Thursday. The earlier record for Blu-ray sales was 2.5 million units.


    The Avatar Blu-ray and DVD release features the film and corresponding menu, using the disc’s entire storage space to provide the highest quality picture and sound.
     

  • Five film releases stung by IPL matches

    MUMBAI: Of the five releases last Friday, none drew any kind of interest due to the final three Indian Premier League (IPL) matches except the Mahesh Manjrekar movie.


    The films that failed to make a mark include City Of Gold, Apartment, Bird Idol, Kuchh Kariye and Muskurake Dekh Zara.


    Says Fun Cinemas COO Vishal Kapur, “Among all the films, Pathshala did good business but the rest failed.”


    Regarding the response to the 3D screening of the cricket matches, Kapur avers, “While it was full house for the finals in Mumbai, at other places it was 50 per cent occupancy. For the first semi-final, in which Mumbai Indians was involved, the occupancy in Mumbai was in the vicinity of 70 per cent while outside Mumbai, the occupancy was around 50 per cent. The other semi-final and the third place match drew around 50 per cent occupancy in Mumbai, while outside it was between 30 to 40 per cent.”


    Observes Cinemax India senior vice president Devang Sampat, “When we started screening the IPL3, the response wasn‘t encouraging. We got only about 15 per cent occupancy. But during the last two semi-finals, the occupancy went up to 70 and 45 per cent respectively. The final saw an almost 100 per cent occupancy.”


    All eyes now rest on Sajid Nadiadwala‘s multi-star cast Housefull that is the first big release after a two-month drought.
     

  • Satyajit Ray Festival from 2 May

    MUMBAI: The Taj Enlighten Film Society has organised ‘The Satyajit Ray Festival‘, that would showcase films of the great master who changed the face of World cinema.


    Beginning 2nd May, that happens to be the 89th birth anniversary of the filmmaker, the Taj Enlighten Film Society will screen Ray‘s films namely Agantuk (The Stranger), Jalsaghar (The Music Room) and Charulata (The Lonely Wife) every Sunday at 10 am at Cinemax, Metro Big Cinemas and NCPA. The festival ends on 16 May.


    Presented by Brooke Bond Taj Mahal, the festival will recreate Ray‘s magic on the silver screen for all the filmmaker‘s fans and film enthusiasts. Directors of various backgrounds from across the country will discuss his outstanding contribution to the world of cinema after every film.


    The festival will also provide movie fans a rare opportunity to experience some of cinema‘s greatest works as they were meant to be seen – on the big screen.
     

  • English version of Kites releasing on 28 May

    MUMBAI: The Hindi version of Rakesh Roshan‘s Kites is releasing on 21 May while its English edition will release a week later on 28 May.


    The Hindi version has a running time of 2 hours and the English just 90 minutes.


    Kites is a story of love that goes beyond barriers, boundaries and cultures. It takes two lovers on a thrilling journey filled with precious moments – and unexpected betrayal.


    While debutante Barbara Mori acts as a Spanish speaking girl, Hrithik Roshan plays her Salsa teacher who can‘t speak a word of Spanish.

  • Sprockets Award for Lola winner The Crocodiles

    MUMBAI: Winner of the Lola at the last week-concluded German Film Awards, Christian Ditter‘s The Crocodiles continued its winning streak in the international festival circuit by picking up the audience award for best feature at the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival. 


    The comedy about a boy in a wheelchair who tries to fit in with a cool gang called the Suburban Crocodiles has already picked up awards at festivals in Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Moscow and Antwerp.


    Sprockets, that wrapped up last Friday also gave the audience award for best short film to The Auction by Canadian director Gloria U.Y. Kim.
     

  • Forget Me Not bags post-production deal prize

    MUMBAI: Producer Rebecca Long‘s debut film Forget Me Not bagged a grand prize at the London Independent Film Festival in the form of a $77,000 post-production deal with LIFF backer Prime Focus.


    Arthouse director Rika Ohara‘s The Heart of No Place secured LIFF‘s award for best international feature while British director Nicholas Winter lapped up the festival‘s award for best director for Breathe. 


    Cosima Shaw took home the award for best actor/actress for her starring role in Ana Begins a story of a young widow‘s passage from grief to rebirth.


    Organised by film producer Erich Schultz, the LIFF aims to provide a platform for budget and no-budget films in the UK.
     

  • Hisss to premiere at Cannes Film Festival

    MUMBAI: Split Image Pictures‘ Hisss that stars Mallika Sherawat in the role of a snake woman will have its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival due next month.
    Directed by Jennifer Lynch, the film stars Irrfan Khan, Divya Dutta and American character actor Jeff Doucette. It is produced by Govind Menon and Vikram Singh Lamba.


    The film is in the post-production stage for the last several months.
     

  • Mahesh Bhatt to make film on Chandrashekhar Prabhu

    MUMBAI: Mahesh Bhatt is set to direct a film on Chandrashekhar Prasad, the student leader from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who was shot dead in 1997 while addressing a gathering in Siwan, Bihar.


    Chandu, being produced by Dubai-based Irfan Izhar, will star Imran Zahid, an ex-Delhi University student.


    Avers Bhatt on making a film on such a topic, “I have been looking for a pithy topic to make a film on. And when these people came to me, I immediately felt that this is just the film to make in this age and time, when we‘re giving so much importance to real life heroes – those who‘ve been shaped by the tools of virtual media.


    “When you have such brave people in places like JNU, then we know that something is right somewhere. He came from that section of society where the real India comes from – where people suffer, dream and die. And yet, he was fearless. He gave student politics a standing. And the fact that he was killed while trying to clean up Indian politics says a lot about how successful he was in his endeavour.”


    The film is likely to go on the floors in six months and will be shot at JNU.
     

  • Polanski lawyer accuses US courts of wanting him to be “in shackles”

    MUMBAI: A lawyer appearing for Roman Polanski has accused US courts of wanting to see the filmmaker “in shackles” after they rejected his bid to be sentenced in absentia for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.


    “One gets the feeling that there‘s the desire to see him arrive in shackles, when there‘s no reason why Roman Polanski should be extradited, none at all,” lawyer Herve Temime said.


    The Court also rejected a petition filed by Polanski‘s victim, Samantha Geimer, to have the case dismissed altogether.


    Polanski, who directed films like Chinatown and Rosemary‘s Baby was charged with raping Geimer in Hollywood after plying her with champagne and drugs in 1977. He later pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor.


    Polanski skipped bail and fled the US for France in 1978 and is now fighting extradition from Switzerland. Affirming the decision of a Los Angeles judge in January, a state appeals court ruled Thursday that the 76-year-old filmmaker must return to California before he can be sentenced.
     

  • Golden Globe winner Rourke to play Genghis Khan

    MUMBAI: Mickey Rourke, one of the villains in Jon Favreau‘s upcoming Iron Man 2 is set to play Genghis Khan in a new film, which is to be written and directed by John Milius.


    Director and screenwriter John Milius who earlier wrote the scripts of 1980s classics Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn, will present a different view of Genghis Khan by looking at the great military leader from the perspective of his son and grandson. Throughout the movie, there will be many flashbacks to his mid-40s.


    The film that will be cinematographed in India and China involves many equestrian scenes for which Rourke has to practice his riding skills.


    Genghis Khan was the founder, ruler and emperor of the Mongol Empire. By the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia and China, representing the largest continuous empire in Chinese history.