ITV

Category: Movies

  • National film awards for 2008 presentation later this week

    NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil will present the Dadasaheb Phalke Award to legendary Cinematographer V K Murthy and the National Film Awards for 2008 in a ceremony at the Vigyan Bhavan here on 19 March.


    The Bengali film ‘Antaheen’ by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury got the best feature film while ‘AFSPA 1958’ by Haabam Paban Kumar was named as the best non-feature film award for the 2008.


    Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources said that the process for selection of the best awards for 2009 will begin shortly thereafter and the awards will be presented by September this year, thus bringing up-to-date the process delayed by a Court case.


    Bala who directed the Tamil film ‘Naam Kadauul’ was named best director, while Upendra Limaye and Priyanka Chopra got the best actor and actress awards respectively for the films ‘Jogva’ in Marathi and ‘Fashion’ in Hindi in the 56th National Film Awards announced here this afternoon. Shams Patel won the best child artiste award for the film ‘Thanks Maa’ in Hindi.


    The award for the film providing popular and wholesome entertainment went to the Hindi ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’ by Dibakar Banerjee. The Malayalam film ‘Bioscope’ by K M Madhusudhanam won a special jury award.


    Hindi films continued to dominate the feature films, with as many as 13 awards while Marathi films got six (five for one film ‘Jogva’ by Rajeev Patil) and Bengali films got five (four for ‘Antaheen’ which had also featured in the Indian Panorama at the last International Film Festival of India at Goa). Tamil films got three awards, followed by Assamese, Malayalam, and Kannada films with two each, while English, Kokoborok, Tulu, and Oriya got one award each. One award (best film on family values) went to a bilingual English-Gujarati film ‘Little Jijou’ by Sooni Tarporevala.


    ‘Bollywood Melodies’ by Ganesh Anantharaman got the award for the best book on cinema while the book “The Director’s Mind” by Ujjal Chakraborty got a special mention. The Assamese critic Altaf Mazid and Manipuri critic R K Bidur Singh shared the best film critic award.


    The Indira Gandhi award for the first film of a director went to Neeraj Pandey for his gripping Hindi thriller ‘A Wednesday’ while the Nargis Dutt Award for the best feature on national integration was taken by Assamese film ‘Aai Kot Nai’ by Manju Borah.


    Interestingly, a film directed by the Indian subsidiary of a foreign production house – Walt Disney- got an award (‘Roadside Romeo’ by Jugal Hansraj as best Animation film) while the film ‘Land Gold Women’ on honour killings in the United Kingdom made by a British-based Indian, Avantika Hari, got the award for best English film.


    The Marathi film ‘Jogva’ by Rajeevi Patil got five awards: best film on social values (age old social customs), actor Upendra Limaye, male playback singer Hariharan, and music direction by Ajay and Atul. Playback singer Shreya Ghoshal won the award for both ‘Jogva’ as well as ‘Antaheen’.


    ‘Antaheen’ also received awards for cinematography by Avik Mukhopadhyay, and lyrics by Anindya Bannerjee and Chandranil Bhattacharya.


    ‘Fashion’ also received the award for supporting actress Kangana Ranaut. ‘Firaq’ by the Nandita Das who is now chairperson of the Children’s Film Society, India, won two awards: editing by A Sreekar Prasad who had until now won the largest number of national awards for any single film editor, and art direction by Gautam Sen.


    The monumental ‘Jodha Akbar’ by Ashutosh Gowarikar won awards for costume design by Neena Lulla and choreography by Chinni Prakash and Rekha Prakash. ‘Rock On’ by Abhishek Kapoor won the Best Hindi film award as well as the supporting actor award for Arjun Rampal.

  • Fifth WIFF to celebrate India

    MUMBAI: The fifth Women‘s International Film & Arts Festival (WIFF), that will be held at Miami from 26 March to 3 April, will celebrate India with exhibition of India-focused films on 29 March, according to reports.


    Concerned films will include The Shadow Effect, Can She Be Saved, Goddess Menstrual Show, Astronaut Pam: Countdown to Commander, Sindoor and Land Gold Women. 


    The event that brings together women from all over the world, is an annual cultural event featuring films, visual and performance arts and other artistic expressions by women to celebrate women and help them realise their dreams, visions and voices.


    Founded by Yvonne McCormack-Lyons, WIFF 2010 will include nine days of film viewings in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties of Florida (USA) as well as workshops, panel discussions, and symposia conducted by industry professionals.

  • Movie tickets on mobile soon

    MUMBAI: Very soon, Fandango, the online movie tickets service, will allow consumers in places to buy tickets online and send them to their cell phones via a text or picture message.


    The service will launch in New York, San Diego, Bakersfield, Calif., Sacramento, Calif., Dallas, Houston, New Jersey‘s Somerset County and Hawaii. Among participating theatres are Angelika Film Centers in New York, Dallas and Houston.


    On arrival to the theatre, the bar code on the cell phone will be scanned by theatre ticket-checkers thus saving moviegoers the pain to print tickets at home.


    Most mobile services will dish out the service, with a modest fee, it is understood.


    Said Fandango COO Rick Butler, “Mobile ticket will be one more Fandango convenience that moviegoers will enjoy. Our cell phones are with us all the time, so what better way to ensure you have your movie ticket?”
     

  • Hong Kong fest to honour Amitabh Bachchan

    MUMBAI: 2010 seems to be the year when lifetime achievement awards are coming in hordes to Amitabh Bachchan.


    On 12 March it was announced that the sixth Muscat International Film Festival will honour Big B with the lifetime achievement award.


    And now, the Hong Kong International Film Festival too has decided to confer Bachchan with the same honour.


    Bachchan will be presented with the award at the event‘s Asian Film Awards, to be presented on 22 March.


    Says Bachchan in his blog, “It is the year of Lifetime Awards ( LTA ). Hong Kong‘s Asian Film Festival now wishes to honour me with similar recognition before the end of the month. Yet another moment when the Indian tricolour shall earn recognition on foreign soil. A moment of pride for me, a fraternity of which I am a part and a country whose citizenship I cherish.”


    Bachchan has appeared in more than 100 movies in a career spanning four decades. He recently starred in Paa that got him the best actor award from Screen as well as Filmfare.
     

  • Jaden Smith named ‘Breakthrough Male Star of the Year’

    MUMBAI: Jaden Smith, the young lad whose performance in The Karate Kid captivated the audience has been named ‘ShoWest Breakthrough Male Star of the Year‘.


    He will be presented with the award next Wednesday at the exhibitors‘ convention to be held in Las Vegas‘ Bally‘s and Paris Las Vegas hotels. ShoWest also will screen Kid the same day.


    Said managing director of the event, Robert Sunshine, “Jaden Smith is an exceptional young actor who has delivered a true breakout performance with his portrayal of Dre Parker in The Karate Kid.”


    The son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Jaden made his feature film debut opposite his father in The Pursuit of Happyness and went on to star in the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
     

  • San Luis Film Fest to honour Alan Arkin

    MUMBAI: The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival will honour Alan Arkin on 20 March where he is slated to receive the King Vidor Career Achievement Award, which honors excellence in filmmaking.


    Past recipients include Malcolm McDowell, Peter Fonda and Morgan Freeman.


    The 75 year-old actor won the Academy Award gold for his performance as an irascible grandfather in Little Miss Sunshine.


    Arkin‘s path from unknown to industry mainstay has been a circuitous one. Over the years, Arkin has branched out into directing, producing and screenwriting. He‘s also written several books including the likes of The Lemming Condition and Halfway Through the Door: An Actor‘s Journey Toward Self.


    Best known for his roles in films like Catch 22, Edward Scissorhands and Glengarry Glen Ross, Arkin, more recently starred in Get Smart Marley and Me and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.


    Arkin made his film debut in 1966‘s The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming that earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He received his second Oscar two years later for The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.

  • Lifetime achievement award for Amitabh Bachan at Muscat fest

    MUMBAI: There seems to be no stopping for Amitabh Bachchan. Close on the heels of bagging the Filmfare best actor award, Amitabh Bachchan is going to add another feather on his cap.


    Bachchan will be honoured with the life time achievement award at the sixth edition of the Muscat International Film Festival, to be held from 13 to 20 March.


    “In a few days it will be Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman and the International Film Festival, where there shall be decoration for a Lifetime of Achievement,” Bachchan wrote on his blog.


    Big names from the world film industry like Mohanlal, Resul Pookutty, Antonino Sucameli, Franko Nero and Masdah Azahbah will be attending the festival.


    A total of 72 films from 20 countries will be screened at the festival, organised by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in cooperation with the Oman Film Society (OFS) and the International Film Fraternity of Oman (IFFO).


    Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi is the president of the jury of the international section of films in competition.

  • David Bryan to make B’wood debut with Abbas Tyrewala’s next

    MUMBAI: Bollywood filmmaker Abbas Tyrewala has roped in David Bryan, the supervising art director for the Oscar-winning film The Hurt Locker, as production designer for his next venture, 1-800-Love.


    Starring John Abraham as the lead protagonist, the film is a romantic comedy based in London.


    “We wanted to portray the real London that is rarely seen. It‘s an amazing city with very diverse locations. In particular, we were looking for a real iconic studio apartment for our lead actor John Abraham,” Bryan said in a press release.
     

  • Now ads in theatres also in 3D

    MUMBAI: Not only are films jumping the 3D bandwagon, theaters are gearing up to attract moviegoers and lure advertisers with a unique method to promote brands.


    National CineMedia will premiere its first 3D spot on 2 April made by Starcom MediaVest Group for Samsung Electronics to promote a 3D LED TV. The ad that will run till July will play in select AMC, Cinemark and Regal theatres. 


    The 30-second Samsung 3D spot, titled Wonder-full was created by Leo Burnett asks the viewer, “Ever wonder how amazing it would be to experience life in another dimension?”


    Said NCM Media Networks president of sales and marketing Cliff Marks, “3D is just the latest arrow in the quiver for marketers to use to engage movie audiences; it will be exciting to see how exceptional brands like Samsung continue to evolve creatively in our larger-than-life medium.”

  • Alice in Wonderland set to remain at the top

    MUMBAI: Alice in Wonderland is bound to make hay in its second week ay the weekend box-office despite four new releases hitting theaters today.


    The latest collaboration between director Tim Burton and Johnny Depp opened with a gross of $116 million last weekend. Industry insiders are of the opinion that the intake of Alice will fall by half or less in its second weekend. As a result, the the Disney 3D film might total around $200 million in its first 10 days.


    Meanwhile among the new releases, Matt Damon‘s Iraq War thriller Green Zone looks the strongestand could open with an intake of $14 million-$16 million.


    The other release Fox Searchlight’s Forest Whitaker vehicle Our Family Wedding targeting urban demos could rope in $11 million or more.


    Summit Entertainment is releasing Remember Me starring Robert Pattinson with prospects of fetching a similar sum.


    Paramount is also releasing She‘s Out of My League that has a youthful cast. It is likely to register a mere $8 million or something nearby till Sunday.


    I may be interesting to note that Summit and Canadian partner Maple have increased the number of screens of the Oscar winner The Hurt Locker to 348 screens up from 275 last weekend.