ITV

Category: Movies

  • UTV to release Raajneeti on 4 June

    MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures will release Prakash Jha directed Raajneeti on 4 June.


    Raajneeti is co-produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Walkwater Media Ltd.


    Raajneeti stars Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Naseerrudin Shah along with newcomer Sarah. The music of the film has been composed by Wayne Sharpe and screenplay is by Prakash Jha and Anjum Rajabali.


    “Rajneeti is a high drama film with politics as the background and who is more adept and accomplished than Jha to pull off a film based on politics. We believe we have a powerful script and the most exciting cast ensemble of today,” UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur said.


    The film has generated interest prior to launch as the storyline matches to that of the Gandhi family with Kaif’s role similar to that of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
     

  • Click and Toh Baat Pakki releasing this week

    MUMBAI: Two small-budget movies, Toh Baat Pakki and Click, will have to wrestle against Shah Rukh Khan‘s blockbuster My Name Is Khan as they hit the theatres tomorrow.


    Produced by Tips, Toh Baat Pakki marks the Hindi directorial debut of Marathi filmmaker Kedar Shinde. The film is about a middle-class woman Rajeshwari (Tabu), who is obsessed with getting her younger sister Nisha married to a well-settled boy. How the choice of groom oscillates from Sharman to Vatsal and vice versa forms the crux of the film.


    On the other hand, Sangeet Sivan‘s Click is a horror film produced by Pritish Nandi Communications and stars Shreyas Talpade, Sneha Ullal, Sada and Chunkey Pandey.


    The film is the story of a young photographer and his girlfriend. He takes beautiful pictures but when they are printed, they hide a secret. A secret that is so dark, terrifying and menancing that he hides it from his better half in the fear that his past if revealed may ruin not only his life but that of his family as well.


    Among the English films releasing tomorrow are Up In The Air that bagged 6 Academy Award nominations, Lightning Thief directed by Chris Columbus who earlier directed the first two instalments of Harry Potter, and an SPE Films India release Year One.


    Meanwhile, My Name Is Khan is doing strong business. Says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, ” Monday onwards, the Shah Rukh Khan starrer has held well at plexes of big centres, especially Delhi-U.P, Punjab, Bengal and South circuits but has witnessed a marginal decline in C.P., C.I. and Rajasthan circuits. Results from the Mumbai circuit have been extremely mixed. At places, it‘s holding well, while it isn‘t at some.”

  • Artistes behind Oscar songs won’t perform during award telecast

    MUMBAI: For the first time in Oscar history, artistes behind the year‘s five nominated songs will not perform during the Oscar telecast.


    Instead, the nominated songs will be showcased with clips from the films that featured them.


    Nominees for an Oscar in the original song category are Randy Newman‘s Almost There and Down in New Orleans from The Princess and the Frog, + from Paris 36 by Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas, Maury Yeston‘s Take It All from Nine and The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.
     

  • Up among Genesis Award nominees

    MUMBAI: Disney/Pixar‘s Up is one of three features along with DreamWorks/Nickelodeon‘s Hotel for Dogs and Overture/Smokehouse‘s The Men Who Stare at Goats that have been nominated for Genesis Awards.


    Presented by the Humane Society of the United States, the 24th annual awards, to be handed out on 20 March at the Beverly Hilton, recognize films, TV shows and news reports that spotlight animal-protection issues.


    In the feature documentary category, Oscar nominees The Cove and Food, Inc. will compete against The End of the Line.


    “This is truly a benchmark year for feature and documentary films, with animal-protection messages breaking through to mass audiences and garnering Academy Award recognition,” said Beverly Kaskey, senior director of the Hollywood office of the HSUS and executive producer of the awards.
    “The Cove which earned its director Louie Psihoyos a DGA award, is proof that even a tough animal issue like Japan‘s dolphin slaughter can resonate with audiences when it‘s the basis of thrilling, cinematic storytelling.”


    Two animated series came up in the TV comedy category: An episode of Family Guy titled Dog Gone and a South Park instalment dubbed Whale Whores. Rounding out the group is the Monk episode Mr. Monk and the Dog.


    On the TV drama series side, an episode of “Bones” titled “The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken” will compete with multiple episodes of “The Closer.”


    Among TV talk shows, Ellen DeGeneres earned a nom for focusing on Jonathan Safran Foer‘s book “Eating Animals,” and Larry King was included for a show on Alaska‘s aerial wolf hunt.

  • Warner and Odeon strike digital deal

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros Pictures International (WBPI) has teamed up with Odeon cinemas to help speed up the conversion to digital cinema across all of Odeon‘s sites in the UK.


    Under the agreement, Warner Bros will supply digital feature films to DCI-compliant digital projection systems installed at all UK Odeon sites, as well as making financial contributions towards the digital conversion.


    Rupert Gavin, chief executive of Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group said: “While we are starting with the UK, this deal clearly presages deals we are now working on with our other European territories. We look forward to bringing fully digital cinemas to guests in all seven of the markets Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group serves by the end of 2010.”


    Kwan Rubinek, president of distribution for WBPI, added: “We are thrilled to have concluded a digital partnership with Odeon, who share a common commitment to enhancing the theatrical experience.”
     

  • Santa Barbara Fest draws to a close

    MUMBAI: After 11 days and 10 starry nights, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival came to an end. During the course, the festival‘s jury announced films in a variety of categories and awards were handed out.


    Top honors went to Exam directed by Stuart Hazeldine. The film received the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema. The film made its US premiere at the festival with Hazeldine, a native of England, receiving a camera package worth $60,000.


    The film focuses on eight candidates for a job at a mysterious corporation who have reached the final stage of selection. In a windowless room, each candidate is faced with a simple question, three rules and a limited amount of time to decide how far they will go to secure their dream job.


    “We are absolutely thrilled that the first film festival in America that we‘ve come to has embraced our film,” said an excited Hazeldine.


    Festival organizers also handed out the Best International Film Award honouring Letters to Father Jaakob, a film from Finland directed by Klaus Haro. The story traces the life of a female prisoner who receives a pardon for her life sentence.
    Another film that received plenty of recognition throughout the festival was Enemies of the People, a film directed by Rob Lemkin that delves into the events surrounding the killing fields of Cambodia, when the Khmer Rouge killed nearly 2 million people in the 1970s.


    The film received the Best Documentary Award that includes a Blu-Ray authoring package valued at $15,000 as well as the Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award that includes a $2,500 prize.


    Other films that received honours during the award ceremony include The Wind Journeys, Mother, Katalin Varga, Ana‘s Playground and Urs.


    The festival drew to an end on Sunday with the world premiere screening of Middle Men starring Giovanni Ribisi, Luke Wilson, James Caan, Kelsey Grammer and Kevin Pollack.
     

  • Eros in strategic alliance with EMI Music Publishing

    MUMBAI: Eros Music Publishing, part of Eros International, and the world’s leading publisher of popular music, EMI Music Publishing, have entered into a strategic alliance to create new opportunities for songwriters of both the companies.


    By way of a new and exclusive set of sub-publishing deals, EMI Music Publishing will represent Eros’ catalogue of Bollywood and South Asian composers on a worldwide basis while Eros will represent EMI Music Publishing’s extensive catalogue of 1.3 million songs in India.


    The synergy between both the companies will allow both parties to maximise distribution opportunities for their songs and songwriters and extend their reach into new markets by tapping into each other’s distribution networks.


    The companies first worked together last year in South America to secure a synch license for Beedi (written by Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar) as the title theme for Caminho Das Indias, a telenovela that attracted up to 60 per cent audience shares when it was aired in Brazil.


    Avers Eros Music Publishing Executive Director Andrew Heffernan, “Apart from the terrific administration resources at EMI, an extremely important part of this relationship is the emphasis on working closely to develop new markets for our songwriters, new licensing opportunities for our songs and the creative exploitation of our copyrights. Local music currently dominates the Indian market but changes in consumption and new technologies mean that the opportunity for EMI’s catalogue in India is growing. With our local presence we hope to develop new monetisation models as well as expand the creative exploitation.”


    Adds EMI Music Publishing Chief Operating Officer Leo Corbett, “EMI Music Publishing is honoured to be representing the Eros catalogue, which features some of the best Bollywood music around. This is an exciting time in the development and growth of South Asian music, and we are thrilled to be part of it through a global player in the Indian entertainment and media sector like Eros. As an integrated Indian film and media company the ongoing film release schedule ensures a strong flow of new songs, and we’re looking forward to introducing their catalogue to a much wider audience. Working with them will also allow us to create new opportunities for our own catalogue in the growing market for non-local music in India, and provide our writers with valuable new revenue opportunities.”
     

  • DAR Motion Picture unveils first look of City of Gold

    MUMBAI: DAR Motion Picture (DAR), the filmed entertainment division of DAR Media, unveiled the first look of its maiden film City of Gold.


    The film has been shot simultaneously in Hindi and Marathi, with the Hindi version titled City of Gold – Mumbai 1982: Ek Ankahi Kahani.
    City of Gold is the first in a series of three movies that DAR is working on with Mahesh Manjrekar, and also marks the return of the director to Hindi cinema after a gap of four years.


    While the second film is a Bengali-language venture with Mithun Chakraborty in the lead, the banner‘s third project is a yet to be titled A-list starrer, currently in pre-production, with principal photography scheduled to commence in March, this year. 


    Said DAR Capital, chairman Arun Rangachari, “We aim to indigenously conceive and develop benchmark creative concepts, utilise the best available technical and artistic expertise, deploy comprehensive marketing best-practices and utilise a host of innovative and focused content delivery channels, to reach out to audiences not only in India but globally. This is well reflected in our choice of really good content-driven subjects such as City of Gold and our association with highly competent and well-respected directors such as Mahesh.”


    “Furthermore, we have taken a long-term view of our association with the Indian film industry and have in fact commenced working on our next two projects with Mahesh even before the release of City of Gold. Both of these films will be on the floors by the month of March, with the Bengali film scheduled for a summer-2010 release,” Rangachari added.


    The entire film was wrapped up from start-to-finish in a matter of less than three months, and today I am extremely satisfied with how it has shaped up. It definitely has been one of the most challenging and exciting projects I have ever worked on and I personally feel that this is one of the best projects I have executed,” Manjrekar added.


    On the occasion, DAR Capital Group also launched the ‘City of Gold‘ website, cityofgoldthefilm.com.
     

  • Oscar application for iPhone, iPod launched

    MUMBAI: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched its first Academy Awards application, the Oscars App, free for iPhone and IPod Touch users.


    Designed by the Los Angeles-based Omelet, the application offers users a nominees list for each of the 24 Oscar categories, trailers for the 10 best picture-nominated films and the ability to predict winners in each of the categories.
    Users‘ predictions will be saved to a database that can be shared via social networks such as Facebook and Twitter as well as by email and SMS text.


    Said Academy‘s director of marketing Janet Weiss, “We want to connect with movie lovers wherever they are.”
     

  • Nine Korean films for Berlin Film Fest

    MUMBAI: Nine Korean films including The Actresses by E J-yong have been invited to the Berlin International Film Festival, though none of these will participate in the official competition.


    The Actresses was invited to the Panorama section and Hong Ji-young‘s The Naked Kitchen to the Culinary Cinema section. Dooman River by Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu and A Brand New Life by Korean-born French filmmaker Ounie Lecomte will feature in the Generation 14Plus section.


    The films to screen in the Forum section are Our Fantastic 21st Century by Ryu Hyung-ki of the Korean Academy of Film Arts, I‘m In Trouble by So Sang-min, and the documentary Sona, the Other Myself by Yang Yong-hi.


    The short films Math Test by Jung Yu-mi and A Perm by Lee Ran-hee have been invited to the Berlinale shorts competition.