ITV

Category: Production House

  • Wizcraft to create Bollywood entertainment show for Dubai Parks & Resorts

    Wizcraft to create Bollywood entertainment show for Dubai Parks & Resorts

    NEW DELHI: Dubai Parks and Resorts, which is set to be the region’s largest multi-themed leisure and entertainment destination when it opens in October 2016, has joined hands with Wizcraft International Entertainment to create a Bollywood show for the Rajmahal Theatre.

     

    In an agreement between the two, the Rajmahal Theatre situated in Dubai’s Bollywood Parks will reflects the beauty and wonder of India’s culture and architectural heritage. 

     

    The first Broadway-style theatre of its kind in the region, the 60,000-square-foot Rajmahal Theatre will feature state-of-the-art LED stage backdrops, along with VIP boxes and exclusive lounges for private events and galas.

     

    Wizcraft uses the latest live entertainment technology to create immersive entertainment experiences for audiences across the globe.

     

    Dubai Parks and Resorts CEO Raed Al Nuaimi said, “We are committed to providing an unforgettable experience for our guests, and we have partnered with the most creative minds in the industry that have a proven track record of producing world-class shows  and  events. We are very pleased to bring Wizcraft on board this unique project and we look forward to experiencing the excitement of the show when the first curtain rises.”

     

    Wizcraft director Viraf Sarkari added, “Wizcraft has produced some of the world’s largest shows and events, and we look forward to creating the largest Bollywood musical ever produced. We are very pleased to bring the magic of Bollywood to audiences in Dubai, and we are proud to partner with Dubai Parks and Resorts.” 

     

    Alongside Bollywood Parks Dubai, the first phase of this unprecedented project will include LegoLand Dubai and motiongate Dubai – connected by Riverland Dubai, a retail, dining and entertainment walkway. The development will also feature Lapita, a Polynesian-themed resort catering to families. Dubai Parks and Resorts is projected to attract 6.7 million visits during its first full year of operation.

     

  • Prime Focus sells UK broadcast post production biz to blue 2.0

    Prime Focus sells UK broadcast post production biz to blue 2.0

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus has sold its UK broadcast post production business to a new company called blue 2.0.

     

    Under the terms of the agreement, which both parties expect to be finalised in two weeks, blue 2.0 will take over the Prime Focus UK Broadcast facility at 58 Old Compton Street and the provision of its long-form, drama, short-form, entertainment and DI services.

     

    The new company will employ the majority of the current Prime Focus staff at Old Compton Street, and the phased transition of the business to the new owners will begin immediately. The specific terms of the transaction have not been disclosed and they do not exceed prudent financial materiality thresholds.

     

    Prime Focus is retaining its content services offering (which provides services to long-standing clients such as the BFI and the Imperial War Museum), and a number of large-scale contracts with clients such as Red Bee Media, a major car manufacturer and a global consumer product brand. These contracts will continue to be serviced by Prime Focus staff from the company’s facility at 2 Bourchier Street.

     

    Prime Focus managing director Ramki Sankaranarayanan said, “Following an extensive process in which we have considered a number of offers, Prime Focus has reached an agreement for the sale of its UK Broadcast Post offering. We would like to thank all of our UK Broadcast clients for their support over the years, and assure them that the phased transition of the business to the new owners has been constructed to be as seamless as possible. The divestment of this business allows us to concentrate our full efforts on our core creative services divisions (Prime Focus World and Double Negative) and our cloud technology business (Prime Focus Technologies) in addition to the broad spectrum of media services business in India.”

     

    blue 2.0 managing director Parvinder Bhatia added, “This deal marks the return of the iconic ‘blue’ brand in a new digital avatar – ‘blue 2.0’. Backed by a group of private equity investors, blue 2.0 will offer broadcast clients a boutique post production offering with a focused approach and a personalized service. blue 2.0 plans to be a major new player in the Broadcast post production space and plans are underway to add more capacity and additional service offerings such as VFX to the existing post offering very soon.”

     

    Having served as managing director of Prime Focus UK broadcast post production services for the last four years, Rowan Bray is moving on to explore new opportunities. Sankaranarayanan said: “I would like to thank Rowan for her commitment and tireless hard work over the last four years. Her dedication to providing the highest levels of customer service has been greatly appreciated, and we wish her all the best with the new opportunities that she is considering.”

  • Bomanbridge Media continues Asia expansion; opens India office

    Bomanbridge Media continues Asia expansion; opens India office

    MUMBAI: Singapore-based content distribution agency Bomanbridge Media as part of its Asia expansion has opened an office in Mumbai. It will be headed by TV veteran Arpit Agarwal as Bomanbridge Media director of sales for South Asia.

     

    India is the fourth country in Asia where the company will have a base, after recently launching offices in Korea and Mongolia, in addition to its headquarters in Singapore. The further expansion follows recent investment by Hera Capital, which is also funding the company’s international lifestyle and cooking show Haute & Saucy with Kelly Randall Sia.

     

    Agarwal, who has worked in various capacities at Fremantle India, Balaji Telefilms, Bang Singapore and Sahara One, comes with over 18 years of experience in creating and managing both mass and niche television content in India and in Singapore. He also headed business development at Starcut Asia Pacific – a Nokia subsidiary and is credited for creating Singapore’s first made-for-mobile series Kumarsutra.  Agarwal began his career as a reporter, producer and host at NDTV in New Delhi, India.

     

    “This entrance into South Asia, and especially India, is the beginning of very exciting times for us at Bomanbridge. With assured improvements in TV measurement, and decreasing carriage costs, we are witnessing not only a surge in demand for niche content but also the need for product differentiation through innovation amongst the major GEC players. India has always been one of our stronger territories in the region and we look forward to enhancing our presence there to better serve our partners. Arpit brings extensive television experience and we look to him to bring us to the next level. Our team is now stronger than ever, ready to serve the entire Asian region with the best programming, and with people on the ground in several countries,” said Bomanbridge Media CEO Sonia Fleck.

     

    Agarwal added, “I am very pleased to join Bomanbridge Media, a company that is respected across the broadcasting fraternity of Asia as exclusive representatives of renowned content from around the world. Sonia and her team have a firm handle on the territory and I look forward to adding value and growing the business further in India and the region.”

     

  • GoQuest Media licenses crime drama series ‘Ezel’ to Ugandan channel

    GoQuest Media licenses crime drama series ‘Ezel’ to Ugandan channel

    MUMBAI: The month of April will see a popular Ugandan channel being thronged by its viewers as GoQuest Media, an India based television content sales agency, has licensed Ezel – a Turkish crime drama series to a popular channel in Uganda.

     

    GoQuest Media Ventures, licenses TV series and Bollywood films to territories across the world. With the Ezel deal, the company claims to have broken the shackles of regional boundaries and are determined to expand the variety of their content offerings to clients all over the world. 

     

    Turkish dramas have proven popularity across the world. We have sold more than 1000 hours of Indian content in Africa. We now hope to do the same with content from other countries,” said GoQuest Media managing director Vivek Lath.

     

    The show is based on Alexander Dumas’ masterpiece Count of Monte Cristo. After betrayal by his best friends and the love of his life, Omer returns with a new face, new identity and with a flawless revenge plan. GoQuest Media has licensed Ezel from the global drama and formats distributor, Eccho rights.

     

    Eccho Rights managing director Fredrik Af Malmborg added, “Ezel is an amazing TV series that has been a success in every territory it has launched so far, most recently in South America where the daily ratings is above 25 per cent. We are excited about the development in Africa and are confident it will work also in Uganda.”

  • Graphic India raises $2.8 million to create mobile content

    Graphic India raises $2.8 million to create mobile content

    MUMBAI: Graphic India has closed a new seed-financing round of $2.8 million. 

     

    The financing was led by CA Media, the Asian investment arm of Peter Chernin’s The Chernin Group that had picked up a stake in Graphic India in 2013, and Michael Maher’s New York based Start Media. The other investors in the seed-financing include Backflip Studios Julian Farrior and Dale Thoms.

     

    The funds raised will be utilised to create content in English, Hindi, Tamil and other Indian languages for the Indian youth to consume on their mobile devices. India has more than 850 active mobile connections and 550 million people under the age of 25.

     

    Graphic India is looking at launching a new wave of enduring characters and mythic heroes for audiences in India and around the world.

     

    Graphic India CEO and co-founder Sharad Devarajan said, “The next Steven Spielberg, JK Rowling, Stan Lee or Miyazaki exists somewhere in India, ready to change the world through their stories. At Graphic, we will find these breakthrough talents and give them the resources and the digital platform to share their creativity with the world. This new financing will expand our content offering and allow us to create India’s premiere mobile platform for comics and animation – engaging and building a passionate community of superhero, sci-fi and mythology fans through Graphic’s content and characters.”

     

    Over the next few months, Graphic India will unveil a number of digital products and apps in India to build direct engagement with the growing community of comic book and animation fans in the country.

     

    “We have always believed in the immense potential of Graphic India. An amalgamation of talent and creativity, the characters, heroes and stories from Graphic India, tap into the unique ingenuity and culture of India, but appeal to audiences worldwide. With smart phones increasingly becoming the preferred medium of entertainment for the youth and the ever increasing consumer reach of mobiles in India, the move towards expanding their offering and creating content for smart phones and tablets will give them with a significant boost and enthuse the next generation of comic buffs,” added Chernin Asia Media Group COO Rajesh Kamat.

     

    Founded in January 2013, by Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Suresh Seetharaman, Graphic India had previously raised $2.5 million in initial seed financing from CA Media.

     

  • LAFF inks film licensing deals with Sony, Disney, Miramax

    LAFF inks film licensing deals with Sony, Disney, Miramax

    MUMBAI: Continuing to assemble impressive programming assets as it prepares to debut on 15 April, over-the-air broadcast television network devoted to comedy – LAFF – has inked three individual film licensing agreements with Sony Pictures Television, The Walt Disney Studios and Miramax. The deals will bring the network some of the biggest comedic stars and performances of recent times.

     

    Stars and titles headed to LAFF from the Sony Pictures Television library include: Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise; Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle, Punchline and Nothing in Common, which co-stars Jackie Gleason; Gleason’s classic pairing with Richard Pryor in The Toy; Pryor and Gene Wilder teaming for Stir Crazy; Steel Magnolias starring Julia Roberts; Robin Williams in The Fisher King and Moscow on the Hudson; Steve Martin in Roxanne and Mixed Nuts; John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Neighbors and also This is Spinal Tap, About Last Night and St. Elmo’s Fire.

     

    Library movies from The Walt Disney Studios include: Splash, starring Tom Hanks; Robin Williams and John Travolta in Old Dogs; Ellen DeGeneres chasing Mr. Wrong; Jungle 2 Jungle, starring Tim Allen and Martin Short; Eddie Murphy as The Distinguished Gentleman; John Cusack in High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank as well as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and its sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, Cool Runnings, Mr. 3000 and The Ref.

     

    Films and stars from the Miramax library include: Kevin Smith’s breakthrough comedy Clerks; Flirting With Disaster, starring Ben Stiller; Keeping Up With The Steins with Jeremy Piven and Cheryl Hines; Kristen Stewart, Kristen Wiig, and Bill Hader in Adventureland; Robert Altman’s Pret-A-Porter, with Julia Roberts and Tim Robbins; an all-star cast in Beautiful Girls; Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and Jason Biggs in Jersey Girl; Matthew Broderick in The Night We Never Met and William H. Macy and Steve Zahn in Happy, Texas.

     

    LAFF will feature a mix of contemporary off-network sitcoms and popular theatrical motion pictures, with a target audience of adults 18-49.

  • Lionsgate inks co-financing deal with China’s Hunan TV

    Lionsgate inks co-financing deal with China’s Hunan TV

    MUMBAI: Lionsgate and China’s Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary Co. Ltd. have inked a partnership that includes a multiyear slate co-financing deal covering qualifying Lionsgate feature films.

     

    The agreement marks another step in Lionsgate’s continued growth into key markets around the world.

     

    Under the terms of the agreement, Hunan’s wholly-owned TIK Films subsidiaries will co-finance all qualifying Lionsgate feature films annually for the next three years, including such eagerly-anticipated branded properties as the action-adventure film Gods of Egypt, an epic reimagining of ancient Egypt, Now You See Me 2, the sequel to Lionsgate’s 2013 global blockbuster, which grossed more than $350 million at the worldwide box office, the supernatural action thriller The Last Witch Hunter, starring Vin Diesel, the critically-acclaimed thriller Sicario and the romantic thriller Age of Adaline, starring Blake Lively and Harrison Ford. 

     

    TIK Films, in partnership with Leomus Pictures, also has the option to distribute up to four of the co-financed films each year in China. In addition, Lionsgate, TIK and Leomus are already planning several feature film co-development and co-production projects in China. Leomus recently distributed the hit films Now You See Me and Escape Plan from Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment label in China, where Escape Plan grossed more at the box office ($42 million) than it did in North America.

     

    “We’re delighted to expand our relationship with one of the pre-eminent entertainment brands in China to build our film and television presence in that territory as well as to explore opportunities around the world. This agreement reflects our strategy of teaming with entrepreneurial partners to expand our global operations in key markets while underscoring our commitment to a business model that mitigates risk,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer.

     

    “We’re thrilled to partner with Lionsgate, an innovative and forward-looking company that has emerged as a major creative force in the global marketplace. We look forward to joining hands in creating a feature film pipeline filled with some of the most commercially exciting movies in the world as well as exploring other strategic opportunities throughout our complementary film and television businesses,” added Hunan TV & Broadcasting chairman Qiu Yun Long.

     

    Lionsgate is working with Hunan CATV Network Group Co., LTD., a subsidiary company of Hunan TV & Broadcast, which reaches over 15 million subscribers. Lionsgate is cooperating with major shareholder Hunan TV, the second most watched broadcaster in China, to explore opportunities for Hunan series outside China.

     

    Financing for the deal was provided by East West Bank and Bank of China.

  • Balaji diversifies into fashion segment; partners Best Deal TV

    Balaji diversifies into fashion segment; partners Best Deal TV

    MUMBAI: After ruling the television industry for close to 20 years, Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms is all set to diversify into a different business segment. The production house is planning to launch its first fashion label ‘EK’ at the Television Glamour & Fashion Awards, which will to aired on Colors on 29 March. 

     

    Brand ‘EK’ has been licensed to Balaji Telefilms by Kapoor, who owns the brand for commercialisation.

     

    Initially, the label will be available on Akshay Kumar and Raj Kundra’s new television channel Best Deal TV, which will be Balaji Telefilms’ exclusive television partner to merchandise the brand. The production house is also in the process of associating with an online partner to further grow the brand.

     

    A line comprising ethnic wear, mainly sarees and jewellery will be launched first, followed by Indo­-western trends and accessories in the near future.

     

    Brand ‘EK’ is a natural culmination of the  significant legacy of over 20 years that Ekta  Kapoor has created in the world of entertainment and now she takes her business and passion forward with the launch of her brand via merchandising.

     

    A foray into the fashion world is a first of its kind venture for Balaji Telefilms and the company will get a percentage of sales as royalty.

     

    “Television and style are consumed by viewers in different forms on a daily basis. ‘EK’ is an attempt to marry the two. We are excited with this new venture and look to make a mark in the fashion world, by making the brand easily accessible through online and television  shopping networks,” said Balaji Telefilms joint managing director Ekta  Kapoor.

     

    “This is an endeavour to leverage an existing potential opportunity within the ever-popular fashion theme. Celebrities play an influential role in modern culture and consumption patterns, serving as arbiters of taste, style and public opinion the world over. Given the popularity of Balaji’s soaps and serials the ‘EK’ fashion label is set to make a mark with Indian audiences across  the globe,” added Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair.

  • Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films signs output deal with Eagle Films

    Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films signs output deal with Eagle Films

    MUMBAI: Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films has signed an output deal with Eagle Films, a motion picture producer and distributor based in the Middle East and North Africa. 

     

    The agreement marks Codeblack’s second output deal and will enable it to distribute the films it produces or co-produces throughout the region, beginning with Lionsgate/Codeblack’s Addicted. 

     

    “Codeblack is expanding its footprint beyond the domestic marketplace. We’re dedicated to providing international growth and visibility for our content partners and look forward to pursuing additional alliances with distributors in markets around the world,” said CodeBlack Entertainment founder, CEO and president Jeff Clanagan.

     

    Eagle Films is one of the largest distributors in Western Asia and Egypt and has released Lionsgate’sThe Hunger Games and Expendables franchises as well as The Wolf of Wall Street in the region.

     

    Codeblack signed its first international output deal with Times Media Films, one of South Africa’s largest distributors, in October 2014. Three months later, Times Media launched Addicted, the first film released under the agreement, to a top 10 box office debut in its opening weekend. 

     

    Codeblack Films executive vice president and general manager Quincy Newell is overseeing the company’s international expansion initiative. The Eagle Films output deal was negotiated by Lionsgate executive vice president of international sales Wendy Reeds.

  • Warner Bros. begins principal photography of ‘The Jungle Book’ movie

    Warner Bros. begins principal photography of ‘The Jungle Book’ movie

    MUMBAI: Principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ new big-screen, 3D adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved classic The Jungle Book, marking the feature film directorial debut of Andy Serkis. Blending live action and performance capture, the film features an impressive roster of stars, including Oscar winners Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett and Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch.

     

    The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.

     

    The actors performing the roles of the story’s central animal characters are: Benedict Cumberbatch as the tiger – Shere Khan; Cate Blanchett as Kaa – the snake; Christian Bale as the panther – Bagheera; Andy Serkis as Baloo, the bear; Peter Mullan as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena – Tabaqui; Naomie Harris as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Eddie Marsan as Nisha’s mate – Vihaan; and Jack Reynor as Mowgli’s Brother Wolf. On the human side, young actor Rohan Chand will play the boy raised by wolves – Mowgli.

     

    The film is being produced by Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the Harry Potter films, and Jonathan Cavendish, with Nikki Penny serving as executive producer. The screenplay is by Callie Kloves, based on the stories by Kipling.

     

    Among those collaborating with Serkis behind the scenes are production designer Gary Freeman, Oscar-winning editor Mark Sanger and Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne.

     

    The film is slated for release on 6 October, 2017.