ITV

Category: English Entertainment

  • Wipe away your Monday blues with great Peter Sellers movies this February only on PIX

    MUMBAI: PIX, the Premium English Movies channel brings you the Best of Peter Sellers every Monday throughout the month of February, on Perfect 10. Watch out for movies The Pink Panther and its sequel, A Shot in the Dark on 5th and 12th February respectively, The Party, on 19th February and rounding off is What’s New Pussycat? on 26th February.

    Read Below to catch some interesting trivia on these movies soon to come on PIX…

    The Pink Panther

    The role of Inspector Clouseau was originally offered to Peter Ustinov. Despite being relatively unknown internationally, Peter Sellers was offered the part, and was paid 90,000 pounds

    The film was intended to have The Phantom, Sir Charles Lytton’s character as the main character. However, this film and the sequels focused on the Character of Inspector Clouseau as Peter Sellers’ portrayal of the same was extremely loved by the crew and the audience

    An animated Pink Panther was created for the opening credits because writer and director Blake Edwards felt that the credits would benefit from some kind of cartoon character. The Pink Panther character was chosen from over a hundred alternative panther sketches. The Pink Panther introduced in the opening credits became a popular film and television character in his own right.

    A Shot in the Dark

    The movie was completed before The Pink Panther (1963), but shelved because the studio didn’t think it was any good. The success of the first film made the executives decide to release the shelved film. This also explains the short time span between the release of the first film and this one.

    This was the only official Clouseau film not to use the name “Pink Panther” nor use that cartoon character in the opening credits.

    Peter Sellers was the first ever male to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine, in April 1964.

    The Party

    The only Blake Edwards -Peter Sellers collaboration that was not a Pink Panther film.

    During the scene in which Peter Sellers wrecks the upstairs bathroom, the band downstairs can be heard playing “It Had Better Be Tonight,” which was originally written and used both as a vocal and as an instrumental score in the first “Pink Panther” film.

    This was said to be Elvis Presley’s favorite movie.

    What’s New Pussy Cat?

    The scene where Woody Allen’s character celebrates his birthday on the wharf was filmed on December 1, 1964 – Woody’s 29th birthday

    Banned in Norway because of a scene where Peter Sellers tries to commit suicide by burning himself wrapped in a Norwegian flag.

    When Woody Allen turned in his script it did not have a title. It stayed this way until one day he overheard Warren Beatty, talking to one of the hundreds of gorgeous women he was seeing at the time. His usual greeting of “What’s new, pussycat?” was heard by Allen who screamed out “title!”

    Get ready to rediscover Peter Sellers and fall in love with the best collection of his great comedies every Monday night on Perfect 10.

  • Catch the multi faceted Jeff Bridge on Inside the Actors Studio this Sunday at 7:00pm

    MUMBAI: He got cast in a film when he was an infant and has not looked back ever since. He has performed in over 60 films and received several nominations in Academy awards, Golden Satellite, Screen Actor’s Guild, and The Golden Globe. His peers have saluted him with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

     

    But Jeff Bridges is much more than just an actor. He has several talents and pursues them with equal passion. To put it in his words, “I don’t think I ever went down that movie star path. I always enjoy taking a 90-degree turn from the last thing I did.”

     

    Read below to catch some interesting Trivia about this American actor…

     

    He is the son of Lloyd Bridges, the brother of Beau Bridges and the uncle of Jordan Bridges, who are all successful actors

     

    Although he and his father Lloyd Bridges appeared in six different productions together, they never played father and son

     

    In his off time while on sets, he is known to document the filmmaking process by photographing fellow actors and on-set staff with a panoramic camera. He has published many of these photographs online and in print titled “Pictures”

     

    Bridges is also a cartoonist. Some of his “doodles” have appeared in various films, such as K-PAX and The Door in the Floor.He incorporates his drawings on his web site, notable because it is almost completely hand-written and drawn art—not typed

     

    He loves playing the guitar and indulges in music at every opportunity he gets

     

    He married Susan Geston on June 5, 1977 after meeting her on the sets of Rancho Deluxe in 1975. The couple have 3 daughters, Isabelle , Jessica ,and Hayley

     

    At the age of 17, he was addicted to marijuana. His parents contacted a group called Developing Adolescents Without Narcotics, which put Bridges through an “intervention” to kick his habit

     

    He is a big fan of the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson, former lead singer/song writer for the group.

     

    Before Bridges went to school, he served in the United States Coast Guard.

     

     

    Meet the very talented Jeff Bridges in a discussion with James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio this Sunday at 7:00 pm on PIX.

  • Ratings: AXN maintains lead in English entertainment; Star World, Zee Café neck and neck

    Ratings: AXN maintains lead in English entertainment; Star World, Zee Café neck and neck

    MUMBAI: The English entertainment scene is witnessing a fair bit of action. The History Channel (THC) underwent a repositioning from infotainment to entertainment. AXN unfortunately got banned by the I&B Ministry last month on the dubious charge of showing inappropriate content.

    Tam data c&s 4+ all India from 15 July 2006 – 13 January 2007 shows that AXN has enjoyed a share of over 50 per cent over the past six months compared to Zee Café and Star World.

    Zee Café has, meanwhile, been steadily improving its share. From 15 July – 15 August its share among was 13 per cent. This has risen to 22 per cent for the period 1 January – 13 January 2007, with Star World slightly ahead at 24 per cent.

    However for the period 15-30 December 2006 Zee Café was ahead with a share of 22 per cent compared to Star World’s 17 per cent.

    For the metros, AXN’s share is 44 per cent, while Star World and Zee Café each have a share of 22 per cent. THC has a share of 11 per cent for the period 31 December 2006 – 13 January 2007. This marks a fall from 20 per cent for the period 15-30 December 2006 where it was on even terms with Star World and Zee Cafe. In fact for the most part, until 2007 THC has been on level terms with Star World and Zee Cafe in terms of channel share in the Metros.

    AXN’s Special Focus On Prime Time
    Talking about the performance over the past six months, AXN India business head Sunder Aaron says that a special focus was given to primetime. So the channel came out with the concept of Elite Weekdays and Elite Weekends. This is where its premium shows like CSI, 24 air. In the weekdays it is post 11 pm while on Saturday and Sunday it airs at noon. Aaron adds that what gives the channel further appeal are shows like Guinness, Ripley’s which go beyond the metro centric.

    On the local front he is satisfied at how The Amazing Race Asia fared in India. This was a pan Asian initiative and showed that regional fare with an Indian touch will work with viewers. The channel, Aaron says, has a few ideas on the table. One of this involves the second season of A Man’s World. It also appointed Sumona Roy as marketing manager. This is in line with the channel’s commitment to boost its operations in India.

    The problem still is the ban. Aaron declined to comment on when the channel would be back on air but said that care would be taken to ensure that content would not be offensive to anybody. The I&B Minister had issued the ban on the grounds of AXN showing ‘obscene programmes’. The ban will last till 15 March 2007.

    A Period Of Restructuring For Zee Café
    Zee Café business head Neil Chakravarti says that the programming lineup has gone through a significant restructuring over the past year. “Our endeavour was to become the only ‘true English GEC’ in the country. The aim is to offer the widest variety of entertainment across drama, comedy, thrillers, reality, soaps, fashion, lifestyle, music, movies and local English content.

    “As of February, the plans are largely in place. We have recently introduced America’s number one soap, The Young and the Restless which runs across weekdays at 8 pm. Our most exciting new product is Café Xtreme, which has action/ adventure/ thrills oriented programming, and will run every single day from 11 pm – midnight. In addition, we have introduced a movie band, Saturday Night Lights to showcase the best of Hollywood.”

    Zee Café last year launched among other shows the ninth season of the hospital drama ER, Bikini Destinations and the second season of Full House. No doubt the second show gave a bit of oomph to the channel. It also added some action to the mix with Without A Trace. Of course since both Zee Café and Star World focus on oven fresh shows from the US there is the occasional overlap. For instance both air Orange County, which recently came to an end in the US.

    Chakravarti adds that Zee Café recently started an initiative of running strip shows across the same time band during primetime on weekdays. The Tonight Show and E! News are telecast delayed live every day from the US, via satellite uplink. Young and Restless and Café Xtreme also run in stripped format, every weekday (and even weekends, in case of Xtreme)

    Star World Stays With Its Strategy
    Elaborating on Star World’s strategy, Star India GM content Harsh Rohatgi reiterates the efforts being made to bring the most popular and best shows from across the globe on the channel. The last six months saw the launch of various new shows and seasons on the channel.

    One of these was Rockstar Supernova. This was a global talent hunt show to find a new singer for a band formed by Motley Crew, Metallica and Guns & Roses. Then there was the comedy Two and Half Men with Charlie Sheen. Its core properties include Desperate Housewives, which came back for a second season as did the hospital soap Grey’s Anatomy.

    To give a boost in terms of variety there are award shows like the Golden Globes. It has also aired music specials like the Andrea Bocceli concert.

    In terms of where it lies in the English general entertainment space, Rohatgi points out that that as a genre English entertainment has a very niche audience base. The preference is more on the qualitative aspect of programming.

    “Star World’s programming speaks for itself and has successfully built a loyal audience base over the years that it continues to retain while adding on new audiences. As far as AXN goes we are poles apart in the programming structure. We classify ourselves as a family English entertainment channel with a mix of comedies/action series/dramas/ special events etc.

    “AXN is clearly a male skewed English entertainment channel. Hence comparing both the channels would not be fair.”

    English Entertainment Viewership Stagnating?
    Then there is the issue of viewership for English entertainment stagnating. Rohatgi counters by saying that there has been a marked increase in the spread of what an English entertainment viewer can watch.

    “Earlier English entertainment used to be demarcated quite clearly. But now infotainment/ Lifestyle channels/ English news channels are also wooing the same viewer. Hence we don’t think the genre is stagnating. On the contrary its expanding and the challenge is to keep up and expand the offerings with it.”

    Rohatgi says that for Star World constant research is being done to understand what are the needs, likes and dislikes of the viewers. “Koffee with Karan season two has been improved based on the feedback from viewers. We are also working on various local formats.”

    Star World Confident Of Success in Cas Environment
    Rohatgi is also confident about how the channel will fare in a Cas environment. “Our programming is the best, which is constantly revamped and updated as per the latest and best properties in the global scenario. Hence a viewer is assured of finding only the best fare on the channel. In a digital environment, channels in niche genres will be bought on both perception and the quality of programming.”

    Brands Cherry Picking Shows
    On the advertising front he says that there definitely has been a shift in the way the genre is being sold. Now the preference is to go along with properties that fit the brands rather than doing a broad based deal. Hence a lot of brands now look at handpicking shows they would want to associate with. Hence the sales teams have been pitching property specific deals to the clients.

    Chakravarti says that based on the feedback received Zee Café’s perception among the viewer universe as well as the media fraternity is quite positive at the moment.

    Cas, DTH Will Be The Final Levellers?
    A contention partially backed by OMS media director Madan Mohapatra, who says that while Zee Café’s perception has improved over the past year, it is still a little behind Star World. “However as Cas and DTH get entrenched, the perception gap will come down further. The push that Zee Café has given to its content over the past year has not gone unnoticed. The advantage that Star World has is that it made a sustained push earlier.” In Mohapatra’s opinion Star World benefits from high profile shows like Koffee with Karan.

    Says Mohapatra, “Besides the RODP route, clients often put money behind new shows on these channels like Orange County (the third season kicks off on Zee Cafe next month) if they feel that there is good traction and these shows will add new viewers to the channel due to marketing activities being done. However as a show gets older the enthusiasm of the client also goes down.”

    He notes that Zee Café compared to the other two players is more open to experimentation in terms of content and how it deals with clients. “They work with clients on customised and contextual programme breaks (ICI Pens did branded brake bumpers). This means that an ad appears depending on the mood of the show. I would draw a parallel to what happens with cricket where a pop up comes on depending on what has happened.”

    AXN, he says, is a little bit behind Star World perception wise because of its mostly male skew. It has gotten polarised as a result. The good thing for AXN is that it has followed a very clear path and has not deviated. While the effect of the ban has yet to be seen, it is likely that the lifestyle shows might take a hit. What is interesting is that Zee Cafe in the past year started airing some lifestyle shows like the earlier mentioned Bikini Destinations.

    Speaking about THC’s positioning, Mohapatra evers that that it is taking the right approach by broad basing its content.

    In conclusion one can say that the new platforms of DTH and Cas will help the channels segment those who watch them regularly from those who merely surf through them. Viewing habits will be more clear. It is up to the players to constantly finetune strategies to make sure that viewers will pay to watch them.

  • Tune in to the exclusive premiere of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ this Friday at 9 p.m. only on Star Movies

    MUMBAI: When a country descended into madness and the world turned its back, one man had to make a choice!!! This Friday night, Star Movies presents a true story of a man who fought impossible odds to save everyone he could and created a place where hope survived. Tune in to the Academy Award nominated blockbuster, Hotel Rwanda, starring Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo and Joaquin Phoenix, this Friday, February 16th at 9 p.m. only on Star Movies!

    Ten years ago some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of Rwanda–and in an era of high-speed communication and round the clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, one million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages.

    Nominated for three Oscar Awards, Hotel Rwanda is the story of Paul Rusesabagina’s courage, which also captures the political events that occurred between April and September 1994. Cheadle gives a riveting performance as Rusesabagina, the manager of a European-owned hotel in Rwanda, who created a secret refugee camp for the Tutsi people during the brutal genocide committed against them by the Hutu people in 1994. His efforts helped to save 1200 lives out of close to a million who were killed.

    Powerful acting from all cast members, including throngs of children, makes this film touching and believable. Sophie Okonedo offers moving support as Rusesabagina’s wife Tatiana, Nick Nolte shows knowing machismo as an American UN officer, and Joaquin Phoenix turns in a heartfelt display as a TV journalist.

    Did you know?

    Because Hotel Rwanda was filmed mostly in South Africa, where road traffic drives on the left-hand side of the road, many of the vehicles are right-hand drive. Rwandans drive on the right side of the road, so the use of right-hand drive cars is incorrect for standard vehicles.

    The mistake is most obvious in the scenes involving buses, which have passenger doors on the left — in Rwanda, people using those buses would be stepping out into the middle of the road. However, some vehicles in Rwanda are right-hand drive.

    On a magazine rack in the lobby of the hotel, there is a copy of Time magazine’s 1992 Man of the Year with Bill Clinton on its cover.

    So don’t forget to tune in this Friday night at 9 p.m. for the exclusive premiere of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ only on Star Movies.

  • Ghost Rider ” checks in at the #1 spot at the U.S Box-office. set to storm Indian theatres on February 23, 2007.

    MUMBAI: Mark Steven Johnson’s Ghost Rider™ starring Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes, raked in $44.5M on its opening weekend (Friday 16th Feb – Sunday 18th Feb) at the North American box-office . Averaging a scorching $12,296 from 3,619 locations, the film which is based on the popular Marvel Comics character , opened higher than the $35.1M bow of National Treasure, Cage’s previous best opening.

    The visual effects-driven Ghost Rider ™ notched up one-third of all ticket sales for the weekend gone by and delivered Hollywood’s biggest opening for 2007.

    Ghost Rider™ opens across India on February 23rd, 2007 with over 200 prints and will be dubbed in Hindi (“Mahakaal”) , Tamil and Telugu. This is Hollywood’s first wide release in India in 2007.

    From Marvel Comics, creators of Spider-Man™, Fantastic Four, and X-Men, comes a new hero… Ghost Rider™. Long ago, superstar motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) made a deal with the devil to protect the ones he loved most: his father and his childhood sweetheart, Roxanne (Eva Mendes).

    Now, the Devil has come for his due. By day, Johnny is a die-hard stunt rider… but at night, he becomes the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter of rogue demons. Forced to do the Devil’s bidding, Johnny is determined to confront his fate and use his curse and powers to defend the innocent.

     

    Ghost Rider™ stars Nicolas Cage (National Treasure, Gone in 60 Seconds), Eva Mendes ( 2 Fast 2 Furious, Hitch), Wes Bentley (American Beauty), Sam Elliott (Hulk), Donal Logue ( Blade) and Peter Fonda (The Limey, Easy Rider).

  • This Valentine’s Day.. Book your date with Star movies

    Mumbai: Valentine’s day is incomplete without watching a mushy movie! This Valentine’s Day, Star Movies pays homage to the trials and tribulations of romance with a full-day marathon of die-hard romantic films. So if you want to have some cheerful moments of laughter and joy, with your loved ones, don’t forget to tune into ‘Shallow Hal’ and of course you can re-live the romance by watching some romantic valentine movies like ‘Maid in Manhattan’ and ‘If Only’. So book your date with Star Movies, this Valentine’s Day, 14 February beginning 2:20 p.m.

    Wednesday, Feb 14 at 2:20 p.m.

    MAID IN MANHATTAN

    Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Stanley Tucci

    Marisa Ventura (Lopez) is a single mother born and bred in the boroughs of New York City, who works as a maid in a first-class Manhattan hotel. By a twist of fate and mistaken identity, Marisa meets Christopher Marshall (Fiennes), a handsome heir to a political dynasty, who believes that she is a guest at the hotel. Fate steps in and throws the unlikely pair together for one night. When Marisa’s true identity is revealed, the two find that they are worlds apart, even though the distance separating them is just a subway ride between Manhattan and the Bronx.

    Wednesday, Feb 14 at 4:35 p.m.

    IF ONLY

    Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paul Nicholls

    After his impetuous musician girlfriend, Samantha (Hewitt), dies in an accident shortly after they had a fight (and nearly broke up), a grief-stricken British businessman, Ian Wyndham (Nicholls), living in London gets a chance to relive the day all over again, in the hope of changing the events that led up to her getting killed…

    Wednesday, Feb 14 at 6:40 p.m.

    SHALLOW HAL

    Starring: Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jason Alexander
    Following the advice of his dying father, Hal dates only women who are physically beautiful. One day, however, he runs into self-help guru Tony Robbins, who hypnotizes him into recognizing only the inner beauty of women. Hal thereafter meets Rosemary, a grossly obese woman whom only he can see as a vision of loveliness. But will their relationship survive when Hal’s equally shallow friend undoes the hypnosis?

    So tune in to Star Movies this Valentine’s Day and get set for that perfect date, you had always wished for!!!

    About Star

    STAR is a leading media and entertainment company in Asia. STAR broadcasts over 60 television services in nine languages to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries. STAR channels cover all genres including general entertainment (Star Plus, Xing Kong, Star Chinese Channel, Star One, Star Utsav, Star World, Vijay, Phoenix Chinese), sports (ESPN, Star Sports), movies (Star Chinese Movies, Star Gold, Star Movies), music (Channel [V]), and news and current affairs (Star News, Star Ananda, Phoenix InfoNews Channel).

    STAR controls over 20,000 hours of Indian and Chinese programming and also owns the world’s largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 600 titles, featuring superstars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Bruce Lee. In partnership with leading companies in Asia, STAR businesses extend to filmed entertainment, television production, cable systems, direct-to-home services, terrestrial TV broadcasting, wireless and digital services. STAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation. www.startv.com

    For further information please contact:
    In Mumbai
    Zeenat Khan
    Publicity
    STAR (India) Ltd.
    Tel No. 91-22-28523880

    Shiraz Bhavnani / Aditi Chada
    Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
    Tel: 91-22-5656 8787
    Fax: 91-22-5656 8788
    Email:sbhavnani@vccpl.com / achada@vccpl.com

  • The 2007 British Academy Film Awards take centre stage on STAR WORLD

    MUMBAI: Which of Britain’s celebrated stars will be honored at the 2007 British Academy Film Awards? Find out when STAR WORLD televises the glamorous event on Tuesday, February 27th at 9pm. With talk-show veteran Jonathan Ross hosting from London’s Royal Opera House, the celeb-stacked ceremony promises plenty of surprise wins and shock upsets.

    For 60 years, the British Academy Film Awards has recognized and honored outstanding achievements in film and 2007 offers a strong and diverse field of contenders. Reigning supreme at the top of the list is The Queen. The royals-in-ruin drama is nominated for 10 awards, including Best Film and Best Actress for Helen Mirren. Voters were also shaken and stirred by the latest James Bond adventure Casino Royale, which picked up nine nominations, including a Best Actor nod for Daniel Craig. Among the other stars vying for Best Actor honours are Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) and acting legend Peter O’Toole (Venus).

    Also in contention with seven nominations is the complex, cross-cultural drama, Babel. As well as nods for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, the Golden Globe®-winning movie is also up for Best Film. In the latter category, Babel will compete against the Idi Amin biopic The Last King of Scotland, which is nominated in four other categories.

    Over the years, the British Academy Film Awards has attracted the best from the worlds of cinema and celebrity. The 2007 line-up continues that tradition and includes such gifted stars as Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz, Jake Gyllenhaal, Toni Collette, Kylie Minogue and Sienna Miller. Filled with surprises, celebrities and style, the British Academy Film Awards is a dazzling tribute to the world’s most talented filmmakers and exceptional stars. So, make sure you tune-in to the 2007 British Academy Film Awards on STAR WORLD on Tuesday, February 27th at 9 p.m.

  • Dixie Chicks make nice with five Grammys

    Dixie Chicks make nice with five Grammys

    MUMBAI: Sounds from legendary artists as well as new faces made the 49th Annual Grammy Awards an event that was full of surprises.

    Former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood took home the Best New Artist award while the Dixie Chicks received the Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal GRAMMY Awards.

    In India the event will air tonight on Star World at 8 pm.
    The show began with one of the most famous rock bands, the Police. The trio of Stewart Copeland, Sting and Andy Summers performed Roxanne. Sting’s voice hit all the right notes, Summers’ familiar reggae guitar lines soared through the auditorium, and Copeland blasted the song’s Afro-Cuban influenced beat with typical rhythmic glee. Updating the arrangement with a dubbed out space jam mid-song, the Police couldn’t stop the entire auditorium from joining them in the song’s driving chorus.

    Introduced by the legendary Joan Baez, who referred to them as “three brave women,” the Dixie Chicks performed their charged Not Ready To Make Nice. Led by Natalie Maines, fellow Chicks Emily Robison and Martie Maguire pulled off an almost defiant performance.

    Beyoncé performed Listen from the Dreamgirls soundtrack. Accompanied by a full string section, Beyoncé soared through the song’s lyrical imagery and emotional lyrics.

    Prefacing his What Goes Around Comes Around with a prerecorded video statement, Justin Timberlake called the track “the best song I have written so far,” saying that “it just flowed out.” Timberlake proved that he didn’t need to work the stage either, initially performing the song on upright piano before finally taking center stage with a mini-cam, which he used to shoot his own performance, up close and personal.

    Underwood and Rascal Flatts joined for a country music tribute, covering the songs of Bob Wills and the Eagles. Underwood,paid her respects to Wills by performing his San Antonio Rose as an overhead video screen showed clips of the country innovator. Rascal Flatts followed with a version of Hotel California. Then, Underwood performed Desperado, turning its gentle imagery into a power rock showcase, before Rascal Flatts returned to belt out Life In The Fast Lane.

    Performances by Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie and Christina Aguilera proved that old-school soul still lives, with upstart Chris Brown doing his best Olympic calisthenics for the younger crowd.

    In terms of some of the other awards Best Female Pop Vocal Performance went to Ain’t No Other Man by Christina Aguilera. The male award went to Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer. Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal went to My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas. Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals went to For Once In My Life by Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder. Best Pop Instrumental Performance
    went to Mornin’ to George Benson and Al Jarreau.

    Rock legend Bob Dylan won in the solo rock performance category for Someday Baby. For rock group the award went to Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

  • Sony Pictures Imageworks picks up equity in FrameFlow

    BANGALORE: US based Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI) has announced an equity investment in renowned visual effects and animation studio FrameFlow, which has its production operation in Chennai. As part of the deal, FrameFlow will become Imageworks India and will work seamlessly with Sony Pictures Imageworks’ main production facility in Culver City, California.

    The newly named entity expects to quadruple its workload in the coming years and deepen its capabilities through investments in infrastructure, technology and training from Sony Pictures Imageworks. Imageworks India also plans a significant growth in its current talent base of 80 employees. To accommodate anticipated expansion, Imageworks India will relocate to a larger office in Chennai with a seating capacity of up to 300.

     

    “We are extremely excited to announce this partnership with Sony Pictures Imageworks, an Academy Award-winning visual effects and animation facility. We are deeply honored to be chosen to join the Imageworks family. It’s a testament to the passion and talent of our team and creative leadership of Krishnakant Mishra to receive this supreme validation of the quality of our work “, commented Hitesh Shah, co-founder of FrameFlow and now the Co-Managing Director of Imageworks India .

     

    Also speaking at the occasion, Abhaya Kumar, Managing Director of FrameFlow’s Indian operation added, “This relationship represents the culmination of our strategic vision to expand and deepen our capabilities through integration with an industry leader like Imageworks. We look at this strategic investment as a part of the continuing Indian Success Story – one that elevates the standing of the whole Indian visual effects and animation industry on the global stage.”

     

    FrameFlow was founded three years ago to deliver high-quality effects support to top facilities worldwide. Prior to becoming Imageworks India, FrameFlow proved its value by working with Sony Pictures Imageworks on movies such as CLICK, GHOST RIDER and SPIDER-MAN 3 among many other projects.

     

    “The level of professionalism and quality of work that we experienced in working with the FrameFlow team was exemplary, and gave us the confidence to extend and establish a strong long term relationship ,” said Jenny Fulle, Executive Vice President, Sony Pictures Imageworks and now the Co-Managing Director of Imageworks India . “We are very excited about expanding our capacity with Imageworks India in Chennai.

     

     

    As part of Sony Pictures Imageworks, Imageworks India will continue to provide visual effects and animation services as a resource to the industry. Imageworks India (formerly FrameFlow), has been a trusted partner to other top visual effects and animation studios in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

  • Zone Reality enters the psychic realm

    Zone Reality enters the psychic realm

    MUMBAI: When Ricky Reel didn’t come home from a night out with his friends, his mother Sukhdev knew something was very wrong. The 20-year-old Asian student disappeared after he was subject to a racist attack on the night that he died. Ricky’s body was found in the Thames seven days later.

    An investigation into his death returned an open verdict, but his family believes that he was murdered and have criticised the police over the way they handled their investigation.

    Zone Reality will air a show Psychic Private Eyes from tonight 21 February 2007 every Wednesday and Thursday at 9 pm. Britain’s best known psychics set their extra-sensory sights on an unsolved case in history and try to help Ricky’s grieving mother unearth the truth.

    At the heart of each one-hour episode is a detective story, with families searching for answers to the mysteries surrounding the untimely deaths of their loved ones.

    Psychic Private Eyes portrays real life psychic investigations by top psychics into 15 high profile mysterious and harrowing cases. Colin Fry, Tony Stockwell and female psychic medium T.J. Higgs use their skills to unearth mysteries surrounding strange deaths and disappearances that have long been erased from public memory, and attempt to contact the dead victims for clues.

    Zonemedia regional marketing manager Asia Pacific Flecka Picardo says, “Whether you are a sceptic or a believer, Psychic Private Eyes makes for compelling television and we feel that the series only serves to strengthen Zone Reality’s diverse line-up of real-life programming.”

    Fry says, “The people we’re reading for have already had the worst happen to them. They want to know the facts and need to know them, no matter how gruesome. If we can tell them it was over quickly or there was no pain, then this can take away some of their anguish and help them move on.”

    The mediums are not given any information about the victim before they meet the families or conduct readings of photos and belongings. During the course of the series they will use many of the secret techniques developed in their work with the police, such as literally walking in the victim’s shoes.

    This 15 episode series taps into the public’s growing fascination with the paranormal. Psychic Private Eyes is a co-production between Zone Reality and television company IPM.