Category: English Entertainment

  • Movies Now and MNX to premiere ‘Gretel & Hansel’ on 8 August

    Movies Now and MNX to premiere ‘Gretel & Hansel’ on 8 August

    Mumbai: ‘Gretel & Hansel’, a nightmarish coming of age film released in 2020, will make its television premiere on Movies Now and MNX. The film will air on 8 August, at 1 pm and 9 pm.

    Directed by Oz Perkins and produced by Fred Berger and starring Alice Krige, Sophia Lillis, and Sam Leakey among others, the film is an adaptation of the German folklore tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by the Brothers Grimm.

    A story about truly finding oneself and acknowledging the light and dark within, ‘Gretel and Hansel’ is an intriguing representation of the classic German tale.

  • Discovery unveils programming lineup for ‘Shark Week 2021’

    Discovery unveils programming lineup for ‘Shark Week 2021’

    Mumbai: Discovery channel on Thursday announced the full programming lineup for its successful IP “Shark Week 2021” ahead of its 10 July premiere on discovery+.

     
    The show which returns for its 33rd year will have more hours of shark programming than ever before and feature celebrity co-stars including Tiffany Haddish, Brad Paisley, JB Smoove, William Shatner, Eli Roth, the cast of “Jackass”, Noah Schnapp, Robert Irwin, Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Dr Sandra Lee, Josh Gates, Snoop Dogg, Mark Rober, Chris Rose, David Dobrik and Kinga Philipps, the channel said in a statement.

    Leading up to Shark Week, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and discovery+ will celebrate with a shark movie festival across three platforms with titles like “Crickey! It’s Shark Week”, “Expedition Unknown”, “Sharkadelic Summer 2 ft. Snoop Dogg”, “Extinct or Alive: The Lost Shark”, “Shark Week Best in Show”, “Alien Sharks: First Contact”, amongst others.  
    The show will take viewers to new locations to study and record new shark behaviours  including Bull shark hunting patterns and new heights – capturing the highest breach ever recorded as Discovery celebrates these brilliant creatures, it added.
     

    Check out Shark Week ’21 lineup below:

    Return To Headstone Hell – Streaming 10 July exclusively on discovery+  
     

    Dr Riley Elliott returns to Australia’s Norfolk Island with underwater cinematographer Kina Scollay to see what happens when the island’s tiger sharks go head-to-head with migrating great whites over an unusual food source: cow carcasses.

    Crikey! It’s Shark Week – Streaming 11 July exclusively on discovery+

    Robert Irwin comes face to face with a Great White Shark for the first time ever with shark conservationists Paul de Gelder and Madison Stewart. Following his father’s footsteps, he will get as close as possible to these incredible creatures to determine which apex predator reigns supreme – Crocs or Great Whites? Produced by Eureka Productions. It will also be airing 23 August at 8pm on Animal Planet.

    Expedition Unknown: Shark Trek – Streaming 12 July exclusively on discovery+

    Josh Gates links up with his childhood hero, William Shatner, to boldly go where Shark Week has never gone before. The mission: enter shark-infested waters to understand the nature of fear and come face to face with an apex predator. This is Shark Trek. Produced by Ping Pong Productions. It will also be airing 23 August at 7pm on Discovery Channel.

    Stranger Sharks- Streaming 13 July exclusively on discovery+

    Mark Rober and Noah Schnapp from Stranger Things are teaming up for the ultimate Shark Week adventure…exploring abandoned undersea ruins and man-made artificial reefs searching for the strangest sharks in the ocean. Produced by Spoke Studios.

    Great White Comeback – Streaming 14 July exclusively on discovery+

    In 2017 one of the strangest ocean mysteries occurred in South Africa when an entire Great White population disappeared overnight. Alison Towner and her team, Enrico Gennari and Andy Casagrande head out on an epic investigation to find the missing Great Whites of Seal Island. Produced by Hazmat Productions.  

    Shark Academy – Streaming 15 July exclusively on discovery+  

    Shark Academy follows eight men and women on an intense six-week crash course to secure a coveted crew spot on shark scientist Dr Riley Elliott’s next great shark diving expedition. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime for these shark enthusiasts with non-traditional backgrounds to leap ahead in the competitive world of shark research, embarking on the adventure of a lifetime in hopes of making their dreams a reality. Produced by Double Act.

    Sharkadelic Summer 2 ft. Snoop Dogg – Streaming 16 July exclusively on discovery+  

    Sharkadelic is back to find out if this summer will be the sharkiest on record. Snoop Dogg breaks down the craziest encounters, the wildest and most unpredictable reactions to discover if America is once again ground zero for the shark superstorm. Produced by Anomaly Entertainment. It will also be airing 27 August at 7 pm on Discovery Channel.

    The Real Sharknado- Streaming 17 July exclusively on discovery+
    We have all seen the movies, sharks jumping into boats, circling in tornados, and risking their lives to attack humans. Could these shark feasts happen? Ian Ziering and Tara Reid pick up their chainsaws once again – this time with the help of Dr. Tristan Guttridge and to see if a real Sharknado could happen. Produced by Ping Pong Productions.

    Extinct or Alive: Jaws of Alaska- Airing 24 August at 8pm on Animal Planet

    Wildlife biologist Forrest Galante travels the world in search of rare and elusive wildlife, including those lost to science, and cold-water sharks.

    Extinct or Alive: The Lost Shark- Airing 25 August at 8pm on Animal Planet  

    Wildlife biologist, Forrest Galante, is in the Maldives in search of a supposedly extinct shark. Unidentified sharks in the area have led many to believe the Pondicherry is alive.

    Extinct or Alive: Land of The Lost Sharks- Airing August 26 at 8 pm on Animal Planet  

    Biologist Forrest Galante dives into treacherous, shark-infested waters in the southern hemisphere to rediscover three unique sharks lost to science for as long as 100 years. 

    Alien Sharks: First Contact- Airing August 27 at 8 pm on Animal Planet

    Researchers try to make contact with bizarre alien sharks lurking in the deep. Pursuing the frilled shark, sleeper shark and cookie-cutter shark brings unexpected encounters.

    Tiffany Haddish Does Shark Week (Special) – Airing 24 August at 7 pm on Discovery Channel

    Tiffany Haddish hosts Shark Week! While her fantasy was to uncover the secrets of shark sex sailing on the fanciest yachts surrounded by friendly sea creatures and pampered by a handsome merman, she’s joined by Dr. Toby Daly-Engel, Dr. Craig O’Connell, Alannah Vellacott for a very sharky wake-up call. Produced by Will Packer Will Packer Media and Anomaly Entertainment.
     

    Brad Paisley’s Shark Country- Airing 25 August at 7 pm on Discovery Channel
     

    Country star Brad Paisley and comedian JB Smoove meet in the Bahamas to attract new fans, Sharks! With Dr. Austin Gallagher’s help, they put Brad’s musical talents to the test in shark-infested waters to see how sound can attract or repel sharks. Produced by Critical Content.  
     

    Shark Week Best in Show – Airing 26 August at 7 pm on Discovery Channel

    Discover everything that has happened in the world of sharks this year including unbelievable viral videos, big news stories and the latest in cutting-edge shark science. Produced by Main Event Media.  

  • Movies NOW and MNX to premiere zombie comedy ‘Little Monsters’

    Mumbai: Movies NOW and MNX are all set to bring the Indian television premiere of zombie comedy film “Little Monsters” on 27 June, Sunday, at 1pm and 9pm. Starring the Academy Award-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o in the lead role, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019.

    Written and directed by Abe Forsythe, the horror-comedy is about a kindergarten children’s field trip to a farm gone wrong. Their visit to the petting zoo happens to be next door to a U.S. Military base experimenting with regeneration, they find themselves overrun by an invasion of man-eating undead humans. Nyong’o plays Miss Caroline, the teacher, who teams up to save the children from a zombie apocalypse.

    Also starring Alexander England, Kat Stewart, Diesel La Torraca, and Josh Gad, the film is dedicated to Forsythe’s son Spike, whose first day of kindergarten inspired parts of the story. Spike also appears as a ‘school kid zombie’ in the film.

    A frenetic zombie horror coupled with pitch-perfect comic timing, “Little Monsters” promises viewers humorous gags, suspenseful scares, fleshy gore, and quite surprisingly, a dash of heartfelt sentiment.

  • &flix celebrates three years of Hollywood films

    &flix celebrates three years of Hollywood films

    Mumbai: Popular English movie channel &flix will celebrate its third anniversary on 3 June and air a ‘Flix birthday special’ bouquet of movies for its viewers all day-long. 

    The channel has lined up some blockbuster films for binge viewing on 3 June. The day will begin with Terminator 3: Rise of Machines that stars Hollywood action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role. The film is the story of a powerful cyborg from a post-apocalyptic future who tries to protect his companion in the present. The film also stars Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, and Kristanna Loken in the lead roles. 

    Another movie that will be telecasted is Godzilla starring Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno in the lead roles. Released in 1998, this movie directed by Roland Emmerich is widely considered a classic among film buffs. 

    Michael Bay’s Transformers, Avengers: Infinity War, Will Smith starrer Men In Black, and Bad Boys For Life will be also telecasted as a part of &flix’s third-anniversary celebrations.

  • &PriveHD to celebrate the life of soccer legend Pele

    &PriveHD to celebrate the life of soccer legend Pele

    Mumbai : Celebrating the life of legendary Brazilian footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento, popularly known as Pele, &PriveHD will telecast the movie Pele: Birth of a Legend on 28 May at 07.00 PM, under the Prive Evenings segment. 

    The film narrates the story of a young boy from the slums of Brazil who transformed into a legend in the world of soccer. 

    Directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist, the movie is set in the backdrop of a turbulent era in Brazil. The biographical drama will chronicle Pele’s extraordinary journey in leading Brazil to its first FIFA World Cup victory at the age of 17. 

    The film stars Kevin de Paula, Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro, Diego Boneta, and Colm Meaney in the lead roles. Pele himself has appeared in a cameo role in this movie. 

    One of the major highlights of this movie is the background score composed by Mozart of Madras, A R Rahman. Upon the release of this film, critics had lauded Rahman for composing such soulful music for this movie. 

  • &flix turns up the heat with summer blockbusters

    &flix turns up the heat with summer blockbusters

    MUMBAI: As India battles the second wave of a Covid2019, and people are at odds and ends while sheltering in place, &flix hopes to entertain viewers with its summer line-up of movies. With ‘Flix Summer Time’, the channel has lined up a slew of blockbuster movies every day starting 11.30 AM in May. 

    Hotel Transylvania is one of the movies that will be screened in ‘Flix Summer Time’. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, this animated film’s voice cast includes Hollywood biggies like Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Selena Gomez in the lead roles. 

    Another animated movie that will be screened on &flix is The Emoji Movie, which revolves around the story of Gene, a multi-expression emoji, who gets sentenced to be deleted after he messes up a message. 

    &flix will also showcase superhits like The Amazing Spiderman, Avengers: Infinity War, Zathura: A Space Adventure, and Ghostbusters in the ‘Flix Summer Time’ package. 

  • &flix celebrates Mother’s Day with ‘A Bad Mom’s Christmas’

    &flix celebrates Mother’s Day with ‘A Bad Mom’s Christmas’

    MUMBAI: Mother’s Day is all about acknowledging and honouring all that your mom does for you. Due to the influence of popular culture, the day has turned into a celebration of ideal motherhood. But our mother, no matter how loving and brilliant they may be, are human too, and imperfect. So this year, English movie channel &flix is marking Mother’s Day with the Indian television premiere of A Bad Mom’s Christmas. Set to air on &flix on 9 May at 1 pm and 9 pm, the movie will also be screened on Zee Cafe at 2 pm, and on &PriveHD at 3 pm and 11 pm. 

    A Bad Mom’s Christmas is directed by The Hangover screenwriter Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and stars Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, Susan Sarandon, and Jay Hernandez in lead roles. 

    A fun family entertainer, the movie follows our three under-appreciated and over-burdened women as they rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for moms: Christmas. And if creating a more perfect holiday for their families wasn’t hard enough, they must do all of that while hosting and entertaining their own mothers. By the end of the journey, witness the three badass moms redefine how to make the holidays special for all and discover a closer relationship with their mothers.

    A Bad Mom’s Christmas released worldwide on 1 November 2017 to generally mixed to positive reviews from critics and audiences. A sequel to this movie, tentatively titled Bad Moms’ Moms, is currently in development. 

  • Mexican gangster flick ‘El Mariachi’ to stream on &Prive World Box Office

    Mexican gangster flick ‘El Mariachi’ to stream on &Prive World Box Office

    NEW DELHI: Acclaimed filmmaker Robert Rodriguez’ Spanish-language action thriller El Mariachi is all set to stream on Prive World Box Office. The film revolves around Mexican gangster rivalry and focuses on a young man whose life is at stake when he is mistaken for a deadly criminal. 

    The movie will premiere on &Prive World HD on 7 May at 9 pm and will be available for streaming till 13 May. 

    Even after 29 years of its release, El Mariachi is widely considered one of the best gangster movies ever made, and enjoys a cult fan following in all corners of the world. 

    Post the success of El Mariachi, Rodriguez made two more movies, Antonio Banderas-starrer Desperado, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico under his Mexican gangster trilogy belt. 

    El Mariachi features Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Peter Marquardt, and Edith Gonzalez in the lead roles. The film is also recognised by Guinness World Records as the lowest-budgeted film ever to gross $1 million at the box office. 

  • Sony BBC Earth launches ‘Earth Champions’, an initiative to celebrate real life Earth heroes

    Sony BBC Earth launches ‘Earth Champions’, an initiative to celebrate real life Earth heroes

    MUMBAI: Love for the Earth has been the central theme of all of Sony BBC Earth’s programming and marketing initiatives. The channel has always brought stories – in the form of landmark natural history shows like Blue Planet II, Climate Change: The Facts and A Perfect Planet, among others – from around the globe that not only deeply connect the viewers with the natural world but also sensitize them about the importance of sustainability.

    Now with its latest IP Earth Champions, Sony BBC Earth is bringing to light stories of real-life heroes who are making this planet a better place with their relentless efforts and daily action. Through this property, the channel aims to inspire others to follow the steps of these ‘Earth Champions’ towards a greener and a more sustainable world.

    Starting off as a digital property which will be promoted on-air and on social media, Earth Champions’ first guest is UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth awardee – Afroz Shah, who will be in conversation with the host and Earth lover Tara Sharma on Earth Day – 22 April – at 7PM. Afroz will talk about his journey, about organizing ‘Biggest Beach Clean-up in World History’, about being recognized by the Honorable PM of India – Narendra Modi, and about continuing the cleaning till the oceans are made plastic and filth free.

    From renowned environmentalists and nature enthusiasts to climate warriors and commoners from all walks of life, Earth Champions aims to bring to light the power of individual actions that can collectively become a force of positive change and action. Creating conversations is key to raising awareness and hence Sony BBC Earth plans to recognize and celebrate an Earth Champion every month and thereby encourage others to make sustainable choices in their everyday living.

    Tune-in to Sony BBC Earth’s Instagram page (@SonyBBCEarth) to watch the LIVE conversation between host Tara Sharma and #EarthChampion Afroz Shah on Earth Day – 22 April at 7PM. And stay tuned for more conversations with other Earth Champions each month.
     
    Sony Pictures Networks India English cluster Marketing Head Rohan Jain said, “Sony BBC Earth has always championed for positive storytelling and inspiring ideas via its programming and marketing properties. Earth Champions is another such initiative and a seamless extension of our previous brand IP Young Earth Champions. It is backed with an intent to recognize and celebrate real-life heroes who are driving positive change of action via their relentless efforts in the space of sustainability. We are happy to support these Earth heroes and via them enlighten more people on the benefits of collective action”.

  • Sony Pix emerges as the #1 English movie channel in FY 21

    Sony Pix emerges as the #1 English movie channel in FY 21

    MUMBAI: With the financial year 20-21 ending, Sony Pix (SD + HD) has managed to garner 23 percent viewership share. A combination of a library of popular movies, blockbuster premieres and deeper engagement with the customers has propelled the channel to the top position.  The year 2020 was known for many firsts and  SPNI’s English movie channel Sony Pix took this opportunity to continue to innovate and grow backed by many programming and marketing initiatives.

     Apart from premiering blockbuster Hollywood movies like Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, The Secret Life of Pets 2, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Cold Pursuit and more, Sony Pix’s library also hosts some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises like Fast & Furious, The Mummy, Jurassic Park, among others. Such stupendous titles have made Sony Pix the most watched channel in the category – overall as well as during primetime- with highest time spent per viewer*. The channel’s dominance is also reflected in the fact that in the last eight weeks, six out of top ten movie airings in the English movie category were aired from Sony Pix’s library.

    This move has also helped the channel (Sony Pix SD+HD) register a +86 per cent growth in viewership share (vs. FY20), making it the fastest growing English movie channel. Owing to this the channel has managed to gain #1 position on HD feed with a strong share of 31 per cent**. Even in terms of reach and time spent, Sony Pix HD is the undisputed leader**.

    With renewed zest to continue to entertain the viewers with the biggest Hollywood premieres, franchises, marathons and specially curated programming properties, Sony Pix is looking forward to another year of amazement.

    Sony Pictures Networks India English Cluster business head Tushar Shah said,“Last year was not easy, however, to come out not just stronger but also as the leading English movie channel fills our heart with joy. We are grateful to our viewers for their unwavering love and support and have renewed faith in our strategy of placing the consumer first. We are ready to face the new year head-on with a promise to keep entertaining Sony Pix fans with the best of Hollywood blockbusters and movie festivals”.

    * Source: BARC, Market: 10L+, TG: NCCS 15-40 AB, Period: WK 14’2020 – 13’2021, Average Weekly AMA & ATS (viewer), English Movie Channels SD+HD

    ** Source: BARC, Market: 10L+, TG: NCCS 15-40 AB, Period: WK 14’2020 – 13’2021, Average Weekly AMA, ATS (viewer) & Cume Rch’000, English Movie Channel HD

    *** Source: BARC, Market: 10L+, TG: NCCS 15-40 AB, Period: WK 14’2020 – 13’2021, Time bands: 19:00-24:00, Average Weekly AMA, English Movie Channels SD+HD

    **** Source: BARC, Market: 10L+, TG: NCCS 15+ AB, Period: WK 6-13’2021, AMA, English Movie Channels SD