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  • Katzenberg announces India animation intent

    Katzenberg announces India animation intent

    CANNES: It’s official and its coming from DreamWorks SKG cofounder Jeffrey Katzenberg’s mouth. “We are coming to India in a big way,” he told indiantelevision.com at the Cannes Film Festival where he was promoing Over the Hedge. “In what shape or form we don’t know as yet, but we will.”

    Katzeberg said he had been to India three times in the past nine months. “India is a very exciting place and has potential for great animation…no other place has greater potential than India for great creative work,” he explained. “You have an excellent pool of creative talent. ”

    He however added that Dreanworks foray into India would not be in the form of outsourcing. “:It will be definitely more than that.”

    Katzenberg pointed out that what animation is witnessing is its second renaissance. “The first wave was in the eighties and was more handdrawn,” he pointed out. “Today, animation s driven by digital, by computers. It is a great time for animation. Some of the finest movie producers are taking it up. We at Dreamworks Animation are committed to producing at least two animation movies a year.”

  • ” In Early Edition, my character is one people would like to be in real life – a good guy and all ” : Hallmark’s Early Edition lead actor Kyle Chandler

    Early Edition, the series, commenced telecast on Hallmark since September. The hero, Gary Hobson ,is a man who gets the newspaper one day in advance, courtesy a cat. He can prevent various tragedies from occurring.
     

    Hobson is played by a US-based actor ,Kyle Chandler .The tall, strapping actor has come a long way from his roots in the small town of Loganville in the US. He even managed to win the Saturn award for his portrayal of the character in the teleserial. Indiantelevision.com correspondent Ashwin Pinto caught up with the star via email and got him to talk about his character Hobson, his choice of roles and the future as he sees it. Excerpts –
     

    How believable do you think your character is in the show, in context to the storyline?
    In Early Edition, I’m able to indulge in drama, comedy, and everything in between. There was no insecurity about trying to play the role of Gary. As an actor, it completely freed me up.

    Of course, the fact that he gets the newspaper a day earlier is a little unreal, but I would like to think of what would happen if I really get a newspaper like this. We’ve got Fisher Stevens on one side, who indeed is the dastardly fellow, who would do anything with the paper, that’s not good. Shanesia Davis on the other side, who plays a blind character, has sort of a sixth sense and…she does the right thing and I’m stuck in the middle.

    I think my character is one people would like to be in real life – a good guy and all!

    How different is it acting in made-for-television films such as Sleep Baby Sleep and Quiet Victory, when compared to acting in full length box office films like Mulholland Falls?
    Well the ground rules for acting are the same. Acting a different character has a different experience altogether. When you are an actor, you just work hard and do whatever you can to do your best, it does not matter whether it is TV films or box office films, you just give it your best shot and wait!
     
    Tell us something more about your television career, right from the time you made a foray to when you received the Saturn for Early Edition?
    Well, it goes a long way back one drunken night when I met friends in college. I was quite young then and we were having a chat on careers. Very playfully, they suggested A Comedy of Errors, a Shakespearean play. I tried and got the part. My friends applauded and I found a career.

    I enrolled at the University of Georgia, where I completed a BA in theatre. I kept acting side by side. Then came my first award where I was awarded the Outer Critics Award for my Broadway performance as Hal Carter in the Roundabout Theatre’s Picnic. One experience that I never fail to mention is working with Peter O’Toole. Ever since high school and seeing The Ruling Class, I dreamt of working with Peter O’Toole. Not only did I work with him, but the fellow bought me a scotch. Then the Saturn award happened. That is a dream come true! Today, people know me as Gary from Early Edition.
     
    “The Saturn award is a dream come true! Today, people know me as Gary from Early Edition “
     

    Do you miss doing theatre since you were extensively involved in it during your graduation days?
    I’ve been fortunate enough to do TV, features, theatre etc…. My goal is to continue all of these endeavours. Theatre is definitely something, I think all actors miss once theatre once they get into TV.
     

    What kind of television roles are you looking at? What’s your forte?
    Well, I have a couple of things on hand though I would not like to talk about them now as we are just about finalising things.
     
    Isn’t the lure of Hollywood stronger?
    I have never run after roles. I have just given my best shot to every role. When I am in front of the camera or the audience, I know I belong there. Hollywood has its own temptations. I am extremely happy with my work. I know I am here to be an actor and am here to stay. And I know I am going to be around for a long, long time to come.
  • Uefa wins case against streaming sites

    Uefa wins case against streaming sites

    MUMBAI: Football association Uefa has announced a victory in the High Court in the UK over the illegal streaming of Uefa Champions League matches via the internet.

    Uefa had issued proceedings in March this year in the High Court in England against the owners and operators of a series of websites unlawfully streaming and making available to subscribers television coverage of Uefa Champions League matches.

    The claim alleged infringement of copyright in the broadcasts and all the separate ancillary copyright works included in those broadcasts, namely the UCL music, the UCL on-screen graphics, the sponsored video sequences and the UCL Starball.

    The judge granted summary judgment, issued a permanent injunction restraining the broadcasting of UCL matches over the Internet, ordered the confiscation of all equipment used in the pirating process as well as ordering that the defendants pay the substantial costs of the claim with the precise level of damages to be assessed.

    Uefa CEO Lars-Christer Olsson said, “This is a landmark decision in favour of Uefa and of rights holders everywhere. We see this as a major victory against the unauthourised and illegal streaming of UEFA Champions League matches over the Internet, and therefore a full endorsement for the protection of the rights of the official broadcasters who have purchased the right to show these matches.”

  • Cell users worldwide prefer GSM: study

    Cell users worldwide prefer GSM: study

    MUMBAI: The subscriber results from Informa Telecoms and Media’s World Cellular Information Service for 1Q 2006, 3G Americas reports that cell phone users across the globe choose GSM 10 to one over any other wireless mobile technology.

    According to the study, the customer base for the GSM family of technologies which include, GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA — grew by nearly 120 million additional subscribers in 1Q 2006 alone, compared to the total net growth of CDMA of about 12 million customers.

    Today, the 1.85 billion users of the GSM family of technologies make up more than 81 per cent of the wireless mobile market worldwide, with total subscribers of CDMA at less than 300 million and a 13 per cent market share. There were 57 million customers using UMTS services at the close of 1Q 2006.

    The results also indicate that from Q1 ’05 to Q1 ’06, the GSM family of technologies showed continued growth throughout the Western Hemisphere, adding nearly 95 million new customers — 3.5 times as many as CDMA – and approaching a quarter of a billion customers in this region alone.

    CDMA’s customer base in the region grew to a total of 169 million in the same time period with 27 million new customers and market share declining to 34.6 per cent, along with CDMA to 11.6 per cent. By contrast, the growing market share for GSM reached 47.8 per cent. Latin America and the Caribbean once again nearly doubled their GSM customer base in these 12 months, growing from 77 million customers in March 2005 to 150 million by March 2006.

    In this region, more than 19 million GSM users were added, versus 2 million for CDMA. GSM now has nearly 150 million customers in Latin America and the Caribbean and over a 58 per cent share of market, indicating that it is the no.1 technology for wireless mobile services.

    In the US and Canada, GSM operators reported exceptional growth, with 4.8 million new customers added in the 1Q 2006 for a customer base of 84 million.

    3G Americas president Chris Pearson said, “The majority of wireless customers are selecting GSM service for the value and variety of products and services that are supported by a global eco-system of manufacturers, encouraged by open technology standards versus proprietary standards.”

    “In addition, carriers throughout the Americas and worldwide continue to choose EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA as leading next generation technologies for wireless data services for many compelling reasons, such as spectral efficiency, global roaming, economies of scale, handset availability, as well as the potential for increased revenues from 3G services,” he added.

    According to a release, the growth of GSM is evident in the number of carriers upgrading or changing their technology platforms in the industry for a variety of strategic business reasons. These include veteran CDMA operators such as Telstra in Australia, and KT Freetel and SK Telecom in Korea who are deploying UMTS/HSPDA. Chinook Wireless (Montana) made a similar announcement to deploy GSM/EDGE to ‘enable their subscribers to benefit from higher performing network service with increased coverage, higher voice quality and advanced digital data services like multimedia messaging and Internet browsing.’ To date, at least 11 operators have announced CDMA to GSM migrations or dual technology deployments.

    Globally, the GSM family of technologies continues its rapid evolution to 3G high-speed wireless data. EDGE is commercially offered by 133 operators across 80 countries, including 31 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. There are 81 additional EDGE networks planned or in deployment. Currently, there are 105 UMTS networks in service across 50 countries, with 59 more planned or in deployment. HSDPA, which is an enhanced version of UMTS for high speed mobile broadband, was launched first in the world by Cingular Wireless in 16 markets in December 2005.

    Now, five months later, HSDPA is commercial on 22 networks and 73 additional operators have networks planned, in deployment, or in trial. Rogers Wireless of Canada will deploy HSDPA before year end 2006; T-Mobile USA has announced plans to do the same when spectrum resources are acquired. It is expected that nearly all UMTS operators will deploy HSDPA, essentially a software upgrade to UMTS, resulting in a significant increase in data capacity and offering operators a much-reduced network cost for data services.

    Additionally, through its level of scale, GSM serves emerging markets, providing a sub $30 GSM cost handset to the market and reducing typical capital expenditure for deploying a GSM network to a quarter of that required for CDMA, according to the GSM Association.

    This data is based on figures from Informa Telecoms & Media, which provides business intelligence and strategic services to the global telecoms and media markets.

  • Destiny’s Child, Korn triumph at MTV Asia Awards

    Destiny’s Child, Korn triumph at MTV Asia Awards

    MUMBAI: The Siam Paragon venue in Bangkok was illuminated with international and Asian stars celebrating the fifth spectacular MTV Asia Awards 2006 on 6 May.

    Destiny’s Child got the Special Achievement in Music Award. In a special presentation during the show, MTV Asia Awards host Kelly Rowland accepted the Award on behalf of Destiny’s Child. The award winners included Korn’s Twisted Transistor which won for Favourite Video.

    The multi-platinum trio consisting of Rowland, Beyonce Knowles and Michelle Williams, Destiny’s Child were honoured for their contribution to the music world and their immeasurable impact on pop culture.

    While Latin heart throb Ricky Martin was the viewers choice for Best Male Singer, the winner of the first edition of American Idol Kelly Clarkson was their choice for Favourite Female. The Backstreet Boys were voted the Favourite Pop act while Simon Webbe was the Favourite Breakthrough Artist.

    The Asian winners included India’s Jal, Vicki Zhao from China, Twins from Hong Kong and Thai singer Tata Young. Winners were determined by MTV viewers throughout Asia, who voted via SMS and online.

    The night started off with Korn performing their song Twisted Transistor. The 4,600 capacity-crowd were treated to a true blend of East and West throughout the night.

    Host city Bangkok got a special treat as Thai hip-hop group Thaitanium jammed with Simon Webbe in a performance of No Worries and Webbe’s Blue bandmate Lee Ryan partnered with Young for their version of the classic ballad Endless Love.

    Taiwanese favourite Jolin Tsai performed Dancing Diva. Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Powter got behind the piano and sang his hit Bad Day. The night ended with Korea’s Kangta joining forces with Taiwan’s Vanness Wu for a duet performance of 2nd Scandal.

  • Fingerprint Pictures acquires remake rights to ‘A Better Tomorrow’ from Fortune Star

    Fingerprint Pictures acquires remake rights to ‘A Better Tomorrow’ from Fortune Star

    MUMBAI: Fingerprint Pictures, a production company set up by producer Park Hyung Jun has acquired the remake rights to multi award winning film A Better Tomorrow (originally directed by John Woo, starring Chow Yun Fat) from Fortune Star Entertainment, the distribution division of Star Group.

    Fingerprint Pictures is currently recruiting scriptwriters and a director for the Korean remake, which is planned for production in 2007. Fingerprint Pictures is also working with Fortune Star Entertainment to bring in a high profile producer for the project.

    Fingerprint Pictures together with Fortune Star Entertainment will handle the international distribution of the remake outside of Korea.

    “We are delighted to work with Fingerprint Pictures, a renowned production company, to remake this classic title from our library, A Better Tomorrow. We are especially excited about the prospect of bringing this incredible story back to a new generation of viewers in Asia as well as the rest of the world,” said Fortune Star Entertainment general manager Peter E. Poon.

    Hyung Jun added, “We are thrilled and honored to have acquired the rights to remake one of the most prestigious films in Hong Kong’s history. This remake represents a landmark cooperation between the film industries of Hong Kong and Korea, and we look very much forward to bringing this wonderful story to new audiences everywhere.”

    A Better Tomorrow tells the story of two brothers: one a successful counterfeiter and the younger a fledgling police academy graduate. The plot revolves around the conflict caused by the younger sibling learning about his brother’s criminal lifestyle. Meanwhile, the older sibling is struggling to change his evil ways. Along the way are a number of action-packed heists, double-crosses and shootouts.

    In 1986, A Better Tomorrow won awards for Best Film and Best Actor (Chow Yun Fat) at the 6th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards and for Best Director (John Woo), Best Actor (Ti Lung), Best Cinematography (Horace Wong Wing Hang) and Best Sound Recording at the 23rd Annual Golden Horse Awards.

  • Al Jazeera International sees delay in launch

    Al Jazeera International sees delay in launch

    MUMBAI: The proposed English news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera International has delayed the launch of the channel from April to September at the earliest.

    The channel an offshoot of the Qatar-based Arabic network has pushed the launch date on account of series of constructions and technical glitches at its four centres in London, Doha, Kuala Lumpur and Washington, according to The Guardian.

    The channel is said to be still experiencing problems and thus, the launch has now been stated to be early September.

    The executives of the channel are said to be increasingly fed up with the slow pace of progress. “Staff are extremely frustrated, as is the management, who are tearing their hair out at the inefficiency of support staff,” said a source to the publication The Guardian.

    The bosses at the English-language service were concerned about “meddling” from Al-Jazeera’s Arabic owners, who are thought to be worried the new channel could end up a “watered down version of the BBC or CNN” and a “damp squib managed by non-Muslim westerners”.

    Although the broadcaster has inked a deal with the Sky Digital in UK, it is however finding difficulties in striking deals in the key American market.

    The Al-Jazeera spokeswoman speaking to The Guardian said that the broadcaster was not releasing an official launch date. However, she said the channel’s management had a particular date towards which they were working.

    “They are waiting on their technical requirements to be fulfilled,” she said.

    CNN and BCC are the main competitors to the Al-Jazeera International targeting the English-language news audiences, particularly in its coverage of the Middle East.

    The broadcaster has already roped in high-profile personalities, including Sir David Frost, former CNN Riz Khan, former CNN Rageh Omaar, Channel Five news presenter Barbara Serra for the London newsroom, and as well as other journalists from Sky, ITN and elsewhere.

    Recently, the channel hired a host of presenters for sports coverage.

    Al-Jazeera launched in Qatar in November 1996, bankrolled by the Emir of Qatar, but came to international prominence during the US attack on Afghanistan in 2001 when it was the only foreign broadcaster in Kabul.

    Al-Jazeera, which has been credited with changing the face of Arab television news, has faced criticism from the US as well as several Arab states. The channel is always surrounded by controversies by screening messages from the most-wanted man Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaida.

    The British Broadcasting Corporation has announced plans to set up its own Arabic news channel next year and has roped in former Al-Jazeera executive Salah Negm as news editor.

  • Quick-start, long-play internet television arrives with Zattoo P2P IPTV

    Quick-start, long-play internet television arrives with Zattoo P2P IPTV

    MUMBAI: To date, television on the Internet hasn’t been like television at all; video streams tend to skip, stutter and break, image quality is low, and very little content is live. That’s about to change.

    Making its worldwide debut at Streaming Media East in New York City, Zattoo has unveiled a new peer-to-peer IPTV service that makes live, quick-start, long-play Internet Television a reality for broadband users, broadcasters, content owners and advertisers.

    The first Zattoo P2P IPTV broadcasts begin in Switzerland with the availability of every action-packed minute of the 2006 soccer world championship (known globally as the FIFA World Cup(TM)), streamed live to Swiss viewers starting with the first match in June and culminating with the championship match on 9 July 2006, states an official release.

    “Advances in broadband, video compression, and multicast streaming technology are rapidly lowering the technical hurdles for Internet and television to merge on a PC. However, there is still the matter of cost. Our streaming network solves that problem by reducing broadcasters’ costs by a factor of ten, making it compelling for them to switch to our technology and broaden their service offering,” says CTO and co-founder of Zattoo Sugih Jamin. “Also, Zattoo’s proprietary P2P streaming technology ensures a video delivery and smoothness that has until now been impossible to achieve.”

    Developed by researchers and software engineers from University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Zattoo offers a DRM-secure, commercial peer-to-peer network optimized for streaming video that is uniquely capable of serving the needs of consumers, broadcasters, content owners and advertisers, adds the release.

    “End users are tired of islands of content. They want a single place to go where they can switch channels as easily as pressing channel up and down on their current TV remote,” says CEO and co-founder of Zattoo Beat Knecht. “Zattoo offers such a single point of access to the widest variety of content, delivered with the highest possible quality and reliability. Users may watch news at work, educational programs at school, or movies in the privacy of their room, all without set top box, as long as they have broadband access.”

  • ESPN, Airtel tie-up for Fifa WC on mobile phones

    ESPN, Airtel tie-up for Fifa WC on mobile phones

    Live goal alerts. Live match updates. Live fixtures. Download mobisodes of previews and predictions. Contests and much more. The soccer World Cup anywhere and anytime. Football fans in India just got a bonus.

    Airtel, a leading mobile services provider, today announced the launch of a host of services for the FIFA World Cup 2006 that will be exclusively available to the company’s subscribers.

    The latest breaking team news, fixture listings, half-time and full-time scores and penalties will be available on SMS/ WAP alerts. Also, an Airtel customer may choose to receive SMS alerts on their favorite teams’ progress such as goals or score updates or match fixtures.

    A dedicated news section on the World Cup 2006 will be available from 31 May to 9 July 2006.

    The official statement quoted Hemant Sachdev, director, marketing and communications, Bharti Airtel Limited, as saying, “The Football World Cup connects billions of people across the world in a very special way. We are delighted that Airtel customers will now have the exclusive advantage of following their favorite team’s progress and accessing rich and exciting World Cup 2006 content on the mobile.”

    Commenting on the tie-up with Airtel, ESPN Software India MD RC Venkateish, “As the leading sports network, we are focused on servicing the fan – that means making our sports content available anytime and any place through any pipe and any device. Through Mobile ESPN, we have merged what avid fans expect on our TV channels and on espnstar.com and created a third screen in sports.”

    Airtel has also lined up exciting contests for its users during the World Cup. Call 646 and say “Scream”. Choose your favourite country and also your favorite ‘mood’– loud or funny. After that JUST SCREAM ‘GOOAAAL”. The winner will win an all expense holiday to their favorite football playing country.

    How to access World Cup 2006 services on Airtel? Airtel customers can subscribe to these services by SMS & WAP. SMS WCG to 646 for alerts or visit Airtel Live from a GPRS enabled phone or dial 646

    Services available on Airtel

    [a] “ESPN Here We Go” – starting 8 June.

    Made-for-mobile ‘mobisodes’ by ESPN Star Sports presenters. Each mobisode consists of 2-minute and 30-second previews clip on every World Cup 2006 match, which features match analysis and predictions by ESPN STAR Sports football analysts and pundits, as well as previous day highlights and team news

    [b] SportsCenter: This section comprises 2-minute and 30-second video clips featuring daily bulletins and coverage of top sports stories from around the world.

    SportsCenter Football Update: Dedicated news section on the world of football, with 2-minute and 30 second video clips featuring the latest match updates, summaries and results.

    Special news report on World Cup 2006

    [c] ESPN Football Live: Live alerts and news service providing the latest breaking team news, match updates and match fixtures. Match updates, goal updates, half time / full time scores, yellow / red cards information, penalties etc.

    Match fixtures: List of upcoming matches

    [d] ESPN Insider – starting 29 May.

    Dedicated match preview service with expert analysis and opinions from ESPN Star Sports presenters and professional tipster. Pre-match analysis and predictions provided by ESPN Star Sports celebrity presenters such as Andrew Leci, John Dykes, Andy Penders, Paul Masefield or Steve McMahon.

    [e] Mobile ESPN content on SMS – starting 9 June.

    Live goals: live scores, half time and full time scores.

    [f] Other sports content service offerings available for download- Starting 29 May.

    Java games, wallpapers of popular football players.

    Bharti Airtel Limited is one of India’s leading private sector providers of telecommunications services with an aggregate of over 22.07 million customers as of end of April 2006, consisting of more than 20.68 million mobile customers.

  • Star World to air ‘American Idol’ finale live on 25 May at 9 am

    Star World to air ‘American Idol’ finale live on 25 May at 9 am

    MUMBAI: Star World will telecast the performance finale of American Idol on 24 May at 8 pm, while the grand finale will be aired live on 25 May 2006 at 9 am.

    Finally, after months of gruelling competition, millions of votes and many favourites being knocked out, the fight is now between Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee. As McPhee, a 21 year old born and raised in Los Angeles and Hicks, a 29 year old from Alabama battle it out, America will make the final call.

    No doubt the judges have their preferences but it’s no longer in their hands. The performance of the two finalists will determine who takes away the crown and an opportunity to work with some of the best music producers in the industry.

    Currently in its fifth season, it was named the highest-rated show in the history of American Idol. It also seems to have acquired an international appeal and fans anxiously await the announcement of America’s favourite, the release adds.

    A two hour special of the finale will be telecast live on 25 May at 9 am, with a prime time repeat at 8 pm. Repeats of this show will also be aired on 26 May at 1:30 am and10 am, respectively.