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Tag: Brian Grazer

  • THE NEW SEASON OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’s MARS SHOWCASES HOW MANKIND WILL LIVE ON THE RED PLANET

    THE NEW SEASON OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’s MARS SHOWCASES HOW MANKIND WILL LIVE ON THE RED PLANET

    MUMBAI: The prospect of mankind living on the Red Planet has never been more palpable. The idea once considered science fiction, but today, the future is definitely red for all of us.  

    Season 2 of National Geographic’s acclaimed series MARS – dubbed impressive, inspiring and scientifically honest by critics – returns with a six-episode arc continuing in last season’s unique hybrid format: alternating scripted and documentary sequences to predict what life will be like on the Red Planet forecasted by what’s happening today on Earth. National Geographic partners again with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard to envision what might happen when Earthlings become the planet’s first Martians. The new season premieres on National Geographic & Hotstar on 17th November.

    The first season of the series showcased how mankind will survive one of its greatest adventure -the journey to another planet. Backed by the research and technology available as of today, space pioneers showcased how the journey to Mars will unfold. The new season, picks up after this background, and highlights the actual problems humans will face as they try to survive on a completely new planet. It highlights a very important question – when becoming interplanetary, are humans doomed to repeat the same mistakes they made on Earth?

    On the scripted front, the series tackles seemingly everyday occurrences – pregnancy, break ups, new romances, epidemics, breakdowns, power outages, injuries, exercise, mealtimes and socializing. But when they occur approximately 54.7 million isolated kilometres from Earth –  where there is no escape – they are anything but ordinary.

    On the documentary front, present-day vignettes draw parallels to the future happenings on Mars by looking at some of the dire issues facing Earth’s last frontier – the Arctic. This includes a spectrum of events that currently are compromising life on Earth – and could plague us in the future as we become an interplanetary species: drilling, glacial melting, rising sea level and indigenous health epidemics which surface when the permafrost melts.

    The experts once again navigate the audience through the struggles and opportunities awaiting humans on Mars. This elite group includes some of the biggest names in human exploration, technology, the environment and social science, such as Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO; Ellen Stofan, former NASA Chief; Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist and futurist; Casey Dreier, director of space policy at the Planetary Society; Antonia Juhasz, leading oil and energy expert; and Naomi Klein, bestselling author, activist and award-winning journalist on climate change.

    “In MARS, everything as simple as the quotidian, like personal hygiene and meals, requires greater effort and is exponentially more difficult in this foreign frontier of limited resources where new rules are often written on the fly,” says Stephen Petranek, MARS’ co-executive producer, scientific advisor and award-winning author of How We'll Live on Mars. “Leaving Earth insures long-term human survival, and we have the technology and spirit to get there, but what will it actually take to live there? MARS is a six-to-nine month trip one way…so before we get there, we better make sure we can permanently make it our own.”

  • National Geographic’s global rebranding date coincides with ‘Mars’

    National Geographic’s global rebranding date coincides with ‘Mars’

    MUMBAI: National Geographic channel has finally decided to put a stop at all the speculation about its rebranding in the media and entertainment industry. It has dropped the word “channel” from its brand name and has embraced a global tagline, Further. To reinforce the notion of one National Geographic, as part of this new branding effort, the network will drop the word channel both on air and off all around the world beginning 14 November.

    This evolution further builds on last year’s expanded joint venture with 21st Century Fox and cements National Geographic’s position as a leader in premium content with an unparalleled global reach.

    Its new tagline embodies the ethos and spirit that have defined the brand (channel) for over 128 years. Embracing the company’s purpose to be the leading premium content destination for science, exploration and adventure, it captures the aspirations of the National Geographic audience and serves as a rallying cry for its employees, explorers, photographers, producers and other constituencies as well as a promise to advertisers, affiliates, educators and other external partners.

    “This is a proud moment for us at National Geographic and FNG as we set forth on a journey that will redefine the way in which the genre will be seen, experienced and consumed. Our new proposition of ‘Further’ underlines the vision of a brand that has always championed the cause of a better and deeper understanding of the world around us. It also comes at a point where the need to scratch beyond the surface and explore territories we never thought possible, is more pressing than ever before,” said National Geographic India Fox Networks group business head Swati Mohan.

    The rebrand will touch every aspect of National Geographic, including the visual presentation of the global channels in 171 countries, the iconic magazine, nationalgeographic.com, all of the company’s social and digital platforms.

    This news also coincides with premier of the global event series Mars, an epic story of mankind’s thrilling quest to inhabit Mars, executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.

    The epic and path-breaking, six-part series is a joint product by National Geographic (NG), Academy Award and Emmy-winning producers Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg of Imagine Entertainment; and Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning producer Justin Wilkes and Dave O’Connor of Radical Media.

    She further added, “Mars is a perfect example of our ambition on ‘Further’, as it tells the story of the inevitability of inter planetary existence of mankind. The show also launches a first-of-its-kind format that combines scripted with stunning visual effects and high-class documentary sequences. And yet, this is just the beginning of a whole new world of National Geographic, which we are confident will stun and amaze its audiences like never before.”

    Globally premiering on 14 November at 9 pm on the channel across 171 countries and 45 languages, Mars, is set both in the future and in the present day. It will air every Monday at 9 pm. This series aims to redefine television storytelling by combining feature-film-quality scripted drama and visual effects with best-in-class documentary sequences to drive forward a cohesive, edge-of-your seat story of mankind’s thrilling quest to inhabit Mars.

  • National Geographic’s global rebranding date coincides with ‘Mars’

    National Geographic’s global rebranding date coincides with ‘Mars’

    MUMBAI: National Geographic channel has finally decided to put a stop at all the speculation about its rebranding in the media and entertainment industry. It has dropped the word “channel” from its brand name and has embraced a global tagline, Further. To reinforce the notion of one National Geographic, as part of this new branding effort, the network will drop the word channel both on air and off all around the world beginning 14 November.

    This evolution further builds on last year’s expanded joint venture with 21st Century Fox and cements National Geographic’s position as a leader in premium content with an unparalleled global reach.

    Its new tagline embodies the ethos and spirit that have defined the brand (channel) for over 128 years. Embracing the company’s purpose to be the leading premium content destination for science, exploration and adventure, it captures the aspirations of the National Geographic audience and serves as a rallying cry for its employees, explorers, photographers, producers and other constituencies as well as a promise to advertisers, affiliates, educators and other external partners.

    “This is a proud moment for us at National Geographic and FNG as we set forth on a journey that will redefine the way in which the genre will be seen, experienced and consumed. Our new proposition of ‘Further’ underlines the vision of a brand that has always championed the cause of a better and deeper understanding of the world around us. It also comes at a point where the need to scratch beyond the surface and explore territories we never thought possible, is more pressing than ever before,” said National Geographic India Fox Networks group business head Swati Mohan.

    The rebrand will touch every aspect of National Geographic, including the visual presentation of the global channels in 171 countries, the iconic magazine, nationalgeographic.com, all of the company’s social and digital platforms.

    This news also coincides with premier of the global event series Mars, an epic story of mankind’s thrilling quest to inhabit Mars, executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.

    The epic and path-breaking, six-part series is a joint product by National Geographic (NG), Academy Award and Emmy-winning producers Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg of Imagine Entertainment; and Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning producer Justin Wilkes and Dave O’Connor of Radical Media.

    She further added, “Mars is a perfect example of our ambition on ‘Further’, as it tells the story of the inevitability of inter planetary existence of mankind. The show also launches a first-of-its-kind format that combines scripted with stunning visual effects and high-class documentary sequences. And yet, this is just the beginning of a whole new world of National Geographic, which we are confident will stun and amaze its audiences like never before.”

    Globally premiering on 14 November at 9 pm on the channel across 171 countries and 45 languages, Mars, is set both in the future and in the present day. It will air every Monday at 9 pm. This series aims to redefine television storytelling by combining feature-film-quality scripted drama and visual effects with best-in-class documentary sequences to drive forward a cohesive, edge-of-your seat story of mankind’s thrilling quest to inhabit Mars.

  • Shoot begins for Tom Hanks & Irrfan Khan starrer ‘Inferno’

    Shoot begins for Tom Hanks & Irrfan Khan starrer ‘Inferno’

    MUMBAI: Principal photography has commenced on Inferno, the new film in Columbia Pictures’ Robert Langdon series, which has taken in more than $1.2 billion worldwide to date. The film is slated for release on 14 October, 2016.

     

    In the film, Academy Award winner Tom Hanks reprises his role as Langdon. An international cast of actors, including Felicity Jones, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Ben Foster, and Sidse Babett Knudsen, joins him. The film is directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer and Howard.

     

    The screenplay is by David Koepp, based on the book by Dan Brown. The project’s executive producers are David Householter, Dan Brown, Anna Culp, and William M. Connor.

     

    Inferno continues the Harvard symbologist’s adventures on screen: when Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks, a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories and prevent a madman from releasing a global plague connected to Dante’s Inferno.

     

    Howard said, “I’m so excited to be starting production on our third Robert Langdon film. Audiences everywhere have shown a tremendous appetite for the Robert Langdon adventures and Inferno has all of the intrigue and action they could want.”

     

    The film will be shot on location in such exotic cities as Florence, Venice and Budapest. Howard’s production team includes director of photography Salvatore Totino, production designer Peter Wenham, editors Dan Hanley and Tom Elkins, and costume designer Julian Day.

  • Jennifer Lawrence and Gary Ross team up for East of Eden

    Jennifer Lawrence and Gary Ross team up for East of Eden

    MUMBAI: A deal has been finalised between Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer with the John Steinbeck estate to recreate the novel ‘East of Eden’ written by John Steinbeck.

    It will also see ‘Hunger Games’ team of Jennifer Lawrence and Gary Ross together again.

    Apparently, two movies will be made on the book. The pair is also going to be seen together in ‘Burial Rites’. The picture will go on floor for production after Ross directs his movie ‘Peter and the Starcatchers’. Lawrence also has two movies lined up- ‘The Hunger Games: Catching fire’ and ‘American Hustle’.
    The film’s executive producer is Anna Culp. The book deal was made by RWSG’s Agency’s Geoff Sanford, Jill Gillett and Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein.

  • Chadwick Boseman to play James Brown

    Chadwick Boseman to play James Brown

    MUMBAI: Universal Pictures has roped in Boseman to play the iconic character. Boseman was recently seen in 42. The biopic is being director by The Help’s Tate Taylor while Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is producing with Mick Jagger.

     

    The film will be a co-production between Jagged Films, based on a screenplay by Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth. Grazer and Jagger will produce along with Jagger’s Victoria Pearman and Imagine’s Erica Huggins.

     

    The story is about a young boy who rises from extreme poverty and violence to be The Godfather of Soul, one of the most influential and successful black artists in History.

  • Brian Grazer set to receive Lifetime Achievement Award from PromaxBDA

    Brian Grazer set to receive Lifetime Achievement Award from PromaxBDA

    MUMBAI: Oscar and Emmy award winning producer, Brian Grazer is set to receive the lifetime achievement trophy at PromaxBDA’s upcoming conference as reported exclusively by the Hollywood Reporter.

    Grazer will be given the award onstage during a conversation by Piers Morgan, host of CNN’s Piers Morgan Live.

    “From Splash to Arrested Development, Grazer is one of Hollywood‘s most prominent television producers and filmmakers and has consistently transformed the content landscape with his innovative films and series,” said PromaxBDA president and CEO Jonathan Block-Verk.

    As a writer and producer, Grazer has been nominated for four Academy awards and won the best picture for Oscar A Beautiful Mind in 2002. The movie also earned Grazer the inaugural Awareness Award from the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign.

    Grazer, a longtime partner with Ron Howard in Imagine Entertainment, has also won Emmys as executive producer of 24 (best drama series), Arrested Development (best comedy) and From the Earth to the Moon (best miniseries).

    Over the years, films and TV shows in which Grazer had been a part of was nominated for a total of 43 Oscars and 149 Emmys.

    "I’m honored to accept the 2013 PromaxBDA Lifetime Achievement Award," Grazer said. "For the last three decades, I have been able to share my vision as a filmmaker and a producer while doing something that I truly love and for this I am grateful," he added.

  • Documentary on Frank Sinatra in offing

    Documentary on Frank Sinatra in offing

    MUMBAI: Brett Ratner, Brian Grazer and Graydon Carter are reportedly in talks to film a documentary on Frank Sinatra.
     
    The project, which is based on the book Mr S: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Sinatra‘s longtime valet George Jacobs, was once slated to be a feature directed by Ratner with Chris Tucker starring in the same. Only now it has been re-imagined as a TV documentary, it is understood.
     
    The book by Jacobs and Hollywood biographer William Stadiem was published in 2003 as a behind-the-scenes look at the singer and the original Rat Pack of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford.