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  • MN+ to air its Oscar special property ‘The Academy Club’

    MUMBAI: MN+ is all geared up to air their Oscar special property The Academy Club that will leave the movie lover ecstatic with cinematic brilliance. The channel will air this property on 25 and 26 February, throughout the day.

    The line-up of movies on this channel will include movies that defined cinema and those that demand repeat-viewing for the sheer quality of the direction, writing, cinematography and performances. The movies are a collection of nine of the best Academy Award winning films like The Hurt Locker, 12 Years a Slave, Crash, LOTR: Return of the King, Chicago, The English Patient, The Silence of the Lambs, Rain Man and Gandhi.

    Every movie on the list has won not just an Academy Award but also the Best Picture Award in the year of its release.

  • Photograph food for Chef’s Table

    Photograph food for Chef’s Table

    MUMBAI: Food, glorious food. We love to eat it, we love to watch others cook it, and above all, we love to photograph it. From the director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi (David Gelb) comes Chef’s Table, a Netflix original documentary series, that is returning globally for a second season on Friday, 27 May.

    To celebrate season two, the search is on across Asia for the Chef’s Table official Instagrammer. The chosen Instagrammer will visit the six restaurants featured in season two (Mexico! Slovenia! Chicago! Brazil! San Francisco! Thailand!) and document their sensory experience through beautifully-set, mouth-watering and hunger-inducing Instagram shots.

    Sounds delectable? Join in to:
    1. Follow @Netflix_IN
    2. Post your best original food photo to Instagram
    3. Hashtag #MyChefsTable

    For more information, please head on to mychefstable.netflix.com, or refer to the appended image.

    The renowned chefs featured in season 2 of Chef’s Table include: Alex Atala (Brazil); Ana Ros (Slovenia); Dominique Crenn (United States); Enrique Olvera (Mexico); Gaggan Anand (Thailand); and Grant Achatz (United States). The series provides a rare, inside look at the lives and careers of some of the world’s best chefs today on their quests for sensory perfection.
    Chef’s Table season one is now streaming globally on Netflix.

  • Photograph food for Chef’s Table

    Photograph food for Chef’s Table

    MUMBAI: Food, glorious food. We love to eat it, we love to watch others cook it, and above all, we love to photograph it. From the director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi (David Gelb) comes Chef’s Table, a Netflix original documentary series, that is returning globally for a second season on Friday, 27 May.

    To celebrate season two, the search is on across Asia for the Chef’s Table official Instagrammer. The chosen Instagrammer will visit the six restaurants featured in season two (Mexico! Slovenia! Chicago! Brazil! San Francisco! Thailand!) and document their sensory experience through beautifully-set, mouth-watering and hunger-inducing Instagram shots.

    Sounds delectable? Join in to:
    1. Follow @Netflix_IN
    2. Post your best original food photo to Instagram
    3. Hashtag #MyChefsTable

    For more information, please head on to mychefstable.netflix.com, or refer to the appended image.

    The renowned chefs featured in season 2 of Chef’s Table include: Alex Atala (Brazil); Ana Ros (Slovenia); Dominique Crenn (United States); Enrique Olvera (Mexico); Gaggan Anand (Thailand); and Grant Achatz (United States). The series provides a rare, inside look at the lives and careers of some of the world’s best chefs today on their quests for sensory perfection.
    Chef’s Table season one is now streaming globally on Netflix.

  • Goafest Creative Abby jury chairs announced for Print, Radio and Brand Activation

    Goafest Creative Abby jury chairs announced for Print, Radio and Brand Activation

    MUMBAI: The Goafest Creative Abbys, the highly coveted advertising awards that recognize the best in advertising and marketing has announced the second set of jury for the coveted awards. The Awards Governing Council of Goafest 2016 has declared the jury chairs for print, radio/radio craft advertising and brand activation verticals. While  Publicis Communications  managing director & chief creative officer Bobby Pawar will chair the print communication jury of Creative Abby, Contract Advertising national creative director Ashish Chakravarty  will chair the radio/ radio craft jury and Scarecrow Communications  director and founder Manish Bhatt  will chair the jury for brand activation vertical.

    Jury chair of the print category  Bobby Pawar is reckoned amongst peers as one of the most influential professsionals in advertising. Before joining Publicis, he was the CCO at JWT, where he curated some iconic campaigns. Prior to that he spent 4 years as the chief creative officer of the DDB Mudra Group. He was instrumental in transforming the agency into a top rated creative solution destinations in the country. Bobby was earlier creative director at Ogilvy, New York and group creative director at BBDO, Chicago.

    Ashish Chakravarty with over 2 decades of experience has created some of the biggest brands in the country and is recognized as amongst the top 10 creative directors in India and amongst the top 50 creative Ddrectors in the world, according to a latest global ranking. Ashish’s work has won him several metals across the biggest creative fests across the world including Cannes and D&AD. He is credited with winning more than 200 national and international awards across categories and brands.

    Manish Bhatt  started his career as a Civil Engineer at Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation. But, soon he decided to enter the world of advertising and went on create one of India’s most sought after independent ad agencies Scarecrow.  He has worked in Ad World for more than 15 years and has been associated with agencies like Contract, Ogilvy & Mather (Delhi, Mumbai & Malaysia), Ambience Publicis and McCann Erickson. Bhatt has received recognition for his creative work across platforms like Cannes Lions, D&AD London, The One Show, Clios and the Abbys.

  • Goafest Creative Abby jury chairs announced for Print, Radio and Brand Activation

    Goafest Creative Abby jury chairs announced for Print, Radio and Brand Activation

    MUMBAI: The Goafest Creative Abbys, the highly coveted advertising awards that recognize the best in advertising and marketing has announced the second set of jury for the coveted awards. The Awards Governing Council of Goafest 2016 has declared the jury chairs for print, radio/radio craft advertising and brand activation verticals. While  Publicis Communications  managing director & chief creative officer Bobby Pawar will chair the print communication jury of Creative Abby, Contract Advertising national creative director Ashish Chakravarty  will chair the radio/ radio craft jury and Scarecrow Communications  director and founder Manish Bhatt  will chair the jury for brand activation vertical.

    Jury chair of the print category  Bobby Pawar is reckoned amongst peers as one of the most influential professsionals in advertising. Before joining Publicis, he was the CCO at JWT, where he curated some iconic campaigns. Prior to that he spent 4 years as the chief creative officer of the DDB Mudra Group. He was instrumental in transforming the agency into a top rated creative solution destinations in the country. Bobby was earlier creative director at Ogilvy, New York and group creative director at BBDO, Chicago.

    Ashish Chakravarty with over 2 decades of experience has created some of the biggest brands in the country and is recognized as amongst the top 10 creative directors in India and amongst the top 50 creative Ddrectors in the world, according to a latest global ranking. Ashish’s work has won him several metals across the biggest creative fests across the world including Cannes and D&AD. He is credited with winning more than 200 national and international awards across categories and brands.

    Manish Bhatt  started his career as a Civil Engineer at Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation. But, soon he decided to enter the world of advertising and went on create one of India’s most sought after independent ad agencies Scarecrow.  He has worked in Ad World for more than 15 years and has been associated with agencies like Contract, Ogilvy & Mather (Delhi, Mumbai & Malaysia), Ambience Publicis and McCann Erickson. Bhatt has received recognition for his creative work across platforms like Cannes Lions, D&AD London, The One Show, Clios and the Abbys.

  • Sony Pictures Television promotes Steve Mosko as chairman

    Sony Pictures Television promotes Steve Mosko as chairman

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television president Steve Mosko has promoted as the chairman of the company. 

     

    Mosko will continue to oversee all television operations for Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide. He will report to Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton.

     

    “Under Steve’s leadership, Sony Pictures Television has become the industry’s largest independent television studio. Our media networks business has expanded to over 150 channel feeds around the world and the company is well-positioned for growth in both production and distribution. Steve is a remarkable executive and we are proud to have him at the helm of Sony Pictures Television,” said Lynton. 

     

    Mosko added, “I am honored to be named chairman, and grateful to Michael, my colleagues at Sony Pictures, and to the incredible team at Sony Pictures Television, whose hard work and dedication has built the successful global business we have today.”

     

    A Sony Pictures Entertainment executive for more than two decades, Mosko oversees global television production, distribution of feature film and television content, and the studio’s international networks available in 180 countries, reaching more than 1.3 billion cumulative households worldwide, including Crackle, SPE’s video streaming service, and GSN, cable’s game show network.

     

    Mosko joined Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1992, and was named president of Sony Pictures Television in 2000. In this role, Mosko built on the studio’s syndication business, overseeing first-run and off-network program sales in more than 200 markets and supervising efforts of regional offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas.

  • Debra O’Connel to preside over ABC National Sales

    Debra O’Connel to preside over ABC National Sales

    MUMBAI: American Broadcasting Company (ABC) executive Debra O’Connell has been promoted to president of ABC National Television Sales, it was announced today by Rebecca Campbell, president of the ABC Owned Television Stations Group. She succeeds John Watkins, who previously announced that he will retire at the end of January.

     

    ABC National Television Sales is the sales and marketing arm of the ABC Owned Television Stations Group. Ms. O’Connell will be responsible for national advertising sales at ABC’s eight owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno as well as their extensive digital platforms, The Live Well Network and ABC Regional Sports & Entertainment Sales. ABC National Television Sales has nine regional sales offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Detroit and Boston.

     

    Ms. OConnell has been with ABC for 17 years. She was previously senior vice president of sales for ABC National Television Sales, a position to which she was named in 2011. Prior to that, she served as senior vice president of Multimedia Sales and Marketing for the division from 2006-2011. She was also vice president of Marketing at WABC-TV in New York, where she first joined the ABC Television division in 1999 after working at ABC Radio in Sales and Marketing.

     

    She began her career as an account executive for two of Liberty Broadcasting’s radio stations, and marketing director for DiCarlo Distributors.

     

    Ms. O’Connell serves as chairman of the Television Bureau of Advertising Sales Advisory Committee, as well as being an Executive Board Member, where she works with senior media & advertising executives to develop policy and new trends in the local broadcasting industry. She is also a member of Nielsen’s Local Alliance Committee. Ms. O’Connell is a mentor in The Walt Disney Company mentor program and is deeply involved in the ABC NTVS internship program.

  • The Mahindra Blues Festival is Back!!

    The Mahindra Blues Festival is Back!!

    MUMBAI: Mumbai’s winter thrill closes on a high note this year, a Blues note to be precise. The Mahindra Blues Festival returns to grip live-music-loving audiences once again, with highly acclaimed musicians from around the globe. Amped up with an all-star ensemble of international and Indian Blues artists for 2014, the fourth edition of Asia’s largest Blues festival promises to be a high-energy dose of Blues magic staged at the iconic Mehboob Studios in Mumbai’s seaside suburb of Bandra.

    The Festival’s star-studded line-up includes Grammy Award-winning Bluesman Jimmie Vaughan, the Grammy Award-winning Tedeschi Trucks Band with special guest Doyle Bramhall II, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Zac Harmon and India’s own beloved Blues bands, Soulmate and Blackstratblues.

    Mahindra Blues Festival fans are sure to love Austin, Texas-based Jimmie Vaughan, a four-time Grammy Award winner. The older brother of the legendary Bluesman Stevie Vaughan, Jimmie has made his mark in the Blues world, winning the 2001 Grammy Award in the Traditional Blues Album category for his album, “Do You Get the Blues?” Jimmie is no stranger to the stage, performing often at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in the USA, which has seen the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and other legends.

    The remarkable Grammy Award-winning Tedeschi Trucks Band will highlight at the festival this year. Band leaders, and husband and wife, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi gave up their solo bands to form the ten-member Tedeschi Trucks Band in 2010. Though Derek and Susan recorded their debut album only in 2011, they have taken the Blues world by storm, winning for Best Blues Album at the Grammy Awards 2012 and successfully touring around the world. A busy bunch, they also released their second album, “Made Up Mind,” just this summer. This band is probably one of the hottest current acts to tour the country, a big ‘watchout’ for the Mahindra Blues Festival fan base. At Mahindra Blues Festival, Tedeschi Trucks band will be joined by special guest Doyle Bramhall II, another talented musician from a Blues family, as the son of the late Doyle Bramhall. A multi-talented performer and producer, Doyle Bramhall II recently co-produced and toured the world with Eric Clapton in 2013, and produced American singer Sheryl Crow’s 2010 album, “100 Miles from Memphis.”

    Blues lovers also cannot miss Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials band. A Chicago native and a veteran of the Chicago Blues, Lil’ Ed will serve up a dose of the songs of his native city, painting the diversity of the Blues genre today. Adding to this picture will be Mississippi-born and bred Zac Harmon, a multidisciplinary giant who has written and produced songs for reggae group Black Uhuru and Rhythm and Blues singer Alexander O’Neal. This Mississippi musician gives a taste of his home state’s Blues style in a famous CD recording of his performance at Los Angeles’ Babe and Ricky’s Inn Blues club. A former member of the Board of Directors of the prestigious Blues Foundation, Zac Harmon’s soulful, passionate Blues will pulsate throughout the Mahindra Blues Festival.   

    A Blues Festival is incomplete without our very own Blues darlings. In comes Meghalaya-based band, Soulmate, perhaps India’s most prominent Blues-rock band. Composed primarily of the singers and guitarists Rudy Wallang and Tipriti Kharbangar, this talented band formed in 2003 has toured music festivals and played concerts around the world, including at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the International Jazzmandu Festival in Kathmandu. They also opened for famed guitarist Carlos Santana at the Formula One Rocks in Delhi. This year Soulmate adds a touch of ‘new’ into their mix, adding to a line-up of traditional and folk musicians. They will also launch their new album here at the festival. This is going to be very interesting indeed.

    Mahindra Blues Festival’s second Indian talent is Blues band, Blackstratblues, the solo Blues project of Mumbai-born Warren Mendonsa. Warren, arguably one of the finest guitarists in the country, has released two solo albums, “Nights in Shining Karma” in 2007 and “The New Album” in 2009, and comes prepared to wow the crowds with the soul-stirring sounds of his finely tuned axe.

    Jay Shah, Head – Cultural Outreach, Mahindra Group said “The response Mumbai has given to the Mahindra Blues Festival is indeed heartening. Each year, the iconic spaces at the Mehboob Studios reverberate with the Blues and provide an immersive experience to the participant. The festival offers equal access both to a diverse audience as well as blues bands from India and abroad. The impact of this festival is felt far and wide – as far as the Mississippi Delta in the United States where our tractor customers feel proud of their cultural heritage being appreciated and celebrated in a land far away”.

    In 2013, the sold-out Mahindra Blues Festival treated over 3500 fans to international musicians like Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Popa Chubby, the Dana Fuchs band, and Indian Blues group, Big Bang Blues. Since its start in 2011, the Mahindra Blues Festival has almost single-handedly promoted the Blues as a music genre to Indian audiences. Since then, the Blues has grown tremendously in popularity, sparking up many Blues Bands and smaller concerts and festivals. A leader in its category, the festival prides itself in being not just a series of concerts but one of the city’s ‘prestige’ experiences, comparable to events that happen in Europe and America. With Blues performances on multiple stages, a very evolved and discerning audience from around India and the world, and perhaps the most delicious American Southern food outside of Mississippi, the Mahindra Blues Festival is a great way to enjoy the last days of winter.

    Now in its fourth year, the Blues Festival has gained a loyal following as diverse as the Blues genre, bringing Indian, International, young and mature fans together for a weekend of Blues music, good food, and a few surprises. Thanks to the MBF, the Blues has found a new audience in India, one that is growing every year.

    Tickets go on sale in Janurary 2014, Daily (Rs.2000) Season (Rs. 3000), Student (Rs.800 per day) all standing, Premium Enclosure Rs. 11.000/- includes seating and beverage.

    The concert is promoted and produced by Oranjuice Entertainment, a professional music and concert management company.

    Gear up for a weekend of electrifying Blues!

     

  • Aamir vs Aamir

    Aamir vs Aamir

    MUMBAI: Dhoom 3 proves to be a good sequel, for once. Unlike many films that simply use the name and brand, it actually carries on the characters from previous movies. Once again, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra, two Mumbai cops are chasing after a villain, this time as a team sent to Chicago Police to solve a case of bank robberies. The reason being that the thief leaves a message in Hindi and it is assumed that he has to be an Indian.

    Dhoom 3 starts off by setting a tempo for the fast-paced thriller that it promises to be with Uday and Abhishek demonstrating their fighting instincts and coordination as they take on a local basti don in Mumbai. As the action moves to Chicago, it is Aamir’s turn to show his mastery with his bike. In fact, Aamir’s arsenal of gears and gadgets would give James Bond a complex!

    Aamir’s story dates back 25 years to when his father, Jackie Shroff, ran The Great Indian Circus in Chicago. The circus had not been doing too well and the local bank owner threatened to attach the circus if Shroff didn’t not manage to pay off his dues within five days; Shroff devised a new circus act which he was sure would revive his circus and pleads for a little more time. When refused, Shroff kills himself. Aamir is now grown up and ready to take revenge for his father’s death, which he calls murder. His plan is to ruin the bank, force its closure. He robs the bank’s branches one after the other. His style is that when he robs a bank, he throws a part of his loot on streets outside the bank and watches people pounce on this rain of dollars. The bank is losing reputation as well as standing in the stock market.

    What makes these heists exciting is their aftermath as Aamir charts his escape in a long chase by the police with his multipurpose bike. In fact, he is techno savvy and all his robberies and escapes are executed with the help of many gadgets. It is time to get Abhishek and Uday in on the scene. It is also the time for Aamir to revive The Great Indian Circus and to get the glamour quotient on the scene. Katrina Kaif is trying to get a break into the circus but dressed like a geek, she does not impress Aamir’s assistant who keeps rejecting her. Aamir agrees to give her five minutes to prove her talent and sees a geek turn out to be a glamour doll.

    Producer: Aditya Chopra.
    Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya.
    Cast: : Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Jackie Shroff.

    Having opened up the other side of the story, that of the circus and its background, it is time to spring a surprise on the viewer; there are two Aamirs. The other one is always in the background because he suffers from autism, due to which faces communication problems and has strange mannerisms. That is the circus’s secret behind their most famous trick where Aamir enters a wooden box on stage but emerges from some other corner of the hall. (This seems lifted straight from The Prestige, which tells a similar story about a magician.)

    As Abhishek and Uday try to solve the jigsaw puzzle, they spy on Aamir and follow the closet Aamir on his once a week Sunday outing. Abhishek makes sure he drives a rift between the brothers. Sadly, these plots make Abhishek look more like a villain than a supporting actor! These manoeuvres also make the proceedings very slow and insipid especially after the racy first half had set the pace. As the Aamir brothers embark on the last leg of their ‘destroy the bank’ operation, there is one more chase before the film ends by springing another surprise.

    Being third in the Dhoom trilogy, some may make comparisons and feel that story/script wise D2 was better; however, this film is much more ambitious, lavishly shot and full of special effects. It has good music that is very well choreographed and the film is a visual delight. With other characters being insignificant, the film is Aamir vs Aamir talent showcase as he gets to juxtapose two totally different characters in the same frame most of the time. He is simply amazing. Katrina Kaif is the other character who gets some importance in this film and she does very well while also excelling in dance numbers. Abhishek gets no scope while Uday is the joker in the pack. Direction is competent and handling of double roles is apt. Technically the film is very good.

    Dhoom 3 is set to shatter collection records and create some of its own new records. Expectations were high from the trade and especially the exhibitors and it will live up to them.

  • Salman Khan to shake a leg in honour of the Bollywood legends in Chicago

    Salman Khan to shake a leg in honour of the Bollywood legends in Chicago

    MUMBAI: Bollywood‘s biggest night is all set to turn more glamorous with cinema‘s ‘Dabangg‘ star Salman Khan performing alongside his Ek Tha Tiger co-star Katrina Kaif at the Sears Center Arena, Hoffman Estates, Chicago, for the show – 100 Years of Indian Cinema Concert and Awards. The event which is one of its kind is scheduled to start on 30 August and end on 1 September.

    It is reported that the organisers are going the extra mile to reminisce the glorious history of the Indian cinema. The exclusively dedicated two day celebration will sport a number of Bollywood performances from top Bollywood stars including Sonashi Sinha, Prabhu Deva, Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh, and more dancing to chart-topping numbers dating from 1913-2013.The dance performances will be choreographed by the dancing superstar, Prabhu Deva.

    The highlight of the event apart from the Awards presented to the living legends of Indian Cinema will be Salman‘s entertaining performance.

    Says Sudesh Sonawane of Entertainment Synergies, “Our focus is to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema worldwide and besides that we also plan to host an extravagant musical concert featuring leading playback singers Usha Mangeshkar, Krishna Beura and more from Bollywood.”

    While leaving no stone unturned it would be no surprises if the organisers add more exciting names to the list of performers.