ITV

Tag: Fox

  • UTV announces slate of international co-productions with Fox, Will Smith’s Overbrook and Sony Pictures for a total commitment of $37 mn.

    UTV announces slate of international co-productions with Fox, Will Smith’s Overbrook and Sony Pictures for a total commitment of $37 mn.

    LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK and MUMBAI August 20, 2006 – UTV, India’s leading media and entertainment company, today announced an unprecedented slate of co-productions with leading Hollywood Studios, with a total value across projects of USD 37 million – the largest such commitment by any South Asian media major.

    UTV and Fox Searchlight announced a co-production deal on the film I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, starring Chris Rock. Ronnie Screwvala, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures and Peter Rice, CEO of Fox Searchlight announced this in Los Angeles on Friday. Principal photography has been completed in New York; Fox Searchlight plans to release the film in the U.S. on February 9, 2007. The USD 14 million production is UTV’s second venture with Fox after THE NAMESAKE, directed by Mira Nair, which will be released in March 2007.

    Peter Rice, CEO of Fox Searchlight says, “We are very eager to be partnering with UTV, a dynamic force in South Asian Media. Ronnie’s innovative vision parallels Searchlight’s and after working together on THE NAMESAKE we jumped at the chance to collaborate again on our highly anticipated Chris Rock comedy I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE.”

    The second deal UTV announced is a USD 30 million co-production agreement with Actor/producer Will Smith and his production company Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, for films to be created and distributed worldwide. This was announced in New York on Saturday by Ronnie Screwvala, Will Smith, James Lassiter, Smith’s partner at Overbrook Entertainment and Amy Pascal, Chairman of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.

    The two-picture deal emerged from a Sony arranged visit Smith and Lassiter took to India in February 2006 to explore co-production possibilities, when they met with media titans and key members of the creative community. As a result of the co-production agreement, UTV and Overbrook will develop films that will have a global reach and appeal. The first two projects will be a live-action film valued at USD 10 million and a CG animated motion picture at USD 20 million.

    Sony Pictures Entertainment has a first look deal for the two productions. According to the terms of the agreement, while UTV and Overbrook will co-produce the movies, SPE will distribute the movies worldwide, excluding India.

    “India is one of the most remarkable places on Earth and its motion picture industry has always fascinated me”, said Will Smith.

    “This unique agreement is the future of our business”, said Pascal. “Sony has been involved with local language initiatives for many years and this deal accentuates the way our industry is becoming more borderless and more global every day.”

    “We are particularly excited to have an animation project as part of this agreement”, said Lassiter, “since India is emerging as the next big destination for animation content and UTV is on the cutting-edge of animation development.”

    Ronnie Screwvala, Chief Executive Officer of UTV states: “UTV is focused on collaborating with like-minded partners like Fox, Sony and Will Smith to produce entertainment for global audiences. For UTV, these projects are a big step in reaching key North American markets and expanding our presence globally. UTV has made the biggest commitment by any South Asian media major to international co-productions and we will continue to lead the way in this regard.”

    About UTV: UTV is a leading integrated media and entertainment company based in South Asia, with international subsidiaries in the U.S., UK and South East Asia. Publicly listed on the Indian Stock Exchange last year, it is a leader in TV content in Asia, with a large Animation and SFX facility; has one of the first fully integrated studio models in movies and occupies a dominant space in the kids programming and broadcasting space in South Asia.

    About Fox Searchlight: Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both produces and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.

    About Sony Pictures Entertainment: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPEs global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com <http://www.sonypictures.com> .

    About Overbrook Entertainment: Overbrook Entertainment is a film and television production company owned by James Lassiter and Will Smith. Overbrook’s film productions include the hit romantic comedy Hitch, the sci-fi thriller I, Robot, the bio-pic Ali, and the upcoming drama The Pursuit of Happyness, all starring Smith. In addition Overbrook produced Saving Face starring Joan Chen, Showtime starring Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy and ATL starring platinum-selling recording artist T.I. For television, Overbrook produces the current CW network hit All Of Us. Overbrook also produced the soundtracks for such films as Wild, Wild West and Men In Black, both of which won the American Music Award for favorite soundtracks.

  • Spielberg, Burnett film based reality show to air on Star World, Star Movies from May

    Spielberg, Burnett film based reality show to air on Star World, Star Movies from May

    MUMBAI: Star World and Star Movies will air the upcoming film based reality show On The Lot in May 2007.

    The show is being done by reality TV guru Mark Burnett and film director Steven Spielberg.

    In the US the show kicks off on Fox from 16 May 2007. The aim of the show is to give aspiring filmmakers from around the world the chance to earn a $1-million development deal at DreamWorks.

    16 undiscovered filmmakers will compete to win the support of the show’s viewers, as their fate will be decided by a weekly audience vote.

    The show will have a one-hour Film Premiere episode, followed by a half-hour Box Office results show.
    After a global search, applicants will be winnowed to a group of 16 talented filmmakers. These finalists will be brought to Hollywood, where they will be divided into teams and begin the journey toward their ‘big break’.

    Every week, the hopeful filmmakers will produce short films from a chosen genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, personal dramas to romance, sci-fi to horror. They’ll have access to the best resources the industry has to offer — professional writers, cast and crew, and maybe even Hollywood celebrities.

    After the teams have battled time frames, budgets and all the usual chaos that goes along with filmmaking, their films will debut and be critiqued in front of a live audience during the Film Premiere episode. Judges will include a high-ranking motion picture executive, a prominent film critic and a succession of well-respected guests, such as directors who are experts in the week’s featured genre. But the filmmakers ultimately will be judged by the harshest critics of all … the public.

    Fox viewers votes will determine which film should be left on the cutting-room floor. On the next night’s Box Office results show, the director whose feature garners the fewest votes will be sent home. Reports indicate that Fox will use American Idol as a vehicle to create awareness for this show.

  • Fox to offer films for online download

    Fox to offer films for online download

    MUMBAI: Fox Interactive Media (Fim) and Twentieth Century Fox have announced a multi-year agreement to provide feature films and television shows on a download-to-own basis across the Fim network.

    Fim’s network of properties reaching more than 75 million people a month in the US (ComScore MediaMetrix) will have access to Fox Entertainment Group’s films such as X-Men The Last Stand and The Omen. On the television front, episodes of series like 24 and Prison Break can be downloaded.

    IGN Entertainment will be the first Fim property to offer a selection on its Direct2Drive site in October 2006, with additional Fim properties, including MySpace.com.

    Fox president digital media Peter Levinsohn says, “Our drive to deliver Twentieth Century Fox content via the most powerful online platforms is advanced substantially by this agreement. Offering Fox content in conjunction with Fim properties enables viewers to access the best movies and TV shows from multiple platforms in the Fox family.”

    Initially, Fim will offer films from Twentieth Century Fox, including new releases, made-for-TV movies, direct-to-video releases and select content from the Twentieth Century Fox film library on IGN’s Direct2Drive site. The site will also offer current television series from various Fox entities such as Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fuel TV, Speed and FX, with a selection of shows available within 24 hours of initial broadcast.

    In an industry first, purchased movies and television shows will be immediately transferable to Windows Media compatible portable devices, providing users with a convenient way to take the video content with them on the go.

    Fim president Ross Levinsohn says, “Today marks an important step as we continue to build a bridge between the worlds of user-generated and top-quality, professional content, further enhancing our range of consumer offerings across both free, ad-supported and paid download business models.

    “With more than 75 million monthly users and one of the largest entertainment communities on the web, we are thrilled to begin offering our users exciting content from Fox.”

    The agreement with Twentieth Century Fox will enable Fim to expand its offerings with premier TV and movie content. Direct2Drive will promote the new offering throughout the IGN Entertainment network, including IGN.com, Rotten Tomatoes and Film Force, among other sites.

  • Fox to stream content across many sites

    Fox to stream content across many sites

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox will stream free episodes of select series on dozens of Internet portals and websites from 22 August.

    In this marketing initiative, episodes of Prison Break and Vanished will be available at no charge and commercial-free to viewers across multiple portals and websites, including the network’s own Fox.com as well as AOL.com, Google Video, Yahoo!, TVGuide.com and IGN.com, among others.

    Fox executive VP, marketing Chris Carlisle says, To launch our two big thrillers – Prison Break and Vanished – both of which have continuing storylines, it is critical to get viewers invested out of the gate. Our strategy supplies as many opportunities as possible for viewers to sample the first few episodes across the Internet. Since the Internet is so communal, we also hope they will immediately buzz about them to their friends on-line.”

    More than 50 portals and websites will stream the first three episodes of Prison Break and the first three episodes of Vanished, which will be available online as early as the morning following their initial broadcasts on Fox. The episodes will be available for approximately one week.

  • Fox show ’24’ earns top spot in Bullz-Eye.com’s TV power rankings

    Fox show ’24’ earns top spot in Bullz-Eye.com’s TV power rankings

    MUMBAI: Bullz-Eye.com, an online magazine for men, has released the third edition of its TV Power Rankings, a list of the 20 best shows currently on television, with Kiefer Sutherland’s 24 earning top honors yet again.

    While this marks the third time, the Fox hit has claimed the number one 1 spot, HBO dominated Bullz-Eye’s Summer 2006 edition, with three shows landing in the top 10, including Entourage, Deadwood and The Sopranos.

    Rescue Me, Lost and My Name is Earl were some of the programmes that jumped in the rankings since Bullz-Eye’s last edition, while South Park and Family Guy fell and the canceled Arrested Development dropped from the list completely, according to an official release.

    Launched in 2000, Bullz-Eye.com’s Entertainment Channel boasts comprehensive movie, TV, CD and DVD sections, which are updated weekly with reviews of the hottest new releases and staff favorites. Bullz-Eye.com also has interviewed various music, movie and television personalities, including Everclear frontman Art Alexakis, Reno 911! cast member Carlos Alazraqui (Deputy James Garcia), stand-up comedian Lewis Black, and Snakes on a Plane director David Ellis.

  • Fox Interactive Media inks $900 million deal with Google

    Fox Interactive Media inks $900 million deal with Google

    MUMBAI: News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media and Google Inc. have inked a multi-year search technology and services agreement whereby Google will be the exclusive search and keyword targeted advertising sales provider for Fox Interactive Media’s growing network of web properties including MySpace.com.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Google will be obligated to make guaranteed minimum revenue share payments to Fox Interactive Media of $900 million based on Fox achieving certain traffic and other commitments. These guaranteed minimum revenue share payments are expected to be made over the period beginning in the first quarter of 2007 and ending in the second quarter of 2010.

    The agreement calls for Google to power web, vertical and site specific search for MySpace.com and the majority of Fox Interactive Media properties. Google will be the exclusive provider of text-based advertising and keyword targeted ads through its AdSense program, for inventory on Fox Interactive Media’s network. Google will also have a right of first refusal on display advertising sold through third parties on Fox Interactive Media’s network.

    The integration of Google’s services including consistent search navigation across Fox Interactive Media’s network of properties is slated to begin in the fourth quarter 2006 and will provide users with access to Google’s industry leading search capabilities as well as text and display advertising from its global advertiser base.

    “Our partnership with Google underscores News Corp’s continued evolution to become a powerful force in the digital media marketplace. To have come this far and gained this much momentum in just over a year is truly remarkable. This is an exciting time in our history as a forward thinking media company and this is just the first of many steps we plan to take with Google. We look forward to expanding our relationship into many new areas over years to come,” said News Corporation president and COO Peter Chernin.

    “We believe that our innovative technologies will be of real benefit to Fox Interactive Media’s growing number of users. MySpace.com is a widely acknowledged leader in user-generated content and incorporating search and advertising furthers our mission of making the world’s information universally accessible and useful,” said Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

    “This deal is the next step in our evolution as a significant interactive player. Forming a strategic partnership with one of the most innovative companies in the world to expand our business together, monetize our platforms effectively and leverage our combined scale will provide substantial growth for our businesses,” said Fox Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn.

    “This agreement demonstrates our commitment to bring the same innovation to monetizing user-generated content that we brought to search advertising. We look forward to other opportunities to partner with News Corp. to the benefit of its community,” said Google senior vice president, global sales and business development Omid Kordestani.

    In addition to MySpace.com, Fox Interactive Media properties that will benefit from the Google integration include online videogame and entertainment site IGN, pro sports network Scout.com, site for movie lovers Rottentomatoes.com, men’s lifestyle site AskMen.com; as well as Gamespy.com, Gamespyarcade.com, Fileplanet.com, Direct2drive.com, Teamxbox.com, 3dgamers.com, Gamestat.com, Cheatscodesguides.com and Gamermetrics.com.

  • P2P service provider Peer Impact offers TV shows from Fox, Warner

    P2P service provider Peer Impact offers TV shows from Fox, Warner

    MUMBAI: Wurld Media, creator of peer-to-peer (p2p) service Peer Impact, has announced that select movies and television titles from Fox and Warner Bros. are now available via digital download on their entertainment network in the US market.

    This announcement follows Peer Impact’s agreement with NBC Universal to include their catalogues of movie and television event titles for on-demand rental, also now available on the service, making Peer Impact the first p2p model to offer content from three major motion picture studios.

    The company says that as major content providers continue to address the growing demand for online distribution methods, Peer Impact presents a solution by enabling users to legally download and share licensed content while protecting both the license holders and the consumer.

  • IBN 7, Fox in film marketing alliance

    MUMBAI: News channel IBN 7 has entered into an alliance with 20th Century Fox to give a marketing push to the upcoming film Museum ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar. As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com this is the first time ever that a Hollywood film will be released in India solely in Hindi.

    IBN 7 has organised a contest to accompany the release of the film. The IBN 7 – Museum Ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar Contest will provide people the chance to participate and win tickets to the premieres in Delhi and Mumbai as well as movie tickets across the country. In order to enter the contest one has to simply keep watching IBN 7 and/or log onto ibnlive.com for more information. Viewers can participate in the contest by either messaging ‘Museum’ to 2622 or logging onto ibnlive.com to win exciting prizes.

    IBN 7 managing editor Ashutosh says, “This is the first time IBN 7 has joined hands with an international banner as renowned as 20th Century Fox. What is more unique is the fact that a film like Museum Ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar is being released in India not in English but in Hindi alone. It’s great to be a part of such an endeavour and to promote the film amongst Hindi speaking audiences.”

    CNN-IBN and IBN 7 director marketing and online projects Dilip Venkatraman says, “IBN 7 is excited to enter into this alliance with 20th Century Fox. This venture is the first of it’s kind, whereby a Hollywood film will be released only in Hindi and not English. In addition to the movie, we have launched a beguiling contest that will create curiosity and eagerness around the film. We are sure this partnership will benefit both the groups and will encourage such endeavours in the future as well. ”

    Fox India marketing manager George John says, “We are delighted to partner with IBN 7 for introducing Museum ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar in India. The contest ‘IBN 7 – Museum Ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar Contest’ will further add to the excitement by offering free premiere tickets to the movie. We are confident that the viewers in India will find both the film and the contest extremely entertaining and enthralling”.

  • Excel Home Videos releases movie ‘Goal’ on DVD

    Excel Home Videos releases movie ‘Goal’ on DVD

    MUMBAI: Goal! It’s all about football! Excel Home Videos, the Home Entertainment distribution and marketing arm of Excel Productions AudioVisuals, has released the movie on football — Goal on DVD.

    The DVD is priced at Rs 599. The Buena Vista Home Entertainment product Goal is directed by Danny Cannon.The story trails Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) as he overcomes challenges to play for New Castle United and attain glory in club football and rub shoulders with the likes of David Beckham, Allan Shearer, Raul Gonzales and Zinedine Zidane (playing themselves).

    Excel Home Entertainment holds exclusive licensee agreement with Hollywood studios like Twentieth Century Fox, Buena Vista International, Hit Entertainment, Britannica, Hearst Entertainment and Merchant Ivory Productions.

    Says Excel Home Videos MD M N Kapasi, “The DVD is definitely a collector’s item for connoisseurs of football and a true tribute to the world’s favourite game”

    In a statement issued, the DVD also offers loads of bonus features for soccer enthusiasts. The bonus features include the Golden Moments of Fifa World Cup, The Beauty of the Game (A documentary on the Spirit of Football), a special feature on the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany, Audio Commentary, Making of the Movie, Trailer of Goal 2 among others.

    The movie is the first in the trilogy of movies dedicated to the greatest sport of the modern world. It is credited as the most realistic movie ever made on the game with real matches in real stadiums with real players, to unprecedented access to clubs like New Castle United, according to the statement.

    The second part (Trailer included in DVD) follows the protagonist’s journey as he joins Real Madrid to play along side football greats like Ronaldo, Beckham, Raul and others.

    Meanwhile,Goal II stands on the sidelines for its European debut.

  • Panamsat launches US satellite for HDTV, IPTV

    Panamsat launches US satellite for HDTV, IPTV

    MUMBAI: Satellite provider PanAmSat has launched its Galaxy 16 satellite in the US.

    Launched into orbit by Sea Launch, Galaxy 16 is the 24th satellite in Panamsat’s fleet and its 11th over the US. The satellite, to be located at 99 degrees west longitude, will replace Galaxy 4R.

    Panamsat CEO Joe Wright says, “We promised customers that we would have the most extensive and reliable neighborhood of satellites in the US to deliver standard and HDTV television channels and Galaxy 16 expands on that reality.

    “We have also promised shareholders to build satellites in a capital efficient manner and to launch them with our customers’ design requirements. And that’s exactly what we’ve done: Galaxy 16 takes over for Galaxy 4R and the satellite is nearly sold out.

    “Galaxy 16 is a broadcasters’ dream satellite. With its remarkable power and expansive footprint reaching from Maine to Alaska and Hawaii, it can deliver today and tomorrow’s technological advancements. In addition to providing thevery clearest broadcast signal, this versatile spacecraft has the digital muscle to deliver IPTV, HDTV or VOD. Galaxy 16 is one blockbuster of a satellite for existing and emerging technologies.”

    With its 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band payloads, the satellite will be home to channels like ABC, Fox , Warner Bros., Buena Vista and Televisa as well as major customers such as National Public Radio (NPR) and Hughes Network Systems (HNS).