MUMBAI: German actor Christoph Waltz is all set to play former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev in Mike Newell‘s Reykjavik.
Having studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna, Waltz also attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York.
Later, he became a prolific television actor and in 2000, he made his directorial debut with the German-language television production Wenn man sich traut.
Waltz, an Academy Award winning German-Austrian actor, is the first and, thus far, only actor to win in the Oscars for acting in a Quentin Tarantino film.
The actor is fluent in German, French, and English and peaks in his own voice when it comes to doing these languages in films.
Tag: German
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Christoph Waltz to play Gorbachev in Reykjavik
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Bhansali’s Devdas in 3D soon
MUMBAI: Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai-starrer Devdas will be converted to the 3D format.
Eros International CEO Sunil Lulla said, “The film completes a decade this year. And to commemorate its 10th year, we will release a 3D version of this Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya classic.”
Devdas was released in six languages namely English, French, German, Mandarin, Thai and Punjabi.
Devdas won five National Awards and 10 Filmfare Awards, was screened at Cannes and was India‘s entry to the Academy Awards in the foreign language category in 2003.
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Puma and BMW Motorsport form partnership
MUMBAI: With motorsports forming a key part of marketing strategy, German sportswear brand Puma has entered into a new multi-year partnership with BMW Motorsport to become the Official Supplier of team and racewear for all BMW Motorsport racing operations.
This new partnership, effective from 1 February 2012, will see Puma benefit from prominent branding locations on all BMW Motorsport racing cars and all Race and Teamwear for BMW Motorsport technical staff.
Additionally, Puma will also develop BMW Motorsport licensed products for global sales and distribution with existing motorsport markets in Europe forming a key focus for this distribution.
The company said that a strong emphasis will also be placed on expanding sales performance of BMW Motorsport products in emerging markets, particularly in Asia Pacific and the Americas.
In 2004, Puma first partnered with BMW Motorsport, through its involvement with the BMW Williams Formula One team.
This relationship continued when BMW acquired Sauber F1 to become BMW Sauber F1, and after BMW ceased its Formula One activities in 2009 to reorganise its activities. Puma and BMW Motorsport have once again joined forces with this new deal.
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Nick US’ broadband platform TurboNick 2.0 gets 19 million content streams
MUMBAI: US kids channel Nickelodeon has launched an enhanced version of TurboNick its broadband video platform. It has called it TurboNick 2.0.
It has continuous video streaming, customised play lists, content in multiple languages, the ability to search the broad Nickelodeon content library.
Since its initial soft launch (20 September to 1 October), TurboNick 2.0 has generated close to 19 million content streams, an increase of 911 per cent versus last year’s equivalent time period, which is almost 10 times the amount of streams for the same time period in 2005.
TurboNick 2.0 is averaging 236,000 daily unique visitors, a 489 per cent increase over last year. TurboNick is one of several multiplatform experiences that allow kids to access Nickelodeon content, joining its Video on Demand offerings on cable, podcasts, Nick Arcade, and video clips through wireless providers, among others. In third quarter 2006, Nickelodeon television took the lead across all kid and tween demos, and achieved record Video on Demand numbers.
With turbonick kids now have the opportunity to control their individual entertainment experiences and become ‘programmers’ with mash-up applications, the ability to rate videos, or interactive games. Featuring Flash video technology, TurboNick 2.0 now allows PC and Mac users to access hundreds of Nick long and short form programming videos online, including select new episodes immediately after they air on the network.
Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group executive VP digital media Stephen Youngwood says, “In keeping with our philosophy of putting kids first in everything we do, we are thrilled to provide these unparalleled features on TurboNick 2.0 that will empower kids to take charge of their internet experience. TurboNick 2.0 not only provides a hub for our vast library of content, but allows kids to become ‘programmers’ and ‘creators’ in their own right.”
TurboNick premiered as the first broadband player for kids in July 2005 to compliment Nickelodeon’s on-air programming, and initially featured 20 hours of new programming every week organized by channels. TurboNick 2.0 is organised by content channels as well as by property icons. Users are able to search from a library of hundreds of long and short form videos of Nickelodeon favorites. And the video streaming on TurboNick 2.0 never stops, even as users watch, browse, interact with and personalize their experience.
TurboNick 2.0 is also scheduled to rollout in international territories including Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in late 2006/early 2007.
Nickelodeon Television executive VP. GM Tom Ascheim says, “With access to a vast library of great Nickelodeon content and unprecedented user flexibility, TurboNick 2.0 is keeping our audience connected with our programming like never before.
“The applications we are creating for kids on the internet are distinct and age appropriate. Whether it’s creating their favorite Avatar and Mr. Meaty play lists, or mashing up SpongeBob clips to share with their friends, kids rule on TurboNick 2.0. We also plan to use kids’ feedback and user generated content to inform what takes place on our air.”
TurboNick 2.0 also provides appointment viewing for users with special content features like the Teenick Extra Scoop. This programming block offers extras or behind-the-scenes content, sneak peeks at next week’s new Teenick episodes, new games and more, in addition to the latest TEENick episodes immediately after they debut on-air.
The TurboNick 2.0 features:
Play lists – This a new option that allows users to drag and drop videos to create play lists, trade play lists with friends and send videos through links via email. With “My TurboNick,” users can save their play lists or other’s favorite play lists or videos.
Nick Mash-ups – Users create their own mini-movies using clips, stills and audio from videos within TurboNick 2.0, using provided graphics and transitions. These mash-ups can be displayed on TurboNick 2.0 or emailed to friends, or displayed on users’ personalized internet pages. Some content might even be chosen to air on Nickelodeon.
User ratings – Users are able rate videos and the top rated videos become a category on TurboNick 2.0. Select videos will be highlighted editorially on the site.
Search function – allows users to search for their favorite videos from hundreds of videos from the Nick library by character or show.
Games in TurboNick – TurboNick 2.0 offers trivia, quizzes, sliders, memory games and other basic level casual gaming to play while the video player streams content. It will soon feature interactive video-related gaming, which will correlate directly with the property you are viewing.
New languages – Content is now available in Spanish, German, and French, and will soon roll out in Italian and other languages in the coming months.
Skinnable designs – the player will, in the future, be customisable with themes and colour.
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Infront, HBS win Judges’ Award at IBC2006 in Amsterdam
MUMBAI: Infront Sports & Media, the company which handled the worldwide marketing and sales of the broadcast rights to 2006 Fifa World Cup and its subsidiary Host Broadcast Services (HBS) have won the Judges’ Award at the IBC show in Amsterdam.
HBS was responsible for the host broadcast operations of the 2006 Fifa World Cup.
The award was for New Media production at the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany. The tailored production services provided by HBS transformed the coverage of the event for New Media in terms of quality and content. The prospect of tailored production drove sales – this was the most widely covered sports event on the internet and on mobile phones to date. More than 100 countries were covered by 50 licensees in Mobile Telephony and World Wide Web.
A team of 40 producers and journalists created a special New Media Content Package – tailor-made for licensees, designed for exploitation without the need for extensive editing and incorporating various innovations designed specifically for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The near-live clips were enhanced with specific or customised match and competition summaries, graphics, background sound, music and commentary.
The fact that this was the first FIFA World Cup covered entirely in HDTV opened the door to improved picture quality for New Media. HD video-based Pan and Scan technology was utilised, allowing the editor to zoom in and capture the core action, producing a clear picture more exciting than ever for tiny handsets.
HBS also offered a voice-over commentary service in the language of one’s choice. A total of eight different languages were booked and produced simultaneously in the IBC during the tournament: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swiss German.
The benefits for licensees were considerable – better quality production, reduction of cost per licensee through central multilateral production and HD-based content, delivering “never seen before” picture quality in small formats.
HBS director of production Peter Angell received the Award on behalf of HBS and Infront. He said, “This award confirms that our two companies, Infront and HBS, were right in deciding to embed new media requirements in the overall production strategy, providing licensees with a level of service never experienced before. The fact that all matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup were filmed in HDTV has transformed the quality of New Media coverage.
” Combined with the use of Pan and Scan technology to capture the core action in a way that is relevant for tiny handsets, it has delivered pictures of unprecedented quality. Licensees and consumers were thrilled”, he said in his acceptance speech.
HBS CEO Francis Tellier said, “This special award acknowledges the quality of services and innovations our team has provided in the area of host broadcasting. The new media production of the 2006 Fifa World Cup has been the defining step forward and underlines our ambition, to lead the industry through innovation.”
Infront Sports & Media president and CEO Philippe Blatter says, “We are proud that the outstanding production capabilities of the Infront Group have been recognised and we see this year’s IBC Judges’ Award as a challenge to push even further in future”.
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Deutsche Welle joins hand with DD Direct +
MUMBAI: In a bid to strengthen its foothold in India, the German pubcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) has enterted into an agreement with DD Direct+, the pubcaster Prasar Bharti managed direct-to-home service to emit its programmes via a DD satellite transponder in India.
In a statement issued today, DW will be present with DW-TV programmes in English and German, and in future possibly also with radio programmes in English and Hindi or other languages. At present, only the state-financed Doordarshan and one pay platform broadcast via DTH signal, which guarantees a technically brilliant and reliable emission.
“We are very happy to step up our presence in India”, says Deutsche Welle director strategy, marketing and distribution Guido Baumhauer. “This is a great opportunity for DW television. We have excellent contacts with Prasar Bharati, which runs Doordashan, and we are working together on a number of projects. With Doordashan and DW both being public broadcasters, I’m sure this new cooperation will be a positive experience for all sides.”
The release states that the DD Direct+ reaches far more housholds than pay TV and is expected to be the biggest DTH platform in Asia, which opens up a lot of possibilities for the DW regarding regional broadcasting of its programming. Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma, actively supported the German bid for the place on DD Direct+.”This is due to DW’s outstanding reputation as an international public broadcaster of high quality”, comments DW general manager Erik Bettermann. “Asia is one of our focus regions. We are happy to expand our market in India, and Doordarshan, as a long-standing player in the Indian media business, is an excellent partner for us.”
The DD DIRECT+ platform carries 33 free-to-air (FTA) channels, including 19 DD channels, 14 private TV channels and 12 All India Radio (AIR) audio channels and is likely to include more channels in the future. The approximate cost of the equipment to view DD channels is around Rs. 1800/- including Set Top Box, LNB and antena.
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Yahoo!’s Fifa World Cup site got six million visits last month
MUMBAI: The football Fifa fever is growing in leaps and bounds globally! comScore has announced the results of an analysis of the worldwide online audience for the official World Cup soccer tournament Web site hosted by Yahoo! at fifaworldcup.yahoo.com. Yahoo! is a Fifa partner.
Last month, comScore Networks, which deals with digital media measurement, recorded 5.7 million unique visitors to the site, up 35 per cent from 4.2 million in March. The tournament is set to start from 9 June in Germany.
comScore says that the figures demonstrate the worldwide popularity of the World Cup and the potential of the Internet as a powerful marketing channel to reach this global audience.
Europe contributed the greatest proportion of visitors with 51 per cent, or almost 3 million people visiting the site from European countries. The next highest region was Asia Pacific, contributing 17 per cent of the total visitors (nearly one million people) and reflecting the strength of the sport in the area.
Traffic from Latin America represented 12 per cent of the total, with the popularity of the sport offsetting the lower internet penetration in many of the region’s countries. Only 10 per cent of the visitors came from North America, highlighting the still limited popularity of professional soccer in the US.
The global interest in the World Cup, along with the complex marketing opportunities associated with the tournament, were emphasised by the visitation to the local language World Cup sites created by Yahoo!. In addition to the English language site, the German, Spanish, Japanese, French, Portuguese and Italian language versions all received significant traffic during April.
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Disney Channel series to be offered in six languages on Disneychannel.com
MUMBAI: Disney Channel’s hit series for kids and tweens, That’s So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, will be made available in six different languages, on the soon to be re-launched broadband site, DisneyChannel.com.
The language tracks are English, Hindi, Spanish, German, French and Mandarin Chinese.
The announcement was made today by Disney Channel Worldwide president Rich Ross and Disney ABC Television Group executive vice president digital media Albert Cheng.
Ross said, “Disney Channel speaks to kids and kids speak many languages and now we speak to them in many of their languages. Whether it is seventh grade Spanish classes or kids who have just emigrated from India or China, we just want to continue the conversation.”
“We are committed to offering programming to viewers no matter when, where or how they want it and this is further example of how we are accomplishing our goals,” said Cheng.
Free of charge and on-demand, the companion DisneyChannel.com will offer select episodes of live-action and animated series, short-form content, music videos and Disney Channel Original Movie “bonus” materials. Video content will be refreshed on a weekly basis. Developed in conjunction with Disney Online, the full-length, streaming video content is advertiser-supported with adjacent customized spots and fixed display advertising.