ITV

Tag: Harry Potter

  • Warner Bros & ProSiebenSat.1 extend licensing deal

    Warner Bros & ProSiebenSat.1 extend licensing deal

    MUMBAI: In a major licensing deal, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution and ProSiebenSat.1 have extended their existing licensing deal.

     

    Thus ProSiebenSat.1 will continue to hold the exclusive free TV rights to Hollywood blockbusters and successful television series produced by the US studio for years to come. Movies such as Batman vs. Superman, Tarzan and King Arthur are among the highlights of the deal that have already been announced.

     

    Furthermore, the trilogy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which is based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling, will be aired by the broadcasting group. German movie productions like Der geilste Tag with Matthias Schweighofer and Florian David Fitz are also part of the deal.

     

    The agreement will also enable ProSiebenSat.1 to significantly enhance its range of TV series: The latest Warner Bros. productions are among the highest-rated series aired on ProSiebenSat.1 stations. The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men regularly obtain above-average market shares.

     

    The extension of the agreement also gives ProSiebenSat.1 continued access to the extensive Warner library including the fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter movies, the cult movie The Hangover and the superhero movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

     

    ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG executive vice president, group programming acquisitions Rüdiger Böss said, “Movies and series from Warner Bros. are among the best of our industry. We have been collaborating for many years and Warner productions are regularly rated highly by our viewers. I am therefore delighted that we have managed to continue this extraordinary partnership and thus to secure many attractive film and series productions for the coming years.”

     

    Jeffrey Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution: “We have long enjoyed a mutually-beneficial relationship with ProSiebenSat.1, which provides a terrific platform for our series and films. This latest agreement between our companies speaks for the quality of our films and television series as well as for the healthy appetite of German TV viewers for good programming.”

     

    Licensing acquisitions across all platforms from free TV to video-on-demand and mobile is getting strategically more and more important for ProSiebenSat.1. Therefore, the division Content Acquisitions has been part of the executive department of Conrad Albert since 1 January, 2015. Conrad Albert continues also to be responsible for the areas Legal, Distribution and Regulatory Affairs.

  • Warner Bros. begins principal photography of ‘The Jungle Book’ movie

    Warner Bros. begins principal photography of ‘The Jungle Book’ movie

    MUMBAI: Principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ new big-screen, 3D adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved classic The Jungle Book, marking the feature film directorial debut of Andy Serkis. Blending live action and performance capture, the film features an impressive roster of stars, including Oscar winners Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett and Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch.

     

    The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.

     

    The actors performing the roles of the story’s central animal characters are: Benedict Cumberbatch as the tiger – Shere Khan; Cate Blanchett as Kaa – the snake; Christian Bale as the panther – Bagheera; Andy Serkis as Baloo, the bear; Peter Mullan as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena – Tabaqui; Naomie Harris as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Eddie Marsan as Nisha’s mate – Vihaan; and Jack Reynor as Mowgli’s Brother Wolf. On the human side, young actor Rohan Chand will play the boy raised by wolves – Mowgli.

     

    The film is being produced by Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the Harry Potter films, and Jonathan Cavendish, with Nikki Penny serving as executive producer. The screenplay is by Callie Kloves, based on the stories by Kipling.

     

    Among those collaborating with Serkis behind the scenes are production designer Gary Freeman, Oscar-winning editor Mark Sanger and Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne.

     

    The film is slated for release on 6 October, 2017.

  • Tom Felton’s ‘Against The Sun’ to release on 6 March

    Tom Felton’s ‘Against The Sun’ to release on 6 March

    MUMBAI: Tom Felton, best known for the character of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, stars in one of the most harrowing true stories of World War II called Against The Sun. The movie is all set to release in India on 6 March, 2015.

     

    Against The Sun is the story of three US Navy Airmen who crash land their torpedo bomber in the South Pacific and find themselves on a tiny life raft, surrounded by open ocean. No food. No water. No hope of rescue.

     

    Against incredible odds, these virtual strangers must survive storms, sharks, starvation and each other as they sail more than a thousand miles to safety.

     

    Felton, who was looking for a challenge after literally growing up in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts, said, “It’s a very unique film in that its only three characters and the film stays with these three characters the entire way, there are no set changes or anything like that. That presents a challenge for any actor or filmmaker. Anything that seems challenging right now is a good thing.”

     

    The film also stars Garret Dillahunt, who essays the role of Navy pilot Harold Dixon. “I liked the physical challenge of what it represented. And honestly, it was a little more serious of a diet than I thought. When we spoke, we all thought, well I’ll lose a little bit and then make-up will help us out because we will never be able to get as skinny as those guys really were. But then when I got (to the studio) and there was a nutritionist, I was like ‘oh this is serious – you want us to lose a pound a day’,” said Dillahunt.

     

    The third leg of the trio is played by Jake Abel. “I’ve done a lot of genre work, franchise work and there’s been specific reasons to do those because of the filmmakers and the people involved and I’ve been so wanting something more contained and based in the real world where I’m not having to twist the mustache — and to work with a filmmaker who’s really hungry. And I never want to leave the genre world for good, its treated me so well and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it, but I’m very happy for the introduction of period dramas and biopics,” added Abel.

     

    Against The Sun is an Aghor Raj Productions’ Presentation. The company also makes its foray into the field of distribution with this film.

  • Over 150 films in Mumbai Women Film Festival next month

    Over 150 films in Mumbai Women Film Festival next month

    NEW DELHI: ‘The Grand Seduction’ by Don Mckellar starring Taylor Kitsch (actor of X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Brendon Gleeson (actor of Edge of Tomorrow, Harry Potter, etc) is the opening film of the Mumbai Women’s International Film Festival (MWIFF) commencing from 6 December.

     
    Hosted by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and organised by Oculus Creations, it will continue till 13 December,

     
    The six days of screening will be held at Liberty cinema, Marine Lines; Carnival Cinema, Borivali and Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi.

     
    The festival will be showcasing 152 films judged by Jury members like writer of ‘Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl’ Devika Bhagat, editor of ‘My Name is Khan’ Deepa Bhatia, director of ‘Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge’ Nupur Asthana; Film ‘Bhool bhuliayya’ writer Manisha Korde, the ace ad filmmaker Shivendra Dungarpur and Director and producer Olivier Delahaye from France who has done films like ‘The Wooden Camera’, ‘Nothing But the Truth’, etc.

     
    “We have launched a collection of best films; documentaries, short films and feature films. The 2014 programme with a focus on German cinema will open a whole new corner of the cinematic universe to the audience. The women filmmakers will surely shine on the pink screen’, says Film Department head Ravi Hathalia announcing the schedule.

     
    The festival is also hosting a music concert on 12 December at Liberty Cinema, Marine Lines in association with MTV Indies. The festival will have independent artists and bands that are true to the music in their hearts and mainstream is not something they are drawn to.

     
    Furthermore, the festival is organising Industry Programme Conference that would highlight and provide insights to independent film makers on the most important lessons of ”Breaking In” into the movie business from the perspective of Industry Professionals.

     
    The ‘MWIFF Excellence Awards’ will celebrate the achievements of remarkable women who inspire those around them either through the media or films in their everyday lives.

     
    Apart from awarding the Women who have participated in the festival, the festival will felicitate Bollywood filmmakers from different departments.  

     

  • Warner Bros announce three Harry Potter spin-offs

    Warner Bros announce three Harry Potter spin-offs

    MUMBAI: After a long wait, some good news for the Harry Potter fans, Warner Brothers has announced three new Harry potter spin-offs based on JK Rowling’s ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’ to be released in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

    The studio has also revealed that there will be three new installments of ‘The Lego Movie’ and 10 DC Comics superhero films, including ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Aquaman’.

    The new film will feature characters from the fictional textbook written by Newt Scamander at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  He is a magizoologist who deals with magical creatures and also author of the textbook used by students at the exclusive Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The book was mentioned in 49-year-old’s first novel in the series – ‘Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone’.

    According to media reports, the stories will be neither prequels nor sequels and will take place about seven decades before Harry and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley enter Hogwarts.

    To be directed by David Yates, the film-maker behind the final four Potter movies, the author herself will be writing the script for the movies.

    The Harry Potter film franchise remains the most successful in film history with $7.7 billion in global box office earnings.

    Rowling’s series of books has sold more than 450 million copies and the brand has an estimated worth of $15 billion.
    Giving the fans a clue before the official, announcement, last week the author tweeted out an anagram, “Newt Scamander only meant to stay in New York for a few hours,” which she said is the first sentence of a synopsis of Newt’s story.

    Rowling’s Harry Potter books – which were published from 1997 to 2007 and tell the story of the young wizard and his friends at the Hogwarts school of magic.

  • Makers of ‘Harry Potter’ to come up with ‘Paddington’

    Makers of ‘Harry Potter’ to come up with ‘Paddington’

    MUMBAI: This Christmas comes a special treat from the makers of Harry Potter. Christened Paddington, the movie is a British comedy directed by Paul King, who along with Hamish McColl has also co-written the script.

     

    Produced by David Heyman, it is a story of a lovable bear and is based on the famous book and TV series ‘Paddington Bear’ by Michael Bond. The feature film is being released in India by PictureWorks.

     

    The movie stars Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Peter Capaldi with Nicole Kidman and Ben Whishaw as the voice of the title character.

     

    The story revolves around a young Peruvian bear with a passion for all things British travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he begins to realise that city life is not all he had imagined – until he meets the kindly Brown family, who read the label around his neck (‘please look after this bear, Thank you.’) and offer him a temporary haven. It looks as though Paddington’s luck changes until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist.

  • J.K. Rowling to write screenplay for Fantastic Beasts trilogy

    J.K. Rowling to write screenplay for Fantastic Beasts trilogy

    MUMBAI: Back in September last year, Warner Bros announced in a press statement that it is back to making films in association with world-wide bestselling author of the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling. At the centre of the partnership is a new film series from Rowling’s world of witches and wizards, inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the adventures of the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander.

     

    In the press release, Warner Bros stated that through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; J.K. Rowling will make her screenwriting debut.

     

    “Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world,” said Rowling in the statement.  “The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.”

     

    In addition to the film series, Fantastic Beasts will also be developed across the Studio’s video game, consumer products and digital initiatives businesses, including enhanced links with Pottermore.com, Rowling’s digital online experience built around the Harry Potter stories. 

     

    In an interview with The New York Times published on 29 March, Warner Bros Picture CEO Kevin Tsujihara stated that “three mega movies” based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are planned and the main character will be a “magizoologist” named Newt Scamander. The stories, neither prequels nor sequels, will start in New York about seven decades before the arrival of Potter and his pals.

     

    The Studio’s expanded partnership with Rowling also covers the continued expansion of its Harry Potter activities, including The Wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks in conjunction with partner Universal Parks and Resorts (currently in Orlando, FL; opening in Hollywood, CA and Osaka, Japan), digital initiatives (including Pottermore), video games, consumer products and visitor attractions. 

     

    In addition, Warner Bros will serve as the worldwide TV distributor (excluding the UK) of J.K. Rowling’s upcoming television adaptation for the BBC of The Casual Vacancy, her best-selling first novel aimed at adult audiences which begins production in 2014.

  • ‘Lost in Translation’ director to helm ‘The Little Mermaid’

    ‘Lost in Translation’ director to helm ‘The Little Mermaid’

    MUMBAI: Sofia Coppola, daughter of legendary film director, Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather trilogy) is in negotiations to direct the live action adaptation of the classic fairytale – The Little Mermaid – by Hans Christian Anderson, reported The Hollywood Reporter (THR).

     

    Coppola will, for the first time, direct a supernatural live-action fairytale. Coppola is best known for helming critically acclaimed films like Lost in Translation and The Bling Ring starring Emma Watson.

     

    The Little Mermaid revolves around the finned beauty willing to make a Faustian bargain to live on land after she falls in love. Previously, Atonement and Pride & Prejudice writer Joe Wright was attached to direct the project; however, Wright has found his own fairy tale adaptation in Pan – based on the popular character Peter Pan.

     

    According to Deadline, Tim Burton’s long time collaborator Caroline Thompson, who is well known for her screenplays including Edward Scissorhands, The Addams Family and The Nightmare Before Christmas, will be working on the draft for The Little Mermaid.

  • Blockbuster Overdose: MOVIES NOW unveils Explosive Marketing Campaign

    Blockbuster Overdose: MOVIES NOW unveils Explosive Marketing Campaign

    MUMBAI: MOVIES NOW, India’s first High Definition channel brings you an explosive series of super-hit blockbusters, Hollywood’s biggest franchises and never seen before series all through March & April. Watch the complete series of Star Wars, Harry Potter, X Men, Matrix, Hangover, Ocean’s 11, 12 & 13, Lord of The Rings and a blockbuster Shaolin line up in stunning high definition. If you think this wasn’t enough, watch with the world, as MOVIES NOW brings to you the most anticipated series of 2014, the premier of CRISIS, a thirteen part series, simulcast with the US and also an exclusive showcase of Mr. Go for its viewers.

     

    Ajay Trigunayat, CEO of English Channels, Times Television Network said. “In a span of only three years, MOVIES NOW has been successfully taken the category by storm! MOVIES NOW has repeatedly proved that it is The Destination for high adrenaline and heart pumping blockbusters. The upcoming line up in the month of March & April will never get repeated in the English Movie Channel category, given the amalgamation of all the excellent box-office franchises being showcased one after the other. With the launch of our new pan India integrated promotional campaign, MOVIES NOW will engage with its viewers through different mediums. This campaign will help us to amplify the overdose of blockbusters across media. OOH is going to spearhead the campaign and we have activated OOH media on a large scale across all the metros which will be supported by Print, On-Air activations, Social media and PR.”

     

    To promote its mega line up, MOVIES NOW has unveiled a blistering 360 degrees marketing campaign across the 8 metros. Over 200+ high octane OOH units comprising of Billboards, Mall Media, Mobile Vans, Metro branding, Office branding and innovations are splashed across all 8 metros. The OOH is turbo charged with daily adverts in the Times Of India, City Times and Mirrors.

     

    The channel has also taken consumer engagement to another level On – Air and on Social Media with mega contests. MOVIES NOW will fly 2 winners to the Harry Potter world in the USA and all they have to do is watch their favorite Harry Potter movies! If that is not enough, MOVIES NOW will give 6 winners a once in a lifetime opportunity to party with Jackie Chan on his 60th birthday!!

     

    Blockbuster Overdose will keep viewers glued to MOVIES NOW throughout March, April & beyond.

     

  • Party all through december with Movies Now

    Party all through december with Movies Now

    MUMBAI: This December, MOVIES NOW brings its viewers the line-up they have all been waiting for! Celebrating its third anniversary, MOVIES NOW lines-up a truly unforgettable party! From action to suspense to animation, MOVIES NOW is all set to give Hollywood enthusiasts an experience of a life time this month’s with its back-to-back hits.

    Starting the month with a bang, MOVIES NOW brings fans Blockbuster Nights starting 1st December 2013. With a stellar line-up ranging from movies that have grossed over 25 Million Dollars to 481 Million Dollars, the channel ensures it showcases only the best. Catch Salt, Rise of the Planet Apes, Kung Fu Panda and many more every Sunday at 11pm.

    If Blockbuster Nights set the mood Harry Potter- The Complete Adventure will be the mix you need to kick start your evening. Taking you through the wizard’s every battle, fight and triumph, the channel will showcase the complete adventure series of the wizard we all adore! Catch seven of the blockbusters of the iconic franchise starting 6th December, every Friday at 9pm in Harry Potter- The Complete Adventure.

    Adding to the zest and action, MOVIES NOW will bring the Indian television premiere of the biggest, paciest and slyest martial arts blockbuster of all time- Tai Chi Zero in the Movies Now Exclusiveon the 21st December at 9pm. That’s not all! The animated, lovable and hysterical hit Madagascar Escape 2 Africa will certainly get audiences grooving. Catch Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sacha Baron Cohen as Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and the quirky King Julien in the second installment of the Madagascar Franchise only on 28th December 2013 at 9pmas the Super Movie of the month.

    Ending the festive season and the year on a high, MOVIES NOW celebrates the last week of the year with Jingle all the day and High on 2013. Rejoicing the Christmas and New Year spirit, MOVIES NOW brings Hollywood enthusiasts the best hits for the entire family. Start the Christmas merriment with Jingle all the day featuring Baby’s Day Out, Jingle All the Way, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Jumanji and many more on the 24th and 25th December starting 9am onwards. Power-up your New Year fun with the hottest action blockbusters featuring Hangover, Final Destination, Fantastic Four – Rise of the Silver Surfer, Karate Kid and many more.