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Tag: Hollywood films

  • HBO Asia to air first original series

    HBO Asia to air first original series

    MUMBAI: Viewers of HBO Asia – a channel so far synonymous with Hollywood films and original US series – have reason to smile.

    Starting 22 September, the Asian arm of HBO will premiere its first original series – Serangoon Road – a detective noir set in Singapore of the swinging 60s, every Sunday, from 9:00 to 10:00 pm.

    According to HBO Asia head, programming and production Erika North, unlike earlier international series, Serangoon Road, which she describes as ‘the right mix of mystery, romance, action and politics’, sees Asians playing a significant role.

    “It portrays both international and Asian characters, who find themselves in mysterious situations which need to be solved,” says North, pointing out that the series brings together Asian and western characters that are equally strong.

    Serangoon Road promises mystery that reaches a climax in the last episode, with characters drawn from different sections of the society. “You will see gangsters, secret service agents, people working in China Town among others, who have their own unique and compelling stories to tell in the backdrop of 60s Singapore,” informs North.

    Rich in narrative as well as the visual department, shooting of the series began in August last year and was completed this February. “Prior to that, we were working on the script.” says North and adds: “The journey began nearly three years ago when Paul Barren, the original producer of the show, came to the HBO Asia office and pitched the concept.”

    The series is part of HBO Asia’s larger objective of creating an Asian dimension to an essentially US-based brand. “We are looking at making something which is far more premium and international than what is produced in Asia, and is still more authentic,” exults North.

    Serangoon Road breaks ground in more ways than one. “It’s wonderful to have a series that represents a lot of firsts. One, it is HBO Asia’s first original series. Second, it is the first ever co-production of HBO Asia with ABC TV Australia. Also, it is ABC TV Australia’s first prime-time drama, shot in Asia. Last, it is the first biggest co-production in both Singapore and Australia on TV,” elaborates North, adding “Also, with it, we hope to pave the way for more such originals for HBO Asia.”

    A co-production, the series’ lead partners are HBO Asia and ABC TV Australia, and it has received considerable support from both the governments. “In Singapore, the MDA and IFW, which is a local production house, have supported us with investments. And in Australia, while ABC is the national broadcaster, Screen West Australia is another partner. We have also tied up with Content Media Corporation as the international distribution partner,” says North.

    The world premiere of the series will be telecast on HBO Asia, HBO Defined and ABC TV Australia, the channel “thereafter, hopes to sell it internationally too,” she adds.

    About looking at India for producing more such HBO Asia originals, North says: “It all depends on finding the right stories and getting the business model right. There are wonderful stories coming out of India. Stories which I know we can tell well and package it well for our Indian viewer base.”

    Directed by Peter Andrikidis and Tony Tilse and written by Michaeley O’Brien and Tony Morphett, Serangoon Road is HBO Asia’s attempt to create a connect with its Asian viewers. We wish them every success.

  • Hollywood films look to appease growing market in China

    Hollywood films look to appease growing market in China

    MUMBAI: A Hollywood studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer has digitally removed all Chinese villains from its action flick Red Dawn, which recently released in the United States, in order to avoid antagonising Beijing.

    The plot of the film revolves around a Chinese invasion of America in which a hit squad of teenagers from a high school football team saves the day. When the authorities at MGM realised the storyline could offend Beijing – jeopardising the film’s chances of making it to the lucrative Chinese market – they digitally removed all references to China.

    As a result the villains now belong to North Korean (in the movie) and all reference to the Chinese flag and symbols have been replaced with North Korean ones. The film is a remake of a 1984 Cold War film of the same name, which starred Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen where the Russians were shown as the invaders.
    China is one of the fastest growing markets for Hollywood movies at nearly $1.5 billion. Moreover, the new Chinese president Xi Jinping is said to be a big fan of Hollywood war films.

    DMG Entertainment owner Dan Mintz was quoted in the LA Times as saying that if the movie had gone out in its original form “there would have been a real backlash. It’s like being invited to a dinner party and insulting the host all night long. There’s no way to look good … The film itself was not a smart move.” The company is a leading producer and distributor of movies in China.

    In the past too, Beijing has stopped its business dealings with US studios which have criticised its government like the 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet starring Brad Pitt.
    The latest James Bond movie Skyfall is currently not due for release in China either. The distributors of the movie are in negotiations with Beijing over the its release in the country owing to a part in the film that shows a former secret agent being tortured by the Chinese.

  • Imax CEO doesn’t expect Hollywood films in a lot in China

    Imax CEO doesn’t expect Hollywood films in a lot in China

    Mumbai: Imax CEO Richard Gelfond doesn‘t expect many Hollywood films to clash at local multiplexes in China. He told the Goldman Sachs‘ Communacopia conference that Chinese authorities directing screen traffic in the Asian market weren‘t impressed with the results when Warner Bros.‘ The Dark Knight Rises and Columbia Pictures‘ The Amazing Spider-Man opened simultaneously in China on Imax screens on 27 August.
    “My guess is they‘re going to rethink that,” Gelfond told investors.
    Gelfond argued the cannibalisation was less about reducing slots for Hollywood movies than opening up screen time for Chinese films to bring the ratio of local and foreign movies in China more into balance.
    “Instead of two Hollywood films stretching out over two months, they wanted one month for Chinese films,” Gelfond said while speaking on creating black-out periods for non-domestic films by bunching Hollywood titles.
    Gelfond, who was in China last week,as part to hold discussions with government authorities, said the arms-length China Film Group, that charges a fee to import foreign titles, makes less money when Hollywood films don‘t follow one after the other.
    And Chinese exhibitors make less money as well, and are more interested in attracting consumers to their shopping malls by building multiplexes, than protecting local films.

  • Hollywood films relegating Chinese films at BO

    Hollywood films relegating Chinese films at BO

    MUMBAI: Box office collection of Hollywood films in China continues to surge but local media say it‘s “embarrassing” that local films barely figure in the top 10.
    Box office in the Country grew 35 per cent in the first half of year to 7.74 billion yuan ($1.22 billion), and nine of the top 10 titles were from outside China. Foreign films look likely to continue to reap the lion‘s share of Chinese BO thanks to the recently increased quota for imports of premium films.
    The highest-grossing film so far this year, according to Chinese media reports, was the 3D release of Titanic that grossed $153 million; it‘s third on the list of all-time top earners behind Avatar and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
    With grosses expected to reach $5 billion by 2015, China‘s B.O. total could equal US and Canada‘s $10 billion annually by 2020. Other Hollywood titles in the top 10 included Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, Battleship, The Avengers and Men in Black 3.
    Though The Hunger Games missed the Chinese top 10, with nearly $25 million after four weeks locally, the film still shows the potential of non-studio films that are usually released outside summer.
    Warner Bros.‘ Wrath of the Titans, that made $25.4 million in China, was the first film to benefit from the country‘s higher revenue-sharing ratio.

  • Bigelow’s film on Osama to be shot in Chandigarh

    Bigelow’s film on Osama to be shot in Chandigarh

    MUMBAI: Shooting Hollywood films in India has reached a peak with Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow deciding to shoot her film, based on terror mastermind Osama bin Laden’s capture, in Chandigarh.


    According to the director, the reason for choosing India as the key location to shoot the film instead of Pakistan where the actual series of events took place, was primarily because the Pakistani authorities shot down her request to shoot there. Now Bigelow has zeroed in on locations that similarised that of Pakistan.


    It is said that the crew, having landed a few days ago, will start shooting in and around Chandigarh from 24 February. The cast will be joining the crew shortly.


    The film stars Jessica Chastain (nominated for Oscars in the ‘Best Supporting Actress’ category for The Help), Chris Pratt (of Moneyball fame) and Joel Edgerton.

  • Surendra Singh cast in The American Gandhi

    Surendra Singh cast in The American Gandhi

    MUMBAI: Indian artistes are slowly making an entry into Hollywood films. Following the like of Gulshan Grover, Anupam Kher and Anil Kapoor, another actor of Indian origin, Surendra Singh has been signed to play a parallel lead role in another Hollywood film The American Gandhi.


    In the film, Singh plays the ruthless character of a royal business tycoon Rana. Currently under production and directed by Joseph Mungra, the film also stars Hollywood actor James Patrick Stuart.


    Said Singh, “I am really enjoying the film. I play a billionaire in the film and have my own mining fields. It‘s a grey character and to get under the skin of it, I have played with my looks. But most interesting part is where I showcase the life style of Indian Royalties to the western audience.”


    Incidentally, Singh has earlier worked in films like Asambhav, Line of Control and Veer.

  • ‘What we need to do now is concentrate on our week day prime time band’ : Sneha Rajani – Max business head

    ‘What we need to do now is concentrate on our week day prime time band’ : Sneha Rajani – Max business head

    It has been an eventful time for Max. It recently aired the champions Trophy. Having successfully shored up its share on the weekend due to its focus on Sunday, it is now concentrating on strengthening its week day prime time band. It is also putting together plans for next year’s cricket World Cup.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with Max business head Sneha Rajani for a quick chat. She recently took over from former head Albert Almeida who was tapped to head Sony.

    Excerpts:

    Firstly, could you talk about the push given to The Champions Trophy by Max?
    If you look at the, ratings you will see that once again cricket on Max has delivered higher ratings than on any other channel. This started four years back. The non-India match ratings have been a revelation. It has been the highest since the World Cup. Our ratings were certainly helped by the buzz that Extraaa Innings bought and the innovations we did.

    Some advertisers I spoke to were not too happy. Do you feel there would be some cooling off in the next edition of the event?
    One grouse is that a lot of the matches including the final finished way too early. I think the advertisers are smart enough to understand that its in nobody’s hand whether the game ends before 100 overs or goes on till the end. This Champions Trophy has been fascinating from a cricket point of view as it has been unpredictable. When you have a high scoring game you have an idea of who will win and lose. Here dodgy totals kept viewers in suspense. It could swing either way. This is why the non-India ratings were more than what was achieved in 2004. So I don’t think it would in any way effect the next year’s Trophy.

    A lot of matches did not last 100 overs as it was a bowlers tournament?
    Matches ending early is in nobody’s hand. As an advertiser, if you decide not to put money the next time around in 2008 because of this and most matches last 100 overs it will be a lost opportunity. You cannot pre-empt anything.

    What is Max’s game plan going to be to build up buzz and anticipation ahead of the World Cup?
    We tailor our campaigns around where an event is happening. The campaign is always skewed to reflect the country a tournament is being played in. So when the Champions Trophy was in Sri Lanka it had a sub continental feel to it. In England we incorporated the stiff and proper mannerism into our campaign.

    In India we did the Shaadi campaign to emphasize the spectacle. Everything was shown as larger than life and melodramatic. Now when we go to the West Indies the campaign will be around beaches, sun and sand. It will have a carnival atmosphere.

    You are doing a ‘Host ka Dost’ hunt. What are the logistics involved to find someone to go the West Indies?
    This initiative is being done in collaboration with Reliance. It is a hunt for someone who’ll be part of the Extraaa Innings team for the World Cup and other cricket that we may have.

    If one is selected from the call they would be asked to come for an audition at Reliance Webworld, where they have to give a two to three minutes performance in front of the camera. There will be five finalists who would be further shortlisted by public voting. At present we are just at the call stage. We should wrap this up by the second week of January.
    ‘Matches ending early is in nobody’s hand. As an advertiser, if you decide not to put money in 2008 because of this and most matches last 100 overs it will be a lost opportunity‘

    What are the big properties that Max has lined up for now till March?
    We signed some big movies recently. Fanaa is coming up as a weekend premiere. We also have Apna Sapna Money Money. January and February 2007 is where big titles will be shown. In terms of thematic blocks right now we have a King Khan festival.

    Certainly having a theme block associated with a star brings in loyalty. We will also have a comedy festival lined up for December.

    How do you push the non-blockbusters?
    It’s simple. We market and promote them in a way that has not been done before. It is all about the buzz you create – old wine in a new bottle. On air promotions are a key. You find a key moment that defines a film and you push that. We had a movie called Nayak, which tanked at the box office. It has delivered tremendous ratings for us though.

    In the past you focussed heavily on Sunday with housefull and then the blockbuster at 1 pm. How did this help grow your share over the weekend?
    Our reach has grown by 20 per cent. A 12-hour slot delivers an average of 1+. We will continue to focus on Sundays as well as festivals that happen once in a month. What we need to do now is concentrate on our week day prime time band. The evening slots are fine. The afternoon band is doing well where we have a block for women.

    My job is to strengthen the Monday – Friday prime time band from 9 pm. There will be a mix of titles. We have 36 China Town, Golmaal.

    What libraries were recently acquired?
    To name a few we have acquired Sajid Nadiawalla’s library, Yash Chopra’s library and Ramesh Behls library recently. Our library is over 1000+.

    What are the changes that have happened in the acquisitions process in the past couple of years?
    We have always focussed on acquiring the top five to six films in a year and that will stay. The scenario has changed with more players. More buyers for the same product means that the pricing has become buoyant. Competition is good and It keeps us on our toes.

    One big change that has happened, especially in the past year is that films are acquired before their theatrical release. This is a risk that all broadcasters are taking. This was not the case earlier on. Then it was more staid. You now go by track records in buying films pre-release. We just presume that a certain star cast with so and so director and producer should be doing well.

    If you go with established producers you should be fine. Sony has great relationships with them. Shaadi Se Pehle was a title that we bought pre release. The acquisition process is very organised. The producers are fairly realistic, they know which film is to be priced at one crore and which at 10 crores.

    How important are dubbed Hollywood films?
    Extremely! We launched Hollywood Hungama two and a half years back. It is one of the most loyal slots on our channel. Each year we acquire 25-30 titles.

    You had in the past done the innovation of the onebreak film. What further innovations can we expect to boost viewer loyalty?
    It worked for us initially and then it did not. Viewers got worried that why is the channel not having a break. They might feel that one ad break equates to a channel not doing well. They are conditioned to having breaks in between a film. Also we had a lot of ads on our plate to schedule. The one ad break did not prove to be economically viable.

    We keep looking at innovations that will surprise people. In this Champions Trophy we had huge cut-outs of Mandira Bedi and Virendra Sehwag at Mahim. We will do some wrap around programming on films and we are also looking at an innovation during our ad breaks. We do outdoors on special occasions, like for Lucky we had done an outdoor and we might do it for Fanaa too.

    Are you also looking at new formats like chat shows, news related film specials to add variety or is there too much of this already on Indian television?
    No! We already have Sony and Sab for this kind of content. We have a news show Current Bollywood but we will not be adding to this.

    New media segment is growing in importance in terms of mobile and the internet. What can we expect from Max in this regard?
    We did a lot of mobile activity for the Champions Trophy. It was very interactive. We offered movie trivia on the mobile and did contests as well. Clips we do not offer as the rights belong to either a mobile firm or a producer. Whether we go beyond will be an a decision that will be taken as an organisation and not as a channel. We won’t rule it out though. On the net right now Max site basically offers film information.

    One way that Max has separated itself in cricket has been through personalities like Mandira Bdei. Are you planning to extend this association further through the film platform?
    We already do this. She used to anchor Extraaa Shots which was a wrap around show for our films. Manish Vanicha is now anchoring the show. He is now doing stuff on cricket. So while Mandira moved from a cricket anchor to a film anchor Manish did the opposite. Next year you will see more personalities.

    Besides cricket and films what other events is Max looking at over the next few months?
    We have the Max Stardust awards coming up. We have been doing that for the last two years. I would say that it was the best looking awards show last year. Concerts air across the network.

    Could you talk about how your client portfolio has grown as well as ad rates?
    In the last year our client base has grown by 25 per cent. I am not in a position to talk about revenues or increase in ad rates.