MUMBAI: Director Baz Luhrmann, who recently worked with Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Great Gatsby‘, wants to cast the star in ‘Hamlet‘. The 50-year-old Luhrmann has already worked with DiCaprio twice before and he now wants him in his next project as well.
According to The Hollywood Reporter Luhrmann said, "To me, Gatsby is the American Hamlet. What else could we possibly do as a follow-up?" He admits that it‘s presently just wishful thinking, but tackling Shakespeare‘s most complicated male character would be a fitting third entry for the actor/director duo.
Hamlet has been a staple of the theatre, and in turn, the cinema since the early days of film. The classic 1948 version saw Laurence Olivier become the first person to direct himself to a best actor Oscar.
Recent versions include Kenneth Branagh‘s breathtaking 242-minute 1996 adaptation, a 2000 modernized version starring Ethan Hawke, and Disney‘s The Lion King, which draws heavily from the play‘s story beats. On the TV side, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter has noted the connections between his biker show and Hamlet, while a number of networks are currently in developments on their own Shakespearean series riffs.
The Great Gatsby is slated for a release in the US on 10 May and in UK on 16 May.
Tag: Hollywood
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Leonardo Dicaprio part of Luhrmann next Hamlet
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Amitabh Bachchan wins over Hollywood critics in ‘The Great Gatsby’
MUMBAI: Bollywood‘s icon Amitabh Bachchan recently won over Hollywood‘s most renowned critics, with his special appearance in the film ‘The Great Gatsby‘ directed by Auteur Baz Luhrmann.
According to the sources the liveliest work in the film by far comes from two actors with only a few minutes of screen time between them: the agile, long-limbed newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as gabby golf pro Jordan Baker, and, in a single scene that marks his belated Hollywood debut, the living legend Bachchan as the flamboyant Jewish gambler.
As per the media reports Big B himself was ever his modest self when he didn‘t charge anything for the film.A source close to Bachchan says, "He‘s extremely delighted with the way the film has shaped up. And even though his role may not be as big, he has left a mark and in his own style has made an impact."
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan as main leads.
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DD’s Q1 revenues see spike thanks to new primetime programming
NEW DELHI: With new initiatives that have helped to add spice to the national prime time telecasts, Doordarshan managed to push up its gross quarterly revenue from just over Rs 322.4 million in the last quarter of 2012 to above Rs 503.4 million in the first quarter of 2013.
The monthly revenue for this time slot shot up from just Rs 9.21 million in October last year to more than Rs 197.1 million in March this year.
Doordarshan additional director general Raj Shekhar Vyas told Indiantelevision.com that this had been achieved by adding variety to the programmes and not necessarily getting stuck to the same series from Monday to Friday as most private television channels tend to do.
He said DD was set to break new ground with the telecast of Hollywood blockbusters in English from midnight onwards daily from mid-May. He said negotiations were on with the American studio Lionsgate Films. It was expected that the films would initially be offered without any payment. This slot was until now reserved either for old films or repeat telecasts, he said.
However, on account of a decline in national mid-day prime time slots between noon and 3.00 pm, the quarterly revenue went down from Rs 177.9 million in the last quarter to just about Rs 156.7 million.
Asked about this, Vyas said he was currently concentrating on re-vamping the evening prime time but would also overhaul the mid-day prime time since around 240 proposals had been received for various programmes.
Following an initiative by Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Jawhar Sircar, DD had for the first time decided to go in for out-of-home publicity and also advertised in newspapers, Facebook and Twitter about its new programmes. An initial sum of Rs 20 million had been set aside since Republic Day this year for this. Advertising in cinema houses will form the second phase of the advertising binge.
Vyas claimed that following directions from DD director general Tripurari Sharan, he had given the national prime time a youthful look with programmes like ‘Bharat ki shaan’, ‘Yahan ke hum Sikandar,’ ‘Ek Kiran Roshni ki’ and ‘Yeh hai India Meri Jaan’ by the renowned Saeed Akhtar Mirza remembered for the path-breaking ‘Nukkad’ series. The channel also had its share of interpretation of classics like ‘Krishna Kali’, ‘Gora’ and ‘Sarsaswati Chandra’, apart from old favourites like ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’ and ‘Ek tha Rusty.’
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Iconic Gibson Amphitheater makes way for a Harry Potter attraction
MUMBAI: NBCUniversal (NBCU) is demolishing the Los Angeles theme park‘s 41-year-old site in September to make way for a Harry Potter attraction and other "improvements." As reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
The Gibson Amphitheater, a popular concert venue since its inauguration in 1972 as the Universal Amphitheater, will be leveled as early as October.
It’s been assumed for months that the iconic amphitheater would need to perish, since NBCU has been saying that its joint-venture attraction with Warner Bros. called ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ was to be constructed at the north end of the park, which is where the amphitheater is located. On Wednesday, the decision was made formal.
“This fall, a celebrated chapter in Los Angeles’ rich musical history will come to a close when the Gibson Amphitheater shuts its doors in September,” NBCU and Live Nation said in a release Wednesday. Live Nation leases the 6,200-seat amphitheater from NBCU.
Live Nation is organizing a special "finale" concert on or about 6 September (acts have yet to be announced) to celebrate the 41-year-old venue, but details still are being worked out. -
Sacha Baron Cohen polishing vocal chords to play Mercury
MUMBAI: Sacha Baron Cohen, who showed his acting caliber in The Dictator is said to be taking singing lessons for his role as Freddie Mercury in a biopic of the singer.
Reportedly, Cohen is working with vocal coaches in Hollywood in a bid to copy the former Queen front man. He has also seen hours of Queen concert footage and private videos of Freddie in reflective and sombre mood.
"Sacha is a huge Queen fan and is focused on getting Freddie‘s mannerisms, style and speech perfect. He is working on building his vocals. It is an uphill task, because Freddie has such a unique power and tone," a source said.
Cohen recently wowed fans with his vocals in the film version of musical Les Miserables. -
Lionsgate in deal with M-Go
MUMBAI: US digital entertainment service M-Go, which is a JV between DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor and entertainment company Lionsgate, are partnering to bring Lionsgate‘s movies and TV shows, including ‘The Hunger Games‘ and ‘Twilight‘ film franchises, ‘Tyler Perry‘s Madea‘ films and the TV series ‘Mad Men‘, to M-Go customers for purchase or rental.
M-Go has already secured direct content deals with many of Hollywood‘s studios and now adds Lionsgate. M-Go adds that this partnership further boosts its library of the newest releases of movies and TV shows. The two companies will also explore new content delivery models as part of their shared commitment to best serve their consumers. To kick off the partnership, M-Go will offer the ‘Mad Men‘ series catalogue so that people can discover the show for the first time.
Fans can also catch up on missed episodes. Lionsgate president of worldwide television, digital distribution Jim Packer said, “M-Go is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial partner with whom we like to be in business, and our partnership underscores the growing spectrum of digital and traditional platforms available for monetising our content.
“We‘re pleased to give M-GO access to our full range of content because they share our commitment to being at the forefront of home entertainment initiatives designed to meet the changing needs of our consumers.”
M-Go CEO John Batter said, “Getting Lionsgate content was a top priority for M-Go. Being the ‘people-friendliest‘ digital entertainment service means never resting until we have secured the entertainment people want most at their fingertips such as their hot content like ‘Nashville‘, ‘Anger Management‘ and ‘The Impossible‘.
“We look forward to working with Lionsgate to lead the industry by pioneering new ways to maximize the benefits of digital by providing amazing entertainment instantly and earlier than ever before for consumers in the US.”
M-GO is available for at home or on the go viewing on platforms and functions on operating systems ranging from Android to iOS to Windows. M-GO will be pre-loaded on LG Electronics Smart TVs, Samsung‘s Smart TV‘s, Blu-ray players and Wi-Fi tablets, Vizio‘s Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, Wi-Fi tablets and digital media players, and Intel® Ultrabook devices.
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GI Joe sequel to be released in India ahead of Hollywood
New Delhi: In keeping with the new trend of releasing Hollywood films simultaneously or ahead of their release in the United States, ‘GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra’ will be releasing in India on 27 March, ahead of its international release.
The highly awaited muscle fest is a follow-up to the 2009 film which had grossed over $300 million worldwide.
Director Jon M. Chu’s high octane action fiesta stars an ensemble cast of biggies such as Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson.
One of the most revered action and fitness figures of all time, Bruce Willis takes over as the original G.I.Joe – Joe Colton.Interestingly, Willis agreed to do the role because of a childhood fascination.
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“When I was a kid, I used to play with a GI Joe action figure. So to do this movie is a big honour for me,” he says “I always dreamt of being Joe growing up so to at least share a moment in a movie with him was a lot of fun. I felt like a big kid.” -
Disney plans sequel to Oz the Great and Powerful
MUMBAI: Planning for sequels has slowly become the norm in Hollywood.
Even before the release of the fantasy-adventure Oz the Great and Powerful, the makers have already planned a sequel. The film opens today in theatres worldwide.Expecting a box-office bonanza this weekend, Disney has taken this measure. In this connection the makers have hired Mitchell Kapner to write a script for the follow-up that would continue the adventures of Oz played by James Franco.
It may be remembered that Kapner came up with the concept and ideas for the origin story of Oz that is based on the classic L Frank Baum books. He pitched the idea to producer Joe Roth who set it up at Disney.The film stars Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams.
Before Oz, Kapner wrote The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel, The Whole Ten Yards, and also worked on the action movie Romeo Must Die.
Planning for sequels has slowly become the norm in Hollywood.
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Iran slams Hollywood for giving top honour to hostage drama Argo
MUMBAI: Iran has criticised Hollywood for awarding its top honour to the Iran hostage drama Argo.
“This anti-Iran movie lacks artistic value,” said Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Hosseini. “It was awarded the top honour through a massive financing and advertisement campaign … so that it attracts more attention worldwide,” he added.
Iran‘s state television earlier slammed the 85th Academy Awards saying that this year‘s Oscars was the most political Oscar ever, no sooner the news of Argo winning the coveted best film Oscar award broke out.
The broadcaster accused director Ben Affleck of specialising in exaggeration, blowing things out of proportion and creating false scenes.
Argo recounts the long-classified CIA plot to extract six US hostages out of revolutionary Iran, who managed to evade Islamist students storming the US embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979. The other 52 hostages were held for 444 days in an action that caused the rupture of diplomatic ties between Washington and Tehran.
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Petro Vlahos, pioneer of blue & green screen technology passes away
MUMBAI: Petro Vlahos, who pioneered blue- and green-screen technology to Hollywood, has passed away. He was 96.
Paying his respects to Vlahos, senior visual effects supervisor at Look Effects, a post-production outlet, Everett Burrell said, "All visual effects professionals and movie fans owe him a debt of gratitude." "It‘s hard to even conceive of how we would do what we do without the amazing number of processes and techniques he pioneered," he added.
Although the technology was not new when Valhos started to use it-it had been seen before in The Thief of Baghdad and The Ten Commandments, his firm, Ultimatte, made the process much more realistic.
Vlahos was awarded many patents for the techniques he invented in his laboratory, including the one which won him an Oscar, teaming up live action with cartoons on Mary Poppins. He was also associated with the Charlton Heston-starrer Ben hur.