ITV

Tag: J.J. Abrams

  • Fox acquires new thriller from J.J. Abrams, Stephen King, Bridget Carpenter

    Fox acquires new thriller from J.J. Abrams, Stephen King, Bridget Carpenter

     

    MUMBAI: 11.22.63, the event series thriller from executive producers J.J. Abrams, Stephen King and Bridget Carpenter will premiere in select European territories this spring exclusively on Fox.

     

    The deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution secures exclusive first-run linear and non-linear rights in 18 European markets, including Bulgaria, Flemish-speaking Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the U.K.

     

    Based on King’s best-selling 2011 novel, the epic new nine-hour event series 11.22.63 combines the talents of Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, best-selling author King with executive producer/writer Carpenter and Warner Bros. Television.

     

    Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald directs and serves as executive producer for the two-hour series premiere. Distributed around the world by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, the series is executive produced by Abrams, King, Carpenter and Bryan Burk.

     

    11.22.63 will roll out weekly over eight weeks on Fox channels and via associated video on-demand services.

     

    Fox EVP for distribution Caleb Weinstein said, “The golden age of television is being driven by serialised drama. And in 2016, Fox channels across Europe are at the forefront: delivering on-demand access to the best content in the world, whenever and wherever our Pay TV subscribers want to watch.”

     

    Fox SVP global acquisitions Jason Simms added, “We are delighted to be working with Warner Bros. on 11.22.63. With its epic and suspenseful story complemented by an absolutely incredible array of talent, both behind and in front of the camera, we are confident our audiences will love what promises to be one of 2016’s hottest shows, first on Fox.”

     

    Starring an ensemble cast, 11.22.63 hurtles viewers deep into the unpredictable darkness of the American Dream. Academy Award nominee James Franco stars as Jake Epping, a high school teacher at a loss with his life, who wants to make a difference and do something meaningful. Encouraged by his ailing friend, Al Templeton (Chris Cooper), Jake journeys back in time in an attempt to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

     

    The story transports audiences into the world of 1960s Texas as Jake explores the multiple mysteries surrounding the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald (Daniel Webber). But Jake’s mission faces threats not only from Oswald, but also from Sadie Dunhill (Sarah Gadon), a beautiful librarian he falls in love with, and from the Past itself…which doesn’t want to be changed. And if the Past doesn’t want to be changed, it will push back – often violently.

     

    The cast also includes Cherry Jones, Lucy Fry, George MacKay, Leon Rippy, Kevin J. O’Connor, T.R. Knight, Jonny Coyne, Brooklyn Sudano and Tonya Pinkins, with Josh Duhamel.

     

     

     

  • Fox acquires new thriller from J.J. Abrams, Stephen King, Bridget Carpenter

    Fox acquires new thriller from J.J. Abrams, Stephen King, Bridget Carpenter

     

    MUMBAI: 11.22.63, the event series thriller from executive producers J.J. Abrams, Stephen King and Bridget Carpenter will premiere in select European territories this spring exclusively on Fox.

     

    The deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution secures exclusive first-run linear and non-linear rights in 18 European markets, including Bulgaria, Flemish-speaking Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the U.K.

     

    Based on King’s best-selling 2011 novel, the epic new nine-hour event series 11.22.63 combines the talents of Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, best-selling author King with executive producer/writer Carpenter and Warner Bros. Television.

     

    Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald directs and serves as executive producer for the two-hour series premiere. Distributed around the world by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, the series is executive produced by Abrams, King, Carpenter and Bryan Burk.

     

    11.22.63 will roll out weekly over eight weeks on Fox channels and via associated video on-demand services.

     

    Fox EVP for distribution Caleb Weinstein said, “The golden age of television is being driven by serialised drama. And in 2016, Fox channels across Europe are at the forefront: delivering on-demand access to the best content in the world, whenever and wherever our Pay TV subscribers want to watch.”

     

    Fox SVP global acquisitions Jason Simms added, “We are delighted to be working with Warner Bros. on 11.22.63. With its epic and suspenseful story complemented by an absolutely incredible array of talent, both behind and in front of the camera, we are confident our audiences will love what promises to be one of 2016’s hottest shows, first on Fox.”

     

    Starring an ensemble cast, 11.22.63 hurtles viewers deep into the unpredictable darkness of the American Dream. Academy Award nominee James Franco stars as Jake Epping, a high school teacher at a loss with his life, who wants to make a difference and do something meaningful. Encouraged by his ailing friend, Al Templeton (Chris Cooper), Jake journeys back in time in an attempt to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

     

    The story transports audiences into the world of 1960s Texas as Jake explores the multiple mysteries surrounding the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald (Daniel Webber). But Jake’s mission faces threats not only from Oswald, but also from Sadie Dunhill (Sarah Gadon), a beautiful librarian he falls in love with, and from the Past itself…which doesn’t want to be changed. And if the Past doesn’t want to be changed, it will push back – often violently.

     

    The cast also includes Cherry Jones, Lucy Fry, George MacKay, Leon Rippy, Kevin J. O’Connor, T.R. Knight, Jonny Coyne, Brooklyn Sudano and Tonya Pinkins, with Josh Duhamel.

     

     

     

  • Top 5 TV spy shows that tasted success

    Top 5 TV spy shows that tasted success

    MUMBAI: The recent James Bond starrer Spectre (2015) is taking trolls over the people across the nation with its brilliant cinematography and holds your breath tracking the shots. A Bond film’s rules might be predictable, but once its mechanisms start whirring, you can’t help but fall in place.

     

    The Sam Mendes directed movie was shot on a 35mm film which marks a change of texture from Skyfall’s gleaming digital stake. The film had paid previews held on 19 November 2015 and collected Rs. 2 cr in India. Spectre collected around Rs. 6.5 cr on Friday taking its collections to Rs 8.5 cr at India Box Office.

     

    English entertainment channels have always broadcasted shows and series on thrillers with a spy, to keep the viewers entertained. If you have already seen Spectre and are browsing on every available portal puzzled over what you should stream on tonight, we’ve got you covered. 
     
    After perusing the available options on the English entertainment channels, we recommend a few under-the-radar titles to satisfy your hunger for stories of a spy that enjoyed a good number of viewership in the global entertainment industry.

     

    1. Chuck

    Chuck is an American spy drama series created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series ran for a period of 5 seasons with 91 episodes. The series portrays the life of a computer geek named Chuck inadvertently downloading critical government secrets into his brain. One day Chuck gets a message from a friend working for CIA. The message embeds the only remaining copy of a software program containing the United States’ greatest spy secrets into Chuck’s brain. CIA and NSA assign two agents to protect him and exploit such knowledge, turning his life upside down.

     

    2. Burn Notice

    Burn Notice is an American television series created by Matt Nix. It talks about a spy recently disavowed by the U.S. government and how he uses his special ops training to help others in trouble. His only means of surviving is by doing impossible jobs for the desperate people in Miami, where his mother lives. The series took a permanent place in the heart of the onlookers with 111 episodes for a span of 7 seasons.

     

    3. Alias

    The series is created by J. J. Abrams and successfully ran for 5 seasons with about 150 episodes. The plot revolves around a young athletic college graduate who is recruited as a secret agent for the CIA. After a few years the protagonist learns that her boyfriend is a part of a rogue international agency called the Alliance of 12, out to rule the world. She becomes a double agent working with the real CIA to bring down SD-6 with the assistance of her handler and her estranged father who is also a double agent. The series talks about her journey all the while keeping her cloak-and-dagger lifestyle a secret from her friends. 

     

    4. Covert Affairs

     

    Covert Affairs ran for 5 seasons with 75 episodes. The series hailed for a period of four years. The plot talks about a young CIA trainee sent into the field to work for the DPD (Domestic Protection Division). The field agent is assisted by a blind tech operative in her new life in the CIA. The lead’s new cover is that of a glamorous and well-connected importer or exporter with expensive tastes and dealings that may not always be legal.

     

    5. 24

     

    The 24 series had touched great heights of success in the entertainment industry for its entire tenure of 9 seasons. The Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran created series covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration. In this concept drama, each season takes place within one 24 hour period. Day 1: Jack Bauer is the head of field ops for an elite team of CTU agents who uncover an assassination plot targeting Presidential nominee David Palmer. Meanwhile, Jack’s strained marriage to his wife, Teri, is pushed to the brink by the sudden disappearance of their troubled teenage daughter.

  • Third ‘Star Trek’ movie to be directed by Justin Lin

    Third ‘Star Trek’ movie to be directed by Justin Lin

    MUMBAI: Justin Lin, the fame behind directing many of the Fast and Furious films, has signed on to direct the third Star Trek movie. He has replaced Roberto Orci, who exited the project in early December.

     

    The first two instalments in the Paramount, SkyDance Productions and Bad Robot Star Trek franchise were helmed by J.J. Abrams, who did not return for the third so he could direct the new Star Wars film.

     

    Lin helmed Fast and Furious 6, Fast Five, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and 2009’s Fast and Furious. He was most recently attached to The Bourne Betrayal, which was to star Jeremy Renner, but plans have been put on hold as another Bourne film, starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass, moves forward.

     

    Lin is repped by CAA, Cinetic Management and Sloss Eckhouse.

  • Third ‘Star Trek’ movie to be directed by Justin Lin

    Third ‘Star Trek’ movie to be directed by Justin Lin

    MUMBAI: Justin Lin, the fame behind directing many of the Fast and Furious films, has signed on to direct the third Star Trek movie. He has replaced Roberto Orci, who exited the project in early December.

     

    The first two instalments in the Paramount, SkyDance Productions and Bad Robot Star Trek franchise were helmed by J.J. Abrams, who did not return for the third so he could direct the new Star Wars film.

     

    Lin helmed Fast and Furious 6, Fast Five, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and 2009’s Fast and Furious. He was most recently attached to The Bourne Betrayal, which was to star Jeremy Renner, but plans have been put on hold as another Bourne film, starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass, moves forward.

     

    Lin is repped by CAA, Cinetic Management and Sloss Eckhouse.

  • Paramount bundling World War Z and Star Trek Into Darkness as double feature

    Paramount bundling World War Z and Star Trek Into Darkness as double feature

    MUMBAI: The studio plans to squeeze more life out of its undead hit and space sequel. Paramount and a clutch of exhibitors are going back to the future for a week with an old-fashioned double feature of summer tentpoles World War Z and Star Trek Into Darkness starting Friday.

     

    The twin bill screens in 3D or 2D through 5 September in select AMC, Regal, Carmike, Marcus and other theaters for the price of a single ticket. It’s the second stunt playdates for Brad Pitt’s zombie flick – third if you count a late-add IMAX run – following its $50 “Mega Ticket” deal that included an advance screening, a home video copy of the film, 3D glasses, a poster and popcorn. With more than $526 million worldwide, WWZ is Pitt’s highest-grossing film ever. J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness has banked $458.7 million worldwide and spawned another sequel.

  • Star Trek director J.J. Abrams to move into Star Wars mode

    Star Trek director J.J. Abrams to move into Star Wars mode

    MUMBAI: After successfully re-launching and establishing the Star Trek franchise, the Star Trek Into Darkness director, J.J. Abrams is all geared up to scale the astronomical franchise Star Wars. He recently shared his thoughts at the Produced By conference about his latest directorial venture Star Wars: Episode 7.
     
    Speaking about the challenges of directing the new movie he said, "I think that the thing is so big and so massive to so many people that the key to moving forward is honoring but not revering what went before."
     
    While the production on Star Wars Episode VII is set to start right at the beginning of 2014, the sci-fi movie is slated for a summer 2015 release. He also let out that he would be moving over to London with his family by the end of the year, to commence the shoot. However given the choice he would preferred to shoot the Star Wars movie in L.A. but as sources report the plan to shoot Star Wars Episode 7 for Disney in the UK was set much before Abrams was brought on board.
     
    Abrams however remained put when asked by Hudlin about the storyline or whether the movie would be based partially on the dozens of novels that have come out over the years bridging various unexplored aspects of the films‘ characters in the franchise.
     
    Abrams also discussed his feelings about the future of George Lucas, the legendary creator of the Star Wars saga, after he sold Lucas films to Disney last year. "George Lucas has spoken for years about wanting to make those smaller, more experimental films and I hope he does because I‘d really like to see them," he said.
     
    Disney and Lucas film had announced last month that the Abrams-directed and Michael Arndt-scripted movie will be shot in the UK and that the latest incarnation of the Star Wars series is expected for summer 2015 release with two more films adding to franchise to follow over the next few years.
     
    J.J. Abrams who made his feature directorial debut in the Tom Cruise starrer Mission Impossible 3, also has clips from Lost, Alias, Fringe, Person of Interest, Super 8 and the Star Trek films to his credit.

  • Bradley Cooper formally approached to play lance Armstrong in biopic

    Bradley Cooper formally approached to play lance Armstrong in biopic

    MUMBAI: Director J.J. Abrams has formally approached Bradley Cooper to star in a biopic on the rise and fall from grace of cyclist Lance Armstrong.

    Abrams confirmed that he is considering Cooper for the role after the latter reached out to him via e-mail. Cooper sent me an e-mail and we have been talking,” contactmusic.com quoted Abrams as saying.

    Sometime ago, Cooper had expressed his desire to portray the disgraced cyclist after he was stripped of his titles between 1999 and 2005 when it was revealed that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs.

    “I would be interested in playing Armstrong. I think he is fascinating. What a fascinating character. I remember Matt Damon was going to do his autobiography at one point years ago,” Cooper had said in an interview.

    Damon and Matthew McConaughey are also contenders to play the infamous cyclist in the project.

  • ‘Star Wars’ to be re-booted with a new film

    ‘Star Wars’ to be re-booted with a new film

    MUMBAI: After a bevy of emails and phone calls, the formalities have been wrapped up, and a new Star Wars film will be made.

    J.J. Abrams will direct ‘Star Wars: Episode VII‘, the first of a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm under Kathleen Kennedy ‘Lincoln‘. Abrams will be directing and Michael Arndt will write the screenplay.

    Kennedy said, “It‘s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie. J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture.”

    Lucas said, “I‘ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller. He‘s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn‘t be in better hands.”

    J.J. Abrams said, “To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honour. I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid.”

    J.J, his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney | Lucasfilm banner.

    Also consulting on the project are Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg. Kasdan has a long history with Lucasfilm, as screenwriter on ‘The Empire Strikes Back‘, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark‘ and ‘Return of the Jedi‘. Kinberg was writer on ‘Sherlock Holmes‘ and ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith‘.

    Abrams and his production company Bad Robot have made films like ‘Star Trek‘, ‘Super 8‘, ‘Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol‘ and ‘Star Trek Into Darkness‘. Abrams has worked with Lucasfilm‘s postproduction facilities, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, on all of the films that he has directed, beginning with ‘Mission: Impossible III‘. He also created or co-created television series like ‘Felicity‘, ‘Alias‘, ‘Lost‘ and ‘Fringe‘.

    Past ‘Star Wars‘ veterans, dating back to the classic trilogy, offered words of praise from their direct experience with Abrams: Visual Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren, ASC, whose credits include the original Star Wars trilogy as well as landmark films such as E.T. and Jurassic Park, also worked with Abrams on Super 8.

    Muren said, “He puts everything he has into his work. He totally immerses himself. He‘s got such a visual eye, which is so important to the Star Wars films. It seems that a lot of the same things that were in George when he made the first Star Wars films are also in J.J. I think he‘s going to fit into the other movies perfectly, with the energy that J.J. has. We‘re kick-starting Star Wars again with dynamite. It will knock people out, including the people who get to work on it. I think it‘s a great choice.”

    Ben Burtt, responsible for Star Wars sounds as Darth Vader‘s breathing, R2-D2‘s beeps and the classic lightsaber, has worked with Abrams as sound designer and sound editor on Star Trek and Super 8.

    Burtt said, “J.J represents the next generation of filmmakers from those that were making Star Wars when I started. When he was a teen, he was a fan of Star Wars, and a great deal of his love for movies came out of his reaction of that first Star Wars film. You feel that he‘s already invested so many years in it, and he‘s going to propel it forward in a new way. In other words, you‘re having a fan who has grown up and developed tremendous directorial skills finding himself at the steering wheel to take the franchise into the next stage. I feel like I‘m there watching history turn over from one era to another.”

    Matthew Wood, who served as supervising sound editor on Super 8, similarly grew up as a Star Wars fan before working on the films through the prequels. He said, “Working with him, it was so obvious to me that J.J. and I have the same nostalgic love of that era. Now we have someone from that generation who is going to be at the helm of the Star Wars franchise that I‘ve known and worked on, so it‘s a great circle. Just seeing what he did with Super 8 and capturing those moments, and knowing what was so special about that era, it‘s going to speak to a new generation of audience as well.”

  • Matt Reeves signs Planet of the Apes sequel

    Matt Reeves signs Planet of the Apes sequel

    MUMBAI: Matt Reeves has been signed to helm the sequel of Fox‘s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Titled Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the film was supposed to have reteamed the studio and producers at Chernin Entertainment with Rise director Rupert Wyatt.
    Wyatt exited the project last mid-September because of his reported discomfort to have the film ready by the 23 May, 2014 when it is scheduled to release.
    Soon after his exit, a round of meetings with eligible directors took place and only afterwards Reeves was selected.
    Reeves, who co-created Felicity with J.J. Abrams, is best known for directing the Paramount monster movie Cloverfield as well as the classy vampire movie Let Me In, a remake of the Scandinavian movie Let the Right One In.