ITV

Tag: Martin Freeman

  • Sherlock s4 to premiere on AXN; partners Uber for campaign

    Sherlock s4 to premiere on AXN; partners Uber for campaign

    MUMBAI: This is the best way to begin the new year for all the Sherlock fans. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have come together one more time for a brand new season of BBC drama Sherlock that will air exclusively on AXN India from 7 January every Saturday at 8 pm.

    After three successful seasons, the latest addition to the most loved thriller series will showcase new faces and bigger hurdles for Sherlock Holmes.

    Returning from his forced exile, Sherlock reunites with Dr. Watson to figure out how his nemesis Moriarty, could be back from the dead. Adding to this intensity is another murky villain Culverton Smith played by Toby Jones.

    “AXN is home to some of the best shows and characters in the English entertainment space. AXN has been home to Sherlock ever since the show launched and grew tremendously in popularity. We have been keenly waiting for the launch of the new season. It is the most awaited show of 2017 and we wanted to air it around the same time as its world premiere for our viewers. There is a strong line up of more such exciting shows and new seasons in 2017,” said Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and business head English cluster Saurabh Yagnik.

    The channel has rolled out a robust marketing plan across on-air, outdoor, radio, social media and on-ground to make this the most celebrated Sherlock season. AXN, in association with Uber, will run a three-weeklong on-air campaign across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore starting with a pre-screening buzz.

    In the pre-launch week, fans need to unlock the Sherlock code on the Uber app and a lucky few will get a chance to attend the exclusive Sherlock season 4 premiere, thus gifting themselves a chance to watch the show before the rest of India does.

    In the following weeks, Sherlock viewers will have the amazing opportunity to get special discounts on their Uber rides by using the code that flashes on AXN during the show.

    To ensure maximum eyeballs for the premiere, AXN has also initiated a two-week interactive experience across the three cities at Social Cafésto make people think, feel and live, Sherlock. Wearing the Sherlock hat, guests have to seek some clues in order to become eligible to win an iPad or exclusive AXN hampers.

    To intensify the Sherlock fever, AXN has signed on East India comedy artist, Azeem Banatwalla, to take the viewers through the Sherlock journey. Coupled with Banatwalla’s wacky humour, this especially designed video will summarize all the last seasons of Sherlock.

  • Sherlock s4 to premiere on AXN; partners Uber for campaign

    Sherlock s4 to premiere on AXN; partners Uber for campaign

    MUMBAI: This is the best way to begin the new year for all the Sherlock fans. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have come together one more time for a brand new season of BBC drama Sherlock that will air exclusively on AXN India from 7 January every Saturday at 8 pm.

    After three successful seasons, the latest addition to the most loved thriller series will showcase new faces and bigger hurdles for Sherlock Holmes.

    Returning from his forced exile, Sherlock reunites with Dr. Watson to figure out how his nemesis Moriarty, could be back from the dead. Adding to this intensity is another murky villain Culverton Smith played by Toby Jones.

    “AXN is home to some of the best shows and characters in the English entertainment space. AXN has been home to Sherlock ever since the show launched and grew tremendously in popularity. We have been keenly waiting for the launch of the new season. It is the most awaited show of 2017 and we wanted to air it around the same time as its world premiere for our viewers. There is a strong line up of more such exciting shows and new seasons in 2017,” said Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and business head English cluster Saurabh Yagnik.

    The channel has rolled out a robust marketing plan across on-air, outdoor, radio, social media and on-ground to make this the most celebrated Sherlock season. AXN, in association with Uber, will run a three-weeklong on-air campaign across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore starting with a pre-screening buzz.

    In the pre-launch week, fans need to unlock the Sherlock code on the Uber app and a lucky few will get a chance to attend the exclusive Sherlock season 4 premiere, thus gifting themselves a chance to watch the show before the rest of India does.

    In the following weeks, Sherlock viewers will have the amazing opportunity to get special discounts on their Uber rides by using the code that flashes on AXN during the show.

    To ensure maximum eyeballs for the premiere, AXN has also initiated a two-week interactive experience across the three cities at Social Cafésto make people think, feel and live, Sherlock. Wearing the Sherlock hat, guests have to seek some clues in order to become eligible to win an iPad or exclusive AXN hampers.

    To intensify the Sherlock fever, AXN has signed on East India comedy artist, Azeem Banatwalla, to take the viewers through the Sherlock journey. Coupled with Banatwalla’s wacky humour, this especially designed video will summarize all the last seasons of Sherlock.

  • Sony Pix to premiere ‘The Hobbit’ finale

    Sony Pix to premiere ‘The Hobbit’ finale

    MUMBAI: Hollywood movie channel Sony Pix will premiere the mega finale of the epic series The Hobbit. 

     

    The Hobbit: the Battle of the Five Armies, adapted from the 1937 masterpiece novel The Hobbit, will premiere on 24 October at 9 pm. 

     

    The Academy award winning director Peter Jackson, who has acclaimed movies to his credit, such as The Lord of the Rings, created The Hobbit: the Battle of the Five Armies as a sequel to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012 and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 2013. Together they act as the prequel to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

     

    The movie bagged various nominations in 2014, including an Academy Awards, Screen Actors’ Guild Awards and Critics Choice Awards. Apart from Luke Evans, Richard Armitage and Martin freeman, The Hobbit: Battle of the five armies also stars Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and Cate Blanchett as Lady Galadriel.

  • Weinstein Company acquires ‘The Eichmann Show’

    Weinstein Company acquires ‘The Eichmann Show’

    MUMBAI: The Eichmann Show starring Martin Freeman (Hobbit, Sherlock) has been acquired by the Weinstein Company for the US.

     

    Co-produced by India’s Sheetal Talwar (Vistaar Film Fund) with BBC and Laurence Bowen and Ken Marshall of Feelgood Fiction from the UK, the film directed by Paul Andrew Williams recounts the global transmission of the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the major organisers of the Holocaust, which was broadcast to over 37 countries.

     

    Bowen felt that the extraordinary story of how the Eichmann trial came to be televised and shown around the world has never been told. “By allowing Holocaust survivors to share their stories with a huge viewing audience, it unblocked whole strata of shame and denial. It literally changed history. We believe the BBC, Vistaar and Goldfinch helped us put together a project we are all extremely proud of.”

     

    The deal of the Weinsteins boarding the film was announced at the start of the 65th Berlin Film Festival’s market (EFM), and was struck by Content Media, the sales agency representing the film.

     

    Vistaar Film Fund managing director Talwar said, “We are extremely thrilled to have someone like the Weinstein’s who understand quality cinema on board. It only bolsters our faith that good cinema will always find good partners.”

  • ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ crosses US$ 350 million

    ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ crosses US$ 350 million

    BENGALURU:  Earning more than US$350 million, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has bagged the top position at the international box office.  The announcement was made today by New Line Cinema president and chief operating officer Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. Pictures president of worldwide marketing and international distribution Sue Kroll, Warner Bros. Pictures president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman and Warner Bros. Pictures president of international distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg.

     

    Emmerich stated, “For Peter Jackson, the adventure that began with his benchmark The Lord of the Rings trilogy has reached a high water mark with this incredible response to the epic finale of The Hobbit Trilogy.  Along with our colleagues at Warner Bros. and MGM, we congratulate Peter on this exciting conclusion to his 16-year endeavor to bring this enduring saga to life for millions of moviegoers all over the world.”

     

    Jointly produced by New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), the film is the conclusion to Peter Jackson’s acclaimed “The Hobbit” Trilogy based on the timeless classic by J.R.R. Tolkien. 

     

    The film has earned US$90.63 million domestically and has also expanded across the majority of international markets, taking in US$105.5 million over the weekend.  The international total stands at US$265 million and counting. 

     

    With maximum shows sold out internationally on the first day, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies enjoyed the biggest opening day of year in a number of key markets, including Germany, Scandinavia and the director’s home country of New Zealand, where it had the widest release ever in that country.

     

    The film also shot to #1 in Brazil and Mexico, where it went up against the final match of the Mexican Soccer League. It also broke records for the biggest opening of all time in Sweden, Finland, Croatia and Czech Republic; and the biggest opening of the year in Spain, Germany, Russia, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

     

     Commenting on the positive response for the film, Kroll stated, “We are very proud to have accompanied Peter Jackson and his remarkable team of collaborators on his hugely successful cinematic journey.  The positive response of both critics and audiences to this final film in ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy is a tribute to the talents of everyone who dedicated years to bringing these ambitious films to fruition, and we applaud them all on this tremendous success.”

     

    Fellman said, “This is an extraordinary start for our final adventure in Middle-earth.  We are excited by the enthusiasm of moviegoers, who have already made ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ a blockbuster, and this is just the beginning.  We expect word of mouth to continue to drive the box office through the holiday season and well into the new year.”

     

    Kwan Vandenberg noted, “This is a timeless story that speaks to audiences all over the world, and the anticipation for the Trilogy’s electrifying finale has yielded tremendous results.  Everywhere it’s opened, the film has seen huge debuts, strong holds and amazing buzz, and the momentum will only build as we move into 2015.” 

     

    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies stars Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, with Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. 

     

    The film also stars Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Graham McTavish, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Adam Brown, John Bell, Manu Bennett and John Tui.

  • BBC Worldwide signs a deal with AXN India

    BBC Worldwide signs a deal with AXN India

    MUMBAI:  BBC Worldwide in India today announced a deal with AXN India providing the broadcaster with more than 60 hours of BBC’s factual entertainment and drama programmes. Titles comprise of four series of Top Gear, two series of Orphan Black and three series Sherlock. The deal includes the presale of Top Gear (series 21 & 22), Orphan Black (series two), and Sherlock (series three). All programmes will be seen exclusively on AXN India throughout India and its subcontinent.

     

    BBC Worldwide Asia, SVP and GM and content lead Myleeta Aga commented:  “This new acquisition by AXN is the largest we’ve had with the broadcaster to date.  I’m very excited that viewers in India will now have access to some of the most popular and high quality drama and factual entertainment programmes that have come from BBC in the past year or so. Top Gear is the world’s largest and most popular motoring programme and is the ‘most watched factual programme’ in the world, according to the Guinness World Records. Sherlock has won multiple awards and catapulted its stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Martin Freeman (Watson) to international stardom. The first series of Orphan Black has received critical acclaim, won a number of accolades and has made a break-out star of Tatiana Maslany.”

     

    Talking about their association with BBC Worldwide, AXN India programming head Arpit Mankar, said: “We are very happy to extend our relationship with BBC. The first of our BBC acquired programmes, Sherlock (series one) will premiere on AXN India on 4 November on the Mon-Thu 9.30 pm time band.  We are confident that the series will be well received by our audiences; so much so that we’ve already ordered Sherlock series three even while it’s in production. Top Gear has innumerable fans in India and we are happy to now be the home of the latest series of Top Gear in India. Orphan Black has received such great reviews that we’ve acquired both series’ – even though series two is still being shot. The thriller is bound to take viewers by surprise!”

     

    Top Gear (series 20) started airing in mid October every Friday 9 pm while Sherlock (series one) will launch on November 4. Orphan Black is set to premiere first and exclusively on AXN this December.

  • The Hobbit and Skyfall emerge winners at Jameson Empire Awards 2013

    The Hobbit and Skyfall emerge winners at Jameson Empire Awards 2013

    MUMBAI: The latest Bond film Skyfall and The Hobbit turned out to be the big winners at the Empire Awards 2013.
     
    The Bond film beat Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained and the third in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy The Dark Knight Rises to win the Best Film award, while Sam Mendes was named the best director.
     
    On the other hand, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey won an award for the best Science-Fiction/Fantasy film.

    In the acting category, Martin Freeman won the best actor award for his performance of Bilbo Baggins. He outscored Daniel Day-Lewis and Daniel Craig.

    Helen Mirren and Mendes won the Empire Inspiration award.

  • The Hobbit earns $13 million in midnight runs in the US

    The Hobbit earns $13 million in midnight runs in the US

    MUMBAI: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey grossed $13 million in midnight runs on Friday in the US.

    Peter Jackson‘s 3D fantasy-adventure is the first title in a planned trilogy which is based on J. R. R. Tolkien‘s novel The Hobbit that was published in 1937.

    Starring Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen as wizard Gandalf, the movie is co-produced and co-financed by New Line and MGM.

    It is distributed by Warner Bros.