ITV

Tag: Motion Picture

  • Balaji Telefilms makes two senior management changes

    Balaji Telefilms makes two senior management changes

    MUMBAI: There were further changes at Balaji Telefilms over the weekend. The company redesignated  long running group CFO and COO  Sanjay Dwivedi as group CEO. He continues to hold the CFO portfolio as well. Then, Balaji Motion Pictures EVP distribution & syndication Vimal Doshi was promoted as the COO – motion pictures. 

    With 30 years of experience covering media, entertainment and FMCG, Sanjay joined the group in 2013 as the CFO of Balaji Telefilms, functioning as a member of the core management team.. He works closely with managing director, joint managing director and the board. During his journey with the group, he has led the fund-raising activities; obtained sanction from private banks for business initiatives; saved substantial amount in tax benefits through several initiatives, including clearing of old tax claims; and manages treasury corpus, in addition to other tasks as assigned from time-to-time.  

    Prior to joining Balaji, he held senior management positions at Nimbus Communications and Entertainment Network India Limited (Radio Mirchi, part of the Times Group). He earlier worked with GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (India) and Tata Steel in the finance functions.

    In his current role, Sanjay  will be responsible for the group’s overall growth and success, will lead the company’s operational strategies, and will continue to head the finance function. 

    As  COO – motion pictures, Vimal will be entrusted with the entire operations of the movie division for existing films, new film project development, marketing operations, distribution and syndication. As in his previous role, he will continue to head revenue for distribution and syndication of films.  

    Vimal has a total work experience in the film industry of about 26 years.. He joined Balaji in 2007 as assistant manager for theatrical distribution and has distributed several films since. In 2015, he  started heading all sales for films. He has done slate deals with major OTTs, music labels and buyers like Netflix, Tips, SaReGaMa and has scripted and maintained strategic partnership with media behemoth, Zee. In  the past three years, Vimal has also looked into various co-Productions and actively manages relationship with co-producers and talents. 

    Says Balaji Telefilms managing director  Shobha Kapoor:“I am delighted that Sanjay has been promoted as the CEO. His exceptional leadership track record, deep strategic expertise, profound experience in the M&E sector and overall understanding of our business makes him an excellent fit for leading the group as the CEO and setting higher standards.   We are also excited to elevate Vimal as the COO – motion pictures to lead our films division. With exciting movies in pipeline, his extensive experience and visionary approach will foster our growth in the entertainment industry. Sanjay and Vimal have been with Balaji Group for over decades and under their leadership and guidance, I am confident that Balaji will achieve new milestones and add value for all our stakeholders.”  

     

  • ViacomCBS launches COVID-19 relief fund

    ViacomCBS launches COVID-19 relief fund

    MUMBAI: ViacomCBS has introduced a $100-million fund to support those who have been affected by the production shutdown on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, says a report by Variety. The fund – aimed at helping actors, filmmakers and crew members who have been bearing the brunt of the production shutdown – will also support grants by The Actors Fund and Motion Picture & Television Fund.

    Earlier, companies like WarnerMedia ($100 million), Comcast ($500 million) and Sony ($100 million) launched relief funds to help workers impacted by the pandemic.

    ViacomCBS president-CEO Bob Bakish said in a note to the staff that in these uncertain times, giving back and supporting “the well-being of our families, communities, and ourselves is more important than ever. And I couldn’t be prouder of how our company has come together to provide relief and support to those who need it.”

    The entertainment company has also launched an employee matching gifts programme.

  • Celebrating 100 years of Bengali cinema, Viacom18 and Film Heritage Foundation bring the 4th Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop to Kolkata

    Celebrating 100 years of Bengali cinema, Viacom18 and Film Heritage Foundation bring the 4th Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop to Kolkata

    Kolkata: In line with the centenary celebration of the Bengali Film Industry, and with a purpose to encourage and give an impetus to film preservation and restoration, the 4th edition of Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India (FPRWI) 2018 was today inaugurated at Kolkata’s Rabindra Sadan. Supported by Viacom18, this initiative of Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) and International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) is being held in association with the Kolkata International Film Festival. The workshop will be held from 15th to 22nd, November 2018 at ICCR Kolkata. 

    With this edition of the workshop, a program to restore 100 Bengali films such as Tapan Sinha’s Kabuliwala, P.C. Barua’s Devdas and Ajoy Kar’s Saat Paake Bandha, amongst others will be initiated. Eminent actor Shri Soumitra Chatterjee, who was the Chief Guest, inaugurated the workshop in the presence of Shri Aroop Biswas, Hon’ble Minister, Public Works Dept., Sports & Youth Dept. and Chairman, West Bengal Film Academy; Shri Indranil Sen, Hon’ble Minister of State, Information and Culture Dept. & Tourism Dept., Govt. of West Bengal; and esteemed members of the film fraternity such as Smt. Madhabi Mukherjee, Shri. Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Shri Goutam Ghose, Shri Prosenjit Chatterjee, Smt. Rituparna Sengupta, and Shri. Jawahar Sircar. Also present at the inauguration were Sudhandhu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director Designate, Viacom18 and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Founder & Director of Film Heritage Foundation and David Walsh, Training and Outreach Coordinator, FIAF.

    Speaking at the occasion, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and MD Designate, Viacom18, said, “At Viacom18 we believe in the power of synergies and the way our association has shaped up over the past three years is an apt example of harnessing the ability of the collective for the greater good. With collaboration of Government bodies, film fraternity, the international community of film restoration experts and cinema enthusiasts, we have been able to create an ecosystem that understands the importance of cinema as a cultural relic and is equipped to preserve and archive it, for future generations. With the past three editions of the workshop in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai, we are proud to now have created a pool of about 200 individuals who are aware and equipped to preserve films across India.”

    The week-long intensive program will train a total of 58 students from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India in preservation and restoration techniques for celluloid film and photographic material like posters, lobby cards, song booklets and photographs. FPRWI covers every aspect of film preservation making it one of the most comprehensive workshops for preservation and restoration across the world. Global experts like David Walsh – FIAF, Camille Blot-Wellens – FIAF, Kieron Webb – British Film Institute, Marianna de Sanctis  –  L’Immagine Ritrovata, Dawn Jaros – Academy of Motion Picture, Dana Hemmenway – Centre for Creative Photography, among others, are a part of the esteemed faculty. The 4th edition of the workshop introduces a new format allowing students to select a specialization of their interest. The program will also have practical sessions for scanning archival films with the latest and world class ARRISCAN XT scanner.

    Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Founder & Director, Film Heritage Foundation, further added, “Film preservation is a highly specialized field that requires trained archivists. The goal of these annual intensive workshops has been to create awareness about the urgent need to save our film heritage as well as to create a resource of trained archivists who can take this forward. After the success of the first three editions, we are thankful to the Government of West Bengal for their support towards bringing FPRWI to the Kolkata and we are encouraged by their decision to make the preservation of their film heritage a priority.”

    On inaugurating the 4th Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2018, legendary actor and Chairman of KIFF, Prosenjit Chatterjee said, “Saving and showcasing Bengali cinema is of utmost importance and we are glad that such concerted efforts are being made to ensure that our cinematic heritage is being preserved. I am grateful to Viacom18 and the Film Heritage Foundation for bringing the FPRWI workshop to Kolkata.” 

    At the opening ceremony of the workshop, Veteran actor Shri Soumitra Chatterjee said, “Bengali cinema has got international accolades to India and we are in dire of need of saving this heritage. Works of these legendary actors, directors, musicians and cinematographers need to be saved and hence, I am glad that we are today taking an initiative that will inspire the youth to preserve Bengali cinema.”

    FPRWI 2018 is supported by globally renowned industry bodies like The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, The Academy of Motion Picture, Arts & Sciences, L’Immagine Ritrovata, Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, British Film Institute, The Criterion Collection, the Irish Film Institute, the Austrian Film Museum, Eye Film museum, Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives), the Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive, Centre for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, ARRI and Media Inventions.  Previous editions of the workshops have been conducted in Mumbai in 2015, Pune in 2016 and in Chennai in 2017.

  • Q3-2015: Motion Picture segment pulls Sahara One deeper in red; revenue plummets

    Q3-2015: Motion Picture segment pulls Sahara One deeper in red; revenue plummets

    BENGALURU: Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited (Sahara One) reported less than one ninth (1/9.3 times) Income from operations (TIO) for Q3-2015 at Rs 2.20 crore as compared to the Rs 20.41 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter (Q3-2014) and less than a fourth (1/4.3 times) the Q2-2015 TIO of Rs 9.38 crore. 9M-2015 TIO also fell to 1/3.1 times at Rs 22.76 crore from Rs 70.43 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    The company reported higher loss in Q3-2015 at Rs 15.72 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 3.36 crore in Q3-2014 and a loss of Rs 10.36 crore in the previous quarter. Loss in 9M-2015 was Rs 28.39 crore versus a profit of Rs 1.94 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    A major portion of the loss could be attributed to the Sahara One’s Motion Picture segment. This segment reported an operating loss of Rs 14.84 crore against revenue of Rs 0.19 crore in Q3-2015. The company’s Television Broadcasting  segment reported an operating loss of Rs 0.79 crore in the current quarter on revenue of Rs 2.33 crore. However, last quarter, the company’s television segment had reported loss of Rs 9.30 crores and revenue of Rs 9.94 crore.

     

    Sahara One’s Total Expenditure (TE) in in Q3-2015 at Rs 18.99 crore (8.6 times TIO) was 16.3 per cent lower than the Rs 23.54 crore (111.1 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and 6.3 per cent less than the Rs 20.33 crore (216.8 per cent of TIO) in the trailing quarter. TE in 9M-2015 at Rs 54.41 crore (239.1 per cent of TIO) was 25.5 per cent lower than the Rs 75.22 crore (106.8 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    A major portion of the company’s TE is purchase of content cost (POC). The company’s POC cost fell to less than half (46.8 per cent) in Q3-2015 at Rs 13.60 crore (617.8 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 29.06 crore (142.4 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014, but was 2.6 times higher than the Rs 5.26 crore (56.1 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. POC cost in 9M-2015 was 1/2.4 times at Rs 28.76 crore (126.3 per cent of TIO) as compared Rs 68.29 crore (97 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

  • Indian screen community celebrates cinema on world IP day

    Indian screen community celebrates cinema on world IP day

    MUMBAI: In recognition of innovation and creativity in content industries, the MPDA is partnering with local screen associations and industry bodies to organize events in support of World IP Day, this year designated Movies: A Global Passion.

    On April 26, 2014, in association with strategic alliance partner, the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) and leading multiplex chains across the country, the MPDA launched an online quiz for multiplex staff entitled ‘Be A Movie Cop’. This initiative attempts to raise awareness on the threats and challenges of camcording in cinemas, while rewarding theatre staff with exciting prizes, including a ‘Movie Cop’ badge in recognition of their efforts to curb content theft in their cinemas.

    “We are happy to collaborate with the Motion Picture Dist. Association, India and the APFCC on this interactive and educative initiative. Cinema staff are the frontline of defense and need to be equipped with the right understanding and tools to help combat camcording in cinemas,” said Ashish Saksena, Chief Operating Officer, Big Cinemas.

    “As the leading multiplex chain in the country, we at INOX take ample measures to curb piracy across all our multiplexes. We are happy to be a part of this initiative of MPDA, India and the APFCC to combat this menace and will continue our efforts to uproot and eradicate this threat out of our industry.” said Daizy Lal, Chief Operating Officer, Inox Leisure Ltd.

    On April 26, in celebration of the global passion for movies, the American Center, New Delhi in association with MPDA (India) will host special screenings of three Hollywood blockbuster films – Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Disney – UTV, Noah – Viacom 18 and Rio 2 – Fox Star Studios, India which will also feature an IP quiz. Over 150 guests comprising Government of India officials, the U.S. Embassy and students from various universities will attend the event.

    “India and the United States both have diverse and incredibly vibrant film industries,” says Joshua W. Polacheck, Cultural Attache for north India at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, “and we are proud to work together with MPDA, India and our partners across India to promote intellectual property rights. The creative workers in both countries deserve these protections and consumers must understand the very real negative implications of piracy on the cinema we all love.”

    MPDA, India will also participate in a conference organized by FICCI’s IPR division in association with the Department of Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The conference on ‘Fostering Innovations and Creativity in Indian Industry through Intellectual Property for Higher Growth Trajectory’ will focus on the role of IP in boosting creativity, the economic impact and challenges of online content protection in a digital economy.

    Hollywood and Indian cinema both value films as products of Intellectual Property (IP). Audiences are often unaware of the creative process that goes into creating music, lyrics and screenplays and the value of the talent and skill of technicians, composers, lyricists, editors, producers, cinematographers, sound designers, animators, and creators of special effects.

    Cinema is a global passion today and plays a significant role in creating jobs in addition to contributing to the economy of a nation. According to a study commissioned by the Motion Picture Dist. Association, India (MPDA) in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Film Federation of India (FFI) and the Film and Television Producers Guild of India (FTPGI), the Indian motion picture and television industry is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors, contributing c. USD 8.1 billion (c. INR 50,000 Cr.) to the country’s economy, equating to 0.5% of GDP, in 2013, and supports a significant 1.8 million (18.8 lac) jobs.

    “The opportunities to increase potential and growth in this industry would be significant, if content was better protected. Content theft through camcording in cinemas and rogue/ illegitimate websites continues to undermine profits and threatens jobs in our creative industries. As we join our partners on World IP Day to increase awareness and respect for creative works in a digital age, creating a legislative framework that promotes and protects the film industry which supports millions of jobs, while recognizing the challenges of a digital economy is the need of the hour,” said Uday Singh, Managing Director, MPDA, India.

    A copy of the Deloitte Economic Contribution of the Indian Motion Picture and Television Industry 2013 full report and infographic summary are available to view and download at www.mpaa-india.org.

  • Paramount shows the way for digital distribution

    Paramount shows the way for digital distribution

    MUMBAI: Being one of the oldest and largest Hollywood distribution studios, which has relied on 35-millimeter film to capture motion pictures, has taken a huge step for the industry. Paramount Pictures has become the first big studio to stop releasing its major movies on film in the US.

     

    The studio’s Oscar-nominated film The Wolf of Wall Street is its first movie in wide release to be distributed entirely in digital format. The studio also notified theater owners that Will Ferrell’s comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which opened in December, was the last movie released on 35-mm film, reports revealed.

     

    The decision is likely to encourage other studios to take a leap of faith and follow suit, pushing for a complete phase-out of film in a year or two. Closer home, we already have movies releasing on the digital format and this historic move will only fuel more distribution studios to think of migrating to the digital format seriously.

     

    The major factor for film studios to still remain hesitant of going completely digital is the factor of missing out on revenues and box-office collections from theatres which are still not equipped to show digital movies and are still on film. Internationally, Paramount is still expected to ship film prints to Latin America and other foreign markets where most theaters still show movies on film.

     

    So how will Paramount benefit from this move? Well here are a few facts to ponder over: Studios prefer digital distribution because it is much cheaper. Eventually, these movies could be beamed into cinemas by satellite, saving even more on production and shipping costs. Digital technology also enables theaters to screen higher-priced 3-D films and makes it easier for them to book and program entertainment.

     

    But then what about the theatre owners, they are at a risk of going out of business if they can no longer obtain film prints of movies.
     

    The future is certainly looking bleak for distribution of movies on film to continue…

  • Kamasutra 3D in the contention list for Oscars 2014 in three categories

    Kamasutra 3D in the contention list for Oscars 2014 in three categories

    New Delhi: Rupesh Paul’s Kamasutra 3D figures in the contention list of the 86th Academy Awards, with selection in the three categories – Best Motion Picture, Original Score and Original Song with five songs.

     

    It is the only movie from India contending in the music category lists. The results were announced on yesterday by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on its official website.

     

    Kamasutra 3D has been slated for a 23 May 2014 release after its premiere.

     

    Presented by Dr George John (GJ Entertainments) and produced under the house of Rupesh Paul Productions (RPPL), in co-production and project design by Sohan Roy, Kamasutra 3D is the only movie with five songs after The Great Gatsby to be selected in the Original Song category. The songs include – Aygiri Nandini, Saawariya, I Felt, Of Soil and Har Har Mahadeva – composed by Chennai based music directors, Sachin and Sreejith while its lyrics are penned by Rupesh Paul and Pratyush Prakash.

     

    Also scripted and penned by Rupesh Paul, the movie is set in the backdrop of the real historical milieu portraying the journey of a soulful love embodied with betrayal and war. It weaves the transformative changes in body, mind and soul by the forbidden world of sexual love and sensuality.

     

    Recently, with the release of its work-in-progress trailer, Kamasutra 3D critically came out to be more of a Hollywood war based epic movie than a classic erotica, it hyped to be with the sensuous Sherlyn Chopra, initially.

     

    Director Rupesh Paul, however, confirmed that he would not disappoint his viewers expecting the movie to be a classic erotica.

     

    Speaking on the Oscar entry, he stated, “Probably now we have an answer for all of them who claimed the movie to be a soft porn. Hopefully, they know that soft porns are not eligible for the Academy Award nominations”. He would his movie to be considered a musical than epic or erotica as Kamasutra 3D is influenced with its melody over the drama.

     

    After creating the best of pre sale records at the Cannes Film Festival 2013 and the American Film Market 2013 with its sale in most of the territories, Kamasutra 3D is all hopeful to make it in the final nominations of the categories in the 86th Academy Awards to be announced on 16 January, 2014 in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

  • US-China resolve dispute relating to payment of two per cent rise in taxation

    US-China resolve dispute relating to payment of two per cent rise in taxation

    NEW DELHI: The dispute between the American film studios and China Film Group Corporation has been resolved with the Chinese side agreeing to pay the money due in full.

     

    According to Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Christopher J Dodd, a controversial two per cent rise in taxation on luxury goods that came into nationwide effect on 1 August was the cause of the dispute.

     

    Previously there was a 3.3 per cent tax on ticket sales, in addition to the controversial five per cent paid to the opaque government film fund. The internal dispute between CFG which is China distribution partner for American studios and the US studios has been over who will pay the newly introduced two per cent that the film industry has suddenly been burdened with.

     

    According to the trade agreement signed between the (then) vice president’s Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in February 2012 – US studios was guaranteed 25 per cent of revenue on imported films after all taxes had been paid by China Film Group.

     

    According to Film Business Asia, unverified reports state that the state-owned CFG receives about 14.5 per cent of revenue on imported films, compared to the 25 per cent that goes to the US studios on non-flat fee deals. Cinema owners take a fixed 57 per cent of box office revenue. But the 25 per cent deal was made at the highest level of government and was never at risk.

     

    It has not yet been determined how the two per cent will be accounted for outside of the US studios 25 per cent. There could be a reduction in the film fund to three per cent. Any decision may need to be approved at the next meeting of the State Council. What has been made clear is that under the agreement signed by Xi and Biden – the US studios’ post-taxation 25 per cent take will still be honoured.

  • The inevitable defeat of Mister and Pete to release on 11 October

    The inevitable defeat of Mister and Pete to release on 11 October

    MUMBAI: The movie will tell the story of two abandoned and scared boys in New York City and how they live in the mega city. The movie will be directed by George Tillman Jr who has previously done acclaimed movies like Soul Food and Men of Honor.

     

    Written by Michael Starrbury, the motion picture stars Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jordin Sparks, Jeffrey Wright, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Anthony Mackie and Jennifer Hudson. It has some tough competition from Sony/Columbia’s Captain Phillips and Open Road’s Machette Kills.

     

    The movie is produced by Lionsgate who have previously come up with big films like The Hunger Games, The Expendables 2 and have some lined up such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, remake of Dirty Dancing as well as The Equalizer starring Denzel Washington.

  • Oscar makes rule change for animation

    Oscar makes rule change for animation

    MUMBAI: The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has approved rule changes for the 86th Oscars. The most significant change affects the Animated Feature Film category.

    In this category, the new rule designates a maximum of two award recipients, one of whom must have a producer credit. The director and/or key creative individual shall continue to be a recipient, and in the circumstance of a two-person team with shared and equal director credit, a third statuette may be awarded.

    Previously announced rules changes for the 86th Academy Awards include allowing members to see the nominated documentary shorts and foreign language films either at a theatrical screening or on DVD. Prior to the final round of voting, the Academy will provide members with DVDs of the nominated films in five categories: Foreign Language Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Animated Short Film, and Live Action Short Film.

    Other adjustments to the rules include standard date and other routine changes.

    Rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees. The awards rules committee then evaluates all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Academy's board of governors for approval.

    Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of this year will be presented on 2 March, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center and televised on Star Movies and in the US on ABC. The presentation will also be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.