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Tag: Oscar

  • Nano ‘celebrates awesomeness’ by breaking records

    Nano ‘celebrates awesomeness’ by breaking records

    MUMBAI: Tata Nano’s latest TVC on ‘Celebrate Awesomeness’ has crossed five million views on YouTube in less than 30 days. It is the highest for any automotive brand TVC in India, till date.

    Speaking on this milestone, Tata Motors vehicle business unit head-marketing communications Delna Avari said, “We are extremely proud of this achievement; it validates the Nano as a smart, peppy, and fun car which has found its way into the hearts of millions of young Indians through its bold and bravely uncompromising attitude. The consumer‘s voice has always defined India’s most innovative car as seen again with the all-new edition Nano. Our new ad campaign celebrates this awesome spirit of the Nano of living life on your own terms. There is a lot in store, with the new colourful TVC we have just begun our communication and we will soon roll out an activation programme to celebrate young achievers across genres.”

    Conceptualised by vice chairman and CCO, Sam Ahmed and NCD Komal Bedi Sohal along with the team at Rediffusion Y&R. The commercial was directed by Oscar nominated Iranian-British director Mehdi Nowrozian of Ridley Scott Associates.

    The TVC showcases the brand’s unique attitude to do things in a bigger, better, and different manner. It features Masaba Gupta, Sarah Jane, Ugesh Sarkar, everyone who embodies the spirit of ‘Awesomeness’.

  • Netflix strikes movie deal with Weinstein

    Netflix strikes movie deal with Weinstein

    MUMBAI: In a drive to add subscribers, Netflix has expanded on a movie licensing deal with The Weinstein Co. that will add more films to its internet video service beginning in 2016.

     

    The multi-year agreement announced builds upon a partnership that Netflix forged with Weinstein last year. That deal gave it the streaming rights to the Oscar-winning film, The Artist, as well other foreign films and documentaries from the eight-year-old studio.

     

    The new deal gives Netflix the rights to show all movies released by Weinstein and its subsidiary, Dimension Films, before they appear on pay-TV channels. That makes it more competitive with channels like HBO and Showtime that have traditionally been the first place to see films after their theatrical runs.

     

    Netflix’s exclusive arrangement with Weinstein begins with films released in theaters during 2016. That’s around the same time Netflix will begin showing films for the first time outside a movie theater from The Walt Disney, part of an agreement announced last year.

     

    Financial terms of the latest Weinstein deal weren’t disclosed.

  • Christoph Waltz to make his appearance in ‘True Crimes’

    Christoph Waltz to make his appearance in ‘True Crimes’

    MUMBAI: The Django Unchained star will be seen next in the thriller True Crimes, based on the real-life events surrounding a cold case, asserts The Hollywood Reporter.
     
    The movie is going to be based on David Grann’s New Yorker feature, wherein the story involves the real-life case of Krystian Bala, a Polish writer who was convicted of murder in 2007. The murder for which he was convicted had been a cold case, baffling the Polish police for years, and had been called a perfect crime. Bala, never a suspect in the case, attracted attention when he published a novel that detailed a murder very much like the one that was frustrating the police.
     
    Waltz will play Jacek Wroblewski, the police officer who reopens the cold case and becomes knotted in the dark underworld of Poland‘s sex rings, prostitution and drugs. The role will offer Waltz (known for playing memorable villains like a brutal Nazi in Inglourious Basterds) the chance to play a good guy again, like his Django bounty hunter.
     
    The two-time Oscar winner recently signed on to play a Cold War consigliore posing as a typical American suburbanite in Stephen Gaghan‘s The Candy Store.
     
    The project originally was set up at Focus Features, but the specialty label put it into turnaround last year. With Waltz newly attached, producers Brett Ratner, John Cheng and David Gerson who are also producing the upcoming Fan Bingbing-Jackie Chan vehicle Skiptrace are hunting for a new distribution partner.
     
    Roman Polanski has been mentioned as a possibility to wheel as the director of the movie. The next step is locking in a director for the gritty European thriller, which is tonally similar to such films as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
     
    Ratner and Cheng are producing through their Rat Entertainment banner. Gerson is producing via his InterTitle Films. Waltz is repped by ICM.

  • 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.

  • Anne Hathaway to come together with Christopher Nolan in Interstellar

    Anne Hathaway to come together with Christopher Nolan in Interstellar

    MUMBAI: Anne Hathaway is set to team up with director Christopher Nolan once again for his new endeavour Interstellar. The 30-year-old Oscar-winning actor will star alongside Matthew McConaughey in the film.
     
    Though the film‘s plot is being kept under wraps, but the film has been in development since 2006 when Steven Spielberg devised the project along with Nolan‘s brother, Jonah Nolan. The director reportedly hired Nolan to write a script for a film based on physicist Kip S Thorne‘s theory that wormholes exist and can be used for space travel.
     
    However, Spielberg left the project, allowing the Nolan brothers, who have collaborated on numerous films, including the Dark Knight trilogy, The Prestige and Memento, to come together once again.
     
    The new script is thought to be a combination of Spielberg‘s movie and an original idea from Christopher.
     
    The sci-fi film, which is a joint production of Paramount and Warner Bros, is being produced by Nolan, Emma Thomas and Lynda Obst.

  • Sequel to Finding Nemo releasing in 2015

    Sequel to Finding Nemo releasing in 2015

    MUMBAI: After years of speculation whether it‘s sequel would actually be produced, the sequel of the Oscar-winning animated film Finding Nemo will be come out in theatres in 2015, it is understood.
     
    The sequel Finding Dory will focus on the absent-minded and chatty blue tang fish voiced by comedienne Ellen DeGeneres. "I‘m excited that it‘s finally happening," DeGeneres has reportedly said. "I read the script and it‘s fantastic, it‘s hilarious, it‘s warm, it‘s everything that you want it to be," she added.
     
    The film will center on Dory reuniting with her ‘loved ones,‘ much like the family-focused plot of Nemo. "There is no Dory without Ellen," Stanton said in a statement. "She won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world – not to mention our team here at Pixar."
     
    Stanton said the film will be set in part along the California coast and take place about a year after Nemo.
     
    The film is set for a November 25, 2015, release.

  • Oscar winner, author Ruth Prawer Jhabvala dies

    Oscar winner, author Ruth Prawer Jhabvala dies

    New Delhi: Oscar-winning screenwriter and award-winning novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has died. She was 85.

    Firoza Jhabvala said her mother died in New York after a long illness.

    The German-born Jhabvala was a longtime member of Merchant Ivory Productions, writing 22 films over four decades.

    She won two Academy Awards for her adaptations of the E.M. Forster novels ”Howards End” and ”A Room With a View.”

    She also was nominated for the screenplay for 1993‘s ”The Remains of the Day.”

    Jhabvala was also recognized for her fiction, receiving Britain’s highest literary honour for her 1975 novel, ”Heat and Dust.”

    Jhabvala is survived by Firoza Jhabvala and two other daughters, her husband, Cyrus Jhabvala, and six grandchildren.

  • Quvenzhane Wallis to play title role in adaptation of Annie

    Quvenzhane Wallis to play title role in adaptation of Annie

    MUMBAI: Though she couldn‘t take home an Oscar for Best Actress in Beasts of the Southern Wild, Quvenzhane Wallis has sufficient reason to celebrate after Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the nine year old has been cast in the title role of a new film adaptation of Annie.

    “Quvenzhane Wallis is a true star and we believe her portrayal as Annie will make her a true worldwide star,” the president of production for the studio said in a statement. “She is an extraordinary young talent with an amazing range, not only as an actress but as a singer and dancer, and we can‘t wait for audiences to further discover her,” he added.

    The little girl made history this awards season by becoming the Oscars‘ youngest-ever actress nominee.

    The film, to be produced by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Jay-Z will be directed by Will Gluck.

  • ABC to rake in the moolah during Oscar telecast

    MUMBAI: On Hollywood‘s biggest night, the Oscar Awards ABC will rake it big. The broadcaster says that it has sold out spots. J C Penney, Coca-Cola, American Express, Grey Poupon, Neutrogena and Coldwell Banker Real Estate are among the advertisers.

    The average cost this year is said to be around $1.7 million per 30-second spot. Media reports indicate that the spots were sold before Christmas.

    Hyundai takes center stage on ABC for the fifth consecutive year as the exclusive automotive sponsor of the Oscars. It will air the most amount of spots. Nine ads will air: seven 30-second spots during the ceremony and two 30-second ads during pre-show coverage. The commercials highlight seven different Hyundai models and focus on Hyundai‘s growing premium line up. Three new spots, “Equus the Trailer”, “Paparazzi” and “Elevator Pitch”, feature Equus, Genesis and Elantra, respectively, and speak to passionate Hollywood fans with a soundtrack voiced by Oscar-winning Jeff Bridges that gives a nod to the film industry and film culture.

    ‘Equus the Trailer‘ highlights Equus‘ premium luxury features and outstanding performance and refinement. The spot mimics an action movie trailer, featuring Equus as the main character and the film‘s hero. The familiar deep baritone of the voice-over actor takes the audience through the 30-second trailer, citing “critics” calling the Equus “Colossal,” “Epic” and “Astoundingly Powerful.”

    ‘Paparazzi‘ plays on another movie-star theme as paparazzi cameras frantically try to capture one of Hyundai‘s big stars, the Genesis, as it races down the road.

    ‘Elevator Pitch‘ meanwhile uses the concept of pitching a big idea to a movie producer — with the big idea being the award-winning Elantra. The spot highlights Elantra‘s heated front and rear seats, Bluetooth enabled features and exceptional horsepower numbers.

    Hyundai Motor America VP marketing Steve Shannon said, “The Oscars are about style and sophistication — a true premium experience. The event provides the perfect platform to showcase our growing premium lineup. From insider lingo to the glamour of the film industry, you‘ll see that our ads pay respect to Hollywood‘s biggest night. We started on this creative strategy and approach with our Azera commercials in last year‘s Oscars. We are building on that concept and are now excited to carry it across other vehicle lines.”

    The remaining 30-second spots highlight four other high-demand Hyundai models: Sonata Hybrid, Sonata Turbo, Santa Fe and Azera. In-show spots include “Epic Playdate” featuring Santa Fe; “Stuck” featuring Sonata Turbo; “One Less Battery” featuring Sonata Hybrid and its lifetime hybrid battery warranty; and “Thanks” featuring Azera. The two Oscar Red Carpet Live ads include “Showroom” featuring all three flavors of the Elantra, sedan, GT and coupe, and the highly acclaimed Super Bowl spot “Team” featuring Hyundai‘s all-new Santa Fe.

    Hyundai is taking the big awards night experience beyond the television screen by offering viewers real-time interactions through engaging mobile content, award winning soundtracks and connected television. In addition, the Oscars sponsorship is elevated through extensions across cable networks such as AMC, FX and Sundance Channel as well as sponsorship of ABC‘s Oscars website.

    Hyundai‘s automotive sponsorship of the Oscars extends its ‘Big Voices in Big Places‘ philosophy which positions the Hyundai brand in the highest-profile advertising venues, including sporting events and entertainment awards shows. INNOCEAN USA, Hyundai‘s agency of record, is responsible for all creative.

    As far as other advertisers are concerned, a Neutrogena spot will be the first time that the company is showcasing its broad product portfolio in one commercial. Samsung is integrating its Galaxy-branded mobile products throughout the ceremony. It has a push across social-media channels, which will offer content from the red carpet and backstage.

  • Shemaroo releases Oscar nominated Delhi Safari on home video

    Shemaroo releases Oscar nominated Delhi Safari on home video

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has released Delhi Safari, a fun 3D animation film for kids, on DVDs and VCDs.

    Delhi Safari got shortlisted in Oscars in the Best Song list. Other than this, it won award for the Best Film in the animation category at Screen and Best Feature Film award at Ficci Frames 2012.

    Shemaroo said the DVDs of Delhi Safari are priced at Rs 199 and VCDs at Rs 99.

    The story of the film revolves around a handful of animals who set off on a journey to Delhi, the capital of India. As the concrete jungle of Mumbai rapidly eats into its forests, Sultan, the leader of the leopards, is killed. A motley crew of animals decide to do something about it. Bajrangi, the militant monkey, Bagga, the hugging bear, Begum, the protective leopardess and her cub Yuvi set off on a journey to Delhi to appeal to the government – but not before they kidnap Alex, the crazy parrot who can speak like a human being.

    What follows is a series of developments before they reach Delhi. And then the climax unfolds.