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Tag: Oscars

  • Extravagant India awards in Paris was nothing short of extravagant

    Extravagant India awards in Paris was nothing short of extravagant

    NEW DELHI: Lunch Box by Ritesh Batra, which missed the Indian selection to the Oscars by a whisker, was voted the best film at the Extravagant India awards in Paris.

     

    Path-breaking filmmaker Anurag Kashyap received the best director award for his film Ugly, which is also being featured in a retrospective of his films in Europe as part of the Europalia.India Festival.

     

    The late Rituparno Ghosh, who passed away earlier this year, was named best actor for his own film Chitrangada.

     

    Actress Vidya Balan received the best actress award for The Dirty Picture by Milan Luthria and Kahaani by Sujoy Ghosh.

     

    The Festival was held from 16 to 22 October in Paris. The jury for the feature films comprised Coline Serreau (director and President of the jury), Armand Amar (composer), Joël Farges (producer).

     

     The best documentary award went to Children of the Pyre by Rajesh S Jala while the renowned Pan Nalin’s film Faith Connection got a special jury mention.  

     

    The Jury for documentaries comprised Euzhan Palcy (director and President of the jury), Charlotte Uzu (Les Fims d’ici), and Claude Gilaizeau (Productions de la Lanterne).

     

    The film Allah is Great by Andrea Iannetta, which was produced by the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, won the Best Short film award.

     

    The Jury for short films was Jean-Charles Mille (distribution Premium Films – President of the jury), Abel Jafry (actor), and Benoit Blanchard (producer).

     

    The Feature Jury president Coline Serreau said: “The selection was fascinating, rich and diverse. We plunged into the movies with delight, and with the feeling to approach and to discover this boiling continent, in which all the contradictions of the world in future are at work.”

     

    He added: “I hope that the Indian cinema will take from now on its just place in the French public. Long life to this festival, whose 2014 edition, I would love to already know.”

     

    Euzhan Palcy said: “This first edition of the Festival offered us an Indian cinema of a high quality and which participates of the cultural diversity which the world needs. By supporting this festival, France will continue to play its leader’s role for the cultural diversity.”

     

    Happiness Distribution is distributing Batra’s film in France on 13 December, while Kashyap’s film will be released in France in March 2014.

     

    Sophie Dulac Distribution will distribute Faith Connection by Pal Nalin under the title Kumbh Mela, Les chemins de la Foi.

    The Indian Delegation comprised Irrfan Khan (actor in Lunchbox), Prakash Jha (director of Raajneeti), Sujoy Gosh (director of Kahaani), Rajesh S. Jala (director of Children of the Pyre, Andrea Ianneta (director of Allah is Great), Film Federation of India President Bijay Khemka and Secretary General Supran Sen, Manoj Srivastava who is Head of Bollywood the film City project Marwan, Ranvir Nayar who is Director of Media India, Sutapa Sikdar (scriptwriter), and  Ramesh Tekwani, President of  “Docs & Shorts”.
     

  • Is The Monuments Men gunning for the Oscars?

    Is The Monuments Men gunning for the Oscars?

    MUMBAI:Sony Pictures is readying for the 18 December release of The Monuments Men – the Oscar-season sweet spot – with the latest trailer to drop.

     

    George Clooney directs and heads the cast of the thriller about a World War II platoon of art historians and museum directors tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue priceless art from the Nazis.

     

    Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett also star.

  • China Oscars to see Hollywood fraternity

    China Oscars to see Hollywood fraternity

    MUMBAI: China’s Huading awards are set to see some high profile Hollywood actors such as Quentin Tarantino, Nicole Kidman and Nicholas Cage. The award night is to be held at Macau on 7 October.

     

    The award show is based on voting for top athletics and entertainment talent and is a type of Chinese Oscars. Sam Worthington from Avatar, Jeremy Irons and Matthew Perry from F.R.I.E.N.D.S are the other stars that are to be seen at the event.

     

    Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai and Jackie Chan will be the representatives of China.

     

    The awards event was set up in 2007 by Media Company Global Talents Media group in Beijing and is held many times a year to honour talents in various fields.

  • Gujarati film ‘The Good Road’ is Indian nomination for Oscars

    Gujarati film ‘The Good Road’ is Indian nomination for Oscars

    New Delhi: Debut feature filmmaker Gyan Correa’s Gujarati film ‘The Good Road’ will represent India at the Oscars 2013 in the Foreign Language Film category.

    The film was picked by a 16-member committee headed by eminent Bengali filmmaker Goutam Ghose appointed by the Film Federation of India.

    Ritesh Batra’s Irrfan Khan starrer ‘The Lunchbox’, which has been a front runner for India’s entry to the Oscars, was the closest contender.

    However, ‘The Good Road’ was unanimously picked by the committee which comprised of eminent film professions representing different regions and languages from all over the country.

    Others in the running included ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, ‘Ship of Theseus’, ‘English Vinglish’ and ‘Shabdo’.

    ‘The Good Road’ had bagged the National Award for Best Feature Film (Gujarati) earlier this year.

    The National Film Development Corporation-produced film stars Sonali Kulkarni, Ajay Gehi, Keval Katrodia, Shamji Dhana Kerasia, Priyank Upadhyay, and Poonam Kesarsingh Rajput.

    Rajat Dholakia who has composed music for ‘Delhi 6’ and ‘Mirch Masala’ among others gave the music for this film.

    Based in Kachchh, Gujarat, the film revolves around a journey of three sets of people who travel on a highway, traveling across Banni, which borders the Rann. They are all on a journey to achieve their respective pursuits but over the next 24 hours, they discover something altogether different, something new and unexpected about their lives.

  • 12 Years a Slave wins Peoples Choice Award

    12 Years a Slave wins Peoples Choice Award

    MUMBAI: The movie directed by Steve McQueen has been awarded the People’s Choice Awards at the Toronto International Film Festival of 2013. The movie stars Chiwetel Ejiofor with Michael Fassenbender and Benedict Cumberbatch.

    The story revolves around an 1853 true memoir of a free black man sold into slavery. Previous wins have been Slumdog Millionaire and The King’s Speech. The movie is now expected to make rounds at the Oscars as well.

    Fox Searchlight will start showing the movie from 18 October. It debuted at Telluride Film Festival and has newcomer Lupita Nyong’o. Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Bill Pohlad are among the producers. The screenplay is done by John Ridley while Fox Searchlight and Regency Enterprises will be distributing it.
    Philomena won the runner up while Prisoners was second runner up.

  • E Lounge unwind with Irfan Khan & Nimrat Kaur

    E Lounge unwind with Irfan Khan & Nimrat Kaur

    MUMBAI: This week CNN-IBN’s new entertainment show ‘E Lounge Unwind’ brings you a special rendezvous with actor Irrfan Khan and debutante Nimrat Kaur on their upcoming film ‘The Lunchbox’. The duo talks about the film making it big at various international film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival and how this Anurag Kashyap production won the prestigious Grand Rail d’Or. Catch the stars in candid conversation with Rajeev Masand on the making of the film and why they feel that it should be India’s official entry to the Oscars.

    Dont forget to tune into this captivating episode of E Lounge Unwind on Sat, Sept 14th @ 10:30 PM, only on CNN-IBN.

  • International Emmy Awards judging held in Mumbai

    International Emmy Awards judging held in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Judging is not an easy task and especially when it is for the International Emmy Awards which are considered as the Oscars of the television world.

    Indiantelevision.com founder Anil Wanvari once again – for the ninth year – hosted the semi-final judging round of The International Emmy Awards for the New York-based International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. A bevy of Indian television professionals – 12 of them from both on screen and off screen – descended on to the Raheja Classique Club, in the Andheri suburb of Mumbai on 23 August to decide which of the entries – from two categories, comedy and telenovellas – would get into the final round of the International Emmy Awards 2013. The International Emmys had a healthy response from television content creators and broadcasters world wide with more than 1000 entries pouring in, but the Mumbai leg of judging saw seven entries for comedy and four entries for telenovelas being judged.

    The jury comprised of producers, directors, actors and writers. The ones judging comedy were: Anita Basu, Amit Aaryan, Harshad Joshi, Prabal Baruah and Divyanka Tripathi. On the other hand, Meghna Malik, Ashka Goradia, Shruti Ulfat, Rajan Shahi, Yash Patnaik and Sudhir Sharma were judging the telenovela category.

    Founded in 1969, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences promotes excellence in international television programming. With more than 700 members from 50 companies in the media and entertainment space in 500 countries, it is the International Emmy Awards are the premier recognition for those involved in content creation in television, internet, and mobile.

    “It is always a pleasure to have India as a part of our judging which is taking place in more than 20 countries worldwide this year,” says The International Emmy judging director Nathaniel Brendel. “And we are delighted to have indiantelevision.com and Anil Wanvari as our hosting partner, like we have done for so many years.”

    “The International Emmys is a recognition producers and broadcasters and creators globally aspire for,” says Wanvari. “By hosting the judging we continue the very good relationship we have with the International Academy and we also become a part of a global initiative. This apart, it gives me and my company a good opportunity to give the Indian creative and production community exposure to the best in global content. We are grateful to the Academy.”

    After the first round of shortlisting and filtration, six to seven entries for each category make it to the semi-final round. Following this, the entries are posted online for final jurors to decide on the final nominees and winners. The main two criteria of judging are content and execution. Indian industry professionals were more than happy with Wanvari’s initiative to host the judging and on being called to do International Emmy jury duty.

    Says comedy juror Big Synergy director / producer Anita Basu: “This is my third year with the International Emmy, and it is a fantastic experience to see a lot of rich and good content and be exposed to a lot of innovative content outside India.

    ”Telenovela juror and Beyond Dreams Entertainment producer & creative director Yash Patnaik says being on the jury is a time for him to get away and chill on the best of international content. “Judging the International Emmys is a wonderful experience. This is my second year with Emmy and we get to see a lot of good content and you get to know what kind of effort they put in. Their style of working is very different from ours. The storytelling, cameras, scale is different.”

    “It is always very good and educational to come and watch different programs and this time it is the international platform and watching good shows from all over the world. The telenovelas are brilliant and it’s a good experience and you get to see good work and good content of international quality,” says director and producer Rajan Shahi.

    “It was a very different experience judging the telenovela category,” says respected actor Meghna Mallick. “The entries were of a very high order, and a couple of them, well they blew me away.”

    What surprised the jurors was the absence of entries from India in the categories they were judging. Say Brendel: “The fact is Indians would not get not judge entries from India; they would be judged elsewhere. Going by the huge production base India has entries can only go up, I believe that Indian producers should compete in the International Emmys because it is the only way that their shows can be judged and be seen by the best producers, networks. These may then be interested in buying their shows.”

    Agrees Patnaik says: “Yes of course Indian shows should compete, because there is a lot of original content in India. Our programs are quiet popular in the US and UK and we have Indian audience everywhere. It will be good refreshing change for them to see Indian content which are original and go beyond self-zone.”

    Anita Basu chips in: “Production and technical wise we are much ahead and there is a lot of good content here. We are way ahead of the curve, and I think we need to make an effort to represent ourselves in a very big platform like the Emmy awards.”

    “There are two reasons why we don’t see Indian entries in Emmys is a lack of information and I think Indian television industry is still evolving. And you never know maybe next year we will see entries from here as well. Indian content is improving every year so we definitely stand a chance to showcase out talent in the international platform,” adds Sharma.

    The gala event is slated to take place on 25 November in New York. The next competition will start early this December and the deadline is till February 2014 to submit their shows.

  • Steven Spielberg, Jury President of the 66th Festival de Cannes

    Steven Spielberg, Jury President of the 66th Festival de Cannes

    “My admiration for the steadfast mission of the Festival to champion the international language of movies is second to none. The most prestigious of its kind, the festival has always established the motion picture as a cross cultural and generational medium.”

    Taking over the reins from the Italian Nanni Moretti, American director and producer Steven Spielberg agrees to head up the jury of the 66th Cannes Film Festival taking place May 15-26 this year.

    “As they say across the Atlantic”, said Gilles Jacob, President of the Festival de Cannes, “Steven Spielberg is a Cannes ‘regular’: Sugarland Express, Color Purple. But it was with E.T. that I screened as a world premiere in ‘82 that ties were made of the type you never forget. Ever since, I’ve often asked Steven to be Jury President, but he’s always been shooting a film. So when this year I was told “E.T., phone home”, I understood and immediately replied: “At last!”

    “Steven Spielberg accepted in principle two years ago”, declared Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate of the Festival. “He was able to make himself available this year to be the new Jury President and when meeting him these last few weeks it has been obvious he’s excited about the job. Because of his films, and the many causes he holds dear, he’s year-in year-out the equal of the very greatest Hollywood filmmakers. We are very proud to count him among us.”

    “The memory of my first Cannes Film Festival, nearly 31 years ago with the debut of E.T., is still one of the most vibrant memories of my career, Spielberg goes on. For over six decades, Cannes has served as a platform for extraordinary films to be discovered and introduced to the world for the first time. It is an honor and a privilege to preside over the jury of a festival that proves, again and again, that cinema is the language of the world.”

    Steven Spielberg was born in Ohio in 1946. A film enthusiast from a very young age, one of his first shorts, Amblin – got him through the doors of Universal Television which produced his first films. Success came very quickly: Duel (1971), originally made for television, was so well received that a feature length version was released in theatres.

    The first film he made for cinema, Sugarland Express, was selected for the Festival de Cannes in 1974 and won Best Screenplay.

    Following these promising auteur debuts, he had a series of international successes: Jaws (1975); Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and E.T. (1982) which was presented as the closing film of the Festival de Cannes and was the very last Festival screening shown in the former Palais Croisette theatre.

    In 1993, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, like many of his films, beat all records for box-office takings in the United States: his big budget entertainment movies, of great and varied inspiration, brought about a renewal of the Hollywood entertainment genre, creating new ties with the themes of adventure and sci-fi, and are hugely popular with an extremely wide audience of all ages.

    The abundant imagination that characterises Steven Spielberg and has him say of himself “I dream for a living”, is combined with boundless curiosity, a delight in innovation and a virtuoso talent for directing.

    Famous for his commercial successes, he also astonishes with his more intimate and socially engaged works which confront audiences head-on: The Color Purple (1986), Empire of the Sun (1987) and Schindler’s List (1993), which brought him the highest accolades as well as a clutch of Oscars, including Best Director.

    His filmography is a constant to and fro between dream and reality, switching from entertainment films to serious reflections on history, racism or the human condition, testimony to his hope for a peaceful, reconciled world.

    In his 40-year career, he has made 27 films, most of which are important moments in the history of world cinema: everyone has seen, or will one day see Saving Private Ryan (1998), Minority Report (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002), War of the Worlds (2005), or the recent The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (2011), his first film in 3D.

    His Lincoln, a captivating portrait of the man who abolished slavery in the United States, is currently a huge success in his own country as well as in France where it has already been seen by over a million people. The film enabled Spielberg to set Daniel Day-Lewis up for his third Oscar as Best Actor (no other actor before having accomplished this feat).

  • Seth MacFarlane approached to host Oscars again

    Seth MacFarlane approached to host Oscars again

    MUMBAI: Seth MacFarlane may have shown reluctance to return as an Oscar host, but producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are apparently keen to bring him back for the high profile job.
     
    While Zadan and Meron are making a return to oversee the Oscars in 2014, they reportedly want MacFarlane back for the hosting job though he has faced criticism from several quarters but ensured that the show generated good rating.
     
    It is said that after defending his performance, the producers reached out to Seth and invited him back to host the show again.

    Immediately after his hosting stint, MacFarlane had said that he would not like to return for a second time. However, sources say that he is still considering the offer though he‘s not sure if he‘s going to do it, but he has to decide within the next couple of weeks.
     
    The last Oscars, this year, drew 40.3 million total viewers but MacFarlane was criticised because of his controversial jokes on sensitive social issues.

  • Craig Zadan, Neil Meron return to produce the Oscars

    Craig Zadan, Neil Meron return to produce the Oscars

    MUMBAI: The motion picture, television and theater producing team of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will return to produce the Oscars for a second time next year.

    Academy president Hawk Koch made the announcement. The Academy Awards will air live on ABC in the US on 2 March, 2014.

    Koch said, "Craig and Neil have the overwhelming support of the Academy’s Governors to produce the Oscars again in 2014. In order to establish continuity with this year‘s enormously successful show, we felt it was important to give these consummate professionals the green light now to begin creating another great evening."

    Zadan and Meron said, "We are very honored to have been asked to return as Oscar producers for a second year. We look forward to creating a distinctive and entertaining show."
    Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said, “Craig and Neil have great relationships, a sense of showmanship, and a passion for our Academy. And they’re a pleasure to work with. All perfect qualities for our show."

    The February 2013 Oscars hosted by Seth MacFarlane, drew an average audience of 40.3 million total viewers and delivered a 13.0 rating among adults 18-49. The show was TV’s most-watched entertainment telecast in the last three years on ABC. Overall, it was the Oscars second-most-watched telecast since 2005.

    Among the innovations that Zadan and Meron plan to bring back to the 2014 show is the Oscar Experience College Search, which allows young filmmakers to assist with bringing the Oscar statuettes on-and-off stage during the show.

    The Zadan/Meron Oscars displayed a signature style that incorporated a single concept for the entire evening which linked together the disparate elements of the Oscar show through music, especially classic movie themes and the frequent appearances by MacFarlane to announce the evening’s presenters. The 2013 show was also distinguished by the use of motion picture talent as performers in the show such as the dance numbers performed by Charlize Theron, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.