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Tag: Peter Jackson

  • 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.

  • Stephen Colberts blink-and-miss cameos in The Hobbit

    Stephen Colberts blink-and-miss cameos in The Hobbit

    Anyone who watches The Colbert Report knows host Stephen Colbert is obsessed with anything Tolkien. The director of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises, Peter Jackson, even describes him as the biggest Tolkien geek he knows.

     

    And after countless show dedications to the franchises and a set visit, it appears Colbert finally lived out his nerd fantasy in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

     

    It’s easy to miss, but Colbert disguised as a Laketown spy has been seen in the film. Colbert was not the only one to join in the fun – his family joined him! His two sons can be seen running across the screen and his wife is shown lighting a match.

     

    The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the second film in The Hobbit trilogy. It opened 13 December and is still doing well on the box office.

  • Hobbit trilogy price tag over $500 bn so far

    Hobbit trilogy price tag over $500 bn so far

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros’ three Hobbit films have racked up over half a billion dollars in production costs, reports the AP, citing Kiwi financial filings that say Peter Jackson has spent $676 million New Zealand dollars ($561 million) so far on his LOTR follow-ups.

     

    But this is just the total so far as of 31 March and doesn’t include post-March spending, post-production expenses, and marketing costs. WB has additionally enjoyed $98 million worth of New Zealand tax incentives for shooting in the area. The first of the Hobbit pics, An Unexpected Journey, grossed over $1 billion worldwide after debuting last December.

     

    Sequel The Desolation Of Smaug is set to follow with a 14 December, 2013 release followed by There And Back Again on 17 December, 2014.

  • Academy shortlists 10 films to fight in VFX category at Oscars

    Academy shortlists 10 films to fight in VFX category at Oscars

    MUMBAI: The Academy has shortlisted ten films to compete for the Oscar in the visual effects category at the 85th Academy Awards.

    The films are, The Amazing Spider-Man, Cloud Atlas, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, John Carter, Life of Pi, The Avengers, Prometheus, Skyfall and Snow White & the Huntsman.

    Two films like Men in Black 3 and Battleship that were among the hopefuls, didn‘t make the cut. Neither did the final installment of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn — Part 2.

    Franchise films figured heavily in the selection. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first of three Hobbit films that will make up a prequel to Peter Jackson‘s The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy. All three LOTR films had earlier won Oscars for visual effects.

    Sony Pictures Imageworks‘ work on the Spider-Man franchise has also previously been recognized by the Academy. Both Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 were nominated, with the second film taking home the Oscar.

    Another sequel that has some history in the category is The Dark Knight Rises. The Dark Knight was nominated for a VFX Oscar in 2009. Double Negative returned as the lead VFX house for the series‘ finale.

    Skyfall‘s inclusion is notable since 007 has made only two previous appearances in the VFX category, scoring one win, for 1965‘s Thunderball, and an additional nomination for 1979‘s Moonraker.

    The convincing tiger that‘s featured in Life of Pi helped Ang Lee‘s movie secure a spot. Rhythm & Hues was the lead VFX house on Pi.

    If any of the short-listed films also earns a best picture nomination when the Academy Awards nominations are announced on 10 January that could boost its chances in the VFX category.

  • Failure of Happy Feet Two results in lay-off of 600

    Failure of Happy Feet Two results in lay-off of 600

    MUMBAI: After the dismal performance of Happy Feet Two at the box-office, six hundred of the 700 employees at the Sydney-based digital production studio Dr D Studios, which was behind the animated film, have reportedly been told that they would be soon laid off.

    Happy Feet Two, a sequel to 2006‘s Academy Award-winning film Happy Feet that grossed $384.3 million off a budget of $100 million had amassed a meagre $30.3 million worldwide.

    There may be a silver lining for some of the employees in the notice. They have reportedly been offered a job at Kennedy-Miller Mitchell Films, a new company that has Dr. D Studios as a joint partnership with Omnilab Media. The company is likely to get off the ground early next year.

    Released on November 18, Happy Feet Two has not found much success. It opened in 3,606 theaters and came in second at the box office during its debut weekend after grossing $21.2 million.

    Dr. D Studios, that specialises in digital feature film production and high-end special effects, reportedly had hoped to compete with Peter Jackson‘s Weta Digital in neighboring New Zealand.

  • Ape story grosses $ 54 million at box office

    Ape story grosses $ 54 million at box office

    MUMBAI: 20th Century Fox‘s Rise of the Planet of the Apes opened to $54 million at the domestic box office, 20 million more than the best forecast.


    Overseas, the film exceeded expectations too, grossing a robust $23.4 million from 25 territories, including four major markets like Australia, Spain, Russia and Taiwan, where it topped the box office charts.


    Directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring James Franco, Rise premiered in at least nine markets with Spain ($5.2 million from 517 sites), Australia ($5.1 million from 359 locations) and Russia ($5.09 million from 1,012 situations) leading the list.


    Fox said weekend action exceeded expectations “given only four of the top 15 international markets are in release.”
     
    Rise of the Apes is particularly drawing notice for its photo-realistic apes created by Peter Jackson‘s Weta Digital using advanced performance capture technology. “The combination of never-before-seen special effects combined with a powerful, emotional story made for a supremely satisfying epxerience at the movies,” Fox senior vice president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said.


    Thanks to a great debut, which Warner Bros. estimates at $25.5 million drawn from 4,200 venues, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 remained at the top spot grossing $61.8 million from 15,632 screens in 61 markets.


    Finishing at No. 3 on the weekend was Marvel Studios‘ Captain America: The First Avenger has gone past the $100-million overseas gross mark ($103 million) since it began its foreign run on 22 July. Worldwide, the film has registered $246.2 million.


    Latest weekend, the film drew $27.5 million from 5,037 locations in 41 territories, bolstered by openings in Spain ($2.5 million from 381 spots), Hong Kong and Israel. The film opens in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and India this week.


    Transformers: Dark of the Moon, that opened offshore on 29 June has till date totally grossed $693.5 million. The film pulled $17.5 million from 10,680 venues in 62 markets including strong holdovers in Japan and China and a No. 1 bow in Indonesia ($1.8 million from 98 locations) last weekend.

  • Spielberg returns to make Jurassic Park 4

    Spielberg returns to make Jurassic Park 4

    MUMBAI: Twenty years after he made Jurassic Park, director Steven Spielberg has hinted of his return to making such films all over again.


    Speaking at the Comic-Con International convention in San Diego, Spielberg said that he was at work on a new Jurassic Park film that delighted the audience in a packed house at the pop culture showcase.


    “We have a story. We have a writer working on the script and I think we will see a Jurassic 4 in our foreseeable future, probably in the next two or three years, averred Spielberg.


    It may be noted that Jurassic Park thrilled audiences in 1993 with its modern-day dinosaurs developed from DNA in fossils that wreaked havoc upon a theme park where, instead of enjoying the wonders of science, the guests got eaten.
    The fim, that spawned two sequels took in $ 915 million worldwide.


    Spielberg was at the Comic-Con for the first time where he showed the audience clips from his upcoming film The Adventures of Tintin, produced by Peter Jackson who made Lord of the Rings.


    It is scheduled for release in December this year.
     

  • Casbaa to pursue mobile, regulatory agenda in 2007

    Casbaa to pursue mobile, regulatory agenda in 2007

    MUMBAI: The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has announced its strategic direction for 2007, as well as the results of 2006 Annual general meeting elections to the Casbaa council of governors and board of directors.

    According to Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez, in 2007 the association is to focus on the increasing impact of Mobile technology, also noting a clear signal from the council of governors to step up initiatives in India and China. Casbaa will continue to engage the regulatory authorities in multiple markets and promote industry development in Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan, among others.

    In addition, Casbaa will strive to demonstrate the effectiveness of pay TV as an advertising medium and thus challenge other traditional media for advertising revenues, asserts an official release.

    Fenez said, “On an almost daily basis Casbaa is engaging with decision-makers across the region regarding regulatory and intellectual property rights issues while maintaining a steady output of studies on markets and the benefits of effective regulation and the cost of pay-TV piracy.”

    Casbaa also announced that the following were newly elected to the Casbaa council of governors, the association’s leading advisory body, Anytime president and COO Craig Zimbulis; Mabuhay Satellite president and CEO Garie Pimentel; MIH Asia president Ian Barnard; SkyVision Corporation (Sky Cable) head of programmes acquisition Juno Henares Chuidian; AGB Nielsen Media Research CEO Malcolm Spry and Standard Chartered Bank head of creative media and tech industries client relations Susan Ho.

    The results of Elections to the Casbaa board of directors were as follows: HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink; AsiaSat CEO Peter Jackson; United Broadcasting Corporation EVP-chairman Sompan Charumilinda; BBC World regional director distribution and business development Nic van Zwanenberg and Celestial Pictures CEO William Pfeiffer.

  • Peter Jackson of AsiaSat wins Casbaa chairman’s award

    Peter Jackson of AsiaSat wins Casbaa chairman’s award

    MUMBAI: AsiaSat satellite system operator CEO Peter Jackson has been awarded with the Casbaa chairman’s award 2006 for outstanding contribution to the Asia Pacific multi-channel cable, satellite and broadband pay-TV industries in the previous 12 months.

    Jackson has been a member of Casbaa for almost all of the association’s 15 year history and a member of the board of directors for seven years.

    The Casbaa chairman’s award 2006 was presented at the conclusion of the Casbaa TV advertising awards held on the final day of the Casbaa Convention 2006 in Hong Kong.

    Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez said, “With his pan-regional responsibilities and a background in telecommunications, Peter has developed an almost unique understanding of media and telecoms issues which has hugely benefited our industry and the association.”

    The formal citation for Jackson’s award reads, “In recognition of Peter Jackson’s unparalleled professionalism and integrity in one of the most competitive sectors within our industry and his ongoing commitment to the association.”

    “Beyond that, Peter’s contribution’s to the association as a board member and the leading representative of the satellite sector has helped enormously to create the credible industry voice that we are today,” added Fenez.

    Jackson said, “I am honoured to receive this award. But the honour is as much for the team at AsiaSat as it is for me. I also think the award is an endorsement of the general achievements of Casbaa itself in the years that I have been involved. “

    Prior to joining the listed AsiaSat as CEO in 1993, Jackson was the regional director, Asia Pacific of cable & wireless, which he joined in 1970 with responsibilities for several satellite telecom ventures around the region. He has also worked in the Caribbean, the United Arab Emirates and China.

    The other nominees for the 2006 Casbaa chairman’s award were:

    HBO
    For the launch (and marketing) of the new HBO multiplexes which maintain programming quality whilst adding to customer choice and ease of proposition understanding.

    Nokia
    For the promotion of the DVB-supported DVB-H standard and its efforts to generate a greater understating of the mobile TV opportunity to both mobile platform operators and content providers.

    PCCW – NOW TV
    For the continued expansion of its subscriber base and the proactive marketing of a secure and advanced pay-TV platform with a growing interactive capability.

    Star TV
    For establishing a broad range of tailored channels, to cater to specific needs (such as South India programming). The network has also demonstrated a deep understanding of the industry’s future, both on-air and into platforms such as mobile. And STAR TV has been a leader in branded content.

    Starhub
    For aggressively expanded its channel line-up and invested in enhancing and marketing its services. The total number of channels has increased to 94. Starhub recently introduced a digital video recorder set-top box; launched pay per view service, FlexiWatch – engaged in an HD trial; and, launched a new brand campaign ‘For the life that I love, I am a hub’ to drive subscription.

    Marketing Magazine (Singapore)
    In recognition of its excellent work in promoting the delivery of key demographics by cable and satellite channels to advertisers.

  • Asiasat selects Zenith rocket for Asiasat 5 launch

    Asiasat selects Zenith rocket for Asiasat 5 launch

    MUMBAI: Satellite operator Asiasat has signed a launch contract with Sea Launch for the launch of Asiasat 5 aboard a Zenith-3SLB rocket on the Land Launch system.

    The launch will take place in the second half of 2008.

    As had been reported earlier by indiantelevision.com, Asiasat 5 will be built on a SS/L’s 1300 series satellite platform and will carry 26 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders with an estimated operational life of 15 years. It will replace Asiasat 2.

    AsiaSat 5’s C-band footprint will offer an extensive pan-Asian coverage and its high power Ku-band beams will focus on both East and South Asia, with a steerable beam that will cover anywhere within Asiasat 5’s geographic coverage.

    Asiasat CEO Peter Jackson says, “We are pleased to have completed this major milestone in our procurement of Asiasat 5. The Land Launch Zenit-3SLB rocket is based on a mature, flight-proven design; it is a highly reliable launch vehicle that offers the schedule assurance that meets our requirements for a 2008 launch.”