ITV

Tag: Smith

  • Banijay Brands, WP Brands partner up for two global hit shows

    Banijay Brands, WP Brands partner up for two global hit shows

    MUMBAI: Banijay Brands has appointed brand management agency WP Brands to represent Peaky Blinders and Simon’s Cat in Australia and New Zealand, as part of the continued expansion of its brand footprint.

    Global hit Peaky Blinders is a BAFTA award-winning BBC One series created and written by Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things, Eastern Promises and Locke) and produced by official brand owner, Caryn Mandabach Productions and Tiger Aspect Productions. Season five aired on BBC One last year and delivered the show’s highest ratings yet. The series has been televised in more than 183 countries, as is available for streaming on Netflix.

    Simon’s Cat is a worldwide phenomenon, viewed in over 100 countries, with 7 million fans on Facebook, 2 million followers on Instagram, and more than a billion views on YouTube.

    Created by award-winning illustrator, animator and director, Simon Tofied, Simon’s Cat features the hilarious antics of a mischievous white feline and his long-suffering owner Simon. First posted on YouTube in 2008, the Simon’s Cat brand scored international success across multiple categories including gaming, publishing and apparel. There have been more than 80 million digital sticker downloads and in excess of 18 million mobile gaming downloads with further titles in development.

    Read more news on Banijay

    Banijay Brands brand licensing group director Smith said, “WP Brands has a stellar reputation and we are thrilled to now partner with the business on these hugely popular brands. We have a shared passion and belief in the appeal for customers in Australia and New Zealand.”

    WP Brands MD Lim Mi-Kyoung said, “WP Brands is excited to be working alongside a phenomenal media partner like Banijay Brands and we are looking forward to further building on the consumer products offering in our market. We can’t wait to bring fans more opportunities to engage with these two exciting and wildly popular brands.’’

  • Turner Sports renews contracts of Barkley, Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Smith

    Turner Sports renews contracts of Barkley, Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Smith

    MUMBAI: Turner Sports has signed multi-year extension deals for each member of TNT’s Inside the NBA studio show.

     

    The show is the recipient of 13 Sports Emmy Awards and will continue to offer fans its dynamic combination of basketball insight and analysis, entertainment and social commentary with its team comprising host Ernie Johnson and analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.

     

    “We truly believe Inside the NBA is among the best studio shows of all time and a large part of its success is due to the unrivaled chemistry between Ernie, Charles, Kenny and Shaquille. We’re looking forward to continuing the creativity and pioneering spirit behind the show for a very long time,” said Turner Sports president Lenny Daniels.

     

    TNT’s Inside the NBA has continued to increase in popularity through the years, becoming appointment viewing for both the hardcore basketball fan and casual sports fans alike, while also pulling in the casual television viewer.The content of the show – including popular re-occurring segments such as “EJ’s Neat-O Stat of the Night,” “Gone Fishin’” and “Shaqtin’ a Fool,” among others – often transcends sport, mixing into the pop culture domain.In doing so, the show’s passionate fan base regularly cause Inside the NBA to “go viral” through the sharing of its top moments across a growing number of social media platforms.

     

    Johnson, a three-time Sports Emmy Award winner, is currently in his 26th year as a studio host for Turner’s NBA telecasts.

     

    Barkley, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and two-time Sports Emmy Award winner, is in his 16th year as studio analyst for TNT’s Inside the NBA.

     

    Smith, a two-time NBA champion, is in his 18th year as studio analyst for TNT’s Inside the NBA.

     

    O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion and 15-time NBA All-Star, joined TNT’s Inside the NBA studio team in 2011 following a 19-year NBA career.

  • ‘American idol’ winner Hicks sues record producer

    ‘American idol’ winner Hicks sues record producer

    MUMBAI: The winner of the fifth season of US broadcaster Fox’s music based reality show American Idol Taylor Hicks has filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the release of his first recordings.

    The soul singer has been granted a temporary restraining order, which will prevent producer William Smith from cashing in on Hicks’ early tracks. Hicks hopes that the court will make the injunction permanent. He is also seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit filed against Smith.

    Media reports state that Smith has been using ITunes to sell some very old tracks that Hicks recorded back in 1997, including a song titled “The Fall”. E! Online has quoted Smith as saying, “I have the legal right to use these recordings for a period of seven years to further his musical career. I am not going to radio, I am going to iTunes. This is the best way to make this single a number one hit.”

    Hicks has sued Smith and his production company for more than $75,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. Reports indicate that the singer’s lawyer received a letter in July from Smith stating that he planned to release a song on iTunes that Hicks had laid down in 1997 called The Fall.

    Hicks stated in his complaint that Smith has no ownership rights to any of the songs in question, and he is maintaining that Smith is in violation of the agreement the two arrived at after the songs unlawfully hit iTunes the first time around.

  • UTV announces slate of international co-productions with Fox, Will Smith’s Overbrook and Sony Pictures for a total commitment of $37 mn.

    UTV announces slate of international co-productions with Fox, Will Smith’s Overbrook and Sony Pictures for a total commitment of $37 mn.

    LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK and MUMBAI August 20, 2006 – UTV, India’s leading media and entertainment company, today announced an unprecedented slate of co-productions with leading Hollywood Studios, with a total value across projects of USD 37 million – the largest such commitment by any South Asian media major.

    UTV and Fox Searchlight announced a co-production deal on the film I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, starring Chris Rock. Ronnie Screwvala, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures and Peter Rice, CEO of Fox Searchlight announced this in Los Angeles on Friday. Principal photography has been completed in New York; Fox Searchlight plans to release the film in the U.S. on February 9, 2007. The USD 14 million production is UTV’s second venture with Fox after THE NAMESAKE, directed by Mira Nair, which will be released in March 2007.

    Peter Rice, CEO of Fox Searchlight says, “We are very eager to be partnering with UTV, a dynamic force in South Asian Media. Ronnie’s innovative vision parallels Searchlight’s and after working together on THE NAMESAKE we jumped at the chance to collaborate again on our highly anticipated Chris Rock comedy I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE.”

    The second deal UTV announced is a USD 30 million co-production agreement with Actor/producer Will Smith and his production company Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, for films to be created and distributed worldwide. This was announced in New York on Saturday by Ronnie Screwvala, Will Smith, James Lassiter, Smith’s partner at Overbrook Entertainment and Amy Pascal, Chairman of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.

    The two-picture deal emerged from a Sony arranged visit Smith and Lassiter took to India in February 2006 to explore co-production possibilities, when they met with media titans and key members of the creative community. As a result of the co-production agreement, UTV and Overbrook will develop films that will have a global reach and appeal. The first two projects will be a live-action film valued at USD 10 million and a CG animated motion picture at USD 20 million.

    Sony Pictures Entertainment has a first look deal for the two productions. According to the terms of the agreement, while UTV and Overbrook will co-produce the movies, SPE will distribute the movies worldwide, excluding India.

    “India is one of the most remarkable places on Earth and its motion picture industry has always fascinated me”, said Will Smith.

    “This unique agreement is the future of our business”, said Pascal. “Sony has been involved with local language initiatives for many years and this deal accentuates the way our industry is becoming more borderless and more global every day.”

    “We are particularly excited to have an animation project as part of this agreement”, said Lassiter, “since India is emerging as the next big destination for animation content and UTV is on the cutting-edge of animation development.”

    Ronnie Screwvala, Chief Executive Officer of UTV states: “UTV is focused on collaborating with like-minded partners like Fox, Sony and Will Smith to produce entertainment for global audiences. For UTV, these projects are a big step in reaching key North American markets and expanding our presence globally. UTV has made the biggest commitment by any South Asian media major to international co-productions and we will continue to lead the way in this regard.”

    About UTV: UTV is a leading integrated media and entertainment company based in South Asia, with international subsidiaries in the U.S., UK and South East Asia. Publicly listed on the Indian Stock Exchange last year, it is a leader in TV content in Asia, with a large Animation and SFX facility; has one of the first fully integrated studio models in movies and occupies a dominant space in the kids programming and broadcasting space in South Asia.

    About Fox Searchlight: Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both produces and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.

    About Sony Pictures Entertainment: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPEs global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com <http://www.sonypictures.com> .

    About Overbrook Entertainment: Overbrook Entertainment is a film and television production company owned by James Lassiter and Will Smith. Overbrook’s film productions include the hit romantic comedy Hitch, the sci-fi thriller I, Robot, the bio-pic Ali, and the upcoming drama The Pursuit of Happyness, all starring Smith. In addition Overbrook produced Saving Face starring Joan Chen, Showtime starring Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy and ATL starring platinum-selling recording artist T.I. For television, Overbrook produces the current CW network hit All Of Us. Overbrook also produced the soundtracks for such films as Wild, Wild West and Men In Black, both of which won the American Music Award for favorite soundtracks.

  • Will Smith gets ‘Jiggy’ with Indian Idol’s top 6!

    Will Smith gets ‘Jiggy’ with Indian Idol’s top 6!

    MUMBAI: The mega Hollywood star and OSCAR WINNER WILL SMITH visited the TOP 6 Finalists of Indian Idol!!! The sets of Indian Idol was set ablaze with his presence! The smart ‘Jiggy’ walk accompanied by a typical rap singer’s hat and a brown suede blazer left the TOP 6 Finalists awestruck!!! For the first time ever is an International Icon like Will Smith be seen on an Indian Television show. The “Man” of the Men in Black fame was in equal awe with INDIA and it’s to be Idols!

     

    “I have fallen in love with Indian cinema! It is difficult for me to understand and pronounce the Hindi words but I love the music…and I enjoy humming Indian music!” said the energetic lively rap singer cum Hollywood star Will Smith. This was his FIRST visit to the sets of Indian Idol and his excitement in meeting up with Indian singers was hugely evident! He gave excellent vocal tips and performance advices to the finalists for their own improvisations. “Letting go off the fear and consciousness to perform in public is very essential for a performer, thus my remedy is to once in a while scream out loud in public or do something crazy!” advised the Smith.

     

    “Man! I am so happy to be a part of the show and am so looking forward to it. I don’t understand Hindi music, but I can feel the meaning in the voice of the singer. After all, the best part about music is that it sees no boundaries!” said Smith about Hindi music and Indian Idol. As a token of love and appreciation of visiting them and advising them the two Indian Idol female stars presented him with a “Maharaja’s Turban” which he wore and carried like a true Indian Maharaja!

     

    Now that’s what we call “will getting ‘Jiggy’ with India!” Catch all the live action and thrill on Indian Idol only on Sony Entertainment Television Mondays and Tuesday at 9 PM only!