ITV

Tag: Steven Spielberg

  • Animal Planet once again looks at ‘Animal Icons’

    Animal Planet once again looks at ‘Animal Icons’

    MUMBAI: Animal Planet which is devoted to the animal world has announced that its show Animal Icons has returned.

    The show looks at animals of fact and fiction that have sparked pop culture frenzies and merchandising mammoths for generations. From comic book heroes like Batman to larger-than-life Hollywood giants like King Kong, creative writers and artists have taken endless inspiration from real – but no less remarkable – earth-roaming animals.

    Each episode looks at different phenomena – ranging from cartoons to fast cars to holiday tales to cinematic adventures – generated by human fascination with these amazing animals. The show will air every Sunday at 11 pm.

    Viewers follow interviews with historians, animal experts and celebrities of the human variation to discover the evolution of real-life animals to extraordinary idols that have captivated the imaginations and adventurous spirits of people for generations.

    This season includes appearances by famous personalities like directors Steven Spielberg and John Landis, writer Stan Lee and actors Kurt Russel, David Hasselhoff and Jeff Goldblum. Combined with film clips and rare footage, each episode helps to answer the question: why have these characters become pop culture icons around the globe?
    The episode Animated Animals airs on 26 November 2006. It takes a fast-paced, funny and informative tour through the history of cartoon cinema and television, to explain how animals in animation are usually metaphors for the best, worst and funniest aspects of human behaviour.

    Comic Book Creatures airs on 3 December, 2006. From comic book heroes like Batman to larger-than-life Hollywood giants like King Kong, this episode looks at different phenomena – ranging from cartoons to fast cars to holiday tales to cinematic adventures, generated by human fascination with these amazing animals.

    Animals On Wheels airs on 10 December. This episode will feature the fastest – and fastest-selling – automobiles to hit the roads, as well as the men and women who love them. It offers a look at how cars and animals have become irrevocably intertwined.

  • Spielberg, Burnett film based reality show to air on Star World, Star Movies from May

    Spielberg, Burnett film based reality show to air on Star World, Star Movies from May

    MUMBAI: Star World and Star Movies will air the upcoming film based reality show On The Lot in May 2007.

    The show is being done by reality TV guru Mark Burnett and film director Steven Spielberg.

    In the US the show kicks off on Fox from 16 May 2007. The aim of the show is to give aspiring filmmakers from around the world the chance to earn a $1-million development deal at DreamWorks.

    16 undiscovered filmmakers will compete to win the support of the show’s viewers, as their fate will be decided by a weekly audience vote.

    The show will have a one-hour Film Premiere episode, followed by a half-hour Box Office results show.
    After a global search, applicants will be winnowed to a group of 16 talented filmmakers. These finalists will be brought to Hollywood, where they will be divided into teams and begin the journey toward their ‘big break’.

    Every week, the hopeful filmmakers will produce short films from a chosen genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, personal dramas to romance, sci-fi to horror. They’ll have access to the best resources the industry has to offer — professional writers, cast and crew, and maybe even Hollywood celebrities.

    After the teams have battled time frames, budgets and all the usual chaos that goes along with filmmaking, their films will debut and be critiqued in front of a live audience during the Film Premiere episode. Judges will include a high-ranking motion picture executive, a prominent film critic and a succession of well-respected guests, such as directors who are experts in the week’s featured genre. But the filmmakers ultimately will be judged by the harshest critics of all … the public.

    Fox viewers votes will determine which film should be left on the cutting-room floor. On the next night’s Box Office results show, the director whose feature garners the fewest votes will be sent home. Reports indicate that Fox will use American Idol as a vehicle to create awareness for this show.

  • Spielberg to get 2006 International Emmy Founders Award

    Spielberg to get 2006 International Emmy Founders Award

    MUMBAI: Steven Spielberg is to recieve the 2006 International Emmy Founders Award at the 34th International Emmy Awards Gala. The event will be held on 20 November in New York City. Last year’s recipient was Oprah Winfrey.

    This Award is presented for outstanding work that crosses cultural boundaries and reflects the commonality of the human experience.

    International Academy president and CEO Bruce Paisner said, “Steven Spielberg has a long and distinguished career in television. As in his movies, he has the ability to move us and entertain us in equal measure. The International Television Academy takes great pleasure in recognizing his contributions and his creative genius with our 2006 International Emmy Founders Award.”

    Spielberg’s began his career, working on Night Gallery, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Name of the Game and Columbo, among others. His TV movie Duel was released theatrically in some international markets, and his feature film career took off with the release of Jaws.

    He however continued to work in TV, creating the weekly anthology series Amazing Stories, Band of Brothers, Taken and Into the West.

    Future projects include a long-form production about World War II in the Pacific, the sci-fi production Nine Lives and On the Lot, an unscripted series that will allow aspiring filmmakers to vie for a studio development deal at DreamWorks.

    Spielberg’s philanthropic causes include the Righteous Persons Foundation and the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, and he is the chairman emeritus of the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation.

  • Viacom looking to co-produce films in India: Freston

    Viacom looking to co-produce films in India: Freston

    MUMBAI: The start of something new! That is what Viacom president and CEO Tom Freston is looking to achieve in India. The company is looking to co-produce films in India instead of merely exporting its films in to the country though its partner United International Pictures (UIP).

    Speaking this morning at the convention for the business of entertainment Frames Freston said, “It is no secret that Paramount has seen a struggle over the past few years. It is now going through a process of reinvention and while changes are not going to happen overnight we are excited about the future. We are expanding our global portfolio through acquisitions.Viacom was split into two entities last year. This has allowed us to be more focussed and not get distracted by areas like parks and distribution.”

    “The area of intellectual property is one that we are looking at. We want to co-produce films in India. We want our relationship to be a two way street. We strengthened our films business by acquiring Dreamworks. Steven Spielberg will make four to five films a year for us. Mission Impossible III will release in India in June.

    “Another area that we are looking at growing our business is in the home entertainment arena. Where there are many television sets there will also be a huge avenue for DVDs. We are also looking to take Indian and Asian culture to the US. We are doing this through a new New York based channel MTV Desi. This showcases Indian and Asian music and caters to the South Asian population in the US.”

    Freston pointed out that by operating MTV India, Viacom learnt a lot. “When we came in, we partnered with Star in the early 1990’s. Then we re-launched on our own and stumbled badly at first. The audience was simply not interested in Pearl Jam and Beastie Boys. We went back to the drawing board and came out with a channel that showcases Hindi pop. Our VJ’s speak in Hindi and English. This way we express local culture while at the same time exposing the audience to what is going on elsewhere.

    “This strategy was followed elsewhere. Hence, no MTV channel is like the other. In China, it reflects family values. In Indonesia, it is a call to religion. In Italy, it is stylish while in Brazil, it is sensuous. In India, it is colourful and street savvy. When I got a job in the early 1980’s as marketing director at MTV, I knew that it was the beginning of a trend of having a branded channel for specific audiences.”

    Not many readers may know that Freston came to India in the 1970’s and set up a clothes company. “It was a way for me to bring Indian culture to the world. India at the time was the one country outside the US that had a thriving local pop culture. The film stars were larger than life. Today, when I am in India I see my past and future.

    “India has had a huge influence on me personally and my perspective certainly changed those days. I hope that in five years time, Indians see Viacom as a good partner and a better friend. India has 700 million people below the age of 35. This is twice the population in America. This population is multi spiced and is used to accessing information from different platforms like the small screen – the mobile. It is the promised land for content creators and distributors.”

  • AOL and Warner Bros. to launch the first broadband television network In2TV

    AOL and Warner Bros. to launch the first broadband television network In2TV

    MUMBAI: AOL and Warner Bros. are saying “Welcome Back” to thousands of classic TV shows with the launch of In2TV, the first broadband television network, on AOL.com.

    The network offers the largest collection of free on-demand TV shows on the web, including full episodes of favorite Warner Bros. programs from the past 40 years such as Welcome Back, Kotter, Chico & The Man, Alice, Growing Pains, Sisters, Kung Fu, Lois & Clark and many others, along with interactive features and viral videos that enable audiences to experience and interact with television programming in an entirely new way.

    “In2TV breaks new ground as the first true broadband television network. With the largest collection of full length television programming anywhere on the Web, plus interactive features and viral videos all free and on-demand, In2TV will appeal to existing fans as well as introduce these shows to a whole new generation. In2TV is another important milestone in the evolution of video on the Web, and is one more way that we are making AOL.com the best destination for video online,” said AOL Media Networks executive vice president Kevin Conroy.

    “In2TV begins to realise the true potential of web-based TV by putting the viewer in charge of their own TV schedule online. This opens up new opportunities for platforms and program distributors alike and points to the prospect of exciting new paradigms in online and interactive entertainment soon to come,” said Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group president Kevin Tsujihara.

    “In2TV offers consumers access to an unprecedented collection of Warner Bros. TV favorites including thousands of great dramas, comedies, animated series loaded with unique interactive features. We’re proud to team with AOL on this first-of-its-kind broadband network and, in the near future we will be adding more recent programs and other TV related content from our studio and other producers that you can’t find anywhere else on the web,” said Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution president Eric Frankel.

    Available exclusively through the AOL.com Web site (http://www.aol.com/in2tv), the In2TV service lets fans watch hundreds of episodes from dozens of shows every month, along with quizzes, puzzles, photo galleries and polls tied to the various shows. The shows are organiaed into six genre-themed channels (with two more to launch this summer), including:

    LOL TV: Laugh Out Loud with everyone’s favorite comedies from Welcome Back, Kotter which made a household name out of John Travolta to the slapstick antics of Cousin Balkai and Larry in Perfect Strangers as well as the Emmy-winning Chico and the Man, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper and Head of the Class.

    Dramarama TV: Fans will enjoy the unaired “lost” pilot of juicy soap Falcon Crest and all the drama of five-time Emmy nominated Sisters, plus there’s Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Spenser: For Hire and the family favorite Eight Is Enough.

    Toon Topia TV: Kids and adults alike will flock to animated fare such as Beetlejuice, Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid, The New Adventures of Batman and Histeria!

    Heroes and Horrors TV: Sci-Fi and Horror come together in heroic proportions with Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Babylon 5, Wonder Woman, V and Freddy’s Nightmares.

    What a Rush TV: Rev up for plenty of action-adventure when East meets West in Kung Fu, plus La Femme Nikita, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Dark Justice and The Fugitive.

    Vintage TV: Fans find all-time favorites such as Growing Pains with Kirk Cameron, F-Troop, The F.B.I., Maverick and Alice.

    In2TV also features highly engaging viral short-form videos and programming themes that repackage some of the greatest moments in television in exciting new ways.

    In addition, In2TV offers “In2Active TV”–unique interactive experiences that test fans’ knowledge of TV trivia and offer addictive games and challenges.

    In2TV provides advertisers with compelling video inventory for instream broadband advertising as well as opportunities for sponsorships and accompanying banner ads. Video ads, 15-second and 30-second spots, will be limited to a total of one – two minutes within each 30-minute episode as compared to eight minutes of advertising on broadcast television.