Tag: The Grand Budapest Hotel

  • Star Movies Select HD celebrates its 1st anniversary

    Star Movies Select HD celebrates its 1st anniversary

    MUMBAI: The home of discerning English movie audience – Star Movies Select HD has always set new benchmarks in storytelling. Over the past year, the channel has showcased stories that left everyone spellbound.

    Star Movies Select HD took on the responsibility of taking its audience through a mesmerizing journey with premieres that included several Oscar nominated movies like Gone Girl, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman, Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash to name a few. It also introduced the concept of ‘Unreleased premieres’ which gave its viewers an opportunity to watch movies which have never been released in India.

    The magic of storytelling was appreciated by the viewers and industry as Star Movies Select HD won numerous creative and marketing awards – right from the launch, its promos and digital conversations.

    So when the home of best stories decides to celebrate its anniversary – the result is naturally a mesmerizing content showcase – The Book Adaptations Festival – Starting July 17, every Sunday at 1PM & 3PM.

    When you read a book, you tend to imagine yourself as a part of the story. And some stories you secretly wish were yours. Star Movies Select HD gives you an opportunity to witness some of the best books come alive on your favourite English movie channel.

    The festival will showcase well-known book adaptations such as – Thank You for Smoking, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Devil Wears Prada, Atonement, among many others.
    These stories deserve to be celebrated with grandeur and Star Movies Select HD will paint the biggest canvas for them across the country with an extensive multi-media Marketing campaign that will reach its audience through TV, OOH, Radio and DTH platforms.

    Some stories leave you spellbound, some make you reconsider life itself; but all great stories have one thing in common – they touch your soul. Watch some of the best literary pages come alive on screen with the Book Adaptations festival every Sunday1PM and 3PM starting 17th July only on Star Movies Select HD.

  • Star Movies Select HD celebrates its 1st anniversary

    Star Movies Select HD celebrates its 1st anniversary

    MUMBAI: The home of discerning English movie audience – Star Movies Select HD has always set new benchmarks in storytelling. Over the past year, the channel has showcased stories that left everyone spellbound.

    Star Movies Select HD took on the responsibility of taking its audience through a mesmerizing journey with premieres that included several Oscar nominated movies like Gone Girl, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman, Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash to name a few. It also introduced the concept of ‘Unreleased premieres’ which gave its viewers an opportunity to watch movies which have never been released in India.

    The magic of storytelling was appreciated by the viewers and industry as Star Movies Select HD won numerous creative and marketing awards – right from the launch, its promos and digital conversations.

    So when the home of best stories decides to celebrate its anniversary – the result is naturally a mesmerizing content showcase – The Book Adaptations Festival – Starting July 17, every Sunday at 1PM & 3PM.

    When you read a book, you tend to imagine yourself as a part of the story. And some stories you secretly wish were yours. Star Movies Select HD gives you an opportunity to witness some of the best books come alive on your favourite English movie channel.

    The festival will showcase well-known book adaptations such as – Thank You for Smoking, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Devil Wears Prada, Atonement, among many others.
    These stories deserve to be celebrated with grandeur and Star Movies Select HD will paint the biggest canvas for them across the country with an extensive multi-media Marketing campaign that will reach its audience through TV, OOH, Radio and DTH platforms.

    Some stories leave you spellbound, some make you reconsider life itself; but all great stories have one thing in common – they touch your soul. Watch some of the best literary pages come alive on screen with the Book Adaptations festival every Sunday1PM and 3PM starting 17th July only on Star Movies Select HD.

  • Oscars 2015: ‘Birdman’ takes home four awards including Best Picture

    Oscars 2015: ‘Birdman’ takes home four awards including Best Picture

    MUMBAI: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) has pipped other contending movies like BoyhoodWhiplashThe Grand Budapest HotelAmerican SniperThe Imitation GameSelma and The Theory of Everything at the 87th Academy Awards to take home the Best Picture statuette.

     

    Birdman won a total of four Academy Awards, which are as follows: Best Picture, Best Director (Alejandro G. Inarritu), Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki) and Best Original Screenplay (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo).

     

    The Oscar for the Best Actor went to Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), whereas the Best Actress award went to Julianne Moore (Still Alice). On the other hand, the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor went to JK Simmons for Whiplash, whereas Patricia Arquette won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Boyhood.

     

    Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel tied for the most number of nominations (nine) and incidentally both movies won four Oscars each. Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel won the award for Achievement in Costume Design (Milena Canonero), Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat), Best Production Design (Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock) and Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier).

     

    The Oscar for Achievement in sound mixing went to Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley for Whiplash, whereas the Oscar for Achievement in sound editing went to Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman for American Sniper.

     

    Whiplash won Tom Cross an Oscar for Achievement in film editing, whereas Interstellar took home the Oscar for Achievement in visual effects (Paul J Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, Scott R Fisher). The Oscar for Best original song went to Common and John Legend for their song ‘Glory’ from the Martin Luther King drama Selma.

     

    The Oscar for the Best foreign-language film went to Polish film Ida, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. On the other hand, The Phone Call (Mat Kirkby, James Lucas) took home the award for Best live-action short film. The Best documentary short subject went to Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 (Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Dana Perry). The Best animated short film was won by Feast (Patrick Osborne, Kristina Reed).

     

    The Oscar for the Best Adapted screenplay went to Graham Moore for The Imitation Game. The Best animated feature film award went to Big Hero 6. The Best documentary feature award went to the Edward Snowden docu Citizenfour (Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky). On the other hand, the Oscar for the Best original score went to Alexandre Desplat for The Grand Budapest Hotel.

  • Fox Cable Network Programming business revenue up 14.2% in Q2-2015

    Fox Cable Network Programming business revenue up 14.2% in Q2-2015

    BENGALURU: Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (Fox) reported a 1.3 per cent drop in total revenue to $8055 million in the quarter ended 31 December, 2014 (Q2-2015, current quarter) as compared to the $8163 million reported for the year ago quarter (quarter ended 31 December, 2013).

     

    In November 2014, the Company sold its 100 per cent and 57 per cent ownership stakes in Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland, respectively, to Sky for approximately $8.8 billion comprised approximately $8.2 billion in cash received, net of $650 million of cash paid to acquire Sky’s 21 per cent interest in NGCI, increasing the Company’s ownership stake in NGCI to 73 per cent.

     

    Excluding the revenue from the satellite businesses that were sold, revenue rose 10 per cent to $7.42 billion in the current quarter over the $6.73 billion of adjusted revenue in the prior year quarter. Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland were a part of Fox’s Direct Broadcast Satellite Television (“DBS”) businesses.

     

    Fox reported OIBDA of $1.72 billion which included $27 million of OIBDA from the DBS businesses. Excluding the OIBDA contributions from the DBS businesses in the current and prior year quarters, adjusted OIBDA grew by $181 million or 12 per cent from $1.51 billion in the prior year to $1.70 billion. This improvement reflects OIBDA growth at the Company’s Cable Network Programming and Television segments says the company. Adjusted OIBDA growth was adversely impacted by approximately $90 million or 6 per cent from foreign exchange rate fluctuations, primarily in Latin America.

     

    Fox chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said, “We delivered solid quarterly results despite continuing currency headwinds and ratings challenges at the Fox broadcast network. Our growth was led by sustained affiliate revenue growth in our channels business. I am also very proud of the creative successes that we have achieved at Twentieth Century Fox, which set a global box office record in 2014 and leads the industry with 24 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture nominations for Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, as well as at our television production studios, which have produced the Emmy and Golden Globe winning Fargo, the critically acclaimed American Horror Story and the promising new series Empire.

     

    “In addition to the operational success achieved this past quarter, we also executed two significant strategic transactions, the combination of our European satellite television holdings, creating Europe’s leading pay television business, and the formation of the Endemol Shine Group joint venture. These transactions further enhance our ability to drive long-term value for all of our shareholders,” he added.

     

    Cable Network Programming

     

    Fox Cable Network Programming business (CNP), which is its largest segment in terms of revenue and operating profit, reported a 14.2 per cent jump in revenue in the current quarter to $3384 million from $2964 million in Q2-2014. OIBDA (Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization) of CNP segment rose 11.7 per cent to $1159 million in Q2-2015 from $1038 million in the year ago quarter.  The OIBDA improvement in the current quarter was driven by a 14 per cent revenue increase on strong affiliate and advertising revenue growth says the company.

     

    The revenue improvement was partially offset by a 16 per cent increase in segment expenses, approximately half of which reflected the combined impact of the planned investments in the new sports channels, Fox Sports 1 and Star Sports, coupled with the consolidation of the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (the YES Network). The expense growth at the new sports channels was led by increased rights fees related to the inaugural broadcast of Major League Baseball Divisional and League Championship playoff games at Fox Sports 1. Segment OIBDA growth was adversely impacted by over $65 million or approximately 6 per cent from foreign exchange rate fluctuations, primarily in Latin America, as mentioned above.

     

    Television business

     

    Fox Television business reported almost flat revenue (drop of 0.4 per cent) at $1623 million in the current quarter versus the $1630 million in the year ago quarter. Television business OIBDA increased 33 per cent in Q2-2015 to $290 million from $218 million in Q2-2014.

     

    The increase in segment OIBDA was driven by lower programming costs at the FOX Broadcast Network from the cancellation of ‘X-Factor’, the absence of’ Glee’ in the current year quarter and the shift of the Major League Baseball League Championship Series to Fox Sports 1, all of which were partially offset by higher rights fees related to the new National Football League contract. Quarterly segment revenues were consistent with those from the corresponding period in the prior year as strong retransmission consent revenue growth was counterbalanced by a 3 per cent decline in advertising revenues. This advertising revenue decline reflects the impact from lower general entertainment ratings at the Fox Broadcast Network, which was partially offset by increased political advertising revenue growth at the local television stations.

     

    Filmed Entertainment business

     

    Filmed Entertainment (FE) business reported revenue growth of 11.1 per cent in Q2-2015 to $2753 million from $2477 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. This growth was led by the performance of several successful worldwide theatrical releases including ‘The Maze Runner’ and ‘Gone Girl’, which have grossed over $340 million and over $365 million in worldwide box office to date, respectively. As a result of these and other successful releases in the year the studio has broken the all-time global box-office industry record, having generated more than $5.5 billion in 2014 claims the company.

     

    FE reported flat OIBDA (down 0.3 per cent) of $336 million versus $337 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. This was due to increased contributions from the film studio, led by a strong theatrical slate was offset by lower contributions from the television production businesses driven by fewer series deliveries, including the absence of ‘How I Met Your Mother’, ‘White Collar’ and ‘Glee’.

     

    Direct Broadcast Satellite Television (DBS)

     

    DBS segment revenue in Q3-2015 was down 56.3 per cent to $663 million from $1517 million in Q2-2014. DBS reported OIBDA of $27 million in Q2-2015 versus $30 million last year.

     

    Consolidated revenues by component

     

    Affiliate Fees grew 17 per cent to $2480 million in Q2-2015 from $2119 million in Q2-2014. Subscription was down 55.7 per cent due to the sale of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland in Q2-2015 to $605 million from $1366 million in the year ago quarter. Advertising revenue was almost flat down 0.6 per cent) to $2370 million in Q2-2015 as compared to $2385 million in Q2-2014.

     

    Revenue from Content was up 15.4 per cent to $2487 million in the current quarter from $2156 million in Q2-2014. Revenue from ‘Other’ component was down 17.5 per cent to $113 million from $137 million in Q2-2014.

  • Kodak inks deals with six Hollywood studios

    Kodak inks deals with six Hollywood studios

    MUMBAI: Kodak has finalised new film supply agreements with all six major Hollywood studios. As part of these agreements, Kodak will continue to provide motion picture film to 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., NBC Universal Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp. and Sony Pictures for their movie and television productions. 

     

    “Film has long been – and will remain – a vital part of our culture. With the support of the studios, we will continue to provide motion picture film, with its unparalleled richness and unique textures, to enable filmmakers to tell their stories and demonstrate their art,” said Kodak chief executive officer Jeff Clarke.

     

    Kodak has been engaged in broad discussions with prominent filmmakers, studios, independent artists, production companies, and film processors to enable film to remain a fundamental medium. Last July, the studios made known their intent to play a key role in leading this industry-wide effort.

     

    Prior to the agreements being finalized, several highly acclaimed films were produced on film, including Oscar nominees Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Interstellar, Foxcatcher, Into the Woods, Leviathan, Inherent Vice and The Judge. Additionally, some of the most-anticipated films of 2015 are being shot on Kodak film, such as Star Wars: Episode VII –The Force Awakens, Mission: Impossible 5, Batman v. Superman – Dawn of Justice, Jurassic World, Ant-Man, Cinderella, Entourage and Trainwreck.

     

    These agreements make it possible for Kodak to continue to manufacture motion picture film while also pursuing new opportunities to leverage film production technologies in growth applications, such as touchscreens for smartphones and tablet computers. This also positions the company to remain the premier supplier of camera negative, intermediate stock for post production, and archival and print film.

     

    “With the support of the major studios, the creative community can continue to confidently choose film for their projects. We’ve been asking filmmakers, what makes a project ‘FilmWorthy.’ Their responses have varied from the need for its exceptional depth to its distinctive grain, but overwhelmingly, the answer is ‘the story.’ They need film to tell their stories the way they envision them, and hold a strong desire for it to remain a critical part of their visual language. Enabling artists to use film will help them to create the moments that make cinema history. The agreements announced today are a powerful testament to the power of film and the creative vision of the artists telling them,” said Kodak president of entertainment and commercial films Andrew Evenski.

  • 87th Oscar’s hit by racist row

    87th Oscar’s hit by racist row

    MUMBAI: Heard of the “white” Oscars anytime? Well this year could be the time when the term could come into existence. As the world gears up to view the mother-of-all award ceremonies, it has been hit with a new row. The prestigious awards for this year have been hit by allegations of being racist in nature as since 1988, no non-white actors were found be making the cut in the four major categories.

     

    For the year 2015, 20 actors nominated in the categories such as Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor are all white. The year 1988 was one such year when no non-white actors made it to the list and the report is seen this year.

     

    The lack of variety prompted netizens to take to the micro blogging site Twitter to express their anguish. This resulted in the creation of the online trend #OscarsSoWhite, which is currently trending on Twitter.

     

    Meanwhile acclaimed directors like Wes Anderson and Alejandro González I?árritu’s are caught in a neck to neck battle as both their films have received a total number on nine nominations. Wes Anderson has directed the offbeat dramedy “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” while I?árritu’s has directed the genre-defying film, “Birdman.”

     

    The movies that have made it to the list for the 87th Oscar Awards are as follows:

    1) American Sniper

    2) Birdman

    3) Boyhood

    4) The Grand Budapest Hotel

    5) The Imitation Game

    6) Selma

    7) The Theory of Everything

    8) Whiplash

     

  • ‘Boyhood’ wins top honours at the Golden Globe Awards 2015

    ‘Boyhood’ wins top honours at the Golden Globe Awards 2015

    MUMBAI:  Richard Linklater’s ‘Boyhood’ walked away with top awards at the 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards, including the best drama, best director and best supporting actress.

     

    Held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California, the glamorous evening was hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for the third consecutive and final time. Produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Golden Globe Awards 2015 honoured the best in film and American television of 2014.

     

    The first award of the night went to JK Simmons for best supporting actor for his performance as a domineering jazz teacher in the acclaimed indie ‘Whiplash’.

     

    Amy Adams accepted the award for best actress in a comedy or musical for her performance in ‘Big Eyes’ while Michael Keaton, who played a former superhero star mounting a serious play on Broadway, won the best actor in a comedy or musical for ‘Birdman’.

     

    ‘Birdman’ also won the best screenplay award while The DreamWorks sequel ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ took best animated film.

     

    Wes Anderson’s ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ won the best picture, comedy or musical while the Stephen Hawking biopic ‘The Theory of Everything’ won best score for Johann Johannsson, and the Russian entry ‘Leviathan’ took best foreign language film.

     

    Eddie Redmayne won the Golden Globe for best actor in a motion picture, drama, for portraying Stephen Hawking in ‘The Theory of Everything’ while Julianne Moore took the best dramatic actress award for playing a professor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in ‘Still Alice’.

     

    The Cecil B DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award went to George Clooney.

     

    Here is the full list of winners:

     

    Best Motion Picture, Drama

    Boyhood

     

    Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

    The Grand Budapest Hotel

     

    Best TV Series, Drama

    The Affair

     

    Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy

    Transparent

     

    Best Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

    Fargo

     

    Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

    Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

     

    Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

    Julianne Moore, Still Alice

     

    Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

    Michael Keaton, Birdman

     

    Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

    Amy Adams, Big Eyes

     

    Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama

    Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

     

    Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama

    Ruth Wilson, The Affair

     

    Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical

    Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

     

    Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

    J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

     

    Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

    Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

     

    Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical

    Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin

     

    Best Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

    Billy Bob Thortnon, Fargo

     

    Best Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

    Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman

     

    Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture for TV

    Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart

     

    Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture for TV

    Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey

     

    Best Director, Motion Picture

    Richard Linklater, Boyhood

     

    Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

    Birdman

     

    Best Foreign-Language Feature

    Leviathan (Russia)

     

    Best Animated Feature

    How to Train Your Dragon 2

     

    Best Original Song, Motion Picture

    “Glory,” Selma

     

    Best Original Score, Motion Picture

    The Theory of Everything