ITV

Tag: X-Men

  • Star World celebrates world of ‘Heroes’ from Wednesday

    Star World celebrates world of ‘Heroes’ from Wednesday

    MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel Star World will kick off the supernatural show Heroes from Wednesday 24 January at 9 pm.

    It starts with a question: Are there people with super powers living amongst us? A genetics professor attempts to solve the problem that his father has been struggling with since he started the project — one which has led to his disappearance.

    Meanwhile, a 30-year-old male nurse tries to convince his politician brother that he can fly. A high school cheerleader learns that she is totally indestructible. A Las Vegas stripper discovers that her mirror image has a secret. A fugitive from justice continues to baffle authorities who twice have been unable to contain him. Finally a young man in Japan develops a way to time travel through sheer will power.
    When they all come together, these ordinary people with extraordinary abilities will realize that their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world.

    The show’s executive producer Tim Kring created this cult hit based on comic-lore, making it easy to compare Heroes to Smallville, X-Men and even the drama Lost. But it’s his firm belief that comparisons will go away after watching the series. He says, “The great thing about this premise (people all over the world developing these abilities) is that we can always introduce new characters. The ‘origin story’ is a lot of fun to watch, so we are planning to give audiences that on a regular basis. Some characters you may love could suddenly lose their powers, or die. There’s no telling.”

  • Cartoon Network, Graphic India, POW! Entertainment get together for Chakra: The Invincible

    Cartoon Network, Graphic India, POW! Entertainment get together for Chakra: The Invincible

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network, Graphic India and POW! Entertainment have announced a partnership that will bring to life Stan Lee’s first ever Indian superhero. The legendary writer is the co-creator of the world’s most popular superheroes including Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Hulk, The Avengers, and many others. The movie, entitled Chakra: The Invincible, will premiere on Cartoon Network on Saturday, 30 November at 12pm.

     

    Talking about his first ever Indian superhero Stan Lee said, “I am incredibly excited to be collaborating with my friends at Graphic India as we launch this great new, thrill-a-minute superhero saga named, Chakra: The Invincible, on Cartoon Network.”

     

    Brimming with enthusiasm he added, “The incredible story of Chakra, one of my latest and most exciting superhero creations, promises to captivate audiences in India and around the world with his adventures.”

     

    Chakra: The Invincible tells the story of Raju Rai, a young Indian boy living in Mumbai. Raju and his mentor, the scientist Dr. Singh, develop a technology suit that activates the mystical chakras of the body. When Raju dons the suit, he discovers superpowers and vows to use his newfound abilities to protect and serve. Using his amazing powers, Chakra must save the city and the world from super villains!

     

    Commenting on this partnership, Turner International senior director & network head – kids, south Asia Krishna Desai said, “We are thrilled to announce this partnership and to have the pleasure of working with one of the world’s greatest legends – and my favourite real-life superhero, Stan Lee. Chakra: The Invincible is a part of Turner’s continuing efforts to entertain kids and families across India with new and exciting characters and stories. We are certain that Chakra will be added to the long list of world renowned characters from both Stan Lee and Cartoon Network.”

     

    “What a great opportunity to expand Stan’s global brand by introducing Chakra as our first Indian superhero, and who better to partner with than Sharad Devarajan and Graphic India, as well as Cartoon Network,” said POW! Entertainment CEO/president Gill Champion.

     

    “The opportunity to work with Stan Lee to create Chakra: The Invincible is the culmination of a lifelong dream, made that much more rewarding by partnering with the amazing team at Cartoon Network,” added Graphic’s co-founder & CEO, Sharad Devarajan, who is also the director and executive producer of the animated film.

     

    “Stan Lee is one of the most prolific storytellers in the world, and in the same way his previous characters are known by nearly every man, woman and child on the planet, we believe Chakra will captivate audiences from Boston to Beijing to Bangalore!”

     

    Graphic India SVP creative Jeevan J. Kang has overseen the visual development and also created the character designs and art for the project working closely with Lee and Devarajan to bring Chakra’s story to life.

     

    In addition to the partnership with Cartoon Network, Graphic India recently announced that Chakra: The Invincible has also been selected as part of a group of content partners to soon be featured on Angry Birds creator, Rovio Entertainment’s new ToonsTV platform, reaching audiences around the world.

     

    Beyond animation, Graphic India will also be launching the character in a series of digital and print comic books and graphic novels as well as through toys and merchandise.

  • Disney’s ‘Pirates’ creates new box office records

    Disney’s ‘Pirates’ creates new box office records

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest opened on 7 July to a record $132 million in its first three days at the North American box-office, shattering the record previously held by Sony’s Spider-Man, which opened to $114.8 million.

    The movie has set new benchmarks as it is the biggest opening weekend in Hollywood history and also the biggest opening day on Friday with collections of $55.5 million.

    In India, the film will hit the big screens on 21 July.

    It is also bigger than the four day opening weekend record holders – X-Men: The Last Stand, (grossed $122.9 million) and Spider-Man 2, (grossed $115.8 million in four days last summer).

    Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is also the first film in history to cross the $100 million mark in just two days and is Disney’s biggest opening, surpassing The Incredibles, which had garnered $70.5 million in three days.

    The movie also led the way in the UK with a $25 million debut and grossed $9 million from South Korea and $8.2 million from Australia.

    Buena Vista (the theatrical distribution arm of Walt Disney) attributes the success of Dead Man’s Chest to the mass appeal it had with male and female audiences of all ages.

    Dead Man’s Chest reunites the cast and crew of the Curse of the Black Pearl including Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, director Gore Verbinski, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

    Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl opened in 2003 to $46.6 million over the weekend and $70.6 million over five days, leading to a huge $305.4 million mark domestically (US and Canada) and $654 million worldwide.

  • Spiderman creator Stan Lee working on a reality show

    Spiderman creator Stan Lee working on a reality show

    MUMBAI: Comic creator legend Stan Lee, who created Spiderman and X-Men among other superheroes, will premiere a reality show from his company Pow! Entertainment on US broadcaster NBC’s Sci Fi Channel later this month.

    Who Wants To Be A Superhero? kicks off on 27 July 2006. This is a six-episode, one-hour weekly competition reality series that will challenge a lucky few to create their very own superhero and reward the winner with the best reality competition prize yet: immortality. Each contestant begins

    with an original idea for a superhero, a self-made costume, and their best superhero mojo. From thousands of hopefuls, Stan Lee chooses 11 finalists who must live together during the entire competition in a secret lair. There they will begin their transformations — and the competition begins for the opportunity to become real-life superheroes. Over the course of the series, they will test their mettle, try to overcome their limitations, and do what it takes to prove that they truly are super.

    The finalists will leave their former lives behind and live as their brainchild heroes 24/7. Stan Lee, who is taking a leaf from Donald Trump’s Apprentice, will be both judge and jury. As each week progresses, Pow!’s aspiring heroes will be challenged with competitions designed to test their true natures. The superhero contestants will be tested for courage, integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion, and resourcefulness — all traits that every true Stan Lee superhero must possess.

    In the end, only one aspiring superhero will have the inner strength and nobility to open the gates to comic-book immortality. The winner of this six-week competition will walk away with their character immortaliaed in a new comic book created by Stan Lee. The winning character will also appear in a Sci Fi Channel movie.