Mumbai, August 14, 2006…Steve Zissou, oceanographer and documentarian has reason to be melancholy! His partner has been eaten, perhaps by a mythic jaguar shark, his wife may be taking up with her ex-husband, a young man appears claiming Steve is his father, his most recent films have tanked, he’s having trouble raising money for his venture to revenge his partner, and he’s attracted to a pregnant reporter. At sea, in pursuit of the shark, will Steve escape pirates and mutiny, forge the bonds of fatherhood, place his arm around his wife, find the monster of the deep, re-establish box office hegemony, and discover a reason to smile? Find out in the exclusive premiere of “Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, this Friday, August 18th at 9 p.m. only on Star Movies.
This movie details the adventures of the once-famed Steve Zissou. As with most of his recent films, his current film about his best friend Esteban du Plantier’s (Seymour Cassel) death from a “Jaguar shark” attack is a flop, and for his next project he is determined to find the creature and destroy it. Steve’s presumed son Ned (Owen Wilson) is a polite, innocent and childlike Southern gentleman whose mother had recently died. After meeting Steve at a film premiere, he takes a break from his job as an airline pilot and joins the Zissou crew, and finances the new film when no one else will. Steve is also followed by a reporter Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett), who is a fan of his and pregnant with her married boss’s child.
She eventually falls in love with Ned. As a result, a rivalry develops between Ned and Steve, the elder of which is infatuated with Jane. The Belafonte crew sets off on one last mission, facing pirates, financial problems, rescuing a “bond company stooge” (Bud Cort) (hired by Zissou’s producer Oseary Drakoulias (Michael Gambon) and Zissou’s successful, suave, rich, and “part-gay” nemesis Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum), and reuniting with his wife Eleanor (Anjelica Huston) who was once married to Hennessey.
But while searching for the Jaguar Shark, the Zissou helicopter crashes, injuring Steve and killing Ned. Although it is revealed that Steve is sterile, Steve and Ned are as close as genuine father and son. Steve finally tracks down the shark but decides not to kill it, both because of its beauty and his lack of dynamite. Viewing the shark finally validates a daily existence that Steve feared may have become meaningless. Eleanor is moved by this and falls for Steve again. The finished “film-within-a-film” is a hit, and Steve wins an award, regaining respect worldwide.
So don’t forget to tune into the exclusive premiere of this fun film, “Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” this Friday night, August 18th at 9 p.m. only on Star Movies.
About Star
STAR is a leading media and entertainment company in Asia. STAR broadcasts over 50 television services in nine languages to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries. STAR channels cover all genres including general entertainment (Star Plus, Xing Kong, Star Chinese Channel, Star One, Star Utsav, Star World, Vijay, Phoenix Chinese), sports (ESPN, Star Sports), movies (Star Chinese Movies, Star Gold, Star Movies), music (Channel [V]), and news and current affairs (Star News, Star Ananda, Phoenix InfoNews Channel). STAR controls over 20,000 hours of Indian and Chinese programming and also owns the world’s largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 600 titles, featuring superstars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Bruce Lee. In partnership with leading companies in Asia, STAR businesses extend to filmed entertainment, television production, cable systems, direct-to-home services, terrestrial TV broadcasting, wireless and digital services. STAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation. www.startv.com
For further information please contact:
In Mumbai
Zeenat Khan
Asst. Vice President – Publicity
STAR (India) Ltd.
Tel No. 91-22-56305555
Shiraz Bhavnani / Aditi Chada
Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
Tel: 91-22-6656 8787
Fax: 91-22-6656 8788
Email:sbhavnani@vccpl.com/achada@vccpl.com
