Prime Focus on expansion spree, reaches Chandigarh

It seems like Prime Focus is stepping on the gas.

After the successful conversion of Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from 2D to stereoscopic 3D, Mumbai headquartered Prime Focus, one of the leading visual entertainment services groups has announced the launch of its new facility in Chandigarh, which will only be dedicated for the 2D to 3D stereoscopic conversion job.

In a trend setting move, Prime Focus has also recently bagged multipicture deal of Rs. 200 crores, for 2D to 3D stereoscopic conversion work from a leading Hollywood studio to be executed in the next 30-36 months. With its mark in Chandigarh as tenth studio, the company has already its operations in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Goa and Mumbai.

The 50,000 sq ft studio, which opens on December 25, 2010, will hold 3000 artists, and be dedicated to working on global projects, utilising Prime Focus’ global digital pipeline which connects India to North America and the UK.

Merzin Tavaria, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Director (India), commented, “Our new facility in Chandigarh is a major expansion of our View-D 2D to stereo 3D conversion capacity. Chandigarh is an ideal location due to its huge student population, many of whom are looking to establish a career in animation and VFX.”

According to an official release issued by the company, Prime Focus has signed several new international orders and has a full slate of 2D to 3D stereoscopic conversion work for next year. The company expects that Chandigarh, and Northern India in general, will benefit immensely from the opening of the new Prime Focus facility, as it will be generating close to 3000 jobs for the local population.

Foreign moviegoers rescue ailing ‘Narnia’

LOS ANGELES: The third movie in the shaky “Narnia” fantasy franchise took the top spot at the worldwide box office on Sunday despite a soft start in North America where it overshadowed “The Tourist,” the new bomb starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” sold $105.5 million worth of tickets globally, distributor 20th Century Fox said.

But moviegoers in the United States and Canada contributed just $24.5 million during its first three days. Industry pundits had predicted a $30 million to $40 million start for the third adaptation of C.S. Lewis” Christian-themed books.

The News Corp-owned studio said the film was No. 1 in at least 32 of its 56 overseas markets. Top contributors to the $81 million haul included Russia ($11.3 million) and Mexico ($7.5 million).

“The Tourist,” starring Jolie and Depp as a mismatched pair cavorting around Venice, debuted at No. 2 in North America with $17 million — short of muted forecasts in the $20 million range. Internationally, it earned $8 million from a handful of markets, led by Korea ($3 million, No. 2) and Britain ($2.2 million, No. 3)

Both films were lambasted by critics, and both carried hefty price tags — $150 million and $100 million, respectively — requiring strong overseas sales to make them profitable. The two previous “Chronicles of Narnia” films did most of their business overseas, where Depp and Jolie are also more popular.

The previous “Narnia” film almost sank the franchise. “Prince Caspian” opened to $55 million in 2008 on its way to a weak total of $142 million. The overseas haul was $278 million. Its predecessor, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” ended up with $292 million in North America after a $66 million debut. Foreign fans kicked in an additional $453 million.

Fox took over the series after Walt Disney Co dropped it in the wake of the “Caspian” flop. The films are produced by family-friendly film company Walden Media, which is owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz.

Fox said it succeeded in its aim of resurrecting the franchise, and was “excited” about its overall prospects.

“The Tourist” marks the worst start in years for its high-profile stars. Jolie”s last big flop was “A Mighty Heart,” which opened to $3.9 million in 2007. Depp has to go back to 2001 for a worse performance: “From Hell,” with $11 million.

Jolie was in theaters a few months ago with “Salt,” whose so-so domestic total of $118 million (including a $36 million opening) was boosted by foreign sales of $175 million.

Depp starred in one of the biggest movies of the year, “Alice in Wonderland,” which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, two-thirds coming from overseas.

The new film also did worse than a recent pair of unloved matchups between big stars, “The Bounty Hunter,” with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler ($21 million); and “Knight and Day,” with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz ($20 million). They finished with $67 million and $76 million, respectively, in North America. “Bounty Hunter” made a similar amount overseas, while “Knight and Day” earned $185 million internationally.

“The Tourist” was distributed by Sony Corp”s Columbia Pictures, which has limited financial exposure. The studio is receiving a distribution fee from Oscar-winning producer Graham King (“The Departed”), who arranged financing himself.

Last weekend”s North American champion, the Disney cartoon “Tangled,” slipped to No. 3 with $14.6 million. Its total rose to $115.6 million after three weekends. Foreign sales stand at $77 million from 17 markets.

Perhaps the biggest splash in the top 10 was made by the smallest movie. “Black Swan” jumped seven places to No. 6 with $3.3 million from just 90 theaters in its second weekend. The ballet thriller, starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, is among the dozens of films vying for awards-season attention. It was distributed by Fox Searchlight, the arthouse arm of 20th Century Fox.

The Chronicles Of Narnia to create history in India

The year’s most eagerly awaited film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is releasing in the United States on the 10th of

December. However, Indian fans of this popular franchise will be ecstatic to know that the film is releasing a week earlier i.e. on the 3rd of December in

India!

Hollywood films are usually released in India either on the same day or a few days, even months after its release in The United States. This is the first

time that a Hollywood film will be released in India a week prior to its release in North America; and just a day after a Royal Premiere in the UK! Not only

this, but the film will also have the biggest ever release for a Hollywood film in India, with around 800 plus prints across multiple languages.

This revolutionary move by Fox Star Studios India comes after the tremendous success of the previous Narnia films in India and the massive fan

following of the series in India. Besides, cine goers will be delivered a whole new experience this time as the film will also be releasing in 3D across

theatres! And if this is not enough, Indian fans of this hugely successful franchise have even more reason to rejoice as for the first time ever for a film,

filmgoers will have an option of watching this film in 3D in 4 languages including Hindi, Tamil & Telugu.

Mr. Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios India comments, “We are delighted to offer our Narnia fans this unique opportunity and that too in 3D and multiple

Indian languages! It’s great entertainment which will appeal to a wide cross-section of demographics across the country. The buzz that is building up for

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is very encouraging!”

Anupam Kher to launch his Acting Studio in New York

Anupam Kher, the name that needs absolute no introduction, has been away from the national news for sometime now. If you wondering why, it’s only because he has been extremely busy creating international news!

On one hand, while he has just wrapped up the Akshay Kumar’s Hollywood production titled Breakaway, on the other, Kher is all set for the launch of his acting studio, ‘Actor Prepares’, in association with H R Shah, Chairman and CEO of TV Asia.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, a visibly excited Anupam said, “My institute ‘Actor Prepares’ is indeed very close to my heart. I have spent considerable time scouting for the best acting schools in the world, studying their curriculam. Each student here receives individual guidance and counseling throughout the program from me.” And when asked him about how his school plans to be a bridge between actors and acting, he said, “Acting is a craft which is universal and can be taught, learned and perfected. It is a craft that has now transcended regional and national barriers as reflected in productions with global themes and locales in an era of crossover films. ‘Actor Prepares’, the school is just not Bollywood-centric; it trains actors to perform anywhere.”

Speaking about this association, H R Shah of TV Asia said, “The Bollywood industry is growing faster than Hollywood. India and Indians have been influenced by Bollywood entertainment for the past 100 years. That is why; it is today the largest producer of films in the world. There are a lot of talented Indian American actors in North America, who have no platform to promote their talent. ‘Actor Prepares’ will help them gain a foothold not just in Bollywood, but in Hollywood.”

The official launch of Actor Prepares in New York, will take place soon.

Ocean census discovers 5,000 new species

The mysteries of the deep have been revealed after a remarkable 10-year survey of the worlds oceans. Altogether, the international Census of Marine Life counted 201,206 different species of which 5,000 are new.
But experts estimate there are a million species living in the sea, so a mere 20% of the huge total have been discovered so far. Dr Jesse Ausubel, co-founder of the census, told a celebration at the Royal Institution yesterday: We have created a baseline of what lives in the ocean, where and when. There was chaos in the records when we set out. But there are decades of work ahead.
Science committee chairman Dr Ian Poiner added: This is a milestone for marine science. We have a benchmark which will serve scientists for years to come. More then 2,700 experts spent 9,000 days at sea on more than 540 expeditions, recording everything from microbes to whales.
Thirty-million observations of 120,000 species have been organised in the global marine life database, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. It will provide a record against which future changes in ocean life can be measured. The scientists found that fish make up 16,764 of the known species. But there are thought to be 21,800, with up to 150 new species discovered every year.
Pacific Bluefin tuna were found to cross the Pacific three times in 600 days. The Atlantic bluefin migrates about 3,700 miles between North America and Europe. But the record goes to puffins which make a 40,000-mile circle every year from New Zealand to Japan, Russia, Alaska, Chile and back. Another discovery was how many sea creatures share a similar DNA, with a maximum 15% difference among fish.
French scientist Myriam Sibuet said: In the deep sea, we found luxuriant communities despite extreme conditions. The discovery of new species and habitats have both advanced science and inspired artists with their extraordinary beauty.

Mazda Recall 2010 Due To Power-Steering Problem

In North America Mazda has decided to recall Mazda3 and Mazda5 sedans. The recall is made to fix a problem. It is estimated that almost 300,000 vehicles will recalled by Mazda. It is having problems in power-steering system. This is very major problem and could lead to an accident. This problem was addressed by Japanese automakers a year ago.

Model year 2007-2009 was advised to recall by the automakers. They told government to recall those models for the fixation of problem in them. Make from April 2007 through November 2008 of Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles were advised to recall. According to estimates 100,000 vehicles will be recalled from Mexico and Canada and almost 215,000 vehicles will be recalled in America.

Mazda company said that they want the safety of their customers. The problem in the power-steering is a major problem as it make car out of control of driver and could results in an accident. So far they haven’t received any accident report but many injuries have been caused due to this problem which leads Mazda to take decision of recalling. Like Honda they also make arrangement for the recall and they will try to make problem fix as early as they can.

NTL to acquire its associated firms

KARACHI: The board of directors of Netsol Technologies Ltd (NTL) has resolved to acquire NetSol Technologies Europe Ltd (NTE) and NetSol Technologies North America (NTNA).

According to a communiqué dispatched to Karachi Stock Exchange here on Tuesday, NTL will acquire 100 percent issued, subscribed and paid up capital of both its associates for more than Rs 1.759 billion.

The board also resolved that purchase consideration will be paid through issuance of fresh 61.046 million ordinary shares of NTL to NetSol Technologies Inc USA (The seller) as private placement other than right issue.

The price per share for this transaction has been looked at Rs 28.82 including a premium of 10 percent on average close price.

US Ambassador meets Gen Kayani

RAWALPINDI: US envoy in Islamabad Ann W Patterson has held a detailed meeting with Pakistan Army Chief Gen.

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US Ambassador meets Gen Kayani

Bilawal Bhutto will be next PM, says Babar Awan

GUJRANWALA: Federal Minister of Law Babar Awan ha said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be the elected prime minister after the next general election.

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Bilawal Bhutto will be next PM, says Babar Awan

KOHAT: Explosion rocks Khawasi Banda

KOHAT: Several persons feared killed in an explosion in Khawasi Banda near here.

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KOHAT: Explosion rocks Khawasi Banda

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