‘Chandni Chowk To China’ to premier in Los Angeles

Warner Bros., which has come together with R S Entertainment and Orion Pictures to make ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ is positive that the film would get a huge release all over. Not just would it have a wide release in India, it will also have a truly international release across the globe while being the biggest ever in US when it comes to a Bollywood flick.

Confirms Warner Bros India country manager Blaise Fernandes, "For us, ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ is not a film which would be restricted to the Indian shores. We are treating it as any other international film and will be taking it across the globe. In US alone, we are making sure that it is the biggest ever Bollywood release. The scale at which we will be unleashing the flick there, while beginning with a premiere at none less than Los Angeles, will be unprecedented."

In India as well, the banner has plans for an extraordinary release. "We are aiming for a 1400 screens release for ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ in India", reaffirms Blaise.

A wide release like this makes sense still it would be the first major release of 2009. At the moment, only ‘Horn Ok Pleassss’ has been singled out as a release on 9th January and the probability of it arriving on the same day is dicey as well. Moreover, with a 16th January release, ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ would have given ‘Ghajini’ enough space to make money after it's 25th December release. A three week gap would have made audience hungry while asking for more and by that time ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ would be all set to satiate the appetite.

Earlier this year, ‘Singh Is Kinng’ too was released at 1400 screens in India alone. In 2007 and 2008, Akshay Kumar films have been fetching huge releases in not just India but also overseas, hence making him a formidable force. While in India, he is pretty much neck to neck with Shah Rukh Khan, in overseas too he is gaining quite a name for himself after Shah Rukh as well as Hrithik Roshan who have enjoyed a steady market there. When asked what prompted the makers of ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ to premiere the film in Los Angeles, Akshay Kumar quipped in his trademark tone, "Arrey bhaiyya, the producers are Warner Bros. here. And if they would have belonged to Nepal, we would have held the premiere there too. No questions asked!"

Well, of course, when it comes to Akshay Kumar, there indeed are no questions asked! For the records ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ is being released across Japan, Germany and Scandinavian countries like Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. In addition, there are also efforts being made to premiere the film in New York, London, Dubai, Mumbai and Delhi apart from Los Angeles.
Source: http://www.screenindia.com/

Hollywood already in holiday mode

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hollywood's year-end boxoffice smorgasbord tends to be equal parts HomeTown Buffet and Four Seasons champagne brunch.

From the animated sequel "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," which opens Friday, to the Christmas prestige film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," diverse releases crowd the final two months of 2008.

Data service Nielsen EDI defines the holiday season -- one of five on the box office calendar -- as running from the weekend before Thanksgiving through the frame after New Year's, i.e. November 21 to January 4. But three sessions before Turkey Day, distributors are already lining up their most prized releases.

To wit: DreamWorks Animation's "Madagascar" sequel, which is getting a head start now rather than waiting for the holiday.

"It's a movie that feels like it should play strongly all the way through Thanksgiving vacation," says Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore, whose studio distributes DreamWorks Animation releases.

Next Friday boasts what will likely be one of the fourth quarter's biggest releases: the James Bond thriller "Quantum of Solace," from Sony and MGM. The Daniel Craig starrer is considered a lock to play strongly well into December, especially considering its huge U.K. opening, much like Sony's November 2006 Bond opener "Casino Royale."

Two weeks from now, over the November 21 frame, wide openers will include the season's biggest teens-and-tweens title, "Twilight," from newbie distributor Summit. Based on a series of high school vampire novels, the potential franchise-starter could sink its teeth into some serious business if the marketplace matches its prerelease Internet hype.
Source: http://ca.reuters.com/article

Sex and the Single Kid

So it’s the day before the election that will supposedly sweep away all vestiges of conservatism in American life and what do I find? The Washington Post carries a front-page story about TV contributing to teen pregnancy.

“Teenagers who watch a lot of television featuring flirting, necking, discussion of sex and sex scenes are much more likely than their peers to get pregnant or get a partner pregnant, according to the first study to directly link steamy programming to teen pregnancy.”

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, followed 700 12- to 17-year-olds for three years. Those who viewed the most sex-drenched TV shows were twice as likely as their peers to impregnate someone or get pregnant themselves

The Post interviewed the usual “experts” for reactions to the research. “We have a highly sexualized culture that glamorizes sex,” said Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association. Well now, there’s an understatement!

Look no further than the pages of the Washington Post itself. It features an almost-daily ad on Page Two that touts “Sex for Life” and features imagery of a man and woman with come hither looks. She dangles her bra over his shoulder. Recently, the Post saw fit (as did the New York Times and I’m sure many other “family” newspapers) to publish an obituary for that great cultural icon Jerry Gerard, whose contribution to the world was pornography like Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones. I don’t know about you, but I could have let him meet his Maker unheralded. Publishing an obit for a pornographer (remember when that was a dirty word?) is part of the general mainstreaming of pornography. You can order it at most hotels now. And so can your kids if they are in a separate room and you are not very careful. Sometimes the Playboy channel is offered without the necessity to order it by phone. Isn’t that grand for the kids who are in the adjoining room to mom and dad?

This sort of thing is not limited to liberal outlets, of course. We have XM radio in our car. The commercials that run on the Fox News channel seem to be about 50 percent for Viagra and other “performance enhancing” drugs. Aside from explicitly Christian and other religious entertainment (which is overly goody two shoes for my taste), inappropriate sexual content is everywhere — in music and music videos, in magazines (have you been to a supermarket checkout lately?), in video games, in movies, and on television.

Television is our national teacher. American children spend more time in front of the TV screen (an average of four hours daily) than at any other non-school waking activity. The Parents Television Council has reported that in 2005, Desperate Housewives was the most popular broadcast TV show among kids aged 9-12. Bill Cosby is so right: It’s so easy to use sex and profanity to get a laugh. How much more difficult to strive for genuine wit.

So the kids are utterly bombarded from the youngest ages with sexual messages. And with 54 percent of kids having a TV in their bedroom, most parents are clearly not shielding them. The PTC also reports that “46 (percent) of high school students in the United States have had sexual intercourse. Although sex is common, most sexually active teens (say they) wish they had waited longer to have sex, (suggesting) that sex is occurring before youths are prepared for its consequences. One case of an STD is diagnosed for every 4 sexually active teens.”
Source: http://article.nationalreview.com/

Meet Hollywood's hottest mums (+pics)

Demi Moore, Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry are among the Hottest Mums in Hollywood according to a new list, but they've been beaten to the top spot by a surprise entry.

Jolie and Berry - who both gave birth earlier this year - join a host of star beauties in the list compiled by Fox News.com.

It was topped by blonde US TV presenter Kelly Ripa, who has three children with husband Mark Consuelos.

Tomb Raider star Jolie made eleventh place for "her amazing ability to balance being an activist, movie star and mum", while Halle came second as she "just seems to get better with age". Other entrants in the list included country singer Faith Hill in third place and new mother Jessica Alba, who was fourth.

Moore, who has three daughters with ex-husband Bruce Willis, was the oldest mother on the list, with Fox saying the 45-year-old star has "redefined the meaning of hot in your 40s".

Supermodels Cindy Crawford and Heidi Klum made sixth and seventh places respectively, with the rest of the list made up by actress Isla Fisher, who has a daughter Olive with Sacha Baron Cohen, Nicole Richie - who gave birth to daughter Harlow, her first child with Joel Madden, in January - and mother-of-two Gwen Stefani.

Fox News.com Top 11 Hottest Mums in Hollywood:
1. Kelly Ripa
2. Halle Berry
3. Faith Hill
4. Jessica Alba
5. Demi Moore
6. Cindy Crawford
7. Heidi Klum
8. Isla Fisher
9. Nicole Ritchie
10. Gwen Stefani
11. Angelina Jolie

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/