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Around Tinsel Town
>> 2024 Venice Film Festival commences
The 2024 Venice Film Festival is here! On Wednesday, August 28, the event kicked off in the Italian city and will run through September 7. Tim Burton’s long-awaited sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, made a spectacular debut at the Venice Film Festival, earning over four minutes of sustained applause. The festival also opened with a tribute to Sigourney Weaver, who was honoured with the prestigious Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award. The iconic actress, known for her groundbreaking roles in films like Alien and Ghostbusters, received a standing ovation as she took the stage at the festival’s opening ceremony.
Alfonso Cuarón’s limited series Disclaimer made a powerful debut at the Venice Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation that lasted over six minutes. Similarly, Pablo Larraín’s Maria, starring Angelina Jolie as the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, received a 10-minute standing ovation at its world premiere on Thursday night. The restored version of legendary filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli’s Ghatashraddha will also be showcased in the Venice Classics section of the
>> Hema Committee report’s aftermath: Biggies resign, panels dissolved and other industry members react
In the wake of the release of the K. Hema Committee report that probed the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, the executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), dissolved. All 17 members of the committee, including president and senior actor Mohanlal, submitted their resignation. This comes after the resignation of its general secretary Siddique. Prominent actor Jayasurya has been booked for allegedly sexually harassing a female artiste in the State Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram during a film shoot several years ago. The Kerala Police on Thursday registered cases against seven persons, including actor-legislator M. Mukesh, following the sexual harassment allegations levelled by a woman actor.
After allegations of inappropriate behaviour levelled against Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairperson Ranjith by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra the filmmaker submitted his resignation. The special investigation team (SIT), constituted to investigate the allegations of sexual exploitation in the Malayalam movie industry, will likely prepare a road map for the highly complex and socially sensitive investigation, as more women have come forward and levelled charges against prominent actors and a filmmaker.
Within the Kerala film industry, Tovino Thomas commented that wrongdoers must face consequences while Prithviraj stated that AMMA erred in addressing allegations of sexual harassment. Several actors from neighbouring industries have reacted to the Hema Committee report; Nani called the report alarming while Vikram termed the recent incidents of crime against women in the country “disgusting”. Swara Bhasker said that the findings are more heartbreaking as they are familiar; Samantha Ruth Prabhu has publicly expressed her support for the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) following the bombshell revelations. Citing the report Bengali actor Ritabhari Chakraborty alleged that many such reports have similarities with her own experiences; actor and Nadigar Sangam General Secretary Vishal has confirmed that a committee to probe instances of sexual exploitation and harassment in the Tamil film industry will be formed soon. Read the complete coverage here.
Bollywood
Hansal Mehta wraps shooting for ‘Gandhi’ series
‘Kurup’ director to helm Hindi film on conman Dhani Ram Mittal
Siddhant Chaturvedi, Malavika Mohanan’s ‘Yudhra’ gets release date
Suniel Shetty begins shooting for ‘Hunter 2’
Netflix announces second season of crime thriller series ‘Kohrra’
‘Stree 2’, starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, crosses Rs 500 crore-mark worldwide
Rima Das’ ‘Village Rockstars 2’ to compete for Kim Jiseok Award at Busan International Film Festival
Raj Kapoor’s iconic film ‘Awara’ to premiere in 4K at Toronto Film Festival 2024
Madhavan, Dia Mirza’s ‘Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein’ and Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ to re-release in cinemas
Get well soon messages flood social media as video of Salman Khan wincing in pain surfaces online
Hollywood
‘Jurassic World’ sequel titled ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ debuts first look with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali
Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed and John Goodman join Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s movie with Tom Cruise
Barry Keoghan joins cast of ‘Peaky Blinders’ movie
Bad Bunny joins Zoe Kravitz, Austin Butler in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Caught Stealing’
Sigourney Weaver confirms her role in the upcoming ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’
Filming on ‘The Batman Part II’ to begin next year, says writer Mattson Tomlin
Denzel Washington on ‘Gladiator 2’: ‘There are very few films left for me’
Pablo Larrain’s ‘Maria’ starring Angelina Jolie acquired by Netflix
Quentin Tarantino says Alec Baldwin “10% responsible” for ‘Rust’ shooting tragedy
Francis Ford Coppola deliberately cast ‘cancelled’ actors in ‘Megalopolis to resist Hollywood’s ‘woke narrative’
Zach Braff teases possibility of ‘Scrubs’ reboot: I think it’s gonna happen
‘Ted Lasso’ likely to return for season four
‘BoJack Horseman’ creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg back with new animated comedy ‘Long Story Short’
Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Queer’ starring Daniel Craig acquired by A24
Amandla Stenberg opens up about ‘The Acolyte’ cancellation
Regional
Nagarjuna, Upendra, Shruti Haasan and Soubin Shahir board the cast of Rajinikanth-Lokesh Kanagaraj’s ‘Coolie’
‘1000 Babies’: Neena Gupta to make her Malayalam comeback with Rahman’s series
Ravi Teja injured on the sets of ‘RT 75’; undergoes surgery, shares health update
Jiiva, Priya Bhavani Shankar to star in ‘Black’; first look out
Shivarajkumar-starrer ‘Bhairathi Ranagal’ gets a release date
Veteran Malayalam filmmaker M. Mohan passes away
Prithviraj Sukumaran-Nissam Basheer film titled ‘Nobody’
Santhosh Narayanan to make Kannada debut with ‘Balaramana Dinagalu’
Nivin Pauly-starrer ‘Shekhara Varma Rajavu’ goes on floors
‘Viduthalai 2’: Vetrimaaran’s film with Soori, Vijay Sethupathi gets a release date
Arshad Warsi’s ‘joker’ comment on Prabhas’ role in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’; director Nag Ashwin reacts
‘Ibbani Tabbida Ileyali’: Romantic drama from Rakshit Shetty’s banner gets release date
Priyanka Mohan to play a cameo in Dhanush’s next directorial
‘Jingo’: Dhananjaya to play the lead in ‘Daredevil Musthafa’ director Shashank Soghal’s next
Vijayakant’s son Shanmuga Pandian teams up with Sarathkumar for director Ponram’s next
Trailers
Keanu Reeves brings franchise anti-hero Shadow to life in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ trailer
Antony Varghese’s ‘Kondal’ teaser promises an intense action drama
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a detective trying to crack an abnormal case in ‘Adbhut’ trailer
Tovino Thomas plays three men across generations with a single promise in ‘ARM’ trailer
Cate Blanchett meets giant brain in ‘Rumours’ trailer
Julia Garner takes us back to The Bramford in ‘Apartment 7A’ trailer
‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’ trailer gives a glimpse of the actor turned disability rights activist
Harish Kalyan takes on Attakathi Dinesh in ‘Lubber Pandhu’ trailer
Alex Wolff is ensnared in the perils of frat life in ‘The Line’ teaser
Vijay Milton takes us back into the world of Aachi Mess boys in ‘Goli Soda - The Rising’ teaser
Essential Reading
1) Tovino Thomas interview on ‘Ajayante Randam Moshanam’ (A.R.M): It is good for the audience if an actor is unpredictable
>> Tovino Thomas talks about his upcoming Onam release ‘Ajayante Randam Moshanam’ (A.R.M) set in northern Kerala
2) Anubhav Sinha on ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’: I’m not in the business of saving or glorifying people
>> Director Anubhav Sinha says he has tried to be as truthful as possible with the film based on true events
3) Malayalam film director Blessy on his award for Prithviraj-starrer ‘Aadujeevitham’
>> Blessy calls ‘Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life’ was also a survival drama of sorts for its cast and crew
4) Charlie Vickers, Charles Edwards and creator JD Payne on the return of Sauron in ‘LOTR: The Rings of Power’
>> The makers of ‘LOTR: The Rings of Power’ talk about bringing back Sauron as a complex schemer and manipulator
5) Parvathy Thiruvothu interview: on ‘Thangalaan’, awards and portraying Gangamma
>> Parvathy says she is on top of the world as her characters in recent Malayalam and Tamil films, have been appreciated
6) Nanda Kishore Emani calls ‘35’ is a story of relationships, mathematics is just the backdrop
>> Filmmaker Nanda Kishore Emani shares how his film ‘35 - Chinna Katha Kaadu’ tries to explore familial ties
7) Saiju Sreedharan on ‘Footage’: ‘I did not want to spoon-feed the audience with a conventional film’
>> Editor Saiju Sreedharan talks about his directorial debut, ‘Footage’, a found-footage thriller
8) How superhit Kannada track ‘Dwapara’ from ‘Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi’ has given actor Ganesh a new lease of life
>> Composed by Arjun Janya and sung by Jaskaran Singh, the melody ‘Dwapara’ has turned into a sensation
9) The evolution of HR Giger’s biomechanical horrors through the ‘Alien’ franchise
>> A deep dive into the iconic titular hellspawn from the ‘Alien’ franchise which, as its creator intended, a living nightmare
10) Decoding the success of ‘Bheema’: How Kannada star Duniya Vijay is revelling in his new actor-director role
>> Unabashedly catering to his target audience has helped Duniya Vijay succeed second time as a director with ‘Bheema’
11) Screen Share | K-Dramas that offer a break from the chaos
>> A list of Korean dramas that show how to take a break with good food, naps, books, love, and healing along the way
What to watch
1) Vivek Athreya, Nani and SJ Suryah deliver an entertaining Saturday story with ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’
2) Treachery afoot in a distilled Middle Earth redemption arc in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2
3) Vijay Varma, Manoj Pahwa power ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’, a stirring political thriller
4) Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs drown in ‘The Crow’, a blunder of epic proportions
5) John Cho fails to enliven ‘AfrAId’, an outdated evil-AI story from Blumhouse
6) ‘Bharathanatyam’ is a mildly humorous affair that does not hit any highs
7) ‘Shades of (Baby) Pink’ is a heartwarming take on love and longing
8) ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4 is a riotous fun at the Arconia with the perfect blend of smarts and sentiment
9) Minha Kim, Lee Min Ho and Jin Ha navigate family ties, survival, grief and ambition in ‘Pachinko’ Season 2 premiere
10) It’s more fun with the Point Place gang in ‘That ‘90s Show’ Part 3
11) Bhavana and Shaji Kailas’ horror-thriller ‘Hunt’ is an unexciting fare
12) Silver-haired sensation soars past spin-off cliches in ‘Blue Lock: Episode Nagi’
13) ‘Laughing Buddha’ is a humorous, non-judgemental look at the everyday lives of police officers
14) Vinay Rajkumar’s ‘Pepe’ is a stylish yet shallow action drama
Published - August 30, 2024 06:04 pm IST
