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Around Tinsel Town
>> National Film Awards 2024
The winners of the 70th National Film Awards were declared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, honouring the best films and cinematic achievements of the year 2022. Actor Rishab Shetty won the Best Actor award in a Feature Film for his performance in the Kannada folk action thriller, Kantara, whileAnand Ekarshi’s Malayalam suspense chamber drama, Aattam, bagged the Best Film, Best Editing and Best Screenplay awards.
>> Disney’s D23 Expo 2024
Walt Disney announced details of its slated releases and upcoming projects at its D23 fan convention that took place between August 9 and August 11. The event saw several film and series announcements, fresh off the heels of Disney’s major reveals from the San Diego Comic Con 2024, in the week prior.
Some highlights from the event:
> From ‘Toy Story 5’ and ‘The Incredibles 3’ to ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Frozen 3,’ Disney announces multiple sequels
> From ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ to ‘Ironheart,’ Marvel goes all out with updates on its series
> ‘Avatar 3’ title revealed as ‘Fire and Ash’
> ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ trailer features Jude Law in a coming of age story on kids lost in space
> Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross to succeed Daft Punk’s iconic original score for ‘Tron: Ares’
> First look of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ live-action remake
> ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Season 2 reveals new cast and teases first look
> Marvel Animation reveals its slate with ‘X-Men ‘97’, ‘What If... ?’, ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ and more
> Disney honours legends Angela Bassett, James Cameron, Frank Oz and more
>> 54th Kerala State Film Awards
‘Aadujeevitham’, based on a real-life saga of human resilience in the face of unimaginable suffering, garnered nine awards including the top honours of Best Director for Blessy and Best Actor for Prithviraj Sukumaran, while, Jeo Baby’s sensitive take on homosexuality, ‘Kaathal - The Core’, won the award for the Best Film as well as Best Story at the 54th Kerala State Film Awards.
Bollywood
Shah Rukh Khan feted with lifetime achievement award at Locarno Film Festival 2024
Salman Khan announces release date of ‘Angry Young Men,’ a docu-series on screenwriters Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar
‘Stree 2’ scores biggest opening in India, beats ‘Fighter’ and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ (Hindi version)
Bhumi Pednekar, Ishaan Khatter to star in Netflix series ‘The Royals’
Uorfi Javed’s show ‘Follow Kar Lo Yaar’ to be out on this date
Javed Akhtar announces new collaboration with Salim Khan
Netflix announces new crime thriller ‘Sector 36’ starring Vikrant Massey and Deepak Dobriyal
‘Heeramandi’ star Taha Shah Badussha to feature in three Ramesh Sippy films
Rani Mukerji commemorates 50 years of Yash Raj Films, launches first of its kind Yash Chopra stamp
Aamir Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Genelia Deshmukh attend premiere of musical ‘Rajadhiraaj: Love Life Leela’
Hollywood
Gena Rowlands, acting powerhouse and star of movies by her director-husband, John Cassavetes, dies
Anthony Bourdain biopic titled ‘Tony’ in the works, with ‘The Holdovers’ actor Dominic Sessa to star
George Clooney criticizes Quentin Tarantino and labels David O. Russell a ‘Miserable F**k’
Todd Haynes’ new movie no longer in development after Joaquin Phoenix’s exit
Justin Baldoni hires PR expert amid alleged ‘It Ends With Us’ controversy
James Cameron is working on a new ‘Terminator’ project, will direct ‘Avatar 4 & 5’
James Wan is developing a ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ remake
Nicolas Cage to headline David O. Russell’s NFL film, ‘Madden’
‘On Swift Horses’ teases first look at Jacob Elordi and Daisy Edgar-Jones
Rachael Lillis, voice actor for Misty and Jessie from ‘Pokémon’, dies at 46
Regional cinema
Director H Vinoth confirms helming Vijay’s last film, ‘Thalapathy 69’, before political plunge
Prashanth Neel and Jr NTR’s ‘NTR 31’ goes on floors, locks a release date
Biju Menon joins cast of Sivakarthikeyan’s ‘SKxARM’ with AR Murugadoss
‘Laughing Buddha’, from Rishab Shetty Films, gets a new release date
Joju George’s directorial debut ‘Pani’ to release in September in five languages
Nimisha Sajayan teams up with ‘Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum’ writer for her next Tamil film, ‘Enna Vilai’
Tovino Thomas’ ‘Ajayante Randam Moshanam’ to release for Onam
Jr NTR wraps ‘Devara Part 1’ shoot; shares unseen BTS still
Makers unveil first-look motion poster of Biju Menon’s ‘Kadha Innuvare’
Mrunal Thakur says she is not part of Prabhas’ next movie ‘Fauji’
Aparna Sen, Anjan Dutt come together as elderly couple in Bengali film
World cinema
‘One Piece’ WIT Studio remake reveals stunning first look at ‘The One Piece’
‘Blue Lock: Episode Nagi’ to hit Indian theatres this August
Latvia chooses Annecy winner ‘Flow’ for 2025 Oscars International Feature submission
AR Rahman to collaborate with Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart on Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Ebony McQueen’
Trailers
Soori takes Anna Ben to an exorcist in the trailer for PS Vinothraj’s intense sophomore ‘Kottukkaali’
Kangana Ranaut as Indira Gandhi is here to unravel ‘darkest chapter of Indian democracy’ in the trailer for ‘Emergency’
Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s ruthless vigilante faces off against The Rhino in the trailer for ‘Kraven the Hunter’
Gi-hun is out for revenge as new competitors enter the game in the teaser for ‘Squid Game’ Season 2
Suriya and Bobby Deol enter war mode in Siva’s period actioner in the trailer for ‘Kanguva’
Jason Reitman imagines the birth of ‘SNL’ in the trailer for ‘Saturday Night’
Osgood Perkins’ ‘Longlegs’ follow-up sees Theo James pitted against an ominous monkey toy in the teaser for ‘The Monkey’
The early bond between Mufasa and Scar is highlighted in the trailer for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
Rachel Zegler goes against Gal Gadot’s evil queen in the trailer for live-action ‘Snow White’
One final dark adventure for Jinx and Vi in the trailer for ‘Arcane’ Season 2
The Mammootty-starrer promises a stylish actioner in the trailer for ‘Bazooka’
Vivek Athreya, Nani, SJ Suryah film to be high on action in the trailer for ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’
Anna Kendrick is a show contestant in a deadly dating game in the trailer for ‘Woman of the Hour’
Meera Jasmine and Aswin Jose strike an unlikely romance in this comedy in the trailer for ‘Paalum Pazhavum’
Anaswara Rajan is a runaway bride with Indrajith Sukumaran in the trailer for ‘Mr & Mrs Bachelor’
Yvonne Strahovski fends off a mysterious threat in James Wan’s upcoming horror series in the teaser for ‘Teacup’
Essential reading
1) Kangana Ranaut: I would love to direct a film with Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir Khan
>> She also said she was drawn to the “Shakespearean tragedy” of Indira Gandhi’s life and political career
2) Malavika Mohanan on Pa. Ranjith’s ‘Thangalaan’ and why it was the most physically-intense challenge of her career
>> She speaks about the monumental effort it took to become Aarathi in ‘Thangalaan’ and empowering women with agency
3) Otakus, assemble: How anime is witnessing a cultural revolution in India
>> Anime has steadily turned itself into the nation’s favourite binge and is experiencing a full-blown cultural coup
4) ‘SSE Side A/B’ actor Gopalkrishna Deshpande: ‘Lucia’ and ‘Ulidavaru Kandante’ inspired me to dream big in films
>> The actor opens up on associating with the likes of Raj B Shetty and Rakshit Shetty
5) Arulnithi on ‘Demonte Colony 2’ and building a franchise
>> The actor also talks about doing films in genres apart from thrillers and playing it safe with budgets
6) Director Priyadarshan on ‘Manorathangal’ and how he sees MT Vasudevan Nair as his guru
>> The showrunner and director says reading the screenplay of ‘Olavum Theeravum’ inspired him to become a director
7) How ‘Manorathangal’, based on MT Vasudevan’s stories, brings together the best of creative talents in Malayalam
>> Eight filmmakers and a constellation of talents assemble nine stories for ‘Manorathangal’
8) Why Pa. Ranjith’s ‘Thangalaan’ is about rewriting and reclaiming Dalit history
>> Tamizh Prabha and Stalin Rajangam talk about how ‘Thangalaan’ attempts to reclaim the history of Dalits
9) Screen Share | Films that are odes to friendship and platonic love
>> Movies and shows on friendship always retain cult fandom; here are a few titles
What to watch
1) An ambitious Pa. Ranjith and regal Vikram aim for gold, but settle for less in ‘Thangalaan’
2) Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, and gang deliver the laughs, but not much else in ‘Stree 2’
3) John Abraham’s socially-conscious action entertainer, ‘Vedaa’, does not stay the distance
4) Keerthy Suresh stands tall in the light-hearted ‘Raghu Thatha’
5) Lily Collins’ return to City of Lights is bright, busy, but a tad boring in ‘Emily in Paris’ Season 4 Part 1
6) Akshay Kumar finds his groove with this nuptial nonsense in ‘Khel Khel Mein’
7) An imperfect yet competent sequel sets up a horror franchise in ‘Demonte Colony 2’
8) Ram Pothineni and Sanjay Dutt shoulder a high-octane entertainer in ‘Double iSmart’
9) Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry star in serviceable spy comedy, ‘The Union’
10) Harish Shankar and Ravi Teja’s ‘Mr. Bachchan’ is an overdrawn, meandering mess
11) Awkwafina and John Cena’s ‘Jackpot!’ is a tax on the stupid
12) ‘Aay’ is an enjoyable, lighthearted social drama from the Godavari region
13) Samarjit Lankesh’s launchpad squanders its potential with ‘Gowri’
14) Ganesh-starrer, ‘Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi’ is an outdated relationship drama
15) Jeethu Joseph’s ‘Nunakuzhi’ is a briskly-paced fun ride
16) ‘Manorathangal’ is an uneven anthology celebrating M. T. Vasudevan Nair, with a few hidden gems
17) ‘Veeranjaneyulu Viharayatra’ is a journey steeped in bitter-sweet memories
18) Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse star in ‘Lisa Frankenstein,’ a lost little monster outing
