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Steven Spielberg will direct a film adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s epic World War I novel War Horse.
Spielberg and his DreamWorks studio will also produce the film, which is expected to hit the screens in August 2011.
Adapting the story of the friendship between a young boy and a horse during World War I will be screenwriters Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and Richard Curtis (Good Morning England).
Published in 1982, War Horse was recently adapted for the stage in London.
London, April 28(ANI): According to a new book, Hollywood A-lister Russell Crowe threatened to kill a producer with his bare hands, over payment of his assistants, during filming of ‘Gladiator’.
Journalist Nicole LaPorte recounts the incident in her new book ‘The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company called DreamWorks.’
Back in 2000, Crowe allegedly rang Branko Lustig, 77, and swore at him, saying: “I will kill you with my bare hands.”
Lustig, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, reported the matter to Steven Spielberg, whose DreamWorks studio was backing the film. He was later asked to leave the production.
However, the actor”s spokesman in Australia dismissed the allegations.
“I”ve been told that Amazon already has the book discounted. Go figure,” the Telegraph quoted the rep as telling the Sydney Morning Herald. (ANI)
Australian actor Joshua Helman was put through a gruelling boot camp prior to playing a marine in the upcoming World War II miniseries The Pacific.
Along with other actors, Helman lived off two small rationed meals a day and trained with real weapons.
The actors were also stripped of their real names, answering only to their character names in the Daintree rainforest in far north Queensland.
Training nearby, unbeknown to the group, were Japanese actors. They attacked the marines in the early hours one morning, firing blank rounds.
Helman says the experience was “terrifying”.
“They throw you into [that] world,” he said.
“I was speaking in an American accent the whole time. They didn’t refer to us once as actors. They trained us as marines. We were constantly on the move.
“Everyone lost weight. I think I lost about five kilograms or maybe six in 10 days.”
This type of training has been used in movies such as Saving Private Ryan and the miniseries Band Of Brothers, which was also produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
Helman believes it gives the latest Spielberg/Hanks production, based on the memoirs of two marines during World War II, the edge.
Isabel Lucas, Gary Sweet, Zoe Carides and Bill Hunter are among other Aussies in the cast.
The Pacific premieres with a movie-length episode on April 14 on Channel Seven. In the US it airs on HBO.
New York, march 31 (ANI): Steven Spielberg is quite finicky about his security – the filmmaker keeps a brand new motorcycle parked at his office to make a getaway if a situation arises, a new book about DreamWorks has claimed.
The book, The Men Who Would Be King, has been penned by former Variety scribe Nicole LaPorte.
“His passion for secrecy sometimes suggests a burgeoning near-paranoia,” the New York Post quoted LaPorte, as writing of Spielberg.
The tome also makes some other claims about the Schindler””s List director:
· “In Spielberg””s office, hanging above his desk, a plexiglass half-moon keeps sound from reverberating so that his phone conversations remain ultra-confidential. When an assistant once asked what the funny thing over Spielberg””s desk was, a security guard referred to it as a ””dome of silence.””
· “When . . . Spielberg””s longtime editor views footage in the screening room, a black cloth is draped over the projection booth window to hide the screen.”
· “Every document that leaves the office — a script, development report, even a memo — is coded, so that should it somehow get into the wrong hands . . . the person responsible for the breach can be identified.”
· “When Spielberg isn””t at [his office], live-cam images are streamed to his home. There are also measures to protect against earthquakes or attacks, as Spielberg believes in being prepared . . . At one point, employees were given survival kits including gas masks and other amenities.”
Although, LaPorte could not get a chance to interview any of DreamWorks”” three founders – Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen – she conducted almost 200 interviews with current and former employees.
However, Spielberg’s rep has rubbished the claims made in the book saying: “This description is so far from the real world of Steven that it doesn””t deserve a comment. If the rest of the book is like this excerpt, readers can expect very little of what they read to be true.”
The book appearing on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will hit stores on May 4. (ANI)
London, March 26 (ANI): The iconic Hollywood sign in Beverley Hills is at the risk of being demolished.
Even though the sign is owned by the city, the property around it falls under the ownership of a group of Chicago-based investors.
Now, these investors have planned to sell the land to developers.
However, a conservation group still has a chance to save the sign by buying the plot around it for 12.5million dollars by 14 April.
And already 9.5million dollars have been raised thanks to contribution from people in the industry such as actor Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg.
“We feel good about where we are and we feel good about our chances to do this,” the BBC News quoted Tim Ahern, from the Trust for Public Land, as saying.
Also, Los Angeles council member Tom LaBonge said: “We””re getting closer to our goal and if we continue working hard, I know we””ll reach it.”
To raise awareness, banner reading “Save the Peak” was used to drape the sign.
The Hollywood sign was created in 1923 for publicity purpose of a real estate development called Hollywoodland. (ANI)
A conservation group warns they have just three weeks to raise $US3 million to save the iconic Hollywood sign from being razed by investors who want to build luxury houses on the site.
“We feel good about where we are and we feel good about our chances to do this,” said Tim Ahern of the Trust for Public Land.
The group needs to raise $US3 million to reach the $US12.5 million needed to purchase the 138-acre parcel of rugged land surrounding the sign from a Chicago-based consortium that has acquired rights to build four luxury mansions along the ridgeline.
The investors sought to sell the property for $US22 million but agreed to the $US12.5-million price tag for the conservation group only if payment arrives by April 14.
Los Angeles council member Tom LaBonge says the trust has so far collected $US9.5 million – $US4 million from public funds, and the remainder $US5.5 million from private donors, including movie and television companies and Hollywood stars such as director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks.
“We’re getting closer to our goal and if we continue working hard, I know we’ll reach it,” Mr LaBonge said.
One of the world’s most recognisable landmarks, the sign was given a facelift last month when the trust shrouded each of the 13-metre high letters in blankets so the slogan “SAVE THE PEAK” became visible for miles around the sprawling Californian city.
The Hollywood sign itself, which was initially created as an advert for a real estate development called Hollywoodland in 1923, is owned by the city of Los Angeles.
One of the City of Angels’ most beloved attractions, the sign had fallen into disrepair until it was restored in the 1970s after a campaign which saw nine donors pay $US27,777 to “adopt” one letter each.
- AFP
New York, March 22 (ANI): The only original copy of the List of Jews to be spared from Nazi concentration camps has been put up for sale for a 2.2 million dollars.
The surviving original copy was compiled by Oskar Schindler and his right-hand man Itzhak Stern, the New York Post reported.
Gary Zimet is selling the document, made famous in Steven Spielberg’s film “Schindler’s List, on his website MomentsInTime.com.
Zimet described it as “a true treasure, and one of the most important World War II manuscripts that has ever been for sale.” (ANI)
New York, March 22 (ANI): The only original copy of the List of Jews to be spared from Nazi concentration camps has been put up for sale for a 2.2 million dollars.
The surviving original copy was compiled by Oskar Schindler and his right-hand man Itzhak Stern, the New York Post reported.
Gary Zimet is selling the document, made famous in Steven Spielberg”s film “Schindler”s List, on his website MomentsInTime.com.
Zimet described it as “a true treasure, and one of the most important World War II manuscripts that has ever been for sale.” (ANI)
London, Mar 20 (ANI): Extraterrestrial film E.T has pipped Shrek and Finding Nemo to be named the greatest ever children”s movie.
The Steven Spielberg-directed film launched a young Drew Barrymore”s Hollywood career in 1982, reports The Telegraph.
In the poll, conducted by www.onepoll.com, the second place went to Pixar”s 1996 hit Toy Story, followed by Disney classic Mary Poppins, with The Lion King and The Wizard of Oz completing the top five.
A spokesman for www.onepoll.com said: ””The films featured in the poll span across decades and all have something special about them.
””E.T is a movie the whole family can gather around to watch and it never fails to bring a tear to someone”s eye.”
Top 50 children”s films of all time
1.E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial
2. Toy Story
3. Mary Poppins
4. Lion King
5. Wizard of Oz
6. Bambi
7. Back to the Future
8. Shrek
9. Finding Nemo
10. Labyrinth
11. 101 Dalmatians
12. Aladdin
13. Beauty and the Beast
14. The Goonies
15. The Jungle Book
16. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
17. Alice in Wonderland
18. Home Alone
19. Ice Age
20. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer”s Stone
21. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
22. Annie
23. Cinderella
24. Monsters Inc
25. Madagascar
26. Sound of Music
27. Wallace and Gromit – The Wrong Trousers
28. Mrs Doubtfire
29. Babe
30. Beethoven
31. Beetlejuice
32. Black Beauty
33. The Little Mermaid
34. The Railway Children
35. A Bug”s Life
36. Dumbo
37. Wall-E
38. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
39. A Little Princess
40. Bill and Ted”s Excellent Adventure
41. Jurassic Park
42. Kung-Fu Panda
43. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
44. Billy Elliot
45. Lady and the Tramp
46. Neverending Story
47. Short Circuit
48. Sleeping Beauty
49. An American Tail
50. Chicken Run. (ANI)
Washington, Sept 16 (ANI): Steven Spielberg will continue work on his new movie based on the life of Abraham Lincoln, even as Robert Redford is making another biopic on the former American President.
Spielberg insists his film will be quite different from Redford’s version.
It is reported that Spielberg’s film tilled Lincoln will have the American Civil War as its plot, while Redford’s The Conspirator will deal with the events leading up to the former President’s assassination in 1865.
Contactmusic quoted Spielberg as telling Daily Variety: “We are very happy that Redford will be doing this Lincoln movie.
“It is completely different from what our DreamWorks Lincoln movie will be, and we believe that it will add to the commercial potential of our film. Lincoln as a subject is inexhaustible.”
The Jaw’s director had announced Lincoln earlier this year but the project has been delayed due to funding problems and changes in script. (ANI)
Washington, Sept 15 (ANI): Harrison Ford is reportedly all set to reprise his role as Indiana Jones in the fifth flick in the series.
He says that director Steven Spielberg has almost cracked a new plot.
“The story for the new Indiana Jones is in the process of taking form….Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I’ll be very happy to put the costume on again,” Fox News quoted the 67-year-old actor as having told Le Figaro magazine.
Ford last played the adventurous archaeologist in 2008′s ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, after a 13-year-break. (ANI)
London, Aug 29 (ANI): American film director Steven Spielberg has obtained the film rights to late Michael Crichton’s final novel, ‘Pirate Latitudes’.
Spielberg, 62, who has previously directed Crichton’s ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Lost World’, is set to produce and possibly direct the adventure film, set in 17th Century Jamaica.
The novel, ‘Pirate Latitudes’, which is set to be published on November 24, is about a daring plan to infiltrate Port Royal, one of the world’s richest and most notorious cities, and raid a Spanish galleon filled with treasure.
“Michael Crichton was one of our greatest storytellers who expanded all of our imaginations with his books, films, and television,” the BBC quoted Spielberg as saying.
“With the ER and Jurassic Park series, I enjoyed one of the best collaborations of my career. Now with Pirate Latitudes, I have the chance to be excited about bringing this new Michael Crichton work to the screen,” he added.
David Koepp, who wrote the film versions of Crichton’s dinosaur novels, has also signed on to adapt the book.
Besides Jurassic Park, Crichton also penned books like Congo and Disclosure, all of which were adapted into films.
His novels have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. (ANI)
Nevada (US), Aug.20 (ANI): With new funding from India, Oscar winner Steven Spielberg is ready to move ahead with production and we all shall be able to see six-plus foot invisible rabbit “Harvey” in the near future.
Indo-American Rajan Zed says they were glad to see the legendary director back in filmmaking. Spielberg has not reportedly produced after Transformers since separating from Paramount Pictures. Deal with India’s Reliance on Monday breathed life back into Spielberg’s dormant DreamWorks Studios and he can now start directing “Harvey”.
Spielberg’s directorial project “Harvey” is remake of Oscar winner James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story) starring 1950 film based on Mary Chase Pulitzer Prize-winning play, about amiable and eccentric bachelor Elwood P. Dowd and his friendship with imaginary Harvey. Oscar nominated Henry Koster (The Bishop’s Wife) directed the 1950 Harvey, which won an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
It is reportedly a co-venture between the new DreamWorks, Disney and 20th Century Fox. Spielberg and Don Gregory (Fire in the Dark) will be the producers. While casting and pre-production is expected to begin immediately, the production will begin in early 2010.
As Oscar winner Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) has reportedly said no to the role of the polite Dowd, Spielberg will be looking for another likable top-notch leading actor who can convincingly talk to the invisible rabbit. (ANI)
London, Aug 20 (ANI): Steven Spielberg’s flick Saving Private Ryan, starring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, has topped the list of all time best war movies.
More than 3,000 members of the online DVD and games rental service, Lovefilm, took part in the poll. The survey was conducted to mark the release of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.
Saving Private Ryan is an Oscar-winning epic about the D-Day landings and it pipped Steve McQueen starrer The Great Escape to land the honour.
The 1998 Spielberg classic received 21 per cent of the fans’ votes.
The Great Escape got 11 percent of votes, and it pipped another Spielberg movie, Schindler’s List, to grab the second spot.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, based on Josef Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, was ranked fourth with nine per cent of the votes.
The Vietnam War inspired Full Metal Jacket by director Stanley Kubrick and Oliver Stone’s Platoon, came fifth and sixth.
Mel Gibson starrer Braveheart claimed the seventh spot, Back Hawk Down, a tale of American troops in Somalia, came eighth.
Michael Cimino’s haunting The Deer Hunter was positioned at number 10.
Wolfgang Peterson’s German U-Boat drama Das Boot was the only non-English language film to make it in to the top 10 in ninth place.
The Telegraph quoted Darren Bignell, Lovefilm’s communications manager, as saying: “Having polarised opinion at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Inglourious Basterds marks the comeback of one of modern cinema’s most revered directors.
“Tarantino fans have been chomping at the bit for his latest offering and we’ll soon discover whether it hits the mark with cinema-goers.”
The Top 10 War Films Ever:
1 Saving Private Ryan (1998) 21 percent
2 The Great Escape (1963) 11 percent
3 Schindler’s List (1993) 10 percent
4 Apocalypse Now (1979) 9 percent
5 Full Metal Jacket (1987) 7 percent
6 Platoon (1986) 6 percent
7 Braveheart (1995) 5 percent
8 Black Hawk Down (2001) 4 percent
9 Das Boot (2006) 2 percent
10 The Deer Hunter (2078) 1 percent (others 24 percent) (ANI)
Nevada (US), Aug.18 (ANI): Bollywood emerged as a major player in Hollywood on August 17 as Oscar winner Steven Spielberg finalized his funding deal of 825 million dollars, with major chunk coming from India’s Reliance.
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, wrote the biggest check of 325 million dollars in equity, for new DreamWorks Studios operated by principal partners Spielberg and Stacey Snider after about 14 months of financial alliance. Various banks, including Bank of America, provided final leg of financing. The Studios will make up to 21 movies over next four years.
Indo-American leader Rajan Zed, welcoming this new India-Hollywood partnership, said that this pact signaled India’s emergence as a rising force in Hollywood. It clearly exhibited that India was evolving as a pivotal player in international film arena.
DreamWorks will keep creative control over productions. Walt Disney Company will handle distribution and marketing for its films around the world, except in India where Reliance retains distribution. Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, vice chairman of Reliance Capital, will join Spielberg and Snider on DreamWorks’ board of directors. Under the agreement, Reliance will reportedly match funds in future also.
Funding battle was tough for Spielberg because of evaporation of Wall Street financing in Hollywood, thus opening doors to foreign investment. To raise finance, Spielberg had to sell a half interest in the company to Reliance who was eager to get a toehold in Hollywood, according to reports.
Spielberg and Snider, in a statement, thanked “Anil personally for his foresight and fortitude over the past months”. Ambani said, “Our partnership with Stacey and Steven is the cornerstone of our Hollywood strategy as we grow our film interests across the globe.” For Reliance, the venture is also “a step in the direction of trying to do something on a global scale that appeals to global audiences” and an attempt to accelerate the development of India’s film industry.
DreamWorks’ “Dinner for Schmucks” (Jay Roach), a French comedy remake, will begin shooting in October. Spielberg will start making “Harvey”, remake of a 1950 classic about a man and his friendship with imaginary six-foot-tall rabbit, in January. Both will be released in 2010. Studio will shoot about six films annually.
DreamWorks’ other projects include family film “Real Steel” showing boxing between humans and robots; children’s “The 39 Clues”; an adaptation of the comic book “Cowboys and Aliens”; and action thriller “Motorcade” about terrorists attacking president’s motorcade. It also has over a dozen other movies in development that Spielberg bought from Paramount as part of his company’s separation settlement. He recently completed directing a 3-D film “Tintin” on the classic Belgian comic strip, which will be released in 2011. Spielberg has also reportedly obtained movie rights regarding the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. (ANI)
London, July 12 (ANI): Tennis ace Andy Murray’s life story is all set to be turned into a Hollywood movie.t least three major studios are in the run to grab the rights to the star’s life story for millions of pounds.
The rush for the rights began when studio bosses found out that the 22-year-old tennis player survived the Dunblane massacre.
Andy was just eight when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and a teacher at Dunblane Primary School on March 13, 1996, before killing himself in the gym.
Andy, who reached the Wimbledon semi-final last month, rarely speaks of the nightmare that unfolded before his eyes that day.
However, the Glasgow-born battler, who is now the world’s No. 3, might just reveal the story in return for millions of pounds.
A senior executive at Fox said his studio would “easily match” Andy’s career earnings of 4.7million pounds to acquire the film rights to his life story.
“This guy is an absolute inspiration,” the Daily Star quoted him as saying.
It is believed that Universal and Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks are also hoping to sign him up. (ANI)
London, Jun 30 (ANI): American film director Steven Spielberg and actor Will Smith’s plans to remake cult Korean movie ‘Old Boy’ have been thrown into jeopardy, as the original makers of the 2003 hit are allegedly not authorised to grant a remake.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Spielberg and Smith had recently secured the rights to modernise director Park Chan-Wook’s film from producers Show East.
But Show East filmmakers have found themselves at the centre of a lawsuit from Futabasha bosses, the Japanese publishers of the original manga series, who claim the producers were in no position to negotiate with the Hollywood heavyweights and Universal studios.
Seoul-based Show East has since shut down and its executives have ceased all contact with Futabasha, further complicating legal proceedings, which began last week.
“We haven’t been able to confirm that Show East is bankrupt, and at this stage we’re not sure what effect this will have on the legal case,” the Daily Star quoted a spokesperson for Futabasha as saying.
But, Universal bosses are refusing to halt pre-production on Spielberg and Smith’s planned version and have given them the green light to continue work on the forthcoming movie. (ANI)
Indiana Jones – Indiana Jones Movies – Fifth Indiana Jones movie in the offing
London, June 17 (IANS) Movie bosses in Hollywood are planning to bring the archaeologist adventurer series Indian Jones back on the big screen for the fifth time, according to actor Shia LaBeouf.
LaBeouf joined hands with Harrison Ford in the movie franchise’s fourth installment, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” last year and played the hero’s son and sidekick Mutt.
After the global success of the film, which came nearly 20 years after “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), rumours began doing rounds that director Steven Spielberg planned to continue the franchise without Ford, passing the lead to the 22-year-old “Transformers” star, reports contactmusic.com.
The actor has now confirmed that the legendary director is working on another Indiana Jones picture but refused to divulge any details.
“Steve just said that he cracked the story on it, and I think they’re gearing that up,” he said.
Ford and LaBeouf have, however, both dismissed reports that the latter will be leading the franchise in the future, even though LaBeouf recently told the Playboy magazine that his movie father handed him his iconic hat as a parting gift on the sets of the last film.
Washington, May 19 (ANI): Hollywood director Steven Spielberg was recently honoured with an honorary degree at the Boston University at its graduation ceremony.
The three time Oscar-winner joined in the celebrations at the Massachusetts education institute.
Steven was honoured for his contributions to Hollywood, reports Contactmusic.
Meanwhile, Chinese director Zhang Yimou, who produced the opening and closing ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics, was also honored with a degree.
However, he was not present at event. (ANI)
Washington, May 19 (ANI): Filmmaker Steven Spielberg has ruled out any plans to make a sequel to the hit flick E.T., insisting that it is a “closed story”.
It was speculated that Drew Brarymore, who featured in E.T. when she was just 5, would again act in a sequel, which would be based on a tale about E.T. 27 years later.
However, Steven has clearly said that he has no plans to make a sequel.
“I’m never going to make E.T. II – E.T. is a closed story,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.
“It had a beginning, middle and a definite ending, and we had nowhere to take it except to go home with him. Nor did I want to bring him back to Earth for a second time,” he added. (ANI)
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