Top Entertainment News: Jim Parsons Is the Highest-Paid TV Actor
All the latest from the world of entertainment.
Not a Political Film: Producer Sandip Ssingh on Modi Biopic
Producer Sandip Ssingh has revealed details about his upcoming biopic on Narendra Modi. According to him, the film is of human interest rather than politically motivated. “It’s not a political film. It’s an inspiring film. You will see a human, a brother, a son, a ‘karyakarta’, a ‘sevak’—all aspects of his life that make him who he is, will be included.” he said in an interview with News18. He also said that the biopic will trace Modi’s journey from childhood to becoming prime minister.
The film stars Vivek Oberoi as Modi and is being directed by Omung Kumar of Sarabjit and Mary Kom fame.
Read more on The Quint.
Ranveer's 'Jaadoo ki Jhappi' With PM Modi
Bollywood stars such as Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Karan Johar landed in the capital city Thursday for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ranveer Singh, Karan Johar and Vicky Kaushal took to Instagram to share pictures from the meeting. “Jaadoo ki Jhappi! Joy to meet the Honourable Prime Minister of our great nation,” read Ranveer’s caption.
Read more on The Quint.
Hotstar Takes Down Pandya & Rahul’s Koffee With Karan Episode
Streaming platform Hotstar has taken down the episode of Koffee with Karan featuring Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul after the cricketers received backlash for their problematic remarks. Pandya and Rahul were also issued show cause notices by the BCCI for their comments about women on the show.
Read more on The Quint.
Hrithik Celebrates B'Day With Dad Rakesh Roshan
Hrithik Roshan spent his 45th birthday (10 January) with family and close friends. The actor brought in the big day at a Mumbai hospital where his father Rakesh Roshan is recovering from surgery to treat his recently diagnosed throat cancer. Hrithik’s mother Pinkie shared a few pictures of celebrations.
Check them out.
Read more on The Quint.
‘Animal House' Actror Verna Bloom Dead
Actor Verna Bloom, who appeared in Animal House and worked with the likes of Martin Scorsese, is dead. She was 80.
The actor died January 9 in Bar Harbor, Maine, her representative confirmed to Variety.com.
The cause was complications stemming dementia, her family said.
Bloom appeared extensively in theatre and television, but she is most noted for her film work. One of her memorable roles came in John Landis' 1978 comedy Animal House, in which she appeared as the drunken, debauched wife of the beleaguered Dean Wormer.
Rapper Kevin Fret Shot Dead
Puerto Rico’s gay rapper and musician Kevin Fret passed away after being shot multiple times while riding a motorbike on Thursday, BBC reported. He was 24.
Kevin was believed to be Latin Trap’s first openly gay artist and was quite vocal about his sexuality as well as LGBTQ rights, reports the Indian Express.
Al Pacino in Talks to Join Amazon Series 'the Hunt'
Veteran actor Al Pacino is in negotiations to join the cast of Amazon drama "The Hunt".
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 78-year-old is close to lock a deal for the project which will be executive produced by Oscar winner Jordan Peele.
The story, set in 1977 New York City, will follow a group of Nazi hunters who discover and work to stop a plot by a group of high-ranking Nazi officers who plan to create a Fourth Reich in the US.
If finalised, Pacino will join actor Logan Lerman, who will be playing a young man whose grandmother is murdered and becomes swept up in the Hunt organization as he tries to find the perpetrator.
The 10-episode show has been written by David Weil, who will be the co-showrunner alongside Nikki Toscano, reports PTI.
As Tintin Turns 90, Peter Jackson to Direct the Next Adventure
The popular young reporter and adventurer Tintin and his pet dog Snowy created by Hergé turned 90 on 10 January. And the good news for all Tintin fans out there is that there is news about the next big Tintin film. According to reports, Casterman, which publishes the Tintin comic books has said that a new film featuring Tintin to be directed by Peter Jackson is very much in the pipeline, Steven Spielberg will be producing the film this time round.
'Criminal Minds' to End With Season 15
The long-running procedural Criminal Minds has been renewed for a 15th season, which will also be the shows last.
The final season will consist of 10 episodes. The final 10 episodes will be shot back-to-back with the Season 14 episodes currently in production, reports Variety.com.
With the final 10 episodes, the show will have aired 325 episodes when it ends its run, making it one of the longest-running shows in television history.
The show revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyse the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again.
It currently stars Joe Mantegna, Paget Brewster, Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, Aisha Tyler, Kirsten Vangsness, Adam Rodriguez, and Daniel Henney. The series was created by Jeff Davis and is executive produced by Mark Gordon, Erica Messer, and Breen Frazier. ABC Studios produces in association with CBS Television Studios.
‘KGF’ Becomes the Fourth Highest Grossing Dubbed Hindi Film
Yash-starrer KGF has been seeing a great run at the box office and has raked in Rs 40.39 crore for just the Hindi version of the film. It has become the fourth highest grossing dubbed Hindi film in India after Baahubali, Baahubali 2 and 2.0.
Read more on The Quint.
Alia Is a Gundi: Mahesh Bhatt on 'Gully Boy' Trailer
The trailer to Zoya Akhtar’s upcoming film Gully Boy is out and Mahesh Bhatt seems to approve of daughter Alia’s performance. The director tweeted a picture of Alia with lines from her now infamous dialogue in the film captioning it, “Alia is a gundi (thug)”.
Read more on The Quint.
'The Sopranos' Movie Star Teases Upcoming Prequel
Alessandro Nivola, star of the upcoming Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, said that Tony Soprano, the protagonist in the iconic series, will be a central character in the film. Nivola told variety.com at the 20th anniversary of The Sopranos on Wednesday, where the cast and creator David Chase held a panel discussion.
Nivola said Dickie Moltisani, whom he plays will be "the central character", and that the title references the name Moltisani, which means "many saints" in Italian. His character is the father of Christopher Moltisani (Michael Imperioli), who in the series is the protege of Tony Soprano, the Jersey mob boss portrayed by James Gandolfini.
In the show, Dickie is only mentioned by the characters and never seen, having died when Christopher was young. Nivola also revealed the setting and major relationships that will be depicted in the forthcoming film. "It's set in 1967 with the backdrop of the race riots that were happening in Newark at that time, and the racial tension between the Italians and the blacks at that moment is a big part of the backdrop of the story," Nivola said.
The actor also said Chase, who is writing the upcoming film, told him that Dickie and Tony's relationship "is an important one in the film." "Dickie, as he's mentioned throughout the ‘Sopranos' series, was an important figure in Tony's life," Nivola said. "He was a real mentor figure, because Tony's dad was is in prison a lot and Dickie didn't have any children until later in his life until his early 40s, and so he treated Tony like a surrogate son."
Nivola said getting this role, made him see that "there's something in the stars." The Italian-American only found out after getting the job that The Sopranos used his grandfather's sculptures as the background in an episode from Season 2 that was shot in Naples, Italy.
'Sanju' Vying for Top Awards at Asian Film Awards
Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju is in the race to win the Best Film award at the 2019 edition of the Asian Film Awards.
Burning, a drama by But Lee Chang-dong's, has got the maximum of nominations for the 2019 edition. The Korean adaptation of a Japanese short story was nominated in eight categories, including Best Film, reports Variety.com.
Other Best Film nominees were Pema Tseden's Jinpa, Wen Muye's Dying to Survive, Sanju and Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters.
Shoplifters, Sanju, and Zhang Yimou's Shadow ranked narrowly behind Burning with six nominations each. The nominations were announced in Hong Kong on Friday. The prize ceremony will be held in Hong Kong on March 17.
Hirani also earned a nomination in the Best Director category, competing with Chang-dong (Burning), Tseden (Jinpa), Koreeda (Shoplifters) and Fruit Chan (Three Husbands).
Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor, who brought the life of Sanjay Dutt alive on the big screen, scored a nomination in the Best Actor category. Other nominated stars are: Yoo Ah-in (Burning), Xu Zheng (Dying to Survive), Aaron Kwok (Project Gutenberg) and Koji Yakusho (The Blood of Wolves).
Vicky Kaushal is competing with Zhang Yu (Dying to Survive), Kwon Hae-hyo (Hotel by the River), Shinya Tsukamoto (Killing) and River Huang (Tracey) for the Best Supporting Actor trophy.
Sanju is also nominated in Best Screenplay and Best Original Music category. Rajinikanth's 2.0 is also nominated in Best Visual Effects category.
Change of 'Cheat India' Title Is Illogical, Ridiculous: Emraan Hashmi
Lack of time left the makers of Cheat India no choice but to agree to a new title Why Cheat India upon the censor board's suggestion. But the film's actor and producer Emraan Hashmi says it is "illogical" and "ridiculous".
Why Cheat India is about the education system. It marks Emraan's debut as a producer.
Asked what happened that the title had to be changed last minute, just days before its release, Emraan told IANS here: "CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) members found the title misleading. According to them, our film is showing India in negative light. But that's what it is...what we are showing is a mirror to the system...they should understand it."
Read more on The Quint.
Don't Screen 'The Accidental Prime Minister': SAD
The Delhi Youth Wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday wrote to cinema halls urging them not to show "The Accidental Prime Minister" as the film will defame both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the country across the globe, reports IANS.
In a letter to cinema halls, Ramandeep Singh, President of Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi, Youth Wing, said that such films are a "serious attack on the minorities by the anti-minority forces such as RSS."
"The film deliberately demeaned the image of Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, who is a world-renowned economist. The film will not only defame Singh but the country as well across the globe. The film shows the most critical and important decisions taken by Singh, in the capacity as the Prime Minister on the issues like nuclear deal and Kashmir, were unconstitutional. This will send a very bad picture in the international realm."
Jim Parsons Is the World's Highest-Paid TV Actor Fourth Time in a Row
Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons is the world’s highest-paid TV actor, earning $26.5 million pretax in the 12 months preceding June 1, 2018. According to Forbes, Parsons clinched the top spot for the fourth year in a row, beating Johnny Galecki (No. 2, $25 million) at No. 2, and co-stars, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg tying at No. 3 ($23.5 million). At No. 5 is NCIS's Mark Harmon ($19 million).
Together, the world's 10 highest-paid TV actors earned $181 million between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018, which has dropped from $185 million in the same period last year.
Banning Indian Content in Pakistan Is Wrong, Says Javed Akhtar
Veteran poet, lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar says that restricting art in the name of culture damage is wrong and such things should not happen, neither in Pakistan nor India, reports IANS.
During a media interaction, Akhtar took issue with the recent controversy sparked by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar stating that the Supreme Court will not allow Indian content to be shown on Pakistani TV channels as it "damages their culture."
Akhtar said: "This is all wrong, there shouldn't be any such talks coming from here, neither from there, as well.
Bonobo to Perform in Bengaluru
British music artiste Simon Green aka Bonobo will be setting the stage on fire with his eight-piece ensemble band at the Vh1 Supersonic Arcade here on February 15.
Vh1 Supersonic Arcade is a brand extension of the Vh1 Supersonic music festival.
Through the years, Bonobo has delivered hit songs like "Cirrus" and "Break apart", reports IANS.
"Vh1 Supersonic is a one-stop destination to experience multi-genre music. Bono's performance in Bengaluru aims at presenting his distinctive and intricate electronica style," Saugato Bhowmik, Business Head, Integrated Network Solutions & Consumer Products, Viacom18, said in a statement.
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