IMAX Bans Russian Film Screenings, Chain Owner Says

IMAX has banned Russian cinemas from screening Russian movies within Russia after leaving the country over its invasion of Ukraine, the head of a major cinema chain said Tuesday. IMAX Corporation, a Canadian company that provides proprietary high-resolution technology for a large-format movie experience, has left Russia on June 1 after 19 years on the market, according to the RBC news website. It is among hundreds of foreign businesses to exit Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Alexei Vasyanin, head of Russia’s largest network Cinema Park and Formula Kino, told RBC that all IMAX employees had been fired and top executives had left Russia for London.  He noted that Russian cinemas require explicit permission from IMAX to screen movies in a high-resolution format despite the technical capabilities to do so without permission. “Unfortunately we can’t even screen Russian films in that format right now… because there’s a direct ban by the company on using the format,” Vasyanin said. Vasyanin warned that Russian chains could sue IMAX if does not return to the market with 54 cinemas around Russia that use its technology by the end of 2022. “First of all, we’ll file lawsuits. Secondly, we’ll use this equipment to screen movies in a different format,” the executive told RBC. “We have a very strict contract with them that regulates their work here. If they keep ignoring that contract by the end of the year, we’ll go to trial,” Vasyanin said. 

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'Twilight Saga: New Moon' director regrets rejecting Taylor Swift from film

Chris Weitz, who directed the film, shared recently during a conversation on "The Twilight Effect with Ashley Greene and Melanie Howe" podcast that he and Swift had the same agent at the time who told him, "'Taylor would like to be in this movie, not because of you, but she's a Twi-hard," referencing the hard core fans of the franchise.

Weitz said he was told the singer was willing to be "someone at the cafeteria, or the diner or whatever. She just wants to be in this movie."

But the director rejected the idea of having such a big star in the film.

"The hardest thing for me was to be like, the moment that Taylor Swift like walks onto the screen like for about five minutes, nobody is going to be able to process anything," Weitz said. "I kick myself for it too, because I was like, wow, I could've been hanging out with Taylor Swift."

"She must have been like, 'Who is this jerk?,'" he added. "But sometimes you make decisions thinking this is for the best of the film."

The 2009 film starred Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

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Vijay Varma will appear in Lust Stories 2's film starring Sujoy Ghosh

Vijay Varma will appear in Lust Stories 2’s film starring Sujoy Ghosh

• Vijay has been roped in for Sujoy Ghosh’s segment in Lust Stories 2.
• The anthology is backed by Ronnie Screwvala, Ashi Dua and Netflix.
• Casting for the leading lady is presently on, but should be locked soon.

Vijay Varma is gathering a ton of commendation for his exhibition in the Jasmeet K Reen executive, which likewise includes Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah and Roshan Mathew.

In the past as well, he has gotten a ton of affection for his exhibitions in Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy and for Mirzapur too. We currently has another report on the entertainer’s next project.

We have discovered that Vijay has been roped in for chief Sujoy Ghosh’s fragment in the impending treasury, Lust Stories 2, which is upheld by Ronnie Screwvala, Ashi Dua and Netflix. Projecting for the main woman is as of now on, yet ought to be locked soon.

Curiously, Vijay and Sujoy have previously worked together on The Devotion of Suspect X, which co-stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Jaideep Ahlawat.

Once more as per a source near the turn of events, Vijay’s personality in Lust Stories 2 is altogether different from what he has played previously, and the entertainer chief team is eager to work together for this venture. They will begin shooting not long after they track down their driving woman for the compilation.

In the mean time, Pinkvilla had as of late detailed that R Balki has locked Mrunal Thakur, Angad Bedi and Neena Gupta for his part of Lust Stories 2.

Kajol is featuring Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s film, while Konkona Sen Sharma has roped in Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash for her section. Desire Stories 1 was helmed by chiefs Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee.

Lust Stories was the second in the collection series that started with Bombay Talkies in 2013, trailed by Lust Stories five years after the fact, and afterward Ghost Stories that was disclosed in 2020.

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Bollywood film Shamshera's poor run at box office continues

Bollywood film Shamshera‘s poor run at the box office continues as it has not earned INR50 crores even after 12 days of its release.

Shamshera, which stars Bollywood couple Ranbir Kapoor in a double role, made its debut on July 22. The film got mixed reviews and has been declared disappointing as far as the box office collection is concerned. 

It earned INR0.7 crores on the 12th day of its release. The film’s total collection is INR48.5 crores so far. It looks like its collection will be close to INR75 crores if the situation does not improve.

It is pertinent to mention that Shamshera got produced at a massive budget of INR150 crore. The film has not earned one-third of its budget so far. 

It is Ranbir Kapoor’s seventh flop movie of his career.

Related – Shamshera a flop?: Box office numbers in debut week disappointing

Shamshera – which sees Ranbir Kapoor, Vaani Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt in the cast, tells the story of a tribal leader who relentlessly fights for his tribe’s freedom & dignity in the fictitious city of Kaza. 

Khila Bisht and Neelesh Mishra have co-written the film. Karan Malhotra has directed and written its screenplay.

Aditya Chopra produced the film while Sudhanshu Kumar and Bharat Rawail are the executive producers and supervising producers respectively.

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'Batgirl' film no longer being released by Warner Bros.

"The decision to not release 'Batgirl' reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max," a Warner Bros. spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. (CNN is part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

The movie was set to star "In the Heights" star Leslie Grace in the title role.

The studio also announced that their film "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt" will also be pulled.

"Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance," the statement added. "We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of 'Batgirl' and 'Scoob! Holiday Haunt' and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future."

The film, directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, was due out later this year on the streaming service HBO Max.

In a statement posted to Instagram, the directors said they were "saddened and shocked by the news."

"We still can't believe it. As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves," they wrote, adding "maybe one day they will."

Aside from Grace, the film starred Michael Keaton as Batman, J.K. Simmons and Brendan Fraser.

Grace, the directors added, "portrayed Batgirl with so much passion, dedication and humanity." They also thanked the cast and crew for doing a "tremendous job" and working "so hard to bring Batgirl to life."

"We are forever grateful to have been part of that team," they wrote.

The announcement of scrapping plans for the two films comes amid Warner Bros. Discovery trying to cut costs, a whopping $3 billion, in the wake of WarnerMedia's merger with Discovery Inc. in April.

J.J. Abrams' "Demimonde" for HBO was pulled last month. Networks within Warner Bros. Discovery -- like TNT and TBS -- have also seen cuts, including Samantha Bee's "Full Frontal" after seven seasons.

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Netflix orders sequel and spinoff to Ryan Gosling film 'Gray Man'

Netflix is turning its new spy thriller The Gray Man into a franchise, announcing plans on Tuesday for a sequel and spinoff to the action movie starring Ryan Gosling.

The Gray Man, one of Netflix’s most expensive movies to date, began streaming on Friday and was the most watched film on the streaming service in 92 countries, the company said.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmllggGO4pM[/embed]

Gosling stars in the film as Sierra Six, a former inmate sprung from prison by the CIA in exchange for servitude in a secret program.

The sequel is now in development with Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo, Netflix said in a statement.

Related – The Gray Man: Has Netflix found its James Bond?

The company also announced a separate spinoff movie but did not provide details on the storyline or characters.

The expansion is part of Netflix’s strategy to build brands with well-known characters that can traverse film, television, video games and movies.

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Encore The Representation of Childfree Women in Film & Television Tuesday, July 26, 2022

New Legacy Radio

Tuesday at 10 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel

The show addresses the social, systemic, and structural realities for those who are childless/childfree and non-parents. We will discuss key issues pertaining to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as it relates to people without children. For our community, the show will offer a sense of visibility and connection, and an opportunity to be part of the change we are collectively seeking. For parents and professionals, the show will be a place to gain greater awareness around the social realities for many of their friends, family, and employees/co-workers, without children. It will be an opportunity for us all to begin to find common ground in what we want to achieve as individuals, families, and communities, which includes, and benefits us all. The show will also be an invitation for practitioners, organizations, businesses, institutions, and policymakers to join this dialogue and to honestly assess their cultures and policies, and how they impact people without children.

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