Saturday, May 10, 2008

Saif Ali Khan turns producer

Renowned actor, Saif Ali Khan, whose work was very much appreciated by audiences in the latest Abbas-Mustan flick, Race, is said to be producing two films this year.

His first project which is yet to be titled, will be directed by Imtiaz Ali whose film, Jab We Met did great business at the UK box office.

Saif’s second film production titled, Agent Vinod, will be directed by Sriram Raghavan.

Both films will be made by Saif Ali Khan’s production company called Illuminati Films will see a UK release by Eros International based in London.

Parker keeps Sex plot under wraps

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker has begged the media not to reveal the plot of the eagerly anticipated Sex and the City movie.

"We have worked desperately hard to keep some obvious plot things secret so people can have an experience which hasn't been ruined," she told the BBC's Tom Brook.

She said she hoped the press would feel "honour-bound" not to divulge the film's secrets ahead of its release at the end of the month.

Sex and the City: The Movie, which reunites Parker with her co-stars from the popular US comedy series, has its world premiere in London on Monday.

The original TV series, which followed the love lives of four professional women in New York, came to an end in 2004.

'Complicity'

When pressed to give some clue as to the movie's content, Parker did reveal it was "about forgiveness and pursuing love in a way that is real and meaningful".


The Sex and the City movie reunites the TV series' four leading ladies

"I think it's about what it means to be a grown-up, and to recognise your own complicity and disappointment," she continued while promoting the film in New York.

"I think in your twenties you spend a lot of time making the boys the villains.

"There's a difference when you're 40. You really experience loss and disappointment and you have to reconcile what part you played in it."

Traditionally, Sex and the City's core demographic has always been urban women and gay men.

With the worldwide release of the film version, however, Parker said she hoped it would be seen by a broader cross-section.

"There was a time when that was predictably our core audience," she conceded.

"But we've been on the air four years since [the show ended] and our demographic has grown substantially.

Product placement

"The age has changed and the kind of women and men that are watching has changed," the 43-year-old added.

"Do we reach the newer people or do we shore up our core base? We'll see."


The film spin-off's plot details have been kept a closely guarded secret

One thing that won't change is the ubiquitous product placement that became as much a part of the TV series as Manhattan scenery and Samantha's libido.

After all, Parker's character Carrie Bradshaw would not be complete without her Manolo Blahnik stilettos or designer threads.

The actress admitted it can be a challenge to get the right balance. "You have to be careful and not sell yourself down the river," she explained.

"These are women that are, for better or worse, ruled by material products - it's how they live their lives.

"It takes strategising and good counsel and smart choices about what's helping the movie and what isn't distracting."

Tom Brook's interview with Sarah Jessica Parker can be seen on the latest edition of Talking Movies on BBC World News.

Can Playboy pull a rabbit out of the hat?

Hugh Hefner recently bought millions of dollars' worth of Playboy stock. Does the Robed One know something about the struggling company that other investors don't?

By Michael Brush

Given the huge amount of adult entertainment we consume as a nation, its a wonder Playboy Enterprises' stock performs like it needs a dose of Viagra.

Just look at the size of the porn market:
Americans spend about $5 billion to $8 billion on smut each year.


Sex sites account for 40% of all Internet traffic.


Satellite and cable operators earn about $800 million a year from adult movies, or about 40% of pay TV and on-demand TV revenue.
Now look at how Playboy Enterprises (PLA, news, msgs) continues to struggle:


Playboy magazine lost money last quarter as publishing revenue slipped 8%. Playboy circulation fell again to near 3 million -- which means the monthly places 19th among U.S. magazines.


Founded by Hugh Hefner in 1953, the magazine is now firmly entrenched in circulation rankings below National Geographic, Good Housekeeping and Ladies Home Journal. So far this year, Playboy's publishing unit has lost $3.4 million.

In the third quarter, Playboy as a company took in just $80.9 million in revenue. The 10 cents a share in profit Playboy earned may seem good -- since that beat last years results by four cents. But a closer peek reveals cost-cutting saved the day, along with sharp declines in taxes and interest payments. Without that help, which cant last forever, the company would have reported a loss of 5 cents per share.

For the first three quarters of the year, Playboy revenue grew an anemic 3%, and the business lost 16 cents a share -- exactly the same amount of red ink spilled in the same period last year.
All of this paints a fairly dreary portrait of Playboy.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Bips flies to Miami to be with John

Bengali beauty Bipasha Basu who has been away in Europe for quite some time due to her shoot of the upcoming Hindi film was able to finish her schedule quickly and now she has squeezed out three days to rush to Miami to see her beau John Abraham. They will be seeing each other after a month and it will be a truly romantic reunion for the love birds. Later, she will be going ahead with her next assignment and John will continue to shoot for his film 'Dostana'.

Madhuri Dixit to receive Padma Shri Award

Madhuri Dixit will be receiving the prestigious Padma Shri Award for her contribution to the Indian India Cinema on May 10. Though Madhuri's comeback vehicle Aaja Nachle failed to create an impact at the box-office last year, the undisputable queen of Bollywood can still make many hearts flutter with her million dollar smile.

Madhuri Dixit along with her husband Dr. Nene will be coming down from Florida for the award ceremony. And, with Madhuri's birthday being just a few days away, this is going to be real celebration month for the Nene family.

One man who will surely be delighted on hearing this news is artist M.F Husain. After expressing his disappointment over the debacle of Aaja Nachle, Husain saab will now have a reason to be happy for Madhuri.

Bipasha to be sued?

The dusky Bengali beauty Bipasha Basu, who recently backed out of the world tour of the Bachchan family, which has been titled 'Unforgettable' is likely to be taken to task by the event managers. Speaking about it, it is said that Wizkraft is seriously considering the option of suing Bipasha for her walking out of the tour at the last moment, since she wanted more remuneration which was higher than the figure she committed. Only time will tell where all this is going to end.

Salman sleeps instead of shooting, reality show looking doubtful

In what could be said as one of the most horrendous situations, superstar Salman Khan has landed few others in a fix. Apparently, he was to shoot for the reality show 'Dus Ka Dum' and while the unit waited for him patiently on the set, Salman was in his vanity van getting a sound sleep. This has resulted in a bit of confusion, since Sallu is to leave soon for a foreign location for the shooting of his upcoming film, which might mean that the reality show might have to be kept on hold till next year. Lets see what happens....