Aug 14

SAFF Project Market 2019 unveils new selection panel

Posted in: Animation

The Southeast Asian Film Financing (SAFF) Project Market 2019, on the platform of ScreenSingapore, has announced the line-up of this year’s selection panel.

 Onboard this year is The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) senior manager animation development, Carlene Tan;  Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) co-director of programming Anderson Le|  Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival programmer |  Far East Film Festival programming consultant ; and Regal Entertainment executive vice president Marie Roselle Y. Monteverde.

Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA) executive director Justin Diemen, which co-organises the SAFF Project Market, said, “We are excited to welcome our panellists this year and they each represent a uniquely qualified eye towards identifying the best projects and filmmakers from around the region. This builds on the confidence from financiers and audiences in recognising the role of SAAVA and the contribution of the SAFF Project Market towards enhancing the infrastructure of the Southeast Asian content industry in bringing together financing, distribution, and co-productions.”

Enhancing the Ecosystem

As an all-encompassing content market, the SAFF Project Market will expand and evolve as finalists meet with financiers, commissioners and investors, as well as listen in on a curated discussion panel by decision-makers.

 Since its launch in 2015, the SAFF Project Market has become a key regional platform for established and upcoming content creators to come together and present their projects to the international marketplace. With approximately half of the projects coming through its ranks having been produced, in production, or acquiring financing, the SAFF Project Market has proven to be the region’s most effective film financing platform for filmmakers working in Southeast Asia.

Encouraging Road Ahead

Past finalists of the SAFF Project Market continue to make a mark for themselves, underlining the real value of being part of the alumni in connecting dots and making dreams come true.

 Kerwin Go, who participated as a finalist in 2017, has since seen his project Mina-Anud completed, with the anticipation of being released in the Philippines on 21 August 2019, through the participation of Regal Entertainment’s Marie Roselle, who met the project and its team at the market.

“Mina-Anud was inspired by true events in 2009 when 3 tonnes of cocaine washed up on the shores of the province of Eastern Samar.People didn’t know what the cocaine bricks were. There were reports of people using them to wash clothes with, and mistakenly being used as a coffee creamer. I was spending a lot of time surfing in Samar when this happened and thought I should make this into a movie someday,” Kerwin stated.

 A pioneering filmmaker in Laos, Mattie Do had her project, The Long Walk go into production in Sept 2018, since her own participation at the inaugural SAFF Project Market in 2015. Supported by Aurora Media Holdings and 108 Media, The Long Walk has been selected for the Venice International Film Festival and is due to a release this year.

 “The SAFF Project Market was wonderful for increasing my network of other Southeast Asian filmmakers, and connecting me to amazing people working in the film industry in our region here. It’s been great to meet and get to know the other creatives in our line of work that are based in Southeast Asia, and who have lots of experience in our very unique, local industry. Past participants have been able to form a brotherhood that allows us to seek support from each other,” Mattie expressed.

 ScreenSingapore takes place from 4 to 6 December 2019, and is a part of the Singapore Media Festival.

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Aug 13

Gaming industry Veteran Vishal Gondal reveals GOQii India Health Quiz 2019

Posted in: Animation

GOQii, India’s  digital healthcare company headed by Vishal Gondal a game industry veteran, has announced ‘GOQii India Health Quiz 2019’ – a  nationwide initiative to educate the masses with the right information on health.

Speaking about the GOQii India Health Quiz 2019, GOQii founder and CEO Vishal Gondal, said, “GOQii India Health Quiz is our mass health education initiative led by Akshay Kumar who was recently voted among the top 30 Health Influencers of India. Fake news and health myths can negatively impact a person’s physical and mental health. India Health Quiz initiative will help change this and get 130 crore Indians get the right information from the right source thereby making them healthier and happier.”

The GOQii India Health Quiz (IHQ) 2019 will be led by Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar with a team of expert health coaches that include Sardar Singh, Olympian and ex-India Hockey Captain, Youtube fitness experts-Jeet Selal, Abhinav Mahajan and Ranveer Allhabadia, Luke Coutinho-Master Coach at GOQii just to name a few.

Commenting on the initiative, Akshay Kumar, Brand Ambassador of GOQii said, “ Today, most people turn to the web for health information. But it is always best to get all your health-related queries addressed by health experts and trainers. Hence, I am glad I am associated with a health initiative such as India Health Quiz that is aimed at educating and busting myths and learning facts about health that will go a long way in making people healthy.”

The India Health Quiz, is a 100-day live quiz challenge on the GOQii app, available on Android and iOS for free.

Given the current abundance of unverified health advice available on the internet, GOQii’s endeavour with the India Health Quiz is to make Indians aware and informed with the correct information regarding Health & Fitness.

Partnered by Times Network for this initiative, in this 100-day challenge, participants must watch LIVE GOQii play videos and participate in hourly quizzes, which will earn them points. These points can then be redeemed to win exciting prizes like GOQii Activity trackers, OnePlus 7, iPhone XR and the top cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh. The questions for this 100 day quiz challenge have been prepared by GOQii’s Health coaches and have been verified by its health experts.

 

 

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Aug 13

Marvel Studios to launch ‘Infinity Saga’ box set consisting all 23 films

Posted in: Animation

Marvel Studios has announced to be launching ‘Infinity Saga’ box set which will include all the 23 films culminating with Avengers: Endgame.

Kevin Feige

According to Marvel president Kevin Feige, Marvel may have a home release on the way to do just that. Feige recently teased about this giant box set of the film franchise that would include the first three phases of the universe, but the inclusion of some “really, really bad scenes.” That would be in addition to the high-quality deleted scenes that were actually heartbreaking to cut – like the Avengers (minus Gamora) kneeling for Tony Stark in Endgame.

He said, “If we do a big, giant ‘Infinity Saga’ box set, we might include – I’m assuming if you’re going to spend the money to buy a box set with everything in it, you’re a fan. And it’ll take more than a couple of really, really bad scenes to turn you.”

This step comes as now that the finished products of Marvel’s films have ruled the box-office and distinguished themselves as successes. Kevin Feige is confident enough in the series to bring the fans all the fun tidbits that didn’t make it into the theatrical versions, and they may be coming for fans ready to spend the cash on an “Infinity Saga” box set.

“I like sharing those scenes, and when we have something like that [Tony Stark tribute] that we love, and which was not an easy decision to cut out but was the best decision for the movie, it’s a great avenue to say, ‘We’ll put it out there.’ It’s not like no-one will ever see it. There are things that we think nobody should ever see. And I think we’ve just recently been discussing that now we can start to show some of our less proud moments,” Feige added.

Endgame’s home release will feature plenty of deleted scenes, including one featuring Tony Stark and his father and gag reels of the behind-the-scenes fun. It sounds like Feige wants to go back into the franchise’s past and pull out some unfortunate scenes for fans to discover. 

Marvel fans are sure to love watching what could have been, and now there’ll be footage that should not have been! Treat for Marvel-fanatics! 

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Aug 13

IGDC 2019 starting from 22 November aims to attract entire gaming industry

Posted in: Animation

The India Game Developers Conference (IGDC) continue to attract big attention from global gaming studios, developers and gaming enterprises. In its 11th edition set to begin on 22 November 2019 in HICC, Hyderabad City, IGDC will showcase the latest development of the game industry in Indian Subcontinent, and debate the new trends and inventiveness in the functions and contents in the digital entertainment industry in India.

IGDC has a consistent ambition of being interactive and open, addressing developers, indie developers, investors, publishers and tool providers; for both B2B and B2C ecology.

“The industry is maturing and we believe IGDC continues to be the must-attend conference to catch the latest trends, market intelligence, success stories, upskill with great talks and workshops, meet investors and of course everyone in the Indian gaming ecosystem will be there, presenting excellent networking opportunities.” Says IGDC chairperson and Dhruva Interactive founder and former CEO Rajesh Rao.

This year, IGDC is readying to host more than 3000 industry professionals, 200 industry expert speakers, eight major tracks, 10 major events, 200 expo stalls, 25 publishers and 25 investors. IGDC will also host an exhibit for games companies across India including their popular IGDC Awards ceremony in seven categories.

So what new trends will IGDC bring in 2019? TVAGA vice president, YesGnome CEO  and IGDC advisory member Sridhar Muppidi says “The industry is maturing and we believe IGDC will be the big gaming trends congregation in AI, hardware, software and mobile gaming for developers, game enthusiasts including mature game companies whose participation numbers have risen every year.”

The congregation will build, consolidate and further game advancements, smart entertainment software and hardware animation, comic, internet esports, new-age entertainment and other digital entertainment in India, and establish itself as a trend indicator for the gaming ecosystem and digital entertainment industry in India.

The heartening news is Daily Active Users figure in India has been growing from a mere couple of millions to six-fold, reflecting the healthy growth of the games industry amongst consumers in India. Among the big takeaways for the participants, this year will be Android, augmented reality, iOS, PC, Steam, virtual reality, and Windows gaming and development and new trends.

Industry estimates, esports and gaming expected to add revenues of $1 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR 22 per cent according to a KPMG report. Over the past few years, the biggest trends were the rise of PUBG and DOTA ‘craze’ across India, shoring heaps of downloads and proving money-spinning too. While the locally developed games picked up big numbers of daily active users. Designing and exporting games too holds a great promise with an estimated annual global market of $1.7 billion within a few years.

“Our goal is to become world’s go-to-destination for game developers and to play an important catalyst in developing the Indian gaming ecosystem: from aiding developers to gain the latest insight and know new skills, to facilitating developers connect with publishers and investors,” Sridhar added.

The IGDC spread across several halls and sections is the flagship event for IndiaJoy, an initiative by the State of Telangana, a week-long festival to showcase games, animation, and VFX.

IGDC 2018 saw record-setting attendance. In 2018 it hosted a slew of sessions, several lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtable discussions, and over 100 exhibitors on the expo floor, plus areas to relax, and games to play. The organisers are hoping to set a new record this year, as the registration is open and applications are pouring in.

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Aug 12

Capcom characters come together in the ultimate card battle TEPPEN

Posted in: Animation

GungHo Online Entertainment, has announced the launch of TEPPEN, a smartphone game jointly developed with CAPCOM. TEPPEN is released in Asia/Japan region for App Store and Google Play Store at their TEPPEN Asia Japan Premiere event 2.

TEPPEN is the ultimate card battle created through a powerful tag-team collaboration between GungHo and Capcom—a collaboration that has culminated in a game featuring a comprehensive set of techniques and multiple popular Capcom characters. This battle game features an original story that unfolds with brand new, impressive illustrations for each of the TEPPEN heroes, and is a fusion of real-time gameplay that makes you feel as if you’re right in the action and turn-based strategy that plays out in a quick-paced battle of the minds. These features along with TEPPEN’s intuitive, easy-to-control battles result in a totally new experience for players.

The initial heroes that players will start with the game are Ryu and Chun-Li from the Street Fighter series, Rathalos and Nergigante from the Monster Hunter Series, X from Mega Man X series, Morrigan Aensland from the Darkstalkers series, Dante from the Devil May Cry series, and Wesker from the Resident Evil series. From today, Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil series will join the battle as a new Hero! More new Heroes are planned to be added in the future.

At TEPPEN Asia Japan Premiere, the first exhibition match with Pro Gamer has occurred, and they have announced events such as esports and a World Championship supported by Amazon. Starting today, TV commercial The Beginning of the Ultimate Battle will be aired in Japan.

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Aug 12

Nightdive Studios announces ‘System Shock 2’ is under development

Posted in: Animation

Nightdive Studios has announced and enhanced edition for classic first-person action RPG survival-thriller game System Shock 2.

The game is being rebuilt for modern platforms just like its predecessor. Although the release date wasn’t confirmed, however Nightdive said the enhanced edition is “coming soon.”

As they said on Twitter, “You asked for it and we are working on it”. While the currently available version of System Shock 2 remains one of the classic immersive sims, an influence without which BioShock would not exist and still one of the creepiest games around—that sound design though—there are plenty of players who’ve found it hard to get to grips with. And the ending’s always been horrible.

System Shock 2 was originally developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios, with famed game designer Ken Levine at the helm. It was released back in 1999 for Windows PC.

System Shock 3 is still happening, although it has no release date yet.

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Aug 12

‘The Addams Family’ trailer brings the spookiness alive

Posted in: Animation

The gothic Addams family are back to unload terrors upon New Jersey in the first trailer for the cartooned remake of the classic horror series.

The new footage opens with Morticia Addams (voiced by Charlize Theron) having fun in the morning before waking her children, Pugsley Addams (Finn Wolfhard) and Wednesday Addams (Chloë Grace Moretz). The family still manages to tickle in their macabre shenanigans, staying true to their theme.The clip features the clan as they adapt to life into a home in 21st century New Jersey. “Let’s show them what it means to be an Addams,” says Gomez

The Addams Family lives are turned upside down when they realize the town next door is suddenly full of uptight suburbanites led by an over-the-top TV host who is trying to build the perfect world- her way! – and who will stop at nothing to get rid of a freaky family like the Addams. If that’s not bad enough, Wednesday has to go to public school for the first time, and Pugsley has to prepare for a big performance that the extended Addams family from across the globe will be coming to judge. What could possibly go wrong?.

The Addams Family is written by Matt Lieberman and co-directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan. The movie is slated for release on 11 October 2019

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Aug 12

BookMyShow and PVR Pictures-backed Vkaao to bring Japanese film ‘Weathering With You’ to India

Posted in: Animation

The highest grossing Japanese animated feature film Weathering With You is all set to release in India this October. 

Directed by Makoto Shinkai (Your Name), in association with Toho Co., Weathering With You will be distributed by BookMyShow and PVR Pictures-backed theatre-on-demand platform Vkaao across 20 major Indian cities.

Talking about releasing the film in India, director Shinkai said, “Ever since the petition has occurred in India, I have been receiving a lot of messages from Indian fans who are eager to watch the film in movie theatres. I have been overwhelmed by their pureness and passion. Thus, I replied to them that I would be very happy if I could release Tenki no ko in India. I’m gonna talk to our Japanese distribution company.  Now, I feel I could carry out the promise with the fans in India.  I am very much looking forward to the film will be well received by the fans who live in the country of movie and mythology.”

 A true reflection of Vkaao’s constant endeavour to cater to cinema-lovers’ demand, the announcement follows an online petition to bring the film to India. The petition which gained momentum post the film’s trailer release, went viral in April this year with over 50,000 signatures. The film has so far collected almost six billion yen (over USD 55 million), making it the highest grossing Japanese anime film.

 “Vkaao is proud to bring the highest grossing Japanese anime film ‘Weathering With You’ to India. Directed by Makoto Shinkai in association with Toho Co., the film has garnered about 53,000 online petitions so far, to get an official India release. Staying true to our promise of bringing world-class entertainment on demand, we look forward to the film’s release in India,” added Vkaao  co-founder & CEO Vaibhav Lal.

 The tickets for Weathering With You will be available on Vkaao and BookMyShow.

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Aug 11

Netflix signs ‘GoT’ show-runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for $200 million

Posted in: Animation

Netflix has tapped in Game of Thrones show-runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for $200 million deal, making the duo leave HBO.  

The deal is one of many that Netflix has made in the last year to bring in noted talents to make TV shows and films exclusive for the streaming giant to compete with contemporaries like Hulu and Amazon Prime as well as upcoming ones like Disney+ and Comcast’s yet-to-be-named service.

While Benioff and Weiss were the helmers of the Emmy Award-winning GoT, they were highly criticised about their writing in later seasons on the show, when the pair no longer had author George R.R. Martin’s source material to work from.

However, analysts wonder if these deals are worth the money for Netflix as it has been signing names like Guillermo del Toro (Shape of Water), Ryan Murphy (Glee) and Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy).

Last year, Netflix shelled out more than $12 billion to purchase, license and produce content. This year, that figure will rise to $15 billion. It will spend $2.9 billion more on marketing. These costs come as Netflix is expected to report $20.2 billion in revenue in 2019, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Netflix makes major revenue from monthly subscriptions and not from individual views of content or from advertising. It also makes a small amount from merchandising content that it owns. However, since mid-2014, Netflix has been cash flow negative, which means more money is flowing out of its business than in. In fact, the company has been spending nearly twice as much as it has earned over the last few years in an effort to differentiate itself from other streaming services.

“Netflix is banking on Benioff and Weiss’ future success. Things like this often seem expensive, but in retrospect were good deals,” said Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian to CNBC. 

But price isn’t the only thing to matter Netflix when it comes to Benioff and Weiss. While the pair have cut ties with HBO, they still are contracted by Disney to write, produce and direct three Star Wars films. The first film in that trilogy is due out in December 2022.

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Aug 11

‘Wonder Woman: Bloodlines’ trailer launched

Posted in: Animation

Wonder Woman feature-length feature involving the Princess of Themyscira was launched recently. On Wednesday, IGN aired the first official trailer for Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, the upcoming animated film.

Wonder Woman: Bloodlines

The trailer treats fans a glimpse at the latest retelling of the titular DC heroine’s origin story. In the trailer, fans get a peek of the challenges Wonder Woman faces when Steve Trevor crash lands on Themyscira and she travels to America with him, where she encounters deadly new adversaries.

In Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, Amazon princess Diana of Themyscira chooses to save fighter pilot Steve Trevor and return him to his home in America – making it one of Wonder Woman’s most riveting chapters. Diana soon earns the name Wonder Woman from the gracious people of Earth. Equally strong in body, heart and will, she makes it her mission to help a troubled young girl enlisted by a deadly organization known as Villainy, Inc., whose criminal members have their sights set on invading Themyscira, Diana’s paradise home.

The voice cast includes Courtenay Taylor (Regular Show, Fallout 4) as Dr. Poison, Constance Zimmer (Entourage, House of Cards, Unreal) as Veronica Cale, Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) as Julia Kapatelis, Michael Dorn (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Arrow) as Ferdinand, Cree Summer (Batman Beyond, Rugrats) as Hippolyta, Mozhan Marno (The Blacklist, House of Cards) as Dr. Cyber, and Ray Chase (Justice League Dark) as Lead Bandit.

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