The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
- "Gwanghae" reigns supreme at S. Korea film awards
- Disney buys 'Star Wars' studio, plans 2015 new film
- 'Star Wars': one of cinema's most lucrative sagas
| "Gwanghae" reigns supreme at S. Korea film awards Posted: 30 Oct 2012 11:03 PM PDT SEOUL: A costume drama about a stand-in monarch has swept South Korea's domestic Oscars, winning 15 of the 23 awards up for grabs, including best film. "Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King" - distributed internationally under the title "Masquerade" - also won a best actor gong for its star Lee Byung-Hun at the annual Daejong (Grand Bell) Film Awards on Tuesday night. Lee won for his dual role as King Gwanghae, the 15th ruler of Korea's Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), and the humble acrobat Hasun, who stands in for the monarch when he faces the threat of being poisoned. The film, which also picked up best director, best supporting actor and best screenplay awards, was one of two Korean films this year to break through the 10-million ticket barrier at the domestic box office. The other, "The Thieves", a star-studded casino heist movie shot in Macau, only managed one award - best supporting actress for Kim Hae-Sook. And there was only a single prize for "Pieta", maverick director Kim Ki-Duk's gritty revenge thriller that won the Golden Lion - a first for a Korean production - at this year's Venice International Film Festival. The movie garnered a best actress award for Jo Min-Soo, who won for her role as a woman claiming to be the mother of a brutal loan shark. 2012 looks set to be a record-breaking year for South Korean cinema. The Korean Film Council recently announced around 120 million cinema tickets had been sold across the country by the end of the second quarter of 2012, a year-on-year rise of around 20 percent. - AFP |
| Disney buys 'Star Wars' studio, plans 2015 new film Posted: 30 Oct 2012 07:59 PM PDT LOS ANGELES: Walt Disney Co announced Tuesday it is buying "Star Wars" director George Lucas's film company for $4 billion, and plans to revive the classic sci-fi series starting with a new movie in 2015. The entertainment giant plans a new trilogy in the legendary franchise, launched with the original "Star Wars" movie in 1977, while Lucas himself said it was "time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers." "Star Wars 7" will be released in 2015, "with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future," said Disney, announcing the deal to buy pioneering movie company Lucasfilm. In a conference call with investors, Disney said it planned a new trilogy with films eight and nine, after which more "Star Wars" movies would be made every two to three years. The deal "combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity," said Disney chief Robert Iger. "Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," said Iger, head of global entertainment giant Disney, which is headquartered in Burbank, just outside Los Angeles. The transaction is valued at $4.05 billion - based on current stock value - with Disney paying about half in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. Lucasfilm is 100 percent owned by Lucas. Lucas, who runs his company from its San Francisco base, added: "For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime." The first "Star Wars" film came out in 1977, and there have been two trilogies - three films from 1977-1983 and three prequels from 1999-2005 - while the brand has expanded into theme parks and a huge merchandising arm. The movies have earned some $4.4 billion at the box office globally over the last 35 years, and offer "a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases," said Disney. "The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms," it added. The acquisition comes after Disney's takeover of animated film giant Pixar and comic book character-driven Marvel Studios. Those deals had "demonstrated the company's unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling," said Disney. Lucas will be succeeded as head of Lucasfilm by his current co-chairman, Kathleen Kennedy, who will report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn, said the Disney statement. "I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come," said Lucas. "Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products," he added. - AFP |
| 'Star Wars': one of cinema's most lucrative sagas Posted: 30 Oct 2012 07:51 PM PDT LOS ANGELES: The "Star Wars" saga, set to be revived from 2015 under new owners Disney, is one of the most lucrative franchises in cinema history, with more than $4.4 billion in global takings. Only James Bond and Harry Potter can claim bigger box office success: J.K. Rowling's schoolboy wizard has conjured up nearly $7.7 billion, although that was over eight movies, as opposed to the sci-fi classic's six, so far. Bursting from the imagination of George Lucas, the original "Star Wars" movie in 1977 marked the birth of a new era of blockbuster cinema, helped along by an equally young Steven Spielberg. The two were part of the same new generation of filmmakers influenced more by televisual technique than traditional cinema, and went on to collaborate notably on another global hit series: the four "Indiana Jones" films. After directing the first "Star Wars" movie, which helped launch the career of Harrison Ford, Lucas brought in other filmmakers for the two sequels which completed the first triology. "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) was helmed by fellow Californian director Irvin Kershner, while Briton Richard Marquand took charge for 1983's "The Return of the Jedi." It was only in the late 1990s that Lucas decided to add a new trilogy of "prequels," directing himself this time to tell the story leading up to the action of the original movie. "The Phantom Menace" came out in 1999, followed by "Attack of the Clones" in 2002 and "Revenge of the Sith" in 2005. Actors Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen starred in all three. Last February Lucas succumbed to the temptation of 3D, releasing "The Phantom Menace" in the new format, having its latest attempt at becoming mainstream in the digital age. Under the $4 billion dollar deal announced Tuesday for Walt Disney Co to take over Lucasfilm, a new trilogy will be launched with "Star Wars 7" in 2015, followed by two more to complete the trilogy. After that Disney plans to produce a new "Star Wars" movie every two to three years, hoping to cash in on the franchise for years, and maybe decades, to come. - AFP |
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