International
John Forsythe dies at 92
MUMBAI: The unseen boss of Charlie‘s Angels, the put-upon plutocrat of Dynasty, John Forsythe is no more. The TV and film star expired on Thursday at the age of 92.
Born in 1918 in Penns Grove, N.J., as John Lincoln Freund, the son of a Wall Street stockbroker, Forsythe married and divorced early, joined the Army and, as a soldier, appeared in the Broadway play Winged Victory and the war movie Destination Tokyo, both in 1943. (On Broadway he met his second wife, actress Julie Warren; they were married for 51 years, until her death in 1994.) Forsythe returned to Hollywood after the war and, except for a starring role in the 1953 Broadway hit The Teahouse of the August Moon, remained out West.
Forsythe‘s uncomplicated manliness appealed to Alfred Hitchcock who cast the young man as the lead in the grindingly whimsical 1955 comedy The Trouble With Harry. Later Hitchcock signed Forsytheto play the role of a man accused of murder in the 1962 TV drama I Saw the Whole Thing. Seven years later, Forsytheto essayed the role of a government agent in Topaz.
The small screen later allured Forsythe. He began his series work with Bachelor Father that ran from 1957 to 1962 on CBS, then NBC and finally ABC. Over the next three decades, the actor anchored three other sitcoms: in 1965 The John Forsythe Show (an Air Force major inherits a San Francisco girls‘ school), in 1969 To Rome With Love (a widower moves his three daughters from Iowa to the Eternal City for a teaching position) and, as he was nearing 75, The Powers That Be, about an inept U.S. Senator whose wife (Holland Taylor) runs the show. Imagine the James Gregory-Angela Lansbury couple from The Manchurian Candidate.
In Richard Brooks‘ 1967 movie of Truman Capote‘s In Cold Blood. Robert Blake and Scott Wilson got the emoting headlines as the real-life Kansas killers, while Forsythe, as FBI agent Alvin Dewey, had the job of explaining their crimes to the audience.
If an actor is someone who sells the script without making it sound like a carny‘s come-on, then John Forsythe was him.
International
Moskino and Bollywood: Moscow Film Cluster and Film City Mumbai signed a cooperation agreement
Moscow Film Cluster has signed a cooperation agreement with Film City Mumbai. The parties agreed to cooperate in developing the film industry, promoting shooting locations and supporting filmmakers.
The memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the India International Film Tourism (IIFTC) Conclave in Mumbai. At this forum, the Moscow Film Cluster presented Moscow’s opportunities for film shooting, including infrastructure projects such as Film City Moskino and Film Factory. Special attention was paid to the Moscow rebate system – up to 45% – and the co-production development.
Memorandum of Understanding between the Film City and Moscow Film Cluster provides for the establishment and development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the film industry development, including joint promotion of shooting locations, support for filmmakers, implementation of marketing and industry events, development of incentive support measures and strengthening of economic and cultural interaction between India and Moscow.
The parties also intend to promote the development of the audiovisual sector through the exchange of experience, joint initiatives and the search for opportunities to create new industry partnerships and clusters.
Moscow Film Cluster is a major city initiative led by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to develop the capital into a global cinema hub. It brings together key production infrastructure – such as the Moskino Film Сity, Film Factory and Gorky Film Studio – along with the Film Commission, digital platform and cinema chain to streamline shooting, support productions and attract international filmmaking to Moscow.
Also, Moscow offers a rebate of up to 45%: 30% as direct production cost compensation, up to 15% for visa and accommodation support. The Moscow Image Grant provides up to $255,000 for films showcasing iconic city views.
The Moscow Film Cluster booth attracted considerable attention from Indian producers and studios. Over 80 business meetings were held, including those with major Indian companies.
One of the booth guests was the famous Indian actress Khushboo Sundar, known to Soviet and Russian audiences for her role in My Soul and considered the leading star of Tamil cinema, in whose honor one of the local temples was even built. Prithul Kumar, representative of the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of the officials responsible for regulating the film industry in the country, also expressed interest in the development of the Moscow Film Cluster.
One of the highlights of the India International Film Tourism Conclave was the awarding of The Greatest of All Time in the For Cinematic Excellence category. The movie was shot in Moscow. The jury members noted the project’s contribution to the development of tourism.
The shooting of The Greatest of All Time AGS by Entertainment was organized with the assistance of the Moscow Film Cluster and the Moscow Film Commission and took place in April 2024 on the streets of Moscow. The scenes were shot in such famous locations as Patriarch Bridge, Teatralnaya Square, Manezhnaya Square, Kazarmenny Lane, Podsosensky Lane, Nikolskaya Street and one of the festival venues of Moscow Seasons.
The Greatest of All Time became a landmark event in Indian box office history. It ranked fourth in box office earnings among all movies released in India in 2024 and is one of the most successful Tamil-language movies in history.
At the same time, the shooting of another joint Russian-Indian movie started at the Moskino Film City in Moscow. A film project dedicated to badminton became one of the first participants in the Moscow rebate program.
A project by Smena & WISH Media (Russia) and Kartina Entertainment And Sports Private Limited (India) will tell the story of a badminton player who travels to India with the Russian national team to compete in a tournament. Russian viewers will see for the first time the scale of sporting competitions in Asia, where badminton is a cult sport and draws packed stands of fans.
The agreement on the joint production of the Smash movie was signed st the Moscow International Film Week in August 2025. And as Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, a rebate application was also submitted at that time to reimburse part of the costs incurred during the shooting process in the Russian capital.
