Hindi
Toonz Entertainment to bring Santa Claus to big screen
MUMBAI: Singapore-based Toonz Entertainment, which owns Indian animation studio Toonz Animation, Gang of 7 Animation USA, and Ashok Amritraj‘s Hyde Park Entertainment have entered into an agreement to produce a CGI animated feature film The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.
The film, which is based on the classic book by L Frank Baum, the creator of The Wizard of Oz, chronicles the life of Santa Claus from an infant to an adult.
The film will be directed by Tom Tataranowicz, Rich Arons and Dick Sebast, who have supervised Disney, Marvel and Hanna Barbera features.
The project, which is under planning stage, may go on floors by end of this month at the Toonz Animation Studio in India. The movie is expected to be released in time for Christmas, 2010.
Hyde Park will distribute the picture internationally and share North American rights with G7 Animation.
“We at Toonz look forward to this challenging opportunity which would test our creative talents, and anticipate an exciting and quality production,” said Toonz Group CEO P Jayakumar.
“I grew up watching The Wizard of Oz. It’s wonderful to bring this classic origin story of Santa Claus to the screen, particularly this novel from such an amazing writer,” Hyde Park CEO Ashok Amritraj said.
“Amazingly enough, this is the first time an origin story, explaining Santa Claus and all the Christmas traditions, has ever come to the screen. We are pleased to bring this exciting fantasy to life,” stated G7 Animation head Tom Tataranowicz.
Hindi
Rashmika Mandanna, Shanaya Kapoor and Naila Grrewal climb IMDb’s Indian celebrity rankings
Upcoming films and returning shows are driving fan interest across Bollywood and streaming
MUMBAI: Bollywood’s popularity contest has a new weekly scorecard, and the numbers are telling. IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for this week places Shanaya Kapoor at number six, buoyed by buzz around her film Tu Yaa Main. Naila Grrewal slots in at seven on the back of the returning comedy series Maamla Legal Hai, while Rashmika Mandanna climbs to eighth, riding mounting anticipation for Cocktail 2.
The list, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, tracks trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week, drawing on data from more than 200m monthly visits to the platform worldwide.
Further down the rankings, Raaka is keeping two of its biggest names in the spotlight. Deepika Padukone holds 11th position, with Allu Arjun close behind at 13th, as the film continues to find traction with audiences.
The list offers fans a weekly pulse on who is breaking through, who is holding steady, and who is fading. It is a barometer as unsparing as the box office itself.
