Film Production
Warner Bros lines up three Lego movies till 2018
MUMBAI: Building a strong slate of animated tentpoles that extends well into 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures has announced the release dates of three much-anticipated Lego movies.
The next Lego film to open will be the as-yet-untitled Lego Batman feature, which will come to theatres earlier than planned, with the global launch starting in North America on 10 February, 2017.
The second movie Ninjago, which had been slated for release in fall 2016; will now release on 22 September, 2017 in the North American market, with international dates to follow. The release has been pushed as the film is still under construction.
The Lego Movie Sequel, the follow-up to The Lego Movie, will open one week earlier than originally slated, on 18 May, 2018 in North America.
Warner Bros. Pictures president, domestic distribution Dan Fellman said, “We are very excited about dating our upcoming Lego animated features, which already have a worldwide fan following, built on the foundation of the first film. These three films already in the pipeline are just the beginning of a creative and diverse animation slate that will be delighting audiences for years to come.”
Warner Bros. Pictures president, international distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg added, “We are looking forward to expanding the Lego film franchise globally with these three incredibly imaginative movies, each offering something different to appeal to a broad range of audiences around the world.”
The Lego Group vice president of licensing and entertainment Jill Wilfert said, “We are so pleased to continue our creative partnership with Warner Bros. on these upcoming projects. It’s truly amazing to see how the big screen lends another dimension to the rich Lego world, and offers new ways for fans to be engaged and entertained by these characters.”
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
