English Entertainment
Romedy Now premieres rom-com ‘What If’
MUMBAI: Romedy Now will premiere the utterly cute rom-com, ‘What If’ on 31 July, 2016, at 9pm.
The Irish Canadian film is a romantic comedy, directed by Michael Dowse, based on the play, ‘Toothpaste and Cigars’. Released in 2013, the film narrates the story of Wallace, who is disappointed with a string of failed relationships. When he meets Chantry, who is an animator, he decides to put his love life on hold and strikes a friendly connection with her. Chantry, on the other hand, is dating Ben and is living in with him. It is only after a series of co-incidences and close intimacy that brews amidst the friendship, that both of them ponder, ‘what if, your best friend is the love of your life?’
The film stars Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan, who awe the audiences with their bubbly chemistry and interesting performances throughout the film. The movie premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and received nomination for the Best Picture at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards. The screenplay won awards for the Best Adapted Screenplay at the same awards ceremony.
An interesting trivia about the film is that this is Daniel Radcliffe’s first contemporary character that he’s ever played, his previous project being the Harry potter series. He said, “There was something lovely about just stepping up on set and talking.”
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
