MUMBAI: As competition heats up among movie channels, Star Movies attempts to score one over with titles that are freshly released in the country. A new initiative by the channel this week would be to arrange for previews of Hollywood movies about to be released in theatres.

The Banger Sisters, released this week in India, would be on Star Movies on 27 August at 9 pm. The story of two ex-groupies will be preceded by the Al Pacino-Colin Farrell starrer The Recruit on 20 August. Die Another Day, Daredevil, X-Men 2, The Guru and The Pirates of the Caribbean have also found their way to the Star Movies and are scheduled for telecast in the next few months.

i, Robot, the first of the 'Opening Night' series The new initiative called Opening Night on Star Movies would show exclusive extended footage from an upcoming high-profile Hollywood launch. Starting with the Will Smith starrer I, Robot, the channel also promises to offer subscribers and viewers the chance to attend an exclusive theatre preview screening of the chosen movie' at a latter date. Other initiatives on Movies include Two Days with Night, a consecutive airing of M Night Shyamalan's Signs and Unbreakable on 14 and 21 August, followed by a seven-minute clip from the filmmaker's latest, The Village. The channel also plans to beef up its Sunday nights with a slew of Bruce Willis films, includingHudson Hawk, Bandits, Die Hard With a Vengeance, 12 Monkeys and Mercury Rising.

The Colin Farrell starrer is this month's highlight as the Saturday Night Premiere on 21 August, a slot, which Star India senior vice-president marketing and communications Ajay Vidyasagar says is paying good dividends.

'Smallville', the story of Superman before he became one On Star World, two new shows are lined up for launch - Smallville (which was lined up almost a year ago but makes its appearance now) and Ed. Smallville, launching 12 August, is the story of Superman between the time he was the boy he thought he was and the man he is destined to become.

Ed, begininng 11 August, is a quirky romantic comedy about a 30-year-old lawyer who returns to his hometown to recapture his past after losing his wife and a high-powered job in New York. As the high point of the season, however, The Apprentice, occupies pride of place. The NBC-produced reality series that tests competitors' survival techniques in multimillionaire Donald Trump's New York City corporate empire, is touted as the big ticket show of Star World this season.