.jpeg "First Day First Show | Reviews of ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 2’ and ‘Citadel’")
(This article forms a part of the First Day First Show newsletter that brings you the latest and best from the world of movies and entertainment. Subscribe now)
Around Tinsel Town
>> New footage of ‘Barbie’, ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, and more unveiled at CinemaCon
Martin Scorsese unveiled the first footage from his film Killers of the Flower Moon on April 27 at CinemaCon, where his lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio and pop superstar Rihanna were among the surprise guests. The director was also awarded CinemaCon’s inaugural “Legend of Cinema” award, which will become an annual prize named after its first winner.
Martin Scorsese.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Theatre owners in Las Vegas also had the chance to watch new footage of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Jason Blum and David Gordon Green, who partnered on the Halloween revivals, also showed a first look at the new, modern-day Exorcist movie, The Exorcist Believer, in which two children become possessed.
>>Veteran columnist, author and film historian Randor Guy passes away at 86
Veteran film historian, columnist and writer Madabhushi Rangadorai, popularly known by his pen name, Randor Guy, died in Chennai on Sunday (April 23) night, after a prolonged illness. He was 86. Guy’s passion for films and writing was so great that he decided to move from a career in law, and wrote columns for many publications, including a weekly column ‘Blast from the Past’ in The Hindu.
Here’s a collection of articles written by Randor Guy for The Hindu
>> JioCinema new home to HBO and Warner Bros in India
Starting next month, content from HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros will be available on the streaming platform JioCinema after Warner Bros Discovery and Viacom18 on Thursday announced a new multi-year agreement to bring titles from the premium American studio to Indian audiences.
As per the deal, HBO Original, Max Original and Warner Bros. Television series will premiere on JioCinema on the same day as the U.S.
Bollywood
‘Kennedy’ poster: Anurag Kashyap takes a dark trip with Rahul Bhatt, Sunny Leone
Sushmita Sen resumes filming for third season of ‘Aarya’ months after heart attack
Shah Rukh Khan sighting enraptures militancy-infested Pulwama
Manoj Bajpayee’s courtroom drama ‘Bandaa’ to release on ZEE5
Television industry, OTT platforms paying women better, says Raveena Tandon
Ayushmann Khurrana’s ‘Dream Girl 2’ postponed to improve VFX
Ayushmann Khurrana
| Photo Credit:
PTI
‘Dahaad’ teaser: Sonakshi Sinha pursues a serial killer in gritty thriller
SonyLIV, Applause announce two new shows; ‘Scam’ and ‘Tanaav’ set to return
Hollywood
Harry Belafonte, who mixed music, acting, and activism, passes away at 96
Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey to star in Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Queer’
Brian Cox to star in James Bond-inspired unscripted Prime Video series ‘007’s Road to a Million’
‘Black Mirror’ season 6 to premiere in June
John Cena’s ‘Vacation Friends 2’ first look, release date out
Taika Waititi’s ‘Next Goal Wins’ trailer shows Michael Fassbender coaching the ‘world’s worst soccer team’
‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ trailer debuts at CinemaCon 2023
Bob Odenkirk bags role in second season of ‘The Bear’
Henry Cavill’s ‘The Witcher Season 3’ teaser is out
‘A Haunting in Venice’: Teaser trailer of Kenneth Branagh’s latest Agatha Christie adaptation is out
Miriam Shor joins Bradley Cooper-starrer Leonard Bernstein biopic ‘Maestro’
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell team up for R-rated rom-com ‘Anyone But You’
Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Robert De Niro’s Netflix series ‘Zero Day’ gets an ensemble cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger to return to silver screen with ‘Breakout’
‘The Watchers’: Dakota Fanning to lead Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut
James McAvoy to star in Robert Schwentke’s action-thriller ‘Control’
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces date for 2024 Oscars ceremony
New trailer for ‘The Flash’ out; Batman takes the centre stage
‘Platonic’: Trailer of Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne’s Apple TV+ comedy series out
Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine lend voice to Disney’s ‘Wish’; trailer out
‘The Batman’ animated titles acquired by Prime Video
Mackenzie Davis joins cast of James McAvoy starrer ‘Speak No Evil’
Vince Vaughn to return for ‘Dodgeball’ sequel set at 20th Century Studios
Elizabeth Banks to remake ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’
‘The Magnificent Seven’ series in the works at Amazon
Alec Baldwin to star in Mike Hatton’s ‘Hollywood Heist’
‘White Lotus’ star F Murray Abraham apologises after ‘Mythic Quest’ exit
Regional cinema
Sivakarthikeyan-Madonne Ashwin’s ‘Maaveeran’ gets release date
Sivakarthikeyan stars in Madonne Ashwin’s ‘Maaveeran’
| Photo Credit:
YouTube/Shanthi Talkies
‘Vishal 34’: Actor Vishal reunites with director Hari for his next
Aishwarya Rajesh – Nelson Venkatesan’s ‘Farhana’ gets a release date
Crowd-funded Kannada film ‘Daredevil Musthafa’ gets a release date
Vikram Ravichandran’s second film titled ‘Mudhol’; title teaser out
‘The Kerala Story’, starring Adah Sharma, gets release date
Arjun Janya’s directorial debut ‘45’, starring Shivarajkumar, Upendra, and Raj B Shetty, goes on floors
‘Madhura Manohara Moham’: Trailer of Sharafudheen, Rajisha Vijayan’s family entertainer out
New in streaming
New on Amazon Prime Video this week: Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden’s ‘Citadel’, ‘Pathu Thala’, and more
Coming to Netflix in April: Hindi vampire thriller series Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, Season 3 of reality series Indian Matchmaking, Saudi thriller series The Matchmaker, and more
New on Disney+ Hotstar in April: Fantasy adventure Peter Pan & Wendy, first season of sports drama The Crossover, docuseries Dear Mama, and more
K-Dramas coming to Netflix in 2023: Part 2 of the revenge drama The Glory, the time-slip romance A Time Called You, romance drama Doona!, and more
Essential Reading
1) Mani Ratnam interview: Doing pan-Indian films is not a trap, but a choice
>> The filmmaker speaks about the liberty he took with Kalki’s work, and why he doesn’t like using the term ‘woods’ to denote the multiple Indian film industries
2) Actor Vikram on ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’ and Mani Ratnam’s 100-film promise
>> The actor shared his admiration for filmmaker Mani Ratnam and opened up on the challenges of playing Aditya Karikalan in the film
Vikram in a still from ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 2’
3) Obituary: Mamukkoya (1946-2023) — Five decades of laughter
>> The actor appeared in about 400 films, in most of which he played comic characters that spoke in his unmistakable Kozhikodan slang
4) Obituary: Harry Belafonte (1927-2023) — Staying alive in Kolkata
>> A look at the hold the legendary singer had on India
5) Tamil literary pioneers recommend novels that would make for great movie adaptations
>> Writers Imayam, Su Venugopal, Bava Chelladurai and Na Murugesa Pandian pick their favourite literary works that are ripe for adaptations
6) The rash of remakes of South Indian movies by the Bombay industry
>> It is time for the Hindi film industry to focus on reimagining South Indian films rather than just changing the setting from Bellary to Bhopal
7) Guy Pearce on playing British intelligence officer Kim Philby in ‘A Spy Among Friends’
>> The Australian star talks about the experiences that inform the actor in him and explains why he loves spy-thrillers
8) Malayalam composer Bijibal on recreating the soundscape of ‘Bhargavi Nilayam’ in its remake ‘Neelavelicham’
>> He talks about the challenges involved in giving a new touch to the songs composed by MS Baburaj
9) ‘The Sound of Music’ connect to ‘Music School’
>> Shriya Saran and Sharman Joshi’s ‘Music School’ directed by Paparao Biyyala will recreate three iconic songs from ‘The Sound of Music’
10) Director R Chandru on ‘Kabzaa 2’, criticism and conspiracy
>> Director of Upendra’s recent gangster drama ‘Kabzaa,’ looks back at his journey as a filmmaker
11) Santhosh Ananddram: ‘Raghavendra Stores’ will advise people to be non-judgemental
>> The director talks about teaming up with Jaggesh, exploring different layers of the plot, and his plans for launching Yuva Rajkumar
12) Actors Shin Hyun Soo, Lim Se Mi on ‘Duty After School’ and the global success of Korean content
>> The stars talk about the distinguishing feature of South Korean content and their love for Indian films
13) Sharada Ramanathan on using dance and movement in her work
>> The director whose Tamil short ‘Vidivaanam’ released recently also talks on the impact of short films
14) Malayalam actor Rima Kallingal says that Basheer’s Bhargavi of ‘Neelavelicham’ inspired her
>> How Rima Kallingal reinterpreted Bhargavi without losing the essence of that character
15) ‘Truth was stranger than fiction’: The makers of ‘Dancing On The Grave’
>> The director and producer talk about the intricacies involved in making a true-crime show
What to watch
1) Mani Ratnam dishes out a satisfying sequel with ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 2’
2) Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden’s ‘Citadel’ is too template for its own good
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden in ‘Citadel’
| Photo Credit:
Prime Video
3) Irrfan Khan bids adieu in a bewitching ‘The Song of Scorpions’
4) Adventure and ticking crocodiles propel the live-action remake of ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’
5) ‘Sisu’ is a gold mine for fans of gore and mindless action
6) Fahadh Faasil’s ‘Pachuvum Athbuthavilakkum’ works on the strength of its characters
7) In ‘Polite Society’ Bollywood meets British humour but the feature is not as enjoyable as it sounds
8) ‘Raaghu’, a solo-actor thriller is weak on execution
9) Keri Russell headlines cracking political drama on diplomatic relations and defunct relationships in ‘The Diplomat’
10) Sikander Kher brings heart to ‘Tooth Pari: When Love Bites’
11) ‘Judy Blume Forever’ is a joyous celebration of the beloved young-adult author’s life and legacy
12) ‘U-Turn’ is yet another insipid remake of a South Indian film
13) ‘Raghavendra Stores’ is a hotchpotch Jaggesh film with few bright spots
14) Rachel Weisz offers two compelling reasons to watch ‘Dead Ringers’
15) Ashraf Hamza-directorial, ‘Sulaikha Manzil’, entertains only in parts
