Entertainment
Buy blue tick and turn a critic! – IANS Column: B-Town
Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) There is a peculiar problem that filmmakers are facing. The system they created to use for their advantage is now backfiring on them.
Buying influencers on social media seems to have boomeranged on them to the extent that some filmmakers were compelled to seek judicial intervention.
There was a time when filmmakers as well as film stars wielded influence on film critics.
The critics used to be followed by some because their views and reviews were available in the print media. The opinions of ‘trade analysts’ were available only from specialist magazines that only the trade folk subscribed to.
There was this system whereby a film was screened for the critics at a special preview a couple of days before its theatrical release. This was a privilege but the makers went a step further as their PR people would pass around what was known in the trade as the ‘lifafa’ (envelope) with cash for the critics.
Some did not accept these envelopes; others with a conscience tried to write a balanced review even after accepting the inducement.
This was a futile exercise because almost all print media had a very limited readership and nobody in the mass of viewers seemed to care for reviews. What worked was ‘word of mouth’: public opinion.
When the corporate production houses arrived, everything about filmmaking turned into deal-making. The critics were sidelined and the deals were struck with media houses.
Earlier, the media had renowned film critics; whether people followed them or not, they did their job diligently. After all, their views were personal. One critic may praise a film, the other may not.
Yet, the fact remained that most people did not read reviews and, at best, read the last few lines that summarised the opinion of the reviewer.
So, the media started rating a film with stars. One did not have to read the review; one had only to check the number of stars a film got.
In the new scheme of things, deals were struck between the corporate film promoters and the media. However bad or poor a film may be, the minimum stars to be given to a film would never be less than three.
While the corporate production houses did not want their films to be run down and were happy with the deal of a minimum three-star rating, the same was not enough for the film stars.
The film stars wanted five stars for their films. They started cultivating some critics directly. And, with this, the system of reviews and stars began to command a price tag.
Five lakh rupees was the upper limit. As much as Rs 5 lakh for four to five stars, depending on certain factors. In some cases, even the media management was a part of the deal.
Since the film production budgets had moved to crores from lakhs, Rs 5 lakh to read a good word about your film was good for a star. It was a deal that both parties were happy with — the film folk as well as the critic.
With the coming of the World Wide Web, the reviews became a part of various portals. They gained importance because the reviews appeared instantly, as soon as the film’s first show was over. Print media reports became secondary. Still, not everybody enjoys access to the Net.
The combination of social media, smartphones and affordable phone data followed.
As is their wont, filmmakers, stars and others concerned thought nothing of this new system. Bribes work everywhere and there was no reason why they should not on social media. They started with the ones with trade paper backgrounds. A good review and production house-furnished box office figures earned these trade experts sums of Rs 25,000 to 35,000 per positive post.
What has happened now is that every handle on social media has turned into a film trade expert. All you need is to buy a blue tick costing Rs 600 a month and you become a verified critic; your comments count!
Now, all you need is to be noticed by the people who pay Rs 35,000 to blue ticks. So, you run down a film with some detailed observations. It does not take long for the film folk concerned to approach and pacify you. Your Rs 600 per month starts making thousands for you.
More and more blue ticks seem to be popping up posting views on films. The idea is to write negative posts so that every filmmaker’s PR includes you in the payroll and adds you to the influencers list!
The same filmmakers and stars who bred these self-styled film critics and/or analysts now feel trapped. How many blue ticks can you feed?
As things stand now, the film fraternity, which created these Frankensteins, has taken to communicating with social media managers asking them to pull down videos and posts that run down their films. Some such critics, in fact, post elaborate videos on YouTube running down a film.
Recently, producer Vashu Bhagnani had to write to social media to withdraw a certain post relating to his latest film, ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’, because the post had violated copyright rules by using the film’s posters.
It is another thing that these posters and other such material are provided by none other than the production house in anticipation of a few positive comments.
In the South, especially in Kerala, the issue has even reached the courts. The issue was again about unauthorised people running down a film. The filmmakers argued that this amounted to blackmail.
Legally, there is no law to stop anybody from posting his or her views once a film is in the public domain. All that the court could do was suggest that such social media handles refrain from commenting on a new release till 48 hours after its theatrical release. It was also observed by the court that negative reviews were posted by those to whom the makers did not agree to pay!
Tough Times For Cinemas
Cinema screens are facing a virtual famine of supply. They are either forced to close down totally or to operate just one or two screens and keep the others shut.
The films released in the past few weeks have not been able to sustain at the box office.
At some cinemas, ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ had to be replaced by another feature on Monday, four days after its release. For ‘Maidaan’, buy-one-get-one-free ticket offer had to be introduced the very next day after its release. There are no major films due for release at least in the next five weeks.
The IPL, upcoming exams and the general elections have made this period unsuitable for a new release. The one film that braved the odds last Friday was ‘Ruslan’ and the results are for all to see.
A trade source has it that multiplex managements now plan to offload 50 to 60 cinemas that are not lucrative. For the rest, they plan to offer a revenue-share model, instead of the present system of rentals.
Then there were films based on various ‘files’ that the makers had unearthed after the success of ‘The Kashmir Files’, like ‘The Sabarmati Report’ and ‘The Diary of West Bengal’.
The makers of these films due for release in May have been directed by the Election Commission to postpone their plans till after the voting gets over, which is on June 4.
The reason is that these films deal with sensitive subjects in the same manner as did their predecessors, ‘The Kashmir Files’ and ‘The Kerala Story’. One shudders to even wonder what made certain entrepreneurs venture into building 14- or 16-screen properties!
–IANS
vinod/srb
Entertainment
'Kakuda' starring Riteish and Sonakshi, Vijay Sethupati's 'Maharaja' to headline OTT fare his week
New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) This week the OTT platforms are set to stream titles like a supernatural comedy ‘Kakuda’, to action thriller ‘Maharaja’ and others for you to binge watch.
Here is a list of five titles that have caught the attention of IANS this week:
‘Vanished into the Night’
Directed by Renato De Maria, it is written by Patxi Amezcua, Alejo Flah, and Luca Infascelli, the movie stars Annabelle Wallis, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Massimiliano Gallo.
Elena is an American psychiatrist who came to live in Italy, in Puglia, for the love of Pietro, a man with a stormy past. They got married, and had two children, with the dream of restoring a Masseria farmhouse and turning it into a hotel. But things didn’t work out, and soon Pietro and Elena broke up.
The film is releasing on July 11 on Netflix.
‘Kakuda’
The spooky comedy ‘Kakuda’ stars Riteish Deshmukh as Victor, Sonakshi Sinha as Indira, and Saqib Saleem as Sunny in the lead roles, while Aasif Khan is seen in the pivotal role of Kilvish.
The film is a rollercoaster ride of laughter and chills, revolving around the cursed village of Ratodi. It features spine-tingling moments intertwined with side-splitting humour.
Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, it will be released on July 12 on ZEE5.
‘Maharaja’
The Tamil-language action thriller film is directed by Nithilan Swaminathan. The film stars Vijay Sethupathi in the title role, alongside Anurag Kashyap, Sachana Namidass, Mamta Mohandas, Natarajan Subramaniam, Abhirami, Aruldoss, Munishkanth, Manikandan, Singampuli and Bharathiraja in pivotal roles.
The movie revolves around a barber who tells the police that his ‘Lakshmi’ is missing after a home robbery, but the police begin to suspect his true intentions.
Produced by Passion Studios, The Route and Think Studios, the film released theatrically on June 14, 2024. It will now stream on Netflix from July 12.
‘Exploding Kittens’
Based on the best-selling card game, it is an animated comedy series from showrunners Shane Kosakowski and Matthew Inman (co-creator of the card game). The series is also executive produced by Mike Judge, Greg Daniels and Dustin Davis of Bandera Entertainment; Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping for the Chernin Entertainment Group; and executive producers and creators of the Exploding Kittens franchise, Elan Lee and The Oatmeal’s Inman.
Earth sucks, so God (Tom Ellis) gets fired and sent to Earth to reconnect with humanity. The catch? He’s trapped in the body of a chubby house cat. As part of his rehabilitation, he moves in with a dysfunctional family and tries to solve their problems, but ends up spending a lot of time chasing laser pointers.
The key voice cast are Tom Ellis, Sasheer Zamata, Suzy Nakamura, Mark Proksch, Ally Maki, and Kenny Yates.
It will be streaming from July 12 on Netflix.
‘The Yara Gambirasio Case: Beyond Reasonable Doubt’
It retraces in five episodes the tragic story of Yara Gambirasio, who disappeared when she was just 13 years old one evening in November 2010, in Brembate di Sopra (BG) while walking the 700 metres that separate her home from the gym where she did rhythmic gymnastics.
The docuseries reconstructs the investigation into the girl’s disappearance, which culminates with the arrest of Massimo Bossetti. The lengthy investigative and judicial process reveals the truth about some of the family ties of the Bossetti family, while bringing to light intricate and often controversial details about the investigation.
It will be streaming from July 16 on Netflix.
–IANS
sp/kvd
Entertainment
Naqiyah & Vibhav celebrate 150 episodes of 'Shaitani Rasmein'; hail 'collective effort of our team'
Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) The lead actors of fantasy thriller drama ‘Shaitani Rasmein’, Naqiyah Haji and Vibhav Roy celebrated the milestone of 150 episodes of the show, calling it the result of collective hard work of the team.
To celebrate the milestone of 150 episodes, the entire cast and crew came together to cut the cake and shared their happiness.
Expressing her views on the occasion, Naqiyah said: “Completing 150 episodes of ‘Shaitani Rasmein’ is a big achievement for us. This show is very close to my heart and has taken my career to new heights. I got the opportunity to play many different characters in my first lead role itself.”
“During this time, my acting talent was greatly appreciated by the audience, and I will always be thankful to Star Bharat, the fans, and the audience for this opportunity. I would also like to congratulate our cast and crew for their dedication and hard work,” she added.
Vibhav commented: “Reaching this milestone is the result of collective effort and hard work of our team. This journey of 150 episodes has been very memorable, and I thank my viewers wholeheartedly. This show has been very important to my career, and I want to congratulate everyone who made it possible.”
He added: “This journey has been a wonderful experience for us. Every day we learned something new and felt connected with our characters. Also, the love and support of the audience inspired us to do better.”
The audience is witnessing many exciting twists in the current storyline of the show. The Gehlot family is now facing a new threat. Recently, the entry of Netra Dayan in the show has created a stir in the lives of Piyush and Nikki, which will be interesting for the audience to watch.
‘Shaitani Rasmein’ airs on Star Bharat.
–IANS
sp/kvd
Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Rapper-producer Rich the Kid has said that Kanye West is retiring from music, though it’s unclear what exactly that entails or if the decision is final.
According to a since-deleted screenshot of a text exchange posted by Rich the Kid from West: “I am retiring from professional music.”
The reason behind the decision, the musician hinted, is that he’s “not sure what else to do” as far as music goes, reports people.com.
However, Rich the Kid replied: “Retire? Why? How? The ppl NEED you the music you & Ty & we have made was the BIGGEST STAMP in culture to this date in 2024. Drop Ye about mine & V@ and we do it all over again the kids need you big…. maybe some time to chill but retiring ain’t it.”
Shortly after he posted the screenshotted-texts, Rich the Kid announced on X that he’s dropping new music with West featured on his forthcoming album, Life’s a Gamble. “WE DROPPING FRIDAY 7/19,” he wrote, confirming the project’s release date.
According to the album’s tracklist, there’s an upcoming collaboration with West titled ‘Plain Jane’, also the already-released single ‘Gimme a Second 2’ featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Peso Pluma.
There’s also the track ‘Carnival’ with Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla $ign, 42, that was featured on the latter’s collaborative Vultures 1 album with West, which dropped in February. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following month.
West’s retirement announcement comes weeks after he and Ty Dolla $ign were slated to release their sequel project, ‘Vultures 2’.
According to an Instagram post shared by Ty Dolla $ign, the duo are next set to bring their Vultures listening experience to Korea on Friday, August 23.
However, it’s unclear if they’ll perform their follow-up project, which still doesn’t have a confirmed release date.
–IANS
dc/kvd
Los Angeles, July 11 (IANS) Singer-songwriter Katy Perry has announced her 6th studio album ‘143’. She went live across her social media profiles to share snippets of songs off the record.
The album, which arrives on September 20, is what the pop singer described as a dance album, something she’s “always wanted to make”, reports Variety.
“I’ve been talking about [doing] two albums the past eight years and that’s a dance album and an acoustic album,” she said on Instagram Live. “I haven’t yet made the acoustic album. Well, we never stop writing. But I finally made the dance album, the album I always wanted to make.
“This record is super high energy, it’s super summer, it’s very high BPM,” she continued. “We just had a family dance party to one of the songs, and it’s just full of so much joy, so much love, so much light.”
As per Variety, while signing vinyl inserts for ‘143’, Perry previewed three songs from the album on both Instagram Live and TikTok Live. The first clip she played was for a song called ‘I’m His He’s Mine’ featuring Doechii, constructed around a sample of Crystal Waters’ 1991 hit ‘Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)’.
She followed with an upbeat number entitled ‘Nirvana’ as well as ‘Gimme Gimme’ featuring 21 Savage. “‘143’ is honestly a dance party,” she added on TikTok. “All fandoms, invited. And it’s high energy, lots of love, mostly lots of love and BPM, summer, sexy. And it’s for y’all.”
Perry initially teased this upcoming era last month with the news that its first single, ‘Woman’s World’, will arrive July 11 along with a music video. Though no tour has been announced, Perry mentioned on TikTok that she cleared her schedule so she’d be able to tour in the near future.
–IANS
aa/kvd
Los Angeles, July 11 (IANS) Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey, who is known for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’, ‘Interstellar’, ‘True Detective’ and other films, had an apparent run-in with a bee.
The actor recently shared a close-up photo of himself on his Instagram showing his right eye completely swollen shut, reports People magazine.
While the actor did not specify exactly what happened to him, he hinted at an unfortunate incident with a bee with a punny caption: “Bee swell.” Despite the alarming eye injury, he appeared otherwise in good spirits in the photo and held a grin for the camera.
Aside from McConaughey’s apparent bee incident, the actor has been busy as of late: he and his wife Camila Alves McConaughey shared birthday wishes to their eldest son Levi on Sunday, July 7, by sharing a montage of photos of the 16-year-old with his parents and a voiceover message.
“Alright Levi, coming on that age, buddy. About to be out on your own”, the star said in part during his voiceover. “Me and your mom hope we’ve done as good of a job as we can. You’re not gonna really have us as a safety net out there in the wonderful, wild world forever.”
As per People, Matthew and Camila also share two younger kids: daughter Vida, 14, and son Livingston, 11. In June, McConaughey admitted during a conversation with fellow Texas native Glen Powell for Interview magazine that he once took a two-year break from working in Hollywood after he felt he was struggling to book movie roles outside of the romantic comedy genre, where he made early 2000s classics like ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ (2003).
“Dude, it was scary. I had long talks with my wife about needing to find a new vocation,” he shared of the hiatus. He recalled that he told his wife at various points during this time that he was considering teaching high school, studying to conduct music or working as a “wildlife guide.”
–IANS
aa/kvd
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- Man charged after fatal house fire kills three children in Sydney
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