Sony Pictures India Moves Into Tamil Cinema With Kamal Haasan Project

Manori Ravindran International Editor88Rising co-founder Jaeson Ma and Anonymous Content executive producer Eric Tu are joining forces to launch EST Studios, an independent finance, production and sales outfit geared towards the Asian marketplace.Launching just ahead of the European Film Market — which officially kicks off Feb. 10 — the company specializes in premium film and episodic content.Ma (pictured, left) will serve as the company chairman and co-CEO, with Tu (right) serving as co-founder and co-CEO.

Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment are teaming to establish talent-focused venture Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETV).

Naman Ramachandran Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment have joined forces to create Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI), an entertainment company that will offer actors, musicians, sportspersons, gamers and content creators in India opportunities for co-ventures, metaverse solutions, brand partnerships and management.This is the first official cross-corporation joint venture for Sony Group in India. India is on track to become the third largest consumer market by 2030 and sustains one of the largest local-language content creation ecosystems in the world.

Naman Ramachandran Leading Indian music label and film studio T-Series is diversifying into producing series designed for streaming platforms and has signed up an A-list directorial talent roster.The company’s stated aim is to create content “which shall appeal to all sectors of the audience, with gripping shows across genres,” including action thrillers, biopics, murder mysteries, jailbreak dramas.”Signed up as show runners are Aanand L. Rai (“Atrangi Re”), Anubhav Sinha (“Article 15”), Nikkhil Advani (“Mumbai Diaries 26/11”), Hansal Mehta (“Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story”), Sanjay Gupta (“Mumbai Saga”), Bejoy Nambiar (“Solo”), Suparn S.

Refresh for latest…: With a major assist from the phenomenal global box office performance of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sony Pictures Entertainment has recorded a third-quarter profit of $1.314 billion, up a staggering 570% from the comparable period in 2020. Revenues saw a 122% increase to $4.063 billion versus the same quarter the previous year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSony’s pictures division achieved net profits of $1.3 billion in the three months to December 2021, boosted by a return to theatrical releasing and the blockbuster performance of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” The $1.31 billion figure compares with profits of $194 million in the equivalent quarter of 2020, and with profits of $288 million in the preceding three months to end of September 2021.Parent company, Sony Group’s net profits grew by 20% in the three months to December 2021 hitting JPY461 billion. Sales were up by 13% to JPY3.03 trillion.The bumper results, unusually, made the pictures division the largest contributor to Sony’s consolidated net profits.

Dan Walker was the perfect host for the Strictly Come Dancing cast on Monday as he took them out for dinner at his favourite Indian/Bangladeshi restaurant in Sheffield.MORE: Nadiya Bychkova reveals big family news after telling fans not to believe Kai Widdrington rumoursThe BBC presenter spent the day with his friends as their tour reached his home city, where they will perform on Tuesday and Wednesday.WATCH: Dan Walker and Kai Widdrington bond at the golf courseDuring the day, Dan, who was Nadiya Bychkova's partner on the last series, bonded with pro dancer Kai Widdrington, who is rumoured to be dating the dancer, over golf.READ: Bikini-clad Nadiya Bychkova hits the beach with Strictly co-stars amid romance rumoursRELATED: Nadiya Bychkova breaks silence after she and Kai Widdrington seen kissingThe pair posed for a selfie together on the course and later shared a fun video showing him cheering on Kai as he drained  "a big one on the 9th hole." Dan Walker posed with the Strictly cast after dining at his favourite restaurant"Great afternoon whacking a ball around @hallamshiregc with @kaiwidd," the 44-year-old wrote alongside their selfie.Later on, the duo joined most of the cast, including Janette Manrara, Katya Jones and Nadiya, at Prithiraj Restaurant, for a special night out alongside Dan's family."What a lovely treat to take some of the #Strictly family out for a curry with my family. We had a great night at @prithiraj_restaurant - where we took @nadiyabychkova during the series.

Naman Ramachandran France’s Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas kicks off Feb. 1 with a gala screening of Iranian auteur Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s 2001 Cannes winner “Kandahar” and will conclude on Feb.

EXCLUSIVE: Teresa Hsiao, co-creator, executive producer and showrunner of Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, has signed an overall deal with Sony Pictures Television to develop comedy and animation for cable streaming platforms via her Red 136 Productions.

Refresh for latest…: Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home scaled fresh heights this session as it reached an amazing new milestone by crossing the $1B mark at the international box office. The offshore cume through Sunday is an estimated $1.003B for a global total of $1.74B.

A Southerner posted on Facebook about moving to a town in Wigan - and the responses were hilarious.

Naman Ramachandran Leading Indian streamer Disney Plus Hotstar has revealed the first trailer for its upcoming blockbuster series “Rudra: The Edge of Darkness,” starring top Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn (“Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior”). Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India, “Rudra” is the Indian adaptation of hit BBC series “Luther,” starring Idris Elba.

Naman Ramachandran Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired exclusive South Asia media rights for the 2022 Asian Games taking place later this year at Hangzhou, China. SPN will have the rights to broadcast the games across its sports channels in India and the subcontinent including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Maldives, and on streamer SonyLIV through Sept. 2023.

Ethnic minorities with lower uptake of the booster are not seeing the same fall in Covid cases as the wider population in Manchester, public health bosses say.

Naman Ramachandran Spanish company Soul Pictures has boarded international sales on Indian filmmaker Prasun Chatterjee’s debut feature “Two Friends” (“Dostojee”).Set in 1992-93, when Hindu-Muslim tensions escalated in India in the aftermath of the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the Bombay bomb blasts and percolated down to a remote village on the India-Bangladesh border, the film follows the friendship of two eight-year-old boys. Palash, the son of a Hindu Brahmin and Safikul, whose father is a Muslim weaver, are best friends, but fate intervenes.The film world premiered at the 2021 BFI London Film Festival, played at the Dhaka International Festival and will play at the Goteborg Film Festival from this Friday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAudible has been in the audio-content biz for more than 20 years. Now, amid the recent podcast explosion, the Amazon-owned premium audio storytelling platform is aggressively investing in original and exclusive content — including a burgeoning slate from high-profile Hollywood talent.On the latest episode of Variety’s “Strictly Business” podcast — it’s a meta podcast about podcasts! — Rachel Ghiazza, EVP, and head of U.S.

Megan McKenna has given a glimpse inside her romantic movie date night under the stars in the Maldives with her boyfriend Josh Riley. The 29 year old, who recently gave a glimpse inside her sun-soaked holiday to the idyllic islands in the Indian Ocean, shared a peek inside her private cinema date night with her 28 year old businessman beau Josh. Megan looked every inch the beach beauty in a pair of lemon cotton flared trousers and a matching halter-neck top which she accessorised with gold hoop earrings for the evening at the five-star Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa.