Last month, famed screenwriter KV Vijayendra Prasad was among those nominated to the Rajya Sabha in the category of eminent persons chosen by the President of India. Even as he honours his Parliament duties, an artiste can*t stay away from his art for too long. Five years after his last directorial venture Srivalli (2017), Prasad is set to helm his next, Bhagwa Dhwaj. The big-budget period drama will trace the genesis of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In a stellar 30-plus-year career so far, the veteran writer has penned several hits. While Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) championed cross-border friendship, the Baahubali franchise and RRR were big-budget spectacles that went on to become Blockbusters. Bhagwa Dhwaj, he believes, is a natural progression as he tells the story of the right-wing, Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation, which was founded in 1925 by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. Prasad says, “I have been working on the script for a couple of years. It will be an account of the history of the RSS and the real-life incidents.” The story is likely to culminate in 1963, when the then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru – impressed by the help extended by the RSS during the 1962 Indo-China war – allowed them to field a contingent of 100 swayamsevaks in the 1963 Republic Day Parade. “The film will be dramatised for the big screen, and will be a multi-starrer. It will be made in Hindi, and dubbed in all Indian languages. The script is ready, and pre-production will begin in November-December after I complete a few writing assignments, including my son*s [SS Rajamouli] movie with Mahesh Babu.”
Prasad, who helmed Telugu movies Ardhangi (1996), Sri Krishna 2006 (2006) and Rajanna (2011) in the past, says that the compelling story of the RSS made him return to direction. “The organisation*s history has so many dramatic incidents that people are not aware of. I felt that as a citizen of India, I must direct this movie. The story has elements of patriotism, nationalism and sacrifice,” he says, keeping the names of the producers under wraps. For such an ambitious film, casting is key. Prasad adds, “I don*t like to make distinctions between Hindi and south actors – [we*ll go with] whoever is best suited for the character. I haven*t started casting yet.”
Members of the Sanatan Rakshak Sena raised slogans against the movie and held a protest in front of I P Vijaya Mall in Bhelupur.
State president of the Sena’s youth wing, Chandra Prakash Singh, and its vice-president Arun Pandey alleged that Aamir Khan makes fun of Hindu deities in his films and he is against the Sanatan Dharma.
“We all Sanatanis will not allow his films to run in our country,” they said.
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“We will go from door-to-door and request people to boycott Aamir Khan’s films. At the same time, we also request Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to ban the film,” they added.
“Laal Singh Chaddha”, starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan in lead roles, is an adaptation of Tom Hanks’ 1994 Hollywood movie “Forrest Gump”.
The last two years have been awful for any number of reasons. But along the way, we briefly attempted an experiment: what if movie theaters shifted to streaming instead? Now things are slowly shifting back to the status quo. And you know what? There’s no way I’m ever going back to the theater.
I say this as a former movie theater fan, and yes, the experience still holds nostalgia for me. Movie theaters were, for a long time, a place to escape real life, go on a date, or just pass a few hours. As a life-long geek, the era of Marvel (sorry, DC, but please try again) has been a bit of a dream come true. I thought I’d always be among the first in line to see the latest Star Trek, Star Wars, or Avengers movie. But now I don’t want that anymore. And best of all, I don’t need to either.
Time Off From Movie Theaters
Josh Hendrickson / Review Geek
From mid-2020 through the end of 2021, I never saw a movie in a theater. For the longest time, they were closed, and even when they did reopen, plenty of the movies I cared about skipped them entirely. Whether it was Raya and the Last Dragon, Black Widow, or Wonder Woman 1984, I didn’t need to go to a theater. Instead, I had the option to watch the film from the comfort of my home. The last movie I saw in theaters was Sonic the Hedgehog in April 2020, just as the pandemic started getting underway.
Streaming movies from home led us to watch more films than in previous years. After all, it wasn’t so bad to take a chance on a movie if we didn’t have to pay extra—as was the case with Soul, The Matrix Resurrections, and Wonder Woman 1984. And that turned out for the best too. Can you imagine my disappointment if I had paid for theater tickets to see the latest Matrix movie?
Of course, streaming from home did present a few problems. Going to a theater is an experience—the big screen, the massive sound, the popcorn, and even the shared cheers all add to the fun. The moment when Captain America summoned Mjölnir (uh, spoilers, I guess?) stands out not just for an incredible moment but also for the deafening cries of triumph from the audience.
One of the last movies I saw before the lockdown began wasn’t even a new film. My local theater decided to do a special showing of Howl’s Moving Castle. Though I know most won’t agree with me, Howl’s Moving Castle is, in my opinion, the best of Studio Ghibli’s films. The music is terrific, the story poignant, and the characters are utter perfection. But no one I know feels the same way about the movie, so getting to see it with like-minded strangers in the movie theater felt like a special experience.
But it was also kind of terrible because the person next to me wouldn’t stop loudly humming along to all the songs. Try as I might to enjoy seeing Howl’s Moving Castle in a new way, the distracting humming detracted from an otherwise enjoyable experience. And that is one of the biggest problems with movie theaters (besides the price).
It’s hard to fathom how I used to look at the movie theater experience with fondness. Streaming wasn’t an option when Spider-Man: No Way Home hit theaters in December 2021. We chose to go to the theater for the first time since April 2020. After more than a year away, we thought it’d be the perfect time to see what we’d been missing.
The new Spider-Man movie should have been the perfect “return to theaters” option, too. Much like Avengers: Endgame, the film contains plenty of moments designed to get the audience to cheer collectively. But… that didn’t happen.
Instead, throughout the movie, people talked loudly about anything but the movie. Others were using their smartphones with the brightness turned all the way up. Children, likely at the theater for the first time, walked around unimpeded by parents, blocking the screen at times even with stadium seating. A baby cried nearly the entire time. Another family decided no less than three times that they needed more snacks and all left as a group, walking through my row.
It was awful, and I didn’t enjoy the experience at all. Worse yet, I paid a lot for the tickets, plus expensive popcorn and soda. The night cost me over $50, only to find me and my family miserable. Sure the “audience cheer moments” happened, and I enjoyed them—but I was constantly struggling to hear, see, and ignore the people around me. Even those “cheer moments” moments were muted compared to what they should have been.
And it’s not that’s the first time this has happened. Going to a movie, especially a popular one is a crapshoot. Maybe you’ll have a great audience that just wants to watch the film. Or perhaps you’ll find yourself next to a jerk who actually answers the phone. Or the theater could be bad when I went to see the first Wonder Woman, the theater’s terrible lighting setup marred the experience and washed out the screen for over half the film.
We realized we hadn’t been happy with the theater experience in a long time when we thought about it. We kept trying different theaters thinking a particular location was to blame—but the problem is us. My family just doesn’t enjoy the “collective stranger” experience anymore. We want the big screen, the fantastic sound, the popcorn, and the soda. But without the other people and the high prices. And the good news is we already solved that.
Build Your Own Movie Theater
Josh Hendrickson / Review Geek
So the bad news is, I don’t want to go to movie theaters anymore. The good news is, in the last couple of years, I’ve slowly built out a home theater worthy of the experience I loved. I used to think that the dream of a “home theater” was out of reach for me for various reasons. I’m not a rich man, so I won’t have a custom theater with stadium-style seats ready to host extended family and friends.
And I live in a ranch-style home with decently high ceilings, but not so high that I could hang a projector. My house’s large windows are also a problem, as bright lights are the enemy of projectors. I have a finished basement where the windows aren’t an issue, but it has even lower ceilings and a giant duct running through the middle, making that entire section barely clear my head.
But, even if you don’t have space for a traditional projector, you can still make one work; it just might entail spending more. Ultra-Short Throw projectors are perfect for smaller homes like mine, as they can live just inches away from the wall and still project a screen 100 inches or more. But there’s a projector for your home, regardless of size and shape.
Buy the right projector, and you may not even need a sound system. More and more come with relatively decent sound these days, but if you truly want a theater experience, you’ll have to step up to something better. If you don’t have a lot of room, you could try a soundbar. A 7.1 surround system, or better, will help you get a complete “movie experience,” though.
I decided to build my 7.1 surround system one piece at a time. I started with the receiver and floor-standing speakers, then added another speaker in the system whenever my budget allowed. In the end, I built a system that rumbles the house during Jurassic Park and makes every game more lifelike. My only complaint about Sony receivers is the company’s insistence on pre-named inputs.
Sony Floor Standing Speaker and Receiver combo
If you want a 7.1 surround system but can’t afford it all at once, build it up piece by piece with this kit.
Of course, you could stop there and meet the minimum requirements of a “home theater.” But you’d be missing out. Every movie calls for popcorn; thankfully, it’s not hard to make at home. But skip the microwave stuff. Instead, you can opt for a small air popper or the complete “theater look” with a larger popcorn maker.
West Bend Theater Style Popcorn Maker
If you want traditional popcorn to the max, this is the machine to get. You’ll dump kernels and butter, then watch as they pop into the container below. Open the door and scoop some out when it’s ready.
Of course, one of the best parts about theaters growing up was the arcade machines. If we were lucky, we could show up early or stay late and drop a few quarters. But now you can bring your own machine home, whether that be Terminator 2, a pinball machine, or a classic fighter.
Arcade1Up Capcom Legacy Edition
One of the best things about this particular Arcade1Up machine is that it comes with 12 games instead of the usual 2 or 3. If you love fighters, especially ‘Street Fighter,’ this is the one to get.
From there, it’s just about adding whatever touches you need to complete the setup. That could be a minifridge to keep snacks and drinks at the ready or an overpriced replica of the most adorable character in Star Wars since BB-8. The sky is the limit (or maybe your budget is). But the best part is, only the people you invite can come over.
And while you’ll probably spend more money on the setup than you would on movie tickets and overpriced popcorn in a year, you get to use the theater every day (even for gaming!) instead of on special occasions only. You can even watch baseball or an episode of Holey Moley. We won’t tell.
Golwalkar, in his book ‘Bench of Thoughts’, had raised a similar opinion and the LDF government had decided to include this book in the syllabus of Kannur University once, alleged VD Satheesan. He had also opined that Saji Cheriyan’s arguments resonated with the ideologies of RSS.
A scene from “Light and Magic” Courtesy of Disney+ / Industrial Light and Magic
Over the past 47 years, countless moviegoers have encountered the work of Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), even if they may not have realized it at the time. That’s because ILM’s team works way behind the scenes, creating innovative—and believable—visual effects that help viewers suspend their disbelief for a few hours while watching movies like Jurassic Park (1993), Transformers (2007), and the Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises.
Now, a new six-part documentary called “Light and Magic” brings the company’s story into the spotlight. The series, which launches on the streaming platform Disney+ on July 27, explores the history and impact of ILM, which film director and producer George Lucas founded in 1975 while working on Star Wars.
Released this week, the documentary’s trailer offers a tantalizing look into the origins of ILM, which developed pioneering visual effects techniques and technologies that revolutionized the film industry. As Germain Lussier writes for Gizmodo, ILM “literally changed the world.”
“Visual effects create the magic that makes people want to go to the movies,” says Lucas in the trailer. “Movies are special effects.”
The company, which is an offshoot of Lucasfilm, has won numerous awards since its founding, including 3 Emmy Awards, 15 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, and 33 Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Awards, per ILM’s website. Today, it draws on the talents of more than 1,200 employees around the world, including artists, software engineers, art directors, editors, producers, computer graphics artists and technicians, all of whom collaborate with filmmakers to make their visual dreams a reality.
A scene from “Light and Magic”
Courtesy of Disney+ / Industrial Light and Magic
In its early days, the company mastered traditional visual effects techniques, such as blue-screen photography, matte painting, and model and miniature construction. Then, staffers really began innovating, figuring out how to use computer graphics and digital imaging in feature films and developing numerous new technologies along the way.
ILM created some of the silver screen’s earliest computer-generated characters, as seen in movies like The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Jurassic Park. Within the industry, the company is also well known for its ability to seamlessly combine photorealistic digital images with video footage.
More recently, the company developed a new real-time virtual production platform called StageCraft that allows filmmakers to surround actors with screens realistically depicting any location in the world. This means moviemakers can do their work from a studio, rather than traveling to far-flung locales to get the right shot, saving both time and money.
A scene from “Light and Magic”
Courtesy of Disney+ / Industrial Light and Magic
All told, the team at ILM has worked on more than 350 films, including 25 of the top 50 worldwide box office hits, per the company’s website. The documentary itself features some heavy hitters, too. Star Wars and Indiana Jones writer Lawrence Kasdan directed the series, which includes interviews with Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron,Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis and other influential filmmakers
Reflecting on ILM’s trajectory for the documentary was eye-opening even to the people who lived through the journey.
“It was a wild place,” said Kasdan at a Star Wars event in late May, per the A.V. Club’s Matt Schimkowitz. “At first nobody knew how it was going to work. It was a lot of improvising, which led to a lot of communication. People realizing the skills they had could be expanded. For 40 or 50 years, it’s been that kind of environment, where geniuses can be geniuses.”
Sarah Kuta
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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.
It’s been five weeks since ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ hit the cinemas in India and the makers of the movie are quite happy with the movie’s performance in the country. The film closed its fifth weekend recently and has crossed the Rs 100 crore mark! ‘Thor’ is the second Hollywood film to ever cross the magical figure of Rs 100 crores this year. Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh took to his social media handles to share the news. According to him, the film earned Rs 79.07 cr in week 1, Rs 14.46 cr in week 2, Rs 4.34 cr in week 3, Rs 1.69 cr in week 4, and Rs 46 lacs in week 5.
The movie hit the theatres on July 7. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in lead roles. Recently, Chris Hemsworth revealed that his younger brother Liam Hemsworth was almost cast as Marvel’s Thor instead of him.According to E! News, while promoting the latest instalment of the franchise, ‘Thor: Love and Thunder, the 38-year-old revealed just how close Liam was to playing the Mjolnir swinging character.While several recent Marvel Cinematic Universe projects have been exploring the Multiverse, the same isn’t the case with ‘Thor: Love and Thunder.Chris told an entertainment outlet, “In this film, it’s not something we explore. But who knows if there is more in the future, as you say it has opened up multitudes of options we can head in or be taken in.”He stated he’d like his brother Liam to play an alternate version of Thor if the movies ever explore the multiverse, eventually.
“My little brother almost got cast as Thor. He was one of the first people who got right down to the wire on getting the part so, I don’t know, I could cross paths with him. That will be fun,” Chris admitted.Last month, during a show, Chris recalled not getting a call-back for the role after his initial audition. “I think my audition sucked. I think that was the response I got,” he said.Although Chris did not make it to the next round, Liam shortly after decided to pursue the gig–and impressively made it down to the “last five people” being considered.”They were like, ‘Look, he’s great, but he’s a bit young.’ My manager then said, ‘Well, he does have an older brother,’ which was me,” he explained, adding, “I came back in, re-auditioned a few times, and just had a different attitude.Chris ultimately went on to join the MCU, with the first Thor movie premiering back in 2011. But Liam didn’t exactly get the short end of the stick as he debuted in ‘The Hunger Games’ a year later in 2012.The franchise has proven to have deep family ties for the Hemsworth brothers. Chris and Liam’s older brother, Luke, has appeared in both ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ in a cameo as an Asgardian actor playing Thor, as per E! News. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Laal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan, starring Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar, respectively, have been trending this week on social media amid demands by a section of users to boycott the films, the actors and even Bollywood itself. Both movies are set to release in theatres on 11 August.
As she pointed out, in his efforts to win his girl, Travolta’s character, Danny Zuko, also tries to change. Who can forget him running (embarrassingly badly) round the school track dressed up, for her benefit, as a jock?
We hope you love the shows and movies we recommend! Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of revenue or other compensation from the links on this page. Oh, and FYI: Platform, prices, and other availability details are accurate as of time of posting.
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Netflix has teamed up with video game publisher Take-Two to create a BioShock film.
The news was announced on Tuesday via the official Netflix Geeked Twitter account.
“Netflix, 2K and Take-Two Interactive are partnering to produce a film adaptation of the renowned video game franchise BioShock,” it said.
While no further details about the project were shared, the tweet was accompanied by a quote from BioShock antagonist Andrew Ryan, and imagery of the iconic Big Daddy character and the underwater setting of Rapture.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the partnership deal had been in the works for close to a year.
A writer or filmmaker have yet to be attached to the project, which will see Vertigo Entertainment and Take-Two serve as producers.
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BioShock released in 2007 and the game quickly attracted the interest of Hollywood, with The Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski originally attached to helm a feature film based on the IP.
The project, which would subsequently see 28 Weeks Later filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo lined up to direct, was reportedly cancelled because studios were unwilling to invest in an R-rated version of the tale.
In a recent Arcade Attack interview, BioShock creator Ken Levine claimed Take-Two ultimately granted him permission to veto the proposed movie, which he “felt wasn’t necessarily going in the right direction” before the plug was pulled.
Levine said the movie studios had “a story they wanted to tell that wasn’t necessarily the story of BioShock”. They liked the visuals of the world but didn’t buy into the story and the characters to the same degree.
He also said he once had a meeting with a famous and “very talented” filmmaker whose first question was whether the movie would have to be set underwater.
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Will a BioShock movie ever get made, Levine was asked? “I don’t know. I hope if it ever gets made it’s… I don’t want to see it get made unless it’s good and whether it’s going to make the people who played the game feel like the things they loved in it are intact.”
