Kabali frenzy spreads, ticket prices soaring

July 20, 2016

Chennai, Jul 20: Make hay while Rajinikanth shines! This seems to be the mantra for theatre owners who are making a killing by selling “Kabali” tickets at exorbitant prices — much to the disappointment of hardcore superstar fans.

kabali

With “Kabali” slated to release in over 4,000 screens worldwide on Friday, the demand for its tickets is unprecedented.

“Most theatres across the state (Tamil Nadu) have sold out tickets for the opening weekend. With the average ticket costing Rs 600, most ardent Rajinikanth fans are disappointed that they couldn’t afford the tickets on the first day,” trade analyst Trinath said agency.

Despite Tamil Nadu government’s cap of Rs 120 on movie tickets, theatre owners have been selling “Kabali” tickets at five times higher than the original price.

“We are used to paying Rs 120 for movie tickets. But this sudden exponential increase in ticket price is very unfair. The prices vary according to the show timings. Early morning shows are sold at Rs 500-600 and the prices are slashed through the course of the day,” rues Santhosh Kumar, a second year college student.

Some fans are seething over unavailability of tickets because they were allegedly sold in bulk to corporates.

“We don’t have issues with the ticket prices. It’s once in two or three years, you get a Thalaivar (Rajinikanth’s) film. If you can’t shell out Rs 1,000 for your matinee idol, then what kind of a fan are you,” asks Muralikrishna, a chartered accountant.

Although most theatres give preference to fan club members, this year they seem to have favoured companies.

“Across major multiplexes, tickets on the first day were booked by corporates. Some of these companies booked in bulk even before the online booking started. I somehow managed to get a ticket through a friend.

“But when I tried to book five tickets for my family just minutes after online bookings opened, it didn’t even go through,” said Muralikrishna.

A theatre owner, on condition of anonymity, said the tickets were being sold at such high prices because of the high investment involved.

“The Chengalpet area rights of ‘Kabali’ were bought for a whopping Rs 18 crore. In order to make profits, the film should collect over Rs 30 crore. If the tickets are sold at Rs 120, it’s impossible to recover the investment in the first few days,” he said, and added that the opening weekend is very crucial for big-ticket films.

“The opening weekend is very important to recover as much as investment as possible. In the case of a Rajinikanth-starrer, only when you sell tickets at Rs 400-500, will you be able to see profits, provided the film opens to positive word-of-mouth.

“Despite taking in over Rs 100 crore, Rajinikanth’s ‘Lingaa’ turned out to be a dud because of the high investment involved,” he explained.

Directed by Pa. Ranjith, “Kabali” also stars Radhika Apte, Dinesh, Dhansikaa, Kalaiarasan, Kishore, John Vijay, Ritwika and Winston Chao, among others.

In the US, tickets for “Kabali” premiere on Thursday are priced at $25, as opposed to $14 or $15 for regular releases.

“As an Indian, when I start converting the ticket price into Indian money, it gives me a heart attack. But you don’t get to see two or three Rajinikanth releases in a year. I think it’s worth it for the euphoria his films bring,” Madhusudhan, who has been living in New York for over a decade, told agency.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Los Angeles, Apr 28: A top-secret documentary feature about former first lady Michelle Obama is set to start streaming worldwide on Netflix from May 6.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the doc shares its title with Michelle Obama's best-selling 2018 memoir "Becoming" and recounts some of the same history of her life.

"Becoming", like the best documentary feature Oscar winner "American Factory", comes from Higher Ground, the production company run by former President Barack Obama and the former first lady, which has an exclusive pact with the streamer.

The documentary marks the feature directorial debut of cinematographer Nadia Hallgren known for her work on "Trouble the Water", the 2008 indie about a couple surviving failed levees, bungling bureaucrats, and their own troubled past and a portrait of a community abandoned long before Hurricane Katrina hit.

"Becoming" also picks up where that story left off by following her on the 34-city tour that she undertook while promoting her book.

"Those months I spent traveling meeting and connecting with people in cities across the globe drove home the idea that what we share in common is deep and real and can't be messed with.

"In groups large and small, young and old, unique and united, we came together and shared stories, filling those spaces with our joys, worries and dreams. We processed the past and imagined a better future. In talking about the idea of 'becoming,' many of us dared to say our hopes out loud," Michelle Obama said in a statement.

The former first lady also addressed the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"It's hard these days to feel grounded or hopeful, but I hope that like me, you'll find joy and a bit of respite in what Nadia has made. Because she's a rare talent, someone whose intelligence and compassion for others comes through in every frame she shoots.

"Most importantly, she understands the meaning of community, the power of community, and her work is magically able to depict it.

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News Network
April 3,2020

Washington, April 3: American actor Kristen discussed her experience being isolated with husband and their two kiddos.

According to Fox News, the 39-year-old actor discussed how she and Shepard are finding quarantine to be a little tough in a video chat to Entertainment Tonight.

Bell admitted: "We've gotten on each other's last nerve these last couple days. We're doing much better now because were laughing about it. But when we were not laughing about it for the first couple of days, that's the hard spot."

The 'Bad Mom' actor then shared her thoughts on why quarantining with loved ones can be so tough. She explained that she loves spending time with her husband and he loves spending time with her.

But what she thinks is different about this quarantine time is you have so much more time to think about the other persona and their actions and sort of replay what they said or attach a meaning to something that they did.
Bell added: "Nobody really needs time for that. That's useless."

The 'Frozen' actor also discussed having to make adjustments in regards to her kids, 7-year-old Lincoln, and 5-year-old Delta, and the schedule she tried to keep once the quarantine began.

She said that the biggest lesson she learnt, in the beginning, was that she wrote out the colour coded schedule, and noted about when will be their academic and academic time.

Kristen explained that by day five of schedule, she was making everybody miserable. About a week ago, she woke her kids up and encouraged her daughters to rip up the schedule, explaining that the kids "felt so good."

"I said the learning lesson here is that if you make a plan and it's not working, you pivot," said Bell.

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News Network
July 4,2020

London, Jul 4: Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth says he is really excited about the biopic on WWE legend Hulk Hogan, which is currently in development.

"The Thor" actor revealed that he will bulk up his physique for the much-anticipated film to be directed by “Joker” helmer Todd Phillips.

“This movie is going to be a really fun project. As you can imagine, the preparation for the role will be insanely physical. I will have to put on more size than I ever have before, even more than I put on for Thor.

''And then there is the accent as well as the physicality and the attitude. I will also have to do a deep dive into the rabbit hole of the wrestling world, which I'm really looking forward to doing,” Hemsworth told British magazine Total Film.

The project was announced last year, with “8 Mile” scribe Scott Silver and John Pollono attached to pen the script.

It is expected to look into Hogan's rise from the Florida wrestling circuit to becoming the face of the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s where he squared off with villain Andre the Giant.

The 36-year-old actor, however, said that the team is still “quite a way away” from starting production on the film.

“'I haven't even seen a script yet. The project is deep in development. Todd Phillips and I met to chat about it maybe a year or two ago. We talked about the idea for the film, which I think was going to be a TV series at one point.

''There were a few different ideas about what portion of his life it was going to be set in, so we spitballed about what it could be and what I thought it might be. Thankfully, they ran with a few of those ideas and the script is in the process of being written - but Hulk Hogan is still quite a way away.''

The biopic will be produced by Michael Sugar through his Sugar23's first-look Netflix deal along with Joint Efforts' Phillips and Bradley Cooper, Eric Bischoff, and Hemsworth.

Hogan will also serve as executive producer along with Sugar23's Ashley Zalta. Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman will serve as co-producers.

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