2013 Audio Songs
All songs →Related News
More news →Hyde Park Asia raises funds - Amritraj draws focus to Asian films
Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment Group is setting up a multi-million dollar fund for Amritraj's new Hyde Park Asia post. Acting as a bridge between the film industries of Asia and America, Hyde Park Asia will produce or co-produce three to four films per year, consisting of a mixture of major Hollywood films and cross-cultural titles aimed at a global audience. The fund will provide approximately SGD $75 ' 100 million of equity and debt for the production of feature films and will be operational in 2008. Hyde Park Asia's offices will be based in Singapore. "Singapore is the perfect city to base our new Asian offices. Asia has wonderful talent and facilities, along with great growth potential," says Amritraj. Commenting on Hyde Park's presence in Singapore, Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, Media Development Authority of Singapore said, "We welcome Hyde Park Asia to Singapore, whose presence further strengthens Singapore's position as a media business exchange where new Asia media projects are created, financed and distributed. The establishment of the production fund will undoubtedly boost Singapore's status as a global media city and attract more exciting film projects and talents here. In addition, it sets the stage for more collaborations between Singapore media companies and Hyde Park Asia." Hyde Park already has films shooting in Asia in various stages of production as previously announced. 'Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li' is based on the Japanese 'Street Fighter' video game franchise from Capcom and will be released by 20th Century Fox. It is currently in production in Hong Kong and Bangkok and stars Kristin Kreuk, Michael Clarke Duncan, Neal McDonough, along with Asian stars Josie Ho (Hong Kong) and Edmund Chen (Singapore). 'The Other End of the Line', a romantic comedy that recently wrapped and will be released by MGM. Featuring an Indian call center operative who travels to the U.S. to meet up with an American guy she has fallen for over the phone, it stars up-and-comer Jesse Metcalfe opposite Shriya Saran, the Indian beauty who worked her way through Indian regional cinema and broke into Bollywood in 2007 after Tamil-language 'Sivaji: The Boss'. As an East-West conduit Hyde Park Asia will discover new talent throughout the continent and will provide a platform for actors and filmmakers to segue into Hollywood films. Amritraj's popular and critically praised moviemaking reality TV show 'Gateway' on Sony's PIX network in India, has offered fresh Asian-based filmmakers that chance. The winner of 'Gateway' will direct a film for Hyde Park this year. In India, Amritraj already has a three-picture deal with Adlabs Films, the movie arm of India's most powerful entertainment conglom, Reliance Entertainment. Adlabs may also be involved in co-financing films with Hyde Park Asia. Hyde Park International, the foreign sales arm of the Hyde Park Entertainment Group, headed by sales veteran Lisa Wilson, will handle all foreign territories. Hyde Park Asia will arrange North American distribution for the company's pictures. Hyde Park has a first look co-production/co-financing deal with 20th Century Fox. Recent Hyde Park films include 'Premonition' with Sony, 'Death Sentence' with 20th Century Fox, 'Walking Tall' with MGM and 'Bringing Down the House' with Disney.
Gunman sought after ranger killed in US park
A popular US national park will remain closed Monday as police hunt a gunman who shot and killed a federal ranger before fleeing into the forest, authorities said late Sunday. A major manhunt launched immediately after the New Year's Day shooting in Mount Rainier National Park failed to find the suspect by nightfall, which hampered efforts to track him amid sub-zero temperatures. Local media named the suspect as Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, who allegedly killed 34-year-old park ranger Margaret Anderson after she set up a roadblock to corral the suspect who had sped away from an earlier traffic stop. Barnes is reported to be a former soldier with previous run-ins with the law. He allegedly shot Anderson with a high-powered assault rifle before fleeing into the wilderness on foot at around 11:00 am local time.
500 elephants killed in Cameroon park in 2 months
Nearly 500 elephants have been killed in a Cameroon national park in less than two months by poachers from Sudan and Chad, a park official told AFP on Thursday. "As of today we estimate that 480 elephants have been slaughtered in our park," said Mathieu Fometa of the Bouba Ndjida National Park in northern Cameroon, near the border with Chad, where the animals roam freely. "Formally, we did count 458 carcasses," he said, but he cautioned that "these figures may be an underestimate because the park covers 220,000 hectares (540,000 acres) and it isn't easy to travel to get accurate information." On Thursday an AFP reporter saw 12 elephant carcasses at three sites in the park, some of them having been shot Tuesday according to sources. Between Sunday and Tuesday "our teams counted at least 20 elephants killed" in those three days, said Fometa, who added that the killers were still in the park, having said in January they would stay for three months. The government has taken no visible steps to secure the park. The killers are "dozens of Sudanese and Chadian poachers armed with machine guns and operating in gangs on horseback," said International Fund for Animal Welfare official Celine Sissler-Bienvenu on the IFAW website. "Nothing seems to be able to stop their reckless pursuit of ivory that began in mid-November in the Central African Republic, carried on in Chad in December, and ended in Cameroon in January." Poaching in Cameroon wildlife parks has been on the rise in recent months, sources say, with the ivory mainly bound for Asia. The IFAW said earlier that many orphaned elephant calves had been spotted abandoned following the shootings and concerns were high the babies may soon die of hunger and thirst.
Darshan's Virat Resumes in Freedom Park
The shooting for Darshan starrer 'Virat' resumed on Tuesday morning at the Freedom Park in Bangalore. The shooting is being continuing after a two year gap. Darshan starrer 'Virat' being directed by H Vasu was launched few years back at the Kanteerava Studios in Bangalore. But the shooting was stopped due to various problems. Later there was a news that another producer Sifcc president C Kalyan has took over the project from the earlier producer Ratnakumar and the project would start soon. However, Darshan had commented during the audio release of 'Ambarisha' that he would continue in the film if his conditions are met. Now it looks as if everything has come in place and the shooting of the film has started once again.
Yes, I've been offered 'Jurassic Park 4': Irrfan Khan
After being part of the "Spiderman" franchise, acclaimed Indian actor Irrfan has now hopped on to the "Jurassic" brand, but the actor is yet to sign on the dotted line. "Yes I've been offered 'Jurassic Park 4'. But at the moment I cannot reveal any more details," said Irrfan. The franchise will be directed by Colin Trevorrow. A friend of the actor revealed that the role is one of the three principal leads in "Jurassic Park". "And it's not a villain's role as has been reported in the international press. After the way his role was melted down in 'The Amazing Spiderman', Irrfan is not willing to take risks with international offers. Just because he is being offered a role in a huge franchise, he won't run for it at the cost of his Indian projects," said the actor's friends. Irrfan, known for his powerpacked performances in "Maqbool" and "The Namesake", is committed to do a film with Tigmanshu Dhulia at the same time when he is required to be in the US to shoot "Jurassic Park". And therein lies the dilemma. Said the friend: "It is tempting to take on a project that Steven Spielberg is associated with. But there is the risk of being lost in the crowd. Irrfan is waiting for the script before he chooses between Spielberg and Dhulia."
'Blood everywhere': At least 4 seriously injured after roller coaster collision at England theme park
A roller coaster collision Tuesday at an England amusement park was a "shocking" scene with "blood everywhere" that left at least four teenagers seriously injured. Staff at Alton Towers in Staffordshire said emergency crews were on scene and built a platform to reach those stuck 25 feet in the air on "The Smiler" roller coaster, the BBC reported. Merlin Entertainment, the park’s operator, said two sets of roller coaster cars collided on a part of the track. One of the sets of cars was empty while the other one was carrying 16 parkgoers. "When the second carriage crashed, people were screaming and shouting -- even after it stopped. Everyone around the park ran over," Ben Richardson, who witnessed the collision, told the BBC. "The people looked significantly distressed. It was almost like a car crash, very full on." Danny Simm, who was at the park at the time of the collision, wrote on Twitter that there was "blood everywhere," Sky News reports. "People unconscious, knocked out," the tweet said. "It really was shocking." Another witness, Tom Whelton, told Sky News that the roller coaster had broken down three hours earlier following technical difficulties. "Of the 16 occupants on board the ride, two teenage boys and two teenage girls, have sustained serious leg injuries," a West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said. The other passengers on the ride suffered minor injuries, the spokeswoman added. Merlin Entertainment said "there will be a full investigation once we have recovered the guests who are our priority." The ride -- which has a maximum drop of 98 feet and travels at speeds of up to 52 mph -- has had a history of incidents. In July 2013, two months after "The Smiler" opened, a metal bolt fell off the track, prompting the rescue of 48 people on the coaster as staff closed the ride to investigate. "At no time was any visitor at any risk, and 48 guests on the ride at the time were safely disembarked," a spokesman said following the incident, according to Sky News. Months later, in November 2013, several of the roller coaster car’s wheels broke off and hit passengers who were sitting at the front of the ride. The amusement park says "The Smiler" has 14 loops and is "not for the faint hearted. "The Smiler also features a series of twisted psychological effects, including optical illusions and blinding lights designed to mess with your mind and body," the amusement park says on its website. The theme park, 150 miles north of London, is one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions, according to The Associated Press.