IT’S OFFICIAL! Avatar Sequel To Be Shot In New Zealand

The next two installments of the film Avatar would be filmed in the picturesque locations of New Zealand confirmed James Cameron, the director of the film.

James Cameron says his vision is to create a family epic in the mould of The Godfather that will introduce viewers to new cultures and go underwater on his fictional moon Pandora and that’s the reason for two more installments.

James Cameron said that he plans to release the first sequel in 2016, seven years after the release of Avatar that created Box Office history.

He said a core team has been developing new software for the sequels even while he’s been gone on other projects, including eighteen months planning a seven mile descent to the deepest part of the ocean, which he successfully completed last year.

Cameron said the films would explore different Na’vi cultures as well as the cultures of other Pandora creatures. The sequel has a fair bit of underwater stuff and there are underwater scenes and surface-water scenes having to do with indigenous ocean cultures. Now water is enormously difficult to recreate on a computer, something he’s been talking about with Joe Letteri, the visual effects supervisor at Weta Digital and that’s why the delay in starting the filming for his film.

Avatar was Jake Sully centric, but the sequels would be spread around his family with a lot of new imagery and a lot of new environments and creatures across Pandora.

Cameron said the theme of sustainability that runs through the Avatar series also extends to his personal life. He and his fifth wife Suzy Amis bought a farm about ninety minutes drive from Wellington where they spend some of the year with their three children.

He said he plans to bring his own helicopter from California to help make the commute from the farm to Wellington when he’s working on the movies.

Here’s wishing the entire team of Avatar all the best and we do hope that the sequel would also create the same magic at the Box Office that the first one did.

Brad Pitt At 50: Shining, Sexy, Hot And Roaring!

Brad Pitt turned 50 on December 18, 2013. The Hollywood superstar’s life has always been under the scanner, but that’s the tab one pays for being such a huge star. From an Academy Award nominee to being a father of six, from having a turbulent marriage with Jennifer Aniston to getting engaged to his partner Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt has been through it all.

In honor of Brad Pitt’s 50th birthday, Madame Tussauds in London unveiled new wax figures of the actor and his fiancé Angeline Jolie. Extreme care has been taken that Brad’s newest statue looks as real as possible. Every wrinkle, every crag, each droopy eyelid has been cast in immortal wax, while Jolie’s figure is devastatingly perfect.

Brad Pitt has proved that he is an amazing partner to Jolie, after he wholeheartedly supported the actress after she chose to undergo a preventive double mastectomy in February 2013, calling her decision heroic. He now wants to focus more on the things in life that truly matter. Pitt wants to spend as much time as he can with his family, and wants to make sure that he does all that he can to make his family happy.

“I have a handful of close friends and I have my family. I haven’t known life to be any happier. I just haven’t known life to be any happier,” said a very content and happy Brad Pitt.

Pitt has had a successful career so far, and most recently he has received critical acclaim for his historical drama 12 Years A Slave. Brad Pitt has not only produced this film, but has a small role in the film as well.

12 Years A Slave is a story of a freeman who is kidnapped in the years before the civil war, and sold into slavery. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson and Alfre Woodard. It was released in the US on October 18, 2013.

Will Leonardo DiCaprio Be Third Time Lucky?

Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio, who shot to fame with the historic Titanic, is planning to visit India soon. If all goes well he would be in India on January 4, 2014 for a four day trip and is expected to visit six cities.

Leonardo has been a part of some memorable films like Catch Me If You Can (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), Blood Diamond (2006), The Departed (2006), Revolutionary Road (2008), Django Unchained (2012) and The Great Gatsby (2013). His films Shutter Island (2010) and Inception (2010) rank among the biggest commercial successes of his career.

However, Leonardo is not going to be in the country to promote his upcoming Martin Scorsesefilm The Wolf Of Wall Street, but to address a conference on entrepreneurship. The Wolf Of Wall Street releases in India around the third week on December. The film is directed by Martin Scorsese, is being distributed in India by PVR Pictures and MVP Entertainment.

On the professional front, Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on to produce a biopic about Bill Watterson, the media shy cartoonist who created Calvin and Hobbes. Leonardo has teamed up with Sherlock Holmes producer Roy Lee to make this biopic, which will focus on the creation of the comic strip and how the cartoonist coped with its unexpected success.

The film will be based on Dan Dollar‘s script A Boy And His Tiger and will be developed by Warner Bros, who bought the project and have reportedly fast tracked it to take advantage of the attention the cartoonist has received this year. Although the film is expected to move forward without input from Bill Watterson, it’s been suggested that it could be difficult to tell the story of the creator without it.

In fact, this is not the first time Leonardo is trying to come down to India. He has already made two unsuccessful attempts in the past. Once for a tiger conservation project earlier this year and the second time around he was supposed to come down to promote his film The Great Gatsby, that starred our superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

EA hit with Battlefield 4 lawsuit – but does it have merit?

US law firm claims publisher mislead investors in runup to release of troubled shooter Battlefield 4

Battlefield 4 – the shooter has been plagued by glitches and server issues since its release

Electronic Arts is preparing for court once again. On Tuesday, law firm Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd filed a class action lawsuit against the publisher on behalf of investors who bought stock in the company between 24 July and 3 December.

The suit alleges that EA violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by allegedly providing "materially false and misleading statements" about military shooter, Battlefield 4. Before the release of the game, Electronic Arts issued strong fiscal guidance to investors, based on the "purported" strength of the latest Battlefield title. "The price of Electronic Arts’ stock steadily climbed on these statements," reads the law firm's statement, "reaching a Class Period high of $28.13 per share by August 23, 2013 and allowing certain of Electronic Arts’ senior executives to sell their Electronic Arts stock at artificially inflated prices."

However, after the launch of the game on 29 October – but most obviously following the arrival of the PlayStation 4 version on 15 November – there have been numerous problems with the software, especially its online multiplayer component. Hundreds of players hit game forums and news sites complaining that they were unable to connect or were being continually booted from servers. Earlier this month developer EA DICE announced that it would put all other development projects on hold until the issues with Battlefield 4 had been resolved.

The lawsuit goes on to point out that after EA's announcement stock value fell, closing at $21.01 on 5 December, "sending the share price down more than 28% from its Class Period high".

The allegation, then, is that Electronic Arts executives raised expectations about Battlefield 4 in October knowing that the game was "riddled with bugs and multiple other problems".

The lawsuit alleges: "With an inflated share value, senior execs were then able to offload shares, selling more than $13.2m of stock at fraud-inflated prices."

"Meritless action"

In a statement issued to US games site Polygon, Electronic Arts has said: "We believe these claims are meritless. We intend to aggressively defend ourselves, and we're confident the court will dismiss the complaint in due course."

So is this a meritless case? "Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd handled the Enron class action," says Alex Tutty from UK law firm Sheridans. "They are a securities law firm, this is what they do. The firm obviously believes there is a case to answer, and in order to take it forward they need to find a plaintiff – someone who has suffered financial harm in this period due to purchasing shares on the basis of the statements made. 

"This is a problematic case, and it doesn't look good for EA, simply from a PR point of view. Looking at the fact as presented by Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd, there does seem to be a case to answer. However, we've only seen one side of the argument. Companies do give this sort of guidance, and it is important to be accurate, but it is just guidance based on what they know at the time. You'd have to prove that they knowingly gave false information, and it would be difficult to know about all the bugs that would crop up on the PlayStation 4 version. EA can probably produce a lot of evidence to suggest they didn't perceive the extent of the problem, or didn't have sight of it until after launch."

Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd now has until February to find a lead plaintiff – if it succeeds, court beckons. In the background, Battlefield 4 has not performed as well as its predecessor at retail – according to industry news site, MCV, UK sales are down 69% compared to Battlefield 3. However, several Triple A franchises, including Assassin's Creed and Battlefield's rival Call of Duty have found the transition from current consoles to the next-gen machines difficult, with sales down across the board.

Whatever the case, this lawsuit has the potential to set an interesting precedent in terms of publisher culpability for problematic launch software. Several major titles have similarly suffered from bugs, glitches and server failures this year, including Diablo III and GTA Online, the multiplayer component of Grand Theft Auto V.

This is not the first potentially expensive legal action EA has had to contend with. Earlier this year, the publisher settled on a lawsuit filed against Zynga for copyright infringement concerning the latter's game, The Ville. And in 2012, EA also settled on a complicated lawsuit with Activision over the departure of game developers Jason West and Vincent Zampella from the Activision-owned Infinity Ward to the EA-published Respawn Studios.

European Commission rejects Google's latest proposals to settle antitrust case

A key element of Google's latest proposals would have given rival shopping sites limited space as part of a larger Google Shopping box. Photograph: Brendan Beirne / Rex Features

The European Commission has rejected Google's revised proposals to settle a three-year antitrust row, its competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said today.

"The latest offer as submitted by Google in October ... the latest proposals are not acceptable in the sense that they are not proposals that can eliminate our concerns regarding competition," Almunia said in a Spanish radio interview, according to a partial transcript provided by the European Commission.

Almunia said that, in particular, Google's latest offer did not remove the Commission's concerns about the way Google's rivals in so-called vertical searches – searches for price comparison products – were being treated.

Asked if there would be sanctions against Google, Almunia said: "No, no, no ... At this moment, there is little time left, but the ball is still in Google's court. But within a short time frame, the ball will then be here (with the Commission) and then it will be the moment to take decisions."

Almunia has indicated that he wants to settle the case in 2014, but it is unclear how he would do this without either Google yielding on some parts of the complaint, or by his overriding objections from complainants.

Google initially proposed changes to the way it presents some search results in April, but saw those rejected by complainants after Almunia's office made them public for "market testing", which seeks to gauge whether suggested remedies are acceptable. In September it sent revised proposals to Almunia's office – but those too were generally rejected in the market testing phase.

Google said in a statement: "We've made significant changes to address the EC's concerns, greatly increasing the visibility of rival services and addressing other specific issues."

A key element of its most recent proposals would have given some rival shopping sites limited space as part of a larger Google Shopping box when people made what looked like commerce-related searches. Sites would have had to bid in an auction system to be included in the space – which led to complaints that Google would make money whether or not people clicked on its own links or those of rivals.

Complainants including Microsoft-funded lobbying group Icomp expressed delight at Almunia's decision. David Wood, legal counsel for ICOMP, said: "Our members will welcome vice president Almunia's decision that Google's second set of proposals are 'unacceptable'. Google was offered not one but two unique opportunities to reach an agreement with the Commission and yet their actions show a deep lack of willingness to change their harmful practices.

"Vice president Almunia now has the opportunity to ensure a legacy that will see European online businesses flourish. It is now vital that the Commission use this opportunity to enforce the competition rules and ensure that a level playing field is restored not only for those companies that have been harmed but also to support consumer choice and the wider European economy."

If Almunia were to issue a formal statement of objections against Google, it would lead to a court case, which could lead to a fine as high as $5bn – 10% of the company's global revenues. But if he overrides objections from complainants, they might sue the EC and argue that it has failed to maintain a competitive market.

Kareena Kapoor No Longer Feels Safe In Mumbai

Kareena Kapoor looked stunning during a press conference to announce her association with a mobile application in Mumbai, India on December 20, 2013.

Kareena Kapoor came on board for the initiative of Star Network to highlight the issue of women’s safety. She will champion the use of Channel V’s ‘VithU’ App to curb the crimes against women. Using the application, one can reach out to friends and guardians at the click of a button.

Dressed in a black and golden ensemble by designer Anamika Khanna, Kareena looked chic and elegant. The entire length of this black jacket had intricate golden embroidery all along, which was paired with black satin pyjama pants that looked very fashionable. To complete this look, Kareena Kapoor was seen wearing high-heeled sandals with minimal make-up.

With the number of cases going around in our society today, celebrities have come forward to help women to lead a happier and safe life. With the introduction of the safety app for women, the women of today can now walk the roads in a thought that out there somewhere in this big beautiful world, there will be someone to rescue her in time of trouble.

At the event Kareena Kapoor said that she no longer feels safe in Mumbai as she used to, two years back and there is a feeling of unrest in her always.

“The recent crimes against women have left all of us thinking about the safety of women. If such cases can happen in the capital then these can happen anywhere. A feeling of unrest is always there in me,” said a very disturbed Kareena Kapoor.

Kareena also expressed shock over the continued increase in rape cases in the country. She said that like others, her mother is also worried about her whenever she is shooting late at night and has to message her when she reaches home.

“If I am shooting at night my mother is worried about me. She stays awake as much as possible when I am shooting late at night or early morning,” said Kareena.

We hope more and more celebrities come forward and lend their support to causes like this and may make a difference. Hats off to Kareena Kapoor.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Is A FAKE Film: Has Naseeruddin Shah Completely Lost It?

Naseeruddin Shah rather made a totally uncalled for comment by saying that he did not like the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and felt that it was a completely a fake film.

“It’s a completely fake film. Farhan has no doubt worked very hard but building up muscles and growing your hair is not exactly working hard on your acting. At least he should have tried to look like Milkha. Milkha is mighty pleased by him and he imagines that this was his life; he imagined he looked like that. Doesn’t he have photographs of himself from 1960s Olympics,” Naseer stated.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which released on July 5, 2013, crossed the Rs 100 crore mark and was appreciated by both critics as well as the audience.

However, Naseer further said that Farhan was made to look like Rocky and not Milkha. He looked terrific but he did not look like Milkha. He feels that the film was beautifully shot which made the film technically brilliant.

All said and done, one would like to ask the “so called self proclaimed” voice of god, why the sudden need to bring down a successful film like this?

Also, if according to Naseer such films are “FAKE” then what about his directorial debut Yun Hota To Kya Hota that released in the year 2006? The irony is that film sank at the Box Office within a day of its release.

One needs to give Naseer a reality check and ask him that if Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is FAKE then what about films like Sona Spa, John Day and Jackpot? Why did an actor who thinks that he is very intellectual accept being a part of such films?

Well Naseer, it’s a shame that you are just for no reason trying to bring a film down. Now is it for cheap publicity or are you competing with Farhan as he is your contemporary?

Just relax and stop bringing people down. Please remember you are also one of them and its really sad to hear such comments from an actor of your stature. Actually come to think of it is not sad but shamefu