Category: Entertainment

Sagar Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has confirmed the launch of a global studio business, moving beyond film and television production into an intellectual property-led growth strategy spanning gaming, music, consumer products and theme parks.

The Mumbai-based studio said it is transitioning from a traditional content company into what it describes as a future-focused entertainment enterprise, aiming to build franchises and original stories across multiple formats and platforms.

“India is home to some of the world’s most timeless stories, many of which remain underexplored in cinema. These narratives are not only entertaining but also carry profound spiritual and cultural wisdom. At Sagar Pictures Entertainment, our vision is to preserve their authenticity while reimagining them through world-class cinematic storytelling for audiences across generations and geographies. This new chapter reflects our commitment to combining a seven-decade legacy with innovation, global collaborations, and future-ready entertainment experiences,” said Akash Sagar Chopra, CEO, Sagar Pictures Entertainment.

“Our first step in this journey is ‘Shrimad Bhagavatam,’ a project that reflects the scale and ambition with which we want to approach storytelling. As we build this and future franchises, our focus is on creating stories that can grow beyond cinema into meaningful experiences across multiple platforms, while staying rooted in the authenticity and values that define India’s cultural heritage,” Chopra said.

“Shrimad Bhagavatam” is SPE’s inaugural feature film franchise, conceived as a seven-chapter theatrical saga tailored for premium large-format screens. It is a live-action feature adaptation of the “Bhagavata Mahapurana,” one of Hinduism’s eighteen major Puranas centered on devotion to Krishna as an incarnation of Vishnu, alongside cosmology, genealogy and mythology. The franchise is currently in production and follows the studio’s earlier adaptations of Indian epics “Ramayana” and the “Mahabharata.”

SPE builds on the legacy of the Sagar banner, founded in 1954 by filmmaker and producer Ramanand Sagar, a recipient of India’s Padma Shri honor. Under the guidance of chair and director Moti Sagar, the group has produced films and television programming known for adaptations of ancient Indian epics, positioning it as a name in spiritual, historical and family entertainment. The company’s productions have reached over a billion viewers in India, per BAARC India and other sources, with reach extending to the global Indian diaspora.

SPE operates as the film studio arm of the Sagar Pix Group, based across Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Built on more than 75 years in storytelling, the studio has produced more than 55 television series and over 25 feature films for audiences in India, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the global Indian diaspora. Its catalogue includes Indian National Film Award-winning features and award-winning television programming.

The Locarno Film Festival will honor James Gray with a lifetime career award at this year’s edition, where the U.S. auteur’s most recent work, “Paper Tiger,” will screen.

Gray will receive the Pardo alla Carriera award on Aug. 9 and will present “Paper Tiger” — which launched in May from Cannes — at the fest’s Piazza Grande outdoor venue. Set in 1986, the film follows two brothers, Irwin (Miles Teller) and Gary Pearl (Adam Driver). Irwin becomes entangled with the Russian mob after embarking on a get-rich-quick scheme to clean up the Gowanus Canal, and his former cop brother, Gary, is the only one who can get him out of trouble. “Paper Tiger” will have its North American premiere as the opening night film of the 64th New York Film Festival on Sept. 25.

Two other titles directed by Gray, “We Own the Night” (2007) and “Two Lovers” (2008), will also screen at Locarno as part of the tribute.

“Since winning the Silver Lion at Venice for ‘Little Odessa’ (1994) at age 25, James Gray has forged a singular career rooted, with piercing realism, in his upbringing in New York’s Russian-Jewish community,” the fest said in a statement, citing Gray’s “The Yards” (2000), “We Own the Night” (2007), “Two Lovers” (2008) and “The Immigrant” (2013), which cemented Gray’s standing “as one of American cinema’s most artistically distinctive voices — a filmmaker as concerned with criminal underworlds, rendered with exacting detail, as with meticulous family portraiture, often situated within the Brighton Beach of his youth and shaped by a dialogue with classic American and European auteur cinema.”

The Locarno statement continued: “As he has established himself at the top tier of filmmakers in the United States, Gray’s explorations of the often elusive promise of the American dream have, over the past decade, expanded into more varied thematic terrain — colonial exploration, space travel, racial prejudice — that reshaped the popular understanding of his work while remaining distinctively his own: ‘The Lost City of Z’ (2016) with Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson, ‘Ad Astra’ (2019) with Brad Pitt and ‘Armageddon Time’ (2022) with Anthony Hopkins.”

Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro added, “James Gray is the last great novelist of American cinema. His films form a rich body of work that echoes the Jewish diaspora, film noir and Russian as well as North American literature.” He called Gray “a filmmaker with a humanist sensibility and profound cinephile knowledge” who “has experimented with genres such as science fiction and adventure while retaining his own artistic identity and voice.”

Previous winners of the Locarno Pardo alla Carriera Award include Francesco Rosi, Bruno Ganz, Claudia Cardinale, Johnnie To, Harry Belafonte, Jane Birkin, Costa-Gavras, Tsai Ming-liang, Shah Rukh Khan and Jackie Chan.

The 79th edition of Locarno will run Aug. 5-15.

London-based Chilean-Indian director Shalini Adnani’s debut feature “Our Share of Sand,” about a 12-year-old girl named Maya who returns to rural India to reconnect with her estranged father, is among standout entries in the upcoming Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week.

The section, dedicated to first works from around the world, also comprises two titles from Colombia: the fiction-documentary hybrid “The End of Times,” a political piece co-directed by Bibiana Rojas Gómez and Juan David Cárdenas that uses artificial intelligence and explores colonialism and capitalism in Colombian history, and Sebastián Múnera’s drama “Meteorite,” about plans to build an amusement park
on the grounds of the former estate of drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Italy also features prominently in the lineup, with Paris-based Tommaso Usberti’s “Before the War,” about a young man named Guido raised within a Northern Italian racist milieu who falls in love with a Kosovar immigrant named Sonia, ensconced in a competition slot.

Also from Italy is the section’s out-of-competition opener, existential noir “Giaffa the Great” directed by Marco Santi, while the closer — also out-of competition — is Italian rap musical “Rider,” co-directed by Roan Johnson and the local music producer known as Dade (Davide Pavanello). “Rider” follows a young food delivery driver who delivers a huge sushi order to a luxurious villa on the outskirts of Milan and is invited to stay for the evening.

The seven features competing in Venice Critics’ Week are all by first-time directors and all world premieres.

Rounding off the section’s competition are Tunisian dystopian drama “The H@llow Man” by
Kamel Laaridhi, set in 2059 Tunisia where a biochip regulates memory and suppresses emotion; Chinese drama “Zoom In, Zoom Out,” by Dong Jie, about a young video game designer who embarks on a journey to seek his missing roommate Gao following a clue hidden in an online game; and Brazilian drama “London,” by Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli, about a dilemma faced by a disabled young adult.

“Whilst the industry at large is grappling with its crises, these works are proof that cinema never stopped asserting its own cruciality,” said Venice Critics’ Week general delegate Beatrice Fiorentino in a statement. “This cinema is fierce and independent, daring and vibrant, resolute in its reminder that our collective imagination can, and indeed must, continue to be rewritten.”

All Venice Critics’ Week competition entries will compete alongside titles in the official selection for the fest’s Lion of the Future prize, which is worth $100,000.

The 83rd edition of Venice Film Festival will run Sept. 2-12, with its official selection lineup being announced on Thursday. See all the Venice Critics’ Week titles below.

COMPETITION 

“The End of Times,” Bibiana Rojas Gómez, Juan David Cárdenas (Colombia)

“The H@llow Man,” Kamel Laaridhi (Tunisia)

“London,” Victor Di Marco, Márcio Picoli (Brazil)

“Meteorite,” Sebastián Múnera (Colombia)

“Our Share of Sand,” Shalini Adnani (India, United Kingdom, Greece)

“Prima Della Guerra,” Tommaso Usberti (France, Italy)

“Zoom In, Zoom Out,” Dong Jie (China)

OUT OF COMPETITION

“Il Grande Giaffa,” Marco Santi (Italy) — Opening Film

“Rider,” Roan Johnson, Davide Pavanello (Italy) — Closing Film

Ben Shapiro posted an 18-minute review of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” to his YouTube channel on Saturday, in which he called the Greek epic a “masterpiece” despite the conservative outrage about the film’s cast and historical accuracy.

“Nolan is unparalleled. He’s the best director working today, without a doubt. He just creates iconic movie after iconic movie,” Shapiro said. He also had lots of praise for star Matt Damon, adding, “I think he’s great in nearly everything. He sort of disappears into the part in a way that he doesn’t in a lot of other movies. He’s great as Odysseus.”

He likewise gushed about several other members of the supporting cast: “Robert Pattinson as Antinous is an excellent antagonist. He’s sleazy and gross. Tom Holland as Telemachus is excellent, well cast. Anne Hathaway does a great job as Penelope.”

Shapiro also fired back at those who complained about Lupita Nyong’o playing Helen of Troy.

“So, I know a lot of people were like, ‘Oh my god, Lupita Nyong’o is supposed to look like Diane Kruger.’ I don’t know. Diane Krueger doesn’t look very Greek. She’s German,” Shapiro said. “Lupita Nyong’o is a beautiful woman. But here’s the thing, actually, in the script, Nolan goes out of his way to explain that the war wasn’t really launched over Helen being gorgeous.”

The political commentator did, however, take issue with Elliot Page’s casting as Sinon. He called Page’s role an “absolute puzzler” before pointing out that he is “about 5’2 and 105 pounds soaking wet and has the voice of a woman. It doesn’t work.”

Despite outrage from right-wing voices like Elon Musk, Nolan recently told The Telegraph that he’s unbothered by the noise. He explained that online backlash “comes with the territory” when making a blockbuster.

“Remember, I spent 10 years of my life dealing with Batman,” Nolan explained. “When I came on ‘Begins,’ writers and artists had been working on this beloved character for almost 65 years, and a lot of freighted thoughts were out there about what he represents. And what I learnt over my time on that trilogy is you can’t worry about any of that at all. What you have to do is honor the original text by interpreting it in the strongest way you personally can.”

We have seen the future of who’s moving up in the list of artists contending to have the most No. 1 albums ever, and its name is Future. The rapper debuted on top of the Billboard 200 with “The Real Me,” landing his 12th No. 1 on the chart. That means he’s now in fifth place, by himself, in the ranking of all-time chart-topping album artists.

“The Real Me” debuted with 131,000 equivalent album units to easily slip in ahead of Olivia Rodrigo’s “You Look Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” which moved another 96,000 units to hold on at No. 2 in its fifth week on the chart.

Previously, on the list of artists with the most No. 1 albums, Future had been tied with Eminem, with 11. With this 12th No. 1, he leaves Eminem behind to hold fifth place all by himself. The four artists ahead of him on that esteemed list are the Beatles (with 19 No. 1s), Drake and Taylor Swift (tied for second with 15 each) and Jay-Z (with 14).

Two albums besides Future’s debuted in the top 10. The Rolling Stones‘ “Foreign Tongues” bowed at No. 7 with 53,000 equivalent album units. That’s roughly in the same ballpark as a recent album by the Stones’ contemporary, Paul McCartney, which debuted with 63,000 in June.

The remaining top 10 entry was the soundtrack for television’s “Heated Rivalry,” which premiered in the No. 9 slot with 41,000 units. Billboard reported that this marked the first time a TV soundtrack had bowed in the top 10 in more than a decade — specifically, since the “Empire” soundtrack did it in 2015. (One other TV soundtrack, “Hazbin Hotel,” the companion album for an animated show, did reach the top 10 last year, but only after debuting at No. 70.)

Future’s figures for “The Real Me,” broken down, show streaming numbers far outstripping sales, which is typical for hip-hop. The album sold only 13,000 copies, but had 120.29 million on-demand streams, which translated into 118,000 SEA units.

Of course, the Stones’ numbers skewed the opposite way, with 48,500 albums sold, augmented by 4.48 million on-demand streams, amounting to 4,000 SEA units.

Curiously, the “Heated Rivalry” numbers came down entirely to sales, with 41,000 copies sold on CD and vinyl and 41,000 units altogether. That’s because the score album already came out digitally back in January, but it never accrued enough units on streaming alone to impact the chart prior to the July physical release.

Looking at the top 10, one big name is MIA: Madonna’s “Confessions II” has dropped out, after debuting last week at No. 1. Its chart position in week 2 isn’t yet known, as Luminate and Billboard only release the list of the top 10 albums on Sunday, so news of exactly where “Confessions II” came in in its sophomore session will have to wait till Monday.

The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” at No. 3, Ella Langley at No. 4, Noah Kahan at No. 5, Drake at No. 6, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at No. 8 and Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” at No. 10.

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 5 of “House of the Dragon,” now streaming on HBO Max.

In tonight’s “House of the Dragon” episode, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) proclaims that he’s ready to die — and he’s ready to do so honorably.

As the war to capture the Iron Throne rages on, Criston marches onward with his men, including Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), to put a stop to the Rivermen reaching King’s Landing and aiding Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). But their journey to catch up with the Rivermen proves increasingly difficult, after one of their horses gets caught in a trap. Once they come across a burned-down bridge to cross the river, they realize there is no chance of catching up.

Gwayne and Criston regroup and debate what to do next, now down to half the men they started with. Gwayne says continuing forward “would march us toward certain death.” That’s when Gwayne realizes this was Criston’s goal all along, as Criston launches into a revealing monologue: “I have been a servant all my life. To Green or to Black. I have defined myself by oaths, through unyielding devotion. And the highborn have made much of me while it pleased them to do so. But I will not let them diminish me now. I will not return spurned, rejected. I am the realm’s greatest warrior. And I will die as such.”

While Frankel says he doesn’t read fan reactions much these days, it has become easier to tap into his controversial character’s motivations in Season 3: “I can only understand why people feel how they feel about him as a character. It’s tricky for me as an actor, because obviously, I just don’t see him in that way. It serves no purpose for me to see him in that way. You always have to be the bastion of your character, and I feel very much the bastion of Criston Cole.”

Frankel spoke with Variety to break down Criston’s suicide mission, why being a soldier is “the only honest version of himself,” and what fans can expect — should the series continue to follow George R.R. Martin’s book “A Song of Ice and Fire,” as expected — from the upcoming Butcher’s Ball.

This is a pivotal moment for Criston, proclaiming that he is ready to die an honorable death. Can you talk about his journey throughout this episode, and how he arrives at this point?

It’s something that’s been brewing inside of him so much over the course of the show, probably since about halfway through Season 2. These thoughts of, “What am I going to be, and what’s the legacy I’m going to leave behind? In what way do I want to go out?” I suppose that really comes to a head in that fire scene with Gwayne.

Does he have a specific vision for how he wants his death to play out? How can he guarantee he’s going to go out the way he wants, and that people will remember him?

I don’t know if there’s anything in his head — it’s like he said, “Hell bent in glory,” right? Criston Cole started as a soldier before the 20-year stretch that he spent at King’s Landing — that’s how he started, and that’s how he wants to finish. In his mind, the only honest version of himself is the soldier. Everything else is pretense; the diplomat is pretense; the Hand of the King, there’s a level of pretense; Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, there’s a level of pretense. I suppose they’re all psychological, brain-led jobs. He isn’t that way, he’s very much led by his sword and his fighting instinct. The idea that that’s how he will be remembered, I think, feels honest.

Gwayne eventually figures out what’s really going on. Criston is very upfront about his suicide mission once it clicks.

There’s a genuine fondness that Criston has for Gwayne; there’s a yin-yang aspect to them. Weirdly, I think Gwayne represents — on the surface — everything that Criston disdains in this world. Yet underneath, Criston’s found someone who will go to battle with him, who does have a heart, who does have empathy, who is much more than he appears. So their relationship is built through this, these guys going to war with each other. You hear any soldier talk about their time in the war, in any war, and they’ll say the relationships they formed are closer than anything you can possibly imagine because you’re living through life and death with these people. You’re risking your lives for each other. As a result of that, there’s a profoundness to their relationship.

Why does Criston, then, decide not to tell Gwayne about his suicide mission for this long?

I don’t think he’s waiting for Gwayne to figure it out, it’s not a game. Certainly, I didn’t think of it as a game. I think he just knew that as soon as he told Gwayne, that would create a lack of desire to continue. Gwayne’s dislike of this plan would rub off on the rest of the men, and then Criston would lose an army that otherwise would have a good chance of fighting. There’s undeniably a selfishness to Criston’s plan, right? He’s looking out for himself but I think he’s become so accustomed to a world where every single person is looking out for themselves constantly. Unfortunately, any sort of attempt at selflessness falls on itself. For any of the characters, it’s just a very dog-eat-dog world.

You’ve spoken in previous interviews about not always knowing Criston’s code, or where his motivations lie episode to episode. As the season has continued on, have you been able to tap into these more?

There’s a freedom that comes with nihilism, to a degree. This is a character who, at least at the top of Season 2 and toward the end of Season 3, surrendered himself to the notion that the war is over. That ultimately, we as human beings have no genuinely important part to play in a war that’s ultimately going to be won by dragons or lost by dragons. They are just so much more powerful, and so you meet him at the top of Season 3 in a genuinely kind of — I wouldn’t say nihilistic, because I think that’s a bit reductive. But certainly, there’s an agnosticism to him. He’s losing the will to motivate. He finds that will as the course of the season goes on, and certainly in Episode 4’s planning scene with Gwayne that really gives him the impetus. It re-energizes him and then he certainly has rediscovered his sense of code — not code so much, but a sense of purpose.

This episode comes on the heels of Criston finding out that Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) has left him behind, and he’s once again hit with those feelings of abandonment that he’s felt all his life. How does that play into his actions here?

It’s tricky, man. I want to think there’s a part of him that is intelligent enough — not intelligent enough — but a part of him that certainly recognizes who Aemond is. I just don’t believe it’s all that surprising that Aemond hasn’t shown, even if he’s playing. Sometimes in order to sell a story as people, we go along with notions that feel like the most natural ones. So Criston saying, “He wouldn’t desert us, I can’t believe that,” I almost feel like that’s him playing into the version of this character that needs that piece of information in order to rediscover a sense of self and purpose.

How does he look back on his relationships with Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) now — does he have regrets? As he’s spending these long periods traveling to battle, ready to fall on his sword, is he reflecting on his decisions, or is he just focused on charging forward?

Haven’t men always done that in history? Just march on, and go to work, “I’m not going to deal with anything that I’m really feeling, I’m just going to go on and get on and do something, and that thing is going to supersede whatever I’m feeling!” But it’s inevitable that Rhaenyra and Alicent are both on his mind all the time. I think Alicent much more than Rhaenyra. Certainly for me, Rhaenyra has become a sort of afterthought. And actually, it’s just the idea of winning the war for Alicent.

Has it become easier to tap into Criston’s humanity, despite him being such a controversial character?

There’s just genuine insight into who this man is, and what makes him tick. Yeah, I think I have found it easier to tap into the humanity of him. It’s difficult, you can’t undo his actions. He’s done the things that he’s done, and those things have been, at times, very morally reprehensible or questionable, to say the least. And so I can only understand why people feel how they feel about him as a character. It’s tricky for me as an actor because obviously, I just don’t see him in that way. It serves no purpose for me to see him in that way. You always have to be the bastion of your character, and I feel very much the bastion of Criston Cole.

How do you look back on your journey on the show and playing Criston?

I learned so much from playing Criston Cole. There’s a stillness to him that I don’t naturally have as a person, and I think I’ve learned so much through that. We’re so different as people, but I look back on the last few years with just a ton of warmth towards the people I’ve gotten to work with. Irrespective of playing the character or making the show, it’s the company that you keep that makes any experience.

Your former “House of the Dragon” co-star, Milly Alcock, is having a big summer with “Supergirl.” Have you had a chance to see the film, do you keep in touch with Milly at all?

I keep in touch with her all the time, yeah! I spoke to her on the phone two weeks ago when she called me from Brazil — I think she was doing press. I’m immensely proud of her, and not in the least bit surprised. I told my agent he should sign her as soon as we did Season 1 of “House of the Dragon” together, and that’s what he did. I’m so happy for her, very proud of her. I haven’t yet had a chance to see “Supergirl,” but I will!

I know fans of the book will be looking forward to Butcher’s Ball, which the end of this week’s episode seems to set up. What can you say about the action scenes coming up?

All I can say is that it was long and arduous choreography to learn, it’s a brilliantly choreographed fight. There are a ton of unbelievable stuntmen in it that make the fight what it is, and I’m just super excited for people to see that side of Criston. It’s the side of him we haven’t really seen at all — what he is like in a man-to-man situation.

This interview has been edited and condensed.