| Posted by: Dr. Jai Maharaj at August 5, 2004, 4:11 pm | | Topic: UK's GCHQ Whistle-blower case also impacts Greenpeace protes Forum: groupsrv | | Indian Night to Disney rescue - Shyamalan's movie The Village reels in the moolah By K. P. Nayar The Telegraph Tuesday, August 3, 2004 [Caption] Shyamalan: White knight Washington, Aug. 2: Walt Disney, the 81-year-old bulwark of Hollywood, is in trouble and a 33-year-old Indian is going for its rescue. Manoj Night Shyamalan, the Oscar-nominated, Pondicherry- born director, salvaged Disney's sagging fortunes and reputation when his new horror movie, The Village, left all other new releases in North America way behind last weekend with box-office sales of $50.8 million. This is the second windfall for Disney from Shyamalan. Two years ago, Shyamalan's Signs, starring Mel Gibson, equally surprised Hollywood, grossing $60 million during its opening weekend and netted a total of $228 million for Disney. In 2000, The Sixth Sense, another of Shyamalan's films, was nominated for six Oscars. The success of Shyamalan's new film was something Disney desperately needed. Fearing the wrath of the White House and the Republican Party, Disney unwisely prevented its subsidiary, Miramax Films, from distributing the anti- George W. Bush, anti-Iraq war documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, a few months ago. The documentary was a record success and Michael Moore, its director, has become an icon, mobbed, feted and cheered all over America. Fahrenheit 9/11 won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, the first time a documentary has bagged the prestigious award in 48 years. Three of Disney's other much-hyped releases this summer, King Arthur, a remake of Around the World in 80 Days and Home on the Range, have all bombed at the box office. Falling stock prices, poor judgement by the management and corporate boardroom battles have badly bruised Disney recently with Roy Disney, nephew of company founder Walt, engaged in a free-for-all with chief executive Michael Eisner. Disney has also been facing hostile takeover bids by rivals. Actually, Shyamalan's new offering created a new record for Disney for a release in July, overtaking the previous high of $46.6 million in the opening weekend last year for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The weekend brought bad news for a pioneering effort in Hollywood on behalf of India. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, the first enterprise in Hollywood with a South Asian American and a Korean American as lead characters, grossed a mere $5.2 million, despite a vigorous appeal to Asians here on the Internet by the actors, Kal Penn and John Cho, to support their venture by flocking to theatres. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle did badly in theatres despite good reviews. It is a funny story of how nothing could stop the two Asians, Harold and Kumar, from satisfying their craving for hamburgers at The White Castle burger chain in the US. Critics said the film's novelty is not only that it features two Asians in lead roles. They said this is the first time a commercial product's name -- The White Castle restaurant -- has been used in the title of a film. "John Cho and Kal Penn are broadening a venerable tradition of ethnic humour, trafficking in stereotypes and sending them up with equal verve," wrote The New York Times about the film in the run up to its release. "At first glance they could be poster children for early 21st-century American diversity... Harold and Kumar's journey is an ordeal of embarrassment and frustration, of evaporating sexual opportunities, humiliations and miscommunications that ends, in keeping with the rules of the genre, with reassurance, satisfaction and the acceptance of responsibility." More at: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040803/asp/frontpage/story_3576732.asp Jai Maharaj http://www.mantra.com/jai Om Shanti Hindu Holocaust Museum http://www.mantra.com/holocaust Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy http://www.hindu.org http://www.hindunet.org The truth about Islam and Muslims http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate The terrorist mission of Jesus stated in the Christian bible: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not so send peace, but a sword. "For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. "And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. - Matthew 10:34-36. o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read, considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number. o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are not necessarily those of the poster. |
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