'Wonder Woman', JK Rowling's 'Fantastic Beasts' among slew of films announced by Warner Bros

The superheroes of DC Comics will battle the Marvel heroes at the box office, as Warner Bros. confirmed plans for upcoming films on Wednesday that include new installments of The Lego Movie franchise and expansions of the Harry Potter world.

Masked hero Batman will get a starring role with Ben Affleck's portrayal in Zack Snyder's anticipated 2016 release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Affleck will reprise the role for Snyder's 2017's Justice League Part One with Henry Cavill returning as Superman and Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Snyder will also direct Justice League Part Two for release in 2019. Actress Gal Godot will debut as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman, and helm her own Wonder Woman film in 2017.

Lego Batman, voiced by Will Arnett in this year's hit animation The Lego Movie, will get his own spotlight in The Lego Batman Movie in 2017, and will also return in The Lego Movie 2 in 2018. The Lego franchise will also include Ninjago in 2016.

The new release dates and casting details were issued by Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. studios at the company's investor conference. They come at a time when Disney's Marvel superheroes such as Captain America, Iron Man and Avengers are ruling the box office.

"The demand for high quality video content is growing fast - in the United States and around the world - as new technologies have created new platforms and millions of new connected consumers," said Warner Bros. Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara.

While the Harry Potter franchise concluded with its eighth installment in 2011, three new films from the fantastical world of magic created by author JK Rowling will be released every two years from 2016, starting with Fantastic Beasts. The new film will feature characters from the fictional textbook written by Newt Scamander at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and will be directed by David Yates, the filmmaker behind the final four Potter movies.

A new band of DC heroes, the Suicide Squad, will get their own film in 2016, directed by Fury filmmaker David Ayer. The Suicide Squad are ruthless incarcerated villains who work for the government in high-risk missions.

Speedy hero The Flash will be played by 22-year-old Perks of Being a Wallflower actor Ezra Miller in a standalone film in 2018, and "Game of Thrones" actor Jason Momoa will take the lead in "Aquaman" that same year. Captain Marvel, who has the power to transform into six mythical heroes, will lead new film Shazam in 2019, and stage actor Ray Fisher will play the lead in 2020's Cyborg, the superhero alter-ego of Victor Stone and one of the founding members of the Justice League.  

Rani Mukerji to play Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parkar in her next?

After a marvelous performance in her last outing - Mardaani - playing the tough cop Shivani Shivaji Rao, Rani Mukerji is all set to take up another bold role. Reportedly, Rani is all set to play Dawood Ibrahim's sister in a film based on her.

Apoorva Lakhia who is helming the film has tentatively titled it Haseena and has approached Rani to play her part. Haseena Parkar, a prominent figure in the underworld came to news after her husband was gunned down in 1991. Avenging his brother-in-law's death, Dawood shot down the murders in the infamous J.J. Hospital shootout. Not just that, post the incident, Haseena moved to Nagpada where she was considered the 'godmother'.

Haseena passed away on July 4 after a cardiac arrest but Apoorva had been planning the project for over a year now. The director has also spent time with Haseena's family to bring in the perfect details to his screen adaptation. The film is supposed to go on floors in November and required Rani to gain some weight for the same.

If Rani gives a nod to this, it would be her first biopic and given her Mardaani avatar being loved by the audiences, we believe Rani can pull off this role with equal aplomb!

Produced by Guillermo Del Toro, 'Book of Life' brings alive Mexico's Day of the Dead

Growing up in the Mexican border town of Tijuana, animator Jorge Gutierrez waited to see his people appear in Hollywood's animated fare. "I never saw myself or my family or my friends up on the screen in animation," Gutierrez said. "I kept waiting for the Latina princess to show up, and she never did." Gutierrez embarked on a 14-year journey to make The Book of Life, out in US theaters on Friday, drawing on Mexican art and wooden puppets to animate a colorful love story rooted in the Mexican Day of the Dead festivities.

The Book of Life, a co-production of Reel FX Creative Studios and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc's Twentieth Century Fox studios, follows childhood friends Manolo (Diego Luna), Joaquin (Channing Tatum) and Maria (Zoe Saldana). The kids become the subjects of a playful bet between the vivacious La Muerte and the conniving Xibalba, rulers of the underworld realms, who each pick which boy will win Maria's heart. La Muerte reigns over the Land of the Remembered, a never-ending fiesta town painted in a burst of luminous colors, and Xibalba oversees the bleak Land of the Forgotten, a world where souls turn to dust as they are forgotten by the living. As the three children grow up, Manolo follows his family tradition of bull fighting but refuses to kill a bull or give up music, while Joaquin becomes an indestructible warrior with help from Xibalba. Then there is Maria, the strong-willed beauty who Gutierrez says is "no damsel in distress."
"There are more Marias out there than ever before," said Saldana. "Art is beginning to imitate life and have a much more accurate depiction of real life characters more frequently. Maria to me is my sisters, my friends, my colleagues, my neighbors, women that I read about, women that I admire."
Death has often been a used as a catalyst for a hero's origins in animated films for children, from Bambi to The Lion King and Finding Nemo. But it is rarely placed in the spotlight, and Gutierrez said he was "extra careful" in portraying the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), when Mexican families gather at the graves of their families and celebrate their lives. "Mexicans have a very different relationship with the concept of death than everywhere else in the world," he said. "In the history of (animation), death is something that's always been there but no one wants to acknowledge it."

At its heart, Book of Life captures Mexican culture and traditions through Gutierrez's eyes, a "love letter" to the world he grew up in. "It's not a folkloric postcard, it's truly a modern Mexico that at the same time loves its roots," said the film's producer, Guillermo Del Toro. "I think people are going to be immersed into it through the music, the visuals, and extremely important, the most universal thing of all, emotions."  

Hero-heroine pay scale debate should not become a war: Deepika Padukone

Actress Deepika Padukone says the payment disparity between male and female stars in Bollywood is a concern but it should not become a cause for conflict.

The 28-year-old actress has had a dream run at the box office with back-to-back hits like Race 2, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express,Ram-Leela and the latest Finding Fanny recently.

Deepika says actresses are trying hard to change the irregularity in pay scale in the film industry. "If you comparing our pay scale with the men, then yes it is very less. If you are comparing what girls used to get before and what they are getting in the last one or two years then I can say that there has been a major shift and we are hoping and trying. But this is not a war," Deepika said in an interview.

The actress feels when people give more stress on monetary gains, the beauty of filmmaking is compromised in the process.

"At the end of the day we are all making movies because we all love films and we should not get into the space of negativity where we are discussing who is getting what amount of money. In that process we are loosing the beauty of film making. Money is the least important to me, fans' appreciation is the most important thing to me," she said.

Several of Deepika's films are part of the elite 100 crore club but the actress said she never signs a film keeping in mind its box office performance. "I don't choose films based on Rs 100 crores. If one does that then it is a wrong reason to do a film. For me box office at that level is not so important or rather I do not sign films for those kind of numbers.

"Like Ram Leela, we never thought that the film will make such business. I have got the Filmfare award and the film has made 100 crores as well. You have to choose films from your heart. And also awards are important to me. It is a sign of appreciation for your hard work," she said.

Deepika will be next seen opposite superstar Shah Rukh Khan in Farah Khan's Happy New Year. The duo have previously worked in Om Shanti Om and Chennai Express. Besides SRK, Deepika has worked with top stars of Bollywood like Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar but is yet to work with Salman Khan.

When asked whether they will do a film in future, the actress said, "Films are all in destiny. You can't force a film to happen. People do ask me a lot why I have not worked with Salman Khan yet. Both of us would like to work with each other but every film has a time." 

Happy New Year is not 3 hours long: Shah Rukh Khan

Says Shah Rukh Khan, but adds that end credits will clock in at more than six minutes!

Trade reports recently claimed that Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Happy New Year, which went in for censor certification, had a running time of three hours and eight minutes. Three days ago, another report claimed that the film, which releases October 24, was three hours and four minutes long.

SRK puts those rumours to rest, saying, "It's a longish film, probably longer than maybe a Chennai Express, but not as long as one trade analyst (Komal Nahta) has mentioned. He has not seen the film so he does not know about it. It is not that long. HNY's runtime is less than three hours."

He further reveals that the end credits of the film run into six minutes because it features all the cast and crew members. "It's a very big film, hence it has many technicians, dancers and other crew members. At times, we see films with huge VFX and the credits go on and on in the end. Happy New Year has that many people who have participated in the film. When the VFX credits roll, we have almost 70-80 people and we put all of them in because Farah wants that. Actually, I might be wrong because the rolling credits might even be a little longer than six minutes. HNY is not a lengthy film like that and after all, it is entertaining the audience that matters", he concludes.

I would love to direct Amitabh Bachchan: Peter Webber

British director Peter Webber, best known for his Scarlett Johansson-Colin Firth starrer feature debut 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', says he would love to make a cross-cultural film with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

"I would love to work to with Amitabh Bachchan. Who would not? He is a living legend. He is amazing and I would like to make a movie with him, which has elements of both India and England, basically a cross-cultural film. That would be interesting," Webber told in an interview.

The director is in India to judge the International Competition section at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival with filmmakers Mahamat Saleh Haroun, Ritesh Batra and Ron Mann.
Webber said Bachchan and other Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan enjoy huge popularity in England.

"There is a big Indian community in England, so we all know about Bollywood actors and they are really famous."

Webber is looking forward to watching some Bollywood films as he is not well acquainted with contemporary Indian cinema.

"I am not an expert on contemporary Indian films. I have not watched any but I am fond of the old era of Satyajit Ray and Guru Dutt's times. I like those movies. I am hoping to catch on some good Indian stuff now," the filmmaker said, adding that he would like to collaborate with Indian filmmakers.

As a part of the jury, Webber says he does not have any set criterion to mark the films in competition but will look for storyline and performances.

"I will see if a story is captivating enough, if it is told in an interesting manner and whether 
performances are great or not."

Webber, who mostly chooses history as his main subject in his films, will next direct 'Piano Tuner', based on Daniel Mason's acclaimed historical novel.

 It is set in 1886 and follows a piano tuner who receives a request by the British War Office to deliver a rare grand piano to a legendary British Officer in the remote jungles of northeast Burma.

Slave girl kept in cellar awarded $160,000 in UK court

LONDON: A deaf and mute girl smuggled to Britain and kept as a slave for almost a decade must be paid £1,00,000 ($1,60,000) by her captors, a court ruled on Wednesday.

Trafficked from Pakistan as a 10-year-old girl, the victim was repeatedly raped by Ilyas Ashar, 85, who along with his wife Tallat, 69, forced her to work as their servant.

She was discovered in the cellar of their five-bedroom house sleeping on a cot bed by investigators looking into allegations of money laundering.

Now in her 20s, she learned a form of sign language to testify at the trial last year.

"The money will in no way make up for what she went through over a number of years, but it will help her move on with her life and continue her inspiring recovery from these awful events," said Salford Chief Superintendent Mary Doyle.

"I believe today's outcome also gives hope to any victim of trafficking. It reminds us that there are people out there willing to bring people to this country purely to be exploited but, with the correct use of the law, the perpetrators can be brought fully to justice."

The court calculated the Ashars should pay the victim £101,300: what she would have been paid if she had earned the minimum wage working for the couple for 12 hours a day, every day since 2003 except for ten days off.

The two also must also pay back benefits to the state that they wrongfully claimed for the girl.

The victim, who cannot be named, could not read or write but was taught to write her name by the Ashars so that they could claim social benefits on her behalf.

Ilyas Ashar was earlier jailed for 15 years for rape, trafficking and benefit fraud, and his wife Tallat was jailed for five years for trafficking and benefit fraud.

Their daughter Faaiza Ashar, 46, was ordered to do community service after being convicted of benefit fraud.

At their earlier conviction, judge Peter Lakin said the Ashars had shown no remorse and were "deeply unpleasant, highly manipulative and dishonest people" who did not treat the girl as a human being.