Month: June 2023

Over the years the James bond role have been played by

Sean Connery (1962–1967, 1971, 1983)

David Niven (1967)

George Lazenby (1969)

Roger Moore (1973–1985)

Timothy Dalton (1987–1989)

Pierce Brosnan (1995–2002)

Daniel Craig (2006–2021).

James Bond director Martin Campbell has said he doesn’t think the next 007 will be Black or female.

With Daniel Craig having vacated the role of the suave spy after five films, there has been much talk about who the next Bond will be.

Fans have got plenty of ideas, with Luther star Idris Elba, Venom’s Tom Hardy, The Women King’s Lashana Lynch and Sex Education’s Gillian Anderson all coming up.

However, Campbell – who was at the helm of 1995’s Golden Eye and 2006’s Casino Royale – has said he thinks Bond bosses will stick to writer Ian Fleming’s vision of the character.

Asked if the agent could be Black or a woman, he told Express.co.uk: “Honestly, it’s not going to happen. None of (those suggestions will) because that’s the way the books are set up, that’s the way Fleming wrote them.

“And of course, there’s all this everyone screaming diversity, ‘Time to have a Black Bond’, ‘What about a female Bond?’ The answer would be no. I don’t think it’ll happen for a second.”

Campbell said while a Black actor or female could certainly slip into the tux, his feeling was “that they will want to keep the brand as is”.

Courtesy Supple Magazine

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Academy’s Board of Governors has approved new requirements to broaden the public theatrical exhibition criteria for Oscars® eligibility in the Best Picture category starting with the 97th Academy Awards®, for films released in 2024.

Upon completion of an initial qualifying run, currently defined as a one-week theatrical release in one of the six U.S. qualifying cities, a film must meet the following additional theatrical standards for Best Picture eligibility:

• Expanded theatrical run of seven days, consecutive or non-consecutive, in 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets, no later than 45 days after the initial release in 2024.

• For late-in-the-year films with expansions after January 10, 2025, distributors must submit release plans to the Academy for verification.

• Release plans for late-in-the-year films must include a planned expanded theatrical run, as described above, to be completed no later than January 24, 2025.

• Non-U.S. territory releases can count towards two of the 10 markets.

• Qualifying non-U.S. markets include the top 15 international theatrical markets plus the home territory for the film.

“As we do every year, we have been reviewing and assessing our theatrical eligibility requirements for the Oscars,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang.  “In support of our mission to celebrate and honor the arts and sciences of moviemaking, it is our hope that this expanded theatrical footprint will increase the visibility of films worldwide and encourage audiences to experience our artform in a theatrical setting.  Based on many conversations with industry partners, we feel that this evolution benefits film artists and movie lovers alike.”

Eligibility for achievements in the various discipline categories will not be impacted by this requirement.

For information on awards rules, visit oscars.org/rules.

Severtson Screens, a global leader in innovative and quality projection screens for the home theater, commercial, pro AV, and cinema markets, has been unveiled as the official SCREEN partner for the 1st Lagos International Film and Cinema Convention, LIFACC 2023.

Mr. Theophilus Akatugba, the Founder of LIFACC and CEO of OVUETA, organizers of the event announced this in a statement released Friday 9th June 2023.
According to him, all the screens to be mounted during the convention, which is billed to hold from July 20th to 22nd, at the Radisson Blu, Ikeja, Lagos, will be supplied by the United States-based global leader in projection screen technology.

Also, Dan Maxwell the Vice President of the company is expected to make a special presentation at the convention. Besides, the company will display some of its latest technological breakthroughs.
Founded in 1986, Severtson Corporation is a member of the International Cinema Technology Association. The company continues to be a global leader in innovation and quality.

Severtson will be at LIFACC 2023 with a showcase of its massive production capabilities and an unusually wide array of screens. The screens range in size from massive movie theaters to comfortable home theaters, and everything in between. Meanwhile, partnering with the organizers of LIFACC 2023, will not only expand the market for the company, but also, it will allow African filmmakers and cinema owners to experience a diversity of technological breakthroughs that will help them to improve the quality of their cinema patrons’ experience.

Courtesy Supple Magazine 

The Silverbird Group has agreed to partner with the organizers of the forthcoming Lagos International Film and Convention 2023, to make the world-class event a huge success.

This cheery news was disclosed by the Chairman of the Group, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce on Tuesday, June 6th, 2023 when Mr Theophilus Akatugba, Founder and CEO of LIFACC paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Lagos.
According to Mr. Akatugba, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce will be delivering the Keynote address during the opening ceremony of LIFACC on the 20th of July 2023, at the Radisson Blu Ikeja, Lagos.

Senator Bruce, who was very excited by the concept and preparation for the Maiden Edition of LIFACC, pledged his full support for the event while commending Ovueta Nigeria Limited, the organizers of LIFACC for their vision to create a platform where stakeholders can come together to interact, network and chart a new direction for the motion picture industry in Nigeria and Africa.
Speaking further, Senator Murray- Bruce stated that while the convention lasts, participants will have the rare opportunity to have first-hand knowledge of Silverbird Cinemas and Film Distribution’s new business policies as they visit its stand.

The Silverbird Group, which has a long history in the Nigerian media and entertainment sector will bring its cinema exhibition and distribution pioneering position coupled with its experience operating across Africa and the rest of the continent, as well as its studio facilities and network to bear at the convention.
Established in 1980, Ben Murray-Bruce’s Silverbird Group through its Silverbird Galleria which was founded in 2004, revolutionized the cinema culture in Nigeria. The Galleria pioneered the first five-screen Cineplex in sub-Saharan Africa.
Silverbird Cinemas also to date owns the largest cinema chain in West Africa with several locations in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo, and Ghana. More locations are still springing up in some parts of Nigeria.

Recall that before the advent of Silverbird Galleria, movie enthusiasts were left with no option other than resorting to the local content on terrestrial TV stations and PayTV platforms. Then, the movies came in the form of VCDs and later, when DVDs were introduced, producers began to move with the trend, churning out several movies in the video format. But today, with the return of the cinema culture in Nigeria, and Africa at large as pioneered by Ben Murray Bruce’s Silverbird Cinemas, several producers have seemingly found a way of evading the menace of pirates by taking their movies for public viewing.

Not only that, many cinema houses have sprung up in different nooks and crannies of society as the demand keeps growing. Some of them include cinema giants like IMAX, FilmHouse, Genesis Deluxe, Viva Cinema, Ozone Cinemas, and Octopus Cinema to mention but a few. All courtesy to Bruce’s vision.
The organizers of LIFACC are proud to announce Silverbird Group as Partner for this inaugural edition.

Courtesy Supple Magazine