IBLOG SPACE

EA (Electronic Arts) has announced the launch of the much awaited Harry Potter game - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince . The game is based on the Harry Potter movie with the same name. This third person action-adventure game will be available on almost all platforms - PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, PSP, Wii and DS. The gameplay is single and multi-player. Users can play as Harry, Hermoine or Ron and discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince. The game also allows you to explore Hogwarts and cast spells around school. Milestone Interactive will be distributing the game in India. The game will be available at Croma, Landmark, Planet M and all major retail outlets.

Global game developer Ubisoft is establishing to Toronto, Canada to establish a major video game studio. The Ontario government is investing CAD$263 million over 10 years in the company. Ubisoft will invest over half-a-billion dollars in the new studio, which will begin operation in late 2009. Ubisoft is a worldwide player in producing, publishing and distributing interactive entertainment products. The company has been in Quebec since 1997 and today employs 2,200 people there. As of January 2009, they also have a presence in Vancouver. Video games created by Ubisoft include TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL, TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX, ASSASSIN'S CREED, PRINCE OF PERSIA and FAR CRY. "Today's announcement marks an exciting milestone for Ubisoft, and it would not be possible without the commitment of the Ontario government to develop the video game sector within the province. We have long admired the talent that Ontario has grown and fostered, and are thrilled to be able t

In testimony to Bollywood's growing influence world over, a US-based auto insurance company Esurance has announced the launch of its Bollywood Casting Call, in partnership with IFC and Saavn, a digital distributor of Bollywood entertainment. Visitors to the Esurance website will have the chance to enter the Bollywood Casting Call Contest. Participants will have to submit videos of re-enactments of their favorite Bollywood movie scenes. The person who enters the winning submission will be animated into an Esurance Bollywood-style music video featuring the company's animated icon Erin Esurance. Bollywood fans can submit their videos for the Esurance Bollywood Casting Call until noon Pacific Time on July 31, 2009. The winning entrant will star in an Esurance Bollywood music video that will premiere in September during "Wake Up To Bollywood," a special presentation of Bollywood films airing each Sunday on IFC.

Who would have guessed that one could shoot most parts of a film in Philadelphia and call it New York ? A far cry from yesteryear's' films that used cardboard cut-outs for the sun and the moon, the art of visual effects (vfx) has progressed by leaps and bounds enabling filmmakers to use computer technology to save on crucial time and money. John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh starrer New York (NY) , which chronicles the tale of three youngsters before and after the 9\11 attacks, has used extensive visual effects by vfx house TATA Elxsi Visual Computing Labs (VCL). Speaking to Bollywood Hungama , VCL's Deepal Dass explained the vfx work in the film, "Apart from the challenging climax, there were lot of miscellaneous sequences in NY where extensive computer graphics (CG) was used. Many sequences were actually all shot in Philadelphia but we were meant to make it look like New York. The same involved extensive manual frame-by-frame rotoscopy." In this e

Filmmaker Prakash Jha, who has made hard-hitting films in the past like Mrityudand, Gangaajal and Apaharan , is all set to move into a new terrain. The veteran producer-director is all set to launch his own news and current affairs T.V. channel called Maurya T.V. in Bihar. With television viewership in Bihar growing each day, this certainly seems like a step in the right direction. The head-quarters of the channel is based in Patna and it will compete with other channels in the area of Bihar and Jharkhand. According to sources, former Adlabs head honcho Manmohan Shetty, who happens to be a good friend of Prakash Jha, also has a stake in the channel. The channel is currently going through dry-runs and is likely to go on-air soon

Why was Anjana Sukhani's role increased in Jashnn? According to the buzz Anjana was initially the 'looker' while Shahana Goswami was designated the 'performer' in Jashnn, quite like John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan in Dostana. Then somewhere along the way the tables turned. The looker's role was suddenly expanded. Could Anjana's warm friendship with Adhyayan have a hand in this? The girl shrugs off the insinuation. "Why only Adhyayan? Shahana and I are also buddies. All three of us have bonded beyond petty rivalry." Anjana admits her role has been increased drastically. "To begin with I was only supposed to play Adhyayan's love interest while Shahana playing his sister had all the meaty scenes. Then Mahesh Bhatt Saab saw a portion of what I had done and decided to increase my role. He called me aside and said, 'Anjana we thought we'd use you only for the romance. But there's so much more that you seem to be conveying.' He