News

Both aspiring and established screenwriters have three events lined up to look forward to: The Indian Screenwriters’ Conference, Nfdc’s Screenwriters’ Lab and a masterclass on screenwriting at Ficci Frames. The conference happens from February 25 to 27, the application deadline for the lab is March 1; and the master class will run from March 12-14.

Indian Screenwriters’ Conference:

The fast approaching 3rd Indian Screenwriters’ Conference is a three- day journey into the current trends of film and television writing organised by the Film Writers’ Association (Fwa), Mumbai. The conference will be held at St. Andrews Auditorium, Bandra.

With an estimated attendance of 850 screenwriters and writer-directors, the ‘soul searching’ conference will see some very prominent people from the industry: Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Ashutosh Gowariker, Anurag Basu, Rakeysh Mehra, Govind Nihalani, Sriram Raghavan, Sudhir Mishra, Amit Khanna, Vipul Shah, Jabbar Patel, Vikramaditya Motwani, Bejoy Nambiar, Abbas Tyrewala, Amole Gupte, Habib Faisal, Navdeep Singh,...

*full disclosure: a DVD screener of this film was provided by Indican Pictures for review.

Director/writer: Oscar L. Costo.

Cast: Vivian Wu, Richard Burgi and Honglei Sun.

Shanghai Mystery (originally titled Shanghai Red) is one of those hugely character driven films where, if director Oscar L. Costco ("Seaquest Dsv") was driving, he must be moving at 20 miles per hour. The type of film he developed may not be for everyone. What he creates is a slow mystery drama that starts with a lady in a slinky red dress.

She arrives at a penthouse in Shanghai, shoots a 'client,' and gets caught. The rest of the film bounces between her time in prison, talking to a lawyer, and revealing her life in flashback.

Mei Li's (Vivian Wu, Strange World) life is explored in exquisite detail. Viewers first learns that her husband was killed during a business trip that she urged him to take.

Battlestar Galactica producer Harvey Frand has died at the age of 68.

The star passed away on 23 July after he was hospitalised in Los Angeles with respiratory problems.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Frand began his TV career in the 1970s at NBC News but landed his first job as producer in 1982, working on Rock Hudson's series The Devlin Connection.

He went on to produce a variety of shows in the 1980s and '90s, including The Twilight Zone, The Lazarus Man, Strange World, and The Young Riders.

But he was most recognised for his work on the sci-fi hit Battlestar Galactica after signing on to the project in 2003. His work behind the scenes garnered him a slew of honours - he won a Peabody Award in 2005, an AFI Award in 2006 and an Emmy Award last year.

He picked up his second nomination for the prestigious ceremony earlier this month when the shortlist for the Primetime Emmy Awards were announced.

Paying tribute to Frand, studio executive Todd Sharp for NBC Universal says, "Harvey was the Wizard of Oz, the man behind the curtain, the train engineer, the orchestra conductor, the school guidance counsellor. He was adored by executive producers and production assistants, studio and network, cast and crew."

Frand is survived by his partner of 32 years, Bill Bowersock, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Harvey Frand, an Emmy-winning producer who was the "man behind the curtain" on the Syfy hit "Battlestar Galactica," died July 23 in Los Angeles after a brief hospitalization for respiratory problems. He was 68.

Frand's series producing career began in 1982 with "The Devlin Connection," Rock Hudson's final series. Other credits include 34 episodes of the 1985-89 version of "The Twilight Zone"; "Beauty and the Beast"; "The Young Riders"; "The Lazarus Man"; "The Pretender"; and "Strange World." He produced more than 20 pilots and movies of the week.

Frand began on "Galactica" in 2003. For his work on the show, he earned a Peabody Award in 2005, an AFI Award in 2006 and an Emmy last year. This month, he was nominated for a second Emmy.

"Harvey was the Wizard of Oz, the man behind the curtain, the train engineer, the orchestra conductor, the school guidance counselor," NBC Universal executive Todd Sharp said. "He was adored by executive producers and production assistants,...

The Sci-Fi Channel, which is rebranding itself as SyFy next week, is developing a new take on “Alien Nation,” the 1988 feature that previously spawned a spinoff TV series and several telefilms on Fox. “Angel” alum Tim Minear (”Angel”, “The X-Files,” “Firefly”, “Strange World”) will be writing a new take on the franchise, about a populace of aliens from a crashes ship who integrate themselves into Los Angeles. Based on the first film, “Alien Nation” centers on the partnership between a veteran cop and his new partner, a member of this alien race called the Newcomers. Stay tuned for more information about the reboot right here at Shockya.com. By Costa [...]...

Sci Fi is is making a new take on "Alien Nation." The original 1988 film starred James Caan which led to a spinoff series on Fox. Tim Minear, who had worked on "The X-Files," "Firefly" and "Strange World," is writing the fresh take on the franchise. Fox 21 will produce the show which tells of a world where aliens and humans live together and focuses on a partnership between a veteran cop and his alien detective partner. Fox 21's Chris Carlisle said "It's absolute perfect timing for this type of show.

The Sci Fi Channel is developing a new take on Alien Nation , the 1988 feature that previously spawned a spin-off series on Fox, reports Variety . Tim Minear ("Angel," "The X-Files," "Firefly," "Strange World") is writing the update of the franchise. Fox 21, the alternative production arm of 20th Century Fox TV, will produce. "Alien Nation" centers on the partnership between a veteran cop and his alien detective partner, set against the larger tale of alien "newcomers" who move to Earth and attempt to assimilate into society. The new "Alien Nation" would include a mythology that evolves over time and will also touch on some of the issues of the day, such as the immigrant experience and how society...