Latest news with #DoubleNegative
News18
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Who Is Namit Malhotra, The Brain Behind Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana?
Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana will be released worldwide: Part 1 on Diwali 2026 and Part 2 on Diwali 2027. When the teaser of Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana was finally released on Thursday, it left everyone super excited for the movie. The three-minute-long first glimpse of the Nitesh Tiwari directorial has been getting immense love from the audience and is getting praised for its brilliant VFX and music. However, do you know who is Namit Malhotra, the producer and the brain behind this movie? Let's find out: Who Is Namit Malhotra, The Brain Behind Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana? Namit Malhotra is an Indian film producer and visual‑effects pioneer. He is also the founder of Prime Focus – which is known for its visual effects, animation and production. Malhotra founded this company from his father's garage in Mumbai in the mid‑1990s. He later merged it with Video Workshop to revolutionise VFX in Bollywood. Namit also collaborated with London's Double Negative to form DNEG, where, as CEO, he led the company to win eight Oscars in Best Visual Effects for films like Inception (2011) and Dune: Part Two (2025), among others. Malhotra, now collaborating with Ranbir Kapoor and Yash on Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, is utilising his Oscar-winning artistic and technical expertise to bring this epic tale to life with state-of-the-art VFX on an unprecedented scale. What Did Namit Malhotra Say During The Ramayana Teaser Launch? Addressing the media in Mumbai, Namit Malhotra talked about the Ramayana movie and said, 'This is a cultural movement for every Indian around the world. With Ramayana, we're not just retelling history; we're introducing our legacy to the world. Bringing together the finest global talent allows us to tell this story with authenticity, emotion, and state-of-the-art cinematic innovation. We've seen Ramayana portrayed before — but this version reimagines its landscapes, creatures, and battles with the scale and splendour they deserve. As Indians, this is our truth. Now, it will be our gift to the world." Talking about the Ramayana teaser, it starts from the roots – the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva who rule the world. With striking animation, the video then introduces characters from Ramayana – Lord Rama played by Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. Ramayana will be released worldwide: Part 1 on Diwali 2026 and Part 2 on Diwali 2027. First Published:
Gizmodo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Here's Why You Can't See Arnold Schwarzenegger Riding a Giant Dinosaur
Arnold Schwarzenegger, on top of a giant dinosaur, massive gun in hand, shooting Nazis. It was footage that launched a thousand blog posts across the internet. Leaked footage, in fact, from a movie called Kung Fury 2 which, despite being filmed in 2019 and also featuring Michael Fassbender as a cocky, over-the-top supercop, has never been released. But that's not because audiences aren't ready for all that Arnold awesomeness. It's because of money. Isn't it always? In a new interview with Variety, Kung Fury 2 star, writer, and director David Sandberg details multiple lawsuits that continue to plague the film, now over five years later. Those center mainly on Creasun Entertainment USA, the U.S. branch of a Chinese film company called Creasun Media. In 2019, Creasun signed on to help finance two-thirds of Kung Fury 2, including about $10 million in visual effects work from the company Double Negative. Production went fine, but then something changed. 'Once we started getting to VFX, things started to really slow down, and things became a bit weird,' Sandberg said. 'And then it turned out that our Chinese financier had basically stopped all payments.' A lawsuit was filed and, after about a year and a half, a settlement was reached in which Creasun was going to pay what it owed. But, apparently, that still didn't happen. So Creasun was sued again, but it didn't stop there. Creasun filed countersuits accusing producers of stealing money from the production. Sandberg says that isn't true, and Variety reports some of the other producers on the film tried to buy Creasun out. It declined. 'They just kind of stonewalled every single attempt to solve the issue,' he said. 'And it was just really heartbreaking for me as an artist who's worked on this for years. And there are so many people who have poured their hearts into this, and I feel super terrible for them.' And so the slow legal process continues, ensuring that despite principal photography being complete, as well as an edit of the movie, between $5 and $10 million of visual effects remain unfinished. In fact, the footage that leaked earlier this month had temporary effects, which were never supposed to be seen by the public. 'It's a fantastic movie and I'm so bummed that I can't show it,' Sandberg said. 'But I haven't given up on it. One day, for sure, it will get released. But we just have to power through it. But it's incredible. Fassbender is incredible. Arnold is incredible. We had such a wonderful experience on set and everyone felt the love behind it. So it's just a shame that it would end up this way. But it's not over. It will get out there eventually.' Read more from Sandberg, including some teases of the movie he's been making as the Kung Fury 2 legal battle continues to play out, over at Variety.
