The credit crunch may have spread into the mystical realm of Narnia, if reports are to be believed.
Hollywood trade publications have stated that Walt Disney Studios has backed out of co-producing and co-financing The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, one of CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia novels.
The movie was expected to follow Prince Caspian and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe into cinemas in 2010, but Disney cited "budgetary and logistical" reasons for the change of heart.
The film may not be dead in the water yet, however. The other big force behind the films, Walden Media, may find another partner.
A new Hollywood version of Sinbad is sailing into development.
Adam Shankman, the director of the 2007 musical Hairspray and the Adam Sandler comedy Bedtime Stories, has signed on to helm the project. Reports suggest the legendary adventurer and his crew will be marooned off the coast of China and set off to find Aladdin's lamp.
Shankman told Variety that he hopes the film will give him the chance to "stretch my imagination as far as I can take it".
The most recent live-action Hollywood outing from the infamous sailor was 1989's Sinbad of the Seven Seas, starring Lou Ferrigno of The Incredible Hulk TV series.
Speculation is rife that the director James Cameron's upcoming movie, Avatar - his first film in over 10 years - could be a "game changer".
The sci-fi epic will almost certainly be one of 2009's big hitters, but insiders are predicting it could even change the face of filmmaking forever - much like Star Wars did in 1977 and King Kong in 1933.
Currently filming in New Zealand, the director is using cutting-edge 3D technology to bring the movie to life.
Cameron's last outing was Titanic, the highest-grossing picture of all time. Prior to that he made his name with Terminator 2, Aliens and The Abyss.
The development of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's upcoming Tintin movie series is powering ahead, with reports that several actors have been cast in leading rolls.
Although no name is currently confirmed for the eponymous hero, the Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis is set to play Captain Haddock and the Shaun of the Dead duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost will play the detectives Thomson and Thomson, Aintitcoolnews.com has reported.
The semi-animated movie is expected to use 3D performance-capture technology, as seen in films such as Beowulf and The Polar Express.
ogood@thenational.ae
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
Company%20Profile
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The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
