India Rules National Anthem Mandatory In Cinemas; ‘Walking Dead’ Demand Surges Abroad – Global Briefs
India’s Supreme Court today ruled the mandatory playing of the national anthem before movie screenings in theaters across the country. According to the Indian Express, the move is designed to “instill a sense of committed patriotism and nationalism” in citizens. Judges said that when the anthem is played in cinemas it should be accompanied with images of the national flag on screen and moviegoers must stand. The court said, “Time has come for people to realize that the national anthem is a symbol of constitutional patriotism… People must feel they live in a nation and this wallowing individually perceived notion of freedom must go… People must feel this is my country, my motherland.” The decision comes during a period of growing nationalism and amid conflict with Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir territory. Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar recently faced criticism he had been anti-national by employing a Pakistani actor in his latest movie, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The New York Times notes that decades ago, Indian movie theaters routinely played the anthem at the end of a film, but the practice was discontinued.
Data science company Parrot Analytics has found that demand for the new season of The Walking Dead is up by an average 84% in 50 countries. Parrot partnered with Fox Networks Group to quantify cross-platform, country-specific audience demand for Season 7 in international Fox markets. The data shows that the series is the most in-demand in all key Fox markets. Countries like Germany, India and Brazil have seen demand grow by over 50% while in the UK and U.S., it’s been boosted by more than 100%, says Parrot. For the majority of the data analyzed, anticipation for Season 7 increased faster than it did for Season 6 over the same time period. Parrot also found that demand for The Walking Dead in the U.S. was nearly twice that of the second-most in-demand show, increasing by over 67% from prior years. Post the Season 7 launch, The Walking Dead achieved the second-highest demand of any show, behind only Game Of Thrones’ Season 6 finale.
Prince Harry has filmed a new documentary for ITV, in which he returns to Lesotho, in Africa, to continue work for Sentebale, the charity he set up more than a decade ago. The film, which will be broadcast on ITV on December 19, will follow the Prince as he gets his hands dirty helping out with the charity’s work and interacting with local children. He’ll be reunited with Mutsu, a local teenager who he met on his first visit to Lesotho 12 years ago and with whom he has remained in regular contact, both knowing first-hand what it was like growing up without a parent. The doc is produced by Big Earth Productions and Russ Malkin directs and exec produces. It was commissioned for ITV by Jo Clinton-Davis, Controller of Factual, James Cohen, Factual Commissioning Editor and Sue Murphy, Head of Factual Entertainment.
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