Global Showbiz Briefs: ‘Game Of Thrones’ BitTorrent Record, Laurence Fishburne In ‘Khumba’, David Bortolucci & ‘Allure’ & More
Game Of Thrones Breaks BitTorrent Piracy Record
Game Of Thrones debuted Sunday on HBO and began Monday night on the UK’s Sky Atlantic. The series hit a high with its third season premiere in the U.S., averaging 4.4M viewers, up 4% from GOT‘s previous series high posted by the second season finale. At the same time, however, the premiere broke the record for what TorrentFreak calls “the largest BitTorrent swarm ever.” According to the website, a few hours after the first torrent of the show was uploaded, the OpenBitTorrent tracker reported 163,088 people sharing one single torrent, 110,303 were sharing a complete copy of the torrent and 52,786 were still downloading. The previous record was held by Heroes. Yesterday, TorrentFreak estimated the GOT episode had been downloaded over a million times and expects it to be the most downloaded TV-show of the year, much as it was last year. Pirates in the U.S. were the most active downloaders followed by the UK and Australia.
Laurence Fishburne Joins Khumba Voice Cast
South Africa-based Triggerfish Animation Studios has added Laurence Fishburne to the voice cast of 3D animated feature Khumba. Fishburne joins Liam Neeson, AnnaSophia Robb, Jake T. Austin, Loretta Devine and Richard E. Grant in the story of a plucky half-striped Zebra who’s blamed for a drought by his superstitious herd and meets a wacky group of characters as he goes on a journey to earn his full stripes. Triggerfish’s Raffaella Delle Donne and Anthony Silverston wrote the story in consultation with Lion King co-writer Jonathan Roberts. Silverston directed the film that’s in post-production. International sales are handled by Cinema Management Group. Millennium will release in the U.S. later this year.
David Bortolucci To Make Helming Debut On Allure
David Bortolucci, who is producing Jay Sebring biopic Beautiful People with James Franco, will make his directorial debut on Allure, the story of two friends who reunite in the Italian countryside. French actresses Lucie Lucas and Florie Vialens are set to star in the movie that begins principal photography in Italy in June. Massimo Volpe wrote the screenplay and is producing with his partner Jim Kalianiotis of First Draft Films and Julie Yorn of LBI Entertainment. Riccardo Neri and Dallas Buyers Club exec producers Holly Wiersma and Logan Levy are also producing. Bortolucci is repped by Kevin Yorn and Ryan Goodell at Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman.
Philippine Inmates’ Movie Set For June Release
After becoming a YouTube sensation in 2007 with their take on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the inmates of the Philippines’ Cebu prison are getting their own movie. The Dance Of The Steel Bars is a drama starring Patrick Bergin and Filipino star Dingdong Dantes, produced by Dubai-based Portfolio Films International. According to the Associated Press, the film centers on a retired U.S. firefighter and philanthropist wrongly jailed for murder in the Philippines who befriends a convicted murderer who denies his passion for dancing. Along with another inmate, they are caught up in a struggle between the positive changes being implemented by the new jail warden and a corrupt prison system. Directors Marnie Manicad and Cesar Apolinario shot inside the prison over a week in 2010, and the entire production took about three years. It will release locally on June 12 before heading to festivals, the filmmakers hope.
Related stories
HBO’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Renewed For Fourth Season
‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 3 Premiere Hits Viewership High
‘Game Of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin Signs Overall Deal With HBO
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