Twentieth Century Fox, STAR to produce local films for Asia

Sep 11, 2008 07:00:00 AM | Article | Campaign India Team

Twentieth Century Fox and STAR, have formed a joint venture, Fox STAR Studios, to produce local-language films in Asia for worldwide distribution. The joint venture will start in India and soon expand into other markets including Greater China and South East Asia. Vijay Singh has been appointed as the CEO of the Indian venture. Singh is currently the president, strategy and corporate development for STAR India.

Fox STAR Studios India plans to produce Bollywood and Indian regional films. It will also build a national theatrical distribution footprint and enhanced capabilities in the home entertainment and digital media platforms in India while also leveraging Fox Theatrical Network’s global distribution strength across 44 countries worldwide.

Jim Gianopoulos, co-chairman, Fox Filmed Entertainment, said, “The Fox-STAR joint venture is a great opportunity for us to create a strong presence in the Asian film industry and to extend the relationship across the region. The infrastructure provided by Twentieth Century Fox, along with STAR’s unmatched broadcasting and marketing network, gives Fox STAR Studios a distinctive edge in the business of film production and distribution. We at Fox are looking ahead to very exciting times with STAR for our business in that region.”

Uday Shankar, CEO, STAR India said, “This joint venture will complete the missing piece in STAR India’s entertainment portfolio. With our track record of creating compelling family entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox’s legendary expertise in filmmaking and distribution, this initiative promises to redefine the film viewing experience for the people of India, as well as to create higher level skill sets in film production, marketing and distribution for the industry. With 18 channels in our bouquet, we can add unique value in marketing the movies made by Fox STAR Studios India.”