Reality show on film making launched

Mumbai, Aug 2 (UNI) India's Hollywood moghul, Ashok Amritraj and Sony's PIX movie channel launched the ''Gateway to Hollywood'' competition, a nationwide search for a Hollywood director from India.

''Gateway was inspired by my goal to make the path between India and Hollywood easier for talented filmakers to tread,'' Amritraj said while announcing the launch of the reality show last evening.

''Great storytellers make great filmmakers ... ultimately, one gem of a storyteller will get the cinematic chance of a lifetime,'' PIX head Sunder Aaron said.

Contestants will submit a 2-4 minute short film on VCD or DVD, from where 50 finalists will be selected from all over the country.

This number will be further filtered down to 18 who will get a chance to go to Mumbai. The ultimate winner will get intensive training and a chance to direct a movie under Hyde Park Entertainment, a production house.

On being asked what would differentiate the competition from the scores of others shown on the tube, Ashok Amritraj replied that the selection will be made by a qualified panel who know the intricacies of cinema and filmaking.

Ashok Amritraj is the Chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment, which has produced films like ''Premonition'' starring Sandra Bullock and ''Dreamer'' which had Kurt Russell and child star Dakota Fanning. The latter opened at no.2 on the US box office.

PIX is the exclusive movie channel launched by Sony Entertainment and caters to audiences of English movies.

UNI