Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was prevalent before streaming platforms came to dominate the TV and movie distribution markets.
Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group. In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on demand content are available through these as well as via Now, EE TV and TalkTalk TV.
MBC Group, formerly known as Middle East Broadcasting Center, is a Saudi media conglomerate based in the Middle East and North Africa region. Launched in London in 1991, the company moved its headquarters to Dubai in 2002 and to Riyadh in 2022. It is majority owned by the Saudi government-operated Public Investment Fund.
MBC 1 is a free-to-air pan-Arab general television channel. It is owned by the MBC company MBC Group. Satellite transmission started from London in September 1991, making MBC 1 the first independent Arabic satellite TV station, with an estimated audience of more than 130 million people around the world. In 2022 parent company MBC moved its headquarters to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In the film industry, a bankable star is a film actor "capable of guaranteeing box-office success simply by showing up in a movie". The bankability of an actor includes their films' box office track record, professional demeanor, and other factors. Hiring a bankable star helps a film company to secure investment, distribution, and garner media attention. Some bankable stars have so much star power that even films without a strong concept or "hook"―such as star vehicle films―are feasible to make.
Orbit Communications Company was a privately owned pay television network headquartered in Bahrain. Owned by Saudi Arabia–based Mawarid Holding, it was the first fully digital, multi-channel, multilingual, pay television service in the Middle East and North Africa and was also the world's first fully end-to-end digital TV network. Launched in 1994, it was originally situated in Tor Sapienza, Rome, Italy as the location was considered entirely suitable to build a satellite farm. Orbit employed around 600 employees who were largely a combination of British and Italian staff with several Arabic speaking nations also represented. Orbit broadcast in several languages around the world including English, Arabic, French and Filipino.
Interstellar is a 2014 epic science fiction drama film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, and Michael Caine. Set in a dystopian future where Earth is suffering from catastrophic blight and famine, the film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for mankind.
MBC Action is a free-to-air television channel that targets young Arabic males. It delivers Western series, movies, including sports and anime and action movies and television programs and films from action genre. Subtitled in Arabic language, the channel is a part of the Middle Eastern media company MBC Group. It is intended to aim mainly at male audiences, unlike its sister channel MBC 4 which is aimed at female audiences. It delivers Western series, movies, dramas, thrillers, and action reality shows as well as Japanese anime and sports programs. The channel is a weekly "magazine" format show about cars, similar to Top Gear, which also broadcasts the British and American versions of the BBC's Top Gear. It was launched on 5 March 2007 with the Pilot episode of the TV series Lost which, along with Prison Break and The 4400, is one of MBC Action's biggest coups. It will also show new episodes of other shows like 24, Pimp My Ride, The Sparticle Mystery and the Power Rangers. The channel also airs the International Fight League.
Peyton Roi List is an American actress. List began her career as a child model for tween magazines and companies before transitioning to acting with a minor role in the romantic comedy film 27 Dresses (2008) at the age of ten. As a child actress, she appeared in films Remember Me (2010) and Bereavement (2010), before her breakthrough role as Holly Hills in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series (2011–2012). List gained further attention for portraying Emma Ross on the Disney Channel series Jessie (2011–2015) and its spinoff Bunk'd.
MBC Max is a free-to-air movie channel that broadcasts non-stop Hollywood films and is an alternative to its sister channel MBC 2.
Willow Shields is an American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Primrose Everdeen in the sci-fi dystopian adventure film series The Hunger Games (2012–2015). She earned nominations for a Young Hollywood Award and an MTV Award for her performance in the franchise's second and fourth installments respectively.
Raya Abirached is a Lebanese TV presenter and celebrity journalist at MBC.
Viva Cinema is a Philippine entertainment television channel owned by Viva Communications, available on satellite and cable TV providers.
MBC Drama is a free-to-air pan-Arab television channel owned by MBC Group. It was launched on 27 November 2010 with 24/7 Arabic drama series.
American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical war drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and written and executive-produced by Jason Hall, based on the memoir of the same name by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. The film follows the life of Kyle, who became the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense. While Kyle was celebrated for his military successes, his tours of duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life. It stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife Taya, with Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Kevin Lacz, Navid Negahban, and Keir O'Donnell in supporting roles.
Murder in the Big House is a black-and-white American crime drama, released by Warner Bros in April 1942. Structured as an hour-long second feature, it is directed by the prolific specialist in low-budget action productions, B. Reeves Eason, and stars Van Johnson, who is top-billed above the title, in his first credited film role which represents the entire output of his six-month contract with the studio.
