Banijay Asia CEO Deepak Dhar On ‘The Night Manager’, Remaking ‘Suits’ And ‘The Good Wife’ And Making India A Regional Production Hub

Tom Hiddleston met his Night Manager counterpart Aditya Roy Kapur for the first time last night.

NMIXX have announced their upcoming ‘Nice to MIXX You’ showcase tour that will take the group to cities in North America and Asia.The ‘Nice to MIXX You’ tour is set to kick off on May 2 on the West Coast of the US in Washington, followed by two shows in California. The girl group will the head south, with performance in Texas and Georgia, before moving up the East Coast with concerts in DC and New York.The following month, NMIXX will make their way to Asia, starting with a show in Thailand on June 4.

Kim Kardashian is making the best of a tricky situation.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kowloon Walled City — one of Hong Kong’s most famous landmarks, or infamous trouble spots, depending on your point of view — fell prey to the developers’ bulldozer 30 years ago. But it remains an icon of the territory’s gritty spirit and is being painstakingly re-created for action thriller feature “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In.” The film is a beacon for how Hong Kong cinema is now evolving. Directed by hot-shot Soi Cheang, whose “Mad Fate” recently played in Berlin and is set for imminent local release, “Twilight” boasts leading stars Louis Koo, Sammo Hung and Richie Jen, plus emerging talents Philip Ng, Raymond Lau and Terrance Lau.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Filming has begun on Tom Waller’s true-crime thriller, “Kiss of the Con Queen,” with real-life victim Eoin O’Brien (“The Last Full Measure”) taking the lead role. He plays actor duped by an impersonator to travel to Indonesia on the promise of auditions for a leading role in a DC origins series, only to discover that he had been scammed by the infamous Con Queen of Hollywood. In the real world, the alleged perpetrator, 41-year-old Indonesian food blogger Hargobind Tahilramani, is accused of pretending to be both male and female Hollywood executives and having swindled hundreds of victims of millions of dollars. He was arrested in 2020 after an FBI manhunt and is currently in prison in the U.K. where he is fighting against possible extradition to the U.S. The U.K. court hearings have been dramatic and disturbing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The recent reopening of the mainland Chinese box office, including a $1 billion Chinese New Year holiday season, has put a different complexion on the global theatrical industry. Few companies could be closer to that change in fortune than Imax China, a stock market-listed subsidiary of the Imax Corp. The company operates as both a supplier of screens, audio and projection equipment for premium cinemas and as a partner in making local Chinese films fit for exhibition in the giant format. During Chinese New Year, Imax was represented by “Avatar: The Way of Water” and four Chinese movies. Daniel Manwaring, CEO of Imax China, spoke to Variety in his first interview since taking on the top job in January.

Marcus Lim Chinese TV producer Linmon Media struck a decidedly international tone during the presentation of its 2023-24 slate at FilMart, with presenters speaking about their Chinese-language projects in only English and Korean, and handing out sleek project literature in multiple languages. Apart from a slate of romance, medical and crime dramas targeted at domestic audiences, the studio is actively remaking its hit female-led contemporary drama “Nothing but Thirty” in Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong, having previously licensed the remake rights to Korean pay TV network JTBC. The drama, which follows the lives of three women as they transition from their 20s into their 30s, is emblematic of the Linmon slate, which is heavy on female-centric contemporary romance dramas.

Top executives from Asian media companies including CJ ENM, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, BEC World and Bona Film Group discussed Asia’s changing media landscape on the first day of Hong Kong’s Filmart. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Despite a barnstorming address celebrating the re-opening of Hong Kong and China by Bona Film Group COO Jiang De Fu, it is clear that the film industry in China is still suffering its own version of long-COVID, with box office tracking at around half of 2018 levels. “The Chinese box office was RMB60.7 billion ($8.89 billion at current rates of exchange) in 2018. And 83 films made over RMB100 million. 16 films that made over RMB1 billion. Post-pandemic, in 2022, China’s box office was RMB29.9 billion. [Just] 41 films made over RMB100 million. [And] 8 films made over RMB1 billion. We are now only at 50% of the level in 2018,” said Jiang aty a presentation on the first day of Hong Kong’s FilMart.

Naman Ramachandran Superstar Rajinikanth, Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, Telugu cinema star Mahesh Babu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among those celebrating India’s double win at the Oscars. “Naatu Naatu” by composer M.M. Keeravaani and lyricist Chandrabose from S.S. Rajamouli’s “RRR” won best original song, while director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga’s “The Elephant Whisperers” won best documentary short subject. “My hearty congratulations to Shri. Keeravani, Shri. Rajamouli and Shri. Kartiki Gonsalves for getting the prestigious Oscar Award. I salute to the proud Indians,” Rajinikanth tweeted.

95th Oscars.It won’t be easy. On paper, this year’s Academy Awards seem to have things working in their favor.

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

Variety reported. It’s not yet clear how the company will split revenue with creators in the future. The Series feature is currently available only to select users and will start accepting applications for more to join in the coming months, the Chinese company said in a statement.

EXCLUSIVE: Karan Anshuman and Suparn Varma, two of the first writers, directors and showrunners to move into India’s web series space, have co-directed Rana Naidu, Netflix’s Indian remake of Ray Donovan, produced by Sunder Aaron’s Locomotive Global. The Hindi-language show starts streaming worldwide from this Friday (March 10). 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Global streaming operation Netflix is forecast to spend $1.9 billion on local content in the Asia-Pacific region this year as group revenue from the region accelerates to 12%, according to a new report. The content investment spending figure represents a 15% hike. Netflix will grow revenues this year by 12% year-on-year to exceed $4 billion compared with 9% growth in 2022, says a new report published on Monday by Media Partners Asia.

As Elizabeth Holmes’ career came crashing down amid the downfall of Theranos, she met and found love with Billy Evans.

BBC Studios Renews Pact With ZDF

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ new book — a possible prelude to a 2024 presidential run — includes a chapter highlighting his efforts last year to pass a parental rights bill, dubbed the “don’t say gay” law by detractors, amid opposition from The Walt Disney Co.

‘Dead Pixels’ Remake Set At India’s Disney+ Hotstar

Imax chief executive Rich Gelfond said blockbuster titles will probably be back on Imax screens later this year, as per Top Gun: Maverick last year and, more recently, Titanic’s 25th anniversary re-release.