EST Studios Partners with China’s Hugoeast for Eight Film Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese filmmaker, Bi Gan, best-known for his single-take feature “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” has seen his “A Short Story” picked up by Kino Lorber for distribution in North America. A fairy tale that follows the relationship between man and cat, the film had its world premiere in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and now has its North American premiere in the Currents section of the New York Film Festival. Kino Lorber plans to qualify “A Short Story” for the 96th Academy Awards, showing it theatrically nationwide in early 2023 in tandem with a theatrical re-release of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” “Kino Lorber rarely acquires short films, but Bi Gan has packed more cinematic delight into the fifteen minutes of ‘A Short Story’ than many feature length films deliver in two hours,” said Kino Lorber SVP Wendy Lidell. The deal was brokered by Les Films du Losange.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Hong Chau has joined the cast of the anticipated new film from “The Favourite” and “The Lobster” director Yorgos Lanthimos. Chau, who has been prolific in recent years, joins a stacked ensemble featuring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley. Plot details are (frustratingly) under wraps from the Greek master of subversion, who has also given us “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “Dogtooth.” Lanthimos directs from a script he wrote with Efthimis Filippou (reuniting after both “Lobster” and “Sacred Deer”). Searchlight Pictures is financing and distributing the project with Element Pictures and Film4. Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe of Element, Kasia Malipan and Lanthimos are producing. Principal photography begins this month in Chau’s native New Orleans.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Novelist Amy Tan and Oscar-winning “Rain Man” screenwriter Ron Bass are on board to deliver a sequel to “The Joy Luck Club,” the 1993 movie that broke new ground for Asian American representation. The new film, “Joy Luck Club 2,” is set up at Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group, with Ashok and Priya Amritraj producing alongside Tan, Bass and Jeff Kleeman. A director hasn’t been announced yet. The original “Joy Luck Club,” directed by Wayne Wang, was an epic, multigenerational saga of Chinese and Chinese-American mothers and daughters, whose histories, stories and lives interweave as they navigate life. Club members included characters played by Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu and Kieu Chinh. The ensemble cast also included Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao and Russell Wong.

Angelique Jackson Emmy-nominated comedian and actor Amber Ruffin will host the 2022 Ebony Power 100 Gala. Ruffin takes over emcee duties from 2021 host Wayne Brady; she’s no stranger to the spotlight after bringing the laughs weekly on Peacock’s “The Amber Ruffin Show.” The late-night series, which mixes interviews, sketches and monologues, is now in its third season and has earned an armful of award nominations over the course of its run, including a Primetime Emmy nod for outstanding writing for a variety series, as well as Critics Choice, NAACP, GLAAD and Writers Guild of America nods. Ebony Media Group’s annual event honors the achievements of 100 influential African Americans across various industries, including entertainment and the arts, business, politics, science, tech and medicine.

Brent Lang Executive Editor 101 Studios has made a series of key executive hires. Eliot Goldberg has joined as the company’s head of unscripted and documentary programming, while Ellie Duque has been tapped as exec VP of brand partnerships. Both executives will work out of the company’s Beverly Hills office. Joanna Balin has been tapped as director of unscripted and documentary programming, with Brannan Goetschius named as head of audio. Both executives will become part of 101 Studios’ New York team. They join Dani Weinstein, who was announced as the new chief communications officer in July. “We are thrilled to welcome these very accomplished, well-respected executives into our 101 Studios Family. We are always looking for ways to expand our reach and expertise and we are lucky to have Dani, Eliot, Ellie, Joanna and Brannan join our ranks,” said 101 Studios CEO David Glasser

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Patriotic rescue film “Homecoming” largely dominated the Chinese box office over the latest weekend and brought to a close a deeply-depressed National Day holiday period. “Homecoming” earned $21.5 million between Friday and Sunday to lift its ten-day cumulative to $163 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That score accounted for a 71% share of the weekend’s $30.3 million total. Second-placed film “Ordinary Hero” earned just $2.2 million, giving it a ten-day total of $19.7 million. Previous top-ranking film, “Give Me Five” held on to third place, despite the volley of new releases on either September 30 or October 1. It collected $1.7 million for a cumulative of $60.8 million since release on Sept. 9, 2022.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Rithy Panh, director of “Rice People” and “S21 The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine” is an icon of art-house cinema, at once political, unique, and charming. The iconic image may be another of his confections – a palatable work built on uncomfortable facts. On the incomplete evidence of a 50-minute on-stage dialog at the Busan International Film Festival on Sunday, Panh comes across as simultaneously contrarian and principled. A curmudgeonly veteran and yet a filmmaker still curious to learn. “If there were no Khmer Rouge maybe I would not be a filmmaker,” he said of the Communist insurgents, who won the Cambodian civil war in 1975 and whose brutality and atrocities he has spent a lifetime documenting and exposing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean indie production house, IMTV is developing and will produce a drama series based on the New York Times best-selling novel, “The Island of Sea Women” by Lisa See.  The story is set largely on the remote Korean island of Jeju, among the community of ‘haenyo,’ women who earn a living by free diving for mollusks, seaweed and other sea life from the depths of the ocean. Representatives of a rare semi matriarchal society, the women work while the menfolk typically stay at home, though property is passed down along male lines. Celebrated activist and Nobel Prize-winner Malala recently boarded a documentary project about the haenyo of Jeju that is set up at the A24 U.S. indie studio.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean sales agent Finecut has added “Secret: Untold Melody” and “The Dinner” to its burgeoning Asian Contents & Film Market slate. Both titles are sourced from a deal with Hive Media Corp. (“Inside Men,” “The Man Standing Next”). An adaptation of 2007 Taiwan hit “Secret,” “Secret: Untold Melody” is a romance film about pianist and a student. While the original film starred Jay Chou and Gwei Lun-mei, the Korean retread stars Doh Kyung-soo (a.k.a D.O. from celebrated K-pop group EXO) who has acting credits including “Swing Kids” and the “Along With The Gods” franchise, and rising star Won Jin-a (“Netflix’s “Hellbound”). Now in post-production, the film is directed by Seo You-min (“Recalled”).

Johannes Radebe and Ellie Taylor are facing an early exit from Strictly Come Dancing and all because of a lack of chemistry, according to a body language expert.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong multi-hyphenate Peter Chan Ho-sun is far too intellectual to call himself an “arms dealer,” as Sony Pictures has in casting itself as an unattached supplier to streaming platforms. But politeness and Bob Dylan references aside, Chan’s new company, Changin’ Pictures, aims to become a major independent purveyor of premium Asian TV content for the streamers. The company is using this week’s Busan International Film Festival as its launchpad and will unveil the first five series of its 20-title pan-Asian slate.  Chan’s thesis is that global audiences are hungry for Asian content but have not been able to access it easily under legacy film and TV distribution systems. With streaming making everything accessible everywhere, and audiences no longer balking at subtitles, quality Asian drama can and will travel.

The Trafford Centre is set to host a student night packed with exclusive discounts from food and drink to cosmetics and clothes - with serious savings on some products.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios embarked on two entertainment collaborations that mark a real and differentiating commitment to supporting the U.S. Latino community.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Projects starring Donnie Yen and Zhang Ziyi are among the independently produced TV series to be launched on the sidelines of this week’s Busan International Film Festival. The company responsible is Changin’ Pictures, a would-be studio being hatched by Hong Kong-based film director and producer Peter Chan Ho-sun. Propelled by the growing recognition of Asian talent and the worldwide distribution potential of multinational SVOD platforms, Changin’ Pictures aims to be a powerhouse production hub suppling premium drama content to streaming players. The company has raised very substantial finance from Asian sources and aims to develop and produce series which it will pitch and license to the platforms, without recourse to the OTT companies’ production funding, greenlighting and editorial constraints.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fresh from a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, TV coverage of Formula One motor racing is set to shift broadcasting partner in Asia-Pacific. Sports Business reports that pay-TV broadcaster beIN Sports is finalizing a multi-year deal beginning in 2023 reaching across most of its Asia-Pacific footprint, but excluding Australia, where Foxtel recently renewed its deal, and New Zealand.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Patriotic action film “Homecoming” dominated cinemagoing in China over the weekend with a nearly $60 million haul. But the National Day holiday season is in a deep slump compared with recent years. Directed by Rao Xiaozhi, the film is yet another tale of a heroic rescue of Chinese citizens in danger in foreign lands. In this instance, two Chinese diplomats must return to war-torn 2011 Libya to save 125 people who have been left behind. The film opened on Friday and garnered an impressive $59.3 million (RMB421) according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. It accounted for a thumping 67% market share. Imax reported that the film had been shot with Imax-certified cameras and that $3 million of the total came from its screens in China.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese indie sales Firm Free Stone Productions has added a quartet of new titles to its line-up in time for the rights markets in Busan and Tokyo. The company is unable to travel to Busan and will meet with clients virtually at the Asian Contents & Film Market. The TIFFCOM market, which runs alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival later in the month, is anyway a virtual event. Top of the list is “In Her Room,” a romance about a young dentist who embarks on a romance with a mysterious woman but cannot figure her out. The film will play in the Nippon Cinema Now section of the Tokyo festival and have a Japanese commercial release from January. It is the feature debut if Ito Chihiro and stars Iguchi Satoru, Baba Fumika and Kawai Yuumi.

George and Amal Clooney are celebrating more than just The Clooney Foundation's inaugural Albie Awards, the couple is marking their eighth wedding anniversary. ET's Rachel Smith spoke to the famous pair at the awards ceremony in New York Thursday night about what makes year number eight so special.«Well, it's better than not right,» George quipped.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Riot Games has hired veteran executive Mandy Beckner as its global head of live action development, film and TV. She joins the developer and publisher after a stint as director of content for the original indie film group at Netflix. In her new role, Beckner will be in charge of developing live-action film and TV content for all of Riot’s “League of Legends”-related IP. Beckner will report to Brian Wright, Riot Games’ chief content officer. “Mandy is a dynamic executive with a successful track record that speaks to the kind of entertaining and engaging IP that Riot is known for,” Wright said in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome her to the Riot family.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Soi Cheang Pou-soi’s crime thriller “Limbo” is the front-runner in the Golden Horse Film Awards, with 14 nominations. It is narrowly ahead of Taiwan-produced “Coo-Coo 043” and “Incantation,” which both have 13 nominations. All three films compete for the best feature award, best director, supporting actor, art direction, makeup and costume design, original film score, film editing and sound effects. The Taiwan-based Golden Horse Awards have long been considered as the most prestigious prize race for Chinese language films, but they have been boycotted by mainland Chinese films and filmmakers for the past three years on the order of mainland Chinese authorities. This followed a pro-Taiwan independence speech given from the stage in 2018 by a local prize winner.