Malaysia’s ‘The Passport’ Gets Stamp of Approval From the Philippines’ Epicmedia (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Philippines‘ Nathan Studio has struck a deal with Singapore’s Momo Film Co to invest strategically in Momo’s slate of upcoming projects.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Los Angeles- and Bangkok-based sales firm EST N8 has bulked up its Cannes Market film sales slate with a trio of completed Asian titles. “Mash Ville” stars Jeon Sin-hwan (“The Housemaid,” “Time Renegades”) and Park Jong-hwan (“Concrete Utopia,” “Hell Is Other People”) and weaves together the lives of pseudo-religious believers and eight strangers in a rural area. When their paths cross they must fight for survival.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Female stunt performer Wiriya Caesar will step up into the lead performer role in upcoming Thai action film “The 24.” The film project is being launched this week in the Cannes Market by new international sales firm Boz Pictures. Wiriya (aka Porntip Wiriya, aka “Fan”) has previously been a stunt double for Mary-Elizabeth Winstead in “Kate” and Golshifteh Farahani in “Extraction,” and has other credits on “Thirteen Lives” and “Hidden Strike.” In “The 24” she will star as an assassin who wakes up with a time bomb strapped to her body. She has clear instructions to kill a hit list of 24 members of the Bangkok underground, with each successful hit buying her more time alive. Caesar is joined in the cast by Japan’s Sakaguchi Tak (“Re:Born,” “One Percenter,” “Versus”), Dan Chupong (“Ong Bak 1 &2,” “Born to Fight”), Sunny Pang (“The Night Comes for Us,” “Headshot” and Gareth Evans’ upcoming “Havoc”) and Simon Kook (“Ip Man 3,” “Mayhem”). The film, which will shoot in the fourth quarter of this year, is written and directed by Lee Thongkham (“The Maid,” “The Lake,” “Kitty the Killer”).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asian audiences are increasingly turning to homegrown content in their streaming choices. Asian titles powering 80% of premium VOD engagement and customer acquisition, according to new research from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. “The Rise of Asian Content” is based on passive tracking of 40,000 users by sister company AMPD in nine major Asian markets – Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand – over 15 months between Jan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Bona,” one of the landmark films of Philippines cinema, is headed for release in France and the U.S. later this year. Directed by Lino Brocka, considered one of the pioneers of Philippines cinema, a restored version of the film returns to Cannes after an absence of more than 40 years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chatchai Chinnasri and Nattawut Sanyabut, two stars from runaway Thai hit film “The Undertaker,” are reunited on upcoming supernatural horror film “Night Shift.” The new film, directed by Chaiwat Sitalasai (“Spirit of Ramayana”), centers on an upcountry graveyard worker who finds himself haunted by spirits in an abandoned building in Bangkok. The film is directed by Chaiwat Sitalasai (“Spirit of Ramayana”) and is now in advanced pre-production ahead of a June start of production. Delivery is anticipated in March 2025.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The feature “Tales of Taipei” is a tribute to the low-pressure, culturally rich city, which has been shaped by its regional neighbors, taken in diverse peoples and distilled the multiple competing influences into a messy, happy-go-lucky morass. Produced by Bowie Tsang and Amy Ma, the film calls on 10 directors hailing from Malaysia, France, Bhutan and Hong Kong, and Taiwanese locals Yin Cheng-han and Remii Huang to contribute.“Everything is possible in Taiwan, everything exits side by side,” says Tsang, who was born in Hong Kong. “We have old Chinese myths.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor I spent the first 37 years of my life on the East Coast, and even there, I knew who Sam Rubin was. The beloved KTLA Los Angeles entertainment reporter, who died May 10 at age 64, was a Hollywood fixture for over 30 years, beloved, trusted and respected.

The Anaheim City Council gave final approval today to DisneylandForward, the $1.9 billion, Disney’s multi-decade expansion plan for Walt’s original park. Today’s 7-0 procedural vote came after a unanimous vote approving the project in April. The zoning and other changes laid out by the plan to take effect in 30 days.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The video-on-demand streaming sector in Southeast Asia delivered record subscription numbers and subscription revenues in the first quarter of the year, according to a new study. Those trends represent recovery after a tough 2023. Data from consultancy firm Media Partners Asia and its AMPD research affiliate showed VOD usage at a barely changed 96.3 minutes in the five Southeast Asian countries studied (Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia). Total paying subscriptions reached 48.5 million, representing net additions of 652,000 quarter-on-quarter and 1.6 million year-on-year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China- and Netherlands-based sales firm Fortissimo Films has picked up the international rights to new Chinese sports feature film “Wild Punch.” It will launch the film in territories outside mainland China next week at the Cannes Market. Co-directed by well-established director Yu Lik-wai and Wang Jing (“The Best Is Yet to Come”), “Wild Punch is a sports and action drama about a top mixed martial arts athlete who has passed the peak of his career and faces competition from his young and gifted trainee. Both with something to prove, the two will have to face each other in the ring. Yu has directed four feature films, including Cannes competition title “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and Venice title “Plastic City.” He is also well-established as a cinematographer who has worked on films including “Still Life,” “A Touch of Sin,” and “Mountains May Depart” by Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye’s “Love and Bruises” and Ann Hui’s “A Simple Life.” “Wild Punch” is produced by Momo Pictures, the subsidiary of the NASDAQ-listed Zhiwen Group, which is best-known for its Momo instant messaging mobile application.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Vietnamese French director and screenwriter Tran Anh Hung has been named as president of the jury for the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival. The festival, which runs June 14 to 23, said that his works “blend the expressions of Eastern and Western cultures, with sensitivity, delicacy, and a romantic style.” His films include: 1992’s “Scent of the Green Papaya”; 1995’s “Cyclo,” starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai; 2009 English-language thriller “I Come With the Rain,” starring Josh Hartnett; and “The Taste of Things,” which earned him the best director prize at Cannes last year. The jury president role marks a return and a promotion for the director. He was previously on the Shanghai festival’s jury in 2011, when he also screened his “Norwegian Wood.” SM Cinema, the largest exhibitor in the Philippines, is to open giant screen Imax cinemas in three new venues.

Luke Newton, who is about to star in season three of Bridgerton as Colin, is speaking out about advice he received from Regé-Jean Page and Jonathan Bailey.

have shared a previously unseen photograph from their wedding day as they celebrate their 13th anniversary.On April 29, 2011, Catherine Middleton, wearing bespoke Alexander McQueen, walked down Westminster Abbey’s aisle to Sir Hubert Parry’s I Was Glad on the arm of her proud father, Michael Middleton, to marry Prince William. Her sister, , was a bridesmaid, dutifully arranging her sister’s train.

Jessica Lange is calling out the Hollywood film industry for prioritizing profits over creativity.

Alex Ritman Multi award-winning Filipina actress Ruby Ruiz has landed her first major screen role following her appearance in Amazon’s “Expats.” She will lead “First Light,” the feature directorial debut of James. J.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief David Anthony Chan’s epic fantasy novel “The Kindred Chronicles” is set to be adapted into an animated series and will be the first project flowing from a partnership between HIP Studios and hybrid publisher 8 Letters. The deal between the two companies was announced at the recent Philippine Book Festival. It aims to adapt 8Letters content into television content, movies, animations, mangas and games. A subsidiary of Singapore’s Silver Media, HIP Studios is a Singapore, Sydney and Cebu, Philippines-based IP development and management company.

Carolyn Giardina “The Imaginary,” an upcoming hand-drawn animated fantasy film from Japan’s Studio Ponoc that will play in competition at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, is set to debut July 5 on Netflix. An Oscar-qualifying run is also planned.

Catherine Tyldesley and Shayne Ward will be returning for two more series of The Good Ship Murder, it has been confirmed. Shayne, 38, and, Catherine 40 previously played star-crossed lovers Aidan Connor and Eva Price on Coronation Street, and fans of the pair will get to see them on screens again as they reprise their roles on The Good Ship Murder, with Catherine playing First Officer Kate Woods, and Shayne portraying former detective Jack Grayling.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending, of “Abigail,” currently playing in theaters. The vampire thriller “Abigail” originated as a modern-day update of the classic horror film “Dracula’s Daughter.” But by the time the filmmaking trio Radio Silence — producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — began production on “Abigail” in Ireland in the spring of 2023, the movie had virtually no connection to the 1936 Universal picture.