Rachel Perkins Appointed Chair of Australian Film, TV School – Global Bulletin

Move over, reboot! The original Mean Girl stars have a totally fetch idea that would definitely take over from that re-do’s place in the sun!

Comedian Sue Perkins is heading off the beaten track as she explores three regions of Thailand. But it’s not all lazing about on beaches and looking at temples, Sue is taking a more daring approach to travelling. During the series she tries Thai boxing, goes to Hell Garden, visits a women’s prison, and kicks off the first episode by abseiling deep into the Crazy Horse Buttress cave – but that’s not the most daring thing we’ll see her do.

Naman Ramachandran Freely, the new free streaming service backed by Britain’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) that delivers live TV over broadband, has launched. The initiative is from Everyone TV, the organization which runs free TV in the U.K. and is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Paramount Global’s Channel 5.

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.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asian TV channels operator Celestial Tiger Entertainment and myTV SUPER, the OTT platform of Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) are to launch PopC, a movie channel dedicated to Chinese online films, with content supplied by mainland China streamer iQiyi. It launches in Hong Kong from May 1. “The idea of PopC first came about when we saw the amount of great, high quality movies that were being produced for the online space in China.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian police said on Thursday that they had arrested Orpheus Pledger, an actor known for his role on long-running soap “Home and Away.” His failure to appear in court on Tuesday led to the issue of an arrest warrant and a public call for help. Variety has reached out to Pledger’s agent Craig McMahon for comment. Pledger appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday, charged with four counts of assault.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Women of My Billion (WOMB),” a documentary produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, will play on Prime Video from May 3. Directed by Ajitesh Sharma, “WOMB” follows the journey of Srishti Bakshi, as she embarked on a walking pilgrimage from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, India, spanning 3,800 kms (2,360 miles) over 240 days, with a mission to find and share stories about women, their struggles, dreams, rights, and their wins, against all odds. “Women have borne the brunt of gender bias for far too long, enduring a silent struggle against entrenched social injustices that seek to suppress their voices.

Rachel McAdams brings an instantly heartbreaking quality to her performance in “Mary Jane”: Her steadfast optimism.Writer Amy Herzog’s affecting play, which opened Tuesday night on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, is about a single mother whose 2-year-old son Alex is chronically ill. The poor kid, who the audience never fully sees, spends most of the drama in another room in bed, attached to monitors and oxygen tanks that beep and hiss.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Epic war-time survival tale “The Guns of Muschu” has already assembled a weighty cast ahead of a production start in the first quarter of 2025. The film is an adaptation of the non-fiction book “The Guns of Muschu,” written by Don Dennis, with an adapted screenplay by Tom Broadhurst and Jack Brislee (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”). The narrative brings to life a pivotal chapter of Australian war history with gritty authenticity, recounting the high body count Operation Copper, a mission during WWII when Australian and New Zealand troops were sent into the jungles of Papua New Guinea. The objective of the mission was to investigate the Japanese defenses on Muschu Island, capture a Japanese officer for interrogation and discover the location of two naval guns on the island that were protecting a harbor.

Aramide Tinubu Parenting inspires varying schools of thought. While some relish the tasks of caretaking, others speak candidly about the hardships of child-rearing, sharing the true realities of motherhood that have been glamorized over time. In “Mary Jane,” the 2017 play written by Amy Herzog and making its Broadway debut under Anne Kauffman’s direction, viewers witness both a young mother’s joy and her anguish as she works around the clock to keep her disabled toddler alive.

Clue is set to get another crack at the remake treatment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line,” a documentary feature about the veteran Australian rock band Midnight Oil, has been set as the opening gala title at the Sydney Film Festival. It will have its world premiere at the State Theatre on June 5, kicking off the festival that runs until June 16. The film is written and directed by Paul Clarke and produced by Carolina Sorensen. It was executive produced by Mikael Borglund, Paul Clarke and Martin Fabinyi. It is a Blink TV and Beyond Entertainment feature documentary with principal production funding from Screen Australia and Australian Broadcasting Corporation in association with Screen NSW.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the disappointed bride in the failed engagement between Zee and Sony India, has formally ended its quest for a merger. On Tuesday, it withdrew its application before the industry regulator National Company Law Tribunal and said that it will focus instead on internal growth.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Stormy,” a documentary about former porn star Stormy Daniels, has been picked up by Blue Ant Studios for international distribution. The launch was announced on Monday, the same day that former U.S. president Donald Trump begins a criminal trial in New York for allegedly covering up hush money payments to Daniels. “Stormy,” offered as two one-hour episodes or a two-hour feature, is produced by Emmy-nominated producers Erin Lee Carr (“I Love You,” “Now Die: The Commonwealth v.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korea’s second largest generalist film event the Jeonju International Film Festival has set eight fiction films by first or second-time feature directors, for its main competition. They are “Cu Li Never Cries,” by Pham Ngoc Lan; “Junkyard Dog,” by Jean-Baptiste Durand, “La Palisiada,” by Philip Sotnychenko; “My Endless Numbered Days,” by Shaun Neo; “Oxygen Station,” by Ivan Tymchenko; “Practice,” by Laurens Perol; “The Major Tones,” by Ingrid Pokropek; and “The Permanent Picture,” by Laura Ferres. Additionally, two documentary features also compete: “After the Snowmelt,” directed by Lo Yi-Shan and “Kix,” by Balint Revesz and David Mikulan. The COVID-pandemic continues to affect filmmaking and festival selection, organizers said. “Even films planned to be made beforehand had to extend their production period due to the pandemic, and many works highlighted the limitations of the production environments, such as smaller cast numbers and minimal locations,” said chief programmer Chun Jinsu. The festival runs May 1-10 in Jeonju, a major town on South Korea’s west coast.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Hong Kong government has licensed the broadcast rights to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. It intends to relicense the rights to four TV broadcasters in the city – TVB, ViuTV, HOY TV and government-owned RTHK.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Filming has begun on “Return to Paradise,” an Australian spin-off series of the global hit murder mystery franchise “Death in Paradise.” With filming in locations across Sydney and the Illawarra coastal region, the six-part whodunit is produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia with Red Planet Pictures for the ABC in association with the BBC. The BBC will screen the series on BBC One and iPlayer in the U.K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Vikings” star Travis Fimmel reprises his role as Detective Cormack in a second season of Australian mystery drama series “Black Snow.” The six-part series is now shooting in Queensland, Australia, and has unveiled first-look images. “Australian film and television have never been stronger. Now, with the addition of streaming networks and their reach, I’m so proud that our local productions and their hard work can be recognized not only here, but around the world,” said Fimmel in a prepared statement. The first season of “Black Snow” was nominated as ‘most outstanding drama series’ at the 2023 Logie Awards and received two nominations at the 2024 AACTA Awards – for best drama series and best lead actor in a drama, for Fimmel.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award.

Naman Ramachandran Kung Fu superstar Sammo Hung will deliver a masterclass on May 4 as part of the 12th Singapore Chinese Film Festival. He will also attend a mini-retrospective of his films.