China Showbiz Latest News and Updates

BBC Radio 2 star Sara Cox has shared her shock at the prices of food when she took her husband to a posh restaurant for his birthday. Sara, from Bolton, said she made her family eat "only starters" after clocking the price of main meals at the "spendy" Chinese restaurant in the capital.

One year after it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the New Zealand black comedy “Bad Behaviour,” starring Jennifer Connelly (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Snowpiercer”), is finally coming out in North America. The film is the directorial debut of actor-turned-filmmaker Alice Englert.

Sheynnis Palacios, the reigning Miss Universe 2023, is causing a stir across Asia. Her most recent adventure? The captivating and culturally diverse Thailand.

Jamie Lang International Emmy-winning French animation producer-distributor Dandelooo has closed a deal with Korea’s Dream Factory Studio for the latter’s new CG preschool series “PongPong Dino.” Targeted at 2-4-year-olds, “PongPong Dino” is a new IP produced by Dream Factory and directed by animator Tacken Chae. In the show, the audience is invited to a world where playing with your food is an important part of each meal.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Italian period drama “My Place Is Here” is being released in Italy by Adler Ent. on May 9, and is being sold at Cannes by Beta Cinema. Variety speaks to the film’s directors, Daniela Porto and Cristiano Bortone, and debuts its trailer (below).

Murtada Elfadl “Daughter of Genghis” has been billed as a portrait of a nationalist gang leader at this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival. And while it follows Gerel Byamba, the leader of an entirely-female, ultra-nationalist Mongolian group called Gerel Khas, it is also a surprisingly poignant documentary portrait of a widow and her orphaned son trying to connect under grief.

The four key requirements for a long life have been revealed by scientists, regardless if you have bad genes.

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.

Kenneth Huang was known for his particular taste in wine. Whether in his favorite corner of Cut, the Michelin-starred steakhouse at the Beverly Wilshire, or in the Peninsula Shanghai, Huang would summon a bottle of Opus One to the table. He would tell guests that he had a private reserve of the Napa Valley vineyard’s 2011 vintage, which retails for up to $2,000 a case. Someone who regularly dined with the financier says she drank so much Opus One that she got sick of the bourgeois Bordeaux. 

K-pop touring cycle is in full swing. Stars including SEVENTEEN, aespa and NCT Dream are touring the world with new tunes in tow – and hitting Asia very soon.While some of those artists are staging their own headline shows, others are on the line-ups of music festivals with both multi-genre and Hallyu-only line-ups.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” a Hong Kong-produced action thriller, took the top spot at the mainland China box office over the latest weekend. But it was a quiet session and came ahead of a welter of new releases targeting the May Day public holiday. The film, which is among those that have a Wednesday (May 1) official release date, earned $5.5 million (RMB38.9 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. The nationwide weekend total was a slender $18.7 million.

ZEROBASEONE have announced the dates for their upcoming 2024 ‘The First Tour’ tour, featuring concerts in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and more.Today (April 29), ZEROBASEONE revealed the dates for their forthcoming 2024 ‘The First Tour’ tour, which will feature 14 concerts in seven different countries from September to December this year.The K-pop boyband will kick off their tour with a three-date show at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea from September 20 to 22. In the same month, the group will also hold a concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.In the following month, ZEROBASEONE will bring their 2024 ‘The First Tour’ tour to other cities and countries across Southeast Asia.

“Hunter Got High,” sharing a link to the full video on YouTube. “Hey Hunter! Roll another one of those congressional blunts, brotha,” the video starts, as Afroman and an actor portraying Hunter Biden pull up smoking in the back of a black SUV. “He was gonna get his laptop fixed, but Hunter got high,” Afroman sings.“He shoulda let Hillary bleach the whole hard drive.

It’s the sign of a perfect holiday when you come home rested and rejuvenated. But as OK! discovered, living la dolce vita on Italy’s Lake Garda can also make you feel years younger. For starters, the surrounding beauty will immediately make you exhale and forget your troubles.

Russian oil could flood into Scotland if the Grangemouth refinery closes, it has been claimed.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have a unique takeaway privilege that other members of the Royal Family don't. Like many Brits, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge enjoy tucking into a delicious takeaway now and then, with Indian and Chinese dishes being their top picks for a relaxing night in.

Saturday Kitchen viewers have made their concerns about the latest episode of the show blatantly known.The 27 April instalment was hosted by Matt Tebbutt, and was dedicated to Ken Hom, the Chinese-American chef, author and presenter who was celebrating 40 years on British TV.To honour the 74 year old's successful career, today's Saturday Kitchen menu was themed, with the culinary lineup cooking up some of the most classic Chinese dishes. Plus, some of Ken's personal favourites. During one of the cooking segments, Chef Tong was tasked with whipping up a tasty peking duck.

When did Columbia become Kanye State? Bill Maher asked that question at the top of Friday’s Real Time on HBO, setting the tone for a show that focused on the national campus unrest and what’s behind it.

NewDad‘s album cover has gone viral in China, with many fans taking to social media to share their own interpretations of the artwork.The Irish band announced the news on social media, where they shared some photos of fans recreating their ‘Madra’ cover: “We woke up this morning to find our album cover (photo by Joshua Gordon) going viral in China. so so surreal to see so many people creating their own interpretations”.‘Madra’ and its cover features a morose porcelain doll looking down.

TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance has said that it has no intention of selling the business, and would rather see the platform shut down.The news comes after the US passed a law forcing the company to sell the hugely popular social media platform, or see the app banned in America.The sell-or-ban measure was issued into law by US President Joe Biden earlier this week (April 24), following a long-running dispute over claims that the company’s ownership structure could allow the Chinese government to gain access to the data of its millions of American users.To date, over 30 American states, Canada, and the European Union have separately banned the app from use on government-owned devices over concerns it could be a security risk. India banned the app nationwide in January 2021, while Taiwan and Afghanistan did the same in 2022.The bill was first brought up last month, when the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 24 to 16 to give President Joe Biden the power to enforce a ban on the social media app over concerns that the app is a national security threat and a Chinese espionage tool.This week’s ruling was voted for with an overwhelming majority of 79 to 18, and was signed by President Joe Biden.

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.

Soulja Boy has shared his interest in purchasing TikTok after US Congress passed a bill that could lead to the app’s potential ban.This week (April 23), US Congress passed the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act that could force TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the platform within nine months. If not, TikTok will be banned from US markets and removed from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store nationwide. US President Joe Biden signed the legislation yesterday (April 24).After the news broke, the Atlanta rapper took to X/Twitter to show his frustration around the decision.

Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez have many things in common, and one is their taste in food. While Blanco is known for his music, he has made a name for himself with his online cooking videos as an at-home chef and even has a debut cookbook, Open Wide: A Cookbook for Friends, on the way.It’s no secret that Gomez, who recently wore a leather corset, appreciates her boyfriend’s skills in the chicken.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French sales powerhouse Charades has boarded Constance Tsang’s migrant drama “Blue Sun Palace” which is set to world premiere at Cannes’ Critics’ Week. WME Independent is representing domestic rights for the movie in North America.

Meta (formerly called Facebook) pretty much ignored the social media elephant in the room today on a post-earnings conference call, with chief financial officer Susan Li saying it’s too early to discuss what just happened in Washington, D.C. President Biden has signed into law a bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest the hugely popularU.S. app within about nine months or risk it being banned.

Facebook parent Meta posted solid quarterly financials today with revenue and EPS beating Wall Street expectations, but investors dinged the stock on high expenses and lower than anticipated revenue for the current quarter. Shares are down 10% in after-market trading.

TikTok.Yesterday (April 23), US Congress voted to pass the bill that will ban TikTok in the United States unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells the platform’s US stakes. The vote came three days after it cleared the House of Representatives.Today (April 24), Biden signed the bill hours after Congress dealt the video-sharing platform’s Chinese ownership a historic rebuke following years of failed attempts to tackle the app’s alleged national security risks (per The Washington Post).Biden had previously indicated that he would approve of the legislation once it had hit his desk.

New Order’s Bernard Sumner has made a rare public statement to condemn Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the government at large.The frontman took to his website to share a message, beginning his statement: “I don’t normally post much and don’t normally post about stuff like this – but I do care about it.” He went on to highlight two news stories: firstly, the announcement that the government looking to overhaul Personal Independence Payments for people with mental health issues, which Sumner branded as “a disgusting way to cut costs.”Sumner went on to suggest the move was “probably an attempt to recoup some of the money they wasted on ineffective personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid pandemic,” calling it “a scandalous waste of money.”“According to the government’s own figures the Department for Health & Social Care (DHSC) lost 75% of the £12 billion it spent on PPE in the first year of the pandemic to inflated prices and kit that did not meet the required standards – including fully £4 billion of PPE that will never be used by the NHS and needs to be disposed of, ie burnt,” he wrote. “A scandalous waste of money and, as usual, it’s the sick and vulnerable who suffer for it.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok could be banned in the U.S. as soon as January 2025. Here’s what the new law means for users of the popular short-form video app.

EXCLUSIVE: Briarcliff Entertainment has acquired domestic rights to Valiant One, a military action thriller starring Chase Stokes (Outer Banks) and Lana Condor (To All the Boys franchise), slating it for release in theaters nationwide on January 24, 2025. Check out a first-look still above.