City Taipei Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam has unveiled titles from seven different Asian countries for its competition section. The festival will play at the Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and Rialto VU venues March 5-10, 2024. The event will close with the out-of-competition screening of “Gaga,” a drama about indigenous communities in Taiwan, directed by Laha Mebow. “Gaga” documents the challenges faced by a commune after the death of a respected tribal elder who, while alive, had held things together.

Qatar‘s Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced the recipient projects for its fall 2023 grants cycle, featuring 44 films by first and second-time directors hailing from 32 countries. (scroll down for full list)

IU has announced her 2024 ‘H.E.R.’ world tour, featuring dates in Asia, Europe and the US.IU’s newly announced 2024 ‘H.E.R.’ world tour will kick off on March 2 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea, where she will play four shows over two weekends. During the same month, the singer will also perform two shows at the Yokohama Arena in Japan.The K-pop idol’s upcoming world tour will then head to other countries and regions across Asia, including two shows in Taipei, Singapore and Jakarta in April, followed by two Hong Kong shows in May.In June, IU will host one concert in the Filipino capital of Manila, alongside two concerts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Michaela Zee SPOILER ALERT:This story contains mild spoilers for “The Brothers Sun,” available to watch on Netflix now. On May 22, 1992, three men brutally stabbed Japanese filmmaker Juzo Itami outside his Tokyo home, just days after the release of his satire “Minbo no Onna,” or “Mob Woman.” The director of “Tampopo” and “A Taxing Woman” suffered slash wounds across the face, neck and shoulder, but ultimately survived. Police suspected the attack may have been the yakuza’s retaliation for Itami’s “Mob Woman,” which portrays Japanese gangsters as crude bullies who are outsmarted by lawyer Mahiru Inoue (played by Itami’s wife Nobuko Miyamoto).

Netflix's new series, The Brothers Sun, is getting loads of love, with a top score on Rotten Tomatoes and fans saying it's the "best show in a long time." It's been so popular, it could knock Michelle Keegan's Fool Me Once off the number one spot.The Brothers Sun is all about action and laughs, with a story that mixes family troubles and funny moments. Michelle Yeoh, who won an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, stars as the boss of a gangster family and is shot.

A new Netflix series has become a hit with viewers after earning an impressive score on Rotten Tomatoes. The original series named The Brothers Sun is an action-comedy that fans are calling the streaming giant’s 'best show in a long time.'

If you're on the hunt for a new Netflix series to become obsessed with this year, there's one that has been hailed by fans as the 'best in a long time'.

Michelle Yeoh is stepping out for the premiere of her new Netflix series!

William Earl administrator Michelle Yeoh cracked history open when she won an Oscar for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” last March, but she’s not sitting back to bask in the glow. “I exercise every day,” she says. “I do my whole routine of being in shape and knowing my moves.

Aramide Tinubu Many people have complex family lives. Private affairs are tucked in the corners of attics, shoved in closets or kept under wraps by elders– shocking the younger generations when these hidden histories are finally revealed. For the Suns, whose family ties stretch from Los Angeles to Taiwan, secrets are only the tip of the iceberg.

Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh‘s new series The Brothers Sun has its first trailer!

Demon Slayer won’t have to wait long for the release of its upcoming fourth season.Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba season four will follow the Hashira Training Arc, the anime’s X (formerly Twitter) account confirmed last night (December 10), and is set to premiere in Japan in Spring next year with an hour-long episode. A concrete release date for the series has yet to be announced.Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc TV series will be premiering in Spring 2024 with an Hour-Long Episode!#DemonSlayer pic.twitter.com/euEX9lv5ZI— Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (English) (@DemonSlayerUSA) December 10, 2023However, a number of Demon Slayer fans won’t have to wait until Spring to catch the first episode of the Hashira Training Arc as the upcoming Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training world tour kicks off in February across select countries.The world tour will screen the final episode of season three (the Swordsmith Village arc) and the first episode of the Hashira Training arc in cinemas this February in 4K and IMAX.

Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh‘s new series The Brothers Sun has its first trailer!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival drifted to a conclusion in midweek, with project awards presented on Wednesday, followed by Thursday’s festival closing events. These involved a screening of portmanteau film “Tales of Taipei” followed by a sit-down dinner-cum-ceremony with a breezy pair of speeches and no prizes. The film fortnight then sprang to life again on Saturday evening when the 60th edition of the Golden Horse Film Awards represented a new climax.

Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (FPP) has wrapped with Lee Yi-shan’s debut feature Chewing Gum winning the Grand Prize, which comes with a cash award of $32,000 (TWD1M). 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief France and Taiwan on Thursday signed a wide-ranging agreement to enable their film and TV industries co-operate on a higher level. At a signing ceremony in Taipei at the Taiwan Creative Culture Fest (TCCF) convention, government representatives of both territories stressed shared values at the political level and in the audiovisual sphere.

Warner Bros Discovery is reteaming with Taiwanese production company DaMou Entertainment to produce HBO Asia original Fired Up! (working title), an adaptation of hit Kakao webtoon Itaewon Class. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Adele Lim, the screenwriter behind “Crazy Rich Asians” and Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” animation, says that the opportunities for Asian filmmakers are growing as Hollywood is becoming more receptive to international talent. “[In Hollywood] I felt that I was disadvantaged, coming from Malaysia. It is not the cultural nexus,” said Lim, whose infancy was in Malaysia, before her family moved to the U.S.

France’s Series Mania Festival is teaming with Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) to launch a workshop, Serial  Bridges, in France and Taiwan next year that is aimed at East Asian screenwriters and producers. 

Taiwan Creative Content Fest kicked off in Taipei today with organizer, Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), emphasizing its soft power ambitions and growing international cooperation activities, in particular with France, South Korea and Japan. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A trio of ministers, accompanied by a fleet of senior industry names, were on hand Tuesday in Taipei to give their official blessing to the opening of the fourth running of the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) – and to underline the Taiwan government’s investment in soft power. Cheng Wen-tsan, VP of the [government executive branch] Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s Minister of Culture, Shih Che, and a minister without portfolio were accompanied by Chunghwa Telecom’s chairman, Kuo Shui-Yi, head of TAICCA Homme Tsai and Dominique Boutonnat, president of France’s National Center of Cinematography and the Moving Image, on stage at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, a former-tobacco factory site that has since been redeveloped. “Nowadays we are investing not only in semiconductors and heavy industry, but also in media and content,” said Cheng. He confirmed that some NT$10 billion ($310 million) of government funding has been approved for the “1 Plus 4T Content Plan” and will be released over four years. In a classic example of public-private partnerships, state cash is being supplemented by further financial commitments from Taiwan’s three major cable-telecoms-internet groups through deals signed last week with Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA).

Screenworks Asia, the production subsidiary of Taiwan’s Catchplay, is teaming with the Taiwanese arm of Chinese platform iQiyi to jointly stream two of its original series: Not a Murder Story and I Can See You Shine.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Screenworks Asia, the production subsidiary of Taiwan-based streaming platform Catchplay, has set two series to release early next year. “Not A Murder Story” follows a wannabe actor who finally gets a chance of success. And when he wakes up with a dead woman besides him, he is determined not to let it stand in his way.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Unscripted queer reality dating series “Boys Like Boys” is to air on Warner Bros. Discovery’s TLC channel in Taiwan in early 2024, making it the first local LGBTQ+ dating reality show to air on linear TV in the territory. The show is an original production by GagaOOLala, Asia’s out and proud LGBTQ+ streaming service, which is pitching an expanded array of queer content at the Taiwan Creative Contents Fest (TCCF) that launches Tuesday in Taipei. “Boys Like Boys” had its premiere at the Kaohsiung International Film Festival and is now available worldwide on GagaOOLala and WeTV in the Philippines and Thailand, where the ‘Boys Love’ genre has become highly popular.

Sophia Sun Intern Taiwan director and screenwriter Hsu Chao-jen is pitching “Mr. Tiger” at the 2023 Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF), which launches in Taipei on Tuesday. The film “Mr.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief TAICCABOSSAs Taiwan seeks for creative, industrial and political reasons to make a bigger mark for itself on the international stage, its Taiwan Creative Content Fest is diversifying, expanding and making greater efforts at cross-border outreach. Homme Tsai, chair of industry support body TAICCA spoke outline the event’s strategy and novelties in a conversation with Variety. What are the objectives of the Taiwan Creative Content Fest? The TCCF is an international event for content licensing and project investment.

Warner Bros Discovery has signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) to create and distribute Taiwanese original content locally and across international markets.

Salli,” a film which has its world premiere this week in the Busan International Film Festival’s A Window on Asian Cinema program. The Mandarin-, Taiwanese-, English- and French-language film follows a lonely middle-aged chicken farmer Hui-Chun, who doesn’t speak English and develops a romantic relationship through an app with a French man who calls himself Martin. In the online world, Hui-Chun is Salli.

Academy Awards. The film had its debut in the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes film festival in May and was directed by first-time feature filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu. The announcement was made on Thursday by Malaysia’s Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil following selection by the National Film Development Corporation (FINAS). The film was a eight-way coproduction involving companies from Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Indonesia and Qatar, and emerged from a succession of labs, project markets and international funds. Since winning the Grand Prix at the Critics’ Week, “Tiger Stripes” has been a popular choice on the festival circuit, with stops so far at Neufchatel, The Hamptons, Sitges, London, Fantasia, Taipei and next week’s Pingyao events.Dir. Amanda Nell Eu. International sales: Films Boutique. All submissions and materials for the 2023 race must be received by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences by 5 p.m. on Oct. 2. And films must meet all the qualifying conditions between Dec. 1, 2022, and Oct. 31, 2023. A shortlist of 15 will be announced on Dec. 21. Final nominees will be announced on Jan. 23, 2024. The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024. Argentina, the South American country with the best Academy Awards history, has chosen as its Academy Awards submission “The Delinquents,” Rodrigo Moreno’s incorrigibly playful heist movie, which world premiered at Cannes Un Certain Regard, delighting critics.