Macau Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-woon’s Cobweb, starring Song Kang-ho, which had its world premiere Out Of Competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. 

JAY B, a member of K-pop boyband GOT7, has left CDNZA Records.Over the weekend, CDNZA Records announced though its official Twitter account that JAY B was no longer being represented by the label.In its statement, CDNZA Records said that it and JAY B had “come to a mutual agreement to terminate the artist contract effective as of 2023 April”. It added that the decision came after “after much thought and discussion with the artist”.[Notice] JAY B 관련 안내 pic.twitter.com/3nxYSIdSh8— cdnzarecords (@cdnzarecords) July 22, 2023The news comes less than a year after JAY B first joined CDNZA Records in July 2022, following his departure from H1GHR Music.

BamBam, also a member of boyband GOT7, has announced the first wave of dates for his upcoming solo world tour ‘Area 52’.Today (July 12), BamBam shared that he would soon be holding his first-ever world tour, revealing its first few stops. the singer’s upcoming ‘Area 52’ world tour is set to kick off in Seoul this September, before heading to Manila, Macau, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok over the next two months.According to the accompanying tour poster, more dates in other regions will be added to the ‘Area 52’ tour, which is set to continue into 2024. More details, such as ticket availability and prices, have yet to be announced.

AB6IX have announced the dates for their upcoming 2023 ‘The Future’ world tour.AB6IX are set to go on a 12-date world tour from July to September this year, in support of their new mini-album ‘The Future Is Ours: Lost’. The upcoming tour will feature shows in Asia and across North America.AB6IX’s ‘The Future’ world tour outside of South Korea will kick off in Macau, China on July 15.

EXCLUSIVE: Beijing-based world sales and multi-territory distribution outfit Tiger Pictures Entertainment has acquired international rights to Chinese comedy Godspeed, which is currently topping China’s May Day holiday box office.

Stonewalling, co-directed by Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji, was the big winner at Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), taking home three prizes including best film in the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) of the Firebird Awards. 

K-pop boyband TREASURE was recently caught in the middle of a stage equipment malfunction, leaving him with minor burns.Yesterday (April 2), the 10-member boyband performed at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand as part of the ongoing Asia leg of their ‘Hello’ tour.As seen in photos and videos taken by fans at the concert, member Yoon Jae-hyuk had been walking over stage equipment with a fire-emitting mechanism when it malfunctioned and unexpectedly released a burst of flames.The idol quickly moved away from the equipment and made sure that his clothes were not on fire, before heading backstage to receive medical attention.Is Jaehyuk ok? He step on fire OMG@treasuremembers pic.twitter.com/KXWbZnUhKm— bLub (@chubbyhubbybaby) April 2, 2023According to news outlets and fans at the show, Yoon returned onstage after a brief break with a bandage on his hand, where he sustained minor burns. After the concert, the singer held a livestream where he told fans not to “worry too much”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The theatrical release of low-budget slasher movie “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” in Hong Kong has been abruptly canceled just two days before its scheduled outing. No explanation has been offered, but suspicions that the film may have crossed one of Hong Kong’s increasingly complicated political red lines are certain to be raised. That is because the Winnie the Pooh character is unflatteringly perceived to have a physical resemblance to China’s president, Xi Jinping. Online search for Winnie the Pooh is heavily censored within mainland China and Winnie the Pooh products are not distributed. China did not permit the import and release of Disney’s 2018 Winnie the Pooh film “Christopher Robin.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Despite a barnstorming address celebrating the re-opening of Hong Kong and China by Bona Film Group COO Jiang De Fu, it is clear that the film industry in China is still suffering its own version of long-COVID, with box office tracking at around half of 2018 levels. “The Chinese box office was RMB60.7 billion ($8.89 billion at current rates of exchange) in 2018. And 83 films made over RMB100 million. 16 films that made over RMB1 billion. Post-pandemic, in 2022, China’s box office was RMB29.9 billion. [Just] 41 films made over RMB100 million. [And] 8 films made over RMB1 billion. We are now only at 50% of the level in 2018,” said Jiang aty a presentation on the first day of Hong Kong’s FilMart.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car was awarded with best feature at the Asian Film Awards (March 12), along with prizes for best editing and best original music. The multiple award winning Japanese drama premiered at Cannes film festival in 2021 and also won the Oscar for Best International Feature last year.  

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The much-decorated Japanese drama “Drive My Car” was named the best film Sunday at the Asian Film Awards, defeating hot favorite “Decision to Leave.” Other notable awards went to Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda whose “Broker” debuted at Cannes, but which was largely shunned in his home country. “Decision to Leave,” which started the evening with ten nominations, was nevertheless rewarded with three awards, best screenplay, best production design and best actress for China’s Tang Wei.

Sammo Hung will be presented with a lifetime achievement honor at the Asian Film Awards. The ceremony was back as an in-person event after a two-year absence and has shifted back to Hong Kong after previously being held in Hong Kong, Macau and Busan. Hung will accept the award on Sunday at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Hung’s career as an actor, action choreographer, director and producer spans some 60 years. His acting credits include action comedies “Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog” and “Odd Couple,” paranormal horror comedies “Encounters of the Spooky Kind” and “The Dead and the Deadly,” comedy film series “Lucky Stars” and gangster action film “Shanghai, Shanghai.” In 1982, Hung won the best actor prize at the second Hong Kong Film Awards for his directorial effort “Carry on Pickpocket,” as well as best action choreography for “The Prodigal Son,” which he also directed and starred in.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Martial arts veteran Sammo Hung is to be presented with a lifetime achievement honor at the upcoming Asian Film Awards. The ceremony is back as an in-person event after a two-year absence and shifts back to Hong Kong after previously being held in Hong Kong, Macau and Busan. Hung is expected to accept the award on Sunday March 12 at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. “I’m so happy and surprised that I can still win awards these days, especially an award that affirms my entire performing career,” said Hung in a forwarded statement. He has a career as actor, action choreographer, director and producer that stretches some 60 years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Berlin Film Festival is once again finding house room for Hong Kong’s most commercially successful enfant terrible, Soi Cheang, aka Cheang Pou Soi, who previously brought film noir “Limbo” to the Berlinale. This time he attends with “Mad Fate,” a film about destiny that may be Cheang’s most bloodthirsty, but which the director says is intended to be inspirational. It plays in the Berlinale Special section. Born in Macau, Cheang developed his career at the feet of Ringo Lam, Andrew Lau, Joe Ma, Wilson Yip and Johnnie To, the great stylists of the crime and action film genre across the Pearl River estuary in Hong Kong. To, who is on the Berlin jury this year, is also a producer on “Mad Fate” through his Makerville label.

NCT Dream have announced US and Europe dates for their ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ world tour, and added new shows in Asia – find the full list of dates below.On Wednesday (February 15) the NCT sub-unit unveiled a poster revealing a fresh slate of tour dates alongside shows that had already been announced. The world tour will touch down in 22 cities with 32 performances, the group later confirmed on Twitter.NCT Dream kicked off their ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ tour in Japan last year.

Japanese studio Toei announced today that its total box office revenue reached a record Yen32.56BN (US$246.6M) for the calendar year 2022, partly thanks to the strong performances of anime blockbusters One Piece Film Red and The First Slam Dunk. 

EXCLUSIVE: London-based Dogwoof has locked a series of international deals for Jason Kohn’s diamond industry documentary Nothing Lasts Forever and Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s debut feature Midwives on the first day of the 2022 IDFA Forum.

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.

Tiger Pictures Entertainment has acquired worldwide distribution rights outside of mainland China for hit sci-fi comedy film “Moon Man.“ The film, which has collected some $430 million at the Chinese box office to date, tells the story of “the last human in the universe” as an astronaut finds himself stranded on the moon after an asteroid wipes out life on earth. It is directed by Zhang Chiyu, who previously directed 2017 sports comedy hit “Never Say Die.” It was produced by Mahua FunAge, a consistently successful comedy production firm. FunAge’s “Goodbye Mr. Loser” and “Never Say Die” starred Shen Teng and Ma Li and “Moon Man” brings together the comedy duo once again.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Family comedy “Table For Six” has set an opening day local record for a comedy film in Hong Kong, to the relief of producers who were forced to digest a releasing delay of six months. The Sunny Chan-directed film opened Wednesday in Hong Kong and Macau at 61 theatres, playing a total of 608 sessions. That gave it an accumulated box office of HK$1,986,701 ($255,000). “Table for Six,” which chronicles a family’s holiday gathering where food, love, friendship, jealousy and relationships are on the menu, had originally been planned as a dish to be served at Chinese New Year, in February. And producers had assembled a cast of major Hong Kong and regional talents, including Dayo Wong, Stephy Tang, Louise Cheung, Ivana Wong, Lin Min-Chen and Chan Charm Man.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Munich-based Beta Film, one of Europe’s biggest truly independent TV-film groups, has licensed to PPCW Media for Hong Kong and Macau International Emmy winner “Atlantic Crossing,” starring Kyle MacLachan and Sofia Helin. PPC Media has also acquired Alejandro Amenábar’s Movistar Plus+ original “La Fortuna,” with Stanley Tucci and Clarke Peters, a tale of piracy, court room battles and historical justice set between the U.S. and Spain. Reaching more remote places, Beta has also closed Mongolia with Hulegu Media, on “Sisi” a mix of sex, politics and period glam from RTL, Beta and Story House, a modern mindset take on a film icon.  

Andrew Garfield is extremely dedicated to his career!

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorThe international trailer has been debuted for Jafar Panahi’s “No Bears,” which has its world premiere on Sept. 9 in competition at Venice Film Festival, before moving to Toronto Film Festival and New York Film Festival. Celluloid Dreams, which is handling world sales, has revealed territory deals with several distributors.

Just when Love Island couldn’t get any more dramatic, producers have thrown four more bombshells into the mix. The four latest additions to head to the Mallorcan villa are Jamie Allen, Nathalia Campos, Lacey Edwards and Reece Ford who are heading in after two more contestants will be dumped tonight.

a new lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to compel former hotel magnate and ex-Republican Party finance chair Steve Wynn to register as a foreign agent.The move comes in response to what DoJ says is his work on behalf of the government of China in 2017, when Wynn repeatedly lobbied Donald Trump to deport a Chinese businessman seeking asylum in the United States.The lawsuit does not identify who the businessman was, but according to The New York Times, they are likely referring to Guo Wengui, an outspoken critic of corruption in the Chinese government.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEpic Pictures Releasing has licensed North American rights to Korean action film “Hot Blooded,” from leading Seoul-based film sales agency Finecut. The deal is one of several struck by the agency ahead of Cannes, where it is also launching sales on Critics’ Week title “Next Sohee.”Starring Bae Doona and Kim Si-eun, “Next Sohee” is directed by Jung July, whose acclaimed “A Girl at My Door” played in Un Certain regard in 2014.

A.D. Amorosi When is a timeless children’s tale not quite right for children’s theater? When it is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved and ever-so-slightly surreal 1942 novella, “The Little Prince.” Published following France’s liberation during World War II, the French aristocrat turned military aviator’s story was always something of an adult-oriented, nebulous dreamscape, one in which a tousled-haired young prince travels through space, lands on various planets (including Earth) and touches quietly on topics as nuanced as love and as rough as our loss of humanity and earth’s natural resources.“The Little Prince” is a lovely, delicate story.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSales agency Finecut has secured a flurry of Asian and European deals for supernatural horror film “The Medium,” which is directed by Thailand’s Banjong Pisanthanakun and produced by Korea’s Na Hong-Jin.From Europe, buyers include France’s The Jokers Films, and Koch Films for German-speaking Europe.

Rebecca Davis editorWarner Music Group is expanding its mainland China hip-hop imprint JUUICE to the Greater China region of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the firm said Thursday. Rapper Bohan Phoenix, one of the few bilingual, bicultural artists to find crossover success on both sides of the Pacific, has signed to the expanded imprint.Bohan Phoenix said he was “thrilled” to join JUUICE.