Frater Asia Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Orange Sky Golden Harvest Warns of Loss, Denies Breakup Rumors - variety.com - Hong Kong - Singapore - city Singapore - Taiwan - city Hong Kong
variety.com
14.03.2024

Orange Sky Golden Harvest Warns of Loss, Denies Breakup Rumors

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Orange Sky Golden Harvest, the multi-territory cinema operator, Wednesday warned that it would return to losses when it reports its 2023 losses. The announcement, made in a regulatory filing, came just days after the company denied that it was preparing to sell off its cinemas in Singapore, which represent the biggest component of its business.

Korea to Enjoy Early Release of Bong Joon-ho’s Robert Pattinson-Starring ‘Mickey 17’ - variety.com - Britain - South Korea - parish St. Martin
variety.com
14.03.2024

Korea to Enjoy Early Release of Bong Joon-ho’s Robert Pattinson-Starring ‘Mickey 17’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief South Korean cinema-goers will get a three-day jump on the rest of the world when the Bong Joon-ho-directed “Mickey 17” releases in January 2025 in time for the Lunar New Year holidays. Warner Bros. Pictures says that the Robert Pattinson-starring sci-fi film will open in Korea on Tuesday, Jan.

Hong Kong Selects First Projects for Streaming Development Funding - variety.com - Hong Kong - city Hong Kong
variety.com
13.03.2024

Hong Kong Selects First Projects for Streaming Development Funding

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong’s Film Development Council has unveiled the first shortlisted projects under its new scheme to develop content for streaming platforms. The Content Development Scheme for Streaming Platforms was announced last year. It aims to nurture cross-sectoral production teams and expand new distribution market and takes the form of a competition to recruit participating teams that develop a mini-series for streaming platforms.

Canneseries: Korean Series ‘Pleasant Outcast’ Is Companion to ‘Concrete Utopia’ Hit Film - variety.com - South Korea - city Seoul - North Korea
variety.com
13.03.2024

Canneseries: Korean Series ‘Pleasant Outcast’ Is Companion to ‘Concrete Utopia’ Hit Film

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Pleasant Outcast,” a 10-part Korean series that is set to appear at Canneseries next month, is a companion piece to “Concrete Utopia,” the hit film from last year that was selected as South Korea’s Oscar contender. Both the Lotte Cultureworks series and “Concrete Utopia,” a dystopian drama-thriller set in a post-apocalyptic Seoul, are adapted from best-selling webtoon “Cheerful Outcast,” by Kim Soong Nyung. The film was frequently compared to William Golding’s seminal novel from the 1954 “Lord of the Flies” and its 1964 film adaptation. Using the first part of the webtoon, the series follows Dong-hyun, a high school junior, who barely survives his day-to-day bullying at school.

FilMart: Autumn Sun Runs With ‘The Escaping Man,’ Expanded Animation Slate - variety.com - London - China - Thailand - Vietnam - Cambodia - Berlin - Malaysia - Hong Kong - city Shanghai - city Beijing - Taiwan - city Hong Kong
variety.com
12.03.2024

FilMart: Autumn Sun Runs With ‘The Escaping Man,’ Expanded Animation Slate

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Escaping Man,” a Chinese drama feature about a man dragged into a kidnap plot, heads the FilMart slate of Hong Kong-based sales agency Autumn Sun Company. The protagonist is a man who spent 20 years in jail after being falsely accused of rape. After his release, he intends to confront the woman, but instead falls for her again — to the point that she is able to manipulate him into kidnapping the child for which she is the nanny.

Zhang Ziyi, Lei Jiayin and Jackson Yee Star in Peter Chan’s ‘She Has No Name’ (EXCLUSIVE) - variety.com - China - city Chinatown
variety.com
12.03.2024

Zhang Ziyi, Lei Jiayin and Jackson Yee Star in Peter Chan’s ‘She Has No Name’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Peter Chan Ho-sun has assembled a starry cast headed by Zhang Ziyi and box office sensation Lei Jiayin for his new feature film “She Has No Name.” The film, which recently completed principal photography, probes the progress of women’s rights in China. “One woman’s suffering gives rise to the revolution of women’s social rights in China,” reads a tagline.

Thailand Planning Film Development Measures and $200 Million Funding - variety.com - China - Hollywood - Iceland - Canada - India - Thailand - Romania
variety.com
12.03.2024

Thailand Planning Film Development Measures and $200 Million Funding

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Thailand is poised to get serious about its commitment to the film industry, and plans to launch a major new body, the Thailand Creative Culture Agency, with a budget of THB7 billion ($200 million). Long a destination for Hollywood, China and India productions, and currently playing host to the lensing of Season 3 of “The White Lotus,” Thailand has many of the elements that could contribute to building a major film industry. These include diverse locations, skilled crews, studio facilities and a location production, or incentive, scheme.

HAF: China’s Huo Meng Unpacks Multi-Generational Epic in ‘The Wind Is Unstoppable’ - variety.com - China - Berlin - Hong Kong
variety.com
11.03.2024

HAF: China’s Huo Meng Unpacks Multi-Generational Epic in ‘The Wind Is Unstoppable’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s unprecedented economic and social transformation in the latter part of the 20th century has been picked over in dozens of movies by filmmakers ranging from Jia Zhangke to Wang Xiaoshuai. But with more than one billion people affected by China’s transformation, there is no shortage of personal stories and no end of ways to tell the tale. Sophomore filmmaker Huo Meng trains his eye on one of those stories in his second film, “The Wind Is Unstoppable,” which he is just finishing off.

China Box Office: ‘Dune 2’ Scores $20 Million Opening With Huge Imax Component - variety.com - China - Hong Kong
variety.com
11.03.2024

China Box Office: ‘Dune 2’ Scores $20 Million Opening With Huge Imax Component

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Dune 2” launched in mainland China cinemas this weekend with a solid $19.9 million three-day haul. That put it in second place, narrowly behind holdover crime-drama “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon.” Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway, showed that “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon” earned $21.3 million (RMB151 million) between Friday and Sunday, for a 10-day cumulative of $54.1 million (RMB384 million).

FilMart: Mandarin Motion Pictures Launching ‘Fight for Tomorrow’ - variety.com - Hong Kong - city Hong Kong
variety.com
11.03.2024

FilMart: Mandarin Motion Pictures Launching ‘Fight for Tomorrow’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chan Tai-lee, the screenwriter of many of the Ip Man martial arts action films, has written and directed upcoming action film “Fight for Tomorrow.” Mandarin Motion Pictures, which backed the film and is handling international rights sales, is using this week’s FilMart to launch the picture to international buyers. The production was assisted with finance from the Hong Kong Film Development Fund.

Cora Yim and Benjamin Lin Launch S11 Partners With Financial Backing From Medialink - variety.com - Malaysia - Hong Kong - county Storey - Taiwan - county Lawrence - city Hong Kong
variety.com
11.03.2024

Cora Yim and Benjamin Lin Launch S11 Partners With Financial Backing From Medialink

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cora Yim and Benjamin Lin, both established indie producers of Chinese-language content, have joined forces to launch S11 Partners. It is partially backed by Medialink Group, an IP, distribution and brand licensing mini-conglomerate that is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The pair, who previously worked on TV series “Taiwan Crime Stories,” are launching their venture at FilMart in Hong Kong with a slate of three feature films in development.

‘Shoplifters’ Star Lily Franky Heads Cast of ‘Diamonds in the Sand,’ Debut Feature by Janus Victoria — HAF Work-in-Progress - variety.com - Japan - Hong Kong - city Victoria - Philippines - city Manila
variety.com
11.03.2024

‘Shoplifters’ Star Lily Franky Heads Cast of ‘Diamonds in the Sand,’ Debut Feature by Janus Victoria — HAF Work-in-Progress

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lily Franky, the Japanese acting sensation who starred in “Shoplifters” and “Like Father Like Son,” heads the cast of “Diamonds in the Sand,” a multinational co-production that appears at the Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) as a work in progress. Developed and directed by Janus Victoria, the film started as an exploration of the Japanese phenomenon of kodokushi, or lonely death, where elderly people who live alone are discovered dead only months after their passing due to the isolated lives that they lead.

Hong Kong FilMart’s Expansion Is Built on Hopes of China’s Entertainment Engagement - variety.com - Britain - China - Hollywood - Hong Kong - city Hong Kong
variety.com
11.03.2024

Hong Kong FilMart’s Expansion Is Built on Hopes of China’s Entertainment Engagement

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief COVID, changing money flows and a new superpower Cold War of sorts may have, over the past few years, helped to reduce the connections between the film and TV industries of China and the rest of the world — so, will the 2024 edition of FilMart, whose organizers continue to claim bridgehead status, be the market to increase those connections? Candas Yeung, the Trade Development Council associate director who takes over as head of FilMart this year, says that visitor and exhibitor numbers have crept up again this year — to an anticipated 7,500 and 715, respectively — and that fully 40% of market participants hail from mainland China. “That’s a pretty significant proportion and they are very active in the market, both buying and selling, and making some announcements,” Yeung says.

Andrew Lau, Han Sanping Prods. Added to Media Asia FilMart Slate - variety.com - China - Russia - Japan - Hong Kong - city Shanghai
variety.com
11.03.2024

Andrew Lau, Han Sanping Prods. Added to Media Asia FilMart Slate

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Film projects to be produced by Andrew Lau (“Infernal Affairs,” “Initial D”) and Han Sanping, the former head of China Film Corp., are among the new in-development titles that grace the FilMart slate of Hong Kong studio Media Asia. The Peter Lam-controlled studio is also poised, at an event within FilMart on Monday, to detail its new alliance with China’s Alibaba Pictures Group. Lau is producing “Behind the Scene,” a book-to-film adaptation to be directed by Lee Kwong-yiu (“Insanity”) in which four friends uncover a meticulously planned murder that is carefully disguised as a kidnapping. Suspicions fall on a bank president who is involved in counterfeiting. Han is aiming to produce “Fading Tracks,” another crime title that is also adapted from a novel.

Korea Box Office: ‘Exhuma’ Reaches $58 Million, Easily Holds Off ‘Dune 2’ - variety.com - South Korea - North Korea
variety.com
11.03.2024

Korea Box Office: ‘Exhuma’ Reaches $58 Million, Easily Holds Off ‘Dune 2’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Dune 2” added $2.63 million in its second weekend in South Korea, but the sci-fi fantasy remained a long may short of the year’s runaway winner, “Exhuma,” which has dominated and dynamized box office for three weeks. “Exhuma,” about two shaman, a feng shui master and a mortician who attempt to undo the mysterious events happening to a U.S.-based Korean family, earned $6.52 million between Friday and Sunday, representing a 67% share of the overall box office market, according to data from tracking service Kobis, operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). It was the third weekend in a row that “Exhuma” took two-thirds of Korean box office weekend total. After nearly three weeks on release the film has earned a powerful $58.7 million from eight million admissions.

HAF: Taiwan’s ‘Urban Horror’ Taps Into Ultra-Short Series Trend - variety.com - Hong Kong - county Storey - Taiwan - city Taipei
variety.com
11.03.2024

HAF: Taiwan’s ‘Urban Horror’ Taps Into Ultra-Short Series Trend

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taipei-based Screenworks Asia has picked up innovative anthology series “Urban Horror” for international sales ahead of this week’s FilMart in Hong Kong. Directed by Lee Chun-Hong (“Mom, Don’t Do That!”), Chen Bao-Zhong and Huang Dan-Chi, a group of young and upcoming filmmakers, “Urban Horror” comprises 34 short episodes revolving around the mysterious, the unexplained and the disturbed. They make use of six modern city settings, such as night clubs, office buildings, youth hostels and other places where ghosts and monsters are not normally found. The deliberately limited number of locations also enables the 34 short films to be re-packaged as six longer episodes. In each episode, the audience will see a familiar face that could be an award-winning actor, a pop star, or an internet celebrity.

FilMart: European Film Sales Agents See Strength in Numbers, as EFP and Unifrance Umbrella Stands Reopen at Hong Kong Market - variety.com - France - Norway - Germany - Berlin - Hong Kong - city Hong Kong
variety.com
10.03.2024

FilMart: European Film Sales Agents See Strength in Numbers, as EFP and Unifrance Umbrella Stands Reopen at Hong Kong Market

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar contenders and Berlin prize-winners will be among the European films being represented by visiting companies to FilMart that are making use of the European Film Promotion umbrella stand within the annual Hong Kong market. In total 29 European film sales companies are making the trip, including more than a dozen from France under the Unifrance banner. Prominent rights brokers include Charades, Goodfellas, Fandango and Filmax.

Hong Kong Film Festival to Open With Ray Yeung’s ‘All Shall Be Well,’ Close With Japanese Charmer ‘All the Long Nights’ - variety.com - Spain - Ireland - Japan - North Korea - Berlin - Hong Kong - city Hong Kong
variety.com
08.03.2024

Hong Kong Film Festival to Open With Ray Yeung’s ‘All Shall Be Well,’ Close With Japanese Charmer ‘All the Long Nights’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief This month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will showcase over 190 films from 62 countries and regions, including five world premieres, and 64 Asian premieres. Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.

FilMart: ‘The Bagman’ Series Now Shooting for The Philippines’ ABS-CBN - variety.com - Los Angeles - Hong Kong - Philippines - city Manila
variety.com
08.03.2024

FilMart: ‘The Bagman’ Series Now Shooting for The Philippines’ ABS-CBN

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A year after announcing the ambitious project, The Philippines ABS-CBN is now in production on new series “The Bagman.” Filming began in Manila on Feb. 25. “The Bagman” is a spin-off from the original, locally-produced digital series “Bagman” that was aimed at the Filipino audience.

Defeated by Dashed Career Dreams, Jackie Van Beek Takes on Daughter’s Identity in ‘Audrey’ – SXSW Trailer Drop - variety.com - Australia - New Zealand - USA - Greece
variety.com
07.03.2024

Defeated by Dashed Career Dreams, Jackie Van Beek Takes on Daughter’s Identity in ‘Audrey’ – SXSW Trailer Drop

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand’s funniest export Jackie Van Beek ( (“Nude Tuesday,” “What We Do in the Shadows”) returns to SXSW atop the cast of “Audrey,” an Australian dark comedy that is headed to SXSW. Van Beek, whose 2018 “The Breaker Upperers,” was a previous SXSW hit, portrays a forgotten former soap star whose career and life have been derailed by motherhood and suburban boredom.

Philippines Drama Film ‘Under Parallel Skies’ Sets Asia Theatrical Release at Warner Bros. - variety.com - Thailand - Hong Kong - Singapore - Philippines - city Hong Kong
variety.com
07.03.2024

Philippines Drama Film ‘Under Parallel Skies’ Sets Asia Theatrical Release at Warner Bros.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros. is to handle the Southeast Asia theatrical release of Philippines-produced drama film “Under Parallel Skies.” The picture will have its world premiere this weekend as part of the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. Directed by Sigrid Bernardo, “Under Parallel Skies” follows the story of a Thai bachelor, portrayed by major local star Win Metawin, who travels to Hong Kong in search of his missing mother.

Zhang Yimou to Receive Double Honors at Asian Film Awards - variety.com - Australia - China - South Korea - Tokyo - Malaysia - Hong Kong - Singapore
variety.com
07.03.2024

Zhang Yimou to Receive Double Honors at Asian Film Awards

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou is to be honored twice over at the Asian Film Awards ceremony on Sunday. He will be presented with a lifetime achievement award and a separate prize for directing the highest-grossing Asian film of 2023.

EST N8 Hires Chatsuree Sripamorn for Asian Sales Role Ahead of FilMart Debut - variety.com - Thailand - North Korea
variety.com
06.03.2024

EST N8 Hires Chatsuree Sripamorn for Asian Sales Role Ahead of FilMart Debut

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief EST N8, the film and TV sales venture formed by U.S.-based EST and Thailand’s N8 company, has hired Chatsuree ‘Chat’ Sripamorn for an Asian sales roles. Reporting to Tenten Wei, she will represent the company at next week’s FilMart. Sripamorn has previously worked at three of the top Thai entertainment companies Mono Next, GMM Studios and Rose Studio over a span of ten years.

China Box Office: Taiwanese Crime Film ‘The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon’ Opens on Top, Ahead of ‘Madame Web’ - variety.com - China - Hong Kong - Taiwan
variety.com
05.03.2024

China Box Office: Taiwanese Crime Film ‘The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon’ Opens on Top, Ahead of ‘Madame Web’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwanese-produced crime action film “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon” opened on top of the mainland China box office over the weekend, ahead of a quartet of holdover titles from Lunar New Year. Sony’s ‘Madame Web’ and a rereleased “Dune” also opened, but they failed to penetrate the top five. “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon” earned $16.2 million (RMB115 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway.

Korea Box Office: ‘Exhuma’ Expands in Second Week, Overshadows ‘Dune 2’ Debut - variety.com - South Korea - North Korea - Berlin
variety.com
05.03.2024

Korea Box Office: ‘Exhuma’ Expands in Second Week, Overshadows ‘Dune 2’ Debut

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Exhuma,” a locally produced occult drama-thriller, expanded its domination of the South Korea box office on its second week of release. That left the newly-released “Dune 2” several sand dunes behind in second place. “Exhuma,” about two shaman, a feng shui master and a mortician who attempt to undo the mysterious events happening to a U.S.-based Korean family, earned $17.2 million between Friday and Sunday, representing a 69% share of the overall box office market.

IQiyi, Chinese Streamer, Loses Subscribers but Records First Annual Profit - variety.com - China - USA
variety.com
28.02.2024

IQiyi, Chinese Streamer, Loses Subscribers but Records First Annual Profit

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief IQiyi, the Chinese streaming platform that is part of Baidu, revealed its first full year net profits, in 2023, even as its subscriber total dropped by more than 10%. The company enjoyed a 10% increase in revenue to RMB31.9 billion ($4.5 billion) in the year to December, it said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Net income was RMB1.9 billion ($271 million), compared with a loss of RMB136 ($19 million).

Hamaguchi Ryusuki’s ‘Gift’ to Unspool in Hong Kong as One-Off Live Performance - variety.com - Japan - Hong Kong - city Hong Kong
variety.com
28.02.2024

Hamaguchi Ryusuki’s ‘Gift’ to Unspool in Hong Kong as One-Off Live Performance

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Superstar Japanese auteur Hamaguchi Ryusuke will unveil “Gift,” a companion piece to his recent “Evil Does Not Exist” as a one-off live performance at next month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival. Following the success of his breakout “Drive My Car,” which won the Oscar for best international feature film, Hamaguchi initially made “Gift” as a silent film project to accompany the live performance of Ishibashi Eiko, the music composer of both “Drive” and later “Evil.” From the same project, Hamaguchi also derived “Evil Does Not Exist,” which then went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Venice International Film Festival.

New Zealand Detective Series ‘A Remarkable Place to Die’ Launched by Banijay - variety.com - New Zealand - Germany - Indiana - Berlin
variety.com
28.02.2024

New Zealand Detective Series ‘A Remarkable Place to Die’ Launched by Banijay

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand-set detective Series “A Remarkable Place to Die” is being launched by Banijay Rights at the London Screenings. The 4 x 90’ murder mystery was created by Screentime New Zealand and is co-produced with Real Film Berlin (Berlin, Berlin,” Netflix’s “Unorthodox”) in association with Banijay Rights. Smart and savvy detective Anais Mallory (portrayed by Chelsie Preston-Crayford) returns to her hometown, Queenstown, in South Island, New Zealand and is met with a series of startlingly different homicides.

Janet Yang Joins Imax China as Company Profits Stage Post-COVID Rebound - variety.com - Los Angeles - China - Hollywood - Hong Kong - Taiwan - city Hong Kong
variety.com
28.02.2024

Janet Yang Joins Imax China as Company Profits Stage Post-COVID Rebound

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Janet Yang, the Los Angeles-based producer and president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, has been appointed as an independent non-executive director to the board of Imax China, a subsidiary of premium large format cinema company Imax that has its own share listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company, Wednesday, reported a return to net profits of $27.5 million for the 2023 calendar year. That compared with net profit of $10.8 million in 2022.

Japan Opens First Funding Round of Location Production Incentive Scheme - variety.com - Japan
variety.com
27.02.2024

Japan Opens First Funding Round of Location Production Incentive Scheme

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan will next month open the first round of film and TV production funding under its previously-teased location incentive scheme. The scheme offers reimbursement of up to 50% of qualifying expenditure in Japan, with an upper limit of JPY1 billion ($6.66 million) on each disbursement. Targeting larger-scale productions, the scheme is open to: film, TV or streaming projects that have minimum direct production spending in Japan of $3.3 million; or have budgets greater than $6.66 million and spend a fifth of that (JPY200 million or $1.33 million) in Japan; or, in the case of other projects distributed in ten or more countries, have Japanese production spend higher than $1.33 million.

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