‘1923’ Adds Robert Patrick to Cast of ‘Yellowstone’ Sequel at Paramount+

Christian Bale says he only has a career because Leonardo DiCaprio has passed up so many film roles. The 48-year-old actor added “any role that anybody gets” is only because Leo, 47, doesn’t want them as he always gets first choice of Hollywood movie parts. Christian told the new issue of GQ magazine: “I would suspect that almost everybody of similar age to him in Hollywood owes their careers to him passing on whatever project it is.

Every role is designed for Leonardo DiCaprio, according to Christian Bale.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese indie sales Firm Free Stone Productions has added a quartet of new titles to its line-up in time for the rights markets in Busan and Tokyo. The company is unable to travel to Busan and will meet with clients virtually at the Asian Contents & Film Market. The TIFFCOM market, which runs alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival later in the month, is anyway a virtual event. Top of the list is “In Her Room,” a romance about a young dentist who embarks on a romance with a mysterious woman but cannot figure her out. The film will play in the Nippon Cinema Now section of the Tokyo festival and have a Japanese commercial release from January. It is the feature debut if Ito Chihiro and stars Iguchi Satoru, Baba Fumika and Kawai Yuumi.

Taylor Sheridan is hyper-busy over at Paramount+, building up his “Yellowstone” TV empire, but he also has other adjacent irons in the fire. For one, “Tulsa King,” starring Sylvester Stallone as a mafia capo who relocates to Oklahoma, premieres on the streamer on November 13 (which apparently connects to “Yellowstone” too).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China recorded an unchanged top five films and its weakest box office weekend since Chinese New Year. Nationwide gross box office was just $18.6 million. Comedy drama film “Give Me Five” held on to the top spot for the third week, with a weekend score of $6.3 million (RMB43.3 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. It now has a cumulative of $46.4 million since release on Sept. 9, 2022. The film is the story of a young man who is helping his father rediscover his lost memories. As he does so, he is transported back in time and accidentally alters his parent’s pasts. That means he must reunite the pair or risk never being born. It stars Ma Li Chang Yuan and Wei Xiang and is directed by Zhang Luan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sally Aitken a two-time Emmy nominated writer and director (“Playing with Sharks”) and producer and media executive Aline Jacques (“Lindy Chamberlain: The True Story”) have launched SAM Content. The Sydney-based independent production company will develop and produce all genres of unscripted and scripted projects for local platforms and the international marketplace. They open their doors with four film and TV shows in production with Australian broadcasters and screen agencies. They include an untitled Wiggles project in partnership with Augusto Entertainment’s Cass Avery and Daniel Story, and with funding from federal screen agency Screen Australia. The Wiggles is a successful children’s musical group that has been on the scene for 30 years and has been involved with both TV and film.

Announcing the passing of a loved one in local news media is a long standing tradition and we are proud of the trust placed in us to make these important announcements.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A new trailer for the second season of futuristic fantasy actioner Alice in Borderland was the highlight of a slate of Japanese film, series and cartoons unveiled by Netflix on Sunday as part of its Tudum fan experience. Japanese content is doing well for the streamer, both within the country which is Netflix’s most valuable in the Asia-Pacific region, and increasingly overseas. Though the country is awaiting its “Squid Game” breakout show, the company has signaled that it is investing more in the Japanese-language category. The Sunday presentation included a group interview segment in which Yamazaki Kento and Tsuchiya Tao, who play Arisu and Usagi from “Alice in Borderland,” Mori Nana and Deguchi Natsuki who play Kiyo and Sumire in “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House,” and Ai Fairouz , voice actress for Jolyne Cujoh in “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean,” talked about their personal growth and shared thoughts on now reaching fans all over the world.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Full and proper confirmation of a second season of mystery horror series “Hellbound” was high on the agenda of Netflix’s consumer-oriented Tudum presentation. Korean shows have repeatedly achieved top ratings among the streamer’s non-English roster, and last November’s release of “Hellbound” was the show that finally edged aside “Squid Game” after several weeks of breakthrough success. (The Tudum presentation offered “Squid Game” fans some extra footage that confirmed the identity of the mysterious ‘front man’. Take a look here.) “Hellbound” is derived from a webtoon created by series director Yeon Sang-ho, who previously directed “Train to Busan” and “Peninsula.” It featured otherworldly angels who emerged to condemn individuals to hell at a specific future time, minutes or years away.

A woman allegedly pushed her 3-year-old nephew off of a pier in Chicago and watched him struggle as he sank below the surface.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan’s biggest film group Toho announced that it has taken a controlling stake in TIA (previously Toho Interactive Animation), a production company behind the “100 Nichikan Ikita Wani,” film and anime series “iii icecrin,” “iii icecrin2” “Ninja Collection” and “That Is the Bottleneck.” Originally known as I&A, the company was established in 2017 by ILCA and Anima. The name changed to TIA after Toho bought a nearly 35% from the two founders in 2020. Toho has now bought out Anima’s stake, giving it a 67.4% majority holding and cause to rename the company again, this time to Toho Animation Studio. Deal terms were not disclosed.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Luang Prabang Film Festival held annually in Laos’ cultural hub will make an in-person return to action in December. The festival operated as a virtual event in 2020 under pandemic conditions. But was forced to cancel its 2021 edition. The town has no permanent movie theater and the festival uses temporary facilities, but previous editions have attracted big crowds. All events are open to the public and are free of charge. Over four days (Dec. 8-11, 2022) organizers will put on a mix of some twenty film screenings, public discussions and Q&A sessions with local audiences. This year, the LPFF will add a second night venue.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Action star, Jai Courtney is to narrate “For the Love of Pets,” a factual animal welfare series set in Australia. Commissioned for the 9Network Australia and filmed in 4K, the 8-part series follows the heart-warming stories of the staff, volunteers and animals that come through the doors of the Animal Welfare League of South Australia Inc. (AWL) and Vets4Pets Emergency Hospital in Adelaide. Production is by Context Media with production funding from Omnicom Media Group subsidiary, OMnet Australia. Escapade Media is on board to handle international distribution and says that it is close to announcing a raft of licensing deals.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Comedy drama film “Give Me Five” held on to the top spot at the mainland Chinese box office with a weekend score of just $7.4 million (RMB50.8 million). The film is the story of a young man who is helping his father rediscover his lost memories. As he does so, he is transported back in time and accidentally alters his parent’s pasts. That means he must reunite the pair or risk never being born. It stars Ma Li Chang Yuan and Wei Xiang and is directed by Zhang Luan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief For the second weekend running, comedy action film “Confidential Assignment 2: International” held top spot at the South Korean box office. And it did so with a massive 75% share of the market. But as the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday retreated into the rear-view mirror numbers, both for the sequel film and the nationwide box office, came crashing down. “Confidential Assignment 2” earned $6.89 million over the latest Friday to Sunday period, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). That figure was down 57% compared with its opening salvo of $21.0 million a week earlier.

BreAnna Bell Robert Patrick has been added to the “1923” cast as a series regular, Variety has confirmed. The actor will portray Sheriff William McDowell, a friend of the Dutton family. He joins previously announced cast members Harrison Ford and Hellen Mirren, who will be playing the husband and wife duo serving as the leaders of the Dutton family ranch. Also among the cast are Darren Mann, Michelle Randolph, James Badge Dale, Marley Shelton, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves and Julia Schlaepfer. According to the show’s logline, the installment, hailing from Taylor Sheridan, will follow the Dutton family’s origins to the early twentieth century “when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition, and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west, and the Duttons who call it home.” Production on the “Yellowstone” prequel is already underway in Montana.

What the heck is going on with Michelle Branch and Patrick Carney?