Berlinale Prizewinning ‘The Girl and the Spider’ Finds U.S. Distribution With Cinema Guild (EXCLUSIVE)

Vincent Chin was beaten to death with a baseball bat 39 years ago, a galvanizing incident for the modern Asian American civil rights movement but an event that has been lost to history for most outside the community. No longer.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina is set to host the winter Olympics in February, but the extent of American involvement is on shaky ground. There’s plenty of precedent for Olympic-scale strife — in 1980 and 1984, the U.S.

Rebecca Davis editorZhang Yimou’s historical spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” will hit North American cinemas on April 30, day-and-date with its China release.“Cliff Walkers” was previously title “Impasse” in English. Its Chinese title translates to “On the Cliff.” It will be distributed abroad by CMC Pictures.The film marks Zhang’s first foray into the spy genre.

Crazy Rich Asians queen Gemma Chan, A-Major and M88 are partnering with podcast media studio QCODE for a table-read of Hold Still, Vincent which is based on the tragic, true events of Vincent Chin’s murder.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefLeading Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming will take a production role on selected film titles emerging from Stars Collective, the talent incubator program backed by China- and Los Angeles-based financier Starlight Media.Huang, who has credits including “The Message” and “American Dreams in China,” will lead Stars Collective’s talent discovery efforts in China, be a mentor to the selected filmmakers and take a formal producer role on selected, individual projects the

Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights from Arclight Films, to distribute dramatic comedy Queen Bees which stars Ellen Burstyn, James Caan, Ann-Margret, Jane Curtin, Christopher Lloyd, Loretta Devine, Elizabeth Mitchell, and French Stewart. A theatrical and PVOD release of June 11 is currently planned.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorHelen Mirren, who won an Oscar for “The Queen,” will portray Israel’s legendary Prime Minister Golda Meir in “Golda.” The film will be directed by Academy Award winner Guy Nattiv, and produced by BAFTA winner Michael Kuhn (“Florence Foster Jenkins,” “The Duchess”).Embankment will represent international sales, with CAA Media Finance and ICM jointly handling the North American rights.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterHalf-hour multicamera comedy “Head of the Class” has been given a 10-episode series order from streaming platform HBO Max.The original series, which is being executive produced by Bill Lawrence (of “Ted Lasso” and “Scrubs”) alongside exec producers and writers Amy Pocha and Seth Cohen (of “Paradise PD” and “American Vandal”), stars “One Day at a Time” actor Isabella Gomez as well as Jorge Diaz, Jolie Hoang Rappaport, Gavin Lewis, Dior Goodjohn, Brandon Severs, Adrian

Claudia Conway is a true Gen Z! The 16-year-old daughter of controversial political consultant Kellyanne Conway has been hospitalized, and broke the news to her fans via TikTok. The American Idol contestant took to the social media app on March 31 to reveal she feared she might have appendicitis.

EXCLUSIVE: Cinema Guild has acquired North American distribution rights to Rock Bottom Riser, a documentary that received a Special Mention from the Encounters jury at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival where it premiered earlier this month. It’s the first film by Fern Silva, who wrote, directed, and produced the documentary. Cinema Guild has slated it for a 35mm theatrical tour planned for 2022.

EXCLUSIVE: Cinema Guild has secured the North American distribution rights to Expedition Content, a documentary that premiered in the Forum section at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival and had its U.S. debut as part of Film at Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real. Directed by Ernst Karel and Veronika Kusumaryati, the doc will be released in theaters later this year.

It’s the end of the road for Claudia Conway!

Meghan McCain apologized on Monday after John Oliver singled out past remarks she made on The View in aLast Week Tonight segment on anti-Asian violence and the shootings in Atlanta. "I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community," The View co-host said in a tweet after the Sunday episode of Oliver's HBO show excerpted her past comments.

TikTok star Claudia Conway attempted to impress the “American Idol” judges once again during Monday’s instalment of the show.

SPOILER ALERT - This post contains spoilers for Claudia Conway‘s journey on American Idol, so continue reading only if you want to know what happened.

Jordan Moreau The “Hawkeye” series at Disney Plus may already be getting a spinoff.A show centered on Echo, a deaf Native American character who will be played by Alaqua Cox in the “Hawkeye” series, is in the early stages of development for Disney Plus, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. Etan Cohen and Emily Cohen are attached to write and executive produce the show, with a writers’ room recently being assembled.

Meghan McCain has apologized after John Oliver called her out for saying she had “no problem” with Donald Trump calling COVID-19 the “China virus”… and then tweeting “Stop Asian Hate” a year later. The View co-host wrote March 22 on Twitter, “I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community. There is no doubt Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric fueled many of these attacks and I apologize for any past comments that aided that agenda.”

It was something of a surprise to watch, but Claudia Conway is moving forward to the next step in American Idol!

troubled TikTok teen’s first official “American Idol” competition performance came with its own one-woman cheering squad: Her mom, former Trump administration spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway.Claudia appeared to have taken judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie’s previous advice to silence all the “negativity that surrounded her” so she could focus on her vocal potential — and what she wanted out of her suddenly high-profile existence.The newly raven-haired 16-year-old told viewers on