‘Chilli Laugh Story’ Hong Kong Work-From-Home Comedy to Release in U.K. and North America (EXCLUSIVE)

The head-to-head TV debate between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss is underway - and viewers are saying the same thing about the BBC show's opening. The debate between the two politicians - one of whom will be the next Tory leader and Prime Minister - began with the camera zooming in to them closely.

I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that Takoyaki Master, a new, bright sunshine yellow stand in the Arndale Food Market, is serving the best takoyaki in town. OK, it might be the only takoyaki in town, currently. But even if it wasn’t, it would still probably be the best.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefA marathon screening of all three “Infernal Affairs” films has been announced for the much delayed 46th edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival.The three films, all restored and upgraded to 4K digital prints, lead off a six- film section of Chinese-language restored classics at the festival.The HKIFF was this year postponed from its usual March-April slot to August, due to the fifth wave of the COVID pandemic which closed Hong Kong cinemas for the first months of 2022. It will now take place from Aug.

Kelly Rowland isn't giving up any info! The songstress is staying tight-lipped when it comes to whether or not she's heard Beyonce's hotly anticipated new album.Rowland walked the the carpet at the premiere of at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Monday, where she was joined by friend and actress Bresha Webb.The pair stopped to talk with ET's Kevin Frazier, and the subject of Beyonce's new album, came up.«I know you've heard Beyonce's album,» Frazier asked. «How is it?»«Ha! I don't know what you're talking about!» Rowland said, trying to stifle a smile. However, she immediately called her denial into question when she gleefully belted out the chorus to Beyonce's record-setting latest single «Break My Soul.»When asked about the possibility of dropping some sort of surprise collaboration with her longtime friend and former bandmate, Rowland emphasized, «Ain't nothing happening» while maintaining her coy smile.Beyonce's latest single — which she released on June 20, -- is the lead single from her long-awaited seventh studio album and her first solo album in six years.

Marta Balaga “Hard Boiled” director John Woo is developing a historical drama about Chinese American Dean Lung — the valet of Oakland’s first mayor Horace Walpole Carpentier — whose donation helped found Columbia University’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. The film has the working title “Dean Lung.”The university still refers to the letter Lung sent to Columbia president Seth Low in 1901. “I send you here with a deposit check for $12,000 as a contribution to the fund for Chinese learning in your university,” it said.

Vivienne Chow “Anita,” the biopic of the late Canto-pop queen Anita Mui, led the race of the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday night with five awards, including recognitions for the film’s actors and technical achievements. But the best film and best director awards went to action thriller “Raging Fire” directed by the late Benny Chan.Sunday’s event, which was postponed from its original schedule in April, was the first in-person edition of the awards ceremony after two years of COVID hiatus — the 2020 edition was held online and 2021 was suspended.The number of films released in Hong Kong has dramatically dropped over the past years as cinemas were forced to close doors for prolonged periods under the government’s COVID measures.

Raging Fire, starring and produced by Donnie Yen, was awarded best film and best director for late action maestro Benny Chan at the Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA) on Sunday night. The ceremony took place at Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre, the first time it had been held as a fully-fledged, in-person event since 2019.

Loose Women's Stacey Solomon has shared a behind-the-scenes look as she and husband-to-be Joe Swash film for a new episode of Celebrity Gogglebox. Taking to her Instagram Stories on Monday (July 4), the TV personality documented the couple's preparation for the Channel 4 reality show, with Stacey sharing a video of the couple's living room – including their blacked-out windows.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe once vibrant Hong Kong film industry is struggling to recover from the effects of COVID and related problems, a local report has warned. The report identified problems with theatrical box office, local production, co-production with mainland China and film investment.The Motion Picture Industry Association and Hong Kong Box Office Ltd. regular half year report showed that cinemas in the city had been closed for 104 days this year, including Chinese New Year and Easter, both normally peak periods.

Hong Kong novelist and screenwriter Ni Kuang, who penned some 300 screenplays including The One-Armed Swordsman and The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin, has died. According to local media, he passed away on Sunday at age 87.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAlex Law, one of Hong Kong’s most accomplished filmmakers died on Saturday. He was 69.Law (aka Law Kai-yui) died in hospital with his life partner and long-time filmmaking partner Mabel Cheung by his side.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNi Kuang, one of Hong Kong’s most distinguished screenwriters and novelists, has died. He was 87.He died on Sunday in Hong Kong, with local media reporting skin cancer as the cause of death.Ni wrote some 300 screenplays, many in the martial arts genre and many for the Shaw Brothers studio with co-writer Chang Chen. He wrote the scripts for classic films “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin” and “One Armed Swordsman” and had a hand in two of Bruce Lee’s six movies “The Big Boss” and “Fist of Fury” though the writing credit went to Wei Lo.As a novelist, Ni wrote the “New Adventures of Wesley” a series of detective stories that often featured aliens and extra-terrestrial creatures.

Vivienne Chow A Taiwanese filmmaker has made his short film inspired by Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests available online for free after it failed to get approval from the city’s censorship authorities.Wu Zi-en, director of “Islander,” has uploaded the full 25-minute film noir to online platform Vimeo last week, after it became the third film in a month to have been censored by Hong Kong authorities.The city last year changed censorship regulations to effectively ban any film that is politically sensitive or poses a threat to national security.“Islander” follows a man and his grandson’s journey to visit the son, who has been placed behind bars as a political prisoner in Taipei. The film was selected as part of the Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival in Hong Kong, but its public screening was canceled because the film did not receive the approval in time. Fresh Wave organizers did not respond to Variety‘s request for comment.

A bargain plant will help keep your house cool during the hot weather.

Elvis Presley’s legacy lives on. On Tuesday, three generations of Presleys, Priscilla, 77, Lisa Marie, 54, and her daughter Riley, 33, as well as her twins Harper and Finley, 13 participated in a historic Hand and Footprint Ceremony outside the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.The family had a gorgeous backdrop dedicated to the new Elvis movie starring Austin Butler. They all looked thankful to be together for such a special moment.Butler was also in attendance. The actor has been praised for his performance as Elvis, with the film gaining a 12-minute standing ovation at Cannes.

Priscilla Presley, daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, and granddaughter, Riley Keough — made it official, with a hand and footprint ceremony at the famous TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.The trio — along with Lisa Marie's 13-year-old twin daughters, Harper and Finley — was honored in celebration of the legacy of their famous family, as well as the upcoming release of the biopic, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Austin Butler as the King of Rock and Roll himself. Luhrmann and Butler both spoke at the ceremony, which was a moving moment for all of the members of the family, who have been outspoken in their support of the upcoming film and its portrayal of their late, iconic patriarch.«It means a lot, absolutely, to my family and the people who knew Elvis really, really well, to be honored in this way,» Priscilla told ET, adding that the theater — then known as the Grauman's Chinese Theatre — was one of the first sights she saw with Elvis when she first came to Los Angeles in 1962. «It's just incredibly emotional and kind of hard to process, but it's definitely such a big honor,» Riley agreed.For Lisa Marie, the film's release feels like a much larger cultural moment than just a celebration of her father's legacy — not only explores the life of the man himself, but the Black artists and cultural traditions that shaped his musical background.«It means everything to us, it's so important,» she shared. «I mean, everything that's happening right now… the movie is important. The subject matter is important.