Chinese Film Director Barred From Attending Singapore World Premiere of Documentary

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hollywood’s role in Asian TV has changed in the streaming era and age of hyper-local content. A top-down sales and distribution position has eased into one of co-production, co-financing and acquisition. A high-powered array of western executives offered experienced views and discussed their current positions at a panel session Thursday within the Asia Television Forum & Market in Singapore. “We want to be an additive partner on shows that cannot be created locally, said Georgina Gonzalez, director of scripted series and global series at Universal Int’l Studios, NBCU.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wang Jianlin, the Chinese billionaire who previously sought to buy a controlling position in Hollywood, is preparing to complete his imminent exit from the film industry. The troubled conglomerate is facing debt repayment pressure.Wanda Film, which remains China’s largest cinema operator, Wednesday said in a regulatory filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that Wang and his Wanda Investment vehicle expect to sell their remaining stake 51% in the company to China Ruyi Holdings. Ruyi, which operates across film, TV and online games, counts games, social media and streaming giant Tencent among its largest shareholders.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Something Special, the Seoul-based international format agency founded by format specialists Jin Woo Hwang (president and executive producer) and Kim In Soon (EVP & head of content) announce that ITV Studios has optioned the hit Korean celebrity format “Battle in the Box” for France, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. The deal was unveiled on Wednewday, the first full day of the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF) in Singapore. “Battle in the Box,” created by Korea’s NMedia and represented globally by Something Special, has previously seen deals announced with Fremantle for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Singapore is launching a new fund to support international coproduction of TV series. It will also expand government investment into virtual production (VP). The two moves were announced on Wednesday by senior minister of state for communications and information Tan Kiat How at the opening ceremony of the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Webtoons, the vertical-scrolling iteration of digital comics that emerged some twenty years ago in Korea, along with the smartphone, are now a global medium. But they are only at the beginning of their global journey, says Charlie Park, CEO of Kakao Entertainment-owned Tapas. Park was speaking Tuesday at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore in a session moderated by industry consultant Jimmy Kim. Park explained that the webtoon segment was for several years a niche fan-driven activity with few opportunities for monetization.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Donovan Chan, co-chief and creative director of Singapore-based Beach House Pictures has operations that span scripted, unscripted and branded TV as well as film, across the width of the Asia region. That gives him a unique perspective on a trying last year and where the upsides appear to be. He sat down with Variety on the eve of the Asian Television Forum.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Singapore actor and filmmaker Alaric Tay (“Zombiepura”), through his Very Tay Media company has joined forces with two Philippines companies Black Ops Studios Asia and PsyOps Studios to produce a slate of films aimed at international markets. The venture, that was facilitated by Hong Kong-based producer Mike Leeder, was announced on the eve of the Asia Television Forum (ATF) in Singapore. They aim to put together a combined slate across diverse genres, including action, sci-fi, horror and comedy and have suggested a timeline extending to the fourth quarter of 2026. The joint venture also includes partnerships with other Asian companies including Screen Ops (HK), Fly Entertainment, Causeway Media Productions and IAmCasting. “Singapore and the Philippines have the individual potential to execute projects with commercial appeal,” said Tay. “But by building stories together with like-minded visionaries beyond our own shores, we can elevate the types of projects that are being produced in our collective countries.” Tay was the star and executive producer of 2018 Singapore zombie movie “Zombiepura.” He was also co-producer and director of HBO Asia’s first comedy drama series “SeNT” and is best known for playing multiple characters on Mediacorp satirical series “The Noose.” Headed by director Pedring Lopez and producer Rex Lopez, Black Ops Studios Asia and PsyOps Studios focus on action films and series.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Negotiations are under way to secure a December or more likely an early January release for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” movie in mainland China cinemas. The film, which has grossed some $250 million worldwide since debuting on Oct. 13, is currently being reviewed by Chinese authorities.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief I.E. Entertainment, the global distribution outfit founded and run by industry veterans Indra and Erlina Suharjono, has come on board to handle worldwide sales for Cathay Film Company’s “Coolie.” The TV miniseries is inspired by the little-known history of enslaved Chinese ‘coolies’ in Cuba in the 1860s.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor AGC Intl., the international sales and distribution arm of Stuart Ford’s fast-growing independent content studio AGC Studios, has picked up world rights from Image Nation Abu Dhabi, MBC Studios and VOX Studios on Yasir Al Yasiri‘s “HWJN,” and from O3 Medya and Dhafer L’Abidine’s Double A Productions on L’Abidine’s “To My Son.” Saudi fantasy romance ‘HWJN’ will open the Red Sea Film Festival on Nov. 30, while the emotional family drama “To My Son” will premiere in Red Sea’s Arab Spectacular section.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief CJ ENM (Hong Kong), a channels and content distributor that is part of the Korean CJ ENM conglomerate, has picked up pay-TV rights in parts of Asia to a handful of Korean series that were co-financed by streaming platform Tving and Paramount+. The deal was struck with Paramount Global Content Distribution. The productions are part of a global strategic partnership between CJ ENM and Paramount Global that was announced in December 2021. The deal was announced on the eve of the Asian TV Forum (ATF), which kicks off next week in Singapore. The series debut first on Tving in Korea and on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lightning International, the Hong Kong- and U.K.-based content distribution and solutions company, is expanding its staff ahead of the upcoming Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) in Singapore. It has hired Eric Tan to be director of content sales Asia. He will be responsible for all aspects of channel and content distribution.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Philippines’ ABS-CBN is to launch its new series “The Bagman” at next month’s ATF market in Singapore. Series star Arjo Atayde will attend as part of the promotional team. “The Bagman” is a spin-off from the original, locally-produced digital series “Bagman” that was aimed at the Filipino audience.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese films “Trending Topic” and “The Invisible Guest” will be given theatrical releases in Malaysia and Singapore in the coming month. This step follows agreements between Chinese streamer iQiyi and Malaysian cinema chain GSC and Singaporean distributor Clover Films.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Beyoncé captivated Hollywood’s attention Saturday night as the superstar held a stealthily staged world premiere of her concert movie, “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The movie, which documents her Renaissance World Tour, will be released in the U.S. on Dec.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The husband and wife team of Otsuka Ryuji and Huang Ji, who worked with a minimalist crew and mostly non-professional actors, gave a round of thanks to Asian leading auteurs for inspiring them, and then hugged each other on stage for winning the Taipei Golden Horse Film Awards best narrative feature prize with their pregnancy drama “Stonewalling.” The numerical winner on Saturday night was “Old Fox,” which earned the best director award for Hsiao Ya-chuan, as well as the best supporting actor, makeup and costume, and best film score prizes. The nominations, announced in October, saw “Snow in Midsummer” collect nine nominations and Taiwan‘s Oscar contender “Marry My Dead Body” head the field with eight.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival drifted to a conclusion in midweek, with project awards presented on Wednesday, followed by Thursday’s festival closing events. These involved a screening of portmanteau film “Tales of Taipei” followed by a sit-down dinner-cum-ceremony with a breezy pair of speeches and no prizes. The film fortnight then sprang to life again on Saturday evening when the 60th edition of the Golden Horse Film Awards represented a new climax.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Marco Mueller, the veteran film festival curator and director, is set to launch a new festival and market in Macau. It will have its first edition in January. The Asia-Europe Young Cinema Festival, running Jan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Producer and screenwriter, Darren Dale has been named as the new board chair of the Sydney Film Festival, following the retirement of Dianne Weir. He is a leading advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and has been director of Blackfella Films since 2000.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chen Shaojie, the chairman and CEO of leading Chinese gaming live-streaming platform Douyu, has been arrested. The NASDAQ-listed company confirmed the previously-reported news in a regulatory filing late on Tuesday. DouYu said that it was informed that Chen was arrested by police in Chengdu “on or about Nov. 16.” Reputable Chinese and international media previously reported that he had been missing for at least three weeks and had been away from public view since August. In China, suspects in criminal cases are often detained for weeks or months prior to their formal arrest.