Coen Brothers’ ‘Scarface’ Remake Among 22 Film Projects to Nab California Tax Credits

Rebecca Davis editorTop Chinese director Feng Xiaogang will step in front of the camera alongside Chinese-American actor-director Joan Chen in a local adaptation of the 2009 Hollywood tearjerker “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale,” which began shooting Thursday.It is currently set to premiere on New Year’s Eve.Feng is best known for his work as a director on films such as “Youth,” “I Am Not Madame Bovary” and “Cellphone,” but he has also frequently taken on acting roles, with his most recent starring role in

Easter falls on Sunday, April 4 which means everyone in the UK can look forward to the upcoming bank holidays on Good Friday and Easter Monday. The extended weekend from April 2nd to April 5th also means that normal financial transactions will be suspended and as a result, most benefit payments that fall on those dates are changing.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese helmer Xu Lei will return to the subject of rural life in northern China for his second feature “The Peacemaker,” one of the 20 narrative film projects selected to participate in the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum this year.Xu’s suspenseful and darkly humorous first film “Summer Detective,” which he wrote and directed, was nominated for best feature and won the prize for best script at the 2019 FIRST International Film Festival, which focuses on emerging talent.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese indie sales agency Blossoms Entertainment returns to FilMart with a slate of large-scale commercial pictures sourced from a clutch of China’s biggest film studios.The agency, operated by former IM Global staffers Vicky Ding and Leslie Chen, is pre-selling “Railway Heroes,” a tale of heroism and wartime sabotage which is targeting a National Day release in October.

“Avatar” has reclaimed its crown, and is once again the film with the biggest box office in Hollywood history.

As has been expected over the past few days, James Cameron’s Avatar has swapped places with Avengers: Endgame, reclaiming the title of highest-grossing movie ever worldwide. The China reissue of the 2009 3D sci-fi phenomenon had taken an estimated RMB 58M ($8.9M) through 5PM local time on Saturday after re-releasing on Friday in the market.

You know it’s a good week on Real Time when the two stories that have consumed the week’s news — the accusations against Andrew Cuomo and the accusations against the Royal Family — take a backseat to weightier topics such as crony capitalism and the hegemony of China.

Jimmy Fallon is putting his own unique spin on some of TikTok’s most well-known songs.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s top law-making body will consider this week a popular proposition to ban actors who have used drugs from entertainment industry for life at its annual weeklong meeting, which kicked off Friday.The National People’s Congress, the country’s rubber stamp parliament, counts some 3,000 professionals from across the country as delegates, including directors Jia Zhangke, Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kaige, as well as Jackie Chan and Yao Ming.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefImax China, the supplier of giant screen cinema facilities and services in Greater China, is one of the purest plays on the mainland Chinese movie exhibition market available to investors.

Maria Shriver, a journalist and the ex-wife of former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, questioned whether an apology for alleged unwanted sexual advances, issued Wednesday by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, will be accepted.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo held a press conference on March 3 to address the mounting sexual harassment allegations against him, apologizing to his female accusers for ‘any pain I have caused.’ The governor said he was ’embarrassed’ by the allegations, and denied he ever “touched anyone inappropriately.”

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and will be changing in April.There are two types of Tax Credits – Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.

Pierre Morel’s upcoming action thrillerThe Blacksmith, which recently lost its star Nick Jonas due to a scheduling conflict, has a deal in place for the important China market. Beijing-based distributor Infotainment China Media picked up rights to the film ahead of Berlin's European Film Market and plans to stick with the project despite the casting change-up.

Christine Cain wowed the “Voice” coaches with her incredible performance during the blind auditions Monday.

Nearly a year from the industry-wide production shutdown, Hollywood is plotting a major return to filming. The California Film Commission has revealed that 22 feature films have been selected for the latest round of tax credits under the state’s incentives program.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterThe California Film Commission has announced the latest round of recipients of the state’s film tax credit, and they include projects from the Coen brothers, Steven Soderbergh, Reese Witherspoon and Jason Bateman.In all, the state has reserved $86.9 million in credits for 22 projects. They include Universal’s “Scarface,” a remake set among narco traffickers, which will be directed by Luca Guadagnino with a script from Joel and Ethan Coen.