‘Fearless,’ ‘Cold War’ Series in the Works as Bill Kong’s Edko Film Takes First Steps Into Streaming (EXCLUSIVE)

Vivienne Chow Restored versions of Chinese language cinema classics Wong Kar-wai’s “Days of Being Wild” (1990) and Jia Zhangke’s first full-length feature “Pickpocket” (“Xiao Wu”) 1998) will lead the inaugural program of Hong Kong’s M+ Cinema, which will be opened to the public on June 8.The opening program also features the Hong Kong premiere of one of the films from Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovskiy’s epic project series “DAU,” making the M+ Museum notable for not canceling Russian culture following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.The cinema, comprising three theaters with seating capacity of 180, 60, and 40 seats, is a core facility of the Moving Image Centre at M+, the visual culture museum that opened in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District in November last year. Moving images, including artist-made audio-visual works, artist films, and traditional feature films, are considered among one of the three key disciplines of the mega institution housed in a building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron.

Another lawyer has stepped down in Kanye “Ye” West’s divorce case from his ex, Kim Kardashian. According to new court docs obtained by ET, on May 26, Samantha Spector filed a motion to be relieved as counsel for West in his divorce case with Kardashian.

Kanye «Ye» West's divorce case from his ex, Kim Kardashian. According to new court docs obtained by ET, on May 26, Samantha Spector filed a motion to be relieved as counsel for West in his divorce case with Kardashian.As for the reason, Spector said, «There has been an irreconcilable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship,» leading her to file the motion and step away from the couple's ongoing divorce proceedings.It was also noted in the docs that Spector served West the motion and has communicated with him through his new attorney, Deborah Hong, as well as via email and through the mail.«Attorney has communicated with Ms.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefVersus Entertainment has brought on board Decentraland and Lumiere to develop metaverse and NFT angles for its ongoing film project “The Infinite Machine.”“The Infinite Machine” is a film adapted from Camilla Russo’s book of the same title which is now being produced by Versus with Ridley Scott’s production company Scott Free. It tells the story Vitalik Buterin, the controversial co-founder of Ethereum, the world’s second largest digital asset.Decentraland operates a virtual world that uses open-source technology, allowing it to be expanded by member users.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefArtist and Hong Kong-based experimental filmmaker Scud is to retire from filmmaking leave the city after completing his two final features. These have been licensed for North American distribution by Breaking Glass Pictures.A license deal for rights to “Apostles” and “Bodyshop” was struck by Breaking Glass Pictures and Artwalker, the production company through which the auteur’s entire movie career has been channeled.

This weekend, Manchester will become one of the first cities in Britain to host a ‘Friendship Festival, welcoming arrivals from Hong Kong, who have moved to the UK as part of the government's British National Overseas (BNO) visa scheme. The festival will take place at Audacious Church on Trinity Way on the edge of the city centre on Saturday, May 28 and is expected to attract up to 1,000 visitors from across the community.

Hong Kong is one of the most visited cities on Earth, and it’s easy to see why – this compact metropolis has everything you could possibly need, from mega malls to indie boutiques, temples, markets, beaches, dramatic mountains, walled cities and dim sum restaurants. Even as the cityscape evolves, seemingly in a blink, one thing remains a constant: world-class hotels. While big brands have historically reigned, several notable boutique addresses have carved out a piece of the pie in recent years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe question arising at every Cannes Film Festival lineup announcement about why the festival has not selected films from a particular country tends to irk chief selector Thierry Frémaux. But this year, with films from China notable by their absence, Frémaux may be asking himself if he messed up, or whether bigger forces are at play?Last year, Cannes was at pains to conceal its selection of Hong Kong pro-democracy film “Revolution of Our Times” until as late as possible, in order not to alert mainland Chinese authorities or disrupt the other Chinese indies showing in the festival.China experts differ as to how much Cannes’ defiance last year was a factor in this year’s de facto boycott.

ESPN is reporting that the NBA playoffs are back for China’s TV viewers after a long banishment over controvesial political statements by an executive.

Nicole Kidman came to the Los Angeles set of her Amazon show Expats on Thursday, and the megastar looked ready to work.  The actress, 54, arrived in a white button-down shirt and a pair of white pants cuffed at the bottoms.  She held a tan handbag in her left hand and walked on comfortable looking gray sneakers.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam has appointed its new team line up and structure as the festival revamps.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefLast month’s Udine festival of all things East Asian was the launch pad for “Making Waves — Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema,” a collection of 13 films that will travel to a dozen cities in Europe and Asia. Billed as an “extravaganza,” mixing old and new talent, the event is pegged to the 25th anniversary celebrations of the return of Hong Kong to China after 150 years of British colonial rule.But it is no longer clear to everyone that Hong Kong cinema has the energy, willpower or finance to face down its larger demons.

India is the country of honor at the Cannes Film Market and consequently a massive contingent from the country is descending upon the Croisette. Variety understands that some 400 attendees are winging their way from India, and that French embassies across the country were working at capacity to issue visas.That stands in contrast with the attendance from other parts of Asia, further East.

1996s “Irma Vep” saw Olivier Assayas contribute to a rich tapestry of meta cinema stretching back to Federico Fellini’s 1963 masterpiece “8½.” Itself drawing upon François Truffaut’s metafictional “Day For Night” as a direct source, the film followed René Vidal, an over-the-hill film director whose recent output has descended into alienating pseudo-intellectualism, and his attempt to remake the classic French film serial, “Les Vampires.” Introducing veteran of Hong Kong cinema, Maggie Cheung, to a western audience, playing herself as an actress cast in the fictional director’s film as Irma (keeping up?), Assayas’ film contemplated the nature of the creative process, using its verité aesthetic to capture the mania of a film set while also providing a broader meditation on the state of modern French cinema.

Walt Disney chief financial officer Christine McCarthy said the company could record a $350 million squeeze on operating income in the current quarter – it’s fiscal third — from its Hong Kong and Shanghai theme parks, tempering the parks division’s upbeat narrative a bit.