French Film Exports Grossed $104M In 2021; China Became Top Consumer

Omicron Covid is likely to have originated in mice, according to a new study.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina Media Group has launched CCTV-8K, an 8K ultra-high-definition TV channel, to broadcast the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, state-owned news agency Xinhua reports.To deliver the channel, CMG had to accelerate development of its nascent 8K production, broadcasting and transmission operations, said the Asian Broadcasting Union.CMG has started to install giant 8K screens in public places across the country, starting with four railway stations in Beijing and Olympic venue Zhangjiakou.Other media novelties this year include Kuaishou, a short video and live-streaming platform, being set as an official broadcast partner. Kuaishou claims more than a billion downloads of its app and to be catching fierce rival Bytedance (which owns both TikTok and its Chinese equivalent Douyin.) Along with streaming platform Tencent Video, Kuaishou sub-licensed the China rights to last year’s Tokyo summer games and the 2022 Beijing Olympics from China Central Television.The games are set to go ahead in an ultra-strict anti-COVID bubble.

Zack Sharf “Fight Club” author Chuck Palahniuk has shared a surprising reaction to this week’s news that China censored the ending of David Fincher’s 1999 movie, which is based on Palahniuk’s 1996 novel of the same name. As reported by Variety, “Fight Club” was uploaded to Tencent Video, China’s largest video streamer, with an entirely new ending that is the exact opposite of Fincher’s finale.In the 1999 original, Edward Norton’s narrator character kills off his alter ego Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) before watching the city burst into flames in apparent confirmation that his plan to destroy civilization has worked. The new ending in China cuts the film to black before the city erupts in films.

Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk has responded to the news that Chinese streaming platform Tencent Video has amended the film’s ending.In the final scenes of the original, The Narrator (Edward Norton) kills off his imaginary alter ego Tyler (Brad Pitt) and watches on as numerous buildings explode.In the version released on the Chinese streaming platform Tencent Video, however, the original’s anarchist ending is replaced with a black slate, captioned: “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding.” It also adds that Tyler was sent to a “lunatic system” for treatment.Palahniuk, who wrote the 1996 novel the film is based on, gave a sarcastic response to the altered ending in his newsletter on Substack.Have You Seen This Sh*t?This is SUPER wonderful! Everyone gets a happy ending in China! https://t.co/saVA2yro9B pic.twitter.com/20UzTi1nyI— Chuck Palahniuk (@chuckpalahniuk) January 25, 2022“Tyler and the gang were all arrested. He was tried and sentenced to a mental asylum.

Are films ever safe from the dicey scissors of Chinese or international censors? It appears not. A new version of David Fincher’s 1999 cult classic “Fight Club” has been released online in China and, in something of a surprise, has gotten a much happier ending.

Brad Pitt/Edward Norton) successfully detonating his anarchy cell’s “Project Mayhem” and bombing the Los Angeles skyline is swapped for a graphic indicating that authorities saved the day in the nick of time.“The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding,” reads the new ending on Chinese-based Tencent Video.FIGHT CLUB’s ending for the Chinese release (on Tencent Video) was changed to this and now I’m waiting for someone to fanfic a sequel based on this censored ending. pic.twitter.com/zYB0bY3Dlp“After trial, Tyler was sent to a lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDavid Fincher’s classic “Fight Club” has been given a different ending in China, where it’s now available on Tencent Video. The story of exactly how the new version came about is unsurprisingly murky, but it does provide something of a win-win situation for all parties.In the 1999 original, Edward Norton’s narrator character kills off his alter ego Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) before watching buildings burst into flames in apparent confirmation that his plan to destroy modern civilization is being executed.The version now playing on China’s largest video streamer, which is home to the country’s biggest selection of imported films, stops before the buildings explode.

Fight Club in which the ending has been changed from the original.Viewers using Tencent Video in China will see a different ending to David Fincher’s 1999 film, where the scene of exploding buildings is replaced with a black slate and a caption: “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding.”China has restrictive censorship rules, which could explain why the film’s original ending has been altered. NME has contacted Tencent Video for a response.Fight Club follows the story of a depressed insomniac man (Ed Norton) who meets a soap salesman called Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese video streaming firm iQiyi has teamed with Canada’s Wildbrain to jointly produce kids’ animation series “Jonny Jetboy.” The series was hatched by Keith Chapman, creator of “PAW Patrol” and “Bob The Builder” and will run to an initial forty 11-minute episodes.The story follows Jonny Jones, the youngest member of a family of heroes as he learns to become a superhero like his JetForce family. They are committed to protecting the high-tech city Calamity Canyon, from its many villains.

With the Winter Olympics set to begin next week in Beijing, a U.S. State Department human rights report paints a chilling picture of censorship, violence against reporters, and the suppression of dissent during the last Olympic Games held there. Even the Olympic torch relay was censored at the Beijing summer games of 2008 when dissidents protesting China’s occupation of Tibet were forcibly removed from the route by police, allegedly for their own protection.

PENTAGON have made their much-anticipated comeback with ‘Feelin’ Like’.The members of PENTAGON look suave in the cinematic new visual, which is set in a lavish art gallery filled with curious ornaments and sculptures. “You got me feelin’ like,” they sing, before launching into a series of intricate dance moves as the track shifts into its funky chorus.‘Feelin’ Like’ is the title track of their 12th mini-album ‘IN:VITE U’, which was released at the same time.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAdd another notch on “Spider-Man: No Way Home’s” long list of box office achievements.Over the weekend, Sony’s comic book adventure became the sixth-highest grossing movie in history with $1.69 billion at the global box office (not adjusted for inflation). It passed “Jurassic World” ($1.67 billion) and “The Lion King” ($1.66 billion) to secure that spot.Now in its sixth weekend of release, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” returned to the No.

Vine decides to mount a comeback, it should quickly and immediately license “After Yang.” Without exactly trying, South Korean–born American filmmaker Kogonada’s second feature offers a powerful, almost undeniable showcase for the narrative and emotional merits of extreme short-form video content. The delicately futuristic story of a family sent into a tailspin by the malfunction of its robotic servant and caretaker, “After Yang” examines the way that memory conveys meaning, very often when people absorb or revisit it from a perspective different from the way they originally experienced it.

coronavirus pandemic began.The documentary comes as China has renewed similar lockdowns in three other cities since mid-December to contain COVID-19 outbreaks. The number of people confined to their homes totaled some 20 million people in early January.The government's decision to commandeer Wuhan's hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients meant many people with other problems were turned away.The film begins with a woman in tears outside a hospital that wouldn't admit her husband for treatment of lung cancer.