Hear IVE’s Liz cover hits by Taeyeon and IU on ‘King of Masked Singer’

My Name Is Gabriel later this month, starring Park Bo-gum and other South Korean celebrities.Filmed in Chiang Mai, Chongqing, Guadalajara and Dublin, My Name Is Gabriel will follow the five celebrities as they are assigned new AI-generated lives and then sent to live in a foreign city. The upcoming series follows the entertainers as they try their hand at living ordinary lives for 72 hours.My Name Is Gabriel will star Reply 1988’s Park Bo-gum, The Worst of Evil’s Ji Chang-wook, comedian Park Myung-soo (Infinity Challenge), actress Yeom Hye-ran (The Glory) and TV host Gabee.In a new trailer for the series, the five stars reflect on their experiences from the show.

Lexi Carson Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival has unveiled its second wave of titles, which includes Ant Timpson’s “Bookworm” as the opening night film. This year’s edition, the 28th for the festival, will run from July 18 to August 4.

T-ARA singer Areum is reportedly currently under police investigation on charges of the alleged abuse, exploitation and neglect of her two children.South Korean news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily reported on June 4 that the Gwangmyeong Police Station in Gyeonggi had handed Areum over to the Ansan branch of the Suwon Prosecutors’ Office on charged of the alleged the abuse, exploitation and neglect of her two children.Her mother is also said to be involved and is being simultaneously investigated on exploitation charges, with both women reportedly being barred from making contact with Areum’s sons.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office had previously dismissed the case in early-May, after police failed to find corroborating evidence against either party.However, the publication reports that experts had concluded that Areum’s claims against her ex-husband were as “not reliable” after analysing testimonies by the two children. The outlet reports that Lee is now being suspected of pressuring her children into making such statements about their father.Investigations into Areum first began after her ex-husband, businessman Kim Young-gul, filed a complaint to police against her and her mother in February this year.

SM Entertainment has issued a statement denying allegations that NCT members Johnny and Haechan are involved in a sex scandal.The allegations of a sex scandal involving NCT’s Johnny and Haechan began swriling on social media earlier this week on June 3 after several Japanese users of the platform X (formerly Twitter) uploaded a string of posts claiming that the two idols were involved in a sexual affair with three girls during a recent visit to Tokyo, Japan.The accusations then went viral among netizens and fans alike, with the incident even making it onto national South Korean news after the stock price of SM Entertainment began to crash amid the rumours.The posts first arose from the account @kira_ceo_main, which – according to Koreaboo – is said to belong to “a well-known figure in the Japanese nightlife industry who helps connect girls who want to work in nightlife to host bars, clients and plastic surgery sponsors”.One post from the account also claimed that the girls involved all worked in nightlife industry as cabaret hostesses. It also included a set of photos as alleged evidence of the activity, including pictures of the hotel’s name, key card, room interiors as well as people involved, although none were explicitly identified.The alleged girls involved in the scandal with the two Korean idols have also seemingly leaked text conversations with Johnny in particular.

Cornerstone has closed worldwide distribution deals for Andrea Arnold’s latest feature film Bird, which debuted at last month’s Cannes Film Festival. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off the Cannes Film Festival where it won several awards, Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed of The Sacred Fig” has been acquired by a flurry of high profile distributors in major international territories. Films Boutique, which represents the critically acclaimed political drama globally, has sold it to Lionsgate for the U.K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two South Korean superstars Gianna Jun and Gang Dong-won head the cast of “Tempest,” an espionage action drama series being readied by streaming service Disney+ for release next year. The contemporary Korea-set story sees Jun portray a highly-accomplished diplomat and former ambassador to the U.S.

HYBE and its subsidiary label ADOR has emerged as one of the most high profile feuds we’ve witnessed in K-pop in recent memory.ADOR, which houses popular K-pop girl group NewJeans, is helmed by former SM Entertainment creative director Min Hee-jin and was once poised to become one of HYBE’s most lucrative labels. However, it is now at the centre of an alleged power struggle over the treatment and management of NewJeans and future creative projects under ADOR.Founded in November 2021, Min Hee-jin launched the label after two years as HYBE’s Chief Brand Officer.

The 8 Show. Chun Woo-hee recently sat for an interview with South Korean outlet The Chosun Daily to speak about her latest project, The 8 Show, which premiered on Netflix on May 17.

The Korean Herald reports.Despite being rushed to the hospital, the singer died an hour after her body was found.An autopsy of her death showed that Ram was also suffering from fatty liver disease, as well as liver lesions, according to a Korean news outlet.Namyangju Police Station filed a report that the singer was drinking with her friends, the outlet added. She excused herself to go to the bathroom at around 9:55 p.m.

Jim Halterman Spoiler Alert: The following interview discusses events from “The Good Doctor” series finale “Goodbye,” streaming on Hulu as of May 22. If you’re looking for the right prescription for a solid series finale consisting of high emotional stakes, happy and sad tearful moments followed by a big dose of hope, then “The Good Doctor” delivered on all of those elements in Tuesday’s series finale, which wrapped up seven seasons on ABC. The drama, which premiered on September 20, 2017, followed the journey of autistic surgeon Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) as he grew from surgical resident not only to being a successful doctor at San Jose’s St. Bonaventure Hospital, but also a husband, father and friend to the colleagues he worked with over the years.

SEVENTEEN have announced their ‘Follow Again’ tour, the new encore leg of their ‘Follow’ Asia tour.Today (January 29), SEVENTEEN announced the encore leg of their tour, titled the ‘Follow Again’ tour. It’ll feature six shows in March and May this year, in the East Asian cities of Incheon, Osaka and Yokohama.“We have prepared the encore tour as a token of gratitude towards Carat, who have shown love for the band,” their agency PLEDIS Entertainment said in a press release, per Korea JoongAng Daily.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The 27-member European Film Agency Directors Association and the Asian Film Alliance Network, which was established this time last year and currently has seven members, have agreed to work together on topics of common interest and to jointly develop a better world film ecosystem. At a meeting this week held on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival, EFAD and AFAN promised to enhance understanding and collaboration between Asian and European national film agencies. Topics included: dialog on policy and regulations; the development of the film industry in both regions; and addressing new media and challenges ahead. Separately, the founding AFAN members convened for a closed-door roundtable discussion on May 16.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Local blockbuster, “The Roundup: Punishment” extended its dominance of the South Korea theatrical box office for a fourth weekend. That lifted its cumulative total to a powerful $75 million. “Punishment,” the fourth part of a brutal action comedy film franchise produced by and starring Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok), earned $3.05 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

Britain's Got Talent viewers were left complaining over an act that seem to be 'already famous' after last night's auditions.

K-pop boy band Blitzers appeared on Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday night - but it was quickly pointed out that the group are already successful. A band member said: “We are the first K-pop band to be on Britain’s Got Talent and from here we have a dream to go to Wembley Stadium. We have a lot of fans in South Korea so we would love to be famous in the UK.” They went on to explain that they are already famous in South Korea having released five singles and winning awards after they formed in 2021.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hit crime thriller “The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon” received 13 nominations for the upcoming Taipei Film Festival’s Taipei Film Awards. These include nominations for best feature, best director, best screenplay, best actor, best supporting actress, and best supporting actor.

EXCLUSIVE: Focus Features has acquired U.S. rights and select international territories on upcoming thriller Last Breath, starring Woody Harrelson, Finn Cole and Simu Liu. Focus will distribute the Alex Parkinson-directed title in the U.S. with Universal Pictures International handling select territories including France, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam. 

Forbes has released its annual 30 Under 30 list for 2024 in Asia, which features the likes of Voice Of Baceprot, IVE and more.Released today (May 16), the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list shines a light on individuals aged below 30 who have made a significant impact in their respective fields, including entertainment and sports, science and activism, entrepreneurship and more.This year’s entertainment and sports portion of the list is headlined by Indonesian metallers and stars of NME’s The Cover, Voice Of Baceprot. Trailing behind them are K-pop outfit IVE, Japanese pop-rock group Atarashii Gakko!, Filipino rapper Ez Mil, Indian rapper Arpan Kumar Chandel (aka King), Japanese singer Aina The End and Indonesia’s Mahalini Raharja.The list also includes Chinese-New Zealand actress Jess Hong, Thai singer-actor Vachirawit Chivaaree, also known as Bright, and Indian singer-songwriter Pavithra Chari.This year’s North American 30 Under 30 list featured the likes of Boygenius, Ethel Cain, Dominic Fike, Gracie Abrams, Latto, Reneé Rapp, Ice Spice, Peso Pluma, Trippie Redd, Kali Uchis and more.This year’s European 30 Under 30 list features PinkPantheress, Nia Archives, Cat Burns, FLO, Holly Humberstone and more.Last year’s Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 list included K-pop girl groups NewJeans and Le Sserafim, Cambodian rapper VannDa, Singaporean singer Shye, South Korean singer LØREN, Indian singer-rapper Ambika Nayak – known professionally as Kayan – and Hong Kong singer Michael “MC” Cheung Tin-fu.The entertainment and sports category of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list was judged by ONE Championship co-founder and Group President Hua Fung Teh and Caldecott Music Group CEO and founder Kuok Meng Ru.

Jamie Lang International sales and distribution outfit Pink Parrot Media has closed several key deals for Doce Entertainment and Mr. Miyagi Films’ animated kids and family feature “Hanna and the Monsters.” Agreements have been made with World Visions for CIS, Boxoo for South Korea, Front Row for the Middle East, GPI for the Baltics, Cinetel for Hungary, Wediacorp for Turkey and Movie Company for Benelux.