Korea’s Finecut Adds Horror-Thriller ‘Noise’ To EFM Slate

“Every year, there is another.” Dropped on Twitter last past weekend, a cryptic teaser that fans had to decipher and translate, Neon showed us all—even those who didn’t understand what they were seeing—the first look at “Longlegs.” An FBI horror thriller that sounds a little like “Silence Of The Lambs” in its mix of crime agencies and horror films, the movie is written and directed by Oz Perkins, the filmmaker behind “The Blackcoat’s Daughter,” “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House” and episodes of “The Twilight Zone” (Perkins is also an actor and the son of classic Hollywood actor Anthony Perkins).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Citizen of a Kind,” a comedy-drama about a woman who takes matters into her own hands after becoming the victim of a scam, fulfilled its promise from an earlier week of previews. “Citizen” topped the South Korean box office on its opening weekend, accounting for a more than 40% market share.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Concrete Utopia,” the highly regarded drama-thriller that was South Korea’s Oscars contender and one of the biggest box office hits of 2023, has scored a streaming release in North America. Rakuten Viki, which specializes in Asian content, has licensed exclusive rights to the film in the U.S. and Canada and will begin streaming it to North American audiences from Friday.

NewJeans, BTS’ Jungkook, H1-KEY and more.Today (January 26), the annual Korean awards ceremony unveiled its full list of nominees on its official website. The ceremony honours mainstream and underground musicians across a variety of genres, and distributes awards based on the recommendations of its panel.The 21st Korean Music Awards ceremony will take place on February 29 at 8pm KST, and will be streamed live on the PRIZM app.K-pop girl group NewJeans, rapper Beenzino and indie rock band Silica Gel received five nominations each, including Musician of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year, as well as Best Song and Best Album nominations in their respective genre categories.NewJeans notably won both Best K-pop Song and Best K-pop Album at last year’s ceremony, as well as Rookie of the Year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lotte Cultureworks will launch “Holy Night: Demon Hunters,” likely to be one of the biggest Korean movies of the year, at next month’s European Film Market in Berlin. The occult-themed action movie stars Don Lee, the Korean-American superstar who also fronts “The Roundup” comedy-action franchise. The fourth instalment in that series “The Roundup: Punishment” will have its world premiere in the Berlin festival’s Berlinale Special section, with Lee expected to be in attendance, giving Lotte some additional momentum with the new title launch.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Iconic Hollywood musical film “La La Land” is to re-release (again) in South Korean theaters from Wednesday. Distributed by Pancinema, it will play at the country’s Imax cinemas for a one-week limited run with tickets costing upwards of KRW15,000 ($11.25) for adults. The film was directed by Damien Chazelle and stars Ryan Gosling (newly Oscar-nominated for his role as Ken in “Barbie”) and Emma Stone, and holds the box office record for movie musicals with global box office of $470 million. It recently re-released in cinemas in China in time for the Christmas peak season.

(G)I-DLE‘s new single ‘Wife’ from broadcast on the network due to “sexually explicit” lyrics.The announcement was made earlier today (January 24), after KBS had conducted a review of the song’s eligibility for national broadcast after it was released on January 22. According to Yonhap News Agency, (G)I-DLE’s ‘Wife’ contained “many metaphorical lyrics with sexual nuances”, however neither the outlet nor broadcaster outlined specific details.KBS also announced that (G)I-DLE’s upcoming song ‘Rollie’, which will be released on Friday (January 29) alongside their album ‘[2]’, has also been banned from broadcast due to product placement in its lyrics.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Webtoons, the digital comics that have been the source material for scores of Korean films and TV series, are to receive a major boost from the South Korean government. Yu In-chon, minister for culture, sports and tourism, on Tuesday said that the government will foster webtoon platform development, launch a major webtoon festival in the autumn of this year and by 2027 open a school dedicated to the emerging genre. Webtoons emerged in the early years of the 21st century shortly after the mass market a acceptance of smart phones – a technology sector where Korea’s Samsung Electronics is a major manufacturer – and are vertically-scrolling comics designed for consumption on a small screen. As a relatively new medium webtoons have escaped some of the strictures of Japan’s manga business or the cartoon industry in other countries. Instead, they have diverse story genres, are cheap to produce, which allows creators from non-professional backgrounds to participate, and have been quickly internationalized through multi-lingual translations and overseas platforms.

Super Rich in Korea, hosted by GOT7‘s BamBam.Today (January 23), Netflix unveiled details for its upcoming reality TV show, titled Super Rich in Korea. According to a press release by the streaming service, the series will follow “the ultra-luxurious lives of the world’s wealthiest in the heart of Korea”.Super Rich in Korea will feature personalities such as South Korean figure Yoo Hee-ra, Singaporean entrepreneur David Yong and Arab social media celebrity Noor Naim, among others.Netflix says the show will “unveil a realm where luxury cars and haute couture are everyday sights, and exclusive parties are the norm.

It appears that filming on the Wicked movies has ended!

Ariana Grande is still going strong with Ethan Slater.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean rights sales firm Finecut is to handle the international distribution of “A Traveler’s Needs,” which on Monday was confirmed as debuting in the main competition section of next month’s Berlinale. Remarkably, it is director Hong Sang-soo’s sixth selection for Berlin since 2020. The picture is also the third time that French acting icon Isabelle Huppert stars in a film by the Korean veteran director, following their previous joint efforts “Claire’s Camera” and “In Another Country.” A synopsis provided reads: “She came from France.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Time traveling-fantasy-adventure movie “Alienoid 2” was a comfortable winner at the South Korea box office over the weekend. But with few fresh films on release the cinema-going market slowed. “Alienoid 2” earned $2.06 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That was down by 42% compared with its opening session a week earlier and leaves it with a total of $7.96 million after 12 days on release. The first instalment of “Alienoid” was one of the biggest flops of 2022.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Sound of Freedom,” the indie action-drama film that earned some $184 million at the North American box office, has set a significant theatrical release in South Korea. Angel Studios, the crowd-funded Utah-based production and distribution firm behind the film, initially set up direct-to-theater releases for the film’s first international outings in the U.K., Australia and Latin America. In Korea, rights have been licensed in conventional fashion by the N.E.W. – Contents Panda group, which plans to give the picture a release from Feb. 21, 2024.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning,’ a Korean-made animated horror film, has been added to the European Film Market slate of sales agent Finecut. The picture is derived from a novel and webtoon that are among the most successful in Korean history, about four individuals bestowed with special powers rooted in religion, the supernatural, and legend. The book sold 10 million copies and recorded 238 million views online. The film’s narrative is an origin story and recounts the first adventure of the foursome – an excommunicated priest, a young woman with telekinesis, a man who lost his sister to a malevolent spirit, and a child prodigy skilled in arcane magic.

UK’s Jack Thorne-Backed TV Access Project Finds New Lead

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean film sales agent Finecut has picked up international distribution rights to “Noise,” a contemporary horror film by first time director Kim Soo-jin. The film will be launched next month a the European film Market in Berlin. The story follows a woman with a hearing impediment who is haunted by sounds linking to her sister’s disappearance and the presence of a malevolent spirit.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sci-fi fantasy comedy “Alienoid 2” opened on top of the South Korean box office with $3.57 million on a weekend that otherwise saw five animation titles and a political documentary in the top ten. The big-budget, time-traveling “Alienoid 2” earned $3.57 million between Friday and Sunday with a market share of 39% and $4.77 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. Imax reports that some $370,000 of the film’s total was earned from 24 Imax screens. The film was made as a two-parter.

Fans want the internet to apologize to Ariana Grande over how she’s been treated for her relationship with Ethan Slater.

Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, and the period action pic 12.12: The Day, from Korea, lead the nominations at this year’s Asian Film Awards.