Korean Drama Obsession Explored in Anthony Chen-Produced ‘Ajoomma’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFurther underlining Asia as a bright spot for Netflix, following the company’s otherwise disappointing global results this week, the streamer has strengthened its position as the SVOD leader in Taiwan, according to a new report.Consultancy, Media Partners Asia’s latest analysis of the Taiwan video market ‘Taiwan Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics’ shows that total paying SVOD subscribers in Taiwan reached 4.1 million at the end of 2021. Netflix was the clear leader with 850,000 subscribers or a roughly 21% market share.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed Korean filmmaker Kim Yong-hwa, one of the most important figures in the Korean screen industry.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine has set Chinese-Italian co-production “The Italian Recipe” as the opening title of a revived, largely in-person event.The film, directed by Hou Zuxin, sees an unexpected series of events bring together a Chinese reality TV show contestant and a woman already resident in Italy. The collision of personalities, connections and chemistry between stars Liu Xun and Yao Huang resemble those of “Roman Holiday,” festival organizers suggest.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAs the Cannes Film Festival will announce its Official Selection on Thursday, Variety is starting to get a slightly clearer picture of what 75th edition will look like, though fewer titles than usual have leaked. Led by Cannes’ artistic director and general delegate Thierry Fremaux, the selection committee has been flooded with late submissions and is now in the thick of deliberations.Most surprisingly, according to two well-informed sources, there will even be a David Lynch feature film which has been completely off the radar and stars Laura Dern — either as a cameo or a supporting role — along with some other Lynch regulars.We already know the sun-dappled celebration will land several high-profile films from U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe release of “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and “Ambulance” gave Hollywood a rare one-two-three at the South Korean box office over the weekend. But neither newcomer managed to earn $1 million in another deeply depressed session.“Sonic 2” earned $843,000 over the weekend and $979,000 over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the theatrical tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).“Ambulance” earned $450,000 between Friday and Sunday and a total of $674,000 over its five days since release on Wednesday.

BTS.On the most recent episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, was released on April 6, the 41-year-old rapper discussed his thoughts about the K-pop boyband with co-hosts Ice, Ish and Parks Vallely, during which he said: “You can get mad at me… but I hate them BTS n***as.”When asked by his co-hosts to elaborate, Budden said: “Do I need a reason? … I hate them n****s. I don’t have to divulge my reason to you, I just hate them n****s.

EXCLUSIVE: Horror-thriller All Fun And Games, starring Asa Butterfield (Sex Education) and Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things), begins production today in Canada with joining cast including Benjamin Evan Ainsworth — who has the title role in Disney’s upcoming Pinocchio — Keith David (Greenleaf) and Annabeth Gish (The Fall of the House of Usher).

Tiffany Young sang an a cappella, bilingual rendition of the song ‘For Good’, from the popular stage musical Wicked.In a new video interview with Elle Korea, the Girls’ Generation member opened up about the stage musical roles she would like to play after her successful run as Roxie Hart in the South Korean production of Chicago. The singer named Glinda the Good Witch from Wicked (originated by Kristin Chenoweth) as the role that she hoped to tackle next.Young then launched into an impromptu, partial rendition of ‘For Good’, in both English and Korean, from the long-running musical, before recalling her emotional experience watching the production.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKorean-made series have continued to dominate viewership on Netflix, following on from the breakout successes of “Squid Game” and “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” in 2021.For ten of the 13 weeks in the first quarter so far this year, Korean shows have held top spot in Netflix’s global non-English series ranking. Romantic comedy “Business Proposal” is currently the top non-English series for the third week in a row (March 28-April 3, 2022), and is Netflix’s third-ranking series of all origins, behind only “Bridgerton” (seasons 1 and season 2) with over 32 million watch hours.“Business Proposal” has played particularly strongly in Asia, ranking as the top series in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam and in second place in India and Sri Lanka in the last week.

NCT Dream have opened up about their thoughts on the group’s diverse discography and their approach to music.In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the boyband shared that they favoured experimenting with different genres as a means to truly express the group’s sound. In the past year, NCT Dream have released songs such as the hip-hop-inspired ‘Glitch Mode’, the Latin-influenced ‘Hot Sauce’, pop anthem ‘Hello Future’ and more.“I feel like if we follow the mainstream tracks, NCT Dream could lose the path that we’re trying to walk on,” Renjun explained.

Netflix has added nine actors to the cast for XO, Kitty its upcoming To All The Boys spinoff series. Joining as series regulars are Choi Min-yeong (Dream Palace), Anthony Keyvan (Genera+ion), Gia Kim, Sang Heon Lee, Peter Thurnwald (Players) and Regan Aliyah (Club Mickey Mouse). They will appear opposite Anna Cathcart who takes on the titular role. The series comes from co-showrunners and executive producer Jenny Han and Sascha Rothchild.

Rebecca Souw Korean media conglomerate, CJ ENM Tuesday announced the launch of a new production arm. It is expected to focus on producing content for exclusively streaming platforms in Korea and overseas.The unit, named CJ ENM Studios, will be the group’s third TV production hub after drama production powerhouse Studio Dragon (“Crash Landing on You,” “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha,” and “Sweet Home”) and U.S.-based premium global content firm, Endeavor Content, acquired earlier this year.CJ ENM also controls the Tving streaming platform that sees itself as a challenger to Netflix within Korea and which also has ambitions to ride the Korean wave and build a significant overseas presence.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBanijay has picked up multi-territory format rights to two Korean reality shows which it will begin pitching this week at the MipTV market in Cannes.From Korean broadcaster and producer MBC, Banijay has picked up format rights to competition show “Bloody Game” in France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands. From CJ ENM, it has acquired rights in the Nordics, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Australia to relationship format, “EXchange.”“Bloody Game” launched in Korea in November last year, helping draw subscribers to Wavve, a joint venture streaming platform, in which MBC is a partner. The show is nominated for a C21 Format Award, with the winner revealed during MipTV.

Naman Ramachandran Seven of the nine features selected for the Korean competition at the Jeonju International Film Festival (Apr. 28-May 7) are directed by women.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTrustNordisk, which is at the Canneseries Festival (Apr. 1-6) with “The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen,” has scored a raft of deals on Christian Tafdrup’s psychological horror film “Speak No Evil.”The Sundance film follows a Danish family who befriends a Dutch family while vacationing in Tuscany.

NEW YORK -- Korean pop star Luna is ready to make her Broadway debut this fall in the musical "KPOP" and she's already dreaming of who might be there on opening night — like BTS.“I would be thankful if they showed up on opening night,” Luna told The Associated Press through her translator.She also wants fans and other stars to show up, too.“This is New York City, it’s got its own celebrities and also audiences who would enjoy this. So, I would love to see New York celebrities, as well as Hollywood celebrities,” Luna said.Luna was introduced at a press event for the musical Wednesday at the Korean Cultural Center in New York.Luna began her musical career as a member of the popular K-pop group f(x) before becoming a solo artist.

reported Deadline. “KPOP” will feature Korean superstar Luna, 28, who has been in the Korean productions of “Mamma Mia” and “In the Heights,” as well as several movies and TV shows.