Lawmakers Meet With Bob Iger, Hollywood Creatives To Express Concerns Over China Censorship And Beijing’s Influence

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Trinity CineAsia has acquired rights to Chinese tentpole action movie “Born to Fly,” and will release the film in cinemas in the U.K. and Ireland.

tried to sell the latter MonsterVerse sequel to Netflix for $200-$225 million before their co-financier Warner Bros. blocked the deal, eventually bought their share and released it globally.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic If the 14th annual TCM Classic Film Festival had an official focus, it was on the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros., from the opening night premiere selection of a restoration of “Rio Bravo” to a celebration of the 50th anniversary of “The Exorcist.” Almost equal in emphasis, though, by virtue of the guests brought in, was a celebration of the ingenues-turned-leading-ladies of the 1960s, who now represent the elder guard of a Hollywood golden age — Angie Dickinson, Ann-Margret and Shirley Jones. Dickinson had the highest profile of any star at the festival, being the belle of the ball at the Thursday screening of “Rio Bravo” in the big house at the TCL Chinese Theatres, where most of the screenings were held. But there was just as much outpouring of affection for Ann-Margret, who turned up for a Q&A (and birthday cake) following “Bye Bye Birdie” on Saturday, and Jones, who was joined by her son Shaun Cassidy and a slew of grandchildren after a showing of 1962’s “The Music Man” as the festival neared its end Sunday.

Located in the north of Tennessee, Nashville is known as the hometown of country music thanks to its thriving scene. With Taylor Swift moving to the city as a youngster to kick start her career and with Dolly Parton calling the area her home, it’s clear that Music City has the A-list stamp of approval. But despite its roots, Nashville is far more than a music hub for songwriters and fans alike.

winning the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Michell Yeoh has taken the statuette to her father’s grave in Malaysia. The 60-year-old shared a snap to her Instagram page on Wednesday that showed her visiting the burial ground for Qing Ming — a major Chinese festival where relatives go to the tombs of their ancestors to clean and make offerings of food.“Brought Mr.O home,” Yeoh wrote beneath a photo that showed her holding up her Oscar at the graveyard. “Without my parents’ love and trust and support … I wouldn’t be here today … love so much” Yeoh’s father, Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik, died in 2014 at the age of 89.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led a delegation of lawmakers last week for meetings in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, with an eye toward gathering information on how the two California-centric industries interact with Beijing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wanda, the Chinese conglomerate that once threatened to take over Hollywood, has put up for sale the Hoyts cinema chain in Australia that it bought in 2015. Hoyts is Australia’s second largest movie theater operator with 46 multiplexes housing 412 screens, according to 2022 data from Screen Australia. It also owns Val Morgan, Australia’s biggest cinema advertising firm.Wanda Cinema Line, itself China’s biggest theater operator, has appointed Credit Suisse and Nomura to handle the sale. Bidders are understood to have access to a “stapled debt” package (a line of agreed financing arranged by the banks) if the potential buyer cannot arrange sufficient finance of their own. A first deadline for bids is set at the beginning of May, with final offers to be submitted by the end of June.

Eva Mendes won’t be stepping out in public with Ryan Gosling anytime soon!

An American Bully dog show which was due to be held in Trafford has been cancelled amid concerns from animal welfare charities, police and the local council.

letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Johanthan Kanter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Rep.

In hot water. Kanye West is being sued by two former teachers from his school, Donda Academy, over several health, safety and educational violations.

Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and other industry executives are meeting privately this week with members of Congress to discuss how to respond to China’s strong-arm tactics to stifle and censor filmmakers.Several members of the House Select Committee On the Chinese Communist Party attended two meetings with filmmaker groups Wednesday, and plan to meet Friday with Apple Inc.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” launched to the top of box office charts, collecting a mighty $31.7 million on opening day. Ben Affleck’s sports drama “Air,” which also debuted on Wednesday, nabbed $3.2 million from 3,507 venues. After a bigger-than-expected opening day, estimates for Universal and Illumination’s big screen adaptation of the popular “Mario” video game have been revised up to $92 million over the traditional weekend and $141 million in its first five days of release. Those ticket sales continue a strong period at the box office following March releases, “Scream VI,” “Creed III,” “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.”

A dog who starred in the 1960s Disney movie about Greyfriars Bobby is set to be laid to rest near the real life grave of Scotland's most loyal companion. The on-screen Skye Terrier, also called Bobby, was gifted to former Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police William Merrilees by Walt Disney after the film was released.

American Idol is currently in the middle of Hollywood Week and there was some drama during the duet round, which aired during the episode on Monday night (April 3).

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent The stars and creatives behind Hulu’s “Tiny Beautiful Things” celebrated the premiere of their upcoming show at an ethereal and intimate event, presented by Hulu, ABC Signature and Variety. “Tiny Beautiful Things” stars Kathryn Hahn as an anonymous and revered advice columnist whose own life is falling apart. Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern are among the executive producers behind the buzzy show, which begins streaming on April 7 on Hulu. Adapted for television by Liz Tigelaar, “Tiny Beautiful Things” is based on Cheryl Strayed’s New York Times bestseller of the same name, which is comprised of a collection of essays from Strayed’s “Dear Sugar” advice column, which she wrote anonymously more than a decade ago.

Members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party plan to meet this week with Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as screenwriters and other studio executives.

Disney’s former head of communications Zenia Mucha is advising TikTok as the beleagued company fights calls to shut it down in the U.S. on security concerns, Deadline has confirmed. It’s already banned across the Federal government with President Biden recently ramping up demands that the global app’s Chinese parent sell the U.S. business to a company Stateside, or see it vanish.

A dad’s nightmare. Lionel Richie joked about the trouble Drew Barrymore and daughter Nicole Richie got into as teens — and how he somehow survived.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “Murder Mystery,” a cheeky pasteboard detective thriller-meets-middle-aged-romance that became a huge hit for Netflix four years ago, had the inspiration to team Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston as Nick and Audrey Spitz, a dweeby-sweet New York couple — he was a cop trying, and failing, to get promoted to detective; she was a hairdresser — whose marriage-on-auto-pilot needed a dose of shock therapy. They got it when they went on the European getaway that Nick, a compulsive cheapskate, had been promising Audrey for 15 years. The two wound up on a yacht, at a geezer aristocrat’s party, which turned out to be his death sentence as the moment he cut everyone there out of his will.