Legendary Entertainment CEO Joshua Grode on ‘Dune’ Success and Optimism for Future Theatrical Releases

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeWhen “Fresh Off the Boat” premiered in 2015, only a handful of shows with a predominantly Asian American cast had ever aired in primetime — and none of them lasted long. But the success of that ABC sitcom, which spanned six seasons, 116 episodes and made it to syndication, finally inspired a long-overdue boom in series and films featuring Asian American leads — including “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,” from “Fresh Off the Boat” producing partners Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar. “Fresh Off the Boat” may have ended, but Kasdan and Mar — who have been based at 20th TV for more than a dozen years — are continuing to lead TV’s expansion in Asian American and Pacific Islander representation.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorMunich-based Global Screen has acquired family entertainment film “School of Magical Animals 2” for worldwide distribution. A first teaser will be presented at the Cannes Market for the project, which has a budget of more than $13 million.

The Second City opened its doors in 1959 as a small comedy cabaret. It has since grown to become the world’s most influential name in improv comedy, boasting such prominent alumni as John Belushi, John Candy, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Keegan-Michael Key, Eugene Levy, and many more.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTheatrical box office in mainland China enjoyed a weekend bounce over the May Day holiday and a new market leader, despite a shortage of fresh titles and mounting cinema closures.Romantic comedy “Stay With Me” was the top-scoring new release title with $8.4 million (RMB55.4 million), according to data from Artisan Gateway, a consultancy and research firm. The film about long distance relationships, distributed by Enlight Pictures, deposed “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” which had held the top spot for three previous weekends. U.S.

Jennifer Grey, the star of the 1987 classicDirty Dancing, has written about her botched nose job in her new memoir. In the book, Out of the Corner: A Memoir, she revealed that she got a nose job because – even after the success of the film – “there didn’t seem to be a surplus of parts for actresses who looked like me” and she wanted to be cast as “something other than a Jew”.

Hopes that Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness would break the curse of Marvel movies not being released in China may now be dashed. The Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer has made waves on local social media over a scene in the opening bit of the sequel where a newspaper kiosk bears the Chinese characters for The Epoch Times, an international multi-language newspaper and media company which opposes the Chinese Communist Party.

Dan Aykroyd and wife Donna Dixon have called it quits after nearly 40 years of marriage. The "Ghostbusters" actor, 69, and Dixon told People magazine Friday they're embarking on separate paths. "After 39 years as a couple, we are now on separate life paths.

Big-screen pioneer Imax said it recorded a net non-cash provision of $6.9 million, or $0.12 per share, due to an increase in reserves given the uncertainty of collecting receivables in Russia. With the Russia-Ukraine war ongoing, sanctions and boycotts underway include all major studios pulling releases from Russia.

EXCLUSIVE: In their first-ever professional collaboration, top Asian-American fashion designers Prabal Gurung and Phillip Lim have joined the creative team for the upcoming Disney+ series American Born Chinese. The duo will work together with American Born Chinese costume designer Joy Cretton to design costumes for culturally significant characters from Chinese mythology and classic literature portrayed in the series by stars Michelle Yeoh and Daniel Wu.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNew York-headquartered documentary distributor Icarus Films has picked up all North American rights to Hong Kong protest film “Blue Island.” The film plays this week at the HotDocs Documentary Festival in Toronto, Canada.Directed by Chan Tze Woon (“Yellowing”), the film confronts the large-scale protests in Hong Kong, describing events through a mix of documentary footage and filmed reenactments. The distributor has not yet elaborated release plans, but says that it is taking booking requests from museums, arts organizations, film festivals and theaters across North America.“A new wave of young people took back the streets, as one generation after another has done throughout Hong Kong’s history.

Zack Sharf British television network ITV aired Sam Raimi’s 2002 superhero classic “Spider-Man” without one line of dialogue during an April 23 broadcast on ITV2. The network removed a joke in the movie deemed by many viewers over the years as blatantly homophobic. The line occurs early in the film when Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) enters a wrestling competition with his newfound superhero powers.“That’s a cute outfit.

PBS Boards Adrian Dunbar Detective Drama ‘Ridley’ For North American Distribution

EXCLUSIVE: 42 management has signed celebrated immersive theater company Punchdrunk for global representation in all areas.

EXCLUSIVE: 42 management has signed celebrated immersive theater company Punch Drunk for global representation in all areas.

When the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson used a speech at a business conference to wax lyrical about a weekend trip to Peppa Pig World back in November 2021, he was slammed as “rambling” and “embarrassing”.

Jude Law (Dumbledore) and Mads Mikkelsen (Grindelwald) play former lovers in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, takes out six seconds of the film in which Dumbledore utters the lines “I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love.”The film’s total run time is 143 minutes.“As a studio, we’re committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release, and that extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson told THR.“Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets.” The spokesperson added: “In the case of ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,’ a six-second cut was requested and Warner Bros.

(G)I-DLE’s Soyeon has revealed that she feels pressure to match up to the success of the group’s debut single, ‘LATATA’.Released in 2018, ‘LATATA’ was the group’s first-ever release and was an instant hit among K-pop listeners, peaking at Number 12 on the Goan Digital Chart and helping (G)I-DLE gain recognition in the crowded K-pop music industry. Notably, the trap-inspired pop song was largely written by Soyeon, who produced it alongside Big Sancho.In a recent interview with Indian entertainment television channel Zoom, Soyeon revealed that the success of ‘LATATA’ haunts her as she constantly feels the need to live up to the hit song.