Leonard Cohen estate sells songwriting catalogue to Hipgnosis

Gemma Chan is making things happen for an Anna May Wong biopic.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefColumbia Pictures’ 2021 horror-thriller “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” has been given official approval to release in cinemas in mainland China. It will launch on Saturday April 2, 2022.Directed by Adam Robitel, it is the sequel to the psychological thriller “Escape Room” that terrified audiences around the world in 2019. In the new installment, six people unwittingly find themselves locked in another series of escape rooms, slowly uncovering what they have in common to survive.The film was released in many international markets and in North America in July last year.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios is negotiating a feature deal on the Shipli Somaya Gowda novel Secret Daughter, with an impressive package that has Chinese helmer Anthony Chen (llo llo, Wet Season) attached to direct Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sienna Miller in the lead roles. Shruti Ganguly will adapt the novel.

After moving to reduced capacity earlier this month amid a surge in Covid cases, China’s Shanghai Disney Resort has opted to temporarily shutter beginning today.

The United Kingdom continued a long tradition of anti-LGBTQ action as bans on gay marriage in the UK’s territories of the Cayman Islands and Bermuda were upheld by the country’s Privy Council, the highest appeals court for many UK Caribbean territories.The Privy Council upheld existing bans on marriage equality in both the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, citing the fact that same-sex nuptials are explicitly banned under their respective, independent constitutions.According to PinkNews, both the Cayman Islands and Bermuda have legalized — and subsequently re-criminalized — gay marriage.In the Cayman Islands, gay marriage was temporarily legalized in March 2019 after a lesbian couple sued to have their marriage recognized by the government. But authorities appealed the lower court’s decision, resulting in a reversal – although the appeals court said that the government had to provide “legal status equivalent to marriage” for same-sex couples.The couple then appealed to the Privy Council, which sided with the appeals court in upholding the ban.In Bermuda, the government legalized gay marriage in May 2017 in response to an ongoing legal battle, but the government later recriminalized the practice in 2018 before once again legalizing it that same year.

Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman released in China today, getting off to an RMB 23.3M ($3.7M) start, including previews. The inauspicious bow was expected given that about 35% of the market’s cinemas have been temporarily shuttered amid a new Covid spike. The good news is that the film has a strong 9 score on platforms Tao Piao Piao and Maoyan. The latter is currently predicting an RMB 194.3M ($30.5M) final tally for the Caped Crusader’s full run.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe shares of China’s largest entertainment and tech companies plunged for a second day on Tuesday as Russia’s war in Ukraine, regulatory warnings and China’s slowing economy all combined to signal tougher times ahead.Alibaba shares crashed 11.7% to reach an all-time low of HK$71.2 in Hong Kong, where they have a secondary listing. Tencent shares plunged by 10.2% to HK$298, their lowest in several years. Both companies have in the past held the title of China’s largest enterprise and are major components of the Hang Seng Index of leading equities.The Hang Seng Index fell by more than 1,000 points and by nearly 6% on Tuesday to close at 18,415.

Reuters) based on comments by Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Cinema, a government body in charge of licensing and censoring foreign films.Reps for Sony did not respond to a request for comment.Vietnam previously banned the 2019 animated film “Abominable” and asked Netflix to make changes to a series last year called “Pine Gap” for the same reason. “Uncharted” is scheduled to open in China on Monday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Inu-Oh,” the acclaimed Japanese animation that debuted in Venice and Toronto last year, has been sold widely by Fortissimo Films and Asmik Ace.Amsterdam and Beijing based Fortissimo is collaborating with Tokyo-based Asmik Ace on two titles, “Inu-oh” by Yuasa Masaaki and “Missing” by Katayama Shinzo, a former assistant director to “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho on “Mother.”Rock musical animation “Inu-Oh” was licensed to Sun Distribution for Latin America, to Rapid Eye for Germany, Front Row in the Middle East and Cinemaran in Spain. Asmik Ace handles Asian territories, North America, France, U.K. and Benelux.

Dolly Parton has shared her feelings on selling the rights to her back catalogue, as some of her peers have done recently, in a new interview.The likes of Neil Diamond, Sting, Bob Dylan, ZZ Top, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks and more have all sold their back catalogues in recent months and years.Asked in an interview with the BBC if she was also planning to do the same, Parton replied: “I would not be above doing that. All I would do then is to take that money and do whatever for my family or other businesses.“Then I would start a whole new publishing company, start over in a few years, sell that too if I wanted to.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSome cinemas in central Shanghai were closed from Friday in reaction to a surge in coronavirus cases in the city and other parts of China. The Shanghai Disneyland theme park announced partial restrictions that take effect from Saturday. On Saturday, Chinese authorities announced that a total of 1,649 new cases in the country had been discovered on Friday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe family of legendary singer-songwriter Nat King Cole, one of the most important and influential musicians of the 20 th century, has entered into an agreement with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group to manage and expand his legacy to new generations, the company announced today.Details of the transaction were not disclosed, beyond the fact that it “encompasses a broad range of rights from Cole’s legendary career including his recorded music, publishing, television shows, and name and likeness.”In the decades before his 1965 death from lung cancer at the age of just 45, Cole scored more than 150 singles across Billboard’s pop, R&B, and country charts and has sold an estimated 50 million-plus records worldwide. While best known as a crooner, he was a formidable jazz musician as well, and is best known for classics like “The Very Thought of You,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “Unforgettable,” “Nature Boy,” “Stardust,” “When I Fall In Love,” “Mona Lisa,” “L-O-V-E,” and the holiday staple, “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).” As the announcement notes, Cole, who was born in Alabama in 1919, was subjected to all the barriers of the Jim Crow era, yet his success played no small role in advancing Black Americans’ presence in entertainment and public perception.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMemento International has sold Ursula Meier’s drama “The Line” to major markets, including the U.S. with Strand Releasing, on the heels of its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.A poignant study of acceptance and delicate family bonds, “The Line” stars Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (“La Fracture”) and Stephanie Blanchoud (“Ennemi Public”) as a mother and daughter whose turbulent relationship and explosive fight lead to a retraining order.

Hipgnosis Song Management has announced a big old deal via its Blackstone-backed venture Hipgnosis Songs Capital ICAV to acquire a stack of rights in the songs catalogue of Leonard Cohen for an undisclosed sum.In total, the deal covers 278 songs and derivatives, including the all-important ‘Hallelujah’ – which has been covered more than 300 times. For songs written from the start of Cohen’s career through to 2000, Hipgnosis has acquired the writer’s share of royalties.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief‘The Battle at Lake Changjin II’ headed the mainland Chinese box office for the fifth successive weekend as cinemas await significant new content. “Changjin II” earned $7.5 million over the latest weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. The increment expanded the film’s aggregate to $626 million since release on Feb.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Song Management has acquired the song catalog of Leonard Cohen, poet, novelist, performer and one of the most influential songwriters of the past 50 years. The Canadian-born artist, who died in 2016 at the age of 82, is an inductee of both the Songwriters Hall Of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.Hipgnosis has acquired rights in all 278 songs and derivatives written by Leonard Cohen, including “Hallelujah,” which has been covered more than 300 times.

Neil Diamond has sold his entire songwriting and recording catalogue to Universal Music Publishing Group for an undisclosed amount.In addition to his publishing and masters, the deal includes 110 unreleased tracks, an unreleased album, and archival video footage.According to Rolling Stone, UMG will also handle any future Neil Diamond music if the musician decides to record any new music.“After nearly a decade in business with UMG, I am thankful for the trust and respect that we have built together and I feel confident in the knowledge that Lucian, Jody, Bruce, Michelle, and the global team at UMG, will continue to represent my catalog and future releases with the same passion and integrity that have always fueled my career,” Diamond said in a statement about the sale.Lucian Grainge, UMG’s chairman and CEO, added: “Neil Diamond is by definition, a truly universal songwriter. His immense songbook and recordings encompass some of the most cherished and enduring songs in music history.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBerlinale Competition title “Return to Dust,” written and directed by China’s Li Ruijun, has been sold to Modern Films for U.K. and Ireland, and BTeam Pictures for Spain.