Liam Neeson, Jonathan Hensleigh Take ‘The Ice Road 2’ Shoot to Australia

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Margot Robbie, lead actor and producer of “Barbie,” is to be awarded the AACTA Trailblazer Award next month by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. Hailing originally from Queensland, the presentation will be a homecoming of sort for Robbie. The award will be presented to her at the 2024 AACTA Awards Ceremony on Feb.

It may not seem like the weather for ice cream, but one family business delivering desserts to people's doors is in huge demand.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sony Pictures‘ “Madame Web,” a standalone origin story in the studio’s array of “Spider-Man”-based Marvel characters, has been granted a theatrical release in mainland China. The film will open in the country on March 1 — two weeks after the title’s Valentine’s Day bow in North America and multiple international territories, including the Chinese-language markets of Taiwan and Hong Kong. The release marks a welcome opportunity for Sony, which, along with the other traditional studios faced difficulty in securing theatrical runs in China over recent years.

Courting have spoken to NME about the making of second album ‘New Last Name’, which features The Cribs’ Ryan and Gary Jarman on co-production duties. Check out our interview with the band and the Jarman brothers below, where they also open up about the current era of indie and comparisons with The 1975.The “raucously fun” Courting debut ‘Guitar Music’ was released in 2022 and saw the Liverpool four-piece push back against labels of ‘post-punk’ via auto-tuned vocals and rave-inspired breakdowns.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Three Japanese films enjoying their world premieres, along with festival favorites “City of Wind” and “Solids by the Seashore,” are set to appear in the 13-title competition section of the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March. The event will be held March 1-10 at venues including ABC Hall, Cine Libre Umeda, T-Joy Umeda and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art. The opening and closing films will be announced in early February. The 19th edition of the festival, which will eventually contain 55 feature and short films, is set to also include three special programs – a “Thai Cinema Kaleidoscope,” “Taiwan: Movies on the Move,” and “Special Focus on Hong Kong” – as well as its regular Spotlight Section on underrated Asian films and the Indie Forum of more challenging and innovative works. The competition titles are: “City of Wind,” by Mongolia’s Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir; “Fire on Water,” by Malaysia’s Sun-J Perumal; “Hyphen,” by The Philippines Joy Arnaldo; “The Lyricist Wannabe,” by Hong Kong’s Norris Wong; “The Missing,” by The Philippines’ Carl Joseph E.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Media and entertainment veteran Kim Williams is to be appointed the next chairperson of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian federal prime minister Anthony Albanese’s office announced on Wednesday. Williams takes over from the departing Ita Buttrose and will have a five-year mandate. He joins at a moment when the ABC is enduring a moment of editorial turbulence.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam has unveiled titles from seven different Asian countries for its competition section. The festival will play at the Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and Rialto VU venues March 5-10, 2024. The event will close with the out-of-competition screening of “Gaga,” a drama about indigenous communities in Taiwan, directed by Laha Mebow. “Gaga” documents the challenges faced by a commune after the death of a respected tribal elder who, while alive, had held things together.

The Office is one of the best comedies in television history, but did you know that Steve Carell almost didn’t play the iconic role of Michael Scott?

It's been a big week for Kerry Katona, who went under the knife for a blepharoplasty, a surgery which removes excess skin from the eyelids. And someone who helped her make the decision to go ahead with the operation was a close friend Katie Price, who is no stranger to surgery and has undergone the procedure in the past. Chatting exclusively to OK! just hours after her surgery, which was performed at Pall Mall Medical in Merseyside, Kerry shared: "Katie said to me, ‘Getting your eyes done is a walk in the park,’ and it was actually.There was a slight bit of burning and that was it." “Seeing Katie in the flesh made me want to do it more because she looks amazing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian actor Rebel Wilson has been named as the emcee of the 2024 edition of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards. Wilson will take to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 10. Two days earlier, on Feb.

The US Sun on Friday. “I would certainly show up,” the actress enthused about a possible reboot.

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 Film and TV Producers’ Groups Call for Government Regulation of Streamers, Protection of Indie Sector Against ‘Market Failure’ and Loss of IP Streaming platforms could be subject to tighter regulation and forced to loosen their control of intellectual property if national governments heed a call for action launched Thursday by film and TV producers’ trade organizations around the world. The “global screen producers’ statement on streaming platform regulation and intellectual property protections,” was published by some 20 groups including Australia’s Screen Producers Association, Germany’s Produzentenverband, Screen Producers Ireland, multinational Spanish-language group Federación Iberoamericana de Productores Cinematográficos y Audiovisuales and Belgium’s Union des Producteur.ices Francophones de Films & Series. They say that they, “share a commitment to securing regulation from our respective governments that will ensure that our industry continues to both be sustainable and maintains our nation’s cultural sovereignty.” Among the nine principles, that the groups want governments to follow, two stand out and would likely require regulation.

ACF Investment Bank, which helped with the sale of Pilgrim Studios to Lionsgate and Charlie Brooker’s Broke & Bones to Netflix, has a new majority owner.

Ice Spice has been seen shooting a new music video for a song she previewed last week.Earlier this month, the Bronx rapper shared a funny snippet of an unreleased song produced by her friend and longtime producer RiotUSA. In it, she rapped the viral line: “Think you the shit, bitch / You not even the fart / I be going hard / I’m breaking they hearts, like.”Now, behind-the-scenes photos and videos have surfaced showing Spice shooting the music video for the unnamed song in Miami’s South Beach.

Zara and Mike Tindall looked carefree and relaxed as they enjoyed a day out at the Magic Millions Races on Australia's Gold Coast, with the ex-rugby ace even sporting his wife's hat at the end of the annual event. Mike, 45, and Zara, 42, have been enjoying their annual child-free getaway to Australia for the annual Magic Millions events, of which Zara is an ambassador for. After several days spent on the beach relaxing together, the royal couple, who are parents to Mia, nine, Lena, five, and two year old Lucas, got glammed up for the The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday on Saturday, 13 January.

Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth continue to prove they’re as strong a couple as ever. Following various trips apart that created rumors of a strife, the pair showed the world they’re as strong as ever by stepping out for lunch with some friends and showing off their love in a relaxed and confident manner. Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth share photos of family ChristmasElsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth kick off the new year in the snowPataky and Hemsworth were photographed in their home of Byron Bay, Australia as they stepped out for lunch with their close friends Mike and Zara Tindall.

EXCLUSIVE: Kristin Jones is leaving The North Road Company, we can reveal.

The Chase player Matt stunned viewers on Thursday by opting to accept Mark Labbett's measly £0 offer at the table. In his cash-builder, Matt accumulated £3,000 by answering three questions correctly, and his teammates were quick in encouraging him to stick with what he'd earned while going up against The Beast, 58.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief KCON, the Korean pop music and culture convention operated by CJ ENM, will hold five editions in 2024, organizers said on Thursday. The first of the year will be Hong Kong, a new destination for the convention series, before moving on to KCON Japan in May 10-12 and KCON LA July 26-28. Other editions will be held in Saudi Arabia and Europe at unspecified dates in the second half of the year. The Hong Kong edition will be held at March 30-31 at the AsiaWorld Expo, a 10,000 seater venue adjacent to the airport.