China Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Marco Mueller, who over the past decades has headed both the Venice and Rome fests – among several other events – is back in Italy where he is expected to be appointed artistic director of Sicily’s storied but troubled Taormina Film Festival. According to several sources Mueller, who in more recent years relocated to China, is expected to sign a contract on Thursday to become Taormina fest chief. The event is run by the Fondazione Taormina Arte Sicilia foundation currently being managed by Sergio Bonomo.

Harry Styles fans are flocking to his UK hometown, hoping it’s “As It Was” when the 30-year-old star was growing up. Over the past year, over 5,000 devotees — known as “Harries” — have visited Holmes Chapel, England, walking in One Direction to hit all the spots the singer has frequented.

Harry Styles grew up are hiring superfans to give new guided tours of the area.The village of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire has seen over 5,000 visitors in the last year who have come to see where the artist spent his early life. As such, Holmes Chapel Partnership, a community group, will be holding an audition day for tour guides later this year.One popular spot visited by Styles fans is the bakery where he worked part-time before he became part of One Direction, which has a lifesize cardboard placard of Styles holding a white loaf.Tours will also have stops at Styles’s former schools, the terraced cottage where he grew up, and a nearby Chinese restaurant where he once took Taylor Swift.Another site frequently visited by fans is the supposed location of his first kiss – a railway bridge called Twemlow Viaduct, which some have “risked life and limb” to visit as it is next to a notoriously busy road.

Selome Hailu “Descendants: The Rise of Red” is set for a July 12 premiere, as revealed in a new teaser. The Disney+ film stars Kylie Cantrall as Red, princess of the hostile kingdom of Wonderland and the newest Villain Kid (aka VK) at Auradon Prep. When her mother, the tyrannical Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora), incites a coup against Auradon, Red must join forces with Chloe (Cinderella and King Charming’s daughter played by Malia Baker) to travel back in time and undo the traumatic event that set the queen down her villainous path.

NME also previously spotted social media accounts for a potential Waterbomb Festival Singapore back in March.

Ellise Shafer “The Killing” star Sofie Gråbøl will serve as the president of this year’s Canneseries competition jury, it was announced on Tuesday. The Danish actor kickstarted her career with the 1986 film “Barndommens gade” (“The Streets of My Childhood”) and is known for her TV roles including “The Killing,” “Nikolaj og Julie” and “Taxa.” Joining Gråbøl on the jury are “Madame Hollywood” director, screenwriter and producer Olivier Abbou; “Four Daughters” composer Amine Bouhafa; “City of God” actor Alice Braga; “Blancanieves” actor Macarena García; and “Samber” actor Alix Poisson.

This spring, Tattu, the modern Chinese restaurant group, welcomes Blossom Season with enchanting floral installations, a fresh spring menu, terrace takeovers and bespoke cocktails.

EXCLUSIVE: The Hallyu march continues this week, as a major Korean content streaming service continues its global rollout.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Legendary Entertainment’s “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” had the best opening in China of any Hollywood film this year. It scored $44.6 million (RMB317 million) in mainland Chinese cinemas between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That was a nearly 70% share of the country’s weekend box office. Nationwide, cinemas enjoyed $64.1 million of business, a significant leap from the $39.5 million they earned in the previous weekend.

Married comedians Jon and Lucy – aka the Richardsons – are back for another hilarious mockumentary series about their lives. From career highlights to failures and arguments, Jon and Lucy aren’t afraid to cover it all.The 10-parter sees Lucy very busy with Taskmaster, Bake Off and Celebrity Chinese Whispers, all of which have come off the back of her Bafta nomination for Meet The Richardsons. Meanwhile, Jon is plotting his escape from telly – a theme that’s appropriate as Lucy predicts the show is coming to an end.

EXCLUSIVE: American Born Chinese star Daniel Wu is set to join Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose in 87North’s With Love for Universal Pictures. The film Quan’s first starring role since winning the Supporting Actor Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is huge!

Selena Kuznikov Although Fala Chen teams up with the massive Kong to battle against a humongous hidden creature in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” a minuscule monster snuck up on her at the premiere. “I got stung by a bee, but it’s okay,” Chen said. “I saw it on the carpet and was like ‘Oh there’s a bee, I should try to get rid of it,’ and then it stung me.” The TCL Chinese Theater and a portion of Hollywood Boulevard was transformed into a jungle wonderland on Monday for the premiere of the film.

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Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter After three days of release, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” stands as the third-highest-grossing movie of the year. It has collected a mighty $194 million globally in its opening weekend, ranking behind only “Dune: Part Two” ($626 million after five weeks of release) and “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($347 million after four weeks of release) in terms of overall ticket sales. The monster mashup, from Warner Bros.

A former executive at Yoozoo Games was sentenced to death on Friday in the 2020 poisoning of the company founder. The Chinese gaming company has links to Game of Thrones and the new Netflix series, The 3-Body Problem.

Disney’s Freaky Friday sequel, teased for a number of years, is finally a go movie, Deadline has confirmed, as the project has found its director in Nisha Ganatra (Late Night), with stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in talks to return.

Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is out and roaring at the international box office, generating $15.9M from 49 markets through its first two days overseas (Wed/Thurs). Not included in that total is the strong China opening day today which came in at an estimated RMB 96.9M ($13.4M).

Ivanka Trump is celebrating her son’s birthday. To commemorate the occasion, Ivanka shared a loving and sweet post celebrating her youngest son Theo, sharing photos of and with her son and calling out some of his best attributes. Ivanka Trump speaks out after Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnoses: ‘disheartening to see the speculation’Ivanka Trump supports Drake and Lil Wayne at ‘It’s All A Blur - Big As The What? Tour’ concertA post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump)The post is made up of various photos of Theo, including ones taken on his eighth birthday celebration.

The Serbian President has prompted concern after making a stark comment regarding the future of his country.

As its public dispute with TikTok continues, Universal Music Group has set an expanded strategic relationship with Spotify.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Universal Music Group and Spotify — the world’s largest music company and the world’s largest paid music-subscription service — have unveiled an expansion of their “strategic relationship” in an announcement that has very few details but is likely the opening of a new maneuver in UMG’s ongoing battle with TikTok. UMG and the China-based platform, which has been the leading source of music discovery for the past five years, have been in a standoff over multiple issues, primarily the platform’s low royalty payments and AI policies, since their licensing agreement expired earlier this year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming edition of the Festival of Far East Film in Italy’s Udine (April 24 – May 2). The lineup will include three films by Zhang: his 2023 political thriller “Under the Light” in its competition section; as well as “To Live” and “Raise the Red Lantern” in its restored classics section. The festival’s total lineup includes 74 films in total – 47 in competition and 28 out of competition) from 11 countries.

Thousands of people using the internet have been bombarded with adverts that seem too good to be true, offering "free money" to people who sign up to a Chinese shopping website, Temu. This has prompted many to ask - is it real?

3 Body Problem might be the most ambitious Netflix show of the year.Based on the book of the same name by Liu Cixin, the sci-fi series follows Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao) in 1960s China whose actions have a profound impact on the lives of a group of scientists in the present day.A synopsis reads: “A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.”The series also stars Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, Eiza Gonzalez, Jess Hong, Mario Kelly, Benedict Wong and Jonathan Pryce.

Netflix’s 3 Body Problem has been released – check it out below.Based on the book of the same name by Liu Cixin, the sci-fi series follows Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao) in 1960s China whose actions have a profound impact on the lives of a group of scientists in the present day.A synopsis reads: “A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.”3 Body Problem also stars Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, Eiza Gonzalez, Jess Hong, Mario Kelly, Benedict Wong and Jonathan Pryce.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s running mate. Kennedy made the announcement at one of his rallies on Tuesday, hosted at Shanahan’s native Oakland, California.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Sweet Planet,” a one of the highest-profile China-Europe co-productions of recent years, will air on China Global Television Network from Friday. The six-part culinary documentary is a co-production between millennial-focused global channel operator Insight TV, Netherlands-based production company JOIIN, and CGTN. It explore the culinary and cultural impact of sugar in cooking and food rituals around the world.

Nothing says Easter tentpole quite like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire which is set to conquer the world with a box office debut around $135M, bolstered by 63 foreign markets and 3,850 theaters stateside.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Dahomey,” the Berlinale Golden Bear-winning film helmed by French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, has been sold to a raft of international territories by Les Films du Losange. Along with being acquired by Mubi in key markets, “Dahomey” has been acquired in Australia & New Zealand (Rialto), China (Hugoeast), Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nitrato Filmes), Greece (One From the Heart), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainement), Benelux (Cinéart), Bulgaria (Beta Films), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Mozinet), Czech Republic (Film Europe), Romania (Voodoo), Baltic Countries (Taip Toliau), Poland (New Horizons), Ukraine (Kyivmusicfilm), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), Indonesia (PT Falcon) and Sudu Connexion in Africa.

NME, actor Lucy Liu and director Eloise Singer have discussed bringing notorious Chinese pirate Chen Shih to life in VR game The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend.Set in 19th-century China, The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend follows Chen Shih – a real-world pirate who commanded hundreds of ships – on the night she rose to power.Chatting to NME from New York, Singer shared that she felt “compelled” to share Shih’s story upon realising that it wasn’t very well-known.“When I first discovered more about Chen Shih’s story, I was fascinated,” said Singer, pointing to Shih leading 70,000 men in the lead-up to the Opium Wars. “She [also] created a code of laws that meant men and women had to be treated equally on her ship, which was phenomenal.”Originally a courtesan, Chen Shih took control over a large confederation of pirates when her husband fell overboard.

Manchester Airport has announced the launch of a direct route to Shanghai, the first service to operate to the Chinese city from the north. Juneyao Air has chosen Manchester as its first destination in the UK in a move that’s been hailed as “fantastic news” by regional leaders.

The world premiere of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is here!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Universal’s “The Fall Guy” will open in mainland Chinese cinemas next month, ahead of its debut in the U.S. and star Ryan Gosling’s native Canada. The film is set to release officially in China on April 30.

Eiza González has premiered her awaited series on Netflix. “3 Body Problem” follows a group of scientists who are facing with an interplanetary threat. It debuted number 1 on Netflix, prompting some reactions from González, who thanked viewers from all over the world for tuning in.

An SNP MP who was targeted in a Chinese state-sponsored attack has said that Scottish universities are "overdependent" on funds from Beijing.