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Rebecca Davis editorEndeavor’s China subsidiary has appointed Sum Huang as its chief executive, the company said Tuesday.Huang was most recently the co-founder and partner of Shanghai-headquartered content provider XG Entertainment, which raised capital from Alibaba CICC and YF Capital during his tenure.  He helped the company build its content development and production business, produced live concerts, and established a branded content team that formed a TikTok-based multi-channel media

Rebecca Davis editorStar-powered propaganda flick “1921” hit number one at the Chinese box office this week, bringing in $11.6 million from pre-screenings ahead of its July 1 debut, according to Maoyan data. The historical drama debuted earlier this month as the opening night title of the Shanghai Intl.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDark comedy film “Manchurian Tiger” won the top prize, the Golden Goblet, Saturday at the 24th edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival.“Manchurian Tiger,” directed by Geng Jun, is the tale of a man who is on the run from debt collectors and manages to embroil family and friends in his misadventures.Films that won multiple prizes included “The Contrary Route” by currently jailed Iranian director Abolfazl Jalili and Russia’s “The Conscience,” which

Victoria Wang In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) cancelled its physical red carpet events and pivoted to a combination of offline and online activities.

Rebecca Davis editorOne of the most prominent Chinese propaganda films of the year is set for a flashy, state-sanctioned premiere as the opening night selection of the Shanghai Intl. Film Festival on Friday.

Rebecca Davis editorWong Kar-Wai’s upcoming TV series “Blossoms” has released its first trailer, giving viewers a peek at the first new work from the auteur in nearly a decade.Though Wong is most often thought of as a Hong Kong director, he was born in Shanghai. The “Blossoms” series is his first of two long-anticipated adaptations of a celebrated eponymous novel by Jin Yucheng, and appears to be a stylish love letter to his hometown.

Rebecca Davis editorThe Shanghai International Film Festival (SHIFF) will kick off this year with the Chinese propaganda film “1921” as its opening night gala, the event announced late Tuesday evening local time with just three days to go before the premiere.This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of China’s ruling Communist Party on July 1, a key political date that for the past year already has sent censors into high alert and film companies scrambling to develop content lauding

What happens when you get married and you leave behind the wild life you lived in your younger years in favor of raising a family and having the white picket fence, suburban lifestyle? Well, in “Sex/Life,” it leads to a lot of fantasizing.

Rebecca Davis editorAt a time when viewers around the world remain wary of returning to cinemas, the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) once again can’t keep up with local audiences.

As we’ve discussed in the past, Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai (“In The Mood For Love”) is something of a man of mystery, and you never know exactly what’s coming when. Couple that with the lost in translation news out of China to America, and it can be a game of telephone.

Jennifer Lopez put her own spin on The Go-Go’s 1981 classic “We Got the Beat” for a special performance Thursday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAfter shifting last year to an online format, the Shanghai International Film Festival will return for its 24th edition later this month. The festival will play as an in-person event, while the market sections will be hybrids of in-person and online activities.The TV festival runs from June 6, while the film festival runs from June 11-20.

Endeavor has agreed to acquire China-based sports digital agency Mailman Group, according to a report today in Sports Business.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEndeavor China, part of talent, sports and media agency Endeavor, is poised to acquire the Chinese firm Mailman Group.The Shanghai-based Mailman is a sports digital agency that covers strategy and marketing, content production, management of social media accounts, influencer marketing, sponsorship activation, PR and communications.The transaction is reported to be valued at $60 million and will be effected through Endeavor China, according to Sports Business,

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentJapanese distributor and sales agent Gaga Corporation has added “ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5 x 20 Film – Record of Memories,” a concert film by the now disbanded Japanese mega-group Arashi, to its international sales line-up.Directed by veteran hitmaker Tsutsumi Yuikihiko, who also made the group’s 2002 debut film “Pikanchi,” “Record of Memories” will have its world premiere as a gala screening at the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival.Once a major act

Rebecca Davis editor“F9,” the latest installment in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, is already revving up for a box office takeover — though a notably less spectacular one than other franchise films in years past.Its release appears not to have been marred by what Universal Pictures called a security “threat” earlier this week that forced the studio to abruptly cancel a major promotional event in Shanghai.“F9” racked up more than $32.6 million (RMB210 million) in pre-sale tickets, making it the

The largest collection of Bob Dylan’s artwork ever seen will go on display later this year in the U.S.“Retrospectum” spans six decades of Dylan’s art, featuring more than 120 of the artist’s paintings, drawings and sculptures.Building on the original “Retrospectum” exhibition that premiered in Shanghai, China, in 2019, the new version will include new, never-before-seen pieces and additional artworks from a brand-new series called “American Pastoral.”Debuting in Miami at the Patricia & Phillip

Richard Kuipers Promising ideas turn out to be mostly empty thought bubbles in “Rising Wolf,” a confusing and derivative Aussie combo of hostage thriller and sci-fi fantasy. Centered on a terrified young woman trapped in a Shanghai skyscraper elevator by a nasty Russian villain, this muddled attempt at an elevated genre film involving time travel, psychic powers and environmental doom can’t be rescued by strong visuals or a fine central performance by Charlotte Best.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Pearl Studio Head of Development Justinian Huang has joined Sony Pictures Animation as VP of Creative.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's Godzilla Vs.

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Godzilla vs. Kong, Hollywood's newly crowned pandemic-era box-office champ, has already suffered a surprise upset in China.

Netflix movie Wedding Season has secured the talents of both Rizwan Manji and Ari Afsar. The two actors are known for their roles in Schitt's Creek (Manji played Ray Butani) and Hamilton (Afsar brought Eliza Hamilton to life on stage in Chicago).

EXCLUSIVE: Rizwan Manji (Schitt’s Creek) and Ari Afsar (Hamilton) have joined the cast of Netflix comedy Wedding Season. They will star alongside Suraj Sharma (Life Of Pi) and Pallavi Sharda (Tom & Jerry), as Deadline previously revealed. 

Paddington Bear is heading to small screens in the Middle Kingdom. StudioCanal has partnered with Shanghai Senyu Media to bring its animated kids' series The Adventures of Paddington to mainland China, with the distributor representing the show at the virtual Filmart in Hong Kong.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefVivendi-owned European film and TV studio Studiocanal has sealed a deal with Shanghai Senyu Media to represent Studiocanal’s “The Adventures of Paddington Bear” animated series in mainland China. Rights are being promoted at the virtual edition of Hong Kong rights market FilMart.The series debuted on Nickelodeon in western markets and has already delivered two seasons.

Rebecca Davis editorThe Shanghai International Film Festival will take place this year from June 11 to June 19.The news comes less than two weeks after Gao Yunfei, the head of Shanghai’s municipal film administration and vice-minister of its propaganda department, stated at a press conference that the city was considering pushing the event back to July.Registration for the 24th annual event is now open to “Chinese and foreign filmmakers and industry people,” the festival said, implying a door

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefGiant-screen cinema company Imax and Greater China exhibition company Broadway have struck a deal to build four additional Imax theaters in mainland China’s biggest city Shanghai. The agreement means that Imax is on course to have close to 1,000 venues in operation in mainland China.All four downtown Shanghai sites will adopt top-end laser technology.

EXCLUSIVE: Suraj Sharma (Life Of Pi) has landed the lead opposite Pallavi Sharda (Lion) in Wedding Season, the Netflix comedy being directed by Tom Dey (Shanghai Noon).

Three years after its premiere at Sundance in 2018, Cathy Yan’s “Dead Pigs” is finally getting a global release.

straight to your inbox every day for freeOdion Ighalo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Shabab following the end of his Manchester United loan spell. The forward spent a year on loan at United from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, extending his stay at Old Trafford after proving a useful back-up striker last season.

straight to your inbox every day for freeOle Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United are prepared to promote academy youngsters to the first-team squad in the second half of the season.United have sold Timothy Fosu-Mensah, to Bayer Leverkusen, Jesse Lingard has joined West Ham United on loan and Odion Ighalo has returned to Shanghai Shenhua following the end of his year-long loan.Marcos Rojo is expected to permanently leave for Boca Juniors before Monday's transfer deadline, which would reduce

straight to your inbox every day for freeOdion Ighalo has penned an emotional Manchester United farewell message as his time at Old Trafford comes to an end.The 31-year-old striker's loan from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua expires at the end of this month. The Nigeria international joined United in January last year on an initial six-month deal that was later extended to 12 months.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe death by poisoning of Lin Qi, the billionaire Chinese film and TV producer who was set to work with Netflix on “The Three-Body Problem,” was unusual when initial details emerged in late December. The picture now emerging from Chinese media points to a carefully planned murder carried out by a jealous junior colleague who practiced his craft before eliminating his boss.Lin was admitted to hospital in Shanghai on Dec.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSony’s U.K. and U.S.-based Silvergate Media has opened an “Octonauts”-themed attraction within the Changfeng Ocean World theme park in Shanghai.