City Singapore Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Lovers on parade! Madison LeCroy and husband Brett Randle jetted off to Singapore for the first part of their honeymoon after tying the knot ahead of Thanksgiving.

Singapore-based producer and distributor Clover Films is teaming with filmmaker Jack Neo’s J Team Productions to launch a joint venture production company, HiJack Pictures. 

A rapidly spreading Covid strain has been dubbed the Nightmare Variant after it was found to double infections in a matter of days.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Singapore has banned the release of “#LookAtMe,” a feature film by local director Ken Kwek. The InfoComm Media Development Authority said that the film exceeds film classification guidelines because it denigrates a religious community. Supposedly based in true events, the film depicts a man who is offended by a pastor who preaches against homosexuality, but whose behavior contradicts his teachings. The protagonist’s viral video about the aberrant priest lands him in jail, causing the man’s gay identical twin to fight for justice. “#LookAtMe,” premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival and local media report that the film has been selected for next month’s Singapore International Film Festival. But the IMDA ruling means that it cannot now be shown in any form in Singapore unless Kwek is successful with an appeal.

Naman Ramachandran Indonesia’s KawanKawan Media has partnered with Singapore’s Momo Film Co on Nelson Yeo’s “Dreaming & Dying” and Duong Dieu Linh’s “Don’t Cry Butterfly,” it was revealed at this week’s Asian Contents & Film Market, held on the sidelines of the Busan International Film Festival. “Dreaming & Dying,” about three middle aged individuals who are forced to confront their inner demons as a long-buried love triangle between them resurfaces, is currently in production. Yeo said: “ ‘Dreaming & Dying’ is the accumulation of my obsession with dreams and memories. Primarily, it is about how we choose to remember things in our own ways, and as time passes, that fantasy becomes the reality.”

In one of the first such cases of its kind, a court in Singapore sentenced adult content creator Titus Low Kaide to three weeks imprisonment and a fine of $3,000 over his OnlyFans account. A local court convicted him of charges of transmitting obscene materials online and breaching a police order not to access his OnlyFans account. The Strait Times reported that Low pleaded guilty to both charges. Following his sentencing, Low took to social media to address his fans. He said that he will start his prison sentence in a few weeks, but he “was glad the case was over” as it was taking a toll on his mental health. In another Instagram story, he posted from an event: “Enjoying my time outside first”.

Rebecca Souw TITLE: Behind The Scenes For Singapore-Korea Co-Production “Ajoomma” And Its Journey Ahead Post-Busan The past few weeks have gone by in a blur for Singapore-Korean co-produced comedy film “Ajoomma.” In a short span, it had a world premiere at the 27th Busan International Film Festival, earned four Golden Horse nominations including best actress, best new director, best original screenplay and best supporting actor. And Singapore has selected the film as itOscars contender. But it took seven years to get his far. At a Busan workshop on Saturday, first-time director He Shuming, co-founder of Giraffe Pictures and the film’s executive producer Anthony Chen and co-producer Lee Joon-han discussed the how the film came to life. “Ajoomma: The Curious Case Study of a Singaporean-Korean Co-production” was presented by mylab at the Asian Contents & Film Market.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic In what plays like Singapore’s answer to “About Schmidt,” never-too-late-to-live dramedy “Ajoomma” follows a widowed housewife as she steps out of her comfort zone by making a solo trip to South Korea. This upbeat debut from director He Shuming — whose title is the Korean equivalent of all-purpose Asian term of respect “Auntie” — offers longtime TV actor Hong Huifang (“Housewives’ Holiday”) a chance to shine in the title role, which has already netted her a Golden Horse Award nom. Selected to rep Singapore at the Oscars, affable “Ajoomma” is more of a dark horse in that race, albeit one with art-house sleeper potential. Mrs. Lim’s life is light on excitement. What it lacks in drama, she fills by binging on Korean soap operas — a not at all uncommon obsession among Asian women (and a growing number of Americans, thanks to services like Kocowa and Viki). “Auntie,” as most of the other characters call Hong’s character, fusses a bit too much over her only son, who long ago agreed to accompany her on a special tour of Seoul. Now, mere days before they’re to depart, he backs out for a job interview in New York — one that would put some much-needed distance between the closeted young man and his overly suffocating mom.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore’s Momo Film Co has boarded a raft of projects, it was revealed on the opening day of the Busan Asian Contents & Film Market on Saturday. Momo, in which Blue Ant Media’s Beach House Pictures has a majority stake, was founded in 2018 by writer-director Kris Ong (“Sunday”) and Tan Si En, who is a co-producer on Busan and Locarno title “Arnold is a Model Student.” Tan has boarded “Andragogy” by Wregas Bhanuteja (Cannes winner “Prenjak,” Busan 2021 title “Photocopier”) as a co-producer. The film will follow Prani, a middle-aged schoolteacher, whose angry video goes viral and she gets trolled online. Adi Ekatama is producing for Indonesia’s Rekata Studio (“Photocopier”).

Rebecca Souw Along with “Return to Seoul” and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Broker,” Singaporean comedy film “Ajoomma” joins a growing list of recent foreign movies set in Korea or probing contemporary Korean culture.  “Ajoomma,” which premieres at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival on Friday in the New Currents competition section, tells the story of stereotypical Singaporean middle–aged woman (or “auntie”). Her obsession with Korean TV dramas leads her to visit Korea for the first time and as a result, embarks on a journey of self-discovery. 

Naman Ramachandran Celebrated filmmakers Anthony Chen (“Wet Season”), Anurag Kashyap (“Dobaaraa”), Ifa Isfansyah (“Losmen Bu Broto”), Joko Anwar (“Impetigore”) and Ho Yuhang (“The Ghost Bride”) are serving as directing mentors for the ongoing Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab) initiative at the Busan International Film Festival. The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in depth conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking. An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences. 

TheSingapore Film Commission has selected He Shuming’s Singapore-Korea co-production Ajoomma as its submission to the best international feature category at the Oscars.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fresh from a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, TV coverage of Formula One motor racing is set to shift broadcasting partner in Asia-Pacific. Sports Business reports that pay-TV broadcaster beIN Sports is finalizing a multi-year deal beginning in 2023 reaching across most of its Asia-Pacific footprint, but excluding Australia, where Foxtel recently renewed its deal, and New Zealand.

Stray Kids have unveiled a new batch of dates for their ‘Maniac’ world tour in Asia, Australia and the USA – find the full list below.Today (September 29) the K-pop boyband revealed that they will play two stadium shows in Jakarta, Indonesia this November. In February, they will head to arenas in Bangkok, Thailand, Singapore and then Melbourne and Sydney in Australia.Stray Kids had to reschedule shows in Atlanta, Georgia and Forth Worth, Texas while touring the US in July as three of their eight members tested positive for COVID-19.

Naman Ramachandran Following its launch earlier this month in Malaysia, streamer Aha is set to bow in Singapore and the Middle East. The service, currently available in the Telugu and Tamil languages, will also begin offering Malayalam-language content with an eye on the Middle East expansion, where a migrant population that speaks the language abounds. Operated by Arha Media and Broadcasting, the Telugu-language service began in Jan. 2020 and the Tamil service followed in February this year. Malaysia, where there is a large Tamil-speaking population, was a logical next step, with four originals by local filmmakers in Malaysian Tamil, where the inflexions are slightly different from the Tamil spoken in India. Singapore, which also has a significant Tamil population, will follow.

Kelly Day, Amazon Prime Video Vice President, International, outlined the company’s localisation efforts across Asia, Europe and Latin America in the first keynote session of APOS 2022, which is taking place virtually and as an in-person event in Singapore (September 27-29).

Jackson Wang has announced concerts in London, Paris, Singapore, Dubai and more as part of his ‘MAGIC MAN’ world tour.The tour was confirmed by concert promoter AEG Presents on social media on Wednesday (September 28). The tour currently consists of six dates: three this year, and three next year.

Lorraine Kelly has shared her ultimate hangover cure after a surprise anniversary party left her with a bit of a sore head.

SEVENTEEN has released the music video for ‘Limbo’, his fourth official solo single.“Close your eyes / Follow the light that awaits you / Don’t hesitate / Your dream will become reality,” the idol (real name Wen Junhui) croons in the mysterious visual accompanying his latest release.‘Limbo’ comes over a year after the 2021 release of ‘Silent Boarding Gate’. Much like his last solo single, and previous releases ‘Crow’ and ‘Can You Sit By My Side?’, a version of ‘Limbo’ in Jun’s native Mandarin is also available.Apart from his solo releases, the idol has also contributed tracks for television dramas — the latest of which is a Chinese-language version of Paul Kim’s ‘Dream’ for The King: Eternal Monarch.Jun, along with his bandmates in SEVENTEEN, is set to kick off the Southeast Asia leg of their ‘Be The Sun’ world tour with a two-day residency in Jakarta this weekend.

Billie Eilish has shared two performances of her playing ‘TV’ and ‘The 30th’ live in a forest in Singapore.The videos – directed by Singaporean director Choānn and filmed in partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board – find Eilish and her brother Finneas performing acoustic in the nature park Cloud Forest.Both tracks recently featured on her ‘Guitar Songs’ EP which she released in July. You can view the videos below.“Singapore was one of the first places I ever went on tour.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese-owned video streamer iQiyi has confirmed that it has blocked access in Singapore to ten gay-themed TV series. But it says that the move is temporary. “The content was temporarily removed in compliance with the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s guidance towards R21 content,” a company spokesman told Variety by email. R21 restricts viewing to people aged over 21. The shows blocked include iQiyi’s Thai-language original “KinnPorsche and “Until We Met Again” that fall into the ‘Boys Love’ or BL genre. Soft-core romances between (mostly young and handsome) men have become hugely popular in Southeast Asia. And much of the audience for them is adult and female.

EXCLUSIVE: Filipino production company Daluyong Studios, which co-produced Plan 75, Japan’s Best International Feature submission for the Oscars, is partnering with Tan Si En’s Singapore-based Momo Film Co to co-produce a slate of features and documentaries.

SEVENTEEN’s Jun will be dropping a brand-new solo single titled ‘Limbo’ later this week.On September 19 at Noon KST, Jun (real name Wen Junhui) announced the upcoming release via SEVENTEEN’s official Twitter account with a mysterious teaser image. The ‘Limbo’ teaser features the singer showcasing his back, while a gloved hand rests atop his shoulder.‘Limbo’ is due out on September 23 at 1:00pm KST.

FINAS) has partnered with the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) for the inaugural Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab). An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences. It aims for each project to deliver a package of script, budget, financing plan, dossier and pitch-ready materials at the end of the program.

Naman Ramachandran Sri Lanka’s Vimukthi Jayasundara and Guatemala’s César Díaz, winners of the Cannes Golden Camera for “The Forsaken Land” (2005) and “Nuestras madres” (2019) respectively, are among the recipients of the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) of the International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s (IFFR) HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support scheme for 2022. Out of 25 applications, six projects by filmmakers from Argentina, Egypt, Guatemala, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Yemen have been awarded a contribution of €60,000 ($60,854) each through their European co-producers in Austria, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Jayasundara is supported for “Turtle’s Gaze on Spying Stars” (France/Sri Lanka, House on Fire), set on a mysterious resort where the protagonist must quarantine and reckon with his past on his return to Sri Lanka, while Díaz gets it for “Fidelidad” (Guatemala/Belgium, Lemming Film Belgium), a love triangle set on Lake Atitlán in Guatemala.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jack Neo, who is by far Singapore’s most commercially successful filmmaker, has begun production on “King of Musang King,” a comedy that he envisages being ready for release at Chinese New Year in January. The narrative gives prominent position to durians, the smelly Southeast Asian fruit that most people either love or hate. Neo (“Money No Enough,” the “Ah Boys to Men” franchise) will co-star, direct and produce through his J Team Productions. The film will be presented by J Team, mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes. The story revolves around a man (played by Mark Lee), his abandoned Malaysian wife (played by Yeo Yann Yann), and childhood friend Mao Shan (played by Jack Neo).

David Simonsen is joining Amazon and taking over the new position of Director Prime Video, Southeast Asia. He will be based in Singapore and is starting on Monday, September 5.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Coming off a year of major international growth, Paris-based animation giant Cyber Group Studios is presenting a wide-ranging lineup of new and returning shows at this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in the French seaside town of Biarritz. Among Cyber Group’s current high-profile titles is the new super-powered kid comedy series “50/50 Heroes,” which has sold to ITV in the U.K. and Discovery in Latin America. Commissioned by France Televisions and Disney, “50/50 Heroes” follows the high jinks of Mo and Sam, a half-brother and sister duo, aged 11 and 9, who share super powers. Cyber Group has been expanding its global operations over the past year with a number of major acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures that have resulted in a number of new projects.

Naman Ramachandran Prolific Singapore-based production company Akanga Film Asia, led by producer Fran Borgia, has revealed a robust film slate, including several global co-productions. Borgia and filmmaker Yeo Siew Hua teamed on 2018 film “A Land Imagined,” which reaped a rich haul of awards around the world including top prizes at Locarno, Golden Horse, El Gouna, Pingyao, Singapore and Valladolid. They have now re-teamed on “Stranger Eyes,” which is selected at the ongoing Venice Production Bridge’s gap financing market. The film follows master of surveillance Inspector Goh, who, as he keeps a close eye on a suspected credit card thief, is drawn into the suspect’s world and starts to see himself in the skin of the perpetrator. As it sets him to question the true meaning of his work, Goh is tasked to track down a serial voyeur on the loose who has been videotaping people’s most private moments.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two Korean and two Indian movies make the cut in the Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents main competition section. Thet are joined by one each from Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Germany. The section has a track record of making significant discoveries among new Asian films and directors.The selected titles are eligible for multiple awards, including the New Currents Award, the FIPRESCI Award, the NETPAC Award, and the KB New Currents Audience Award. The selection comprises: “Ajooma,” directed by Hu Shuming (Singapore-Korea); “Blue Again” from Thailand’s Thapanee Loosuwan; “Hail to Hell,” by Korea’s Lim Oh-jeong; “Memento Mori: Earth,” by Vietnam’s Marcus Vu Manh Cuong; “No End,” directed by Nader Saeivar and flying the flags of Germany, Iran and Turkey; “A Place Called Silence,” by Malaysia’s Sam Quah; “Shivamma,” fromIndia’s Jaishankar Aryar; Japanese director Kubota Nao’s “One Thousand and One Nights”; “A Wild Roomer,” from Korea’s Lee Jeong-hong; and The Winter Within,” directed by Aamir Bashir, and structured as a co-production between India, France and Qatar.

Singapore will move to decriminalize gay sex while increasing prohibitions against same-sex marriage, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, August 21.Section 377A of Singapore’s Penal Code, a law implemented by the country’s British colonial government in 1938, criminalizes sex between men. Today, even consensual, private sex between adult men in Singapore remains legally punishable by up to two years in prison.Parliament will now repeal 377A, Loong said.

Singapore’s government has confirmed that it will continue to restrict LGBTQ film and media content to older audiences, despite overturning a decades-old law that banned gay sex.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Singapore government announced that it will continue to restrict and classify media content with LGBTQ themes, even after its planned decriminalization of same-sex relationships.The move to repeal a colonial-era law that criminalized sex between men was announced Sunday by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The law, Section 377A of the Penal Code, was introduced in 1938 and established a two-year jail term for “any act of gross indecency” between two men, either in public or in private.London-based Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen (“Ilo Ilo,” “Wet Season”) commended the planned repeal.

The decriminalisation of homosexuality by Singapore could have a major impact in the region

BLACKPINK have announced details of their ‘Born Pink’ world tour, which kicks off later this year.The global run of shows kicks off with two nights in Seoul on October 16 and 17 before heading to North America for a series of concerts.The ‘Born Pink’ world tour will then see Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa visit Europe to finish off 2022, with the group also scheduled to play the likes of Australia, Singapore and Thailand in 2023.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefGHY Culture & Media, a mainland China-focused entertainment company from Singapore, has launched a slate of short drama series that it says mirror the professionally-generated short format developed by Chinese platforms Douyin and Bilibili. Its first three are fantasy “Goddess Hotel,” urban fantasy-light comedy “Miss Tanya” and sci-fi comedy “Ability Bureau.” Each short drama series is slated to run for 2 or 3 seasons, with 12 to 16 episodes per season, and each episode delivered at approximately 3 minutes. Involving Singapore production teams and actors, each project is estimated to cost between S$350,000 to S$1.6 million ($250,000 – $1.15 million) to produce.