Hong Kong Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, who are fighting to get themselves elected to the Disney board against the company’s wishes, said today they’re not out “to fire the CEO.” Peltz of Trian Partners has been publicly bashing the company and Iger for a year. Rasulo hasn’t taken the stage publicly until today as the two answered questions from shareholders on a live webcast.

Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) has found her next major starring vehicle in Blade Runner 2099, Prime Video‘s limited series following up the 2017 movie sequel Blade Runner 2049.

Jamie Lang “Emmanuelle,” a new feature from French writer-director Audrey Diwan, will world premiere in competition as the opening film for the 72nd San Sebastian Film Festival, which kicks off on September 20. Inspired by the eponymous erotic novel by Emmanuelle Arsan, the film tells the story of a woman looking for a lost pleasure. During a business trip to Hong Kong, she meets several new people, including a man named Kei, who constantly eludes her.

Audrey Diwan‘s Emmanuelle has been announced as the opening film of the 72nd San Sebastian Festival, in competition.

BIBI, GOT7‘s BamBam, Kwon Eun-bi and more. Read on for all you need to know.The iconic South Korean music festival Waterbomb will make its way to Singapore for the first time in 2024.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Last Frenzy,” a comedy film about a dying man’s last hurrah, took the top spot in mainland Chinese cinemas ahead of chasing pack of new releases. It earned $30.7 million (RMB218 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Over its full five-day opening session, it accumulated $55.2 million. In second place was patriotic action thriller “Formed Police Unit” which focused on Chinese peacekeeping forces.

At the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine, Italy, Mitsuhiro Mihara’s Takano Tofu clinched the Golden Mulberry prize, the top honor at the festival’s audience awards.

K-pop boyband TWS are preparing to release new music in June, their label Pledis Entertainment has confirmed.Today (May 3), TWS’ agency Pledis Entertainment told Korea JoongAng Daily that the six-member K-pop boyband – comprising members Shinyu, Dohoon, Youngjae, Hanjin, Jihoon and Kyungmin – are set to release a new album soon.“TWS are currently preparing for a comeback, aiming to pre-release a song in early June,” said Pledis Entertainment, adding that specific dates will be announced at a later time. In addition, according to a report by Ilgan Sports, the boyband are currently in Hong Kong filming a music video for their upcoming single.TWS made their debut back in January with their mini-album ‘Sparkling Blue’, which was led by the single ‘Plot Twist’.

A 4K restoration of Shanghai Blues by Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark will screen in the Cannes Classics section to mark the film’s 40th anniversary since its 1984 premiere.

The stars and writer-director of the Prime Video limited series Expats sat down Sunday at the Deadline Studio at Prime Experience. Based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s bestselling novel of the same name, Expats revolves around the lives of a group of expatriates in Hong Kong — more specifically, it’s story of three women from different backgrounds linked by a tragic event, grief, loss and complicated family issues.

IVE is back in a big way!

K-pop touring cycle is in full swing. Stars including SEVENTEEN, aespa and NCT Dream are touring the world with new tunes in tow – and hitting Asia very soon.While some of those artists are staging their own headline shows, others are on the line-ups of music festivals with both multi-genre and Hallyu-only line-ups.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” a Hong Kong-produced action thriller, took the top spot at the mainland China box office over the latest weekend. But it was a quiet session and came ahead of a welter of new releases targeting the May Day public holiday. The film, which is among those that have a Wednesday (May 1) official release date, earned $5.5 million (RMB38.9 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. The nationwide weekend total was a slender $18.7 million.

Lexi Carson Raymond Chan, a longtime art director in the production design department for Marvel Studios features, died Tuesday near his home in Wales. He was 56. His death was confirmed in a statement by the studio.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asian TV channels operator Celestial Tiger Entertainment and myTV SUPER, the OTT platform of Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) are to launch PopC, a movie channel dedicated to Chinese online films, with content supplied by mainland China streamer iQiyi. It launches in Hong Kong from May 1. “The idea of PopC first came about when we saw the amount of great, high quality movies that were being produced for the online space in China.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Cinephil has sold Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó’s feature documentary “Agent of Happiness” to a wide range of key international territories ahead of the film’s Hot Docs debut this weekend. Deals are confirmed in the U.K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief David Anthony Chan’s epic fantasy novel “The Kindred Chronicles” is set to be adapted into an animated series and will be the first project flowing from a partnership between HIP Studios and hybrid publisher 8 Letters. The deal between the two companies was announced at the recent Philippine Book Festival. It aims to adapt 8Letters content into television content, movies, animations, mangas and games. A subsidiary of Singapore’s Silver Media, HIP Studios is a Singapore, Sydney and Cebu, Philippines-based IP development and management company.

New ITV drama Red Eye is set between an all-night flight from London to Beijing, the streets of London and the corridors of power within Whitehall. The series has been described as a "brilliantly addictive thriller" by ITV bosses.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief While multiple Korean TV series have connected with global audiences, Japan’s production committees, terrestrial broadcasters and talent agencies have kept their TV industry tightly focused on a local market. Anime and variety have long remained the Japanese TV industry’s best-known exports, while the premium end of the spectrum has largely escaped Japanese producers.

Super Junior have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘Super Show Spin-off: Halftime’ tour, with concerts in Thailand, Singapore and more.Today (April 18), Super Junior announced the dates and venues of their upcoming 2024 ‘Super Show Spin-off: Halftime’ tour. It comes about three months after the boyband first teased the tour in a statement to news outlet News1.The K-pop boyband will kick off their 12-date tour with a two-date performance on June 22 and 23 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

India–Taiwan co-production “Demon Hunters” will be unveiled at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. The action-horror-comedy film is directed by Chen Mei-Juin (“The Gangster’s Daughter”) and produced by Light House Productions (Taiwan) and Kleos Entertainment Group (India), with the backing of the Taiwan government. The cast is headlined by India’s Arjan Bajwa (Prime Video series “Bestseller”) and Taiwan’s J.C.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Crime drama “The Goldfinger” was the numerical winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards, where it won six prizes on Sunday. But it missed out on the best film prize, which went to box office record breaker “A Guilty Conscience.” “The Goldfinger,” a retro financial thriller starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah, earned a slew of technical award (cinematography, art direction, costume and make up, sound design and visual effects) as well as the lead actor prize for Leung. Two films took three prizes each: “In Broad Daylight,” an investigation into abuse at a care home, and “Mad Fate,” Soi Cheang’s grungy examination of superstition in the city.

Legal drama A Guilty Conscience took the top award for best film at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, while crime thriller The Goldfinger was the biggest winner overall with six prizes, including best actor for Tony Leung Chiu-wai. 

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic A great many people appear to have come out of “Civil War,” Alex Garland’s a-house-divided-against-itself-can-kick-highly-equipped-military-ass dystopian combat thriller, feeling all shook up. They’re disturbed by it, unsettled by it. They experience the movie as if it were holding a violent mirror up to the simmering rage of America’s current political/spiritual/ ideological divide.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Strand Releasing has acquired the North American rights to Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which world premiered at this year’s Berlinale and won the Teddy Prize for best film. The movie played last week as the opening film at the Hong Kong Film Festival. “All Shall Be Well” chronicles the lives of two women, Angie and Pat, a couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over four decades.

rap alter ego of NBA star Damian Lillard – watch the brand-new music video and read the Cantonese pop group’s interview with NME below.Released last Friday, ‘Day 0’ marks the group’s second English-language release, almost a year after they made their international debut with ‘Rumours’. Today (April 10), the group have followed up with its flashy, neon-streaked music video, which unites Mirror with Milwaukee Bucks star Lillard.Coinciding with Mirror’s fifth anniversary, the single is the group’s thank you to the “fans who have been supporting us from day zero”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Hong Kong government has licensed the broadcast rights to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. It intends to relicense the rights to four TV broadcasters in the city – TVB, ViuTV, HOY TV and government-owned RTHK.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic SPOILER ALERT: The following essay discusses key plot points, including the ending. Last weekend, I took in “Le Samouraï” for what must have been the sixth or seventh time, relishing the new 4K restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece (now playing at Laemmle theaters in Los Angeles). As I exited the screening, I discreetly eavesdropped on my fellow audience members. Most seemed impressed.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award.

Malaysia-Singapore-Taiwan co-production Snow in Midsummer and Swedish title Sons took top prizes in the Young Cinema Competition at the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).

Naman Ramachandran Kung Fu superstar Sammo Hung will deliver a masterclass on May 4 as part of the 12th Singapore Chinese Film Festival. He will also attend a mini-retrospective of his films.

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

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.

MAMAMOO singer Hwasa has announced her upcoming 2024 ‘Twits’ solo fancon tour, with concerts in Taiwan, Singapore and more.Today (April 1), MAMAMOO’s Hwasa announced the first batch of dates for her ‘Twits’ solo fancon tour. Notably, the tour is named after the K-pop idol’s fandom name Twits, which in turn was inspired by her 2019 solo debut single ‘Twit’.Hwasa’s new tour will kick off on May 11 with a concert in Hong Kong, followed by shows in Taipei and Singapore in June 2024.

B.I has announced the Asia dates for the concerts on his upcoming 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour.Over the weekend on March 30, B.I revealed the first batch of dates for his upcoming 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour, which will kick off this May with concerts across six Asian cities.B.I will embark on his newly announced tour on May 24 with a show in Hong Kong. Thereafter, the singer will perform concerts in Bangkok, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta in June, followed by a Macau show in July.According to the poster for the 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour, more cities and dates will be announced soon.

Finnair is expanding its services from Manchester Airport to Helsinki as it celebrates 30 years of direct flights from the Finnish capital to Manchester. The airline will increase capacity to 12 weekly flights this summer, with plans to launch double daily flights by winter 2024.

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.