Singapore Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Naman Ramachandran The popular Singapore Comic Con (SGCC) is back with an array of internationally renowned creators and characters. BBC Studios’ hit family animation “Bluey” is returning to the SGCC main stage and this time she will be joined by her sister Bingo in a new, refreshed “Bluey Live Experience,” which debuted last year.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore’s MediaCorp and Taiwanese production company Mission International have signed a memorandum of understanding for content development at the Asia TV Forum and Market (ATF). Mission International is led by producer Angie Chai, best known for hit teen idol drama “Meteor Garden” and forming successful boyband F4.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Korean-produced series “The Glory” won the best drama series award on Thursday at the Asian Academy Creative Awards Gala Final. Thai-produced TV movie “Hunger” was named best feature film. The awards are organized by the Asian Academy of Creative Arts (AACA) a.k.a Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA) and are held alongside the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF) in Singapore. The AACA “was established to honor creative excellence and serve as a peer judged pinnacle of achievement in content creation, performance and media production.” By the conclusion of the gala ceremony, Singapore, Japan and India had each claimed seven prize wins.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s Linmon Media celebrated its tenth anniversary this week by unveiling 16 new shows for its 2024 production and release slate. The roster included seven Chinese period drama series, five contemporary shows and two more being made in Thailand. “We are not just a producer, we are a studio,” Zhou Yuan, co-founder and EVP of Linmon, told Variety on the sidelines of the company’s predominantly English-language presentation at the Asia Television Forum & Market in Singapore.

Hollywood dealmaking is becoming more reliant on the international market. That’s the word from production execs from Universal International Studios, Fremantle, Anonymous Content and Studiocanal talking on an Asia TV Forum & Market panel in Singapore today. 

Naman Ramachandran The second Asia TV Forum and Market IP Accelerator (AIPA) closed with four winners bagging prizes valued at more than S$80,000 ($59,700) from the three sponsors of the event. The 108 Media Development Award of S$15,000 towards project development went to Thailand’s “My Chef in Crime,” a crime-comedy series by producer Bo Rattanavich and director Cheewatun Pusitsuksa of My Shot Co.

Naman Ramachandran Action comedy film “Baby Hero” was launched at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market on Thursday. The film is a co-production between Singapore’s Hong Pictures and Bangkok-based Hollywood (Thailand). Principal photography will commence in the first quarter of 2024 with a view to releasing the film in 2025.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hollywood’s role in Asian TV has changed in the streaming era and age of hyper-local content. A top-down sales and distribution position has eased into one of co-production, co-financing and acquisition. A high-powered array of western executives offered experienced views and discussed their current positions at a panel session Thursday within the Asia Television Forum & Market in Singapore. “We want to be an additive partner on shows that cannot be created locally, said Georgina Gonzalez, director of scripted series and global series at Universal Int’l Studios, NBCU.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Something Special, the Seoul-based international format agency founded by format specialists Jin Woo Hwang (president and executive producer) and Kim In Soon (EVP & head of content) announce that ITV Studios has optioned the hit Korean celebrity format “Battle in the Box” for France, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. The deal was unveiled on Wednewday, the first full day of the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF) in Singapore. “Battle in the Box,” created by Korea’s NMedia and represented globally by Something Special, has previously seen deals announced with Fremantle for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.

Naman Ramachandran Canadian conglomerate, Blue Ant Media has scored sales of some 550 hours of programming to Asia Pacific broadcasters, it was revealed at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF). Content was sourced from across Blue Ant’s portfolio companies.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore‘s Mediacorp has begun introducing virtual sets into its scripted content, starting with two Chinese drama series, it was revealed during the ongoing Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF). “Strangers in the Dark” is about an outcast in school, who uses her vivid imagination to help solve various mysteries.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore’s Refinery Media has launched a global co-production fund that will allocate up to 50% of production budgets for projects exploring the use of virtual production in films, series and unscripted shows. The fund was revealed at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market. “Asia’s Next Top Model,” “SupermodelMe Revolution” and “The Century Egg” are among Refinery’s previous credits.

Naman Ramachandran Shows featuring Stephen Fry are popular in Asia as sales from Abacus Media Rights and Passion Distribution demonstrate. Abacus has sold more than 70 hours of scripted and unscripted programming broadcasters across Asia, it was revealed at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Singapore is launching a new fund to support international coproduction of TV series. It will also expand government investment into virtual production (VP). The two moves were announced on Wednesday by senior minister of state for communications and information Tan Kiat How at the opening ceremony of the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF).

Naman Ramachandran “Sunday,” which has its world premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival, marks the feature directorial debut of Sean Ng. Ng previously directed a few shorts and his producing credits include feature documentary “André and His Olive Tree” (2020), which was Taiwan’s highest-grossing documentary that year. “Sunday” was developed at TorinoFilmLab.

Naman Ramachandran Chai Yee-Wei’s “Wonderland” comes to the Singapore International Film Festival after debuting at the San Diego Asian Film Festival where it won the audience award. Chai’s credits include “Blood Ties” (2009), “Twisted” (2011) and “That Girl in Pinafore” (2013), which premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival. “Wonderland” is his fifth feature.

Naman Ramachandran Shaun Neo’s feature debut “My Endless Numbered Days,” a study of urban alienation, has its world premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival. Neo’s directorial short debut “Happily Ever After” (2015) screened at the 26th SGIFF and was nominated for best screenplay at the National Youth Film Awards 2016. “My Endless Numbered Days” follows Mitsue who returns to Japan after the disillusionment of a work opportunity in Singapore.

Chinese streaming giant iQiyi has hailed the integration of artificial intelligence into its development and pitching processes.

Naman Ramachandran The consultation process for the upcoming Indian broadcasting bill that will regulate streaming will be “fair and independent,” the head of India‘s media regulatory body says. In September, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) invited industry stakeholders for consultation on the formulation of a national broadcasting policy. In recent days there have been concerns that some streamers would oppose the bill on the grounds that it would impose restrictions on them.

Amber Liu, a member of K-pop girl group f(x), has announced new dates for her upcoming 2024 ‘No More Sad Songs’ world tour.Today (December 5), Amber Liu revealed the new Asia, Australia and New Zealand legs of her upcoming 2024 tour. It’ll feature four shows in Asia – in Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore – alongside two Aussie concerts and one New Zealand performance in February and March.In addition, the f(x) singer also announced that indie pop singer-songwriter Marielle Kraft will join her on the North American leg of the tour, which features eight shows across January 2024.

Naman Ramachandran The direct-to-consumer SVOD model which is undergoing uncertain times was the subject of a presentation by Tony Gunnarsson, senior principal analyst, OTT video, media and entertainment at Omdia. Gunnarsson was speaking at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market. The number of pay-TV subscribers remains above one billion and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Webtoons, the vertical-scrolling iteration of digital comics that emerged some twenty years ago in Korea, along with the smartphone, are now a global medium. But they are only at the beginning of their global journey, says Charlie Park, CEO of Kakao Entertainment-owned Tapas. Park was speaking Tuesday at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore in a session moderated by industry consultant Jimmy Kim. Park explained that the webtoon segment was for several years a niche fan-driven activity with few opportunities for monetization.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is teaming with AI Singapore and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research to launch the S$70 million ($52.3 million) National Multimodal LLM Program (NMLP). The initiative, funded by Singapore’s National Research Foundation, will develop the country’s research and engineering capabilities in multi-modal large language (LLM) models. It will help to plug a critical gap because current LLM models are heavily Western originated.

Naman Ramachandran Creative Stew is unveiling an eclectic TV and film slate at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market (ATF). Creative Stew, a decade old Malaysian content production company with operations in Singapore and India, is best known for “That Cover Girl,” the first Malaysian original series on Prime Video, which is a hit for the service.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Donovan Chan, co-chief and creative director of Singapore-based Beach House Pictures has operations that span scripted, unscripted and branded TV as well as film, across the width of the Asia region. That gives him a unique perspective on a trying last year and where the upsides appear to be. He sat down with Variety on the eve of the Asian Television Forum.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Singapore actor and filmmaker Alaric Tay (“Zombiepura”), through his Very Tay Media company has joined forces with two Philippines companies Black Ops Studios Asia and PsyOps Studios to produce a slate of films aimed at international markets. The venture, that was facilitated by Hong Kong-based producer Mike Leeder, was announced on the eve of the Asia Television Forum (ATF) in Singapore. They aim to put together a combined slate across diverse genres, including action, sci-fi, horror and comedy and have suggested a timeline extending to the fourth quarter of 2026. The joint venture also includes partnerships with other Asian companies including Screen Ops (HK), Fly Entertainment, Causeway Media Productions and IAmCasting. “Singapore and the Philippines have the individual potential to execute projects with commercial appeal,” said Tay. “But by building stories together with like-minded visionaries beyond our own shores, we can elevate the types of projects that are being produced in our collective countries.” Tay was the star and executive producer of 2018 Singapore zombie movie “Zombiepura.” He was also co-producer and director of HBO Asia’s first comedy drama series “SeNT” and is best known for playing multiple characters on Mediacorp satirical series “The Noose.” Headed by director Pedring Lopez and producer Rex Lopez, Black Ops Studios Asia and PsyOps Studios focus on action films and series.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief I.E. Entertainment, the global distribution outfit founded and run by industry veterans Indra and Erlina Suharjono, has come on board to handle worldwide sales for Cathay Film Company’s “Coolie.” The TV miniseries is inspired by the little-known history of enslaved Chinese ‘coolies’ in Cuba in the 1860s.

Naman Ramachandran Prolific Singaporean filmmaker Kelvin Tong‘s latest feature “A Year Of No Significance,” which has its world premiere at the 34th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), mourns the loss of a generation. Set in Singapore in 1979, the film chronicles the gradual disintegration of a middle-aged architect as changes rock the 45th year of his life. Sidelined in the office because of his inability to speak English, Lim Cheng Soon is cut further adrift when his wife inexplicably leaves him.

Naman Ramachandran Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing delivered an electrifying masterclass to a sold-out ballroom full of screaming fans at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands on Friday. The in-conversation event was part of the 34th Singapore International Film Festival where Fan is the recipient of this year’s Cinema Icon Award. The festival is screening three of Fan’s films, curated by her – the recent “Green Night,” “Buddha Mountain” and “Double Xposure” – and the star walked the red carpet on opening night, Nov.

Manchester’s Hotel Football has been recognised with a prestigious award naming it one of the leading venues in the world.

Mark Shelmerdine, the veteran producer who revived London Films as an indie powerhouse and played a pivotal role in the development of the international TV distribution market, died October 26 in Santa Barbara surrounded by his family. He was 78.

K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE will be releasing their second studio album in January 2024, their label has confirmed.Today (December 1), South Korean news outlet News1 reported that (G)I-DLE would be making a comeback with their second studio album in January 2024. The report was later confirmed by their agency CUBE Entertainment in a statement to XsportsNews.The upcoming record will arrive about eight months after their sixth mini-album ‘I Feel’, which was released in May and features the hit song ‘Queencard’.

Naman Ramachandran Yosep Anggi Noen, whose “24 Hours with Gaspar” premiered at Busan and is playing at the Red Sea and Singapore festivals, has lined up his next movie, an untitled horror film. The film is produced by Palari Films, the Jakarta-based production company behind Edwin’s “Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash,” which won the Golden Leopard at Locarno in 2021. Noen is no stranger to Locarno glory himself, having been nominated in 2012 for “Peculiar Vacation and Other Illnesses” and in 2016 for “Solo, Solitude” and scored a special mention in 2019 for “The Science of Fictions.” The untitled horror-drama-thriller film, produced by Palari’s Muhammad Zaidy and Meiske Taurisia, will unite acclaimed actors Happy Salma and Putri Marino for the first time.

Janine Stein “Tiger Stripes”, the opening film of this year’s Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), was “kind of a joke that became something very, very close to me and ended up being this film,” Malaysian filmmaker, Amanda Nell Eu, said during Thursday night’s opening ceremony. Speaking to a packed theatre before the screening, Eu said her inspiration had been puberty mixed with her sense of humor.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief CJ ENM (Hong Kong), a channels and content distributor that is part of the Korean CJ ENM conglomerate, has picked up pay-TV rights in parts of Asia to a handful of Korean series that were co-financed by streaming platform Tving and Paramount+. The deal was struck with Paramount Global Content Distribution. The productions are part of a global strategic partnership between CJ ENM and Paramount Global that was announced in December 2021. The deal was announced on the eve of the Asian TV Forum (ATF), which kicks off next week in Singapore. The series debut first on Tving in Korea and on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Taylor Swift has shared a statement on social media thanking her fans and touring crew after wrapping up her final ‘Eras’ tour concert of the year.Yesterday night (November 28), Swift took to X (formerly Twitter) to thank her Brazilian fans for their support over six concerts in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, going on to also thank her crew for their hard work.“Bringing a tour to Brazil has been something I’ve dreamt of for years, and those fans blew my expectations away. We’ve officially wrapped up the 2023 Eras Tour and we got to end the year with 6 shows in Rio and São Paulo, with the most magical crowds,” Taylor Swift wrote.Bringing a tour to Brazil has been something I’ve dreamt of for years, and those fans blew my expectations away.