Taiwan Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains major spoilers for the finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Banana fever reigns supreme after “RuPaul’s Drag Race” crowned America’s next drag superstar. Season 16 winner Nymphia Wind snatched the crown from fellow finalists Plane Jane and Sapphira Cristál.

Ben Croll Given the NewImages Festival’s remit to welcome diverse artistic voices into the immersive space, programing “Noire” was an obvious choice. An augmented reality adaptation of a lesser-known case from the Civil Rights era, “Noire” brought much pedigree to this year’s Paris XR showcase.

TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance has said that it has no intention of selling the business, and would rather see the platform shut down.The news comes after the US passed a law forcing the company to sell the hugely popular social media platform, or see the app banned in America.The sell-or-ban measure was issued into law by US President Joe Biden earlier this week (April 24), following a long-running dispute over claims that the company’s ownership structure could allow the Chinese government to gain access to the data of its millions of American users.To date, over 30 American states, Canada, and the European Union have separately banned the app from use on government-owned devices over concerns it could be a security risk. India banned the app nationwide in January 2021, while Taiwan and Afghanistan did the same in 2022.The bill was first brought up last month, when the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 24 to 16 to give President Joe Biden the power to enforce a ban on the social media app over concerns that the app is a national security threat and a Chinese espionage tool.This week’s ruling was voted for with an overwhelming majority of 79 to 18, and was signed by President Joe Biden.

Bowen Yang and Lily Gladstone are teaming up for a new movie!

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French sales powerhouse Charades has boarded Constance Tsang’s migrant drama “Blue Sun Palace” which is set to world premiere at Cannes’ Critics’ Week. WME Independent is representing domestic rights for the movie in North America.

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.

TikTok.Yesterday (April 23), US Congress voted to pass the bill that will ban TikTok in the United States unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells the platform’s US stakes. The vote came three days after it cleared the House of Representatives.Today (April 24), Biden signed the bill hours after Congress dealt the video-sharing platform’s Chinese ownership a historic rebuke following years of failed attempts to tackle the app’s alleged national security risks (per The Washington Post).Biden had previously indicated that he would approve of the legislation once it had hit his desk.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok could be banned in the U.S. as soon as January 2025. Here’s what the new law means for users of the popular short-form video app.

TikTok in the United States unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells the platform’s US stakes.The bill – which was voted for 79 to 18 – is next expected to be signed by President Joe Biden, who has previously indicated that he will approve of the legislation once it hits his desk. Tuesday’s vote comes three days after it cleared the House of Representatives.Should the bill be passed, ByteDance will have an estimated nine months to sell TikTok.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to approve a bill that would ban TikTok nationwide unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells its stake in the popular app. The development will likely result in a court battle between the U.S.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Abramorama has acquired North American theatrical rights to Vanessa Hope‘s feature-length documentary “Invisible Nation.” The 85-minute doc investigates the election and tenure of Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of Taiwan. The docu follows Tsai as she seeks full international recognition of Taiwan’s right to exist.

Ben Croll In 2020, director Hsin-Chien Huang won the NewImages Festival‘s top prize for “Bodyless,” a dreamlike exploration of his own childhood growing up under Taiwanese martial law. That year’s jury was led by French music producer and composer Jean-Michel Jarre – and sometime over the course of the festival the two men hit it off.

The Cannes Film Festival has revealed the lineup for its new strand dedicated to immersive works. Among the eight projects in competition are the French premiere of Evolver, which will feature Cate Blanchett in voiceover, and the European premiere of Maya: The Birth of a Superhero with Indira Varma and Bridgerton’s Charithra Chandran as English voices. Meanwhile, the non-competitive works boast a stellar cast including Colin Farrell as the English voice in Gloomy Eyes, Jessica Chastain, Millie Bobby Brown, and Patti Smith in Spheres. 

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A bill that would ban TikTok — unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests its ownership stake — could soon become a U.S. law. TikTok is gearing up a legal fight against the measure if that happens, with plans to challenge it in court on First Amendment grounds.

The fate of TikTok in the United States is even more uncertain as the House today voted on a package that requires that parent ByteDance divest its popular social media platform or face a ban on app stores.

SPOILER ALERT: Do Not Read If You Haven’t Seen Tonight’s Show

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.

SHINee singer Key has announced dates for his upcoming 2024 ‘Keyland On: And On’ tour, featuring concerts in Thailand, Indonesia and more.Today (April 17), SHINee’s Key revealed four new dates for his 2024 ‘Keyland On: And On’ tour. They come about three months after the singer originally kicked off the series of concerts with a two-night performance at the Olympic Handball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.Key will bring his ‘Keyland On: And On’ tour to the cities of Bangkok, Jakarta and Macau in July 2024, all of which will take place on either a Saturday or Sunday.

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.

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. 

Taiwan‘s major awards body Golden Horse will have a consolidated presence at Cannes‘ Marché du Film for the first time, under the umbrella ‘Golden Horse Goes to Cannes’.

Well Go USA has landed North American rights for Dutch action thriller Invasion about a daring military operation in the wake of a hostile attack on the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Showtime, Taiwan’s second largest cinema chain, is to open eight ScreenX auditoriums across the island. Developed by Korea’s CJ group of companies, ScreenX is cinema technology that expands specially selected sequences of a film onto the left-and-right-side walls of the auditorium, creating a 270-degree panoramic experience. The first four theaters are expected to be completed before summer this year in northern, central and southern Taipei. The others will be completed by mid-2025. Among the first sites, Taichung Wenxin will bring both the inaugural ScreenX auditorium and the first EWD laser 4K projection system to Taiwan.

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).

An anchor for Taiwan‘s iNews was live on air relaying a message from the country’s earthquake early warning system when the actual 7.4 temblor hit yesterday.

EXCLUSIVE: Showrunner and screenwriter Trey Callaway (The Messengers) has taken on new reps at Independent Artist Group and Echo Lake Entertainment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief YG Entertainment, the firm behind K-pop sensation Blackpink, has appointed Yang Min-seok as its new, sole CEO. The younger brother of company founder Yang Hyun-sun, he was previously joint CEO with Hwang Bo-kyun. The announcement was made shortly after YG’s annual shareholder meeting that closed the books on a year in which revenues climbed 65% to $430 million. The firm, which recently denied that it had paid $30 million to retain its position with Blackpink (but saw the girl group’s individual members sign personal representation contracts with other agencies) is busily launching BabyMonster, another all-female act that is seen in some circles as a successor to Blackpink. BabyMonster, which was formed late last year through reality TV show “Last Evaluation 2023,” is a seven part group with members from Korea, Thailand and Japan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Japanese broadcaster TV Tokyo and Taiwan-based LGBT streaming platform GagaOOLala will this month release “At 25.00 in Akasaka,” a live-action drama series in the popular Boys Love (BL) genre. Based on a popular manga by Natsuno Hiroko, the underlying comic has sold over 1.2 million copies. The series explores the romance between a renowned actor and an aspiring talent, cast as leads in a BL drama that wins the hearts of audiences worldwide.

BBC Studios Launches First Kids Streamer In Korea

Al Jazeera.If the bill surmounts those obstacles, Thailand would become the third Asian country to legalize same-sex nuptials, following Taiwan and Nepal.The bill changes references in current law from gender-specific terms like “man,” “woman,” husband,” and “wife” to gender-neutral terms. It grants surviving partners inheritance rights in the case of one partner’s death and allows same-sex couples the right to adopt.“I want to invite you all to make history,” Danuphorn Punnakanta, the chairman of the parliamentary committee, said ahead of the vote.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor On one hand, Ang Lee can’t believe it’s been 40 years since he graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. “Don’t remind me!” he responds with a laugh when this milestone is brought up. But at the same time, Lee says, little has changed since he received his MFA in film production.

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.

Director Ang Lee is finally pointing the finger.

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).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Directors Factory Philippines,” an omnibus film project initiated by the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, has completed production in the historic city of Dapitan. Operating since 2013, when it kicked off in Taiwan, the Directors’ Factory works with a new partner country each year to mentor eight budding filmmakers who are preparing ambitious first or second feature projects that they will make in pairs. The Philippines was selected in November. The four resulting co-written and co-directed short films will be screened as part of the Directors’ Fortnight (aka Quinzaine des Cineastes) in May. Dapitan, a city in The Philippines’ Zamboanga Peninsula, known for its many shrines and as the place of exile of Philippines’ national hero, Jose Rizal.