Makbul Mubarak, Fukada Koji and Rima Das to Pitch New Films at Busan’s Asian Project Market

Coleen Rooney has broken her silence on her £3million ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel win against Rebekah Hardy.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Noted Japanese director Ando Momoko (“Kakera: Pieces of Our Life,” “0.5mm”) has been named as the ambassador for this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. She also features, alongside her father Okuda Eiji in the festival’s newly-released poster, which recreates a scene from Ozu Yasujiro’s “Tokyo Story” and in which Okuda and Ando represent the classic film’s Ryu Chishu and Hara Setsuko characters. The poster image, shot at the rooftop garden of Kitte Marunouchi Building, with Tokyo Station in the background, was designed by Koshino Junko, who has created the festival’s key visuals for the past three years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief With the global entertainment industry still rocked by the impact of streaming, the pandemic – and Hollywood’s twin strikes – the APOS conference will next month examine disruption and the responses to it from a senior executive Asian perspective. After being held virtually during the COVID era and then last year making a stop in Singapore, the conference itself will return to Bali, Indonesia, and be held 26-28 Sept.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Tencent, the Chinese games, social media and streaming giant, reported further quarterly profits recovery after a dire 2022. But its revenues for the April-June period missed financial analysts’ expectations and point to continued weakness in the Chinese economy. Group revenues for the period were RMB149 billion ($20.6 billion), representing an 11% year-on-year growth, but a 1% quarter-on-quarter decline.

Stargazers will be in for a treat as the current Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak this weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The video industry in Indonesia is set for rapid growth over the next five years as online services overtake conventional TV’s market share, according to new study. Total video industry revenues (free TV, pay-TV and online video) are expected to grow at 8% compound average growth rate, according to a briefing by Singapore-based research firm Media Partners Asia. The researcher forecasts the market expanding from $2.5 billion in the current year to £3.7 billion in 2028.

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Dominic Sangma’s “Rapture” (“Rimdogittanga”) is the second in a trilogy of films based on his memories of village life that began with his debut feature “Ma’ama” (2018). The Garo-language film, which revolves around a 10-year-old boy who suffers from night blindness and for whom every night is terrifying when his village is gripped by the fear of child-kidnappers, originated from another memory of Sangma, who hails from Meghalaya in northeastern India.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Meg 2: The Trench,” the second instalment in the Chinese-financed giant shark franchise, was the top film worldwide over the weekend. But in its China home market “Meg 2” was beaten by strong previews of “No More Bets.” Nevertheless, the arrival of two popular films at the top of the chart meant that China enjoyed its third highest box office weekend of the year, with a $185 million haul. That score is the strongest weekend of 2023 outside the Chinese New Year holiday season.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ryu Seung-wan’s female-led crime caper “Smugglers” topped the South Korean box office for a second weekend, ahead of new release title “Ransomed.” “Smugglers” enjoyed a strong hold in its second weekend of release and commanded 42% market share. It delivered $7.09 million, a drop of only 20% on its opening weekend, giving a 12-day cumulative of $26.2 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are moving into film production, with reports that they have purchased the screen rights for a bestselling romantic novel.

There’s nothing worse than spending ages perfecting your makeup, only to step outside and instantly feel it starting to slide in the summer heat. Whilst the sun can work wonders for clearing your complexion and giving you a radiant glow, it can play havoc with your favourite beauty looks, leaving you constantly correcting and reapplying.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Theatrical cinema in July enjoyed its highest revenues since pre-pandemic times, with global box office hitting $4.54 billion during the month. “This is the single highest-grossing month since before the pandemic began.

Busan International Film Festival has announced the 30 projects selected for this year’s Asian Project Market (APM), including new projects from leading Asian filmmakers such as Japan’s Koji Fukada, Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak and India’s Rima Das.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Heavens: The Boy and His Robot,” a Singapore-produced movie, will have its world and commercial premiere in Japanese cinemas this November. The film is Singapore’s first live-action feature film of the mecha genre, a genre of Japanese manga and anime that features or focuses on mechanical innovations such as robots and cyborgs.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Asia Contents Awards, held as part of the Busan International Film Festival since 2019, is to join forces with the Global OTT Awards to form a wider-reaching event. The merged events are to be known under the ungainly abbreviation ACA & G.OTT Awards and will be co-hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and Busan Metropolitan City authorities. The ceremony will be held in Busan on Sunday Oct.

Abi Moores was brutally dumped from Love Island just days ago and now has now opened up about her time in the iconic villa. The air hostess, 25, had a rather tumultuous time in the villa, entering during Casa Amor and coupling up with Mitch Taylor only for his head to then turn for bombshell Ella Barnes. She then coupled up with Scott van der Sluis, but the pair ultimately decided against continuing their romance choosing instead to just be friends.They were then dumped from the show by their fellow islanders.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag "Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours – just a friendly wave each morning, helps to make a better day," – so say the sugar-sweet lyrics to the theme song of the iconic Australian soap, Neighbours. If only life was really that easy, thinks Paul Keane, who played loveable Des Clarke on the show back in the 1980s. For Paul, now 65, hit rock bottom when he should have been enjoying the height of his fame, and even his co-stars Guy Pearce (who played Mike) and Craig McLachlan (Henry) couldn't help make it a better day.

Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary have officially bid 'goodbye' to This Morning - but only for a short while. Their last week of shows have been heavily disrupted by ITV's coverage of the Fifa Women's World Cup and despite their last of the summer being cut by an hour, they still enjoyed a jam-packed show.

The Leonardo DiCaprio and Neelam Gill romance rumours continue.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Amanda Holden wowed fans after sharing a number of bikini clad pictures of herself proving that she has the body of a woman half her age. The 52 year old Britain's Got Talent judge looked incredible as she documented her sun soaked holiday with her rarely-seen husband Chris Hughes. In one snap, the star, who shares two children with her music producer beau, is seen in a black bikini as she seductively looked over her shoulder while enjoying an open air shower.