‘Mulan’: Disney Defends Thanking Chinese Government In Film’s Credits

Donald Trump seeks to boost his anti-China credentials ahead of November’s election.The measures announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday target Yicai Global, Jiefang Daily, Xinmin Evening News, Social Sciences in China Press, Beijing Review, and Economic Daily by requiring them to register as foreign missions, a step that includes making them identify their employees.“They are all substantially owned or controlled by a foreign government,” Pompeo told reporters at a State

Tom Grater International Film ReporterProminent Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke has announced he is departing the Pingyao International Film Festival, which he co-founded four years ago.The fest has not yet made an official statement but the director made the surprise announcement yesterday during the closing day of the fourth edition, telling local media he was looking for the event to “get rid of Ji Zhangke’s shadow and let it gain independent vitality” and that he was opting to “leave when it

Jake Kanter International TV EditorBBC Studios has inked a “multi-year” co-production and content sales deal with Chinese entertainment platform Bilibili, which aims to bring UK content to China and Chinese programming to the world.Under the agreement, Bilibili has already committed to co-producing BBC Studios’ landmark natural history shows The Green Planet, Dynasties II and The Mating Game. A new science series is also on the agenda, titled Odyssey into the Future and featuring Chinese author

Kaleem Aftab The Lumiere Film Festival paid homage to Greek actress, singer and politician Melina Mercouri this week with a mini-retrospective on what would have been the centenary of her birth.The centerpiece event was a screening Thursday of “Never on Sunday,” the 1960 musical drama directed by and co-starring her regular collaborator, husband Jules Dassin, who was put on the Hollywood Blacklist for being a member of the Communist Party, and moved to Europe.Mercouri and Dassin met at the

The Vatican is in the process of renewing a deal with the Chinese Communist Party, raising concerns among U.S. officials and human rights advocates who note that China is one of the most dangerous places on the planet to be Christian.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIQIYI’s drama series “The Bad Kids” has landed a slot on Japanese pay-TV platform Wowow, a first for a contemporary, mainland Chinese show. It is expected to play out from early 2021.Where many Chinese dramas run for between 40 and 80 episodes, “The Bad Kids” comprises 12 50-minute episodes, structred as a suspense series that tells the story of three youngsters in a small coastal town.

Also Read: Inside the 'Mulan' Flameout in China and Why Hollywood Can't Seem to Bridge the Culture GapIn total, Bailey says the footage from those location shoots “comprised 78 seconds” of the final cut of the film.“The decision to film in each of these locations was made by the film’s producers in the interest of authenticity, and was in no way dictated or influenced by state or local Chinese officials,” Bailey stated.As for the Turpan Bureau’s involvement, Bailey said that foreign film

Rebecca Davis editorDisney’s president of film production Sean Bailey defended the controversial credits for the new live-action “Mulan” film, which thanked Chinese government entities directly involved in perpetuating human rights abuses in Xinjiang, as being part of “standard practice across the film industry worldwide,” according to a letter addressed to and posted online by prominent British politician Iain Duncan Smith.The reply from @DisneyStudios regarding the filming of #Mulan in

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticYou may not have noticed it, what with so much content coming out on Netflix each week, but the company has been ramping up big time on original animation over the past two years. From last year’s Oscar nominee “I Lost My Body” to internal productions “The Willoughbys” and “Klaus,” Netflix’s cartoon offerings have already reached a point to rival Pixar and DreamWorks.

HONG KONG -- A 700-year-old Chinese painted scroll from the Yuan Dynasty fetched 306.6 million Hong Kong dollars ($41.8 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.The 6.6-feet scroll, titled “Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback” is by Ren Renfa, a renowned Chinese artist and government official.The painting depicts the princes riding horses, together with four attendants.

Rebecca Davis editorThe Pingyao International Film Festival, founded by Chinese helmer Jia Zhangke and former Venice head Marco Muller, has released its full lineup of global and local films. The selections in the two main sections focus on first or second features.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese audiences didn’t fall in love with Disney’s live-action “Mulan,” but a Chinese firm is betting that its own retelling of the famous ballad may storm the box office in its stead with depictions of traditional values that better appeal to mainland viewers.Gold Valley Film is set to release its feature animation “Kung Fu Mulan” over the National Day holiday from Oct.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticLike “Ne Zha” — 2019’s monumental computer-animated box office hit — similarly spectacular CG epic “Jiang Ziya” concludes with nearly 10 minutes of credits: a dense scroll of names amounting to a virtual army of animators, punctuated by extra scenes and teasers for upcoming projects from Chinese distributor Beijing Enlight Pictures.

Rebecca Davis editorThe fourth annual Pingyao International Film Festival will run as an in-person event from Oct.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticOn Wednesday, five Republican Senators fired off a letter to Netflix’s Ted Sarandos over the streamer service’s plan to have the executive producers of Game of Thrones  adapt Chinese author Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy The Three-Body Problem.

Will Thorne Staff WriterNetflix has issued a firm response to the five Republican senators who questioned its decision to adapt “The Three-Body Problem” sci-fi novel trilogy by Liu Cixin.In a Sept. 24 letter, the senators, led by Sen.